Local (Liberty) Musicians to Honor Fallen Soldiers Posted by mstebbins

Posted 11/15/09

Twin Citiesʼ own Josh Revak of St. Paul, and Eric Nehring of Blaine, will appear on Fox News Channelʼs Mike Huckabee Show on Saturday, Nov. 21st to pay honor to the brave men and women who gave their lives in service of this great nation.

Eric and Josh were the performers at the Northrop Auditorium on February 4, 2008, the night before the caucuses, who opened for Ron Paul with their song, Are We Still Free, and have been active liberty guys here in MN.

The show this coming Saturday will feature an interview with Revak, a two time Purple Heart awarded Iraq War vet, along with a performance of "Empty Boots," his self penned memorial to fallen soldiers. Accompanying them onstage will be fellow Twin Cities musicians Kenny Wilson (Steel Guitar) and Pat Frederick (Fiddle), as well as a host of NYC session musicians. Please tune in to witness these 4 men from Minnesota pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate price for freedom.

Song at February 4, 2008 Rally:

November Open Appointments - extravaganza! Posted by ndillon

Posted 11/05/09

November's list of open appointments to various commissions, boards, advisory councils and other panels that constitute your state government in action is now available at the Secretary of State's website.  There are over 40 pages in this listing because of the sheer number that expire on 31 December.

Somebody once asked why I post these lists since it seems like I'm encouraging the unwieldy bureaucracy that we're all united against.  I post these lists for the simple reason that until we have enough people in Saint Paul to pull the plug on these agencies, we should be serving on them and bringing our principles to the table.  Many of these boards and panels (think: Met Council) oversee the spending of YOUR money - imagine if they had fiscally conservative majorities?  Additionally, they require less time than running for public office, so they may fit better into people's lives who want to affect matters in the public sphere but can't be a legislative candidate due to family and professional commitments.  Finally, serving on these boards helps our campaign for liberty because the members learn about the workings of state government, can help educate the rest of us on what they learn, and gain experience and credentials to perhaps run for office in the future.

The appointing agencies take many factors into consideration when choosing the members, including race, age, gender, education and home town.  So please check the list and consider applying in an area of personal or professional interest.  I did - so can you.

(My application was declined.)

Ron Paul on the Jason Lewis Show 10/21/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 10/26/09

A nice radio appearance by Dr. Paul on the Jason Lewis Show, KTLK 100.3 in Minneapolis/St. Paul:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Y3PbEh-xU

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHWRNgVE6fY

What is a Local Coordinator Posted by Robyn Hamlin

Posted 10/25/09 Last updated 10/17/09

A Local Coordinator is a volunteer who is willing to go door to door in their precinct or neighborhood regarding an issue that affects their neighborhood.  The times that people will go door to door are generally prior to an election to hand out information on candidates or issue that will be on the ballot, when there is a community or neighborhool issue that you want to raise awareness about, or just a neighborhood bar-b-que.  Local Coordinators are the most valuable people to make a change in elections.  There are 180,000 precincts in the country and if we can get 180,000 people who are willing to be Local Coordinators it will be very easy to make a difference in elections.   

For instance, if your county has 30 precincts and you have 25-50 people who agree on something that have stepped up to be Local Coordinators it is very easy to get information to people.  We all are aware of the problems with the talking box (aka television) and newspapers.  Many times they give an opinions and not facts but the people who watch or read them seem to think that they are seeing or hearing facts. 

Let's use the example of a new road.  If a county wants to put in a new road for the benefit of a company in a neighboring county  the currently elected county officials discuss it and how much it will cost.  There are usually a few articles in the local paper about it and maybe a talking head will mention it once or twice.  The request for the funding is put on the municipal ballot and people are asked to vote for or against it.  Just how much information do the voters really have about the issue?  Because this is not really a partisan issue the republican and democratic precinct leaders are probably not going to do any canvassing of their precincts to provide information to the people.  Republican and Democratic precinct leaders mainly canvass to keep or get back their party's power or dominance.  

If there were liberty minded Local Coordinators who would go door to door with information regarding the project the voters would be better informed.  Maybe provide a copy of the budget for the highway that shows where the county intends to get the funds from, information that shows the layout of the proposed road, information about who benefits the most from the road, and information about what property the county will intend to take through emininent domain for the project.  This information is needed by voters to make informed decisions and they are not going to get it from partisan parties so it us up to us, We The People.  The Local Coordinator would also remind people when the election day was and maybe even offer to provide a ride for their neighbors who don't drive.  

The Campaign For Liberty Local Coordinator program has great tools and teaching programs to help people learn about their precinct.  While not necessary they are EXTEMELY helpful as you learn how many voters you have, how many people vote in the general election verses the municipal elections, which way your neighborhood generally votes, etc.  As an active Local Coordinator your neighbors will start to look to you as a source of information after you have canvassed your area a few times.  They will recognize you and most are happy that someone has stepped up and is willing to provide them with information that they don't get from the talking box or dying newspapers.  

How many of you walked your neighborhood to hand out information regarding Ron Paul?  If you could walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding the presidential elections why can't you walk your neighborhood to give out information regarding local issues that directly affect you and your neighbors?  To restore constitutional principles to our country we must to restore order to our local governing bodies.  To make our voices heard we must stand together.  As we work on our local areas as a Local Coordinator we can and will re-awaken the spirit of our country and remind people that what made our country great was less government, not more.  Local elections are extremely important to fix the foundation of our government.

Please join the Campaign For Liberty and become a Local Coordinator in your neighborhood.   If you are a dues-paying member, Click here to complete your enrollment in the Local Coordinator program!  If you are already a Local Coordinator please take advantage of the tools available to you on your dashboard under the Local Coordinator Tools link.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.  You can message me here if your are logged into the Campaign For Liberty site or here if you are not a member yet.  The R3volution continues with people taking action.

Robyn Hamlin
MO CD 1
Interim MO State Co-Coordinator

Ron Paul with Tavis Smiley 10/21/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 10/21/09

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7621pcAR3Kw

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTN19yyKa-E

Ron Paul on Jason Lewis tonight Posted by mstebbins

Posted 10/21/09 Last updated 10/21/09

From Jason's Facebook page:

"Rep. Ron Paul expected to join the show tonight to talk about politics and his new book "End the Fed"."

Jason's show begins at 5 p.m. CT (4 pm ET) and may be heard via the internets at KTLK MSP. (Or call your local station to request that Jason Lewis' show be added.  He's a pretty decent liberty guy almost up to the point of siding with us on the war.)

Student Town Hall w/ Rep. Ron Paul & Rep. Michele Bachmann Posted by Terry McCall

Posted 10/12/09 Last updated 10/05/09

Here's some Links from YAL and YouTube: "The event received incredible media attention, including a front page story from the Minneapolis Star Tribune!"

http://www.youtube.com/user/YALiberty

Star Tribune: Big turnout for the little Texan: Ron Paul at the U

http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/61590702.html?page=1&c=y

Minneasota Public Radio: Paul, Bachmann seek common ground at U of M rally

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/09/25/bachmann-paul/

Pioneer Press: Bachmann, Paul talk freedom vs. out of control government at U rally

http://www.twincities.com/allheadlines/ci_13423772?nclick_check=1

KARE: Bachmann, Paul join forces to address U of M students

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=825125&catid=391

The Hill: Bachmann, Paul co-host town hall event

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/60425-bachmann-paul-co-host-town-hal
l-event

Minnesota Daily: At the U, Paul and Bachmann question Washington's corruption

http://www.mndaily.com/2009/09/27/u-paul-and-bachmann-question-washington%E2%80%99s-c
orruption

Before the event the campus police allowed about 100 protesters into the display area, then all but escorted them down to the first few rows before our supporters even entered the hall.  I got mad and confronted the Cop Mgr.,  telling her  1)  We are for Liberty.  We think it's fine that people are outside to protest, but why are you letting them inside and blocking what we are trying to do (e.g. People had paid money to have tables at the event.)?  2)  We would never be allowed near one of their events, much less inside.  She blew me off saying, "You have a free public event.  These people can go where ever they want to."

We were nervous that one of them would provoke an incident.  After warning our folks on stage, I found the head cop and told her, "If something happens, It's on you!"  Nothing bad happened; quite the contrary.  The lefty partisans were there to push ObamaCare.  They just didn't get it.  "Why is Bachmann here with Ron Paul?" 

Dr. Paul, as usual, totally disarmed them.  He said that, "We have been in Afghanistan 50% longer than WW1 & WW2 combined", and "They are now at the G20 planning on going to war with Iran."  So much for the anti-war candidate Obama and his mistaken minions.

More interesting is that some of these people came out scratching their heads and actually started to listen to what we were saying about the dangers of the Federal Reserve.  It was an amazing evening.  Heck, we may have made some converts on the left.

Ron Paul Foreign Policy Speech 9/30/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 10/05/09 Last updated 10/07/09

Dr. Paul opposes HR 3642, the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDLIMRC65WE

Student Town Hall with Dr Paul and Rep Bachmann a Rousing Success! Posted by mstebbins

Posted 09/26/09 Last updated 09/26/09

Over 2,000 people of all ages and backgrounds piled into the Northrop Auditorium last night for a student town hall meeting with MN Congresswoman Bachmann and Dr Paul, hosted by Young Americans for Liberty.  The crowd included several legislators and gubernatorial candidates, and Tony Sutton, MN GOP Chair, even said a few words.

While the thrust of the event centered on monetary policy and Federal Reserve shenanigans, Dr Paul included his timeless message of liberty, noninterventionism, and the failed war on drugs, giving the more traditional Republicans food for thought.  Even the very confused protestors, despite of their best intentions, had a great time and couldn't hold back their applause.

So good to see everyone there!

(And if anyone has video of the event, please post here.  As usual, I didn't get to see more than half.)

UPDATE:  Here's video of just RP's speech.  If there's any additional out there, do post.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YleZcGvr5UQ

My Public Statement to Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) 09/22/2009 Posted by BeTheWheel

Posted 09/25/09

On September 22, 2009, Congressman Tim Walz was supposed to be at the county library in Fairmont, MN to meet with his constituents in our area.  Due to other obligations in Washington, Congressman Walz was unable to attend but sent two members of his staff in his stead, Mr. Rick Howden and Ms. Ann Spicer.  The following is the text of the statement I intended to make to Congressman Walz directly but instead made to his staff members and the others present:

Congressman Walz, thank you for coming today and welcome to Fairmont.  With all the talk about healthcare reform, I'd first like to applaud you for co-sponsoring what I feel is the most important legislation currently in the works in Washington, which is HR 1207, the bill to audit the Federal Reserve.

Mayer Rothschild, who was founder of the Rothschild family international banking dynasty, and was listed by Forbes magazine as one of the "Twenty Most Influential Businessmen of All Time", said "Give me control of a nation's money and I care not who makes the laws."  No truer words could have been spoken when you look at our current monetary system in the United States.  Our Constitution gave authority to regulate the value of our money to Congress, and demanded that the money in circulation be backed by things with value such as gold and silver.  The dollar bills you and I have in our pockets used to say "Gold Certificate" or "Silver Certificate" on them.  It was basically a receipt that said you owned a dollar's worth of gold or silver.  That is what gave the piece of paper in your hand value.   When the Congress printed more money, they paid no interest on it. 

Thanks to the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, Congress has handed over this Constitutional obligation to a secretive board of private bankers and created an institution more powerful than any of our elected offices, including the Presidency.  Besides the fact that nowhere in the Constitution does it give Congress the authority to relinquish their Constitutional obligation to any other body such as the Federal Reserve,  we have allowed Congress a clever way to acquire funds for every government program under the sun without having the ask We The People for it first.  Whenever they spend too much money, they borrow money from foreign countries, and the Fed prints money out of thin air to cover the shortfall.  Then we are told as citizens, we must do our patriotic duty and pay our taxes.

Now, we're supposed to believe that the paper in our pocket is the actual money.  That paper now says "Federal Reserve Note".  It is exactly that, a note.  It is something that we owe, rather than own.  And now, I have read that every baby born in America today, before it even takes its first breath of air, owes somewhere in the ballpark of $30,000 of our national debt.  And that is only based on obligations we've already incurred.  I have also read, when you factor in future entitlements to which our government has obligated the taxpayers, the number reaches closer to $200,000.  When the government reaches its debt ceiling, they simply raise the debt ceiling. 

I am no economist, but even I know the more paper dollars we have in circulation, the less they are worth.  When the Fed prints more and more money out of thin air, meaning it is not backed by anything of real value, it makes every dollar that you or I carry in our pockets worth less than it was before.  This is inflation, and there is no one that is harmed more by inflation than those who already have a hard time making ends meet.  So, government programs intended to help the poor, inevitably harm the very people they are intended to help when the government has no money to pay for the program and inflationary monetary policy is employed.  It is a hidden tax that no one talks about.  It is irresponsible as well as immoral.  Even Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has admitted to Congress, under oath, that inflation is a hidden tax that primarily harms the poor.  We have evolved from an economy based on capitalism and free enterprise to a mostly fraudulent economy that is based on consumer spending and easy credit and would be more accurately described as corporatism or economic fascism than capitalism.  This is made possible by a central banking system that protects all of its Wall Street friends from the consequences of ineptitude and risky business practices and has indebted future generations of Americans by encouraging all of us to not live within our means.  Well, what happens when foreign countries no longer wish to loan us money because we continue to pay them back with increasingly worthless U.S. dollars, ultimately resulting in a collapse of the U.S. dollar? 

We have already heard rumblings coming out of the UN of a new international currency.  Well, let me revisit the words of Mr. Rothschild.  "Give me control of a nation's money, and I care not who makes the laws".  If those words are frightening as they apply to our current monetary system, imagine if we operated under an international monetary system controlled by private bankers.  It's no wonder that even though we hear the campaign slogan of "change" every four years regardless of which political party happens to be in opposition, we never see any change.  If continued government growth and intervention into our financial, medical, and personal lives is what we want, then I guess our government is operating to perfection.

If liberty is what we desire, then I feel it is time to start holding our representatives accountable to their oaths of office, which is simply to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.  If we do that, then many of the other debates we are currently having become irrelevant.  We as a people will only have the freedoms and liberties that we are willing to fight for.  History has proven that.  It is up to us, not just Congressman Walz and his colleagues. 

Once again, Congressman Walz, I applaud you for cosponsoring HR 1207 to audit the Federal Reserve, and I ask that you continue to fight to make sure that this bill passes the House and eventually is signed by President Obama so that we can finally find out where all of our money is going.  You no doubt will meet heavy opposition from outside special interests in this fight.  I also ask that you simply uphold your oath of office to defend and protect our Constitution.  It is the moral and honorable thing to do.  You certainly will never make everyone happy by doing this, but you will never need to defend yourself for doing what is moral and honorable, which is to honor your oath.  There are thousands who will support you in that effort. 

The Constitution, and in particular the Bill of Rights, was written to restrain the power and scope of government, not to grant powers to it.  We are a Constitutional Republic, not a pure democracy.  That means there are certain things the government may not do, regardless of how many votes they can muster in the House or the Senate or how much favor and goodwill they enjoy in the court of public opinion.  The power of the government is derived from the consent of the governed.  In order to expand the power of the government beyond its constitutional limitations, We The People must give our consent through our elected representatives by amending our Constitution.  We, the governed, have consented to too much unconstitutional intervention into our lives, and as government has grown out of control over the decades, we are now subjected, on a daily basis, to government interventions into our lives to which we never consented. 

There is one verbal commitment I would ask that you would make to all of us here today, Congressman Walz.  It is no secret anymore that Congress often passes legislation without even reading the bills prior to voting.  This is unacceptable and indefensible.  I would ask that you make a vow to personally not vote for any legislation that you have not personally read and of which you have not had sufficient opportunity to obtain a thorough understanding, and that you will fight to prevent a vote on any legislation if you have reason to believe that your colleagues have also not done so.  Other than an imminent threat to our national security, there is nothing that you will ever vote on that is so urgent as to require such irresponsible and hasty measures.

In times like these, I believe it to be proper to seek counsel from the wisdom of our founding fathers, and I'd like to close with a couple of quotes that I believe are relevant to the issues of today.

The first is from Thomas Jefferson, and I'm assuming this statement was made sometime after the creation of America's first central bank, which I believe was name the First Bank of the United States, and was later dismantled.  Jefferson said, "The Central Bank is an institution of the most deadly hostility existing against the principles and form of our Constitution. . . . I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the Government at defiance. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs. If the American people ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."

  In order to climb out of the hole we are in, we must first stop digging.  We often hear talk of reaching across party lines, and setting aside partisan politics in the name of "getting things done".  Unfortunately, "getting things done" usually means further shackling our kids and grandkids with the financial burdens of our generation's irresponsibility.  Rather than uniting to "get something done", it is time We The People set aside our partisan politics and unite in the name of Liberty.  We have created a huge mess because of our willingness to allow all of the governing to take place in Washington.  We must return to the guidance of the Constitution and the principles of self-government.  The concept of self-government means that we have the right to govern our own lives without government interference as long we do not interfere with the rights of others to do the same.  For those that believe the Constitution is outdated and no longer meets the needs of today, let us remember that autocratic rule and oppression are as old as history itself.  In the grand scope of history, liberty and self-government are still in their infancy, but are sadly on life support.  Our founders called our system of government the "Great Experiment" in a time when Thomas Paine said, "We have it in our power to begin the world over again."  Does it really only take 200 years for the concept of liberty to lose its luster?  What would those who sacrificed so much to create something never before seen in history say about what we have done to our country?  Our early patriots revolted over a 1 cent tax on tea, yet the tax burden that we now bear is staggering in comparison. 

Thomas Paine said, "If there be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace".  Well, we have trouble in our day.  I pray to God that we will choose to find a remedy that does not further burden the generations of those who do not yet have a voice.  Will posterity refer to us as the generation that reignited the torch of liberty, or will they look back on us with contempt for leaving behind a legacy of lost liberties, indebtedness, and corruption?  I believe the answer to that question lies not in Washington, D.C., but with We The People.  An understanding of true freedom and liberty requires an ability to respect the differences of others and a willingness to allow others to pursue happiness in any way they choose as long as it does not interfere with the rights of anyone else to do the same.  It requires a willingness to refrain from imposing your beliefs or your goodness on others.  I believe that message, if delivered properly, is a powerful one and one that needs to be delivered now more than ever. 

Troy Stenzel

Fairmont, MN

Update: 'Health care unequivocally not a right' Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 09/21/09 Last updated 09/21/09

Over the last couple of weeks, I've participated in a letter-to-the-editor exchange with a local high school social studies teacher on the subject of government-provided health care. (My previous blog post, Health care is unequivocally not a right, which was featured on the Campaign for Liberty front page on September 11, includes both letters.)

Scott Urban's reply to me was published on September 17, where he argued that the Golden Rule should apply to health care:

Either health care is an unalienable right or it is unequivocally not a right. We have a choice.

This is the fundamental argument underlying the health care reform debate today. How we, as a people, respond shall determine the well-being of countless future generations of yet unborn citizens.

Which vision for America's future do you embrace?

I presented my liberal vision (published Sept. 4) and Jon Kovaciny delivered his conservative rebuttal, published Friday.

I was saddened to read on the eighth anniversary of the greatest act of terror in American history, that some had forgotten how our neighbors and our government rallied to aid those who lost everything. The better angels of our national character inspired Americans to "do unto others as you would have others do unto you."

This powerful concept eloquently describes a universal ethic of reciprocity. The Golden Rule motivated our nation after 9/11 to care for each other and today it inspires the crusading spirit of health care reform. Those who share this ideal, recognize the unalienable right to medical care and a shared social responsibility to ensure equal human rights for all.

As a liberal, I believe that our neighbors should be treated with equal consideration, equal respect, equal compassion and equal medical care.

We, the people, are the government. We are our neighbor's keepers in times of war and peace. We made that irrevocable commitment with the radification [sic] of the Constitution.

Today, my liberal conscience demands all Americans have healthcare at all times and in all ways, regardless of their wealth. What do you think?

What is your conscience telling you?

I couldn't leave it at that, of course, so I sent in my reply right away, which is published in today's issue. Unlike last time, the editors didn't make any changes to my submission.

In his Your View reply published Friday, Scott Urban implied that my disapproval of government-provided health care indicates a selfish and uncaring attitude toward those in need. He also neglected to answer a single point I raised.

Urban chains together these words: consideration, respect, compassion, medical care. The first three are worthy attitudes we should all hold; the fourth is an action. It is our individual responsibility to act on these attitudes in the form of charitable giving and volunteerism.

Delegating this responsibility to the government is neither charitable nor truly compassionate: If I take $100 from my neighbor and give it away, that is not my compassion at work, but my desire to seize his money for a cause I support. Interposing a layer or two of government doesn't magically make it ethical, regardless of how noble the cause or how "selfish" my neighbor appears. Perhaps my neighbor would rather donate that $100 elsewhere, or employ someone for a day, or even purchase something, which employs others.

It is not the government's role to decide what our actions should be and impose them. Nor is it the beneficiary's right to receive any generosity, it is their blessing. We should exchange needed support through family, friends, and charitable institutions. The government's so-called "safety net" has eroded these important community connections and depersonalized the acts of giving and receiving. This depersonalization makes it easy to ask for help when one doesn't sincerely need it, which leads to overuse and dependency.

I suggest that Urban, along with all voters, read Col. Davy Crockett's 1884 speech to Congress, "Not Yours to Give", and view "The Philosophy of Liberty" on jonathangullible.com.

Credit where it's due: a couple of passages in my letter were originally written by a friend who gave his permission to reuse them.

The speech and video I to which I referred: Not Yours to Give and The Philosophy of Liberty.

The Prophetic Patrick Henry Posted by chuckp123

Posted 09/12/09 Last updated 09/11/09

I was recently reading through some of the Anti-Federalist papers. Being aware that Patrick Henry was an Anti-Federalist, I knew that he was an outstanding advocate for minimal government. However, I was unfamiliar with his speeches in opposition to the Federalist’s desire to abandon the Articles of Confederation in favor of a new constitution. As I was reading his speech to the Virginia Ratifying Convention on June 5, 1788, I became increasingly impressed with his foresight and skepticism of Hamilton’s “energetic” central government. Here were some of his best excerpts:

You are not to inquire how your trade may be increased, nor how you are to become a great and powerful people, but how your liberties can be secured; for liberty ought to be the direct end of your Government.

Here Henry is alluding to the classic argument between Collectivism and Individualism. Hamilton had been coming forth with several arguments for the increase in power of the central government in areas such as commerce and interstate trade. Appalled at these recommendations, Patrick Henry reminds the Federalists that the only purpose, if any, for government is to ensure that the people remain free, not that they try to regulate the ways in which the people exercise their freedom.

The Confederation; this same despised Government, merits, in my opinion, the highest encomium: It carried us through a long and dangerous war: It rendered us victorious in that bloody conflict with a powerful nation: It has secured us a territory greater than any European Monarch possesses: And shall a Government which has been thus strong and vigorous, be accused of imbecility and abandoned for want of energy?

This is another shot across Hamilton’s bow. Henry is making a very valid argument against the idea of a strong central militia. Hamilton argues in Federalist #29 that a standing army is necessary for national security, and that the citizens have no reason to fear a standing army out of concern for their liberties (although these fears were clearly justified just six years later when Washington and Hamilton marched an army up to Pennsylvania to put down the Whiskey Rebellion). Of course, an army with the purpose of keeping citizens in check is incompatible with any notion of freedom. As Jefferson stated, “When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

It is also worth noting that the American colonies, prior to the revolution, had no organized central military, other than the one instituted by England.  When freedom was at stake, the people defended it willingly.  Conscription and powerful standing armies are unnecessary in a free and peaceful country.

I mean, when it says that there shall not be more representatives than one for every thirty thousand. Now, sir, how easy is it to evade this privilege! “The number shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand.” This may be satisfied by one representative from each state. Let our numbers be ever so great, this immense continent may, by this artful expression, be reduced to have but thirteen representatives. I confess this construction is not natural; but the ambiguity of the expression lays a good ground for a quarrel. Why was it not clearly and unequivocally expressed, that they should be entitled to have one for every thirty thousand?

This is another demonstration of Henry’s foresight. He rightfully points out that the misleading wording in the proposed constitution would set a lower limit on the representative-per-citizen ratio, but would leave no upper bound. So effectively, the constitution could allow for there to be no more than one representative per state if the powers-that-be so desired. If we had one representative per 30,000 people, the legislators would be closer to the electing citizens, so would better represent them. If you do the math, you will realize that with the current 300 million American citizens, there would be 10,000 representatives in Washington. Some may protest: “With that many representatives, the federal government would never be able to do anything!” Exactly! Imagine how ineffective lobbyists would be in the House. It would be nearly impossible to mobilize that many legislators towards a means of further legislating away our freedoms for special favors.

Of course, in the current system, Senators would still be vulnerable to the efforts of special interests, but this problem would be greatly rectified if the Seventeenth Amendment were overturned. This would put the election of Senators back into the hands of state legislatures, rather than popular election. By keeping Senators accountable to state legislatures, Senatorial power would be held in check by the desire of state legislatures to maintain state sovereignty, effectively decentralizing federal power.

We are told that we need not fear; because those in power, being our representatives, will not abuse the powers we put in their hands. I am not well versed in history, but I will submit to your recollection, whether liberty has been destroyed most often by the licentiousness of the people, or by the tyranny of rulers. I imagine, sir, you will find the balance on the side of tyranny.

This quote speaks for itself. Leaders, whether democratically elected or not, will always desire power. No matter their intentions, government officials will always exercise their monopoly on violence to assume our personal rights with the intention of protecting us from ourselves. This is, of course, incompatible with any notion of a republic.

Throughout his anti-Federalist writings, Patrick Henry makes several fantastic arguments against a strong central government. Although the Anti-Federalists ultimately lost their fight against the new Constitution, we still have them to thank for the Bill of Rights. Their arguments in favor of sovereignty from the federal government are perhaps more important today than they ever have been. I would strongly encourage anyone interested in these issues to read more of their writings.

*I have also posted this to my infrequently-updated, sorry excuse for a blog at blog.mybigtop.com.

Health care is unequivocally not a right Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 09/12/09 Last updated 09/17/09

The following letter to the editor was published in my hometown newspaper last week:

As a progressive liberal, I believe health care to be an unalienable American right. All United States citizens are endowed with this natural human birthright. Our republic was founded upon the principle of equal justice and equal opportunity. Justice demands that our federal government fulfill this fundamental obligation and ensure that every American citizen has the opportunity to receive the very best medical care available.

All Americans, from a newly-born child to an aging baby boomer, deserve equal opportunity to live and enjoy safe, meaningful and healthy lives. Working together, with unselfish hearts and open minds, we can guarantee that the life and health of every member of our community be equally respected, equally valued and equally protected.

In our democracy, the federal government has a historic responsibility to care for the welfare of all of its citizens, regardless of their wealth or income, race or ethnicity, religion or nationality, gender or sexual orientation, ability or disability.

In 1776, the Declaration of Independence founded our nation on the right to live a purposeful life. In 1789, the Constitution committed our government to care for the common welfare of all citizens. In 1865, Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address called for malice toward none and charity for all of our fellow citizens.

Today, the time has come for all true American patriots to come together to establish universal health care. It is our moral responsibility and our sacred duty to build upon the legacy of our founding brothers to forge a more perfect and a more healthy national union.

I replied with the following letter:

In his September 4 letter, Mr. Urban attempted to connect government-provided health care to natural rights and our nation's founding documents. His letter was littered with noble-sounding words and emotional appeals, but wholly inaccurate.

Health care is unequivocally not a right. It's especially not an American right, as Urban stated several times. Are those living in other countries somehow less worthy? Life, liberty, and property are rights; health care is a responsibility. Don't confuse the two.

Unlike rights, health care (and other goods and services) must be provided by someone. I have no more right to free health services than I would to a free shopping cart full of groceries. Whether I need a dozen eggs or an MRI, it is my responsibility to pay for them. If you need eggs or an MRI, please don't use the government to forcibly and anonymously extract money from me to pay for what you've received. Government "charity" is not charity at all, and it has destroyed real charity and created a permanent class of dependents.

Urban appealed to the Constitution's ‘general welfare' clause to legitimize federal provision of health services. This clause is a common excuse for government to do nearly anything it wants, as someone always benefits whenever the government hands out other people's money. ‘General welfare' is not doing nice things for individuals, but for the good of the Union as a whole.

The Constitution does not and cannot grant fundamental rights, nor can any document or proclamation-it instead prohibits our government from interfering with the rights that all people already have. It is this that made America unique and allowed liberty to flourish.

Which was edited (weakening it, I believe) by the paper's editors and published today:

In his Your View published Sept. 4, Scott Urban attempted to connect government-provided health care to natural rights and our nation's founding documents. His letter was littered with noble-sounding words and emotional appeals, but was wholly inaccurate, in my opinion.

Health care is unequivocally not a right. It's especially not an American right, as Urban stated several times. Are those living in other countries somehow less worthy? Life, liberty, and property are rights; health care is a responsibility. Don't confuse the two. Unlike rights, health care (and other goods and services) must be provided by someone. I have no more right to free health services than I would to a free shopping cart full of groceries. Whether I need a dozen eggs or an MRI, it is my responsibility to pay for them. If you need eggs or an MRI, please don't use the government to forcibly and anonymously extract money from me to pay for what you've received.

Government "charity" is not charity at all, and it has destroyed real charity and created a permanent class of dependents. Urban appealed to the Constitution's general welfare clause to legitimize federal provision of health services. This clause is a common excuse for government to do nearly anything it wants, as someone always benefits whenever the government hands out other people's money. General welfare is not doing nice things for individuals, but for the good of the Union as a whole.

The Constitution does not and cannot grant fundamental rights, nor can any document or proclamation - it instead prohibits our government from interfering with the rights that all people already have. It is this that made America unique and allowed liberty to flourish.

Ah well, at least it got published.

Among others, I received this message from a friend this morning (hopefully they won't mind me posting it here):

I read your letter to the Editor this morning, and I understand where you are coming from. I challenge you, though, to really look at the people who want to take responsibility for their health care but have no means to. This is not a question of wanting to take responsibility, but rather being able to afford to take responsibility.

You have a large family, and luckily you have a great job working for [my employer]. I'm sure you have nice benefits as well. But you can't tell me that you and [my wife] never struggled to make ends meet? And that's with both of you having college degrees. I challenge you to think of the people not like you. To think of the people who work unskilled jobs and make minimum wage. They cannot afford health care, and if they become sick-- well, it really is debt or death.

Having the government step does not mean limitation of freedom. The government was set up for a purpose. Just like social security was set up for a purpose. Don't be afraid, Jon. Life is not black and white. Even though you are 30 something, I still challenge you to really look at poverty in America and not so much what Health Care Reform can do for you-- but what it can do for our country.

You are a smart man. Look beyond yourself.

To which I replied:

I would have addressed your points in my letter but it's limited to 275 words by the Free Press--not a lot of space to make a convincing argument for anything. Also, they added "in my opinion" to the second sentence (as if anything in the LTTE section isn't an opinion) and re-paragraphed my letter in such a way that several of my points were broken up and other points were uncomfortably combined.

You mention Social Security, so I'll address that first. Social Security (like Medicare) is a giant Ponzi scheme that has only persisted thus far because it has been continually expanded. There is no actual money in the Social Security 'trust fund'. It will soon fail. In addition, it teaches people to rely on government (i.e. other taxpayers) for their support in old age, rather than making a concerted effort to save and/or having many children for support. Because people have fewer children as a result, there are fewer new taxpayers to support the aging population. People save less and spend more, consuming resources and leaving less money available for retirement.

More to the main point of your letter, I certainly *am* thinking of people less fortunate than me. They should be seeking support from their family, friends, churches, neighbors, charities, etc. When the government provides charity or a 'safety net' for people, it completely erodes these important community connections and depersonalizes the act of asking for support and the act of giving support. This depersonalization also makes it easy to ask for help when you don't *really* need it, which leads to abuse and overuse. Additionally, the government has no real incentive to get people off the dole and back on their own, while a personal donor does. The 'War on Poverty' has been running for decades, and we still have just as many poor people even though we've spent hundreds of billions of dollars. All of the tax money needed to pay for that has a tendency to drive more people toward government support, since they have less money of their own to begin with.

I currently have a $1200 bill to pay for an ultrasound and x-ray examination of my daughter's kidneys, all done in under 2 hours. At least half of that cost is due to well-intentioned government intervention. If I had any idea of the cost before the procedure was done, I would have sought a second opinion first and possibly pursued other, cheaper methods.

There is an amazing amount of government in our health care system already, including health insurance mandates, Medicare, Medicaid, VA, Indian Health Service, myriad regulations of all drugs, medical equipment, and services, personnel licensing requirements, etc., etc. Complying with these regulations is terrifically expensive and makes health care unaffordable; it also makes costs rise much faster than the general rate of inflation. Government wage controls during WWII led employers to add health benefits to attract employees, which coupled insurance to employment, which causes all sorts of problems and makes insurance unaffordable for the self-employed and those with part time jobs. (And it forces people to stay in jobs they hate so they don't lose benefits.)

Insurance companies, when they operate free from the government intervention that changes them from what they should be--insurers against catastrophic loss--into byzantine third-party payment systems (what we have in health insurance today), are the ultimate safety net.

Adding more government complexity to the mix will not improve what would otherwise be a simple and affordable system if the government would just get out of the way. If car insurance were run the same way as health insurance, we'd be crying for national car insurance reform right now, too. You'd need a full time job to get car insurance, and the govt would require all insurance plans to cover gasoline, oil changes, and repairs. All mechanics would have to be certified by a state board. You'd have no idea how much an oil change cost, but it wouldn't matter because the government would be paying for it. Etc.

I encourage you to read Hazlitt's "Economics in One Lesson", online here: http://jim.com/econ/ It was key to my recently-developed passion for economics (passionate? for economics? weird, I know!) and laid the foundation for my political activism.

Thanks for writing, and thanks for reading my reply.

Now I'm going to have to put in a few hours this weekend to make up for lost time at work! Besides, I need to earn a lot of money to help pay for everyone else's health care! :D

UPDATE September 17, 2009 - After I asked my friend about responding, I got this:

I see where you are coming from, though I whole-heartidly disagree. Unfortunetly, It is 11:18 [p.m.] and my brain is fried. I still have to [complete a work project] by 8:30am tomorrow morning. I would give you a response this weekend, but I work [second job] both Saturday and Sunday.

So I don't know if I'll respond to your points. But I do respond with this: I like that you stand strong by what you believe. But I still, and always will, push my conservative friends to look behind their bubble. Look beyond the hand you were delt. And approach everything with the attitude of "how will this help the greater good" as opposed to "how much is this going to cost me."
Okay-- time to dive into [work project].

I think I'll need a bit more time on this one.

Digg Dialogg: Timothy Geithner Posted by Motobike man

Posted 08/21/09

I have the 3rd highest dugg question that will be asked of Timothy Geithner by the Wall Street Journal Managing Editor Alan Murray.  The interview will be available on Tuesday Aug 25th.

My question?  About Audit the Fed of course

Click here to see the list of questions

A S604 Letter to my Senator Posted by barney

Posted 08/05/09

Senator Klobuchar:

I am writing to encourage you to become a cosponsor for S604 the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act. HR1207 (the House version of the bill) has 282 cosponsors and S604 has 23 cosponsors. There is clearly a lot of support for auditing the Federal Reserve as they continue to operate with tremendous unchecked power.

Since the creation of The Federal Reserve, it has completely destroyed the value of our dollar. The American dollar is only worth four cents compared to the dollar of 1913. This is a lot of lost purchasing power and has Ben Bernanke has correctly stated inflation is a tax.

Inflation may be good for people who directly receive it, but is very harmful to the lower and middle class who don't. It is an up hill battle for middle class families to maintain their standard of living when they have to pay ever increasing prices for groceries and energy.

This inflation has other effects beside price increases; it also causes Americans to behave more risky. Americans are encouraged to not save, they have to either use their money for consumption or put it in financial instruments. Do you see anything wrong with this situation? Why Americans can't simply save their money? They are forced, basically through government policy (low interest rates), to give it to Wall Street where god only know what can happen to it.

It is time Americans knew what is going on at the Federal Reserve as their is a lot of mischief going on there, Other Central Banks, Wall Street, and Goldman Sacs. We are currently in crisis of confidence and cosponsoring S604 is certainly a step in the right direction.

In Liberty

Oberstar has signed onto 1207! Posted by mstebbins

Posted 08/03/09

That's a bit of a pleasant surprise.  6/8 in Minnesota!

We will be hitting our Senators hard while they're off on summer break this month.  Be ready to start making those calls.

The upcoming MN budget shortfall in historical perspective Posted by KenAnderson

Posted 08/03/09 Last updated 08/02/09

It's not news to any observant Minnesotan that we are experiencing a period of revenue retraction; forecasts for the 2012-2013 biennium presently assume no massive Federal stimulus injection and we're hearing of future shortfall compared to present spending levels, to the tune of 5 or 6 billion dollars biennially. I think we all agree that in the name of fiscal sanity on the Federal level another massive stimulus must not occur, and that the states must learn to make do with less. All of this will come to fruition with a new Governor at the helm in the spring of 2011, and hopefully a more balanced legislature; it's difficult to imagine either chamber growing more politically imbalanced than presently, in these difficult economic times. The Big Govt camp is calling for more revenue intake by one means or another; it is my opinion that the best way to do ourselves and our fellow MN'ans the service of fending that off is to present this in historical perspective, and if possible be united with one message, one plan- rather than a thousand different schemes for reducing govt size. Many MN'ans fear general talk of greatly reduced spending, and I think will take comfort in a more detailed plan that doesn't differ much from the levels and priorities we assigned not all that long ago, rather than a spending reduction plan that carries us even further into previously uncharted territory, as much of the reshifting in priorities of the past decade or so have done.

For starters, MN General Fund Expenditures, 1960-2008, figures adjusted for both inflation & population growth (the actual 1960 GF expenditure was only 1/4 billion for example, and the actual 2008 GF expenditure was just a shade over 17 billion, everything on the graph is expressed in '00 dollars per ~5 million people, the pop. that year):

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=1c2673ff39cadca061d4646c62b381cbe04e75f6e8ebb871

What should be clear is that there was a period of steady govt growth through most of the sixties during the Freeman(D)/Andersen(R)/Rolvaag(D) administrations; this led into the 1967 implementation of a state sales tax that produced roughly a decade of the most wild growth in state govt in this time period from the 68-69 biennium through the 76-77 biennium, with LeVander(R) at the helm for those first two biennial budgets and Anderson(D) for the final three in that period. Across those 5 biennia state GF spending increased to 2.5 times its '67 level even after allowing for pop. growth and inflation. From there we entered an extended period of very slight growth in govt beginning with the '78-79 biennium all the way through the '92-93 budget; Perpich(D) was the governor for the first of those 8 biennial budgets, then Quie(R) for the next two, Perpich back in office for the next four, and finally Carlson(R) for the last. For the remainder of the nineties and just into this century govt again experienced a very significant growth spurt through 3 more Carlson budgets and one Ventura budget, '00-01, which was set in '99 before the big tech crash. The '01 and the '03 spending set on Ventura's watch represent the two peak years in state expenditure in our history when the aforementioned adjustments are in place.

Tim Pawlenty was elected in '02 and oversaw the '04-05 budgeting process (in spring '03) and all of those since. As you can see from the chart, he did put an end to that growth period and settled things back down more or less to the level Arne Carlson had left office at. While I don't believe Governor Pawlenty is overwhelmingly popular among liberty-minded citizens of any political stripe, it should nevertheless be said that to his credit he did put a lid on state govt growth in general. Where the liberty-minded, limited govt folks would and should take issue, on the other hand, is in the directions and priorities assigned; where he cut and where he allowed further growth to continue. But I'm going to save that for a follow-up post soon, below this blog entry, where the breakdown in GF spending (since '92, I can't find the details in the GF picture from earlier budgets) gets a more detailed examination, and for the moment I'd simply submit in general terms that the upcoming cuts necessary to avoid revenue increases more or less involve stepping back further in time to Carlson's first budget, '92 spending levels. My position is that we had good, workable state govt then, if anything too big- historically huge compared to a couple decades earlier- we weren't exactly suffering from too-small govt in 1992, they weren't the dark ages, we were most certainly not immersed in anarchy by any means. Therefore I would recommend we sell something very similar to those budgets, as opposed to furthering some of the more negative shifts we've implemented since. But more on that in a day or two. In the meantime, comments very welcome, I'd love to hear input whether in agreement or otherwise.

Short clip from Ellison's Town Hall Mtg Saturday Posted by mstebbins

Posted 08/02/09

Thanks to Mike Boguszewski for the video:

If anyone else captured video, pleast post!

FreedomFest Debate featuring Tom Woods Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 07/27/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoK1uWmCXVM

Printable petitions for S.604 and H.R. 1207 to Audit the Fed Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 07/12/09 Last updated 07/09/09

Download a 10-line petition to gather signatures for S.604 and H.R. 1207, bills to audit the Federal Reserve. More information about these bills is available from the Campaign for Liberty's Audit the Fed page.

This petition has 10 lines per page, making it easy to count number of signatures when you have multiple pages to submit. The full petition text is at the top of each page so that it is clear that people knew what they were signing.

The files are two-page documents, which makes it easier to set up two-sided printing. If you will be printing one-sided pages, just print half the number of copies you need.

S.604 Federal Reserve Sunshine Act (submit to your Senators)

• PDF format
• Microsoft Word format
• Open Document format

H.R.1207 Federal Reserve Transparency Act (submit to your Representative)

• PDF format
• Microsoft Word format
• Open Document format

We used this petition to gather over 400 signatures in three days. Our Representative signed on as a cosponsor within a week.

To get signatures quickly, visit public places like busy parks and recreation areas, apartment buildings, and public universities. In most jurisdictions, you should legally be able to collect signatures from pedestrians on public sidewalks and other public lands. Go where the people are!

Peterson Turns Back on Minnesotans ...Again Posted by lexslexus

Posted 07/08/09 Last updated 07/27/09

Just when you hoped that he hadn't completely lost touch with the Minnesotans that placed him in office, Representative Collin Peterson voted for the Waxman/Markey global warming tax.  It became clear in April that he's intent on shedding the "blue dog" label when he supported Obama's deficit-saturated budget.  That was a complete reversal after stating, "And I can tell you even if they fixed the ag thing and took it all out of there, I am not going to vote for a budget with a $1.75 trillion deficit.  I don't give a damn what's in it.  It ain't going to happen."  So maybe it was overly optimistic to now expect him to side with farmers whose livlihoods rely on several affordable, although politcially incorrect, energy sources.

Perhaps if the voters of Minnesota's 7th Congressional District had been of a mind to use the heavy hand of government to enforce the will of an aggressive lobby, Peterson could cite "the will of the people" as his guiding principle.  However, a June 29th Rasmussen poll finds that just 35% of Americans say they support paying anything extra for clean energy.  Even more telling (those putting their money where their mouth is) has been the popularity of a local experiment; of the more than 16,000 Moorhead Public Service customers, less than 4% are willing to subsidize its wind energy program with a 1/2 cent premium per KwH.

Unfortunately, it's hard to decifer the truth when listening to Rep. Peterson.  Here's what he said about Markey/Waxman just weeks before supporting it, "I will not support any kind of climate change bill... I don't care.  Even if you fix this."  I'm pretty sure Minnesotans would have a little more integrity and truthfulness.  I, for one, hope Peterson suddenly remembers his constituents when he's pressured to hamstring our health care industry further through yet another Washington power grab.

My response to a Bloomberg article Posted by barney

Posted 07/08/09

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aTKrn1jUJwdE

I sent this letter to the author to let him know there are deficit critical economists that are speaking out and he should include their point of view in his articles.

Kevin,

I liked your article about deficits, but disagree with your comment about, "Where are the economists with such character today?"  These men might not be in Obama's cabinet, but they do exist.  Peter Schiff, Jim Rogers, Marc Faber, and many others have gone to great lengths to criticize these deficits and explain how they will only slow recovery.  I think there is a lot of added value to including their points of view in future articles.

In Liberty

thanks! Posted by CeliaScheer

Posted 07/06/09

Way to go, guys!
We rocked on the 4th.

For those not there, to the left of us were the democrats, across from us were the republicans. Our booth had more visitors than the democrats and republicans PUT TOGETHER.... and times two or even three...! That's only counting until the early evening because the dems folded up at 6, the republican held out until 7. Of course, that's when the people really started coming into the park.

Thanks to Jim, Rustin, Ron, and Phil & Jan for dedicating your whole day to a worthy cause and thanks to people who hung out with us for shorter periods, like Ruth and family. (and thanks Ruth for bringing more things. We gave out every one of the Freedom to Fascism dvds).

Lots of thanks to Phil for herding them in to our booth! Thanks to Jim for burning a ton of dvds and making fliers to hand out. Thanks to Rustin for the camper and the shade of the awning (which saved me from being sunburned even more than I was). And Rustin had a great idea of putting out benches in front of the booth, but off the path, for people to sit and take a break (and where we could talk to them!). Thanks to Jan for keeping us sustained with ice cream and mini donuts. Thanks also to Rustin's wife for putting up with us all.

I haven't counted the signatures, yet, but we got pages and pages of them!
We gave out tons of stuff, too. Dvds, pocket Constitutions, magazines, various handouts printed by Jim and myself,.... lots of thought provoking material. (a couple people even came back to ask for more things to read!)
We made a great team.

I was amazed at how many knew and supported our ideas. We only had 2 people who were really upset by what we had to say (if you don't count the democrat booth, who were ardent supporters of the Federal Reserve). Maybe America really is waking up!

All in all, a very successful effort.


Next booth at the car show and swap meet! any volunteers?

Independence Posted by Steve Rogers

Posted 07/06/09

While on this historic day, I am unsure that we have the freedoms left that countless patriots died for, I will still honor their sacrifices. I will also use this time to restore my faith in that small, tireless minority who will continue the fight for liberty, and remind all tyrants that their days are numbered.

No longer will we suffer your lies, your oppression, and your treason.

No longer will we allow our nation's youth to be thrown upon the altar of your imperialism, giving their hearts, minds, and lives to their country in good faith only to be cast into the web of lies spun by the few who rule without the informed consent of the governed.

Today we stand fast, resolute in our determination to right the course of this once great nation on a heading toward the ideals upon which she was founded. Although the battle ahead will be long and costly, the true Patriots among us will continue to fight no matter how weary they grow, no matter the losses endured, until Liberty is achieved for all, or none remain standing.

Today we declare our Independence.

Today we are free.

FitzSimmons, Stebbins, Imbertson: Why we're staying with the Minnesota GOP Posted by mstebbins

Posted 06/26/09 Last updated 06/26/09

In response to Joe Repya's opinion piece of June 23, the Pioneer Press ran our rebuttal today:

FitzSimmons, Stebbins, Imbertson: Why we're staying with the Minnesota GOP
By David FitzSimmons, Marianne Stebbins and Mitch Imbertson
Updated: 06/25/2009 06:46:39 PM CDT

In his Opinion piece "Why I am leaving the Minnesota GOP," Lt. Col. Joe Reypa paints a pretty damning picture of the Republican Party of Minnesota. As Republican grass-roots activists, we have witnessed and experienced what Joe described as "tyrannical domination over the grass-roots" of the party.

We agree with Joe when he says "it is time to stop enabling bad behavior from that party." Joe is a friend who has been a principled champion of freedom and liberty for many years; he remains a friend. We disagree, however, with his conclusion that "the Minnesota GOP is no longer capable of being saved."

This is why we are not leaving the Minnesota GOP. Not only can the Minnesota GOP be saved, it must be saved.

While the Republican Party has drifted away from the fundamental principles inherent in the U.S. Constitution - the primacy of individual sovereignty, the sanctity of private property and preservation of the rule of law - the Minnesota DFL has coalesced around the national Democratic Party values: the collective good over individual pursuit of happiness, the property needs of the state over the property rights of the individual, and government power restrained only by the grace of the majority, irrespective of the rule of law. History warns us that a nation so divided cannot long endure.

And this is why we choose to remain in the Minnesota GOP: Despite past leadership flaws, the Minnesota GOP remains the last best hope for resurrecting republican, constitutional government. It is the last best hope for individuals who want to make their own decisions about health care, their children's education, where they live, what they eat and how they worship. The Minnesota GOP is the last best hope for preservation of the unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is the last best hope for a productive society capable of creating the wealth that makes compassion possible.

The groups we represent - the Republican Liberty Caucus, the Campaign for Liberty, and Minnesotans for Limited Government, and many other like-minded liberty-oriented organizations - are evidence that hope is not dead.

To Joe's point, many of our groups have sprung up and grown strong because the Minnesota GOP abdicated its role as protector of republican principle - endorsing capital "R" Republicans regardless of their allegiance to small "r" republican principle. But for whatever reason our groups came into being, they exist, and they are making a difference.

When the campaign for GOP officers began, the emphasis was on "Platform Conservatism," the notion that the "best conservative," the "best Republican," was the one who could put the most check marks next to the 171 planks of a 5,100-word party platform. Over the course of the campaign, the debate changed.

Republicans started talking about "Principled Conservatism" as an alternative to the litmus test of platform politics. The grass-roots felt empowered; a candidate for chair was drafted by the party's grass-roots. With no "old guard" support whatsoever, he nearly pulled off the upset.

A Web site and Facebook group, "Grassroots for an Open Republican Party," described a Republican Party that doesn't just win elections, but one that earns respect as a party of integrity and principle. Both the newly elected chair and deputy chair of the Minnesota GOP signed on as supporters.

Campaign for Liberty supporters of Ron Paul (who as Joe notes were systematically shut out of the 2008 GOP State Convention) remain engaged in the Republican Party, actively supporting liberty-oriented candidates and conservative/libertarian principles.

The Republican Liberty Caucus, "the conscience of the Republican Party," exists to promote individual liberty, limited government and free enterprise within the Republican Party.

Minnesotans for Limited Government is educating the party and public on the principles of limited government and supporting liberty-minded candidates.

There is an old adage that describes change as frightening when done to us, but exhilarating when done by us. This is an exhilarating time to be a Republican.

The frightening change taking place in the country, the abandonment of republican government and fundamental constitutional principles, is a wake-up call. Now is our "Time to Choose." It is our time to stop an ever-intrusive government from doing change to us. It is our time to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution of the United States. It is our time to put American principles to the test. It is our time to reform, re-energize and resurrect the last best hope of American constitutional government - the Republican Party.

That is why we are emphatically not leaving the Minnesota GOP.

David FitzSimmons of Cokato is chairman of the Minnesota Republican Liberty Caucus: rlcmn.org/; Marianne Stebbins of Excelsior is coordinator of the Minnesota Campaign for Liberty: www.campaignforliberty.com/usa/MN; and Mitch Imbertson of Maplewood is Communications Committee Chair of Minnesotans for Limited Government: www.mnlg.org.

[Corey Sax has his own response up at his blog.  If you have a response or submit a LTE to the PiPress, include a link or copy/paste in the comments section here.]

Rep. Michele Bachmann on CNBC 6/24/09: Audit the Fed! Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 06/26/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8k8PQ_b8FUA

Keep up the good work everyone. Need some help down south! Posted by phathead

Posted 06/23/09 Last updated 06/23/09

That's southern Minnesota that is!

Possible GOP Gubernatorial contender says the GOP in Minnesota is changing...Due to none other than the Ron Paul campaign.

Anderson sees a change in the GOP base that has its roots in the 2006 Ron Paul presidential campaign, and that will influence the endorsement process. "It is a true libertarian Republican movement, and they're changing the party," she said in an interview. "There's less discussion about social issues and more discussion about the Constitution."

yea we know they mean 2008

Minnesota Independent article here

Repost: Craig Westover on Defeat of Constitution Resolution at State Central Posted by mstebbins

Posted 06/23/09

From www.looktruenorth.com:

State Central Committee Vote on A Resolution Affirming GOP Adherence to the U.S. and the State Constitutions PDF Print E-mail
Written by Craig Westover
Thursday, 18 June 2009 13:00

I've been struggling with how to put a positive spin on defeat of the resolution Jim Rugg and I introduced at the GOP State Central Committee meeting on Saturday. The non-binding resolution would have affirmed adherence of the Republican Party of Minnesota to the United States and Minnesota constitutions. Certainly kudos go out to the Executive Committee for making the resolution an agenda item and to the Chair for his fairness in presiding over the debate, allowing the issue to be decided by the delegates. And despite the resolution first being truncated and then voted down, that it was given a fair hearing before SCC delegates is all to the good.

Beyond that, however, I worry for my party.

The progenitor of the modern Republican Party Barry Goldwater famously reminded the nation "that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice," but the State Central Committee of the Republican Party of Minnesota tepidly declared on Saturday that a public statement of adherence to constitutional government was somehow something the party should not do. Here's the gist of the resolution the SCC voted against (after, by an amendment, eliminating #3):

Now therefore be itresolved that it is the sense of the Republican Party of Minnesota -

1) Elected officials and candidates endorsed by the Republican Party of Minnesota acknowledge that they will read, understand and support only legislation they believe conforms to the spirit and the text of the United States and Minnesota constitutions; and

2) Elected officials endorsed by the Republican Party of Minnesota are obligated to the party to explain and discuss their constitutional rationale for any legislation they propose or support; and

3) Constitutionality shall be the first criterion by which all current and proposed planks of the Standing Platform of the Republican Party of Minnesota shall be evaluated going forward.

Extreme stuff, there. So why was it voted down? The reasons are why I worry.

First, virtually everyone who spoke against the resolution, publically and privately, prefaced his or her remarks the same way: "I certainly support the spirit and intent of the resolution, but ...." Like the wannabe weightwatcher who will do anything to shed pounds except diet and exercise, Minnesota Republicans apparently will go to any extreme in defense of liberty that doesn't actually involve accountability. None of the opponents of the resolution offered amendments to change or alter the language to make it more acceptable, despite declarations about spirit and intent. SCC opposition was to the idea of the resolution itself, patriotic declarations notwithstanding. Declaring we support the spirit and intent of the U.S. Constitution except when it is a barrier to implementing our political agenda is no virtue, irrespective of any noble intent.

Perhaps of all the debate, this is what I find most distressing: The first opposing speaker objected to the resolution because it would, in her opinion, prohibit the party from pursuing Prolife policies. I will write off the literalness of her comment to simply inarticulate expression, but the opponent's main point was that Prolife policies were in conflict with the Constitution, and therefore the party cannot adhere to the Constitution. That is precisely the type of rhetoric that hampers the Prolife movement and the advance of the Republican Party. How can we Republicans expect to further a "Culture of Life" if the most ardent Prolife supporters believe our cause is unconstitutional?

A more thoughtful Prolife objection to the resolution was made along these lines:

The Constitution is silent, if you read the words, on the issue of abortion. The SCOTUS has read into it the "right of privacy" and constructed from that the "right" to an abortion, under certain conditions. Since the Constitution assigns to the SCOTUS the authority and duty to make these decisions, is Roe v. Wade constitutional, or not? Perhaps it is, or perhaps it runs afoul of the 5th, 10th, 13th or 14th amendments. What do we do when we read our "basic principles" as supporting two contradictory courses of action?

When principles appear contradictory, check your premises.Admittedly, it would be much easier to end abortion were it not for the Constitution and the Supreme Court. It would also be much easier for "the bad guys" to impose all the evils that we fear. Having an independent judiciary as the last line between freedom and tyranny is a pretty good thing. That said, courts can be wrong.

Lower court decisions are over overturned and affirmed all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court, and despite the weight given to precedent, the Supreme Court will overturn its own rulings. Among the most notable examples is Brown v. Board of Education, which overturned the long-held constitutional principle of "separate but equal" accommodations expressed in Plessey v. Ferguson, and it did so without waterboarding the text or the spirit of the Constitution.

The SCC resolution talked about adherence to the "spirit and text of the Constitution, not blind obedience to the parchment document or to Supreme Court decisions. No matter how pure or impure one is on the Prolife issue, Roe v. Wade is open to criticism as a poorly reasoned decision that ought to be revisited. But therein lies the rub.

If Republicans are going to be the party that advocates for individual liberty and limited government, the party that stands for the fundamental constitutional principles of the primacy of individual sovereignty, the sanctity of private property, and preservation of the Rule of Law, then our objections to Court rulings must be based on constitutional grounds and not simply because we do not like the consequences.

The objection, which was also made in the context of the 3rd resolution (Constitutionality shall be the first criterion by which all current and proposed planks of the Standing Platform of the Republican Party of Minnesota shall be evaluated going forward), the objection that party members are not constitutional experts who should pass judgment on grassroots developed planks simply begs the question. Observing the spirit and even the letter of the resolution does not demand every Republican become a constitutional expert; it does demand, however, that every Republican consider the Constitution when advocating for specific policy. This is especially true for Republican-endorsed candidates and office holders.

If one were going to a Little League umpire, one would be expected to know the rules of baseball. If one were going to a Scout Master, one would be expected to know the Scout Law. Most of us have held jobs where we need at least a working knowledge of some sort of "Employee Handbook."

The U. S. Constitution is the rule book, the law of the land and the job description of every elected federal official. The Minnesota State Constitution serves the same for the state. It is not too much, in fact it's the bare minimum, to demand that elected officials have a working knowledge of those documents. As members of a political party endorsing people for elected office, we also have an obligation to acquire enough constitutional knowledge to endorse people for office who "will read, understand and support only legislation they believe conforms to the spirit and the text of the United States and Minnesota constitutions." That is not too much to ask.

Pragmatic Reasons I Supported the Resolution

I supported the resolution for two pragmatic reasons. It will help the Minnesota Republican Party differentiate itself and win elections; it provides a platform for fighting violations of the text and spirit of the Constitution like those that were itemized in the resolution document.

There are no more fundamental conservative principles than the principles of individual sovereignty, private property and the Rule of Law as expressed in the U.S. Constitution. There is no more stark differentiation between Republicans and Democrats than their degree of respect and honor for that Constitution.

The resolution declares for all Minnesotans those principles and that differentiation. It provides a "warranty" on all Republican-endorsed office holders and endorsed candidates. It warrants that if a Republican-endorsee disregards the Constitution, the Republican Party will protect the party brand and, on that one issue, stand by the Constitution, not the party label.

Passing the resolution would not mean the Republican Party cannot support amendments to the Constitution or oppose Roe v. Wade and other judicial precedent. Nor does it mean that in the Republican Party there is no room for debate on constitutional questions.

To the contrary, this resolution declares that the amendment process is the proper way to alter the Constitution; judicial activism is not. Elected officials take an oath to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution of the United States. We citizens, we Republicans, have a duty to hold them to that oath.

Finally, the resolution does not bind any Republican to a specific constitutional position; however, it does bind Republicans to having a defendable constitutional position. It declares to a candid state and nation that the Minnesota Republican Party will "preserve, protect, and defend" the Constitution of the United States irrespective of party affiliation. That differentiation will help Republicans win elections. It gives the Republican Party a degree of integrity the Democrats cannot match.

The current GOP State Central Committee did not see it that way, but the seed was sown. As I have written before, the future political divide will not be between left and right, liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans; the political battle shaping up is between those who believe in individual liberty and those who would use the power of government to impose their personal vision on others. The battle lines will be drawn between those who inform their policy with the principles of individual sovereignty, private property and Rule of Law and those who would seek to impose their own "beneficent" brand of tyranny.

The 2008 election tells us on which side the Democrats come down. Republicans? After Saturday, I'm really not sure.

[Complete Resolution Text and comments]

A letter to the Minnesota GOP Posted by barney

Posted 06/19/09 Last updated 06/19/09

I want to support the Minnesota GOP, but find it hard.  Ron Paul and Peter Schiff suggest a take over of the party is the best, but I don't see what the Minnesota GOP has to offer.  Perhaps i'm not looking hard enough...

Below is a letter I wrote after receiving a call to donate (today).

I was just called by someone to participate in the donation reimbursement program and I have trouble giving money to support Norm Coleman. He supported Bush's doubling of the deficit, an endless war killing innocent Americans based on lies, displacing countless Iraqis base on based lies, and killing countless Iraqi civilians based lies. Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11 and this is a fact. I consider it an insult that this is done in my name as a conservative America; where's my apology?

If Norm Coleman cared one iota about the direction of this country or this state he would sign a pledge to the people of Minnesota to end this ridiculous war. He should apologize to the state and this country for supporting this war and enslaving us with debt. He should hand over the deed to his house(s) and his retirement account to a public trust and not get it back to the war is ended.

The fact is, the GOP has no believability and has destroyed the word conservative. I will continue making contributions to republicans candidates like Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Adam Kokesh, and others who actually stand for liberty, personal freedom, and peace and not republicans like Coleman who stands for war, fear, and enslavement through debt.

HR 2567 - Stand with Veterans for Peace to close SOA Posted by ndillon

Posted 06/19/09

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to address the Minneapolis Chapter of Veterans for Peace.  They work to restrain government from intervening in the internal affairs of other nations (among other aims). Sounds a lot like one of Campaign for Liberty's planks - a non-interventionalist foreign policy...

Every year, VFP holds a vigil outside the gates of Fort Benning, GA to protest the School of the Americas, now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation.

HR 2367 would suspend the authority for the school.  It currently has 50 sponsors.  I have been very impressed with the grassroots lobbying that we have been able to do on the Audit the Fed issue.  I humbly ask that everyone take a few minutes to contact their Representative and urge them to sign on as a sponsor to HR 2367 (or thank them if they already have) - and then share this with your networks.

Based on the sponsors, there is bi-partisan support.  It seems like a worthwhile effort and likely victory.  But most of all, I like the opportunity to support those who served in our country's armed forces.

Please contact your Representative in support of HR2367.

www.veteransforpeace.org

(from Thomas.gov)
H.R.2567
Title: To suspend the authority for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (the successor institution to the United States Army School of the Americas) in the Department of Defense, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] (introduced 5/21/2009) Cosponsors (50)
Latest Major Action: 5/21/2009 Referred to House committee. Status: Referred to the House Committee on Armed Services.SUMMARY AS OF:
5/21/2009--Introduced.

Latin America Military Training Review Act - Directs the Secretary of the Army to suspend operation of the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (Institute). Suspends the authority of the Secretary of Defense to operate such an education and training facility until submission of a report containing the results of an investigation in response to violations of human rights to which training at such Institute contributed.

Establishes: (1) a joint congressional task force to assess appropriate education and training for DOD to provide to military personnel of Latin American nations; and (2) a commission to investigate activities of the United States Army School of the Americas and its successor institution, the Institute.

The Importance of Constitutional Law Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 06/18/09 Last updated 06/18/09

Bill Paulsen

Critical to individual liberty is the rule of law.  The rule of law ensures that people can live free from the fear of arbitrary taking of their life or property.  It is the cornerstone of a republican form of government where people elect their representatives without the fear that those elected will abuse the power entrusted to them.  The rule of law requires that citizens of a nation obey the law but more importantly that the established government obey the law.  In a free society, the law that governments must obey, the law that restricts what laws elected officials can impose, is the constitution of the state.

In Minnesota, elected representatives swear to uphold the constitutions of the State of Minnesota and the constitution of the United States. The Republican Party of Minnesota has recognized the importance of constitutional law by stating the purpose of the party is

"the maintenance of government by and for the people according to the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State of Minnesota, and the implementation of such principles as may from time to time be adopted by party conventions."

In line with that statement, on Saturday, June 13th, a resolution was presented to the Central Committee of the Minnesota Republican Party affirming the importance of constitutional law.  The resolution affirmed that elected representatives should understand the state and federal constitutions, be able to give constitutional rationales for their votes and that the Republican Party platform should be analyzed in light of the constitution.

When we advocate a change in policy we should understand if the current policy is constitutional and what is the constitutional basis for our proposed policy.  If there is no constitutional basis for our proposal we should be forthright and propose a constitutional amendment.  Otherwise, there would be no limit to the abuses governments could impose in the name of people who elected the sitting representatives.  Elected representatives must use their own independent judgement when deciding if a proposal is constitutional.  If they are incapable of interpretting the constitution for themselves, an oath they take to uphold will have little significance.

Some of the most hotly disputed issues in our country involve fundamental constitutional question. At the state central meeting some delegates seemed to be under the impression that a plank to protect the lives of unborn children was unconstitutional because of Roe v. Wade.  If sitting Supreme Court justices have a right to believe that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided, then certainly the representatives of Republican voters writing the state party platform would also have the right to believe Roe was wrong decidedly but should be able to explain constitutionally why that is so.  If Republicans believe that Roe v. Wade is a correct interpretation of the constitution, then they should admit this and propose a constitutional amendment to let states decide how they will treat the unborn or to protect the unborn nationwide.  To simply ignore the constitution would leave no protection for the unborn once born from the overreach of the government.

Interestingly, members of State Central voted down the resolution affirming constitutional supremacy because of concerns over how it would impact the party's pro-life plank. Rather than amend the resolution to unambiguously state a constitutional amendment is appropriate to advance Republican principles when needed, the committee decided to ignore constitutional law.  This points all the more to the need for us return to constitutional, limited government and relearn the lessons of history when a government has powers unchecked by any authority.

Bill Paulsen is a candidate for Minnesota State Senate District 25 who believes that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided since nothing in the wording of the US Constitution restricts the powers of states in this area and that each state should enact laws protecting the right to life for all unborn children.

Enjoy your new seat belt mandate today- Posted by KenAnderson

Posted 06/10/09 Last updated 06/09/09

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Who's to blame:

The Senate threw the issue into the late-hour omnibus dungheap, making voting responsibility immensely more diffused; however your senate authors before that happened were Murphy (D) Red Wing; Foley (D) Coon Rapids; & Dille (R) Dassel.

In the house however, the single measure vote was taken, roll call:

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/votes/votes.asp?ls_year=86&session_number=0&
year=2009&id=2224

Democrats to be commended for their nays:

Anzelc (Balsam TWP, northeast of Grand Rapids), Atkins (Inver Grove Heights), Champion (Mpls), Clark (Mpls), Davnie (Mpls), Dill (Crane Lake), Doty (Royalton), Eken (Twin Valley), Falk (Murdock), Hayden (Mpls), Hilstrom (Brooklyn Center), Koenen (Clara City), Lesch (St. Paul), Mariani (St. Paul), Masin (Eagan), Mullery (Mpls), Nelson (Brooklyn Park), Otremba (Long Prairie), Pelowski (Winona), Persell (Bemidji), Rukavina (Virginia), Scalze (Little Canada), Sertich (Chisholm), Solberg (Grand Rapids), & Thao (St. Paul).

This vote could have gone against, 72-62, but for the GOP defectors. Republicans to be castigated for their yeas:

Jim Abeler (Anoka), Tony Cornish (Good Thunder), Keith Downey (Edina), Pat Garofalo (Farmington), Steve Gottwalt (St. Cloud), Bob Gunther (Fairmont), Tim Kelly (Red Wing), Mary Kiffmeyer (Big Lake), Jenifer Loon (Eden Prairie), Denny McNamara (Hastings), & Mark Murdock (Ottertail).

Last but certainly not least among GOP’ers to fail individual liberty here was Gov. Pawlenty for failing to line the thing out, but no surprise, he’s always stood consistently for authoritarianism over individual liberty.

Now that I find myself in HD16B I’ll pull no stops to insure that Ms. Kiffmeyer is denied the endorsement should she be seeking re-election; much better choices are available (Mark Olson for starters). Should she choose to run against the freshman senator, Ms. Fobbe, I’d consider that a no-gain proposition all the way, Fobbe’s solidly conservative in many respects, and Kiffmeyer falls short of that standard all too often. Not to mention that she's very difficult to nail down on any position, has a nasty habit of answering questions with questions.

Always Liked Rep Buesgens a LOT, Now I Know Why Posted by mstebbins

Posted 06/10/09

I've heard excuses from legislators in the past couple of days about why they voted against Medical Marijuana.  Now, I've never seen the pot issue as one to hold up as a banner.  But it's just not something to criminalize. 

Since the "Governor's Opening," that season which commences ten minutes before an incumbent's press conference announcing he is not seeking re-election, I have received the requisite phone calls from the candidates seeking support.  They tend to volunteer that they would have supported medical marijuana -- this is not something I ask them -- but mumble about problems with the bill's wording.  I have not gotten a call from Emmer, but understand he has a similar stand.

So when I read this about Mark Buesgens today, well, you be the judge:

"I'm an outsider," he said. "I have my colleagues ask, 'Why not go to caucuses?' The purpose of the caucuses is to learn about legislation. Well, I read the legislation. The other purpose is to tell me how to vote."

And that's a deal breaker for Buesgens.

He has opposed his caucus - and his governor - on some bills, the medicinal marijuana bill being a big one.

"I was the second author on the marijuana bill,'' he said, explaining that about a year and a half ago, his mother was painfully dying of lung cancer.

"Had she asked me to get her some marijuana, I would have done it," he said.

That's not exactly in keeping with the law-and-order Republican stereotype, which is fine with him.

"I'm more a libertarian than a Republican,'' he said.

I've known Mark for about ten years and always trusted him.  Now I know my instincts were right.

Tom Woods on Glenn Beck Show with Judge Napolitano 6/5/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 06/07/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkSVox-SEuI

On The Income Tax Posted by thestallion

Posted 06/05/09

these stats are brought to you by the National Retail Sales Tax Alliance… 

—

The ugly facts.
When the income tax was instituted in 1913 the tax form was four pages long and you would had to have earned more than $300,000 (in 1994 dollars) to be even required to file a return. In 90 years this is what it has come to…

• The average tax burden borne by Americans in 2000 was 33.5%
• In the year 2000, the 1040 form was 70 lines long and had 117 pages of instructions.
• Individuals and businesses waste nearly $200 billion a year filing their taxes. We bear this burden through higher prices and lower wages.
• The IRS prints some 280 instruction forms to explain how to complete nearly 480 tax returns.
• The tax code is so large that each year the IRS mails enough pages of forms and instructions to circle the earth nearly 28 times.
• The number of IRS employees has more than doubled in the last 30 years.
• Half of all filers hire someone else to do their taxes.

(source)

Maybe Ron Paul Just Chose the Wrong Country.... Posted by dwahlstedt

Posted 06/04/09

Robert Higgs posted a personal story about his trip to Turkey than any fan of Ron Paul is going to love:

http://lewrockwell.com/higgs/higgs116.html

Top States Organizing to WIN Posted by Deb Wells

Posted 06/03/09 Last updated 06/03/09

Our last report a couple of months ago titled IOWA in FIRST PLACE - Montana, Vermont, Idaho Jockey for Second told the story of who to watch as teams organize to take back their states.

The goal is 10,000 Local Coordinators nationwide, with each state having set their goals based on total population.  Local Coordinators are the key to winning back our beloved Country, one neighborhood at a time.

Recent stats show a surprising turn of events!

IDAHO shot out in front from fourth place just a couple short months ago into the number one spot with 72.55% of goal.

IOWA (who has been in front throughout) remains neck and neck, holding its own at second place with 72% and 72 Local Coordinators.

WASHINGTON STATE moved up on the inside from fifth place into a coveted third place with 69.16% of goal and a whopping 148 Local Coordinators (more than any other state).

MONTANA and VERMONT continue to run like the wind, holding fourth and fifth place respectively, with 60.87% and 58.82%.

MINNESOTA and NORTH DAKOTA, ever-vigilant, jockey for sixth place with over 40% of goal, and UTAH is not far behind with over 38% of goal.

In addition to Washington, three additional states now have over 100 Local Coordinators each:  Texas (135), Florida (126), and California (119).

New York, Pennsylvania and Michigan each have over 90 Local Coordinators and are headed toward the "100 mark".

Congratulations to all.

Who will win the race?  It's anyone's guess!

Stay tuned...

June Open Appointments Posted by ndillon

Posted 06/02/09

Each month, the Secretary of State releases openings on various boards and commissions in the state.  Until we have strong representation at the state capital and can eliminate this bureaucratic nonsense (such as the Task Force to make recommendations on forms or the Board to make recommendations for another Board), we can participate on them and bring our principles of limited government to the other members, and the spending and regulations that come out of them.

Look, apply, engage.

http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/june_2009_press_release.pdf

Sweet Land of Liberty Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 05/28/09 Last updated 05/28/09

A letter to the editor I recently submitted:

Sweet Land of Liberty, where along the way did we lose you? Whatever happened to the America where government would not interfere with our lives and livelihoods unless we encroached on others' liberty and property?

Whatever happened to the America where we had the prudence to save for our own homes, health care, and education? Where we went to our families, churches, and charities for help in time of need, rather than asking government to extract it anonymously and forcibly from our neighbors?

What happened to the America where taxes were recognized as taxes, despite the many clever labels attached to them? Where we understood that the rich are the owners of the stores, factories, and offices where we work, and that voting an ever-larger "fair share" out of their pockets is a good way to get them to move away and take our jobs with them?

What happened to the America where businesses and banks that made too many mistakes cleared themselves away to make room for better ones to grow? Where hard work and entrepreneurial vigor were more profitable than political connections and lobbying groups? Where the Treasury actually contained treasure and the Federal Reserve didn't conjure trillions of dollars without even the courtesy to tell us who got the money?

What happened to the America where state legislatures didn't bow to the Federal government's every demand under the threat of losing funds? Where the states asserted their Constitutional right to be different from each other, and upheld their Constitutional duty to keep the Federal government from growing too powerful?

Government must be restrained if Liberty is to be retained.

Please help with my question? Posted by ronytoss86

Posted 05/28/09

I spend alot of time researching the future of our economy and I have come to the conclusion that there are 3 theorys about our future.

1) Obama/mainstream media: we are on our way to recovery...stimulus plan is working

2) Mainstream Conservative: long slow recovery depressed by big government spending and taxes

3) Peter Schiff and the campaign for liberty movement: DOOMSDAY comming.

I tend to believe the third theory because they have done the best at predicting the economy. But these things they say are going to happen haven't. China is still buying our debt not selling it. When are they going to stop, and why would they if they haven't already? The world dumping the dollar and the huge crash seems to depend on that but if its so imminent why is China still buying our debt? They cant be that stupid can they? Or do they want us to crash harder? Is theory 2 more likely?

Take action to get Ellison to co-sponsor H.R. 1207 Posted by Overland

Posted 05/24/09 Last updated 05/22/09

The bill to audit the Federal Reserve is gaining a lot of momentum lately.  In the past month we've almost tripled the number of co-sponsors, from 63 this time in April to 175 today.

And yet, Keith Ellison (our representative in Minnesota's 5th District) has so far refused to co-sponsor H.R. 1207.  Even though he is a member of the financial services committee, Ellison has yet to even address the issue.  E-mails and calls asking for an explanation have gone unanswered for months now.

But it doesn't do any good to simply complain to ourselves.

It's our responsibility to make sure our congressman is aware of how important this issue is to us, and to hold him accountable for his actions on H.R. 1207.  That means that even if Congressman Ellison's office ignores us, we cannot ignore him.  Instead, we must ramp up our efforts to the point that we clog up their phone and e-mail systems until they provide us with the answer we are looking for.  We will disrupt their daily routine, their business as usual, until they are forced to take notice and respond.

So here's what you need to do to support this cause:

First, join our Facebook page to keep up with our efforts and events.  We need to be organized and able to communicate to be truly efficient.  So go here http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=81926774867 and join up.

Second, participate in 'Audit the Fed Fridays.'  I know it's not a great name, but it is easy to remember.  This event is simple, just call Ellison at 612-522-1212 every Friday and tell him to co-sponsor HR 1207.  Go ahead and RSVP for this on Facebook as well to commit yourself and so we can get a headcount.  We'd like to jam up his phone lines and keep his staff so busy that they're begging him to co-sponsor the bill and end it.

Third, keep up to date and participate in ongoing and future campaigns.  For example, we have an ongoing petition campaign.  We are looking for more people to help collect petitions, especially at large events such as Juneteenth.  Future events include a letter writing campaign and crashing Ellison's town hall events to force him to answer questions on HR 1207.

Fourth, talk to other people about this.  If they are of like-mind, get them to sign up for the Campaign for Liberty and join us on Facebook.

Finally, if you have any other ideas let people know.

Remember, it's great to care about something, but unless we take action we are not going change things.  Every little bit helps.  The key is to have many people doing small things to make a giant impact, not one person trying to do big things.  So do a small thing and call Ellison this Friday at 612-522-1212.  Then do another small thing and sign up on Facebook.  Then do another small thing and talk to a friend.  You get the idea.

For Liberty,

Mike Overland

The Constitution, The Judicial System, & Jury Nullification's role in preserving liberty & integrity Posted by KenAnderson

Posted 05/19/09 Last updated 05/19/09

(below is an opinion piece as submitted to the 3 Sherburne County newspapers today; feel free to pass it on to any of your local publications if you so desire, in original form or with any modifications you care to make, and put your name on it)

As this country's founders mulled and debated how to best create a Constitutional Republic that protected the rights of its citizens to life, liberty, pursuit of happiness, property- the consensus of their opinion was that despite separation of powers, despite checks and balances, despite the constitution itself, government could and therefore would tend to grow over time into an entity that became increasingly opposed to its originally stated mission, in the interests of controlling and ruling the populace rather than allowing individual liberty and self-determination. Thomas Jefferson relied heavily upon citizen jurors to frustrate such a negative change, as he stated in a 1789 letter to Thomas Paine: "I consider trial by jury as the only anchor yet devised by man by which a government can be held to the principles of its constitution."

The founders placed great faith in their fellow citizens' full awareness of their right and duty to deliberate according to their own consciences, even in direct opposition to law if that law ran counter to our principles. "It is not only his right, but his duty ... to find the best verdict according to his own understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition to the direction of the court." - John Adams, 1771. Our first Supreme Court Chief Justice, John Jay (co-author of the Federalist Papers that formed our Constitutional principles and are still frequently cited today in judicial decisions), in 1794 instructed jurors as to their right "to determine the law as well as the facts in controversy."

Fast forward one hundred years- to a time when great wealth and power had been amassed thanks to the industrial revolution. Those big-business interests were frustrated quite frequently by juries who refused to apply law that those interests had spent much to get passed, particularly law that made it a crime for workers to organize and strike. But they gained a majority influence in the Supreme Court, and that court decided to grant judges the allowance to attempt to deny or keep juries ignorant of their power to nullify law in their verdicts.

Such an attempt at usurpation of the citizen's prerogative to apply law or not as jurors, while very dangerous in principle, did not make a huge impact overall, socially, until the early seventies and Nixon's 'war on crime,' simply because our judicial system was still quite modest in size. At that time it became the legislative fad to add law, ramp penalty upward, and make a whole host of statute intended to cage citizens for socio-political purposes. Despite the fact that many of these newly-defined perps had no identifiable victimization associated with their illegal behavior- and the trend continues today and runs 180 degrees counter to our founding principles, essentially creating a large population of political prisoners. In 1972 we incarcerated 140 per 100,000 citizens. By 2005 that rate was up to 738 per 100,000. Nearly 25% of the world's incarcerated are caged in US prisons and jails. Close to half of those are nonviolent offenders- we are in this important measure the least free country in the world.

Here in MN this problem goes beyond jails and prisons. We target a number of victimless misdemeanors for reporting to employers and potential employers in criminal background checks,making many otherwise productive neighbors unemployable. We confiscate personal property prior to conviction, and allow the law enforcement jurisdictions to keep the proceeds of such forfeiture sales, casting a shadow on integrity and a wet blanket on the application of sound discretion. We violate due process with other civil penalties imposed prior to conviction, turning defense into a more expensive 2-pronged affair into both the criminal and civil systems. Approximately three quarter million MN's have been convicted of these victimless targeted misdemeanors, about 1 in 5 adults. Many of them are already felons or on the path to becoming such due to increasing penalty steps and decreasing discretion applied.

None of these trends would be possible on the scale they occur today if our justice system still relied primarily on trial by jury as originally intended. In order to make such a bloated system workable, the system must force the vast majority of cases into plea bargain agreements, often coerced and strong-armed upon accused who'd really rather present their case to a jury, using a variety of means applied including absolutely unconstitutional procedural rulings preventing defense from presenting their case to a jury in its entirety, knowing defendants will not appeal minor cases due to cost and the fact they will already have served their time prior to appeal hearings.

For all these reasons we strongly encourage all liberty-minded citizens to take their cases to jury when accused, particularly those victimless misdemeanors. Give your neighbors the chance to step up and nullify; an added plus is that a sharp rise in caseloads going to trial in an already overburdened justice system will surely force, on its own, the more liberal application of discretion, and a rethinking of priorities in enforcement. Similarly we strongly encourage all citizens to ask of themselves when serving on a jury- Is this good law? Is it being justly applied? Is the state trampling my neighbor's rights? Will the punishment fit the crime? Has the state produced a victim that has actually suffered injury due to actions of the accused, or is this a socio-political prosecution?

For more on jury nullification, its history, how to survive voir dire despite being fully aware of your rights and duties as a jurer, please read:

http://www.fija.org/docs/perfect_primer_version_august_2008.pdf

and browse the rest of the information available on that fija.org website.

Alaska, by the way, is considering legislation that declares mistrial if defense is prevented from discussing the jury's right to consider nullification, and it also prevents a potential juror from being dismissed for cause because they stated their right to consider nullification. Minnesota needs the same statutory protection of its citizens' liberty, better yet it should be embedded in our state constitution.

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/26/Bills/HB0140A.PDF

Christine Marshall

Ken Anderson

Big Lake Mn

Keith Ellison MN District 5 Where Are You? Posted by Minnesota Matt

Posted 05/18/09

I emailed my congressman Keith Ellison on May 3 asking his position on HR 1207. I waited 10 days and received NO response. Sent another email on the 13th and haven't heard anything yet. I urge anybody in Minnesota district 5 to email this guy at least once a week until he gives an answer. This guy is on the Financial Services Committee so he doesn't have any excuse not to have an opinion.

Judge Napolitano's Verdict: Paulsen threatened banks to take TARP or else! Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 05/17/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgqXncK9g9A

emailed my only senator Posted by barney

Posted 05/14/09 Last updated 05/14/09

Dear Senator,

Please support S 604: Federal Reserve Sunshine Act of 2009.

Today documents of the October 13 2008 meeting of US's 9 biggest banks were released (>http://www.judicialwatch.org/news/2009/may/judicial-watch-forces-release-bank-bailou
t-documents), where it seems Ben Bernanke, Tim Geithner, Hank Paulson, and whoever else forced private companies to take federal funds. I'm not 100% sure about the authenticity of the documents but wouldn't be surprised if they where true.

This is a country of laws. I think the political elite coercing private institutions is a slippy slope. Where does it end? Will my 401k/investments be confiscated for national security? That might seemed far fetched, but I don't see the government putting too many limitations on its powers.

Please support S604. It will provide much needed transparency the American people deserve.

In Liberty,

Robert.

Congressman Tim Walz co-sponsors H.R. 1207 Posted by davekruse

Posted 05/07/09

On H.R. 1207 action day, we delivered over 400 signatures to Tim Walz's office in Mankato, MN to encourage him to co-sponsor the bill.  Today I received a call from Mr. Walz who expressed his agreement with the bill.  He had a chance to sit down with Congressman Paul, who is considers a friend, to talk about the bill, and has now agreed to co-sponsor.

If you live in Minnesota Congressional District 1, please thank Tim Walz (D) for his support.

Congressman Walz (D, MN-CD1) co-sponsors H.R.1207! Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 05/07/09 Last updated 05/07/09

Nine days after a group of us delivered 424 signatures for HR 1207 to Congressman Walz's local Mankato office , he made a personal phone call to us from Washington. He let us know that he had talked to Dr. Paul about the bill and then decided to sign on as a co-sponsor! He cited a need for greater transparency in government. We now have five of Minnesota's eight Representatives on board with this important bill.

Mr. Walz left a voicemail for the person who had left contact information when we dropped off the petitions. I will post his voicemail and a transcript from the call here soon.

Keep asking your Reps to co-sponsor, and don't forget to thank them when they do!

Update: Here's the audio. (.mp3 840kb) ["Dave" is a local Campaign for Liberty member who spent many hours getting signatures for the petition.]

Transcript:

Hi Dave, Congressman Tim Walz calling you. It is Thursday the 7th of May. I hope you're doing well Dave. I just want to respond; I know you have been active, and I very much appreciate your citizenship of being involved in the issues that matter today. I wanted to let you know that I spoke with Congressman Paul. Ron is a friend of mine and I am a co-sponsor of 1207 now, and wanted to just let you know—I know you had an interest in that—we very much appreciate that. I agree with the bill on this; I've been a strong champion of transparency and I just wanted to sit down and get an opportunity and yesterday I did with Ron. And so just to let you know, if you have any follow-up you can call my D.C. office 202-225-2472, or I'm back in Mankato over the weekends, at my office or my home. Thanks, Dave. Good bye.

Tax Cut Rally Contests Posted by mstebbins

Posted 05/01/09 Last updated 05/04/09

Go to www.taxcutrally.com for full rally information and contest details. (Rally is tomorrow, Saturday, May 2 at the State Capitol from 11 - 4 p.m.)

Before the Rally

Best Promotional Video: You can submit a video promoting the Tax Cut Rally. Individual videos will be evaluted by our judges and one lucky winner will be awarded $100 cash at the rally. Submit your YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/group/taxcutrally

During the Rally

Best Sign: We will award a $50 prize for the best sign at the rally.

Best Costume: The individual with the best costume at the rally will be awarded $50.

After the Rally

Best Photograph: We will also award a prize of $50 for the best photograph of taken at the rally. Photos can be submitted by sending us an email with your NAME, EMAIL and PHONE NUMBER in the SUBJECT LINE of the email to the following email address:

Edit:  full details on the photo contest here:  http://www.taxcutrally.com/?page_id=71

You're also welcome to post great liberty-related photos here on your C4L blog to inspire us all!

H.R. 1207 Support Posted by tomdippel

Posted 04/29/09

Greetings,

Progress!

12 Constitution supporting individuals and I visited our Congressman's (John Kline) office today to garner support for HR1207 and drop off petitions. He is a Republican that voted for the bailout, so we didn't know what to expect.

After sitting down in the meeting room with his Operations Director(Mike) and explaining why we were there, he told us that John had just signed onto the Bill! I think we were all a little shocked.

This is one more step towards our ultimate goal and I was very encouraged by the fervor of everyone there.

May we continue the fight for liberty on all fronts!

Tom Dippel 

Thank you - Congressman John Kline - MN CD2 - HR 1207 Posted by Terry McCall

Posted 04/28/09 Last updated 04/29/09

What an honor to be among patriots.  Today we met with Mike Osskopp District Director for Rep John Kline.  We had preambled the meeting with several contacts to the Minnesota staff:  1.  Early this Saturday an email requesting a meeting on HR1207.  2.  A phone conversation with staff yesterday AM explaining that we would be bringing in petitions and several constituents in support of the bill.  3.  An email this AM to staff listing who likely would join us.  4.  An email at 12PM to Mike Osskopp with details on the bill including current co-sponsors, and that more people may spontaneously show up for our 2PM meeting.  I ended the email to the District Director with, "It would be great to hear from you today that John has signed on to HR 1207". 

12 Patriots showed up for our 1:30 PM planning meeting.  We went in to meet with Mike Osskopp at 1:55.  We all crowded into his office.  The first words out of Mike's mouth, "John has signed on as a co-sponsor to HR 1207!"  We had a good rousing discussion about the Bail out vote, the Farm Bill, and following the Constitution (Thank you Michael Nietzel for your courage!).  The meeting ended with the District Director asking us to keep him particularly informed about legislation that we feel strong about since he is with the Congressman every weekend that he is home.  Osskopp can educate the Congressman like no other.

I want to thank Mike Osskopp for his efforts, staffer Brooke Dorobiala for setting up the meeting, Rep Kline's DC staff for quickly reviewing the materials and getting it to the Congressman promply with a yes recommendation.  On our end thank you to everyone in CD2 who signed Petitions and got them to me before the meeting.  Very special thanks to Rep. John Kline for signing on and to the following men who joined in the effort today.

Tom Dippel - HD57A, Trevor Johnson - SD40,  Ayrlahn Johnson - HD40A, Francis Klinkner - SD37, Chuck Devaney - HD35, Mike Overland - CD5 (HR 1207 Coordinator), Michael Neitzel - SD38, Bryan Mork - SD35, Leon Moe - SD57, Jeff Miner - SD 35

(And, I'm sorry I know that I am missing someone)

Who said that Petitions don't mean much?  We had a stack of nearly 60 of them that we left with the Congressional staff.  Having developed a relationship with the Congressional staff doesn't hurt either.  Having done the work we earned the right to effect change.  Kudos to Marianne Stebbins our State Coordinator and to the other MN CD Coordinators for your support.  Thanks to Jesse, Debbie, Deb, and all at C4L HQ.  This is your victory too.

 PS:  We focused on 'Hard Republicans' as C4L HQ suggested for our Petitions.  These are people who have fought the battles, got elected to a party position whether State Central Delegate, local BPOU leader, or regular delegate or alternate.  These folks' names mean more to GOP elected officials than just the average person on the street.  As HQ explained 'hard Republicans' have 100 to 1 impact vs any name.

Regards,             
;       

Terry McCall

MN CD2 C4L

Coordinator

The MNJAC Menace Posted by KenAnderson

Posted 04/26/09 Last updated 08/03/09

The MN Joint Analysis Center (MNJAC), founded in 2005 with Federal funds, is Minnesota's 'fusion center,' our version of Missouri's MIAC that was generating reports targeting liberty orgs like our own here, and diseminating that info out to other law enforcement agencies. They are officially "very much a state-based entity acting in compliance with established policy and existing law," according to Director Michael Bosacker, retired Eden Prairie police officer now with the BCA directing MNJAC. I've yet to obtain any crystal clear info regarding whether 100% of their sustenance is derived from Federal sources still today; I do know that the stimulus bill included a good sized chunk of change for these operations. It does appear entirely possible that Minn lawmakers have never approved or funded any of this, but info on that is not forthcoming from the Director himself, who is a high school friend from decades past. Also unanswered are questions posed regarding constitutionally sound filtering of intel gathered in order to insure the Feds get absolutely nothing out of this 'state-based entity' in the way of data unless it is clearly and directly related to constitutionally authorized Federal business. I suspect its possible the Feds can access anything and everything this agency collects and gathers on Minnesotans- since the question got put forward and got soundly ignored.

These fusion centers around the country grew out of the events of 9/11, but have turned heavily towards gathering info on domestic crime and domestic organizations, since. Otherwise they'd have very little to do, so increased and locally coordinated (but Federally funded) gov't snooping is apparently the order of the day. Mr. Bosacker had something pretty chilling to say in our e-mail discussions- "The development of the MNJAC has been purposeful and intentionally incremental."

With regard to that creeping incrementalism, I would strongly recommend reading up on the new bills introduced by MN legislators last month furthering the secret snooping abilities, HF1449 & SF1103. It doesn't sound like these bills are going anywhere this session, but just the fact that they are being authored and presented is certainly reason enough to begin publicly calling for the demise of MNJAC and the taking of sledgehammers to the hard drives containing their data. Three good features I'd recommend:

http://www.mnprogressiveproject.com/diary/2732/sen-betzold-introduces-criminal-intell
igence-data-bill-that-could-be-a-problem

http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/2009/mar09/2295/criminal-intelligence-data-or-cont
rol-files-new-bca-proposal-offers-glimpse-major-ex

http://minnesotaindependent.com/29613/civil-liberties-advocates-question-government-s
pying-bill

The MNJAC has a privacy committee that sets policy for protecting privacy as a watchdog of sorts; unfortunately they appear to be limited to the question of how to best protect privacy considering the MNJAC unauthorized mission, rather than whether such a mission is supportable in the first place especially considering the state has never authorized MNJAC's existence to my knowledge. The 11 individuals on that committee are listed below with e-mail where it could be readily had- I would particularly applaud Mr.Samuelson as a reluctantly serving member who has openly and publicly questioned MNJAC's reason for being. Perhaps we should be contacting him about how we can work together to insure that there is no longer any such fusion center in our state.

Mr. Charles Samuelson, Executive Director American Civil Liberties Union MN; csamuelson@aclu-mn.org

Mr. Richard Neumeister, Public Privacy Advocate

Ms. Laurie Beyer-Kropuenske, Director Public Information Policy Analysis; Laurie.Beyer-Kropuenske@state.mn.us

Mr. Robert Sykora, MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension & Defense Bar; Robert.Sykora@state.mn.us

Mr. Mark Anfinson, Attorney Representing Media

Mr. Joseph Newton, Attorney Representing MN Dept. of Public Safety; Joseph.Newton@state.mn.us

Chief Michael Goldstein, MNJAC Oversight Group Rep & MN Chiefs Assn; mgoldstein@ci.plymouth.mn.us

Mr. Richard Hodsdon, Legal Counsel MN Sheriff's Assn; rhodsdon@mnsheriffs.org

Mr. Michael Bosacker, Minnesota Joint Analysis Center Director; Michael.Bosacker@state.mn.us

LTC John Brossart, MN Dept of Military Affairs (MN National Guard Staff Judge Advocate)

Mr. David Johnson, Executive Director CriMNET / MN BCA david.m.johnson@state.mn.us

Collecting signatures for HR1207 Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 04/26/09 Last updated 04/26/09

Yesterday on my lunch hour I went to the park to get signatures for an Audit the Fed petition and got 25 sigs in about an hour. Did some door to door for half an hour and got about 10 more, and another 20 from my workplace and teachers and parents at my daughter's school.

This afternoon I went downtown and got about 50 sigs in an hour and half: I got a lot from the smokers who have to stand outside the bars to smoke, some from older folks, some from couples out for dinner, a couple of biker dudes and some from a group of punk/dreadlocky 20-something kids hanging out in front of a coffee shop a block from the police station. A member of that group set down his joint to sign, and told me a joke: "How many activists does it take to change a light bulb? None, cuz activists never change anything!" I was surprised to hear a lot of disdain for the Federal Reserve from people who actually seemed to know something about it: "All of our money is based on debt," and "where'd all the real money like gold and silver go?" were a couple of them.

It was interesting, and great to hear people's reactions. Of course, there were some who weren't interested in signing, but no one was hostile. I might head out later for some more signatures. We're going to canvass the local college campus on Monday, and turn in signatures to Congressman Walz's local office on Tuesday.

Rand Paul appearances about the Twin Cities, Sat, April 25 Posted by mstebbins

Posted 04/24/09

Rand Paul, Ron's son, will be speaking at the Minneapolis End the Fed Rally tomorrow around 1:30 or 2pm (don't quote me on the time). The rally starts at noon and will be held outside the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Building, 90 Hennepin Ave.

Because Tuesday is C4L National Action Day on HR 1207, Audit the Fed, we're gathering signatures to petition our congressmen to co-sponsor Ron Paul's bill, HR 1207, which currently has 88 co-sponsors -- pretty darn good. This bill stands a really good chance of passing, so let's ramp it up and get our lagging congressmen (primarily Keith Ellison and John Kline) to sign on. We should also thank Michele Bachmann, Colin Peterson and Erik Paulson for signing onto the bill already.

So if you can come down to the Fed tomorrow (today, depending on when you read this), Saturday, you can help gather the signatures. Mike Overland is in charge of that. He should have a couple people following him around with the C4L banner (which I'm dropping off -- I cannot stay).

You can also come hear Rand Paul speak to the Constitution Party tomorrow night (Sat, April 25) at the Chaska VFW for $15. He begins speaking at 7:30 following the Liberty dinner. It is too late to RSVP for the dinner itself, but you can show up to hear Rand speak for $15.

Keep the faith, keep up the fight, we have won more than you would imagine!

In liberty,
Marianne

In response to Texas Staight Talk 4/20/09 "Responses to Piracy" Posted by Icaticus

Posted 04/23/09

For those who have not read it you can find it here.

First and foremost, the people and entities closest to the situation need to be empowered to defend themselves. In the case of private shipping companies, the owners and operators need to be allowed to carry weapons to deter and defend from attacks. But because many governments, including ours, have anti-gun laws in place in ports and territorial waters, ironically to discourage piracy, it is nearly impossible to legally carry weapons at sea for peaceful and defensive purposes.

I find it ironic that the way we ended piracy in the past was to hire "Privateers" and give them bounties and yet know our answer is to make it illegal to wield a weapon. I say we look back towards a time when we pilaged the high seas for booty. All you need is a private boat, personell, guns, and a mounted 50 cal. These pirates would be running scared in no time with the global recession in full swing and the declining american dollar. What better way for a pissed off American, Irishman, or african with fire arms to make money and feel better than to pop off a couple of people that are instrumental in making an already bad problem worse? And best of all... It's not our money being spent its the businesses looking to be protected.

Tax Cut Rally: Jason Lewis' Video Contest Posted by mstebbins

Posted 04/20/09

Do C4Lers know how to make videos?  Are you kidding?

Stimulus Dollars Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 04/18/09

State Senator Kevin Dahle recently attacked the proposed budgets by Gov. Pawlenty and the MN House DFL caucus for containing payment shifts where spending is delay until the next budget cycle to make this year's budget looked balanced.
http://www.kevindahle.net/wordpress/?p=395

While arguing that shifts "serve as a short term solution to a long term budget problem" he then incredibly goes on to defend taking stimulus money to sustain the state's spending habits. While budget shifts are an accounting gimick that should be avoided, borrowing trillions of dollars so we can continue our profligate ways is a recipe for a fiscal disaster.

The State of Minnesota needs to get its budget under control.  We need to examine why spending in Health and Human Services is out of control.  The autopilot increases of 10% a year is simply not sustainable.  Using accounting gimicks like stimulus dollars or accounting shifts will not lead Minnesota onto a path of balanced long term budgets. 

Nor should we pretend a one time tax increase will bring us long term balanced budgets.  If we go down the path of tax increases, we will not solve the spending problem and we will incrementally move towards a European style system with 60% tax rates.  Dealing with government spending is the only way to avoid crushing debts and crushing taxes.  The MN State Senate is on path to bring us both.

Response from MN 1st District Rep. Tim Walz on HR 1207 Posted by Murr25

Posted 04/16/09

April 16, 2009

Dear Mr. Murray,

Thank you for contacting me regarding the Federal Reserve and appropriate legislative action with respect to it. I appreciate hearing from you.

As you may know, the Federal Reserve was originally created in 1913 to address the banking panics that plagued America's early history, although it now has a number of responsibilities with respect to maintaining stability in the monetary and financial system of the United States. Needless to say, the recent economic and financial crisis has given rise to many questions about the appropriate role and conduct of the Federal Reserve, including whether the Fed should even exist in its current form.

There are a number of legislative proposals on this subject. H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, would reform how the Federal Reserve is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States. It would require the Comptroller General to complete its audit of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Federal Reserve banks by the end of 2010. It would also require a report be made public about the substance of the audit within 90 days. H.R. 833 would eliminate the Federal Reserve System and all reserve banks, under the theory that Congress would then have stronger control of our monetary system.

Currently, both of these bills are pending before the House Committee on Financial Services. Although I am not a member of this committee, I will follow this issue closely and will keep your views in mind as I continue to work on legislation that provides economic security to all Minnesotans. 

Thank you again for sharing your views with me, and I look forward to hearing from you again in the future.  For more information about my activities representing southern Minnesota in Congress, please visit http://walz.house.gov and sign up for my e-newsletter.

Sincerely,

Tim Walz
Member of Congress

It took quite a while to get a response but at least it was on the topic of the FED and not generic.

A True Grassroots Movement Posted by ftfejason

Posted 04/12/09

I've been thinking a lot lately about our purpose here at Campaign For Liberty, and what it means to really focus on Grassroots activism. It starts right here, with the butt that's in this seat. It's about taking action at the lowest level of organization; self. The problem we seem to run into is getting overwhelmed when we try to take on larger issues, and we run out of either time, money, or resources. It's a sure-fire recepie for burn out. It's easy to get starry eyes, especially when there are so many large problems that need to be addressed.

This can easily be alleviated, but it will take a complete paradigm shift for most of us. We need to go back to the beginning. I am the only one I can control. How do I get more help? We've got to connect with people. Who better than the people we see everyday? Our neighbors at home, work, or church are ripe for the showering of our love upon them. We hardly know our neighbors anymore. We retreat into our iPods, Wii's, and reality television shows, shutting out the outside world. I'm as guilty as anyone. When we isolate ourselves, we not only deny others the good we can offer, but pre-emptively cut off the blessings coming our way from others.

We need to become a force for good in our communities, where we facilitate communication, cooperation, and a sense of community. Inviting your neighbors to a neighborhood picnic at your house or a local park are fun events that will allow people to connect and build relationship. Neighborhood service projects (such as a spring clean-up, landscaping, helping neighbors move in/out, roofing, raking, plowing, etc.) build community pride and reliance upon each other. Community forums and neighborhood meetings to discuss crime, upcoming service projects/picnics, or City decisions are where we can really educate people on the importance of liberty.

Once we begin to build our communities at the most basic level, we can begin to free their minds to the concepts of liberty, making it a community-wide value. Then, together, we can easily tackle the bigger issues with a bottom-up groundswell. We were never meant to be an island unto ourselves. Our gifts and talents fit in perfectly with those of others. That is why we get burned out, because we are performing functions we were never meant to. So, that's why we need our neighbors. They are the key to turning our country around. I urge you to start the ball rolling with a neighborhood picnic sometime in the next month. In fact, start with just your block. Comment to this post with the results. I'll follow up later with the results of mine, as well. Good luck!

To be continued...

Ron Paul Teaches Elementary Kids About Constitution 4/8/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 04/09/09 Last updated 04/09/09

Dr. Paul visits Dudley Magnet School in Victoria, TX and teaches kids about the Constitution (now they know more than the rest of Congress!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwe4OoXhTDE

Article about the visit here:

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2009/apr/08/rr_ron_paul_040909_45512/?features

Simple Economics Posted by Idoni

Posted 04/07/09

I thought this was pretty interesting...

An economics professor at Texas Tech said he had never failed a single student before but had, once, failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said ok, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism.

All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.  After the first test the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.  But, as the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too; so they studied little..  The second test average was a D!  No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around the average was an F.

The scores never increased as bickering, blame, name calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.  All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great; but when government takes all the reward away; no one will try or want to succeed.

Could not be any simpler than that...

A Solution to State's Budget Crisis Posted by mstebbins

Posted 04/07/09

Lasting Reforms and Tax Breaks Instead of Hikes

ST. PAUL - A group of nine non-partisan, non-profit organizations that formed an informal coalition earlier this year to solve the state's $6.4 billion state budget deficit has produced a plan that closes the funding gap without raising taxes - in fact, it actually eliminates some taxes. The group's proposal was introduced at a press conference at the Capitol today.

The coalition gathered proposals from policy experts and ordinary taxpayers to help identify opportunities to restructure state spending, and then collaborated to put the ideas into practical solutions. The result is a16-page document that solves the budget deficit using existing resources and doesn't require federal "bailout" money or new taxes.

The budget solution document, titled "Real State Budget Reform" includes recommendations to save the state $6.6 billion through restructuring and greater efficiencies. It also suggests "revenue-neutral" reforms that the group believe will improve Minnesota's overall economic situation, resulting in more revenue for the state in coming biennia.

"This is more than just a band-aid," said Phil Krinkie of the Taxpayers League of Minnesota, "this is budgeting reform that will have a lasting positive impact on the state's economics." The budget solution document is being distributed to all state legislators and to the governor.

"Minnesotans are outraged that their elected officials are once again contemplating raising their taxes," said Jeff Davis, president of Minnesota Majority. "It seems some lawmakers just aren't getting the message." The organization announced that it will be delivering an audio CD each week from now until the end of session with voice mail messages from angry taxpayers demanding cuts in government spending.

All state legislators are also being invited to sign a form stating that they will put spending cuts ahead of tax increases in the effort of balancing the state's budget. "We are going to make sure that voters know which lawmakers refuse to make this simple commitment to their constituents," said Davis.

Members of the coalition include: Associated Builders and Contractors, Minnesota Family Council, Minnesota Free Market Institute, Minnesota Majority, Freedom Foundation, the Minnesota chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, Taxpayers League of Minnesota, and Campaign for Liberty.

##

.

View Balanced Budget Proposal here.

Wright County GOP Convention Summary Posted by mathorst

Posted 04/06/09 Last updated 04/06/09

all
I want to thank everyone for their participation in the Wright County GOP Convention, held Saturday, April 4th. 
For those of you that couldn't make it, here is a very brief summary of the convention.
Don Soupir, former Wright County GOP Chair ran a first class convention and Drew Emmer former Vice Chair should consider running for public office.  I have the utmost respect for both of them.  It was nothing like last year's convention, very peaceful.  In addition, Don and Drew were both elected to the State Central Committee.
I was doing the registration for most of the earlier speeches, so somebody else would have to give a recap of those  For the most part, the ones I saw were fairly good.  State Rep Tom Emmer gave a great speech and called for unification of the party.  At one point, a delegate yelled "Tom Emmer for Governor!".  The delegation overwhelmingly agreed.
We had a great turnout of Ron Paulers, and in total  (Ron Paulers and everybody else) there were 84 seated delegates and 10 alternates.  Here are the results of yesterday's festivities...
Dave FitzSimmons won Chair
Mark Thorsted won Vice Chair
Stacy Morse won Secretary
Eric Boone ran unopposed for the Finance Chair
We also won a bunch of regional reps.  I'll find out names and if you have concerns, they can be addressed at the monthly Wright County meeting.
Of the 9 available State Central Committee spots, we won 5 delegates and 4 of the 12 (I think) top alternate spots. 
You all should have my contact info, so please feel free to call or email.  Also, please take a second and vote on my poll below.  I'm trying to get an idea of how many Ron Paulers were there.  It's only a one question poll, whether or not you attended the convention.  Also please post a comment on how you think the convention went.  thx
All and all, the convention was a step forward for the cause of liberty.
 
Mark B. Thorsted

My daughter Carolann  wanted me to add this. 

Survey for Residents of District 61B Posted by wildpjdevils

Posted 03/31/09

This survey is being hosted by Representative Jeff Hayden for District 61B.  If you live in 61B, please take this.  I did and it only takes a few minutes.  Oh, and please try to look past all of the pro-government bias and try to answer with the best pro-liberty answers that you can.

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/survey/61B.asp

Who Knows Better than Momma? (Why, the State of course!) Posted by mstebbins

Posted 03/30/09 Last updated 03/30/09

The Minnesota Legislature, in it's ubiquitous quest to make its subjects' lives risk-free, thought-free, and cumbersome in equal parts for all, now proposes that, because parents generally don't care whether their kids live or die, all eight-year-olds and younger MUST use a booster seat in the car.

"Minnesota's current law gives parents a false sense of security by telling them that all children older than 4 years can safely ride in a car wearing only a seat belt," said State Senator Jim Carlson in a story in the Legal Ledger.

The Legal Ledger cut him off there.  I imagine the rest of his speech may have been something like "We are further concerned about how many lives are being lost because the law does not specifically require parents to feed their children."

We suspect that Carlson was wisked away by a staffer before he was able to respond to a citizen's suggestion that lives are lost every year in spite of all the state's efforts, that the state has left large loopholes, and should not continue the reckless policy of allowing private ownership and operation of these dangerous automobiles.

3/25/09 Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch 7 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 03/27/09 Last updated 03/25/09

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=70514344F5D478BB

For just Ron Paul's part (part 6 of above playlist), see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3yBsExFtu0

Once again, thanks to Marc Gallagher over at the Liberty Maven for making the Judge's show available on YouTube!

http://www.libertymaven.com

Eight MN Democrats Vote to End Genetic Privacy and Parent Rights Posted by mstebbins

Posted 03/24/09

From CCHC (Citizens' Council on Healthcare):

DFL Votes to Eliminate Privacy Rights - Baby DNA bill heads to the Floor for a Full-House Vote

* ACTION: Contact your legislators to ask them to vote against HF 1341 when it comes to the floor.
* ACTION: Write a letter to your local newspaper editor

Late yesterday afternoon, March 23, 2009, the Minnesota House Civil Justice Committee voted 8-5 to pass H.F. 1341, which will:

* eliminate genetic privacy rights for newborns and their parents
* eliminate written informed consent requirements for state government storage, use, and sharing of baby DNA
* to eliminate consent requirements for genetic research on the DNA of infants and the genetic code of families.
* say baby DNA is NOT considered "genetic information."

Supporters eliminating informed written consent for storage and use of baby DNA (HF 1341) were so concerned about CCHC's grassroots success in the Senate that that ordered up the television media and called on a few mothers to testify in support of newborn testing (which is NOT even affected by the bill), and sent a total of FIVE lobbyists to lobby committee members. The MMA, March of Dimes and others were lobbying for a "yes" vote on the bill. CCHC had individuals, babies, and parents in the hearing room.

Thanks to Rep. Steve Drazkowski (Republican Lead), there was a roll call vote on the bill.

The following DFL legislators voted "yes" on the bill. They voted to undo the state's genetic privacy law, eliminate genetic privacy rights and informed parent written consent requirements for state storage, use and sharing of baby DNA, and to make every newborn baby a subject of government-sponsored genetic research without parent consent.

Please contact these legislators. If you are a constituent, be sure to say so in the SUBJECT LINE. Tell them what you think of their vote today... and let them know what you want them to do when it comes to the floor.

Contact These and Your own Democrat Representatives! They need to hear a different voice than all the voices talking to them now!

MULLERY - MPLS (District 58A)
CHAMPION - MPLS (58B)
HILSTROM - BROOKLYN CENTER (46B)
HORTMAN - BROOKLYN PARK (47B)
JOHNSON - ST. PAUL (67B)
MAHONEY - ST. PAUL (67A)
OLIN - THIEF RIVER FALLS (1A)
PAYMAR - ST. PAUL (64B)

Ask Your Legislator to Oppose the "Enhanced ID" Posted by mstebbins

Posted 03/24/09

To be heard THIS Thursday!  Thanks to Nick Quade for alerting us.

THURSDAY, March 26, 2009, 4:30 PM
Committee: Transportation Finance and Policy Division
Room: 10 State Office Building
Chair: Rep. Bernard Lieder
Agenda:
HF1005 (Reinert) Enhanced driver's license and enhanced identification card created, application, issuance, and appearance of card provided, and Homeland Security secretary approval sought.

The proposed legislation is at:

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H1005.0.html&session=ls8
6

and the RFID-related text is

"6.19 identification card. The enhanced driver's license or enhanced identification card may
6.20 include radio frequency identification technology that is limited to a randomly assigned
6.21 number, which must be encrypted if agreed to by the United States Department of
6.22 Homeland Security"

SD 42 News Posted by safetynet

Posted 03/23/09

We had a successful day, I was elected to the Executive committee as Treasurer for SD 42, and an State Central Delegate Alternate.  We had several other successes I believe we picked up one additional State Central Delegate Alternate and one Delegate.  In addition we now have one or two Vice Chairs.  That's it for now.

Response to MO Police Report. Posted by Matt Anderson

Posted 03/20/09 Last updated 04/05/09

I'll try add more later

Project Fair Convention 2010 Posted by YonCole

Posted 03/19/09 Last updated 02/17/09

Today is 2/17/2009 - you might be thinking that the next opportunity to make a HUGE difference for the Campaign for Liberty is a long ways off, BUT IT'S COMING IN THE NEXT 5 WEEKS!!!!  AND WE NEED TO MOVE NOW!

Summary: Get going on your Precinct Leader Training!  AND  Understand the Plan presented below: our action items and goals for the next 35 days!
-----------------

I recently started going through the Precinct Leader Training Program! -> If you are not doing this yet, it is INCREDIBLE!  The training materials are right on, and the research questions are helping me get connected with my precinct in a big way!  Sign-up to be a Precinct Leader and get going!  It's AWESOME!

Reading between the lines a new picture emerged in my mind.  Here is what I saw:

1) In 2008 we made a head first rush to see what we could do to get Ron Paul elected.  We went to precinct caucus, we brought friends, and we did everything we could to get Ron Paul supports into the National Convention as Delegates and Alternates.

2) In Minnesota we hit a few unexpected obstacles:  Especially in the state convention, we were not prepared for the kind of control the State Executive Committee would wield to make sure the convention resulted the way they wanted it to.

3) In 2010 we'll have the opportunity to endorse a candidate for governer, and in 2012 we'll have the opportunity to select P-BO's opposition candidate.  If we want to have some say in who runs, we need to ensure that our conventions are run fairly - and that means having pull on the State Executive Committee.

4) To get there, we need to understand the rules, and we need people to STEP UP in BIG WAYS!  Here is the analogy I'm working with.  Imagine if we could win every election and choose who we wanted in any/every office.  The ideal solution would be to start filling up the highest power seats with our best people.  But right now we run into a barrier: We don't have enough people taking ACTION to fill the seats that we want to fill.  Imagine, if you were suddenly and personally asked by Ron Paul himself to run for a particular position, would you have the courage to do it?!?

5) I am committing myself today to getting elected to the highest capacity that I am able to reach through the coming election cycles (in 2009, this is party leadership).  (State Republican Chairman, State Executive Committee, Congressional District Chairman, Congressional District Executive Committee, BPOU Chairman, BPOU Executive Committee).

6) I will simply do the best I can and see how far I can get.  And then in 2010, I'll run for office: (President[I would but I'm not 35 yet - only 28], CD2 Representative to the US House of Representatives, MN Governer, MN Senator, MN House of Representative).

7) I am TERRIFIED!  I have that feeling of standing on the edge of a cliff, because this is some big change in my life.  I never expected to feel this kind of internal pressure to actually DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

8) I want you to know, that if you are feeling that feeling too, you are not alone!  GO FOR IT!

9) The full picture includes a necessity that we must move to the next level, and the Precinct Leader Training Program is the Perfect Tool to help you do it!

10) The BPOU conventions are coming up!  Here is what we need to do to be ready:
   A) Know the Goal:  Get as many "Delegates/Alternates to the State Central Committee" as we can.
   B) Know the support:
        i)Only Delegates & Alternates to BPOU conventions get to vote for the State Central Committee Delegates and Alternages.  (The only people that get to vote were determined at the 2008 precinct caucuses).  Of all of these people, we need to know who are aligned with the Liberty Movement.  I have developed a phone script that I am experimenting with, and I am calling these people.  [I find out if they've read The Revolution, and what they thought, or if they would be interested in reading it.]
        ii) BPOUs can set their own rules for who can be elected as a delegate or alternate; if they may be nominated "at large" then ANYONE in the BPOU could be seated, even if they were not a delegate/alternate at the BPOU convention.  Non-Delegate/Alternate Ron Paul Supporters would be GREAT to get seated in these positions - so knowing your local support is another key!  They might be part of your SLATE (see below), or they might be willing to help with some phone calling.
   C) Know the rules:
      i) You'll need to check with your BPOU constitution to see the rules of who can be nominated for the State Central Committee Seats.
      ii) You might also need to meet with a nominating committee.
      iii) And you'll need to know how many Seats you have available in your BPOU.  (SD37 has 5 Delegate Seats and 15 Alternate Seats)
   D) Form a SLATE:
      i) Once you know the rules, gather your support in a meeting, and see how many people you have.
      ii) Who Here Would Be Willing to Be on the State Central Committee?  I would recommend feeling HONOR BOUND to say yes to such a question!
      iii) Have everyone give a practice 1-2 minute Nomination Speech, and have everyone present score them.  (Allowing as many repeats as anyone wants)
      iv) Take AS MANY TOP SCORERS as there are available Seats, and rank them by Score.
      v) Ask everyone present whether they feel comfortable promising to vote for this SLATE in the order given - take any comments, and see if there is any need for adjustments.
      vi) Once the order is resolved, that is your SLATE.
   E) Do anything and everything necessary to get your SLATE elegible to be seated (may mean meeting with the nominating committee).
   F) Get to the BPOU Convention and Vote for your SLATE!

11) We can do this!  In every BPOU where there is ONE (1) member of the Campaign for Liberty, we can SWEEP all of the State Central Committee Delegates and Alternates.  No one else is as organized as we are!  No one else is forming a SLATE.  Most people don't even know or care about this!

12) GETTING our members onto the State Central Committee is our NUMBER ONE goal for the immediate future!

13) Next steps will be:
   A) Getting our members onto the CD Executive Committees. (April)
   B) Getting our members onto the State Executive Committee. (June)
   C) Getting our members ready to run for office in 2010. (July '09 - Nov '10)
   D) Getting our members ELECTED in 2010! (Nov '10)

14) We'll also need to continue growing our support base, organizing that base, and replicating our successes far and wide!

15) You are a leader!  Take Your Next Step TODAY!  Sign Up for the Precinct Leader Training!

Always Watch Them Like a Hawk Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 03/18/09

I am learning that attending meetings of government bodies and reading their minutes is fascinating.

Yesterday, the New Prague City Council gave a $45000 'cash flow' loan (with no due date) to the city's golf course to avoid it going bankrupt immediatedly.  Only one councilmember raised concerns about this being an endless money pit before the loan sailed through.

Today, I was reminded of a bill going through the Legislature right now to increase the number of people who must sign a petition to hold on vote on whether to revoke a school referendum.

"S.F. 314, authored by Sen. Dan Skogen (DFL-Hewitt), increases the number of signatures required for an election to revoke an education finance operating referendum. Currently, he said, a petition must be signed by 15 percent of registered voters in the district for a referendum to be revoked, but the bill provides that signatures must account for at least 30 percent of registered voters. The bill also provides that voters may petition a school board for an election to increase referendum revenue amount, he said."

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/briefly/edition_display.php?filename_type=bri
ef&year=2009&month=03&date=13

Being organized and getting 15% of the voters to sign any petition is a high bar to reach.  Now the DFL controlled legislature wants to increase it to 30%.  Apparently it is too easy for people to protest the tax burden being placed on them.  Write your legislators now and ask them to stop this piece of work and remember to always watch your elected officials like a hawk.

Eminent Domain and Utilities Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 03/15/09

Here is a bill I thought Campaign for Liberty people would be interested in: />https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H1182.0.html&session=
ls86

The bill would place utilities companies (the official term is Public Service Corporations) under the same eminent domain rules that government agencies face. As defenders of liberty and private property, we should embrace any opportunity to secure the right to property and ensure eminent domain is exercised only in narrow cases where there is a legitimate need and the affected owners are adequately compensated. Giving utilities special privileges tilts the balance of power against the small property owner.

According the research department of the Minnesota House of Representatives under current law the provisions in the eminent domain statute "for attorneys' fees, appraisals, requirements to challenge the public use, necessity or authority for a taking, compensation for loss of going concern, minimum compensation, limitations, and reestablishment and relocation benefits do not apply to public service corporations. The appraisal fee reimbursement is capped at $500."
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/bs/86/HF1182.html

This issue came to my attention as a result of the proposal to build a transmission line for the CAPX 2020 project. While I am personally still learning more about that project, I think every freedom loving person should agree eminent domain laws should not favor one group such as the utility companies.

My thanks to Nancy Sackett from New Prague for working to bring the issues around the CAPX 2020 to the public's attention, including the utilities' eminent domain exemptions.

On the sale of Duluth's gas utility Posted by RonaldMiller

Posted 03/15/09

Due to the fiscal recklessness of past administrations and councils, Duluth's staggering 'live beyond your means' debt stands at $173 million with taxpayers' interest payments in the millions. Mayor Ness needs money to fund the real costs of operating Duluth right now.
 
Like President Obama, who inherited our national 'live beyond your means' debt of $10.9 trillion with taxpayers' interest payments in the hundreds of billions, Mayor Don Ness is doing the best he can. IMHO, Mayor Don Ness deserves our cooperation since the financial crisis which I believe could be likened to our ship of state hitting an iceberg like the Titanic did, he will turn out to be the best leader in helping us to rearrange Duluth's portion of the deck chairs. 
 
Regarding the funding of a consulting firm to inform Duluth citizens and their representatives on city council about selling off our commons of public property to satisfy the private corporate sector's efforts to get more workers under its profit-making economic regime, I see it as part of a friendly fascist strategy of investors, bankers and corporate businesses to further undermine the American experiment in constitutional self-government using their Federal Reserve unsatisfactory fiat currency substitute for the U.S. dollar of a fixed weight of silver mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

Wake up Duluthians! If sold, the gas utility will become the latest piece of flesh from our public body's political bones offered up as a sacrifice to satisfy the voracious appetite of the private sector.

Ronald A. Miller

Just what is a billion? Posted by jamieclimbs

Posted 03/08/09

From Europac.net:

"To put these vast sums into perspective, consider just one billion, or one thousandth of a trillion. A billion minutes ago, Jesus was alive [think about that, folks -Jamie]. A billion hours ago, humankind was in the Stone Age. But in just the past eight hours and twenty minutes, even before Obama's budget clicks in, the Government has spent $1 billion!"

Additionally:

60 seconds x 60 minutes x 24 hours = 84,600 seconds per day

84600 seconds x 365 days = 3,153,600 seconds per year

So assuming earned $1 per second at your job and worked around the clock with no breaks (and no taxes, ahem) you would earn approximately $85K every day. Not bad, right? A person could live quite nicely on that sort of money. In fact, I imagine after a week or so I'd want to take a day off and spend some of it.

So there you are, making $1 per second and never stopping... let's also assume that you began your career the day you were born. In order to make ONE billion dollars, you would have to keep this pace up until nearly your 32nd birthday. If you lived a healthy life (besides never leaving work I mean) and reached the ripe age of 95 you would have made THREE billion dollars.

Wow. Three billion dollars! Quite an accomplishment for someone. If you wanted to make one TRILLION dollars however, you would need to keep that pace up for 31,700 years. The documented span of human history (counting some cave paintings in France) can be reliably dated back about 10,000 years... so this means that you would have to work making $85K/day for triple the known length of recorded knowledge of our species.

When economists and politicians throw around these numbers, try to maintain some perspective. Because they sure as hell aren't.

Denmark: The Potemkin Village Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 03/07/09 Last updated 03/14/09

So I wandered into one of the bookstores in downtown Northfield today and skimmed through much of James Galbraith's (son of the famous Galbraith) book 'Predator State'.

http://www.amazon.com/Predator-State-Conservatives-Abandoned-Liberals/dp/141656683X A curious combination of mourning the passing of the Keynesian glory days and run of the mill Bush bashing.

It sounds like my state representatives (David Bly and Kevin Dahle) having been reading Galbraith the Younger. Galbraith defends high marginal tax rates as long as companies are given exemptions for retained earnings. This sounds very similar to Bly and Dahle longing for the days of high corporate taxes because it allegedly encouraged business to invest in themselves.
Galbraith also points to Denmark as the model for his neo-Keynesian system. Liberty should respond to whether Denmark is or is not really a model for Minnesota and the US.

I would agrue it is indeed a Potemkin Village, where the facade of a 'successful' welfare state masks its Achille's heel: It discourages family formation.  Any government tax has a hidden price and directs investment from one area to the government desired area.  In the case of Denmark (and to a lesser extent all so-called social democracies), this will direct money from the raising of families.  Even The New York Times wrote an article on how high taxes on young professionals lead Danes to seek employment elsewhere.  A Dane writing for Mises.org argues how high automobile taxes also discourage family formation since mobility is essential for middle class families trying to raise kids and go between various activities. 

This must in the end spell the collapse of the system.  Without more people paying into the system, an aging population cannot be supported indefinitely. No Children Today = No Government Pension Tomorrow. It took two generations for the government subsidized housing boom to collapse. It may take longer for the government subsized entitlement bubble here and in Denmark to collapse but one cannot hold down nature forever.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/26/business/worldbusiness/26labor.html?_r=1

Denmark: Potemkin Village http://mises.org/article.aspx?control=905

http://mises.org/story/1274

http://mises.org/story/1524

(link)

Judge Napolitano's Freedom Watch 3/4/09 with Ron and Rand Paul, Peter Schiff, and others Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 03/05/09 Last updated 03/05/09

Note: there were some technical problems recording the show, but most of it is here.  Also, the embedded video will continue through the entire six part episode.

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=72C57C830C1FD0D5

A big thanks once again to Marc Gallagher over at the Libety Maven:

http://www.libertymaven.com

The 5 Political Systems Posted by Jim Bobier

Posted 03/04/09 Last updated 03/04/09

A conservative delegate from Pelican Lakes introduced me to this great 10-minute video about the 5 basic forms of government. I found this very enlightening and I hope you appreciate this explaination as much as I did.

My son's Scoutmaster really appreciated this so much that he is now incorporating this into his instructions for the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge.

Jim

http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment

Overview of America Posted by CeliaScheer

Posted 03/04/09

I have had 2 requests for a link to this video, so I'm posting it for everyone. It is a great educational tool.

JBS's Overview of America is 29 minutes long.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6732659166933078950

America "Redefined"? Posted by ftfejason

Posted 03/04/09

"We are in the midst of a phase of history in which nations will be redefined and their futures fundamentally altered," stated Rupert Murdoch in a recent memo to his News Corp management staff. I sure hope that he is wrong. There is nothing more frightening than for nations to be "redefined" under present management. You see, the push has been to globalize everything. We are told that we are world citizens in a world community. We are made to feel shameful for ruining the earth with our carbon-heavy lifestyles. All of this is a calculated move to fear monger us into backing away from the battle over big spending, big control government.

We don't need to be "re-made", as President Obama has supposed, or "redefined", as Mr. Murdoch has stated. We need to be "renewed" or "reset" in the Constitutional foundations that we were built upon. People are putting more and more hope in the government. We want them to take care of our incomes, housing, health care, transportation, and anything else that we think we have a right to. The problem is this: the funding has to come from somewhere.  Unfortunately the only place you can go to get that funding is from the productive population of America. Our government is continually asking those that do contribute to shoulder more and more of this burden.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I fully understand that these are tough times and will probably get tougher before they get better. People aren't sure what to do, and are panicking. Can we honestly say, however, that our best option is to forcibly take the fruits of others' labor for our own? Can you feel good about that? Why aren't we having total looting of stores, if this is acceptable behavior? Because, the legalization of stealing money out of the pockets of hard working families is legitimized by a government that keeps its victims faceless. If you could see the over-burdened faces of the families where both people work, sometimes two jobs, just to afford to take care of their family and yours, would you still feel entitled to that money?

The only true answer is to return to the fiscal principles that kept us strong for so many years. We cannot spend more than we earn. We must be willing to work hard. Even the unemployed have marketable skills that can help them to get a leg up, if they think innovatively about what they are able to do. Those that refuse to work destroy the willingness of the generous to help out. Charity should be a personal decision, not a forced one. We should be able to help out who we want, how we want, and when we want. After all, how many politicians choose not to pay taxes at all, while enjoying the benefits of cars, drivers, planes, homes, cash, and lucrative business deals? Best of all, when they do get caught, nobody in power cares. They get off with little to no attention paid. If they believe that they are in the right, why are they not chipping in?

If our nation is remade as the cries continue for a one- world economy, as has been stumped for by Gordon Brown, Nicholas Sarkozy, and other European leaders, you can be sure that another level of taxation will be added upon the working class and the ability to gain control moves further away. America will surrender sovereigty to a world community that will hold money over our heads until we comply. We already see this top down approach in our state, county, and city governments, as they cave to receive promised funding for meeting certain demands. They are already too willing to sell themselves for a little cash. We cannot believe that they will stand for us in the face of an even more powerful governmental body.

The time is upon us to return to the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and other writings of our founding fathers, so that we can understand how to right ourselves and find our way out of this storm. We must come together to build strong communities. Get to know your neighbors. The more we can depend on each other, the less we need the government. The less we need the government, the more power we can take back for ourselves, but it has to start at home. Let's redefine ourselves to renew America.

LETTER: Bailouts: The end of the American way? Posted by awoodwor

Posted 03/02/09

From Archie Woodworth
Hutchinson
This morning I began to hear details of the Obama administration’s proposed bailout of individuals who can’t pay their mortgages. As I listened, I began to think that will be the end of the American way. You know, work hard, pay your bills, live within your means, and if you’re lucky save a little for the future.

With the announcement of this, the latest of the proposed bailouts coming from Washington, it seems to me there is now no incentive to do any of these things. In fact, I’m starting to wonder why anyone should even bother to continue paying their bills or their mortgage at all. We might as well all just quit and belly up to the trough just like Wall Street, the banking industry, car makers, state governments and people who cry to the president that they need a kitchen.

And if you’re one of those stupid individuals who have done what used to be the right things, and maybe gotten ahead and become one of the evil rich, there’s even an incentive program proposed for you. It’s called extra taxes.

It seems like our government has gotten the positive and negative reinforcement thing a little mixed up. So I ask, if the government is now going to be rewarding those who have made bad decisions and penalizing those who haven’t, what incentive is there for the rest of us stuck in the middle to continue doing what we were taught and have always believed to be the right things?

After all, don’t we all deserve a piece of that pork?

Yes, folks, it’s the end of truth, justice and the American way. Superman will be turning over in his grave.

Join Us at Jimmy's after the Conference Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/27/09

Join us after the conference tomorrow at

Jimmy's
11000 Red Circle Dr
Minnetonka, MN 55343

(Directions from Marriott to Jimmys)

For more mingling and networking

6 pm - ?

Rescheduled: America's Future Foundation Event Tonight Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/26/09 Last updated 02/26/09

Yours truly will be a panelist tonight at an event hosted by America's Future Foundation at Trocaderos, 107 Third Avenue N, Minneapolis.

The newly formed Minneapolis Chapter of America's Future Foundation will host a Speaker Series Discussion on the future of the GOP and free market principles. With President Obama in the White House and expanded Democrat majorities in Congress, with public sentiment moving against free markets in the midst of the economic crisis, and with growing public deficits locally and nationally, leading towards more massive government programs, what is the future direction for conservatism? What does it mean for freedom and the free market principles that conservatives and libertarians believe in? How do we move forward?

The speaker panel for this conversation includes:

Sarah Janecek: Sarah Janecek has been involved in Minnesota politics for more than 20 years as a writer, campaign adviser, Republican activist and lobbyist. She now publishes the bipartisan family of publications, Politics in Minnesota. For years, she has provided the Republican perspective to local and national media.

Sue Jeffers: Sue Jeffers is a former candidate for Governor of Minnesota. Jeffers challenged Tim Pawlenty for the Republican Party nomination in the 2006 Minnesota gubernatorial election, after declining endorsement from the Libertarian Party of Minnesota. She hosts her own Saturday radio program on KTLK 100.3 FM.

Marianne Stebbins: Marianne Stebbins was the state coordinator of Ron Paul's campaign in Minnesota and Campaign for Liberty.

Tony Sutton: Tony Sutton has been a Republican Party activist since 1984, has worked on numerous campaigns and in many party leadership positions. He has served as Executive Director and is currently Secretary/Treasurer of the Minnesota State Republican Party.

Craig Westover: Craig Westover is a contributing columnist to the Pioneer Press Opinion Page and a senior policy fellow at the Minnesota Free Market Institute. A life-long Minnesotan, Craig has had a varied career that includes 15 years as a freelance writer, as well as work in corporate communications and marketing.

Heather Flannery of the Minnesota Young Republicans will moderate this discussion.

A reception will begin at 5:30 pm with complimentary drinks and hors d' oeuvres and the roundtable will begin at 7:00 pm.

Misery Tour Hits A Roadblock in Burnsville Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 02/26/09 Last updated 02/26/09

Tonight the legislative 'listening tour' aka 'the misery tour' reached Fairview Hospital in Burnsville.  Easily several hundred attended, including a number of speakers defending government programs they participate in.  However, a large number of the speakers spoke on behalf of lower taxes, encouraging private business, and people taking personal responsibility.  

One of people on the 'misery' bandwagon however did have a very interesting point which deserves further study.  She commented on how people in her program may pay into insurance programs for 30 years, yet when they get sick they may have to leave their job, loose their insurance and are stuck on government programs for health care.  All the money they paid into the system is gone and they cannot use it for their needs.

The speaker was using this to try to gain sympathy for further government aid, however a liberty activist should raise the issue, why is all this money gone?  Why could not the individual have the use of the insurance premiums they paid?  Simply put, our government manipulated health care system has tied people's health insurance to their employer through the tax code.  

In a market based system why should not people choose a system taking ideas from the life insurance world?  People could buy a policy with a 'term health insurance' component that would cover catastrophic coverage. Those rates, presumably lower for younger people, would be adjusted to meet the current needs of the insurance pool.  Additionally people could buy a cash value component, that would accrue a balance for the particular individual.  After thirty years they would have the unused cash balance piece plus the investment income on that sum.  Essentially, this would amount to an extension of the Health Saving Accounts. 

The sad part is that the individuals asking for government aid may now be dependent on government aid because they are themselves the victims of government policies, like the ones that have tried to meddle in the health care industry.

A brave man Posted by CeliaScheer

Posted 02/23/09

"It would be like spending $1 to get a dime." ...
Governor Bobby Jindal


Jindal to Turn Down $100 Million in Stimulus Funds
Sunday, February 22, 2009 9:11 PM

http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/jindal_stimulus/2009/02/22/184390.html?s=al&
promo_code=7ACC-1

See What Pork Is Coming to a MN Town Near You Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/22/09 Last updated 02/22/09

Lake Minnetonka area Shorewood, despite its generous tax base, has its hands quite deep into the taxpayer cookie jar:

The total cost of all the projects submitted by Shorewood is $3,150,000

Lake Mary storm water and flood mitigation  - - - Shorewood MN - - - $500,000
Municipal road reconstruction - - - - - - - - - - - - - Shorewood MN - - - $1,500,000
Park shelter and warming house reconstruction - - - - Shorewood MN - - - $250,000
Tennis court improvement and rehabilitation - - - Shorewood MN - - - $300,000
Wet Land Restoration and education center - - - - Shorewood MN - - - $600,000

See all MN pork, and vote on it, here.

Big Events Next Week -- Be a Part of Them! Posted by Thomas Woods

Posted 02/20/09 Last updated 02/20/09

Many of you probably know about them already, but there are two great events coming up next week that I hope many Campaign for Liberty supporters will attend.  For those of you in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, come to a one-day conference on the Economics of Freedom on February 28!  It costs a measly $20.  This is the greatest bargain of all time.  Someday you'll tell your kids, "You know, when I was your age, I went to a whole conference for only $20."

On February 27, of course, the Campaign for Liberty is holding its free Liberty Forum at CPAC.  Have a look at the people on the program.  How can this not be a blast?  And you'll be able to tell your kids, "I went to a whole Liberty Forum for $0."

I'll be speaking at both events and look forward to meeting lots of great folks.  One more thing: I've just received the excellent news that my new book Meltdown, on the economic crisis, made the New York Times bestseller list for March 1!  Thanks so much for all your support.

Report from the 'Minnesota Misery Tour': Mankato edition Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 02/20/09

I attended the Budget Hearing held in Mankato on February 19, 2009, one of many to be held around Minnesota in the coming weeks. The three-hour hearing was billed as a chance for members of the community to speak to their representatives about the enormous Minnesota budget deficit. The series of hearings has been referred to by some proponents of limited government as The Misery Tour, and let me tell you, that was a very accurate description of the event.

An estimated 350 people attended the event, filling the room over capacity. The event organizers said they had expected about 100-150 people when they arranged the meeting location. Of the 350, 90 had signed up to "testify" for the hearing, and probably two-thirds of this number were actually present when called to speak. Each speaker was allotted two minutes, but many speakers went over time by 30-60 seconds without rebuke. About eight area Minnesota representatives and senators were present.

But here's the problem: this was not a "community meeting" by any stretch of the imagination. By my estimation, about 85-90% of the speakers worked for and/or received benefits from state government programs. Numerous speakers represented the local public university (from the university president to professors to the student body president) and many more represented various organizations that receive most or all of their funds from the state coffers. They all begged the legislators that their program not be cut, because, they said, it was so important to so many people that the programs continued. A loss of 10-15% would be catastrophic, they said. And so on: "This is an investment in our future." "Demand for social services is through the roof; we simply can't help everyone even at current funding levels."

A number of people said, "Raise my taxes. These programs are worth it to me!" Apparently they've never considered the concept that since they work for the state, they don't really pay taxes at all. (What's the difference if they earn $50,000 from the state and pay $5,000 in taxes back to the state, or if they just earn $45,000 and pay no taxes?) One person spent her entire two minutes literally crying, with tears and a choked voice, about how she couldn't believe that Governor Pawlenty could possibly in good conscience suggest cutting the program she worked for.

The other 10% or so of the speakers, such as myself, were not beneficiaries of the many government programs on the chopping block. These speakers talked about being fiscally responsible, about returning government functions to the private sector, about the fallacy of government being able to create wealth and restore the economy, and concerning the impossibility to tax our way out of the deficit when our private sector productivity is crumbling under the tax burden already.

The composition of the crowd, and, by extension, the content of the speeches, was what it was because the people who aren't current employees or beneficiaries of state programs will not feel the pain until well after the cuts are made and taxes are raised, so they had much less incentive to be at the meeting. The private sector will feel the pain later, when it's too late to do anything about it. However, now the legislators from that attended the hearing will be able to go back to the legislature and say that they heard over and over again that Minnesotans want increased taxes and maintained benefits levels. The limited government view, due to the natural audience bias, was barely a whisper in the cacophany of big-government begging.

If a "hearing" is coming to a town near you, please, show up. Sign up to speak. Your voice is needed.

Minnesota Sovereignty Resolution Introduced Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/19/09 Last updated 02/19/09

The Minnesota Sovereignty resolution was introduced in the MN House today, thanks to chief author, Marty Seifert, and a few good men, including Leon Moe, who were behind the effort.  Minnesota follows several other states this year in re-asserting their rights under the Tenth Amendment.

The MN Resolution may be viewed here.  (Or see post below.)

Take a moment to thank to co-sponsors, accessible through the link above.  Then contact your own representative if he/she has not yet signed on as a co-sponsor.

H.F. 997: Minnesota Joins State Sovereignty Movement! Posted by North Star Liberty

Posted 02/19/09

This bill was introduced this morning into the MN House of Representatives. It is currently supported by 16 State Representatives. As with other states attempting to reassert the power of the 10th Amendment, it seeks to affirm our long diminished state sovereignty against the overwhelming mandates of the Federal government.

I hope we Minnesotan liberty lovers can get behind this!

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/bin/bldbill.php?bill=H0997.0.html&session=ls8
6

H.F. No. 997

1.1A resolution
1.2memorializing the federal government to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon
1.3the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States and
1.4affirming Minnesota's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of
1.5the United States.
1.6WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States reads as
1.7follows: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it
1.8to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people;" and
1.9WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment defines the total scope of federal power as being that
1.10specifically granted by the Constitution of the United States and no more; and
1.11WHEREAS, the scope of power defined by the Tenth Amendment means that the federal
1.12government was created by the states specifically to be an agent of the states; and
1.13WHEREAS, today, in 2009, the states are demonstrably treated as agents of the federal
1.14government; and
1.15WHEREAS, many federal mandates are directly in violation of the Tenth Amendment
1.16to the Constitution of the United States; and
1.17WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court has ruled in New York v. United States, 112
1.18S. Ct. 2408 (1992), that Congress may not simply commandeer the legislative and regulatory
1.19processes of the states; and
1.20WHEREAS, a number of proposals from previous administrations and some now pending
1.21from the present administration and from Congress may further violate the Constitution of the
1.22United States; NOW, THEREFORE,
2.1BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges the President
2.2and the Congress of the United States to halt the federal government's practice of imposing
2.3mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States,
2.4and that it affirms Minnesota's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the
2.5United States over all powers not otherwise enumerated and granted to the federal government by
2.6the Constitution of the United States.
2.7BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
2.8directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
2.9States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk of
2.10the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
2.11the chair of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Minnesota's Senators and Representatives
2.12in Congress.

Lighting the Fires of Liberty Posted by mnphenow

Posted 02/19/09

I recently received this from Michael Badnarik. On his website a while back I voted for Minneapolis as a great place for him to come and give his Constitution Class. He recently reset all of the votes and is asking for people to return to the site and vote for the cities that would like him to visit so he can get accurate, up-to-date numbers.

I strongly encourage you to cast a vote for Minneapolis (or your own town if you aren't from around here):
http://www.constitutionpreservation.org/class.aspx

He has a set of videos of one of his Constitution Classes on Google Video. It is very good and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone (see links below).

Let's vote up Minneapolis and show him how many liberty lovers there are here and then lets have a huge turnout when he comes!

A few strong remarks on the Constitution:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=x0KWx-OEHHs

The entire Constitution Class:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4944712480955285875
http://video.google.com/v
ideoplay?docid=1338165539518441611
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=11889977736
61725985
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5743392260531647132
ref="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5876221484028664477">http://video.googl
e.com/videoplay?docid=-5876221484028664477
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=574
7171386852909946
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4730862921455924966

---- Forwarded message ----
From: Michael Badnarik
Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 6:11 PM
Subject:
To: list suppressed

Fellow Liberty Advocate,

Interest in my Constitution class has increased dramatically since last year's multi-billion dollar bailout, and presidential election. In an effort to capture current interest in my class, I deleted all of the entries stored on my website just after the New Year. Your name was on that list which means that you should return to my website to "suggest" your city again. I would like to begin teaching my class every single weekend if I can find enough people to attend. As soon as twenty (20) people suggest the same city, I will begin making arrangements to travel there. I am also willing to negotiate a "flat-rate plus expenses" agreement in order to reduce the cost per student. If you're willing to help me organize a large group, please call me. It is in everyone's best interest for you to encourage your friends to suggest your city. Registration for scheduled classes will be done from the home page until further notice.

Please visit http://www.constitutionpreservation.org/class.aspx if you're still interested in attending my class. Many thanks!

Lighting the fires of Liberty, one heart at a time!

Michael Badnarik

Judge Napolitano's Strategy Room on Fox News 2/18/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 02/18/09 Last updated 02/19/09

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=9AEFF81EE25B14C4

Judge Andrew Napolitano's great new show called Freedom Watch airing every Wednesday from 2pm - 3pm EST. Regular freedom loving guests include Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, Lew Rockwell, Cody Willard, etc.
Watch it live at: http://foxnews.com/strategyroom

Thanks to Marc Gallagher and the folks at Liberty Maven for recording and YouTube'ing the session!

http://www.libertymaven.com

Be Heard on the MN Budget Deficit: Not Another Tax Increase! Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/17/09 Last updated 02/17/09

In the coming weeks, the Minnesota House of Representatives and Senate, will be holding hearings across our state to hear from Minnesotans. What message are they going to hear? There will certainly be an effort to turn out those who gain from Minnesota's bloated budget. The question is will they hear from those of you who pay the tab for all this spending? You can answer this question by signing up to speak at one of these hearings to make your voice heard.

Follow the links at the end of this email to find the town hall most convenient for you. We have a coordinator in every location. Please contact them with any questions, to help them organize or just to let them know you'll be there.

With your help we can prevent yet another Minnesota tax increase.
Sign up today to be heard.

Thank you,
Marianne Stebbins
MN Campaign for Liberty,
a member of the
Minnesota Budget Solutions Coalition
http://www.mnbudgetsolutions.com

p.s. Here's a FACTS SHEET on state spending that you can print and distribute:
>http://www.minnesotabudgetsolutions.com/documents/BudgetFactsSheet.pdf
----
---------------

Albert Lea
CONTACT PERSON: Brian Ducklinsky - brian@ducklinsky.com
Friday, February 20th - 10:00 a.m.
Albert Lea City Hall-Council Chambers
221 E Clark Street

Sign up to testify at the Albert Lea hearing

Alexandria
CONTACT PERSON: David FitzSimmons - dmfitzsimmons@gmail.com
Friday, February 20th - 2:00 p.m.
Alexandria City Hall
704 Broadway

Sign up to testify at the Alexandria hearing

Bemidji
CONTACT PERSON: TBA - email townhall@minnesotabudgetsolutions.com
Friday, February 20th - 3:30 p.m.
Bemidji State University
American Indian Resource Center Gathering Place
1620 Birchmont Drive

Sign up to testify at the Bemidji hearing

Bloomington
CONTACT PERSON: Jim Taylor - joesixpack@northstatesman.com
Tuesday, February 24th - 7:00 p.m.
Bloomington City Hall
1800 W Old Shakopee Rd

Sign up to testify at the Bloomington hearing

Brainerd
CONTACT PERSON: David Pundt - davidallanpundt@yahoo.com
Friday, February 20th - 10:30 a.m.
Washington Educational Services Building-Board Room
804 Oak Street

Sign up to testify at the Brainerd hearing

Burnsville
CONTACT PERSON: Chris Andryski - skicpa@msn.com
Wednesday, February 25th - 7:30 p.m.
Fairview Ridges Hospital
201 E Nicollet Blvd

Sign up to testify at the Burnsville hearing

Coon Rapids
CONTACT PERSON: Jim Bendtsen - jimbendtsen@gmail.com
Thursday, February 26th - 7:00 p.m.
Coon Rapids City Hall
11155 Robinson Drive

Sign up to testify at the Coon Rapids hearing

Duluth
CONTACT PERSON: Celia Scheer - celiasche@aol.com
Friday, February 20th - 9:30 a.m.
Duluth City Hall-Council Chambers
411 W 1st Street

Sign up to testify at the Duluth hearing

Forest Lake
CONTACT PERSON: Bob Swinehart - rmswinehart@gmail.com
Thursday, Feb. 26th - 6:30 PM
Forest Lake City Hall
220 N. Lake Street

Sign up to testify at the Forest Lake hearing

Little Falls
CONTACT PERSON: TBA - email townhall@minnesotabudgetsolutions.com
Friday, February 20th - 9:30 a.m.
Morrison County Government Center-Garden Level Meeting Room
213-1st Avenue SE

Sign up to testify at the Little Falls hearing

Mankato
CONTACT PERSON: Kent Bauer - kkbauer@gmail.com
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Mankato Intergovernmental Center-Mankato River Room
10 Civic Center Plaza

Sign up to testify at the Mankato hearing

Marshall
CONTACT PERSON: TBA - email townhall@minnesotabudgetsolutions.com
Friday, February 20th - 2:30 p.m.
Southwest Minnesota State University Lecture Hall
1501 State Street

Sign up to testify at the Marshall hearing

Minneapolis
CONTACT PERSON: Niklas Ludwig - diogenes@inbox.com
Tuesday, February 24th - 6:00 p.m.
Minneapolis Park Board
2117 West River Road

Sign up to testify at the Minneapolis hearing

Moorhead (Senate Tax Committee)
CONTACT PERSON: Ken Lucier - lmlucier@afo.net
Friday, February 20th - 12:30 p.m.
Minnesota State University Moorhead-Comstock Union
1104-7th Avenue South

*The Moorhead hearing is a special meeting of the full Senate Tax Committee. The format is slightly different from the other budget townhall meetings which are being organized by the Senate Finance Committee.
*If you wish to speak in Moorhead, you'll need to contact the Committee Administrator: christopher.runquist@senate.mn or 651-296-5640

Plymouth
CONTACT PERSON: Gene Boyer - gene.boyer@comcast.net
Thursday, February 26th - 7:00 p.m.
Plymouth City Hall
3400 Plymouth Blvd

Sign up to testify at the Plymouth hearing

Rochester
CONTACT PERSON: Deb Roschen - deb@draz.com
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Rochester Community and Technical College-Heintz Center Commons Area
1926 Collegeview Road SE

Sign up to testify at the Rochester hearing

St. Cloud
CONTACT PERSON: Jim Howe - jrhowe151@charter.net
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
St. Cloud City Hall-Council Chambers
400-2nd Street South

Sign up to testify at the St. Cloud hearing

St. Paul
CONTACT PERSON: Jake Barnett - barnett.jake@gmail.com
Thursday, February 26th - 6:00 p.m.
West Minnehaha Recreation Center in Frogtown
685 Minnehaha Ave W

Sign up to testify at the St. Paul hearing

Virginia
CONTACT PERSON: TBA - email townhall@minnesotabudgetsolutions.com
Friday, February 20th - 1:30 p.m.
Mesabi Range Community and Technical College-Small Auditorium
1001 Chestnut Street W

Sign up to testify at the Virgina hearing

Willmar
CONTACT PERSON: Craig Houle - craig@thehoels.com
Thursday, February 19th - 6:00 p.m.
Kennedy Elementary School
824-7th Street SW

Sign up to testify at the Willmar hearing

Winona
CONTACT PERSON: Della Schmidt - dschmidt@winonachamber.com
Friday, February 20th - 3:30 p.m.
Winona City Hall-Council Chambers
207 Lafayette

Sign up to testify at the Winona hearing

White Bear Lake
CONTACT PERSON: Jim Schottmuller - jim@jimschottmuller.org
Wednesday, February 25th - 6:30 p.m.
White Bear Lake High School-South Campus
3551 McKnight Rd N

Sign up to testify at the White Bear Lake hearing

Woodbury
CONTACT PERSON: Chris Johnson - phloatpill@gmail.com
Monday, February 23rd - 6:00 p.m.
Central Park Ampitheater
8595 Central Park Place

Sign up to testify at the Woodbury hearing

Worthington
CONTACT PERSON: TBA - email townhall@minnesotabudgetsolutions.com
Friday, February 20th - 10:30 a.m.
Worthington City Hall-Council Chambers
303 Ninth Street

Sign up to testify at the Worthington hearing

The Misery Tour is Coming Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/17/09 Last updated 02/17/09

Don't forget to check out the schedule of the DFL's "Misery Tour" across Minnesota. In 24 different cities, DFL House and Senate leaders will hold hearings on Minnesota's budget deficit. Of course these hearings are actually a staged show for the media so that DFL legislative leaders can have an endless parade of pre-selected folks whine about the horrible impact the Governor's proposed budget will have on their schools, their cities, their government jobs, you fill in the blank.

That means you need to get out to your local "Misery Tour" stop and tell them that raising taxes in this economy is not the answer. You must SIGN UP if you want to speak at a hearing. Check out the schedule here, and then sign up to speak today.

And if you're not yet convinced to attend your local hearing, check this out.

The "tour" begins this Thursday, Feb 19, in Mankato, Rochester, St. Cloud, and Willmar, followed by Albert Lea, Alexandria and Bemidj on Friday.

(Thanks to the Taxpayers League.)

Townhall Meeting with Kevin Dahle and David Bly Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 02/15/09 Last updated 02/14/09

Kevin Dahle is the DFL state senator for SD 25 (Northfield, northern Rice County, LeSueur county, and parts of Scott and Sibley counties).  David Bly is the DFL representative from 25B (Northfield, northern Rice County and southern Scott county).  Today they held a townhall meeting in Montgomery.  The discussion was cordial but the differences between Dahle and Bly and those who want liberty could not be starker.

The focus was of course the state budget.  Dahle argued that the so-called "tobacco bonds" were fiscally irresponsible and akin to running up a credit card to pay off current bills.  He also praised the potential to receive huge sums of money from the stimulus package to apply toward the deficit. 

There is a problem with these two statements: The stimulus money is itself borrowed and racks up a larger national debt.  I pointed out to Dahle that the "stimulus" money is also run up on a credit card.  Dahle and Bly then switched arguments and talked about how the state needs the stimulus now to avoid huge cuts to health programs and education. 

Going forward pro-liberty people need to point out that the national debt will divert resources to interest payments and hinder the ability of people to invest in education and health care due to the burden of taxes and inflation.  Placing control of these investments in the hands of individual citizens will limit the risk of politicians going wild with the credit card to pay for what they want.

As for Dahle and Bly, they are not satisfied with the stimulus dollars.  They also want "new revenue" for the state, i.e. higher taxes.  They insist that higher taxes are good for the economy, as long as the state spends the money well.  Bly in particular argued that lower taxes for the "rich" leads to hoarding of money offshore and does not lead to economic progress.   He believes that Minnesota was more successful with higher taxes and we need government to spend more on infrastructure and the schools.  Going forward conservatives and liberty minded candidates need to make clear and convincing rebuttals to this line of thinking.  We need to demonstrate that leaving individuals in control of their money leads a better allocation of resources and more prosperity.

It is not clear what Dahle and Bly want to tax but a tax hike on the highest income earners in probably in the works.  Given social security, medicare, and income taxes, this tax bracket already could faces a 55% marginal tax rate if the Obama administration carries through on increased income taxes and applying social security to income above $250 k per year.  One wonders what the DFL thinks is a fair tax rate for the so called rich and what could ever satisfy the need for "public investment".

As for spending Bly and Dahle did mention that they supported some cuts to K-12 to minimize cuts elsewhere.  The K-12 funding formula needs to be reviewed and an open discussion held on how schools are spending the money. Minneapolis spent $18k per pupil in the 2007-2008 school year.
(http://financeandbudget.mpls.k12.mn.us/sites/0c4653c4-7862-400a-bc36-f985a23a68fa/up
loads/Minneapolis_Public_Schools-Financial_Statements-YE_6-30-08.pdf. See page 8 and 11 for the total budget and the enrollment numbers.)  Minnesota taxpayers need accountability as to how this incredible sum of money is spent, as long as we have a funding system which funnels the bulk of education spending through the state government

There were some other interesting moments. At one point someone argued the state need to pass the proposal to make seat belt violations a primary offense (meaning police officers can pull someone over for this offense even if there is no other violation).  This person said she heard federal money was tied to passing this law and we could not forgo the money at this time.  Dahle's response was he would absolutely support passing the bill if it was needed to secure the money.  I argued we should not subordinate the decisionmaking of state legislators to federal dictates.  Suddenly Dahle was spinning a completely different tune arguing he opposes the federal mandates over the legal limit for drunk driving and the legal drinking age.

My Article in the Rochester Post Bulletin Posted by Rongstad

Posted 02/15/09

My commentary that appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on 2/10/09:

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=12&a=3845
98

2009 will have the 'worst economic collapse ever' Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 02/13/09

Good interview with Gerald Celente on Russia Today:

Digg it so that more people can watch it!
http://digg.com/world_news/Worst_econ... .

In 2009 were going to see the worst economic collapse ever, the Greatest Depression, says Gerald Celente, U.S. trend forecaster. He believes its going to be very violent in the U.S., including there being a tax revolt.

MN Dems holding "Listening Meetings" Posted by teshuah

Posted 02/12/09 Last updated 02/12/09

I received this from Paul Motin today out of SD48 BPOU. Pass it on. These are the same meetings that have been talked about about the "Budge Solution Town Hall Meetings" http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/budgettownhallmeetings.asp

Representative Abeler asked me to forward this on --

Can you please announce the following:

The DFL is having "listening meetings" around the state and in our area. If normal citizens show up and offer real advice, it will counterbalance the sky is falling rhetoric they hope to hear.

The real answer is we will have to quit doing some things and streamline government.

The one in our area is:
Coon Rapids City Hall 11155 Robinson Drive Thurs Feb 26 7 pm

Tell people to spread the word. Make it standing room only.

If you can spam it out to your list, that would also be great.

I hope all is well with you.

Jim

Urgent: MN House Bill to Require Voters to Use Government ID in Order to get Voting Ballots on Election Day Posted by LibertyReigns

Posted 02/12/09

Summarized facts of the post are at the bottom:

A group called Minnesota Majority has sent out an email alert urging Minnesota voters to support a bill for requiring photo ID's in order to obtain a ballot on election day. They said that "liberal" lawmakers wanted to keep the system open to fraud and urged people to call specific representatives to convince them to pass the bill along. The bill is called HF0057. Contacting by phone is the surest way to communicate your wishes. If one of these people are your MN House Reps, then please urge then to vote "no" on the measure to preserve liberty, their oath to uphold the MN Constitution, and because there is no demonstratable need to use iID cardst in one of the most secure voting systems in the U.S. The following are those representatives:

Rep. Phillip Sterner 651-296-4306
Rep. Jeremy Kalin 651-296-5377
Rep. Paul Marquart 651-296-6829
Rep. Terry Morrow 651-296-8634
Rep. Jeanne Poppe 651-296-4193
Rep. Bill Hilty 651-296-4308

At 8:30 am on February 12, 2009 the Minnesota House Government Operations Committee is taking up debate on the bill that would require voters in Minnesota for the first time in the State's history to be required to give a government-issued ID card in order to obtain a ballot on Election Day. The House bill called HF0057 could be one such starting point for making people comfortable with giving up liberties and apathetic towards how much the government can demand of you. It pertains to requiring a voter use a government-issued ID or obtaining a voter ID card in order to obtain a ballot in voting during Election Day. The voter ID cards the bill speaks of requiring a full legal name, address of residence, birth date, the date the identification card was issued, sex, height, weight, eye color, county where identification card was issued, and any other information prescribed by the secretary of state (possible fingerprint?). I have read the text of the bill carefully and the end result is a requirement of a government-issued ID or school ID no matter the circumstance.
The text of the bill is on the website of the Minnesota Legislature along with its status at the following:
https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/revisor/pages/search_status/status_detail.php?b=H
ouse&f=HF0057&ssn=0&y=2009.

I have reviewed the text for the U.S. Constitution and Minnesota State Constitution and nothing is listed that gives authority to require such a thing when voting. By the U.S. Constitution the regulation and carrying out of voting is done by the States in the 10 Amendment and Article 7 of the Minnesota State Constitution there is no authority listed in any manner giving authority to demand Minnesota voters furnish a government-issued ID in order to obtain a ballot for voting. House bill HF0057 is an illegal bill.

This is an issue of concern for U.S. citizens of Minnesota of their liberty at stake in order to obtain a ballot on election days. On a note, many attempts since 2005 and onwards to today have seen multiple States, like Georgia and Michigan as examples, have politicians trying to implement voter ID laws for obtaining ballots and almost every incidence was voted down or many times declared unconstitutional by various courts under State Constitutions or the U.S. Constitution. I wonder if Minnesota must now have this type of incident happen in the State. Do I need government approval for everything I do, including my civic duty of voting? This is ridiculous but also outrageous that Minnesota representatives would not obey their oath of office to uphold the U.S and Minnesota Constitutions.

What is remarkable is this bill is proposed in light of the fact that the previous Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer stated on September 29, 2006 during a Secretary of State debate on the local show called "Almanac" on the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS) TV channel that the Minnesota voter system was one of the most secure, if not the most secure, in all the United States by it using paper ballots and other checks to ensure reliability and protections from fraud. This debate does address photo ID's with one of the Secretary of State candidates, Bruce Kennedy, in the show cautioning about the idea that it should be examined carefully and to make sure it is not unconstitutional. The Almanac TV show shows the TV debate and it is in the Almanac TV archives online at http://www.tpt.org/almanac/.

The best place to stop bills that are against the liberties of the people is in committee meetings. Please contact your local Minnesota representative to stop the bill known as HF0057 in committee. Phone numbers for Minnesota House representatives are found at http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/members/housemembers.asp

You can also type in an address at http://www.gis.leg.mn/mapserver/districts/.  There you can get a direct listing of who your representative is, and look back at the list of names below and see if you representative is listed.

Contact information for committee members is the following:

Summary:
Bill name: HF0057
Effect: Require Minnesota voters to show a government-issued ID or government-issued voter ID card in order to obtain a ballot to vote.
Committee Minnesota House Government Operations Committee
Committee Meeting: 8:30 am, February 12, 2009
Location: Room 200 of the State Office Building

Representatives on the Committee
Phone Number E-mail Address
Chair: Gene Pelowski Jr. (DFL) 651-296-8637 rep.gene.pelowski@house.mn
Vice Chair: Jeanne Poppe (DFL) 651-296-4193 rep.jeanne.poppe@house.mn
Lead-GOP: Tom Emmer (R) 651-296-4336 rep.tom.emmer@house.mn
Paul Anderson (R) 651-296-4317 rep.paul.anderson@house.mn
Mark Buesgens (R) 651-296-5185 rep.mark.buesgens@house.mn
Steve Gottwalt (R) 651-296-6316 rep.steve.gottwalt@house.mn
Bill Hilty (DFL) 651-296-4308 rep.bill.hilty@house.mn
Frank Hornstein (DFL) 651-296-9281 rep.frank.hornstein@house.mn
Phyllis Kahn (DFL) 651-296-4257 rep.phyllis.kahn@house.mn
Jeremy Kalin (DFL) 651-296-5377 rep.jeremy.kalin@house.mn
Mary Kiffmeyer (R) 651-296-4237 rep.mary.kiffmeyer@house.mn
Morrie Lanning (R) 651-296-5515 rep.morrie.lanning@house.mn
Paul Marquart (DFL) 651-296-6829 rep.paul.marquart@house.mn
Terry Morrow (DFL) 651-296-8634 rep.terry.morrow@house.mn
Michael V. Nelson (DFL) 651-296-3751 rep.michael.nelson@house.mn
Tim Sanders (R) 651-296-4226 rep.tim.sanders@house.mn
Steve Simon (DFL) 651-296-9889 rep.steve.simon@house.mn
Philip Sterner (DFL) 651-296-4306 rep.phil.sterner@house.mn
Ryan Winkler (DFL) 651-296-7026 rep.ryan.winkler@house.mn

Stand Together for Integrity In Our Elections Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/11/09

From MN Majority:

The Minnesota House Government Operations Committee is scheduled to hear the Photo ID bill Thursday, February 12. If passed, this bill will require voters to present photo ID before voting, thereby improving the integrity of our electon system.

Our election system lacks integrity because election officials can't verify the identity or eligibility of voters. Ballots are issued to anyone who can provide a name that might be on the voter roster without requiring any form of identification.

Polls show 80% of Minnesotans support a Voter ID law, but liberal lawmakers oppose it. They seem to want to perpetuate an election system that invites error and abuse because they believe its to their political advantage.

Arguments about disenfranchising the poor, minorities, or the elderly are nothing but a smokescreen. The bill being introduced provides free state-issued IDs to anyone without the means to obtain one, which would actually help the disenfranchised better integrate into mainstream society. It is extraordinarily difficult to function in modern civilization without photo ID.

With so much money and power at stake in every election, it's remarkable that Minnesota essentially leaves the ballot box unlocked by not requiring voters to provide bona-fide identification.

TAKE ACTION

1. Call at least one of the comittee members listed below TODAY to let them know how you feel about this issue:
Name Phone
Rep. Phillip Sterner 651-296-4306
Rep. Jeremy Kalin 651-296-5377
Rep. Paul Marquart 651-296-6829
Rep. Terry Morrow 651-296-8634
Rep. Jeanne Poppe 651-296-4193
Rep. Bill Hilty 651-296-4308

2. We need dozens of volunteers to show-up at Thursday's hearing to show their support for the Voter ID bill. Please click on the link below if you are able to join us at 8:00AM on Thursday morning in St. Paul :

http://www.minnesotamajority.org/Hidden/JointheDemonstration/tabid/186/Default.aspx

Thanks in advance for your help.

The Minneapolis Fed thinks massive gov't intervention is a bad idea Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 02/11/09 Last updated 02/10/09

This paper, posted on the Minneapolis Fed web site, has this for its abstract:

Studying the experience of countries that have experienced great depressions during the twentieth century teaches us that massive public interventions in the economy to maintain employment and investment during a financial crisis can, if they distort incentives enough, lead to a great depression.

So does having a monopoly on the money (monopoly money, in other words) count as a 'massive public intervention', dear Fed? I think it does.

The paper begins:

The current financial crisis has prompted these questions: Could the world economy enter a great depression like that of the 1930s? If so, what can governments do to avoid it?

Looking at historical experience can help us answer these questions. Since 2000, Timothy Kehoe and Edward Prescott have been running a project at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis to study the great depressions that occurred during the twentieth century. Kehoe and Prescott define a great depression to be a very large and sustained drop in output per working-age person below trend growth.

...

In the book Great Depressions of the Twentieth Century, published in 2007 by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Kehoe and Prescott, together with a team of 24 economists from all over the world, have studied the great depressions that occurred in North America and Western Europe in the 1930s, those that occurred in Latin America in the 1980s, and isolated experiences in other places and times. What lessons can be learned from comparing and contrasting these historical experiences? The authors of each of the studies in the book start by decomposing the decline in output during the depression into declines in inputs of labor and capital and a decline in the efficiency with which these factors are employed, measured as productivity. They find that a large drop in productivity always plays a large role in accounting for the depression. In some depressions, such as the U.S. depression of the 1930s, large drops in labor inputs also play important roles. In others, such as the Mexican depression of the 1980s, the drop in productivity accounts for almost the entire drop in output.

Looking at the historical evidence, Kehoe and Prescott conclude that bad government policies are responsible for causing great depressions. In particular, they hypothesize that, while different sorts of shocks can lead to ordinary business cycle downturns, overreaction by the government can prolong and deepen the downturn, turning it into a depression. [emphasis mine]

An instructive exercise is to compare the experiences of Chile and Mexico in the 1980s studiedin the chapter in the depressions book by Raphael Bergoeing, Patrick Kehoe, Timothy Kehoe, and Raimundo Soto. In 1981-82, both countries were hit by the shocks of rising world interest rates and falling international prices of the commodities that they exported - copper for Chile and petroleum for Mexico. These shocks exposed weakness in the banking systems in both countries and produced financial crises.

In 1982 in Chile, banks that held half of the deposits were suffering severe liquidity crises. The government took control of these banks. Within three years, the Chilean government had liquidated the insolvent banks and reprivatized the solvent banks. The government set up a new regulatory scheme to avoid mismanagement. These new regulations allowed the market to determine interest rates and the allocation of credit to firms. The short-term costs of the crisis and the reform in Chile were severe, and real GDP fell sharply in 1982 and 1983. By 1984, however, the Chilean economy started to grow, and Chile has been the fastest-growing country in Latin America since then.

In 1982 in Mexico, the government nationalized the entire banking system, and banks were only reprivatized in the early 1990s. Throughout the 1980s, in an effort to maintain employment and investment, the government-controlled banks provided credit at below-market interest rates to some large firms and no credit to others. Even the privatization of banks in the early 1990s and the reforms following the 1995 crisis have not been effective in producing a banking system that provides substantial credit at market interest rates to firms in Mexico. The result has been an economic disaster for Mexico: Between 1982 and 1995, Mexico experienced no economic growth and has grown only modestly since then.

Continue reading ...

The latest post from The Campus Right: Debating for Conservatives Posted by Jim Bobier

Posted 02/11/09

Debating for Conservatives - By Christopher Malagisi

http://www.thecampusright.com/

Big Brother Health Care Provisions Slipped Into Economic Stimulus Bill Posted by Jonathan Kovaciny

Posted 02/10/09 Last updated 02/10/09

Any bill the size of the Stimulus bill is going to have a LOT of surprises in it. Here's one:

(NaturalNews) The new $800 billion economic stimulus bill contains some striking new "Big Brother" health care language that should give pause to all freedom-loving Americans. For starters, the bill requires the electronic tracking of the medical records of all Americans. All your private medical data will be stored in a government database, including your history of disease, pharmaceutical treatments, surgeries and even emergency room visits.

How would you like the government knowing all the details about your drug rehab? Or alcoholism treatments? Abortion? Sexually-transmitted disease diagnosis? Pregnancy status? Blood test results?

But it gets even more interesting than that: Under the new provisions found in the bill, all U.S. doctors will now be stripped of autonomy and forced to follow the medical treatment guidelines dictated by the government.

This news should rock the medical world (once they truly understand it). It means doctors can no longer make their own decisions about patients' needs or treatment protocols. From now on, all health care decisions will be centrally planned by a dictatorial, Big Brother health care authority in the federal government.

As Bloomberg.com reports (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...), Tom Daschle was one of the architects of this plan, and he says that doctors "have to learn to operate less like solo practitioners."

Any doctor that deviates from that plan would be penalized by the government. That means, for example, that a local doctor who knows the patient and his family, and who is aware of specific local circumstances affecting that patient will no longer be able to apply any of that knowledge in treating the patient. All treatments will be dictated from the government, obliterating the whole point of allowing doctors to operate with some degree of autonomy in the first place.

Effectively, this bill transforms the entire U.S. medical profession into nothing more than pill-pushing puppets. It wipes out the intelligence of a local doctor and replaces it with the stupidity of Big Government.

If the government says all expectant mothers must be screened for depression and put on antidepressant drugs, then all the doctors have to play along and do that if they don't want to be fined or have their medical licenses taken away. If the government says nutritional supplements are dangerous and cannot be recommended to patients, then all doctors must remain silent and avoid telling patients the truth about helpful nutritional supplements. Whatever the government dictates must now be mirrored by all practicing doctors.

Continue reading ...

Ron Paul vs Ben Bernanke, 2/10/09 Posted by minnesotachris

Posted 02/10/09 Last updated 02/11/09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n5PFe-mt8o

1000 People Needed to Contact MN Dept of Heath by Tomorrow Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/09/09 Last updated 02/09/09

From Twila Brase, Citizens Council on Health Care:

ACT NOW - Protect Your Medical Privacy & Patient Control!

New Deadline: TOMORROW, Tuesday, February 10, 2009

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has just assured me that TOMORROW will be the deadline for public comment on their plan to seize your medical records, claim State ownership, transfer your data to Maine, and track you and your doctors.

CCHC is calling for at least 1000 people to ask the MN Health Department for a public hearing before a judge! (see below for 5 reasons to act now)

Please email a simple request today, asking that a public hearing before an administrative law judge be held before their proposal is allowed to go forward. Make any comments you wish, but don't forget to ask for the public hearing. Please cc. CCHC.

One example of a request letter follows:

SAMPLE LETTER:

RE: MDH Patient "Encounter Data" Proposal

Dear Mr. Wilson,

I oppose the violation of my medical privacy and civil rights by the transfer of my medical records to Maine, the placement of my medical information online and accessible to the State of Minnesota, and the failure of the Minnesota Department of Health to give the public proper notice and opportunity to comment on their proposed data collection plan.

I hereby request that a public hearing on this proposal be held by the Office of Administrative Hearings.

Your Name
Your Address
Your Phone #

cc. Citizens' Council on Health Care (info@cchconline.org)

SEND EMAIL TO: will.wilson@state.mn.us (Will Wilson)

FIVE GOOD REASONS TO ACT NOW:

* Every email/letter on this issue goes to the Administrative Law Judge who can decide to approve or not approve the final medical "encounter data" collection and analysis rule proposed by the Department.

* Even though the Department avoided being forced to hold a hearing by the public (they got authority for "expedited rulemaking") the Administrative Law Judge could decide otherwise.

* Sometimes in expedited rulemaking (not this time, thanks to MDH), 100 letters from the public are required to get a public hearing. We want to highlight the department's violation of the public's right to have a hearing by getting 10 times that amount (1000 letters!).

* If we get enough letters sent to the Department, the news media may pick up on it—and alert the rest of the public!

* The Minnesota legislature could decide to act, and either force a public hearing, hold a legislative hearing or better yet, require informed written patient consent before the medical data of every Minnesotan is placed online, sent to Maine, and accessed by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The only way you are guaranteed to lose your medical privacy, data ownership, and patient consent rights—and eventually your control over medical treatment decisions—is by failure to act right now!

Please send an email today or tomorrow at the latest (Deadline: Tuesday, February 10)...and tell all your friends and family to do the same!

Twila Brase, R.N.
President Citizens' Council on Health Care
651-646-8935

State of MN Appointed Position Openings Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/09/09

The open positions for state boards, councils and commissions have been posted:

http://www.sos.state.mn.us/docs/february_2009_press_release.pdf

This month's openings:
One public member (Family Therapy Board)
One Fire Chief Rep (Emerg Medical Services Board)
One person with knowledge of mixed-martial arts - no, not a joke, your tax dollars at work for the Combative Sports Commission
Two public members (Humanities Center)
One public member receiving speech-language services (SLP and Audiologists Council)

(Thanks to RLCMN for posting.)

"Populist Rage" Posted by dwahlstedt

Posted 02/09/09

From Kent Berdahl - 

Leftist NY Times columnist Frank Rich has a very interesting article about the public's growing anger ("populist rage" in his words) against our ruling elites (in this case, Democratic tax cheats in the Obama admin. and rich bankers getting bailed out). 
 
When even left-wing pundits like Rich can figure this out, I think its getting serious:
 
rget="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/opinion/08rich.html?_r=1&ref=opin
ion
 
The R3VOLution continues...

California Bonds Pose No Risk Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 02/07/09 Last updated 02/06/09

This is classic:

Here is Bill Lockyer, California Treasurer, insisting that California bonds pose no risk, despite a deficit that is $42 billion out of approximately $100 billlion (his words).  Even the anchor on CNBC could not take this line, making a sarcastic comment that sometimes there is no risk until there is risk.  Then more alarmingly, given the current push for socialized medicine, Lockyer mentions at the end that Medi-Cal (California's version of Medicaid) payments "to hospitals can be delayed" by the budget fiasco.  Imagine if everyone had their health insurance through the government and the ability for the hospital treating you to be paid was dependent on politicians like Lockyer getting their act together and keeping money flowing to the hospitals.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/29056082#29054970

Balance the Budget Bash Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 02/06/09 Last updated 02/06/09

This evening an event was held in Minneapolis to kick off efforts to balance the budget with spending only solutions.  I missed the speeches but had several interesting conversations:

1) Rep. Larry Howes from northern Minnesota is a Republican on the left edge of the party.  He predicted the final budget solution will be 1/3 cuts, 1/3 delayed payments, 1/3 tax hikes. That he said is the reality with a Democratic controlled legislature. He also critiqued speakers at the event for "shooting their own". This was in part a reference to the attempted and largely successful purge of the override six.  Howes said we need to find a way to build the party and such efforts are counterproductive.  Without a majority in at least one house, it will be impossible to put through reforms to manage the growth in health and human services.

(Editorial comment: Without reforming the system to bring changes in HHS to inline with the rest of the budget, all efforts at holding the line on tax rates will be futile.  We somehow though need to get a majority in at least one state house to have a chance to deal with the problem.)

 2) Phil Krinke spoke of the need to purge the dissenters on the override because the House Republican caucus had taken a caucus position.  Conformity to caucus positions must be enforced with rigidity since legislators with an R behind their name are on the same team. Those who are wont to agree with Krinke should remember the disaster this could spell if this rule is applied to Republican war dissenters in the US House of Representatives. 

Two different opinions that ultimately cannot be reconciled. For those of us who did not like the override 6, we need an answer to Rep. Howes that will work as to how to build an electoral majority.

Budget Hawks 2009 Jam & Bash Posted by mstebbins

Posted 02/04/09

RSVP here: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/calendar.php?rsvp=1634

Keynesian Morality Posted by dwahlstedt

Posted 02/04/09

4 February 2009

Editor, The Wall Street Journal
200 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10281

To the Editor:

Dick Armey splendidly argues that we would all (save for the political class) be better off if the economics of F.A. Hayek were to prevail over that of J.M. Keynes ("Washington Could Use Less Keynes and More Hayek," Feb. 4).  As Hayek himself observed in his final book, The Fatal Conceit, Keynes's economics is the product of an impatience with long-run processes - an obsession with today and a disregard of tomorrow.  This childishness makes Keynes's doctrines not only economically confused but also morally suspect.  Here's Hayek:

"The [Keynesian] slogan that 'in the long run we are all dead' is also a characteristic manifestation of an unwillingness to recognize that morals are concerned with effects in the long run - effects beyond our possible perception - and of a tendency to spurn the learnt discipline of the long view."*

Unfortunately, each elected official's time horizon extends no further than the next election -- a fact that, as my colleagues James Buchanan and Richard Wagner argue, makes Keynesian economics ideal for politicians.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
http://www.cafehayek.com/
http://marketcorrection.powerblogs.com/ 

* F.A. Hayek, The Fatal Conceit (University of Chicago Pres, 1988), p. 57.

Obama Telephones China Posted by dwahlstedt

Posted 02/02/09

Politicians understand economics in the same way that astrologers understand astrophysics.

Don
http://www.cafehayek.com/
http://marketcorrection.powerblogs.com/
.....
...................................        &n
bsp;             &nb
sp;

2 February 2009

News Editor, National Public Radio

Dear Sir or Madam:

Carl Kasell reported this morning that President Obama told Chinese president Hu Jintao to "correct" China's "trade imbalance" with the United States.

Overlook the fact that, because trade is a two-party process, any "imbalance" is caused as much by one trading partner as it is by the other.  Instead ask: Has Mr. Obama taken leave of his senses?  With one breath he argues for a one-trillion dollar stimulus plan that will require Uncle Sam to borrow unprecedented sums.  With the next breath he tells the Chinese to reduce the amounts that they lend to Uncle Sam.

This isn't leadership; it's an act in the theater of the absurd.

Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030

Minnesota: Individual's right to keep and bear arms Posted by TravisWhite

Posted 02/02/09

I'm writing to ask that all Minnesota citizens who respect the U.S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment right to "keep and bear arms," write to your Minnesota state Senator and Representative and ask them to pass a bill that would amend the Minnesota state Constitution to guarantee the right to "keep and bear arms" for all Minnesotans.  There are already 44 states that have this amendment in their state Constitutions, but Minnesota is not one of them.  I think, and I hope most of you agree, that Minnesota needs to be the 45th state to do this.   

You can find the complete list of states and what their amendments say at this link:

 http://www.saf.org/default.asp?p=rkba_protections  

 You can find your State Senator and State Representative at the following links:

http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/  

http://www.senate.leg.state.mn.us/  

I already wrote to my Senator, Tom Bakk, and my State Representative, Mary Murphy.   

In my letter I wrote the following:

I'm writing to you in the hopes that you would consider bringing forth an amendment to our Minnesota State Constitution that guarantees our right to keep and bear arms for personal protection and security of state.  I've noticed that a majority of the other States all have this amendment included in their State Constitutions and I would like to see Minnesota have it also.  I would like to see the wording be the same as the West Virginia Constitution Article III, Section 22:  

A person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, and for lawful hunting and recreational use.  

Senator Bakk wrote back to me with the following response:

Travis,  you can count on my vote in support of a second amendment  type constitutional amendment.
My role as tax committee chair make it difficult for me to carry significant policy legislation, the bill would certainly require a lot of time of which my role as tax chair do not spare me
I will do what I can to help with whoever the author ends up being
Tom

If enough Minnesotans write and call their state representatives, perhaps we could get this into the Minnesota Constitution.   Please help secure the right to keep and bear arms for all Minnesotans.

- Travis White

AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers Posted by TravisWhite

Posted 02/01/09

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_bi_ge/bailout_foreign_workers  

AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers

By FRANK BASS and RITA BEAMISH, Associated Press Writers  

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year and Americans were getting laid off, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.

The dozen banks now receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.

As the economic collapse worsened last year - with huge numbers of bank employees laid off - the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in the 2007 budget year to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.

The AP reviewed visa applications the banks filed with the Labor Department under the H-1B visa program, which allows temporary employment of foreign workers in specialized-skill and advanced-degree positions. Such visas are most often associated with high-tech workers.

It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government only grants 85,000 such visas each year among all U.S. employers.

During the last three months of 2008, the largest banks that received taxpayer loans announced more than 100,000 layoffs. The number of foreign workers included among those laid off is unknown.

Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers.

Companies are required to pay foreign workers a prevailing wage based on the job's description. But they can use the lower end of government wage scales even for highly skilled workers; hire younger foreigners with lower salary demands; and hire foreigners with higher levels of education or advanced degrees for jobs for which similarly educated American workers would be considered overqualified.

"The system provides you perfectly legal mechanisms to underpay the workers," said John Miano of Summit, N.J., a lawyer who has analyzed the wage data and started the Programmers Guild, an advocacy group that opposes the H-1B system.

David Huber of Chicago is a computer networking engineer who has testified to Congress about losing out on a 2002 job with the former Bank One Corp. He learned later the bank applied to hire dozens of foreign visa holders for work he said he was qualified to do.

"American citizenship is being undermined working in our own country," Huber said in an AP interview.

Beyond seeking approval for visas from the government, banks that accepted federal bailout money also enlisted uncounted foreign workers, often in technology jobs, through intermediary companies known as "body shops." Such businesses are the top recipients of the H-1B visas.

The use of visa workers by ailing banks angers Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior Republican on the Senate Finance Committee.

"In this time of very, very high unemployment ... and considering the help these banks are getting from the taxpayers, they're playing the American taxpayer for a sucker," Grassley said in a telephone interview with AP.

Grassley, with Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., is pushing for legislation to make employers recruit American workers first, along with other changes to the visa program.

Banks turned to foreign workers before the current economic crisis, said Diane Casey-Landry, chief operating officer for the American Bankers Association. The group said a year ago that demand exceeded the pool of qualified workers in areas like sales, lending and bank administration. Now with massive layoffs, the situation is different, Casey-Landry said.

The issue takes on a higher profile as the government injects billions of dollars into the economy and President Barack Obama pushes for massive government spending to create jobs nationwide, on top of the $700 billion already approved for the ailing banks.

"You're using taxpayer dollars and there's an expectation that there are benefits to the U.S.," said Ron Hira, a national expert on foreign employment and assistant public policy professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology. "What you're really doing is leaking away those jobs and benefits that should accrue to the taxpayers."

But New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg believes more access to "worldwide talent pools" will better position U.S. financial companies against global competitors, spokesman Andrew Brent said.

The U.S. Customs and Immigration Service declined to disclose details on foreign workers hired at the banks that have received federal bailouts. The AP has requested the information under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Nearly all the banks the AP contacted also declined to comment on their foreign hiring practices. Arlene C. Roberts, spokeswoman for State Street Corp. of Boston, which has received $2 billion in bailout money, said the company has reduced H-1B hiring in recent years, and just hires for specialized positions.

Jennifer Scott of Yreka, Calif., a retired technical systems manager at Bank of America in Concord, Calif., said in 2004 she oversaw foreign employees from a contractor firm that also sent overnight work to employees in India.

"It had nothing to do with a shortage, but they didn't want to pay the U.S. rate," she said, adding that the quality of the work was weak. "It's all about numbers crunching."

Rep. Oberstar likens FDR's CCC to Obama's stimulus package Posted by RonaldMiller

Posted 01/30/09

Yesterday on PBS-TV Ch. 8-4 at noon, I watched as Rep. James Oberstar introduced the federal government's $825 billion economic stimulus package at the meeting of the joint Minnesota House and Senate Transportation Committee.

Rep. Oberstar started his presentation to the committee by recalling how his hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota, benefited from FDR's CCC job creation project in the depression years of the 1930s that had built socially-useful projects that were still in use today.

What was very different in the 1930s is the fact that U.S. dollars of the constitutional just weight and measure of silver were still being used as U.S. money of account for taxation and private business transactions. The FDR administration funded the CCC on a pay-as-you-go basis without adding to the National Debt.

Rep. Oberstar told the committee that the Obama stimulus plan could put 12,000 Minnesotans back to work by June on infrastructure projects alone.

Unlike FDR's CCC job creation plan that created socially-useful projects without burdening the public with more debt, Obama's stimulus package relies on borrowed inflationary Federal Reserve fiat dollars created by adding the $825 billion to the National Debt. Also unlike FDR's CCC plan, Obama's plan will create lots of profit for private corporate employers who get the state contracts to do the work thereby perpetuating Minnesota's 2-party plutocratic governance.  

Haven't we had enough Wall Street shenanigans that have caused wage workers to suffer?

http://hometownsource.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7836&
Itemid=1 

http://hometownsource.com/index.php 

  Ronald A. Miller

Stimulus Package Explained Posted by mstebbins

Posted 01/28/09

Sometime this year, taxpayers will receive an Economic Stimulus Payment. This is a "very exciting" new program developed by our 'change' in administration. I will explain using the Q and A format:

Q. What is an Economic Stimulus Payment?

A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers.

Q. Where will the government get this money?

A. From taxpayers.

Q. So the government is giving me back my own money?

A. No, they are borrowing it from China . Your children are expected to repay the Chinese.

Q. What is the purpose of this payment?

A. The plan is that you will use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy.

Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ?

A. Shut up.

Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely:

If you spend that money at Wal-Mart, all the money will go to China .

If you spend it on gasoline it will go to Hugo Chavez, the Arabs, and Al Queda.

If you purchase a computer it will go to Taiwan .

If you purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico , Honduras , Chile , and Guatemala .

If you buy a car it will go to Japan and Korea .

If you purchase prescription drugs it will go to India .

If you purchase heroin it will go to the Taliban in Afghanistan .

If you give it to a charitable cause, it will go to Nigeria .

And none of it will help the American economy. We need to keep that money here in America . You can keep the money in America by spending it at yard sales, going to a baseball game, or spend it on prostitutes, beer (domestic ONLY), or tattoos, since those are the only businesses still in the US.

(Author unknown. Received via chain email.)

"NO" to Trillion $ Stimulus/Bailout -- Call now! Posted by mstebbins

Posted 01/28/09 Last updated 04/12/09

Today Congress will vote on the $825B Stimulus Package, please call this morning to urge your Representative to vote NO!

Minnesota Delegation
1st CD - Tim Walz (D)
202 225-2472
2nd CD - John Kline (R)
202 225-2271
3rd CD - Erik Paulsen (R)
202 225-2871
4th CD - Betty McCollum (D)
202 225-6631
5th CD - Keith Ellison (D)
202 225-4755
6th CD - Michele Bachmann (R)
202 225-2331
7th CD - Collin Peterson (D)
202 225-2165
8th CD - Jim Oberstar (D)
202 225-6211

�

I finally signed up. Posted by Gazelam

Posted 01/28/09

Well, I meant to sign up with the Campaign for Liberty some time ago, but things kept getting in the way.  I am a member of the Valley Grassroots, a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus and a member of the Libertarian Party.  While some people ask me how I can be a Republican and a Libertarian, let me remind you that in 1988 Ron Paul ran for president as a Libertarian (and I can say with pleasure that I voted for him back then) while he remained a registered Republican. Now, I support the person, not so much the party and Principle and not so much the platform.

Government Fire Sale Posted by wmpaulsen

Posted 01/27/09

Blog entry on selling the MSP and other government property:

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=9234

Local angle:  Laura Brod is the reprentative for 25A (which is the western half of State Senate District 25 that also includes the northern part of the Rice-Scott BPOU.)  In a recent BPOU meeting Dick Day (whose State Senate district includes the southern part of the Rice-Scott BPOU), commented on the proposal and said it was a bad idea that had been proposed by some in the state house.  Apparently he was referring to Rep. Brod but did not do so by name even though (or because?) she was known to everyone in the room.

The libertarian impulse in the proposal is encouraging.  I am particularly enthused about the idea of ditching the state lottery.  The libertarian in me is willing to except some form of organized gambling as legal to avoid all the problems of prohibition but I am never particularly excited about it.  Having the state own a lottery does cause moral qualms since then everyone who has moral objections to gambling is forced to participate.  Rep. Brod is someone to watch in the future.

24-Hour Poll: RNC Chair Posted by mstebbins

Posted 01/26/09

Party leaders from each state gather on January 28 to elect the Republican National Committee Chair.  So we're holding our own poll. 

Some info on the candidates may be found here:  forum.rebuildtheparty.com/

From our state, the National Committeeman (Brian Sullivan), National Committeewoman (Evie Axdahl), and State Party Chair (Ron Carey) have a say.  Maybe they'd like your input.  (Maybe not.)

CNN: "Lawmakers Push Government 'Garage Sale'" Posted by Matt Hawes

Posted 01/26/09 Last updated 01/26/09

Two lawmakers in Minnesota are beginning efforts to sell off a good bit of government-owned properties in an attempt to close the state's estimated budget deficit.

"The discussion is often 'do you tax more, [or] do you spend less?'" Brod says. "But it seems to me that there is a third option out there, and that's reforming how government operates."

They also say their proposal is a way to spark debate over whether government should be in control of certain entities in the first place....

The lawmakers say they're looking at everything the state owns as possible items to be auctioned off, including roads, parks, prisons, rest stops -- even the naming rights to public transit systems....

Read the rest here.

Feb 5: Budget Hawks 2009 Jam & Bash Posted by mstebbins

Posted 01/26/09 Last updated 01/26/09

RSVP here: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/calendar.php?rsvp=1634

Poll: Do You Read the State Newswire? Posted by mstebbins

Posted 01/25/09 Last updated 01/26/09

MN State Newswire, over there and up a couple inches:  ------->>>>

If so, what kind of news stories to you want more of?  I usually leave the national stuff off -- not always -- saving that for the C4L front page.  Typically I'll include the latest state politics, but could add in local politics, economy, whatever you all want to read.

Anyone is welcome to send me stories you think should be up there.  Just message me with the link.

Please do comment on the stories in the comment section of each.  That's a great place to share thoughts with others in the state.