Inside Out: New Beginnings

By James A. Gauthier J.D.

Patriots or anarchist? Jeff (19) and Ann (18) were graduates of the Castleway Academy. Each swore their allegiance to the United States and the principles set forth in the Bill of Rights. They dedicated their lives, and the resources of the Academy, towards preserving democracy and protecting the individual rights guaranteed to all citizens under the U.S. Constitution. Americans were apathetic and permitted the government to compromise guaranteed rights by allowing the government, in the name of Homeland Security, to erode such simple things as privacy, gun rights, speech and assembly all for the greater good of the ruling political elite under the auspices of national security. Jeff and Ann create a random encryption interface which reencrypted data every second preventing unlawful spying by the NSA and drones. To awaken Americans, Jeff and Ann produced historically accurate video programs covering the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. As citizens awakened, the political elite became the targets of questions and demands that individual rights be restored and the Constitution followed. The government, through Homeland Security retaliated and arrested Jeff as a domestic terrorist for producing the educational videos that enticed social disobedience in the name of liberty and freedom. The battle for liberty was reborn.

New Beginnings is the first book in a trilogy that addresses government overreach, lack of transparency and the desire to stop fourth amendment violations by disabling drones and shutting down the NSA data collector.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Jun 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490737256

James A. Gauthier J.D.

The author is a 71 year-old former teacher who proudly served his country in Viet Nam before returning to college where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1985.. The author practiced law until 2020 when he retired from everything except for Judicial Arbitrations. The Author moved to Medina, Ohio in 2021 where he describes living in Ohio is just like being on vacation every day. Author has published fourteen books under the pen name of James A. Gauthier, J.D.. His books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble

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CHAPTER 1

Background of the Castleway Academy

The Castleway Academy was proudly founded on September 17, 1987, by a small group of constitutional lawyers that dedicated their lives to the founding principles set forth in the U.S. Constitution and in the founding father’s comments detailed in the Federalist’s Papers. The founding date is important since the academy was founded exactly two hundred years after the ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America on September 17, 1787. It is the principles set forth in the Constitution that guide the Academy’s academic programs, student conduct, and student’s future obligations as citizens of these United States. The Federalist Essays of Alexander Hamilton and James Madison highlight the Academy’s beliefs, quoting, If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. It is the latter obligation of government that challenges the faculty and students to take such action as deemed needed to protect the present and future citizens of this country.

The headmaster of Castleway Academy is a lawyer who is licensed to practice and teach in several jurisdictions. His stated focus is on preserving the Constitution of the United States from those enemies, foreign and domestic, that would seek to redefine or abrogate the God-given rights of every citizen. The headmaster is a full professor of law and often guest lectures in the constitutional law classes. All of the law instructors freely use the Socratic Method to encourage independent thought and student involvement in classroom discussions. No student in the Academy is allowed to hide and avoid in-class discussions. The Castleway Academy is a residential school, meaning that the students and staff reside on campus. Since inception, the Academy has accepted an annual enrollment of 250 freshman students that are competitively selected from 1,500 or more applicants annually. The Academy has 6,340 graduates of which 17 have received their Juris Doctor degrees and returned to teach at the Academy. Of the graduates, 4,438 students have postgraduate degrees in political science, government, education, history, and multiple legal positions as lawyers and judicial clerks. The Academy also has 1,305 students selectively placed in government as aides to Congress persons, department heads, and judges of state and federal courts. Academy graduates have pursued positions that will permit them to further their education and Castleway Academy’s goal of holding government accountable to the people of the United States.

The Castleway Academy enjoys a diverse student body. The student population is comprised of 44 percent females and 56 percent males. The school believes in diversity, not of race or ethnic origin, but of thought. The Academy values independent thinking that is expressed through classroom discussions, speeches, lectures, debates, and study groups. The students are taught to challenge that which is known to them and to not accept that which is unknown without first clearly exploring the legal, political, social, and sometimes environmental impact of the proffered knowledge. It is through this complex analysis that students learn to balance the equities of an action and develop the ability to assess and intervene into social and political events in order to effect change in our failing system of government’s checks and balances once assured under the Constitution.

The Academy is not a public type institution, and it accepts no handouts from the federal and state government. The Academy is autonomous of any political affiliation and intentionally avoids being aligned with any particular political party. If the Academy had a political leaning, it would be in support of the Tea Party, which appears on the surface to engage independent thought by individuals concerned about the direction of government and the impact that current direction will have on our present and future citizens. I would suggest that the Academy’s graduates would align themselves as Libertarians, honoring the founding principles and adherence to the Constitution. Students are taught to open their eyes and see. Blind obedience, without question or inquiry, is unacceptable. The Academy firmly believes that: Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. Prov. 22:6

The Academy is not a military or paramilitary institution, even though some casual observers contend that the Academy has hidden military and political agendas for academic learning programs. Students are expected to dress in conformity with one another. Over the years, the Academy staff has found that when students dress alike, the distraction of clothing style no longer exists to divert attention from studies. To that end, the students wear black pants and a white polo type shirt with the Academy logo on the pocket. Black shoes and black socks are the order of the day. Students may purchase black sweaters or jackets to complete their look. Students receive an enrollment pin and identification card when accepted for enrollment in the Academy. The pin is worn on the shirt collar and varies according to the student’s academic standing in the school. For example, the school pin has the letters CA for Castleway Academy and then next to the CA is a letter and occasionally a symbol. The pins quickly identify students in relation to their peers.

Becoming a student at the Castleway Academy is not a simple task. It usually takes from three to six months to complete the application requirements for admission. Each applicant is expected to take the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Indicator (MMPI) test. Students are reassured that there exists no right or wrong answers to the MMPI so it should be answered honestly. Students are put through an extensive background check to assure that the students have no history of drug or alcohol abuse and criminal conduct. Family political affiliations are evaluated as part of the process. Each applicant is required to obtain three confidential written references from former teachers and three references from citizens that have long-term knowledge of the applicant. The Academy is always looking for students that demonstrate community involvement and even activism like student prayer and Bible study in the public schools. The Academy has no place for fence-sitters or kiss asses. Throughout the halls of the school are signs that simply say, THINK, ACT, DO SOMETHING, and CARE. Students need to have their sealed transcripts submitted directly to the Academy. Four times a year, the Academy administers standard achievement tests to determine individual academic standing in relation to his or her own peers. The two most difficult elements of the application process are: (i) Writing a responsive paper to a question that is determined just prior to the enrollment period; and (ii) the Inner Circle. Here, applicants are asked questions from faculty and upper class students, with inquiries ranging from What if type of questions to What would you do. The applicant’s responses comprise approximately 40 percent of the admission process. The final threshold is financial qualification. A beginning freshman’s annual tuition, books, and board is $19,500 a year, paid upfront at the time of registration. Parents are expected to fund student trips and each student is required to study abroad for one semester to gain an appreciation of their own country. Often students say how beautiful the American flag is when flying overhead in a foreign country. It is that pride in America that the Academy seeks to instill in each student.

CHAPTER 2

Student Application, Rights, and Obligations

Students that successfully survived the application process are then interviewed with their parents before the Academy’s Honor Board comprised of the headmaster, three instructors, and three upper class students. During this interview, students and parents learn more of the inner workings of the Academy, its goals, objectives, and learning programs. Each student is expected to have memorized the Academy’s Honor Code:

"I, _________________, being a student candidate at Castleway Academy, do knowingly accept the Honor Code of the Academy which includes my personal commitment to dedicate myself to the traditions of the Academy and the teachings of its staff. I will bring honor in all that I am and I will give glory to God in all that I do. I will not cheat on any assignment; I will not steal the property of another; I will not engage in conduct that would disgrace the Academy or bring contempt or ridicule against myself or another person; I will honor and respect my upper classmates and seek their guidance when I am in need. I will preserve and protect confidential, proprietary and privileged information given to me as a student of the Academy and not knowingly or intentionally share, or otherwise disclose such confidential, proprietary and privileged information with any person unless that person is equally bound by this Oath. I accept my responsibilities and will accept any discipline imposed upon me by the Academy for a breach of my oath. I will not harm a fellow student or staff person. I am dedicated to the preservation of the Constitution of the United States and in protecting the citizens of the United States from those individuals that denigrate the laws codified in this governing document. On my honor, I make this pledge.

From the student/parent interview, the Honor Board then weighs each interview with a numeric score that is then compared with other applicant’s numeric scores. The highest 350 applicants are notified in writing of their tentative selection, and admission is dependent upon the applicant satisfactorily completing the Academy’s physical training and agility test and constitutional topic presentation.

Each applicant is informed that the physical training and agility test includes: (i) running two miles in 15 minutes; (ii) Forty male type push-ups in 5 minutes; (iii) Thirty squat thrusts in 5 minutes; (iv) Five chin-ups from a stationary bar in 3 minutes; and (v) Twenty-foot vertical wall climb. Castleway Academy not only wants the brightest students, it wants students that are physically capable of meeting the rigors of study at the Academy.

The final evaluation for applicants is the Constitutional Topic Presentation. Each applicant has the obligation to read at least three separate articles on the same subject from newspapers, news magazines, or broadcast on a form of television or social media that touches and concerns any potential governmental conduct that would infringe upon the Constitution and the rights of citizens. Each student is to be prepared to identify the Article or Bill of Rights section involved, how the conduct is infringing, and what proposal the student has to mitigate the problem, if any. Each applicant enters in his or her freshman year at the Academy so no student has an age advantage over another. A student could solicit assistance from any source in developing his or her presentation. Following the presentation of the applicant’s paper, the applicant is then questioned and his or her theories challenged to see whether the applicant has convictions about his or her presentation or was simply meandering through the process. The applicant would hear a considerable amount of questions from the interviewers asking Why, How, and What. The process requires the applicant to think on their feet and under pressure.

The application process is concluded in May of each year, and letters of acceptance are issued to successful applicants for the fall calendar. Upon arrival at the Academy, the freshman class is greeted by their upper classmates and freshman are each assigned to an upper class advisor for their first year. Each freshman is then issued their Academy pin that looked like: CA/F, and given the full rules and student responsibilities that are to be memorized. If asked, a student should never answer I don’t know or I didn’t know. The Academy rule is Know! Knowledge is power.

CHAPTER 3

Student Guidance and Curriculum

As a freshman, one quickly discovers that nearly everyone, except the other 249 freshman, has authority over him or her. Freshmen learn to observe the school pins worn by upper class students and how those class pins relate to student development and course work. On one occasion, one freshman mentioned to several classmates that he had heard rumors that upper classmates were involved in a hidden curriculum at the Academy. That freshman and the three recipients of the rumor were immediately called before the Honor Board. When the freshman student couldn’t say any more than what he heard was a rumor, not fact, the Honor Board voted to discipline all four freshmen by requiring that they write a twenty-page, single spaced paper on the merits of truthfulness and the harm associated with false rumors and unsupported conjecture. When the three students that heard the rumor asked why they were being disciplined, they were told that they listened to the rumor and failed to act appropriately. Each student was informed that if further honor code violations occur, the freshmen would be removed from the Academy. Freshmen quickly learned that the Academy demanded honor and not simply promises, or lip service about honor. The incoming freshmen were enrolled in mandatory freshmen classes at the Academy. Each student was required to take English/writing, U.S. history, Constitution appreciation, math, and an elective like Academy band or choir. Each student is equally required to participate in morning physical fitness programs and to belong to one or more of the Academy’s swim, tennis, and horsemanship or track team. All students, regardless of academic level, participate in self-defense courses which are aptly taught by two former U.S. Navy SEALs.

At the Academy, morning comes early. Students are required to be on the parade grounds not later than 05:30. Every day begins with a one-mile fun run and then calisthenics. Morning physical fitness training lasts until 06:15 then the students are released to shower and dress for school. Breakfast is timely served daily from 06:45 to 07:30. Freshmen students are forever being told to move from activity to activity with a sense of urgency and not to meander. To make sure these freshmen move appropriately, if a freshman is not in line for breakfast by 07:15, that student will not eat that morning.

The Academy teaching staff are mostly lawyers who love to teach and help students learn how to think. The Socratic Method is used in most classrooms. The teacher would ask a question on a particular topic and typically would see all eyes look down so the students can avoid eye contact with the teacher. Under the Socratic Method, looking down doesn’t work. Once the question is asked, the teacher calls on a student for the answer. If the student couldn’t answer, the teacher would challenge the student to understand why the student couldn’t answer. If the reason turns out to be because the student had failed to complete his or her assignments, the student is listed on a classroom discipline sheet and assigned more studies to avoid lack of preparation as an excuse on future questioning. The Academy had a three strikes and you are out policy concerning classroom preparation. If a student was caught three times being unprepared, the Honor Board usually expels the student. Students learn quickly to be prepared and ready to openly discuss issues in the classroom. Students are taught that they would become the stewards and future guardians of the Constitution so they had better wake up and start understanding their responsibilities or the government might just eliminate the Constitution and each of their respective rights. The thought presented cold chills in the new freshmen class.

The freshman students have to study the United States Constitution and know each of the Articles and Amendments to the Constitution. Students are quizzed daily on a topic relevant to the Constitution. In any class, a student needs to be prepared to answer a Constitution question, such as, You and several of your friends are standing on a public sidewalk talking about school. A police officer claims that he had a complaint from a shop owner that the students were blocking his store entrance. It was obvious to the officer that the students weren’t near the door. The officer tells the students to move on. They couldn’t stand and talk on the sidewalk. Was the officer right in his conclusion? Students are expected to know that freedom of association and freedom of speech are guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. Therefore, the officer was wrong in his conclusion. Students regularly heard teachers say, Think, Ask why, Ask what authority. As Academy students, each has the duty to stand up for his or her Constitutional rights and to speak of those rights when needed. The saying All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing is one of the philosophies of the Academy. Over the freshmen cafeteria was a sign that reads, Will you do nothing and let evil triumph?

Classroom teachers bring in current events from newspapers and magazines and assign students by groups of four to analyze a topic and prepare a presentation on why the topic was of interest or concern and why. Throughout the news was the question of the president of the United States usurping the role of the Congress in making new laws or modifying existing laws to please the president and his political supporters. The classroom assignment for the next day was to be prepared to discuss the existence of a tripartite government and how the president’s actions interplayed in the respective roles of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The question was, Does the Constitution give a sitting president the lawful authority under Article II to the Constitution to make law when the Congress fails to act on a concern held by the president? The debate lasted for a full week with students continuing the discussion on the track and on meal breaks. Of course, the Academy’s purpose was to stimulate thought and action in its students. The obvious answer was, Hell, no.

In writing classes, students are challenged to research and write memoranda of understanding and even practice briefs on a subject being discussed in the news. Students learn that the Constitution doesn’t guarantee 100 percent freedom from certain protected conduct. For example, the First Amendment to the Constitution provides for free speech. In understanding and balancing rights against consequences, students learn that yelling Fire in a crowded theater was free speech, but the adverse consequences of theater patrons trampling on each other to get out of the theater is dangerous. As such, the concept of free speech had to be conditioned on common sense and the outcome was that a person does not have the right to yell Fire in a crowded theater. Another general exception was fighting words which are intended to create anger and confrontation in the listener. A favorite of the Constitutional law professor was giving students competing rights and then discussing how those competing rights could be resolved. Students were given proposed state and federal legislation and asked to critique the proposal in writing. With the critique, the student was required to either restate the proposed legislation in a legal manner or reject the legislation explaining in detail how and why the legislation should be abandoned.

History was deemed by the faculty to be one of the most important classes taken by these young freshmen. The quotation, Those who can’t remember the past are condemned to repeat it (George Santayana) was significant in the learning process. The United States of America is unique for its own rich history. Unlike most of Europe that is cloaked with kings and queens, dictators, and monarchs of various forms, the United States was born out of a sense of God-given freedom. The United States fought a Revolutionary War to rid ourselves of a king and to assure our religious and personal liberty, now codified in the Bill of Rights.

The United States’ history and government in the present day would greatly offend the forefathers and their vision for a free America. Since World War II, there has been a continuing denigration of the constitutional protections afforded to citizens. Government has not only condemned many Americans to a life of dependency on welfare, but has equally taken significant steps to tear down the American family while promoting alternate lifestyles. The Democrats, now referred to as Progressives, pander to groups of citizens, promising handouts for votes instead of handups that most truly seek in their hearts.

History students learn about the U.S. national debt and how the national spending has only increased requiring unlimited extensions of credit and unequaled debt to every American citizen. The debt being created today will need to be repaid by the unborn generations of future Americans. Government has an unbridled lust for spending and neither major political party has the desire to stop the spending. History discussions involved questions like, What do you think will happen if spending isn’t controlled?, What impact does the national debt have on the United States?, or How do other countries relate to the United States? All questions are meant to invoke thought and not complacency.

CHAPTER 4

Castleway Academy—A View from the Outside

The Castleway Academy is listed as one of the ten best high schools in the nation. The Academy has a positive recognition of graduating students that know how to think and how to impact change on many levels, including political, military, and social events. Many Academy graduates are employed as governmental department heads, military officers, teachers, judges, advisors, and similar types of jobs. The Academy refers to its alumni as multiple fingers of one hand effecting change in all that is touched. The focus of the Academy’s curriculum has been consistent since the Academy was founded in 1987. It’s alumni effect change when possible and otherwise wait until change becomes the only viable alternative. The Academy creates doers and thinkers that remain ready to effect change on a moment’s notice. The alumni are traditionally loyal to the Academy and most alumni wear their alumni academy pins on their collars or suit jackets. The alumni pins are a little different than that of student pins, but equally impressive because of the honor shown in wearing and presenting the CA/A pin.

Alumni entered and departed from the campus on a regular basis. On one occasion, I was with a group of freshman students that observed several alumni enter the headmaster’s office. Each alumnus held his or her pin in hand as he or she entered the headmaster’s office. It appeared to be like a secret decoder ring of olden days. I observed this behavior happen numerous times weekly. One afternoon, I saw five people enter the headmaster’s office. However, when I entered the office, no one was there. I couldn’t figure out where the people went. All I knew was that the people were not in the headmaster’s office. I watched for nearly two hours when I had to get to my room before curfew. I had heard of other students being punished for spreading a rumor so I kept my mouth shut.

The Academy played to the media and the outside as much as possible. The Academy had a marching band and a choir that performed before various citizens in nursing homes and in public venues. It had a soccer team that was highly competitive, and self-defense courses culminated in competitions with other schools and Dojos. I liked music and it was one of the few opportunities that I had to talk with upper classmates outside of the usual rigors of class life. My advisor was a senior and he rarely found time to talk to me. I think that was why I enjoyed music the most. I had someone to talk to that wasn’t also a freshman.

Christmas came during my freshman year. Christmas was nice because families came to visit their students during a one-day open house. As students, we were limited as to gifts we could accept because of the noise rules and space available in the dorm rooms. I received several sweaters and a new jogging suit. My parents wanted to know if I was enjoying school. At best I could say was that school was challenging and very demanding. I believe I will learn a lot by attending school at the Academy.

I was sitting with three of my classmates when a news reporter put a microphone in my face and began to ask me questions about the Academy. I wasn’t sure we were permitted to discuss the school and what took place in the classes. I politely excused myself and asked the first senior classmate I found what to say or do. She told me that she would handle the interview and asked me to say nothing to the reporter. The reporter then asked my upper classmate some questions about the school and rumors that the reporter had heard. He said he was investigating the Academy and wanted to know her thoughts. She looked at the reporter and said that she had been at the school for nearly four years. She had never heard of or experienced anything similar to the rumor he was referencing. She then said, Good day, sir and walked off. As she did, she looked back at me and my friends and signaled us to follow her. She took us to the headmaster and reported the incident. He indicated that he was aware of the