The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on Castle Doctrine legislation on Thursday, November 19. Gun owners should contact the members of the judiciary committee to support the measure - HB40. Tags: |
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I was a normal citizen - identified myself with the Republicans. Sided with Bush, The War, FOX and the mainstream status quo. I diluted myself with games, entertainment and media, all the while complaining about the system and never going deeper to find real truth. Then the economic crises hit and though I kept my job and prospered, I watched many around me crumble and degrade. I love my neighbors and it hurt me deeply to see their despair. A famous man on TV told me one day to WAKE UP and to find the answers I was seeking on my own because he couldn't give them all to me. I thought he was speaking metophoriclly, but then I realized what he was saying was very literal. He literally wasn't permited to give me all the answers. Something inside my head clicked when I heard this. So I turned off the TV (for good) and I turned on my mind and went in search of real answers. From that point forward I became the controller of my own destiny - And out of the nothing came one door which opened ten and the ten opened a thousand more - until the world made sense and as they say " I woke up". The process of waking up is mentally excruciating - you literally have to de-program your mind, dump false data and upload new information. You go through all the steps of withdraw - denial, anger, hopelessness and so on until you reach acceptance and you change from within. After this period you go back to anger and you never leave. This anger is positive in nature - it is the driving force behind real change. It is the outrage that you, and your brothers, and your sisters have been and are slaves in the veil of freedom. It is the passion you can display to others to rally their spirits to fight for the greatest of causes. I never thought that it would come to this - Never thought I'd be the person I am today - fighting with millions across the world to spread the awakening - fighting by the side of my brethren at home against this tyrannical monster - a soldier in liberty. God Bless you all. Restore the Republic. Join the Revolution - Live for liberty and freedom.Wage Knowledge. Spread the good message. Go Ron Paul! My You tube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/2ndARLibertea
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Media, Philosophy, Revolution Tags: |
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"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness."
"The reason this country continues its drift toward socialism and big nanny government is because too many people vote in the expectation of getting something for nothing, not because they have a concern for what is good for the country." When I decided to tackle the national healthcare issue, I thought a good start would be examining the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to see what they had to say about the right to healthcare. I hunted and searched the various documents which created our country. I found that according to the Declaration of Independence, we have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Fourteenth Amendment states, No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. I did not find the right to healthcare in the Bill of Rights. I also did not find the right to an Ivy League education, the right to a well paying job, the right to a fully paid for pension, the right to drive a BMW X5, the right to a beautiful wife, the right to reside in a 6,000 sq ft McMansion, or the right to get into Heaven. I did discover that government derives their JUST powers from the consent of the people. I also found that if those who govern use their powers in a destructive manner, the governed have the right to abolish that government and install a new government. Those who have run up $12 trillion in debt, led us into multiple trillion dollar foreign wars, left our children and grandchildren with a $100 trillion bill for unfunded promises, and have sold their souls to evil banks and corporations, have exercised their powers in a destructive manner. Despite this record of government corruption, failure and mismanagement, these politicians are about to fashion a new government healthcare bureaucracy that will cost trillions. Passage of this plan is a fateful decision which will push the United States a step closer to economic collapse. Abolition of this government will be necessary and the people will need to install a new government that will follow the U.S. Constitution. HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE REALLY UNINSURED "Mystical references to society and its programs to help may warm the hearts of the gullible but what it really means is putting more power in the hands of bureaucrats." As the Democratic Party attempts to ram their socialist government controlled healthcare plan down the throats of Americans, they have stooped to lies and misinformation to mislead the public. Last week I watched as Senator Jay Rockefeller declared that 50 million Americans were uninsured. In his speech on September 9, 2009 President Obama stated: "There are now more than thirty million American citizens who cannot get coverage." On August 8th, President Obama said: "Reform is obviously essential for the 46 million Americans who don't have health insurance." So what is it? Who's lying? Who's exaggerating? Who's misleading the American public? If the Democrats can't even figure out how many people are uninsured, how can we possibly trust their 1,990 page "solution"? The 46 million figure comes from the 2007 Census Bureau report. So, why did Obama reference 30 million uninsured in his speech? Maybe it was because 9.3 million of those were non-citizens. Since the Democrats didn't want to let the public know they were going to cover illegal aliens, Obama backed them out of his figure. Another 6.4 million actually are enrolled in Medicaid but mistakenly tell the Census they have no health insurance. Another 4.3 million are eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP but have not signed up. In addition, scores of the 46 million could theoretically afford health coverage, but choose not to purchase any. In 2007, 17.6 million of the uninsured had annual incomes of more than $50,000 and 9.1 million earned more than $75,000. Sally Pipes documents in the Top Ten Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen's Guide, that those making more than $75,000 per year are part of the fastest growing segment of the uninsured population. These people have exercised their freedom and decided not to buy insurance. That is their choice and not the responsibility of government or taxpayers. Taking these facts into consideration leaves 8.4 million people truly without insurance. A 2003 BlueCross BlueShield study determined that 8.2 million Americans are actually without coverage for a long term period of time, because they are too poor to purchase health care but make too much to qualify for government assistance. Even though these people are without insurance they have access to healthcare, because federal law prohibits hospitals from denying treatment to patients who show up at hospital emergency rooms. The average household in the U.S. has 2.5 people. This means there are 3.3 million households out of 114 million households without health insurance. That is 2.9% of all the households in the U.S. This appears to be an awfully small percentage of Americans to warrant a $1 trillion new government bureaucracy. National health spending in 2009 will reach $2.5 trillion. This comes to $8,000 per person. If we gave the 8.2 million Americans without health insurance an $8,000 voucher for healthcare, it would cost $65.6 billion. This amounts to a stimulus plan rounding error. The truth is that Obama and the Democratic statists in Congress don't want to make healthcare better or more efficient. They want control of your life. Many of the 17.6 million people who make more than $50,000 per year choose not to purchase health insurance because they are self employed. The tax code exempts people from paying taxes on health care benefits purchased through their employer, while denying the same tax advantages to individuals. Ending this discrimination would make health care more affordable to those who are self-employed or not covered through their workplace. This would allow Americans to have health care policies that are portable, so it would reduce the gaps in coverage people can face when they quit or lose a job. There are easy cost effective solutions to covering the 30 million uninsured referenced by President Obama in his September "You Lie" speech. The Democratic Party has no interest in easy cost effective solutions. They want power over doctors, insurance companies, hospitals, and the American people. They are pushing for government intervention in health care by distorting the 46 million uninsured figures to advance their goal of socialism. The liberal mainstream media is disseminating the lie widely without further elaboration, therefore rigging the game in favor of the Democratic Party. COST OF HEALTHCARE "It is amazing that people who think we cannot afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, and medication somehow think that we can afford to pay for doctors, hospitals, medication and a government bureaucracy to administer it." The U.S. health care system is riddled with inefficiencies, outrageous administrative expenses, inflated prices, pitiable management and inappropriate care, waste and fraud. These problems increase the cost of medical care associated with government health programs like Medicare and Medicaid, and health insurance for employers and workers and affect the security of families. There is one thing that conservatives, liberals and libertarians can all agree upon. The cost of healthcare in the U.S. is out of control.
Source: Perot Charts We spend more than every other country on the planet, and with our rapidly aging demographics, costs are situated to soar. We've allowed the system to hurtle out of control for decades, with no attempt to rein in costs. There are too many corporate lobbyists paying off too many Congressmen. These people do not care about the American people. They care about obscene profits and the power to control our lives. Government intervention in the healthcare market has already created a $100 trillion unfunded liability for our children and grandchildren.
According to the National Coalition on Health Care:
In 1960, health services as a percentage of GDP was 3%. Today, health services are 10% of GDP. At the current rate of increase, along with a quickly aging population, health services will pass 20% of GDP in the next two decades. I hear Democrats refer to Medicare and Medicaid as successful government programs. I guess my definition of success is slightly different than a U.S. Congressman's definition. A program riddled with $200 billion in fraud, astonishing amounts of paperwork, a Federal bureaucracy that costs $750 billion per year, and has run up $89 TRILLION of unfunded liabilities, is not a winning program in my book. The Medicare/Medicaid system will bankrupt the country. It is on an unsustainable path. Creating a new trillion dollar National Healthcare plan will only accelerate our demise. Obama and Congress need to address the unsustainable path of Medicare and Medicaid before introducing another trillion dollar inefficient corrupt government bureaucracy.
Source: Perot Charts The Federal government has promised far more than it can deliver. They cannot fulfill these promises. Medicare and Medicaid were enacted in 1965, the last time a Democratic President decided to improve the lives of Americans by enacting Great Society programs that have saddled future generations with society crippling debts. The initial beneficiaries never paid a dime into the plan. When it was enacted there were 6 workers per beneficiary. By 2030 there will be 2.4 workers per beneficiary. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that to cover the future deficits through tax increases would require a doubling in tax rates, with a top marginal rate of 66%. The current cast of Congressional criminals won't dare touch Medicare. They fear the wrath of the AARP and the liberal do-gooders who refuse to deal with reality. Their solution to every problem is - TAX THE RICH (the 53% of Americans who actually pay taxes). The entire healthcare debate needs be put on hold until the looming Medicare disaster is solved. A combination of the following ideas must be enacted:
The 1,990 page bill being forced through Congress in no way deals with the staggering waste of the current system, estimated to be $700 billion to $1 trillion annually. The waste flows from a culture of health care in which every incentive is to do more unnecessary tests. Doctors make more money and protect themselves from lawsuits. Congress has no intention of addressing this major cost driver, because the Trial Lawyers of America contribute millions of dollars per year to lobby (buy off) Congressmen. Amazingly, 96% of their contributions (bribes) go to the Democratic Party. I wonder why medical malpractice lawsuits aren't addressed in a 1,990 page bill written by Democrats. Total spending on medical malpractice, including legal-defense costs and claims payments, was $30.4 billion in 2007, according to an estimate from consulting firm Towers Perrin. At the University of Miami's School of Medicine patient practice, 14 cents out of every dollar collected in fees for services to patients goes toward buying medical malpractice insurance. In a 2003 report that called for medical liability reform, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated that limits on malpractice awards could save between $70 billion and $126 billion a year. This is likely on the low end, as it is extremely difficult to gauge how many unneeded tests are ordered to avoid a lawsuit. The Democratic congressional leadership has evaded solutions to the random, costly and time-consuming jury-by-jury malpractice system. Texas passed a law in 2003 that caps liability awards at $250,000 for noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering, a move that has led to fewer malpractice suits being filed. According to Texans for Lawsuit Reform, a lobbying group that supports the caps, medical-liability-insurance rates have declined an average of 21% in the state since the law change, with almost a quarter of doctors seeing a 50% decrease. Pilot projects could test whether this system should be replaced with expert health courts, but leaders who say they want to cut costs will not even consider them. Expert courts might succeed and undercut the special interest of the trial lawyers. An expeditious and reliable new system would compensate patients more quickly and at a fraction of the overhead of the current medical justice system, which spends nearly 60 cents of every dollar on lawyers' fees and administrative costs. Expert health courts would eliminate the need for "defensive medicine," thereby helping to save billions in costs. Defensive medicine, the practice of ordering tests and procedures that aren't needed to protect a doctor from the remote possibility of a lawsuit, is ever-present. A 2005 survey in the Journal of the American Medical Association recounted that 93% of high-risk specialists in Pennsylvania admitted to the practice, and 83% of Massachusetts physicians did the same in a 2008 survey. The same Massachusetts survey showed that 25% of all imaging tests were ordered for defensive purposes, and 28% and 38%, respectively, of those surveyed admitted reducing the number of high-risk patients they saw and limiting the number of high-risk procedures or services they performed. Defensive medicine is notoriously hard to quantify, but some estimates place the annual cost at $100 billion to $200 billion or more. Quantification is difficult because defensiveness is now entrenched in the culture of American health care. It's hard to separate the financial incentives from the distrust of the American justice system. There are hundreds of billions in savings that could be achieved if Congress chose to focus on the right issues. Instead they will add a $1 trillion bureaucracy that will increase costs for all Americans while delivering poorer quality healthcare. The waste and fraud in the current healthcare system will not be alleviated by inserting a new government bureaucracy into the equation. A Thomson Reuters report disclosed these findings:
HISTORY OF GOVERNMENT FAILURE "It is hard to imagine a more stupid or more dangerous way of making decisions than by putting those decisions in the hands of people who pay no price for being wrong." There is one thing that is beyond doubt. When government gets their grubby little fingers on any aspect of society, it costs the taxpayer more money and the task gets done incompetently, or not at all. It has taken decades of dreadful judgments, mismanagement and corruption to get to this breaking point. We went from a logical market based pay-as-you-go healthcare system in the 1950s to an illogical, bureaucratic, wasteful, litigious system that is bankrupting the country. The sorrowful path through the years is painful. 1950's At the start of the decade, national health care expenditures are 4.5 percent of the Gross National Product. Many more medications are available now to treat a range of diseases, including infections, glaucoma, and arthritis, and new vaccines become available that prevent dreaded childhood diseases, including polio. The first successful organ transplant is performed. 1960's Over 700 insurance companies are selling health insurance. Concern about a "doctor shortage" and the need for more "health manpower" leads to federal measures to expand education in the health professions. Major medical insurance endorses high-cost medicine. President Lyndon Johnson signs Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965. Costs immediately begin to accelerate. 1970's President Richard Nixon renames prepaid group health care plans as health maintenance organizations (HMOs), with legislation that provides federal endorsement, certification, and assistance. Healthcare costs are escalating rapidly, partially due to unexpectedly high Medicare expenditures, rapid inflation in the economy, expansion of hospital expenses and profits, and changes in medical care including greater use of technology, medications, and conservative approaches to treatment. American medicine is now seen as in crisis. 1980's Corporations begin to integrate the hospital system (previously a decentralized structure), enter many other healthcare-related businesses, and consolidate control. Overall, there is a shift toward privatization and corporatization of healthcare. Under President Reagan, Medicare shifts to payment by diagnosis (DRG) instead of by treatment. Private plans quickly follow suit. There are growing complaints by insurance companies that the traditional fee-for-service method of payment to doctors is being exploited. Corporate profits trump care. Charitable non-profit hospitals are driven out of the market. 1990's Health care costs rise at double the rate of inflation. Expansion of managed care helps to moderate increases in health care costs. Federal health care reform legislation fails again to pass in the U.S. Congress. By the end of the decade there are 44 million Americans, 16 % of the nation, with no health insurance at all. The long-term viability of Medicare and Medicaid is ignored by Congress. 2000's Health care costs are on the rise again. Medicare is unsustainable under the present structure and must be "rescued". Changing demographics of the workplace lead many to believe the employer-based system of insurance can't last. Direct-to-consumer advertising for pharmaceuticals and medical devices is on the rise. National health care expenditures are 17.6 percent of the Gross National Product by 2009. Obama is about to pass healthcare legislation which will result in a dramatic increase in costs. Government did not get involved in healthcare until 1965, when Medicare and Medicaid were passed by a Democratic President and a Democratic Congress. The charts below paint a picture of waste, mismanagement, administrative nightmares, and out of control costs. Annual national health expenditures have risen from $50 billion in 1960 to $2.5 trillion in 2009. Government intrusion and control is the single biggest explanation for this disastrous result. The policies instituted by the government through Medicare, Medicaid, and HMO laws, along with mandating that insurance companies meet 50 separate state requirements to do business have bastardized the free market. There is no competition between doctors, hospitals, or insurance companies. The incentives are all geared towards charging more for services. Introducing a government run insurance option will now decrease competition and drive people into the government option. Employers will be dropping employees from their insurance plans by the millions. A new bloated government bureaucracy will "surprisingly" get out of control. Price fixing by government will drive service levels downward and rationing of care will be the result. Prepare to wait months for knee surgery. They'll get to you as soon as your appendix bursts. Dr. Ron Paul describes how government has already destroyed our healthcare system, so the massive overhaul proposed by the Democrats will surely blow up in Americans' faces again: "We should remember that HMOs did not arise because of free-market demand, but rather because of government mandates. The HMO Act of 1973 requires all but the smallest employers to offer their employees HMO coverage, and the tax code allows businesses - but not individuals - to deduct the cost of health insurance premiums. The result is the illogical coupling of employment and health insurance, which often leaves the unemployed without needed catastrophic coverage. While many in Congress are happy to criticize HMOs today, the public never hear how the present system was imposed upon the American people by federal law. As usual, government intervention in the private market failed to deliver the promised benefits and caused unintended consequences, but Congress never blames itself for the problems created by bad laws. Instead, we are told more government - in the form of "universal coverage" - is the answer. But government already is involved in roughly two-thirds of all health care spending, through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs."
The pie charts below compare costs in 1960, before government intervention, to 2004, after four decades of government control. The three slices of the pie that stick out like a sore thumb (future cost $8,000) are Administration, Public Health Activity and Research. In 1960, 5.9% of costs were incurred for Administration and Gov't and 2.5% for Research. In 2004, 10.3% of our costs were related to Administration and Gov't and 2.1% for Research. We spend vastly more on paper pushing and government regulations and less on research and care. The FDA government bureaucratic jungle imposes billions in useless costs on the developers of every new drug. This money goes to lawyers and compliance experts, not research scientists. Government thrives while average Americans pay and suffer.
"You will never understand bureaucracies until you understand that for bureaucrats, procedure is everything and outcomes are nothing." Texas Congressman Ron Paul, a man who has delivered 4,000 babies into this world, has experienced the pre-government market and the post government control of medical care in America. Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are inflicting their socialist fantasy theories on America. Ron Paul has real life experience. Who should you trust? His view couldn't be any clearer: "I started medicine when there was no Medicare and no Medicaid and let me tell you, I don't remember one time when I saw people out in the streets begging for medical care. Now we do. With managed care and now with socialized medicine coming, believe me, quality will down, costs will go up, there will be shortages, there will be lines and nobody is going to be happy. We've had corporate medicine now for about 30 years which is managed medicine by the government, and it has been a total disaster and it didn't do much more than push the costs up." "The more the government is involved in an industry or service, the higher the prices go. So, in education costs go up way beyond the cost of living, and the cost of medicine goes way up. So you can't solve the problem of medical care by ignoring this. Now, Obama says, "What we're going to do is we're going to tremendously increase the services and we're going to cut all the payments to the doctors in the hospitals." I mean, where is he coming from? That can't possibly work."
Dr. Paul has proposed logical market based solutions to the healthcare crisis for years and as usual, has been ignored by Democrats and Republicans alike:
FREEDOM, LIBERTY & FREE MARKETS "Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude."
"What is ominous is the ease with which some people go from saying that they don't like something to saying that the government should forbid it. When you go down that road, don't expect freedom to survive very long." & Before Medicare and Medicaid, the poor and elderly were admitted to hospitals at the same rate as they are admitted today and received excellent care. Before those programs came into existence, every physician understood that he or she had a responsibility towards the less fortunate and free medical care was the norm. Physicians take the Hippocratic Oath seriously. These facts do not fit into the current liberal script of government rescuing us from greedy insurance companies and evil doctors. The fact is that no one in this country is dying because they lack healthcare. Every person in this country, including illegal aliens, can walk into an emergency room and they will be treated by the best doctors and nurses in the world. Dr Ron Paul explains how it was and how it will be: "For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high-quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor. Doctors focused on treating patients, without the red tape and threat of lawsuits that plague the profession today. Most Americans paid cash for basic services, and had insurance only for major illnesses and accidents. This meant both doctors and patients had an incentive to keep costs down, as the patient was directly responsible for payment, rather than an HMO or government program. The lesson is clear: when government and other third parties get involved, health care costs spiral. The answer is not a system of outright socialized medicine, but rather a system that encourages everyone - doctors, hospitals, patients, and drug companies - to keep costs down. As long as "somebody else" is paying the bill, the bill will be too high." You can bet that Lyndon B. Johnson and Democrats in Congress assured the American public in 1965 that Medicare and Medicaid would save money. I doubt they would have been able to pass the bill if they had told Americans that it would result in a $100 trillion unfunded liability and would be racked with fraud, mismanagement and would drive healthcare costs dramatically higher. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are lying to Americans again. Costs will rise dramatically and service levels will deteriorate. Within five years, Democrats will be calling for a Value Added Tax of 10% to 20% in order to cover the "unexpected" cost overruns in the new plan. More government control, less choice, less freedom, less liberty, and a country closer to bankruptcy will be the outcome.
NATIONAL RUSSION ROULETTE "They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security." &
The United States of America is at a crossroads. If we allow the government to take over our healthcare system and inflict more regulations, more rules, and more cost, while rationing care, this will be the final nail in our capitalism coffin. A country that is already $12 trillion in debt, with unfunded liabilities exceeding $100 trillion, fighting two wars of choice, policing the planet by occupying 170 countries, funding insolvent criminal mega-banks, running bankrupt car companies, conquering global warming, and solving peak oil with solar and wind, will now take over one-sixth of the U.S. economy by adding its profound wisdom to the healthcare system. Based on the Obama administration's own 10 year budget plan, adjusted for the new healthcare plan, the U.S. National Debt will rocket to $25 trillion by 2019. By 2020 the number of Americans over 65 will reach 54 million, up from 40 million in 2010. By 2030 it will reach 71 million.
Source: US Census Bureau
"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it." The "intellectuals" in the White House and Congress, who have never run a business and whose only experience is knowing how to spend your money, believe wholeheartedly in socialism. Once a national healthcare plan is enacted, there will be no turning back. The politicians running our country have completely disregarded the warning of David Walker: "The U.S. government is on a "burning platform" of unsustainable policies and practices with fiscal deficits, expensive over-commitments to government provided health care, swelling Medicare costs, the enormous expense of a prospective universal health care system, immigration, and overseas military commitments threatening a crisis if action is not taken soon." Our leaders should be curtailing spending, repealing unspent stimulus funds, eliminating fraud and waste, instituting spending caps on Congress, ending our wars, and withdrawing troops from 170 foreign countries. Instead they are introducing the largest, most expensive entitlement program in history. This is national suicide.
When I watch the actions of Barack Obama and the Democrats in Congress, I can't help but think of the scene in the movie Deer Hunter where the Viet Cong make the American POWs play Russian roulette for entertainment. Michael (Christopher Walken) insists on putting three bullets in the gun in a desperate plan to kill his captors and escape. In the movie, Michael's plan works and he escapes. The American people will not be so lucky. Barack Obama is playing Russian roulette with our country's finances. This national healthcare plan will be the bullet that splatters our brains all over the wall. There will be no happy ending to this movie. It is a gory horror film. Michael: We gotta play with more bullets. Nick: What? Nick: More bullets against each other?
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it." Americans have chosen to surrender their freedom and liberty for safety and security. We've decided it is too much work to support freedom. We have allowed our government to be overrun by the military industrial complex, the financial industrial complex and the healthcare industrial complex. The safety and security we think we have is an illusion. We have neither. These deals with the devil will lead to the economic collapse of our Republic. At that time, we will have the opportunity as described by our forefathers, to abolish this government and start anew. Until that time we are destined to lose more freedom and undergo a long period of crisis and misery. It was our choice. &
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Media, Health Freedom, US Constitution, Federal Legislation, Revolution, Social Issues, Socialism, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: ron paul, Obama, socialism, banks, congress, Healthcare | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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There are currently three bills under consideration in the PA House. I took the liberty of creating petition forms for anyone who is looking to do drives for these pieces of legislation. If there is any feedback on these, please let me know in the comments and I can update them. Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act Petition (HB 2053) The text of the bill is in the link in parentheses. Thanks to Mike Salvi for the links to the text of the bills. On a side note, I read through each of these bills. HB 2053 and HB 1988 are the shortest, clearest and by far do the most to defend our freedoms. HB 492 by comparison is 40 pages, convoluted and appears to have many parts that contradict each other. It also appears to grant specific powers in "emergency" situations. It is very similar to legislation Massachusetts passed earlier this year. Categories: Civil Liberties, Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Action Item, Current Events, State Legislation Tags: petition, Pennsylvania Firearms Freedom Act, Emergency Health Powers Act, Freedom of Choice in Health Care Act, HB 1988, HB 492, HB 2053, PA Revolution |
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<script type="text/javascript"> tweetmeme_source = 'politicsdaily'; Categories: Current Events, War/Military, World Affairs Tags: afghanistan |
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http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/55910 Senate Judiciary Chairman Unable to Say Where Constitution Authorizes Congress to Order Americans to Buy Health Insurance CNSNews.com: "Where, in your opinion, does the Constitution give specific authority for Congress to give an individual mandate for health insurance?"
Categories: Health Freedom, US Constitution, Federal Legislation Tags: |
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According to official minutes posted at www.Abington.org, the Abington Commissioners voted in February to use eminent domain to seize Mrs. Patane's storefront property for use as a neighborhood library, even though the main township library is approximately one mile away and no other Abington neighborhood has its own library. Further, there was another building already for sale across the street from Mrs. Patane's property which could have been purchased instead, and without litigation. Township officials have admitted that Mrs. Patane's taxes were current and that there were no code violations or safety concerns. Still, Commissioner Peacock is on record saying, "Taking it is the right thing to do." Initial outlays for the Patane property are anticipated to be almost $2 million (not counting litigation), but the Abington Commissioners have stated on the record that they cannot say what the final cost might be, and that there is no fixed dollar amount or cost estimate for the project, nor any guarantee of success. The last high-profile taking in Abington ended up costing almost three times the property's value due to costs of litigation, and Coatesville squandered $7 million attempting to seize the Saha farm before finally admitted defeat.
In light of the above, an angry mob got together to ask the eight commissioners who voted in favor of stealing Mrs. Patane's property to change their votes. We couldn't think of a better place to ask them than at their homes. Starting at 10:00am on Saturday October 17, 2009, about 20 people met at a park in Rosyln to march in Mrs. Patane's defense.
We marched in the rain, ponchos, umbrellas, and signs in hand to make sure the commissioners' neighbors knew the whole story as well. As the day progressed, more people joined in the march and we ended up with close to 40 people by the end of the day. We stopped by the property for a few hours, handed out flyers to all the shops on the block, all the people walking by, and as many cars as we could. The Abington Police Department was a great help to us that day escorting us throughout the township, so big thanks to the cops as well.
After rallying at the subject property, we visited a few more commissioners. Lori Schrieber wasn't home, but all her neighbors came out to talk to us, and most of them listened and understood what was happening, no ridiculous arguments (funny how people actually get it when you're polite and respectful when explaining). The next commissioner was home, but for some reason wouldn't come outside to explain his vote. Jim Babb called him while standing out front, talked to him for about 5-10 minutes. Jim informed him there was an angry mob outside, the police were there, so he was in no harm, and all we wanted was to ask him why he thought it was ok to steal, and to change his vote. He did talk to us through his closed kitchen window, but that was all the luck we had.
The next commissioner came outside with a chainsaw, revved it up a few times, no hockey mask unfortunatley, and did some yardwork. We wrapped up the day at the Township Administration Building / Police Station, with a rally on the front lawn. Again handing out flyers to everyone who walked / drove by, drew attention, created awareness, and hopefully left a positive impact.
Mrs. Patane's children flew in from out of state to be a part of Saturday's event, and they were extremely grateful for everyone's participation in our attempt to stop legal plunder.
The next commissioners' meeting is November 12, 2009 at the Abington Administration Building, please try to come out and voice your opinion in defense of property rights, even if you don't live in Abington, the more people we have, the better. Thanks again to everyone who played a part in Saturday's march, especially Ken Krawchuk, Jim Babb, and Steve Scheetz for spearheading the rally and laying out the groundwork. This is the first of many marches, we plan on marching again next month, and the month after that, and the month after that....See you all on 11/12/09!!!
(click here for details and to read the press release) Categories: Current Events Tags: Eminent Domain |
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My local public TV/Radio wrote an article in their magazine that was so biased, I couldn't take it. There story is here: Below is my response. Ms. Pavelko, Categories: Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Philosophy, Socialism, Economy Tags: |
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Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk 10/19/09: We Must Reverse This Destructive Course!Posted October 19th, 2009 by SCButterfly Ron Paul's Texas Straight Talk 10/19/09: We Must Reverse This Destructive Course!
Categories: Ron Paul, Video Tags: ron, paul, video |
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8312964.stm Just thought I point out something that could be very important.
"Mr Obama has said he will extend his hand towards Iran, but with this terrorist action he has burned his hand," he said, referring to US President Barack Obama.
I have a feeling it won't matter how much our government denies this. The idea has been planted that it was the US involved.
Categories: Foreign Policy, Current Events, War/Military, World Affairs Tags: Iran, war |
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Pennsylvania Drafts 2009 Mandatory Vaccination Law To read the entire bill go here: Pennsylvania House Bill 492 Source: Swine Flu Shot Safety Program State governments continue promoting emergency powers legislation, even while insisting these unconstitutional powers will never be used. Here are a few excerpts from Pennsylvania House Bill 492, the "Emergency Health Powers Act" [PDF]: Section 2532-D. Access to and control of facilities and Section 2542-D. Mandatory medical examinations. Section 2544-D. Vaccination and treatment. Section 2572-D. Enforcement. Section 2574-D. Liability. For our purposes here, the most important clause in this Act is as follows: A vaccine may not be given if the public health Unfortunately, the CDC has already declared-contrary to evidence from 1976 onwards-that individuals are unlikely to suffer serious harm from vaccination! And if you do suffer harm-as thousands of others have over the years-the state and its contractors accept no responsibility.
Categories: Civil Liberties, Health Freedom, Action Item, Current Events Tags: |
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I was bored while watching football last weekend and decided to try and create a map of the voting precincts in my district. For those of you living in Upper Moreland the link below will show you how the districts are laid out (as close as I could) along with the various voting locations for each of the precincts. The Upper Moreland map was not the most user friendly thing, so I figured I would try to create one that was a little easier to read. Please feel free to let me know of any feedback on this. Categories: Miscellany, Voting Tags: Upper Moreland, Ward Maps |
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Criminalizing everyone
Brian W. Walsh "You don't need to know. You can't know." That's what Kathy Norris, a 60-year-old grandmother of eight, was told when she tried to ask court officials why, the day before, federal agents had subjected her home to a furious search. The agents who spent half a day ransacking Mrs. Norris' longtime home in Spring, Texas, answered no questions while they emptied file cabinets, pulled books off shelves, rifled through drawers and closets, and threw the contents on the floor. The six agents, wearing SWAT gear and carrying weapons, were with - get this- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kathy and George Norris lived under the specter of a covert government investigation for almost six months before the government unsealed a secret indictment and revealed why the Fish and Wildlife Service had treated their family home as if it were a training base for suspected terrorists. Orchids. That's right. Orchids.
Categories: Grassroots News, Revolution Tags: grandma, orchids, swat |
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I completely agree we do not want government control over the internet, just like we do not want government run health care or censorship of free speech. My question however is why the attention to this bill S. 773 at this time? I looked up the bill on the Library of Congress website which indicates there has been no action on this bill since April.
Is this only a way to raise money for the campaign? There are many more pressing issue such as audit the fed, using health care to preserve life from natural conception to natural death, and promoting responsible international policy (not our way or we will attack). Can anyone else help me understand why this catch your attention, appeal to our fears is being used? Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Civil Liberties, Federal Legislation, Congress Tags: |
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In case you haven't heard yet, Rep. Sam Rohrer introduced the Pennsylvania 'Firearms Freedom Act,' an Act prohibiting certain firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition from being subject to Federal law or Federal regulation. Here are links to all the co-sponsors so you can email / call them and thank them, then feel free to contact those who are not on the list and demand their support. ROHRER, TALLMAN, BAKER, BENNINGHOFF, BOYD, BROOKS, CAUSER, CHRISTIANA, CLYMER, CUTLER, DENLINGER, EVERETT, FAIRCHILD, FLECK, GABLER, GEIST, GIBBONS, GINGRICH, GODSHALL, GROVE, HESS, HORNAMAN, HUTCHINSON, KAUFFMAN, KORTZ, KOTIK, KRIEGER, MARSHALL, METCALFE, METZGAR, MOUL, MUSTIO, O'NEILL, PETRARCA, PHILLIPS, PICKETT, QUIGLEY, RAPP, READSHAW, REED, ROAE, ROCK, SOLOBAY, SONNEY, STEVENSON, SWANGER, TRUE, TURZAI, VULAKOVICH, M. KELLER, KILLION Not sure who your representative is? Don't worry, we've got you covered, click here. And in case you wanted to read the 5 page bill, click here.
Categories: Current Events, State Legislation Tags: firearms, 10th amendment, state sovereignty |
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Pennsylvania 'Firearms Freedom Act' Legislation Introduced
AmmoLand State Representative Sam Rohrer has introduced the "Firearms Freedom Act" (HB1988) for consideration in the state legislature. The bill is "An Act prohibiting certain firearms, firearm accessories or ammunition from being subject to Federal law or Federal regulation.":
HB1988 currently has 48 additional co-sponsors, and according to FirearmsFreedomAct.com, is similar to bills recently enacted into law in both Montana and Tennessee. While the bill seems to focus solely on federal gun regulations, it has far more to do with the 10th Amendment's limit on the power of the federal government. It specifically states: The regulation of intrastate commerce is vested in the states under the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, particularly if not expressly preempted by federal law. Congress has not expressly preempted state regulation of intrastate commerce pertaining to the manufacture on an intrastate basis of firearms, firearms accessories, and ammunition. Rohrer, in a recent letter to Pennsylvania House Members, addressed the issue of the commerce clause...read more here.
Categories: Grassroots News, US Constitution, Revolution Tags: firearms, Freedom, act |
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This article originally appeared in the July, 2009 edition of the Casey Report. In 2008, prices of oil, natural gas, gold, silver, copper, corn, wheat, and most other commodities reached multi-year, and in some cases multi-decade, highs. They've fallen sharply since then, but commodities aren't going out of business. Another peak is coming, and it will be far higher, especially for oil.
Categories: Ron Paul, Foreign Policy, Finance, Domestic Policy, Social Issues, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: ron paul, depression, Collapse, gold, Obama, inflation |
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Police Brutality in Pittsburgh After the G20
In the photo here, we see an LRAD mounted in the rear of a militarized police vehicle driving through the back streets of Pittsburgh terrorizing the residents. Note the child on the curb holding up his hands to block the sound of the terrorist device. /on (The child is obviously with al-Qaeda) /sarcasm off.
Jason Bermas
In what was possibly the most surreal, horrific, and unimaginable thing I have ever witnessed in my life, 1200 Riot Police and Military Personal rabidly attacked a group of well under 300 American citizens, many of them just students that were unaware there was even a protest going on. They then expanded their perimeter and shut large areas of Oakland down. This is how my last experience at the G20 in Pittsburgh went down, out of control authorities mercilessly attacking an unarmed crowd with batons, tear gas, pepper spray, sound weapons, and rubber bullets. Around 10pm on Friday night, long after the vast majority of dignitaries and protesters had left, it became evident that the outrageous show of force by the Military and Police was not enough to stave off their thirst for blood.
Categories: Video Tags: abuse, military, police, Pittsburgh, Fed, G20 |
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Categories: Ron Paul, Media, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Federal Legislation, Revolution, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: Federal Reserve, hr1207, Alan Grayson |
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A few days ago I sent an email to Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey regarding S.604. Surprisingly, I received this email from him yesterday. Possibly a canned response, but probably not given the depth of the message. Maybe something that they put together just for this bill? Either way, he's "thinkin about it". Dear Mr. Walters:
Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Finance, Law, Domestic Policy, Democratic Party, Action Item, US Constitution, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Socialism, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: |
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There are three kinds of people in this world. Those who make things happen, those who sit by and watch things happen, and those who exclaim in surprise, "What happened?!" Let's apply this to the political realm of things. To me it's fairly obvious that our federal government is nothing like our Founders intended. The federal government has overstepped its bounds everywhere imaginable, encroaches upon and many times completely dismisses our God-given unalienable rights, and is the corrupt, centralized power the Founders and Framers feared so much. Many people are awakening to the reality that the federal government controls almost every aspect of their lives and are honestly surprised at the growth of the government's powers. These people, who for the first time, are realizing that this country is governed by the whims of men and not the rule of law, are person #3. They are the person who suddenly exclaims, "What happened?!" They are surprised and shocked, and hopefully will want to become active and do something to reclaim their freedom. Let's hope enough people wake up before it's too late.
Now let's take a look at person #2. Person #2 has sat by and watched our country politically crumble. He could be someone who understands the issues and has fought for what he believes is right, but over the months and years has become apathetic with politics and in frustration has given up. This person now watches politicians make useless and, most of the time, harmful laws. But, being apathetic, does nothing about it. I can have some respect for this person because although he is now watching time go by, he was at some point in time involved in politics. He went to meetings and contacted his elected representatives and earnestly tried to change the political status quo. However as time went by he burned out, became exhausted, and is now dismally watching his country head for disaster. He burned out either because he was going about everything the hard way, or was doing it alone, not a very enjoyable thing to do. Person #2 could also be an individual who sees the continual encroachments by our government but honestly doesn't care. This person I have no respect for. How can an individual see so many wrongs being done and have never wanted to do something about it? How can one have children or know someone who has children and not care about their future? It's often said that our children are our future, but what sort of future will our children have if they grow up in a police state? This type of person who cares only about the present and nothing about the future is someone I cannot respect. I don't want to be around someone who recognizes that our Constitutional Republic has devolved into a tyrannical beast that taxes its citizens out of house and home, but honestly doesn't care. I cannot respect someone who sees what's going on but is content just so long as he has a job, a roof over his head, and a TV to keep him company. I cannot have any respect for him, but I do have some respect for the person who was originally active, who kept up-to-date on the issues and attempted to impress upon his elected officials the importance of following the Constitution, who educated his friends and family about our founding documents, sound money, and free markets, who truly cared and tried to make a difference, but who in the end became apathetic toward anything political. I am able to respect that person because that person used to be person #1.
Individual #1 is a special person. He is the one who makes things happen. Edmund Burke once said that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. For the past century it seems that good men have stood in the shadows while the socialist, fascist nanny state has crept up on us. We have come to the point where, due to the Patriot Act and National Security Letters, we have completely lost our unalienable right to privacy, we've come to the point where Congress is discussing unconstitutional socialized health care, which will only benefit big corporations and give more power to the federal government, we've come to the point where, because of the Federal Reserve, the dollar has lost 95% of its purchasing power, we've come to the point where the president wants to make plans for prolonged and even indefinite detention. The list can go on for miles. Those who want big, central government have been person #1 for the past several decades. They've been making things happen and over the past few years have been accelerating their actions at an astonishing rate. This has got to stop. Good men need to come out of the shadows and take action. They need to be person #1, they need to make things happen. Good people need to come out of the woodwork and become political activists. They need to work together and educate their friends and neighbors about the Constitution and tell their representatives and senators and all other elected officials to follow the Constitution. And they need to go about it the right way, or they will become apathetic person #2. Thankfully I have never been and never will be person #3. I will never wake up one day and exclaim in surprise, "What happened?!" I have always been person #1, wanting to make things happen, wanting to influence federal, state, and local politics to return to small government. At times I have been frustrated at the political status quo and the impression that my elected officials aren't listening to me, but I've never been apathetic person #2. I've been frustrated, but I've not given up. And I pray to God that I never will. Tags: |
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In case you missed these excellent interviews with Dr. Paul and Alan Grayson on Alex Jones...
Dr. Ron Paul
Alan Grayson
Categories: Ron Paul, Media, Domestic Policy, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Current Events, Revolution, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: alex jones, hr1207, s604, audit the fed, Federal Reserve |
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Chris Rye and Corey Kealiher's For Liberty is a fond look back on the grassroots movement to elect Ron Paul. It was a thrill to see on screen many people who throughout the campaign I'd worked with, spoken with on the phone, but never seen in person; to put faces on the names. Many Ron Paul activists will share this thrill. All of the greatest moments are captured here: the rally at the Iowa candidates' forum, the education of Rudolph Giuliani, the tremendous rallies, and of course, the money bombs. It's a timely release for at least three reasons. It is re-invigorating to look back on that exciting time from the relatively depressing legislative season we must now plow through. It is a vital history of the grassroots Liberty movement, especially for those who are new. And it is an important reminder of true nature of our new-found "friends" in the right-wing mainstream. It's this last aspect of it that I found most rewarding. Since the reign of Barack Obama, conservative pundits Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, and Michelle Malkin have largely abandoned their militarist rhetoric to cast themselves as populist libertarian heroes, with frightening success. It is refreshing to me, and will be eye-opening to others, to see how they treated a true populist libertarian who had a message that likely would have defeated Barack Obama had he become the Republican nominee. I only wish the film went even further, by emphatically noting how this new "conservative" movement, headed by the same people, wantonly stole the "tea party" concept from us without giving credit. For Liberty is destined to be the essential memoir of the Ron Paul campaign because it hits the most important lesson of the exercise spot-on: that the people, given a message of deep truth and a great goal to rally behind, do not need to be motivated by material gain to do what is right. Sure, having a free society was in our self-interest, but we didn't expect outright victory. We sacrificed so much of our lives knowing that we would probably lose, and that knowledge only inspired us to sacrifice even more. It struck home that the Revolution begins and ends not with leaders, but with a tireless but determined grassroots movement. But as I reconciled the moments captured in the film with my own memory of the Ron Paul campaign, I felt a dissonance, one that grew louder upon later reflection. It began with the notable omission of the Ron Paul campaign staff. I understand that this was a grassroots movie, that its purpose was to celebrate the triumphs of the grassroots and the purity of the Ron Paul message as proven by its following. But these points did not require total omission, and by omission, it was implied that the campaign was a non-entity, therefore incompetent. In some cases, this omission distorted the history illustrated in the movie. The prevalence of Meetup groups was attributed to the grassroots movement. But I discovered my Meetup group because I had visited the campaign website where I was instructed to organize on Meetup. Andrew Ward informs me that it was no light decision on the part of Kent Snyder, the campaign chairman, to have referred volunteers to Meetup. All prior campaigns encouraged volunteers to contact the campaign directly, and not organize independently. Kent had the wisdom to say, "We are not able to handle the volume and variety of supporters we are going to get; we need to give them some way to organize themselves." That was a brilliant and very risky decision Kent made, which greatly contributed to the grassroots movement that sprung therefrom. It was also Kent's idea and the campaign's project to rally in Iowa against the candidates' forum that had snubbed us. Nor was the tremendous effort by the Campaign For Liberty—which, at the time, was totally ad-hoc—in organizing the Rally for the Republic given fair credit. The film noted the sacrifice many volunteers made. I was one, and exremely fortunate to have been brought onto the staff of the campaign just days after being thrown out on the street for being months behind on rent. I hadn't even been looking for work. I know someone else who, as a volunteer, worked himself to the point where he had to stop before his family with seven children lost their home. Kent paid a higher price. He worked so hard for the campaign that he neglected his battle with a long-term illness and perished at the end of the campaign. I don't think the grassroots ever understood that what the campaign staff felt was just the same as what they felt, but with the added burden of knowing that each of our mistakes rippled out and let everybody down. I worked hard as a volunteer but after I was hired, as I realized that my work was now affecting the outcome in not just one, but many states, I became a workaholic. For six months I worked around the clock, sleeping only when I could not think well enough to work. We all did. But Kent, above everybody else, earned his place in this story. He was missed. There was always great friction between the grassroots and the campaign. It's doubtless that our opponents played a role in creating it, but there was legitimate criticism, too. I was a member of each for roughly the same period, as a volunteer from May through mid-November 2007, when I was hired by the campaign through April '08. I have seen both sides. The campaign had at least three problems that the grassroots could not understand:
In part because we were so bound and gagged, the grassroots felt we were at best incompetent; at worst, saboteurs. By omission, For Liberty tacitly approves this perception of the campaign staff. To my knowledge, nobody who worked for the Ron Paul campaign was interviewed for the film—including state coordinators, many of whom were never paid employees. It's been suggested that the reason nobody from the campaign was involved in this movie is due to legal worries that somehow the film could violate some absurd FEC regulation. I say, there must exist some creative loophole the directors could have found. At the very least a simple disclaimer "The Ron Paul 2008 Campaign was excluded from this movie for legal reasons" would have sufficed to cancel the implied indictment of the campaign. Deepening the implication, there's little explanation given for why, after so many triumphs, Dr. Paul still places poorly in the Iowa Straw Poll, in New Hampshire, and on Super Tuesday. We see so many great grassroots successes, but then, why did we fail? Surely, since the grassroots movement was so wonderful, it must have been the campaign that let everyone down. Right? And there's the real problem here: part of the reason we lost was that we all jumped in not having a clue what we were doing. We made great signs, we filled rallies, we dropped banners, we handed out literature. But we didn't do enough of the things that win elections: identify voters, build lists, canvass our precincts, work the polls. When we began, most of us had no idea what a precinct delegate was! This movie documents the campaign beautifully, but it avoids examining the mistakes; it gives us little to teach with. It noted the great walk to Minneapolis, but omitted the fight in St. Paul for us to bring as many Ron Paul delegates to the Republican National Convention. And we had brought hundreds! Each of those delegates was only there because of the many battles we fought at county and state conventions around the country. At these battlegrounds, the Republican Party establishment fought us at every turn, often resorting to dirty tricks and flat-out rule-breaking to block Ron Paul supporters from becoming RNC delegates. Why the heck was this critical aspect of the conclusion of the Ron Paul campaign neglected? I think this last omission really illustrates the core problem with this film. The grassroots set out to make as much noise as possible, and at that they were enormously successful. But in doing so, they played into the false belief that elections are all about the media. Had they spent that much energy doing the scarier, less intuitive kinds of activities like precinct canvassing, recruiting delegates, and building lists of voters to mobilize on Election Day, the results may have been much more representative of the real size of the movement. None of this critical political action is depicted anywhere in this film, which allots 10 minutes for the Ron Paul Blimp. This is a challenging film to rate. It is essential; everyone must watch it. But it is also essential that people not simply sop it up; that they think hard about why this incredible outpouring of energy didn't translate into results and learn from our mistakes. The film doesn't make this easy, since the mistakes are not even shown, much less admitted to. Three-and-a-half stars does not adequately penalize this film for its shortcomings. Two-and-a-half stars denies this film the recognition it deserves. This rating comes with strong opposing forces from each direction. (Three stars) P.S. I'm sure we all have moments we wish were included in the film. Here's mine.
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Media, Presidential Race, Grassroots News, Revolution Tags: |
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 Ron Paul at the Campaign for Liberty Conference in Las Vegas. (Photo Credit Campaign for Liberty 2009) Originally published on Philadelphia Libertarian Examiner. What an action packed, sleepless weekend! The Northeast Campaign for Liberty conference went from Thursday, September 17th-Saturday, September 19th, and featured speakers such as Ron Paul, Tom Woods, Daniel Hannan, Peter Schiff, and Judge Napolitano. An exhibition room was open during the entire conference, featuring tables hosting organizations like LOLA (Ladies of Liberty Alliance), Jake Towne for Congress, Gun Owners of America, Schumpeter's Gale, and the Truth, Freedom and Prosperity Meet Up group. At the conference, there were many lectures, including the real nature of politics, building donors, being a leader, working with volunteers, and investment in gold and silver. The conference also hosted the premier of For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty, a movie directed and produced by Chris Rye and Corey Kealiher. The Valley Forge Convention Center hosted a gun show during the conference, located just upstairs, so Campaign for Liberty also made its presence by tabling there. If you haven't been to a Campaign for Liberty conference before, I recommend looking into next year's event -- it was definitely worth it! It's better than spending a weekend with your only accomplishment being a mowed lawn! Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty Tags: conferences |
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I attended the Campaign for Liberty conference in Valley Forge last night after work. Just to let the mainstream media know. There were no guns, no racist signs and no anti-Obama literature. There were young, middle aged and older people attending. Some had suits, other were in jeans. They struck me as normal every day middle class people. I'm not good at estimating crowds, but it appeared to be about 1,000 people. The 1st speaker was Phil Giraldi, a former CIA officer. Maybe SSS knows him. He was in the CIA until 2002, so he was there in the days following 9/11. He said it was known in the halls of the CIA and Defense Dept that we would use the 9/11 attack as the reason for launching an attack on Iraq. His speech was convincing. The 2nd speaker was Mike Doherty. For those of you who live in NJ, I think you have a rising star in the Republican party. He is in the NJ assembly and is running for State Senator in November. He is a West Point grad who spent 8 years in the military. All three of his sons are currently serving in the military. The man is no dove. He supports Ron Paul's foreign policy stance 100%. When you go to war, you go to win. The military will obey their civilian leaders, but they know their duty is to uphold the Constitution. He is for a strong defense, not for provoking no win conflicts throughout the world. Ron Paul's son, Ronnie, then introduced his father. I had never seen Ron Paul in person before. He looks like your grandfather. He's not slick. He doesn't overwhelm the room with his mere presence. He is not a smooth talker. But, he did speak for 1 hour and 15 minutes without the use of a teleprompter or notes. He can speak this way because he doesn't have to remember his lies. He doesn't lie. He doesn't tell half truths. He doesn't deceive his audience. He speaks from his heart. He believes what he says. As he spoke, it sounded like the discussions we have every day on TheBurningPlatfrom. Truth, individual liberty, less government, and freedom were the themes of his speech. The part of the speech that struck me was his trust and faith in the citizens of this country. He truly believes that people will make the right decisions if given the chance. This is the major difference between Ron Paul and the elites running our government and the two parties. He believes that if individuals are given the freedom to earn and keep their money our society would be stronger. Individuals, because they have virtue, would take care of those less fortunate through the charity of their time and money. The ruling elite don't trust the citizens. They believe in their own infallibility and their own brilliance. They want government to solve all the ills in our country and our world. Give them more power and they will coddle and take care of you. Just give them 40% of your income and allow them to run $2 trillion deficits every year and they will solve all your problems. How has that worked out so far? He got the most animated while speaking about the Federal Reserve. He is convinced they have caused the vast majority of our economic misery. His Audit the Fed bill HR1207 now has 290 co-sponsors, including 110 Democrats. He was very clear that the printing of more dollars will eventually lead to the collapse of the USD. He doesn't know when, but the existing policies will lead to that conclusion. He was fearful at what will happen when the dollar does collapse. Will the government then attempt to seize more power. At this point he pointed out that the government has a lot of guns. Then he said, "the citizens of this country have a lot of guns too." This received a standing ovation from the crowd. Ron Paul did not speak badly of any individual person. He is a true gentleman. He cares about this country. He cares about people. He doesn't care about power or personal agendas or getting rich when he leaves Washington. As I pulled out of the parking lot, and drove past the entrance to Valley Forge National Park I was struck by the similarities of George Washington and Ron Paul. Washington arrived at Valley Forge with a 12,000 man ragtag army. Soldiers received irregular supplies of meat and bread, some getting their only nourishment from "fire cake," a tasteless mixture of flour and water. Long marches had destroyed shoes. Blankets were scarce. Tattered garments were seldom replaced. At one point these shortages caused nearly 4,000 men to be listed as unfit for duty. Eventually. 2,000 men died that winter. Our entire country depended upon one leader and 10,000 dedicated patriots. Las Vegas wouldn't have given Washington a chance at victory. Our victory 5 years later was a victory of will, not a victory of weapons. We are in the same position today. Maybe there are 100,000 out of 307 million Americans who are behind Ron Paul and his Campaign for Liberty. George Washington was honest, truthful, unwavering, dedicated to his troops and his country, bold in action, and trusting in his officers and men. Ron Paul is the most honest, truthful man in Washington DC. He cares about the country and its citizens. Ron Paul's message has been the same for 30 years. Trust the people, not the government. At the end of his speech, Ron quoted Samuel Adams: "It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men."
That's me with the curly hair & beard. Just kidding. Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, US Constitution, Ethics, Executive Power, War/Military, Congress Tags: ron paul, depression, Collapse, gold, Obama, inflation |
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It was so exciting to see Dr. Ron Paul speak. A lot of valuable information was learned. He is the man with the answer. All the speakers were excellent. Will be down today helping at the Campaign for Liberty table. What a wonderful evening. Linda Sheaffer Categories: Ron Paul Tags: |
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There is a committee started to help fill the empty PA Regional Coordinator positions. The Districts that have no coordinator are: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 12, 14, 17, 18, 19
The goal is to fill 2 Regional Coordinator positions each month.
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, Action Item, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany Tags: |
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Still trying to decompress from the Northeast Regional Conference, my wife remembered this video that we made last year when we visited Valley Forge National Park on Christmas eve. Living close to so many historic sites that were integral in the founding of this country, it is easy to take this rich heritage for granted. This video pays tribute to the founders that sacrificed everything so we could be free. If you did not have the opportunity to visit the park during your stay, this is our gift to you. Please enjoy this glimpse into this National treasure.
For liberty,
Rob & Eileen Categories: History, Just For Fun Tags: Valley Forge |
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Announcing "Freedom Conference 2009: Alternatives to G-20" Categories: Education, Finance, Globalism, Law, Domestic Policy, Grassroots News, US Constitution, History, Current Events, Miscellany, World Affairs, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: f, c, g, r, G20, m, e |
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If you are planning on taking a bus down to DC for the Sep 12th weekend... don't forget to bring plenty of Petitions (http://www.auditthefed.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/AuditPetition.pdf), Clipboards and Pens. Categories: Action Item Tags: |
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Looking for someone to share a ride with and a hotel room. Rooms are $100 per night. Categories: Action Item Tags: |
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For those that missed this excellent interview, here it is in three parts...Enjoy!
For liberty, Rob Categories: Ron Paul, Foreign Policy, Finance, Media, Globalism, Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Democratic Party, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Social Issues, Video, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: hr1207, Austrian Economics, hr3200, health care |
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The Campaign for Liberty Northeast Regional Conference is fast approaching. If you have not yet registered for the grassroots training, NOW is the time. Seats are selling out fast and you may not get another chance. The organizers may need to secure a much larger room, but that is entirely up to you. Starting on Thursday September 17th, Constitution Day, this will be a truly historic weekend. Join the honorable Congressman, Dr. Ron Paul and other distinguished guests for Thursday's free events. T'he following days will be filled with seminars, grassroots training, and insight from some of the Liberty movement's best and brightest historians, economists, authors, activists, and politicians, all dedicated to the cause of liberty. Friday evening will be a night to remember. the Pennsylvania contingent of the Campaign for Liberty will be hosting the after-party featuring the much anticipated release and premier of the documentary chronicling the Ron Paul rEVOLution... How the Ron Paul rEVOLution watered the withered Tree of Liberty
Entertaining us after the movie will be one of the rEVOLution's most dedicated DJ's, and performing an acoustic set like only he can, a rising star in the liberty movement, the talented musician, Jordan Page.
See you there!!! For Liberty, Rob Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, Action Item, Just For Fun, Revolution, Miscellany Tags: after party, forlibertymovie, Jordan Page, Regional Conference |
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August was the deadliest month for US troops, since the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan began in late 2001, with 51 reported deaths. Only eight months into the year and it has already become the deadliest year for coalition forces with 310 soldiers killed. Of the 310, 183 were US soldiers, surpassing last years total by 28. When examining the increasing cost in human life, one must question why we are still occupying Afghanistan and fighting with the Taliban when our original target, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda seem to no longer be on our radar. President Obama's policy of escalation in Afghanistan is tantamount to starting a new war according to Robert Naiman, writing for the Huffington Post. With poll numbers indicating an increased number of Americans view the conflict in Afghanistan as going badly, it appears waning public support could pressure the administration to abandon any further troop increases. The problem with undeclared wars is they become long, drawn out, seemingly endless conflicts that place a drain on our economy and societal bonds as a whole. The current fighting in Afghanistan has little to do with the attacks on 9/11; rather it is now just another experiment in nation building. American's must dare to stand up and say, "No!" to anymore of these "overseas contingency operations". If America is to go to war, then it should be initiated by a declaration of war from Congress! Only then should we be putting this many of our men, women, fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters in harms way. When the American people are truly behind it and Congress has declared war, the entire country should be mobilized towards the war effort (by this I mean private industry diverting resources away from peace time projects voluntarily) with the goal of winning as quickly as possible so that we may return to lives of peace. We should not be putting our troops into harms way half-heartedly. This policy of engaging in long, drawn out conflicts is doing nothing more than keeping us in a perpetual state of warfare, resulting in the erosion of our civil liberties. I'll leave you to think about the song that gave me the title for this piece: "The War Drags On" by Donovan, though written about Vietnam is still strikingly relevant today. Categories: Current Events, War/Military, World Affairs Tags: |
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It has been a busy week, month, summer...It seems like the days are just flying by. Here it is Thursday, September 3rd. Labor Day is fast approaching and so is the end of Congress' summer recess. August's news was filled with stories of town hall meetings and protests from across the country. September is already providing more of the same. The town hall meetings with our elected representatives have for the most part been emotionally charged. The hot topic appears to be health care "reform" aka: HR3200. Is this really the button that has America so engaged or is it merely just the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back? For those that are still caught in the false left-right paradigm parroted by the pundits and talking heads in the main stream media and the polished party loyalists, the divides are growing, the battle lines are being drawn, the accusations are flying. Grass roots, AstroTurf, SEIU, Obamacare, Socialism, Marxism, death panels, rationing...Truth be told, it is no longer about Left or Right, it is about right or wrong. No matter how you slice it, peel away the rhetoric, and for many of us there is a much greater issue to confront...that is, the future of our republic. In case you haven't noticed, the gloves are off, and the second American rEVOlution has begun. So here we are, another day, another town hall meeting. This past Monday's was unique. I was one of approximately 30 local business owners, business managers, and members of the Upper Perkiomen Chamber of Commerce, invited to attend a town hall meeting with Republican Congressman Charlie Dent. In these historic times, sometimes it seems as though we are nothing but observers, or unheard bystanders in our own political lives. Not this time. The event was sponsored by the chamber, and hosted at Brown Printing in East Greenville, part of the Pennsylvania's 15th district represented by the congressman. In attendance was an excellent cross section of people from our community, a chief of Surgery from a local hospital, school administrators, the president of a local commercial roofing and industrial real estate development company, a real estate broker, representatives from Brown Printing, Blommer Chocolate, executives from a family owned industrial and safety supply company, many others, and myself a family man, and business owner. In that group, I know that we had Republicans, Democrats, and a couple of small "l" libertarians. Relative to the health care debate, my personal experience and perspective is that our business provides the premier health insurance products in the marketplace to our employees. We offer 100% coverage to most of our employees and their dependents. We know first hand the affects of rising costs, and the burden on small business. We have worked hard to reduce our health insurance costs from a projected $280K this year to approximately $200K. I personally believe that government intervention, overreach, and over regulation is the culprit and the leading cause of the spiraling costs of health care. (Not to mention the inflationary, regulatory, and immoral policies of the unconstitutional Federal Reserve. I'll save that for another rant.) I was among the last to arrive, and as I was making my way down the hall to the conference room where the event was held, I encountered Congressman Dent. I took the opportunity to introduce myself and to thank him for his recent support of HR1207, Congressman Ron Paul's bill to audit the Federal Reserve. I also, expressed my concern that I believed our views differed considerably on the subject of health care. My interpretation of Charlie's Medical Rights and Reform Act is that while it is well intentioned, it provides for the creation of a new government agency, new government programs, calls for "incentives", and the acceleration of Health Information Technology. Sorry Charlie, I do not want my medical information computerized for ANY government agency or bureaucrat to access. In Charlie's defense, he also sponsored HR2516 in May. This bill puts forth some measures protecting the doctor patient relationship, and the ability of individuals and employers to make their own health care decisions without fear of government coercion, or the use of federal funds at the hands of federal employees interfering. It was a relatively uneventful town hall meeting. Being invite only, this was a controlled environment, and we were a subdued group. No shouting, no sign waving, no union thugs. A relaxed atmosphere, and just good, candid discussion. Seated at the head of the conference tables shaped in a large "U", Congressman Dent addressed the group. He showed us copy of HR3200 and explained his understanding of what he believes is wrong with he bill. The size and scope is enough to give you pause. Everyone who had concerns was given the opportunity to air them and receive feedback from the congressman. We discussed several key issues that dramatically increase our health insurance premium costs: lack of competition across state lines, the need for TORT reform, the rampant fraud in the current socialized medical programs, and state mandates that drive up insurance premiums. Sadly, none of these issues are confronted by the current legislation, and it is highly unlikely any bill that gets passed will address these major factors contributing to the high cost of health care. Given several opportunities to speak, I shared my concern that there is a misnomer that health care is a right. Reminding everyone that our rights are inherent, and as our founders declared, we are endowed by our creator. As our rights are unalienable, they can not be taken away, nor granted by government. To the contrary, if health care can be given or taken away by government, then it is not a right, but a privilege. Of course, I reminded him of his oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. And that it is his primary duty. Everything that congress does should be measured by their oath, and the constitutionality of the action. I also questioned the constitutionality of the current socialist government programs Medicaid and Medicare, "Are they constitutional?" To which Charlie answered, "We have them." I raised the fact that nowhere in the 18 enumerated powers granted to Congress by the people in the Constitution's Article I, section 8, are there provisions for "health care". And added to that, the congress has a duty under the often misused and abused "Commerce clause" to actually step in and enforce the Constitution allowing competition across state lines, dramatically increasing competition, promoting the free market, and lowering costs to the consumer. By and large, the attendees addressed aspects of this issue that are important, but a little more benign than my argument for upholding the Constitution. Charlie agreed with the group and echoed their concerns across the board, and said he had no intention of voting for HR3200 or any similar piece of legislation. His preferred approach would be to introduce and pass separate, smaller bills addressing the key opportunities for cost reduction in the marketplace. I hope we can do that. However, I believe that we will see a metamorphosis of the current proposal, and through the system of incrementalism, the Fabian Socialists will continue to gnaw at the remnants of our republic. We will continue to experience government intrusions, and incursions on our individual liberty, and the forceful confiscation the most precious of all of our property, the fruits of our labor. Or will we? The question that I have is: do the citizens of the once sovereign commonwealth of Pennsylvania have what it takes to stand up and truly hold their representatives accountable? Can we reclaim our servant government, and restore it to its original intent and design, of the people, by the people, and for the people, from the ground up? Oh, I almost forgot. Before leaving the venue. I had a follow up conversation with Charlie Dent and gave him Camapaign for Liberty flier on the health care issue highlighting several important pieces of legislation HR1495, HR2630, and HR2629. I managed to hand out about a dozen or so to the other attendees. And I had a good conversation with Bob Mensch my representative in the statehouse. Bob is a cosponsor of the 10th amendment resolution introduced by Sam Rohrer, and also against real I.D. He is taking a run at the state Senate seat recently vacated by Rob Wonderling....More on that later.
Categories: Ron Paul, Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Republican Party, Democratic Party, US Constitution, Current Events, Miscellany, Socialism, Economy, Congress Tags: hr3200, town hall, health care, Charlie Dent |
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Please go to ED.us to see what the U.S. Dept of education is advising to the administrators of all public schools in the country. This speech is the first time a President has so addressed our students. I heard a teacher from the midwest on radio today describe this; she does not want to participate. Although it is voluntary, the sentiment is that this speech will be widely viewed in all public svhools across the US. There are 2 different downloads (based on grade-level) of suggested activities for teachers in the classroom before and after the speech. On the main page, click 'Administrators'; you'll see it . Categories: Education, Executive Power, Current Events Tags: Obama, Sep8, schoolchildren |
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Categories: Current Events Tags: health care |
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RT's Nicole Kardell, legal analyst, discusses the lawsuit that will force the Federal Reserve to disclose information about who received emergency bailout money...What's happens next?
Audit the Federal Reserve! Show us the Money! http://AudittheFed.com Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Finance, Media, Law, Ethics, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: foia, Federal Reserve, hr1207, s604 |
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Considering that Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, Daniel Hannan, Andrew Napolitano, Thomas Woods, and the release of Dr. Paul's End the Fed book all converge on Valley Forge for Constitution Day weekend at the most affordable C4L Regional Conference yet, it's hard to imagine what could be done to make it any better. But now that the final Northeast Regional Conference agenda is posted, your imagination gets a break: we're hosting the world premier of the documentary film For Liberty: How the Ron Paul Revolution Watered the Withered Tree of Liberty. Also, Dr. Paul's lecture at Friday morning's breakfast will be featured on CPAN2's Book TV program, and we have added an hour for an additional training session to the lineup. The energy in Valley Forge this Constitution Day is going to be tremendous. If you live in New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, New York, either Virginia, New England, or heck, the entire Midwest, this is the conference for you. Tickets are only 76 Fed notes, for one weekend of this, plus hours of grassroots activism training available on-line. See you there!
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News Tags: |
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Dr. Paul at a luncheon on Friday August 21, 2009, discussing the strategy for passing HR1207 and S604...Enjoy.
Have you registered for the Northeast Regional Conference? If not, get on it!!! Thursday evening boasts the FREE speakers forum featuring Dr. Paul. Friday and Saturday consist of the seminars and grassroots training. Remember, Dr. Paul believes that the most important thing that we can do as individuals, is to continually educate ourselves. I concur. This conference offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the movement's best and brightest, be a part. If you have not already registered, the meager investment of $76.00 will pay you (and the freedom movement by virtue of your new found knowledge) back in spades. Also, stick around Friday evening for the after-party and premier of the documentary chronicling the rEVOLution, "For Liberty"...Hope to see you there! For Liberty, Rob
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Education, Finance, Media, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Grassroots News, Federal Legislation, Just For Fun, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Video, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: hr1207, s604, audit the fed |
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Like many Americans, my wife and I travel regularly for business, pleasure, and yes, for political activism. Usually, we plan our travel to encompass all three activities, after all, they do go hand-in-hand. This weekend was one of those occasions. Our journey took us to southeastern Texas to the coastal town of Galveston for the Ron Paul BBQ.
We left Philadelphia on Thursday, mid-afternoon, and arrived in Houston in the early evening. As expected, our flight was uneventful. We grabbed our bags from the baggage claim, found our rented Ford F-150 pickup truck, opened up my luggage to remove our Ron Paul magnets, and slapped them on the driver's and passenger side doors before leaving the airport. (We made the decision to never fly without them). In the bag with all of my personal affects was a flier from TSA notifying me that my bag had been searched...If you follow my blog(s) you know that this is not the first time. Nor will it be the last.
We had an excellent time in Galveston. Man it is hot and humid in Texas! We settled in on Thursday night, bumped into blues legend, and fellow patriot Jimmie Vaughan (and family) in the San Luis lobby, and had a late dinner. Friday we did a little sight seeing, and took the Galveston Ferry north to Bolivar. We witnessed a lot of the destruction left behind by Ike, did some beach combing, and saw numerous dolphins (or porpoise) along the way.
Saturday's events began with the "Liberty Lectures" at the San Luis Convention Center. Lew Rockwell shared the Paul family history, and gave us a glimpse into the mind and life of Dr. Paul that only Lew's life-long friendship could provide. Tom Woods, as always, entertained and educated us with his unique blend of facts, figures, and at times, self deprecating humor. Judge Napolitano shared with us his resounding message on the continual unconstitutional behavior and laws of the federal government. The crowd loved it, and met our speakers with numerous standing ovations throughout the event. Side note - there was seating in the room for approximately 800 people. The chairs were filled, the aisle was filled, it was standing room only, with approximately 1200 people packed in the room and close to another 2000 outside in the halls. Wow! Dr. Paul is right, freedom is popular. Judge Napolitano at the Ron Paul BBQ Parts 1, 2 , and 3
The Ron Paul BBQ was fantastic. I believe they managed to pack in nearly all 3000+ of us. We encountered people from all walks of life, from all over the country, saw some good friends and made some new ones. Somehow, we all feel like we are constiutents of Texas' 14th congressional district. There was a charity auction , a great band, Barry Goldwater Jr., the Paul family, and of course, a thought provoking oration by the birthday boy, Dr. Paul. The food was delicious, and well worth the wait. I am a sucker for grilled sausage with barbecue sauce. We had birthday cake, sang happy birthday, and I believe Dr. Paul posed for a couple thousand pictures. Money was raised not only for his campaign, but, two local charities that are helping Galveston rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, benefited from the events of the day as well.
We closed the day with a rally and cocktail party for Debra Medina, liberty candidate for governor of the great state of Texas. That event, like the previous events of the day, gave us an opportunity to spend some time laughing and sharing some heartfelt moments with our friends in the rEVOlution. I am sure in the coming days video will surface of the various speaking events. Please take the time to watch, and share them with everyone who values liberty, especially those who are still in the process of awakening.
We packed our bags to fly home on Sunday. Knowing full well my bag would be searched, I placed my "END THE FED" shirt on top and filled one of the pockets with literature including C4L brochures, End the Fed fliers, trueworldhistory.info cards, and a note that I signed, that read "FREE LITERATURE. PLEASE TAKE." . When we got to the airport I removed the Ron Paul Magnets from the pickup and buried them under my END THE FED shirt in my luggage. . Sure enough when we arrived home 8 hours later I opened my bag to find the Ron Paul magnets on top, and an all too familiar note from our friends at the TSA. Again I ask you, do you feel safer?
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Media, Civil Liberties, Grassroots News, US Constitution, Just For Fun, Current Events, Revolution, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: galveston, kokesh, Maresco, Ron Paul BBQ |
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Dean Wormer: Did you boys see your grade point averages yet? Hoover: They're not posted yet, sir. Dean Wormer: I've seen them. Mr. Kroger, two C's, two D's and an F - that's a 1.2 grade average. Congratulations, Kroger, you're at the top of the Delta pledge class. [Bluto gives Kroger a congratulatory nudge] Dean Wormer: Mr. Dorfman. Flounder: Hellooooo. Dean Wormer: 0.2. Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son. Mr. Hoover, president of Delta House - 1.6. Four C's and an F. A fine example you set. Daniel Simpson Day has no grade point average. All courses incomplete. Mr. Blu- [looks up to see that Bluto has stuck pencils up his nose] Mr. Blutarsky. Zero POINT zero.
Dean Wormer was correct. Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life. An immeasurable swath of America has not heeded his advice. Doug Casey refers to these people as Boobus Americanus. According to the CDC, 66% of adults over the age of 20 are overweight or obese. That is approximately 140 million adults. Somewhere between 15 and 20 million Americans can be classified as alcoholics. As many as 50% of those on welfare are alcoholics. There are 225 million people over 18 years old and 32 million of them do not have a high school degree. There are 32 million adults or 14% who are illiterate (23% in California, 22% in New York, 20% in Florida, 17% in New Jersey). The United States' spending per pupil in public schools at $9,266 is in the top 5 in the world. New York and New Jersey spend $14,000 per pupil and one-fifth of their adults are illiterate.
Forrest Gump, when asked "Are you stupid or something", responded "Stupid is as stupid does". A person's appearance does not prove they are stupid. It is their deeds and actions which prove whether they are stupid or not. The terms stupid and idiot are not politically correct in today's America. Intellectually challenged, IQ disadvantaged, aptitude deficient, brain power wanting, and acumen poor might satisfy the PC police. Let's take a look at their definitions according to Webster's Dictionary and assess whether they might apply to anyone in the increasingly socialized United States of today. Stupid - slow of mind; given to unintelligent decisions or acts; acting in an unintelligent or careless manner; lacking intelligence or reason; lacking in power to absorb ideas or impressions; implies a slow-witted or dazed state of mind that may be either congenital or temporary. Idiot - a foolish or senseless person; a person of subnormal intelligence; a person lacking intelligence or common sense. Besides describing George W. Bush, these definitions sadly describe millions of Americans. As a wise person I know likes to say, "It is a sad state of affairs". Our citizens have failed to heed the wise words of our Founding Fathers: "Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it." Thomas Paine "Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives." James Madison
"Education is a better safeguard of liberty than a standing army." Edward Everett The American people's ignorance, stupidity, and disinterest in the governance of this nation have allowed an oligopoly of politicians, bankers, and powerful corporations to seize control of the country and loot its riches for their personal gain. By failing to educate themselves, millions of ignorant Americans have lost all of their power and are now dictated to by the few with knowledge. The elite who dictate the path of our country do not want the masses to become educated. Their power would be in jeopardy. The American public school system insures the retention of their power and wealth. "Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power." The Ugly Numbers Educational attainment is the single biggest determinant of lifetime income. As of 2008, 14% of Americans over 18 years old haven't graduated high school, 31% have achieved a high school degree, 27% have earned a bachelor's degree, and only 9% have earned an advanced degree. The median household income in the U.S. is $46,326. The median household income of Asian households is 24% higher at $57,518. The median household income of Black households is 35% lower at $30,134. Asian households have a fantastic educational achievement, with 49% of Asians achieving a bachelor's degree or higher. Black households have a higher percentage with no high school degree (18%) than they do with a bachelor's degree or higher (17%). Hispanic households have even more dreadful levels of educational attainment with only 12% achieving a bachelor's degree or higher, while a full 37% of Hispanics have not graduated high school. Even though 69 million Americans have attained a high school degree, many are functionally illiterate as our public school system has just matriculated them through the system.
If you make the effort and earn a bachelor's degree or master's degree, the likelihood of making it into the top 10% to 20% of earners goes up dramatically. Drop out of high school and you guarantee that you will remain in the bottom 25% of earners, making less than $22,500 per year. There are approximately 111 million households in the United States. Only 5.6 million households earn more than $167,000. On the other end of the scale, there are 36.6 million households making less than $30,000. The middle is occupied by another 36.6 million households making less than $62,500. The bottom is occupied by high school graduates or dropouts. The top is occupied solely by college graduates. Those with knowledge and money are able to use their power to generate more money and consolidate that power by manipulating the ignorant poor masses. The U.S. public school system insures a continuous flow of ignorant masses. Liberal Waste of Money "In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards." Mark Twain The United States takes in excess of $500 billion per year from its citizens through income taxes, real estate taxes, and school taxes to educate our young people in the public school system. The local and state bureaucrats along with the thousands of government officials responsible for the U.S. public education system believe that a half a trillion dollars is not nearly enough. There are 50 million students enrolled in 97,000 public schools in this country. The U.S. Department of Education spends $59 billion of your tax dollars and employs over 5,000 bureaucrats to guide our top notch world class educational system. There is no country on earth that spends close to the amount spent by the U.S. With this level of spending, we must have the smartest, best educated, most motivated students on the face of the earth.
Source: Perot Charts Somehow, despite the billions "invested" in our children, millions graduate and can't add or subtract. Cashiers in most retail stores would not know how to give you change from a dollar if the cash register didn't tell them. Even then, it is often times a struggle. The Mathematics literacy of our 15 year olds is well below the world average and 10% to 15% below the leading Asian countries. We did beat Russia, Italy and Mexico. Any cost benefit analysis of what we spend versus what we get would conclude that our educational system is a complete disaster. It should be clear even to a high school dropout that our government bureaucrats haven't spent our tax money efficiently or effectively. Our public schools are either not teaching the right things or not using the right techniques.
Source: Perot Charts
The bureaucrats that allocate the billions in education spending have decided to concentrate on special education, education for the disadvantaged, and closing the "achievement gap" between white students and minority students. The results of these efforts have been dreadful. The facts are:
Instead of encouraging excellence in our most gifted children, government bureaucrats spend billions experimenting with the latest educational fads and trying to make sure all students are treated equal. This socialist teaching methodology has accomplished mass mediocrity. The devastating combination of mediocre teaching methods, weak curriculum, disinterested or non-existent parental involvement, lazy unmotivated pupils, and greedy self serving teachers' unions has led to the poor excuse for a public education system. More Perfect Union "I don't represent the children. I represent the teachers."
Mr. Hand: What is this fascination with truancy? What is it that gets inside of your heads? There are some teachers at this school who look the other way at truants. It's a little game you both play. They pretend they don't see you, and you pretend you don't ditch! Now, in the end, who pays the price? YOU! How many wasted, brain dead Spicolis are we pumping out of our public school system into society? Too many. One of the major reasons for this result is non-caring tenured teachers, protected by powerful teachers' unions. We could use teachers who cared as much as Mr. Hand. It has been 28 years since I was in high school. I had mostly mediocre teachers, but two teachers left a permanent impression on me. Charlie McLaughlin's and Thomas McGrath's enthusiasm for learning, knowledge of the subject matter, and concern for the students generated a passion for learning in me. Being inspired by a teacher is what every student needs to get to the next level.
Jeff Spicoli: This is U.S. History, I see the globe right there. The average salary of public school teachers is approximately $53,000. The average salary of public school teachers in California leads the nation at $65,000. This gives the term pay for performance a new meaning. A full 32% of all public school students in California don't graduate high school. The California public school system doesn't even prepare the average student well enough to read a newspaper or fill out an employment application at McDonalds. Based on information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the following facts can be gleaned:
With the highest average salary per teacher, Detroit must be turning out the best and brightest. Does a 75% high school dropout rate merit the highest salaries in the country? The district has 15,000 workers, an annual budget of $1.2 billion, and only graduates 25% of the 94,000 students it matriculates through its horrific system. Well done. I'm sure they will get big union negotiated raises this year. There is absolutely no evidence that average teacher pay is related to high school graduation rates. Due to their strong teachers' unions, salaries, benefits and tenure are fought for, while the interests of the students are disregarded. "A lot of people who have been hired as teachers are basically not competent." Al Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers Excellent motivated teachers produce excellent motivated students. Incompetent, unmotivated, burnt out, tenured teachers produce dropouts and functionally illiterate students. Tenure allows bad teachers to stay employed for decades. It is virtually impossible to get fired. In ten years, only about 47 out of 100,000 teachers were actually terminated from New Jersey's schools. Newark's school district successfully fired about one out of every 3,000 tenured teachers annually. Graduation statistics indicate that Newark's graduation rate was a fabulous 30.6%. New York City's Chancellor has revealed that in that city, only ten out of 55,000 tenured teachers were terminated in the 2006-2007 school year. According to the New York Daily News, at any given time in New York City an average of 700 teachers are being paid not to teach (they instead report to "rubber rooms") while the district goes through the hoops (imposed by the union contract and by law) needed to pursue discipline or termination. A city teacher in New York that ends up being fired will have spent an average of 19 months in the disciplinary process. The Daily News reported that the New York City school district spends more than $65 million annually paying teachers accused of wrongdoing, in addition to the cost of hiring substitutes. One highly destructive feature of the typical teachers' union contract is a system that forces principals to hire teachers who transfer from other schools within the district. Since these teachers frequently are transferring because of poor performance in their original schools, the practice is called "the dance of the lemons" or "passing the trash." One problem related to the destructive transfer system is a hiring process that takes too long and/or starts too late, thanks in part to union contracts. Would-be teachers typically cannot be hired until senior teachers have had their pick of the vacancies, and the transfer process makes principals reluctant to post vacancies at all for fear of having a bad teacher fill it instead of a promising new hire. Anywhere from 31% to almost 60% of applicants withdrew from the hiring process, often to accept jobs with districts that made offers earlier. Applicants who withdrew from the hiring process had significantly higher undergraduate GPAs, were 40% more likely to have a degree in their teaching field, and were significantly more likely to have completed educational coursework than the teachers who ended up staying around to finally receive job offers. Another common problem with the union contract is a "bumping" policy that fills schools which are more needy (but less desirable to teach in) with greater numbers of inexperienced teachers. In its report Teaching Inequality, the Education Trust wrote: "Children in the highest-poverty schools are assigned to novice teachers almost twice as often as children in low-poverty schools. Similarly, students in high-minority schools are assigned to novice teachers at twice the rate as students in schools without many minority students." The nonprofit Education Sector found in a 2007 report that nearly 19% of all public education spending in America goes towards things like seniority-based pay increases and outsized benefits -- things that don't do much to improve teaching quality. If these provisions were done away with, the report found, $77 billion in education money would be freed up for initiatives that could actually improve learning, like paying high-performing teachers more money. Teachers unions push for contracts that effectively cripple school districts' ability to monitor teachers for dangerous behavior. In one case, school administrators in Seattle received at least 30 warnings that a fifth grade teacher was a danger to his students. However, thanks to a union contract that forces schools to destroy most personnel records after each school year, he managed to evade punishment for nearly 20 years, until he was finally sent to prison in 2005 for having molested up to 13 girls. As an attorney for one of the victims put it, according to The Seattle Times: "You could basically have a pedophile in your midst and not know it. How are you going to get rid of somebody if you don't know what they did in the past?" Success Stories "There is nothing which can better deserve our patronage than the promotion of science and literature. Knowledge is in every country the surest basis of public happiness." George Washington Whenever I read about failure, my immediate reaction is to look for examples of success. Based on the studies I've found, Finland finishes at or near the top of every survey in Math and Science. They must be doing something right. With the pitiful results achieved by the U.S., we should humbly examine what we can learn from the Finnish school system.
Some facts about the Finnish school system are as follows:
They don't divide students until they reach 16 years old. Education Minister Tuula Haatainen describes their philosophy: "There is a philosophy of inclusion underlying this system. Widening participation in education is the most effective way of finding the most talented students. It's like ice hockey. We let all the girls and boys play, not only the best ones. With this fair play, we can give everyone the same chance to practice their skills - and this also gives us the way to find the best ones."
In 2001, Harvard University Economics Professor Dr. Caroline Hoxby studied the effect of school choice options on the performance of public schools. She found that public schools that faced a higher degree of competition from private schools improved their performance compared to public schools that faced less competition. Many surveys and focus groups have found that parents are more satisfied with their children's learning environment when they can choose their school. That helps to explain why limited voucher programs are usually over-subscribed, with many kids ending up on long waiting lists. In 1998, the non-profit Children's Scholarship Fund offered private school scholarships to 40,000 low-income students across the country. In all, more than 1.2 million kids applied. Not exactly a vote of confidence in the public school system. Implications of Failure "We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces." Carl Sagan After spending trillions on education in the last 40 years, we have absolutely nothing to show for it. SAT scores in Reading are lower and Math scores are flat with scores in 1972. The general populace is more ignorant, less informed, less curious, and easier to manipulate than they were in 1970.
Our family has sacrificed financially to send our children to Catholic schools. Public schools spend anywhere from $8,000 to $14,000 per pupil and are able to send only 33% onto college. I pay $6,000 per year to send my oldest son to Catholic high school. Of the recent graduating class, 99% went on to college. The teachers are paid less, school spending is half as much per pupil and results are dramatically better. The combination of teachers who are competent and care, parents who are involved and care, and students who work hard and care, leads to success. The failure of public school education has vast negative implications for our society. Those with education and knowledge have pulled farther ahead of the uneducated and stupid. There are 225 million people over 18 years old and 146 million do not have a college degree. Only 20 million have a Master's degree or better. Those who are educated make more money send their kids to private schools and continue the cycle. Ignorant teenagers who grow up to be ignorant adults, have kids who are brought up ignorant. It is extremely difficult to break this cycle. This is a free country. No one is going to stop you from reading a book. My parents didn't go to college, but their three kids did. All of our kids will go to college. It is expected and encouraged from the day they are born. The encouragement and involvement of two parents is more important than any other factor. The numbers speak for themselves. Asian children succeed the most because 85% of them are brought up in two parent households. White children are more successful in school because 76% of them are brought up in two parent households. Black children fail because only 38% are brought up in two parent households. The government can spend trillions more in urban public school systems and get no better results because black men have not taken personal responsibility for their children and families. "Ignorance is the curse of God; knowledge is the wing wherewith we fly to heaven." William Shakespeare The dumbing down of America has allowed the intelligentsia to retain power and increase their control over the country. Lack of educational achievement doesn't automatically mean you are easily manipulated, but it sure increases the odds. If you weren't motivated enough to do well in school, you are unlikely to take your civic duties of voting, understanding national issues, and getting involved in your community seriously. The saddest part is that an enormous quantity of even the college educated is so intellectually lazy that they choose to trust their leaders without question. With 100 million, ignorant, non-thinking, non-questioning, and intellectually lazy zombies occupying space in this country, continued domination by a few thousand highly educated elite remains quite easy. A highly educated citizenry would endanger their power. By socializing public education, encouraging mediocrity, and not rewarding excellence, government bureaucrats insure that the masses remain ignorant and pliable. Those in power know that by keeping the ignorant masses sedated with socialist goodies like welfare, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, public housing, and easy credit, they can stay in charge. For them it is fabulous, for the country it is a disaster. Winston Churchill summed it up succinctly: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." There is no area of ignorance more distressing than in the area of economics and finance. Those with superior knowledge and power are able to mislead the ignorant masses regarding the state of our economic situation because most Americans have no clue about deficits, inflation, or the printing of money out of thin air. I'm reminded of Jeff Foxworthy's "You Know You're a Redneck" comedy routine. You know you are ignorant if:
John Adams predicted the confusion and distress that has arisen in America. "All the perplexities, confusion and distress in America arise, not from defects in their Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from the downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit and circulation." The question is whether we can change our course, properly educate our populace, and take this country back from the entrenched elite. There is no more important issue facing our country today.
FAT, DRUNK AND STUPID IS NO WAY TO GO THROUGH LIFE Categories: Ron Paul, Education, Domestic Policy, Democratic Party, Philosophy, Social Issues, Socialism Tags: ron paul, depression, Collapse, gold, Obama, inflation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Media, Civil Liberties, Domestic Policy, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Current Events, Video, Monetary Policy Tags: Federal Reserve |
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Here are several videos of Arlen Specter's town hall meeting in Lebanon, PA 08-11-09. I will upload more to youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/robpatozz as I encounter them...
Enjoy.... THE POLL:
* a few good doctors (Ron and Rand) Please feel free to add who, and what you would bring (and why) at Read the Blog and Add your comments here
Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Media, Domestic Policy, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Grassroots News, Ethics, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Miscellany, Socialism, Video, Economy, Congress Tags: |
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I think Leah just about nails it with this call in....
Tags: Cspan, caller, leah, town hall, protestors |
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I attended a health care town hall meeting tonight. This one was held in York, PA at the Jewish Community Center and was held by PA State Representatives Eugene DePasquale (D-York City) and Josh Shapiro (D-Montgomery County). It was billed in the local paper as "White House wants your health care ideas". So many citizens, concerned about their health care showed up that the JCC was at capacity. Instead of turning away approximately 150 people left outside, they announced that they would hold a second meeting, immediately following the first. After all, it would have been bad P.R. to turn people away. Since I did not get there thirty minutes beforehand, I was in the second group waiting outside. Some representatives from DePasquale's office walked through the line at first with a roster to sign, "to save time when we enter later." Next, they walked through the line handing out half sheets of paper and stated that you could write any comments or questions you may have for the Representatives on them and that they would be sent to the White House. I of course asked, "Oh he wants to listen to us now?" After all, the President wanted the bill passed NOW before the August recess. A note of advice to anyone attending these town hall meetings - FILL OUT THESE PAPERS!! These papers are the only chance you have of being able to speak at the meetings. Since they did not mention that there would be no time afterwards for anyone to speak, unless you filled out one of these slips of paper, I did not fill one out and was not able to speak. The third parade through the line had the representatives with petitions in their hands and asking people to sign them to state that they agree that the government has to address the health care issue. It was good to see that people were extremely reluctant to sign these petitions, even those that appeared to be at the meeting in favor of government health care. As the second group was beginning to enter the building, the first group was coming out. Very few comments from those in attendance. Then I saw the clincher...there was a group of 5 individuals, 4 of whom were wearing purple t-shirts. The front of the shirts said, "Health Care '09" and the back said, "SEIU". That's right, Obama's ACORN foot soldiers were in attendance. SO all these reports from the White House and Democratic groups stating that angry mobs of PAID RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS hired by lobbyists and the only "mob" I saw were PAID SEIU members....how fitting. Once inside and seated, the two State Representatives began preparing the government pill. Shapiro stated that he was "tasked by President Obama" to travel around the state and discuss health care with Pennsylvania residents. He is supposed to "report his findings". Once they were done their speech of how the government needs to be invovled in your health care because some people do not have it, the insurance companies are not competitive, and that the "GOVERNMENT OPTION WOULD ALLOW TRUE FREE MARKET THINKING" into the process...no I'm not kidding...he said true free market and government option in the same sentence...the question and answer session began. Now, here is where those slips were so important. The ONLY way you would be able to ask a question, is if you filled out these slips (after being told they would go the Representatives and then the White House). The VERY FIRST one was the "heart strings puller". A woman stated that she "just lost her job today" and that she was a two time cancer survivor...blah blah blah. You know, I cannot find myself believing ANYTHING anymore without further investigation. I took this as the "stooge question". It set up their whole acceptance of government health care. The response, and this is THE ONLY selling point that they have to offer the American people, is that she would have been able to "PORT" her health care and still have coverage even after losing her job. If I heard the word "PORT" once tonight I heard it a million times. They have NO OTHER selling point to offer the American public...none! A question came up from someone asking about illegal aliens getting free health care coverage in the bill (he wouldn't say "illegal alien"...he said non-Americans). The representatives answered with, "Well that's a good question and something that needs to be addressed." Yes OF COURSE it does and it needs to be addressed yesterday...not in the middle of a socialist health care bill push. Many "tough" questions, if not almost every single question posed was answered with "Well that's a good question" and "maybe the bill or a future bill will address that." Yes, we are sending our representatives out into the states to push for a health care bill that has not passed without the obligatory 1,000 amendments, and without even knowing the details of the "compromise health care" bill that some Republicans and Democrats are working on. This is it America...you MUST call your Congressmen and tell them to vote YES on any health care bill considered by the House or Senate because "something must be done now" and we need "free market options". UGH...at this point I could feel my stomach turning...but it was not over yet. One Democrat, and I know this because he felt it was necessary to wear his bright blue "Obama 08" t-shirt to the meeting, stood up to ask a "question". I say ask a "question" because that's the look everyone had on their faces when he spoke. He could not even complete a sentence, mispronounced words, and seemed as if he came to the meeting HIGH AS A KITE, but yet the Representatives treated him like he just asked the most important question ever asked in the history of town hall meetings. Then came "the poll". No one else got to address the representatives that did not fill out a slip (and they only got to about 15 of them - looked like at least 50 more - probably with harder questions). The poll options of four ways you could vote for them to take the results to the White House were from the lowest form of government intervention, to full blown socialism. While they were describing question two, I piped up, "Sir, which one of these options has NO government intervention?" I get replies from those around me: "One", no "Two", "uh", "I don't know", "I don't understand the options", etc. They were worded so tricky that your only options were which form of government socialist medicine you were going to swallow this year. I could not take anymore and had to leave when they started with describing option three. This entire meeting was a "Parade of Charades". No answers were given (other than PORT PORT PORT) and no real questions were posed to them (since they picked out the ones they wanted to answer). EVERYONE had a look of complete confusion on their faces. What a ridiculous scene...I was hoping that some "paid right wing extremist from a lobbyist group" would pipe up with facts about the health care bill monstrosity but surprise, none were there. So, we are to believe now that the government, who can't even deliver the mail without major boondoggles, is to take over the most precious aspects of our lives, our health care, and we have to choose how much government intervention we want? These two representatives should be ashamed of themselves and I wish I could have those three hours of my life back.
Categories: Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, Democratic Party, Action Item, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Miscellany, Social Issues, Socialism, State Legislation, Congress Tags: |
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Senator Arlen Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius' Town Hall Meeting. Healthcare Reform: "What's In It For You?"
On Sunday August 2, 2009, Senator Arlen Specter and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius held a town hall meeting at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The event was titled, "What's in it for you?" Apparently Specter and Sebelius said they would highlight the problems with the current health care system and discuss how health insurance reform will improve the quality of care for all Americans. The goal was to start by making brief remarks on health insurance reform, and then devote the remainder of the town hall to taking questions from the audience. I love goals. However, I witnessed first hand exactly what was "in it for us." They started the meeting 20 minutes late, not that I'm ever on time to anything, but they were very strict about ending at 4pm, which gave hundreds of people, a senator, and a human services secretary 40 minutes to hold a town hall meeting regarding one of the most difficult topics to discuss openly. This was nothing less than a circus sideshow. Half the room was angry at the idea of healthcare reform, and the other half of the room was angry at the ones who were angry. There was absolutely no structure to this meeting, neither Specter nor Sebelius were able to satisfy the crowd in their "brief remarks," and the Q&A session was total mob rule. I've seen more cooperation at the pretzel line at recess in 2nd grade. It turned into a "which side can chant louder than the other" rally, I felt like I was at a high school football game. So while the crowd yelled at each other for 25 of the 40 minutes we were allotted, the ringleaders, Specter, Sebelius, and everyone else on stage, sat back and watched a room full of divided people turn into a room full of even angrier, even more divided people. Personally, I was there to ask Specter his postition on the Federal Reserve Transparency Act. I was all set and ready with my well thought out, pre-written, well informed question. I had close to 1,000 signatures from his constituents in my hand, I was going to mention 12 of the 19 PA Congressmen have co-sponsored it, 20% of the senate, and 3 out of 4 Americans agree with it. I even had a rebuttle about the "changing monetary policy" argument already debunked in my question, but never got to ask him. How could I have asked when hundreds of people lunged in front of me to flock to the one microphone they gave the crowd to ask questions? Not to mention there was less than 20 minutes allotted for questions. Needless to say, my Sunday would've been more productive if I would've stayed home and cut the grass in my back yard one blade at a time. That said, I'm glad I was able to see this event for what it was, a big dog and pony show that did nothing but stir up negative energy. This is one hell of a battle we're in.
everyone was there, those in favor... ....those opposed
...and while Specter and his cronies left in a rush....
....the rest of the crowd left angry and divided.
Senator Arlen Specter on the Gong Show Tags: |
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Categories: Media, Civil Liberties, Social Issues, Socialism, Video Tags: |
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Alternate title: Ron Paul's Fed plan is economic suicide by: James Pethokoukis The Federal Reserve is at least partially to blame for the economic crisis. It left interest rates too low for too long, and laxly regulated the megabanks. Given this reality, or at least this public perception, it's not surprising that there are plenty of economists and politicos with oodles of ideas for re-imagining the central bank's role and function. (Linking its policymaking operations more directly to the performance of market metrics such as the greenback, bond rates, and commodities would be a good start.) [Find out five ways to boost the economy and create jobs] Then there is Representative Ron Paul, a Texas Republican and libertarian who would rather imagine a fantasy world without a Fed. Throughout his political career, Paul has repeatedly called for the Fed's abolition, preferring Congress to take full control of monetary policy and eliminate fiat money in favor of a gold-backed national currency. Since Paul can't eliminate the Fed outright, he's trying to emasculate it. Impinging on, and eventually ending, the central bank's independence is the purpose of the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, Paul's bill which would "eliminate restrictions on audits of the Federal Reserve and open Fed operations to enhanced scrutiny." READ THE REST AND PLEASE COMMENT HERE
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Finance, Media, Globalism, Domestic Policy, Action Item, US Constitution, Ethics, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: , s604, Reuters, hr1207, Federal Reserve |
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John, Thank you very much for the time spent on the phone with me this morning. As you know, I am a constituent of Congresswoman Schwartz, and a member of the Campaign for Liberty here in the 13th congressional district. As always, I appreciate your willingness to discuss important legislative issues during these difficult economic times. Our correspondence regarding HR1207 now spans several months, and I continue to encourage you to enlist Congresswoman Schwartz as a cosponsor. You mentioned this morning that you are still "learning" about the bill. My role with Campaign for Liberty is to educate the constituents here in the 13th , in Pennsylvania, and to make myself available to address any concerns or trepidation that you or the congresswoman may have. I hope some of the following links will shed some light and clarify any outstanding issues regarding this legislation that are preventing Congresswoman Schwartz from cosponsoring. Per our conversation, I have included a number of links to articles and video testimony that further demonstrate the need for this level of transparency. I appreciate your concerns regarding Chairman Bernanke's recent comments suggesting HR1207 would result in the Fed's loss of control of monetary policy. Unfortunately, opponents of transparency argue that the Fed must avoid a full GAO audit to maintain independence, and that this bill would cause the Fed to relinquish control. That is simply not true. The objective of these statements and asserting this position is to avert a full audit, and keep the shroud of secrecy over the whereabouts of trillions of dollars in off balance sheet transactions. The following video involves an exchange between HR1207 author, Congressman Ron Paul, and Ben Bernanke regarding the issue of monetary policy control. Congressman Paul clears the record on this issue, yet, Chairman Bernanke and opponents of this bill continue to use this as a key talking point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKSKWSnhCwI Additionally, here is a recent response by Senator Bernie Sanders to a Washington Post editorial professing the same http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/27/AR2009072702643.html Remember that the Fed has a dismal record of maintaining stability. Since its inception in 1913 the dollar has lost nearly 96% of its value, and Fed monetary policy and government regulation have constricted free markets. This is not conjecture but historical fact confirmed by IMF and Fed protagonist Warren Coats in a recent debate (>http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/includes/templates/library/flash_popup.php?pID The citizens of Pennsylvania, like the majority of citizens in every state across this great nation, have made their position clear, as is reflected by a majority of Pennsylvania's representatives, and a resounding majority of representatives coast -to-coast, who have signed on as cosponsors to this legislation. The recent Rasmussen poll that we discussed indicates that 75% of Americans want to see a thorough GAO audit of the Federal Reserve System. It is only fitting and in the best interests of Congresswoman Schwartz and her constituents to have her sign on as a cosponsor and deliver a "YES" vote when this bill hits the floor for a vote. Rasmussen Report: Recent Huffington Post article regarding the Rasmussen poll: Rep. Alan Grayson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_VCy0lMU1g Rep. Alan Grayson and Fed Inspector General: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJqM2tFOxLQ&feature=channel Senator Sanders questioning Chairman Bernanke: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCWXrMCGJT4 Chairman Bernanke woefully wrong 2005 - 2007listen carefully : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INmqvibv4UU Finally, members of Campaign for Liberty remain available to assist you in deciphering any aspect of this proposed legislation that you do not understand, the benefits, and the long term ramifications of Fed and government transparency. We can meet in your office on relatively short notice to present the facts and clarify any misconceptions. I will follow up with you next week to discuss. Thanks again for your time. Best regards, Rob Pepe
UPDATE 07-30-09 11:00 pm: Follow up letter: John, Dr. Paul had 5 minutes on the house floor this evening to discuss HR1207. Here is the link to the cspan video and the latest press release from Campaign for Liberty. Remember, this is not a Left vs. Right issue, it is simply Right vs. Wrong. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edGB35_Wbd8&feature=channel_page Press release: Please share your thoughts. Thanks again. Sincerely, Rob Pepe
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Education, Domestic Policy, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Grassroots News, Action Item, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: hr1207, s604, Allyson Schwartz |
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July 28, 2009 Thank you for corresponding with me about support for H.R. 1207, The Federal Reserve Transparency Act. I greatly appreciate your input on this matter, and I apologize for the delay in my reply. As a Member of Congress, it is my responsibility to represent my constituents' concerns and interests and to provide them the honorable and enthusiastic service they deserve. I truly value your thoughts and suggestions on issues before the House. In a representative government such as ours, it is essential that I know what your views are on these issues. The Federal Reserve System, often referred to as the Federal Reserve or simply "the Fed," is the central bank of the United States. The Federal Reserve was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act by President Woodrow Wilson. It was created by Congress to provide the nation with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial system. Today, the Federal Reserve's responsibilities fall into four general areas: o conducting the nation's monetary policy by influencing money and credit conditions in the economy in pursuit of full employment and stable prices o supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation's banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers o maintaining the stability of the financial system o providing certain financial services to the U.S. government, to the public, to financial institutions, and to foreign official institutions, including playing a major role in operating the nation's payments systems The key components include: o The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C. is a federal government agency, comprised of seven members appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate; o Twelve Regional Federal Reserve Banks and their branches located in major cities throughout the nation act as fiscal agents for the U.S. Treasury, operating a nationwide payments systems, supervising and regulating member banks and bank holding companies, and serving as banker for the U.S. Treasury. Each Reserve Bank has its own nine-member board of directors, comprised of three Class A directors representing commercial banks that are members of the Region, three Class B directors representing the public, but selected by member banks, and three Class C directors representing the public, but appointed by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. o The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is composed of the Seven members of the Board and five of the twelve Reserve Bank presidents - including the President of the New York Federal Reserve Board as a permanent member with the other four positions rotating; o Private U.S. member banks, which fall into two categories. All national banks chartered by the federal government are required by law to be members of the Federal Reserve. Banks chartered by states are not required to be members of the Federal Reserve System, but may do so if they meet the standards set by the Board. Member banks must subscribe to stock in their regional Federal Reserve Bank; however, this stock is merely a legal obligation of the Federal Reserve and the stock may not be sold or pledged as collateral for loans. As the nation's central bank, the Federal Reserve derives its authority from the U.S. Congress. It is considered an independent central bank because its decisions do not have to be ratified by the President or anyone else in the executive or legislative branch of government, it does not receive funding appropriated by Congress, and the terms of the members of the Board of Governors span multiple presidential and congressional terms. The system was designed out of a compromise between the competing philosophies of privatization and government regulation. In 2006, Donald L. Kohn, vice chairman of the Board of Governors, summarized the history of this compromise going back to the original Federal Reserve Act of 1913. o Agrarian and progressive interests, led by William Jennings Bryan, favored a central bank under public, rather than banker, control. But the vast majority of the nation's bankers, concerned about government intervention in the banking business, opposed a central bank structure directed by political appointees. o The legislation that Congress ultimately adopted in 1913 reflected a hard-fought battle to balance these two competing views and created the hybrid public-private, centralized-decentralized structure that we have today. The Federal Reserve is subject to oversight by Congress, which periodically reviews its activities and can alter its responsibilities by statute. The Full Employment Act of 1978 (PL 95-523), also known as the Humphrey-Hawkins Act set out the hearings and reporting requirements which established Congressional oversight while maintaining Federal Reserve independence over monetary policy. o Semi-annual hearings, in February and July, with Senate Banking Committee and House Financial Services Committee are the primary forum. o The Fed Chairman presents the Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, testifies, and responds to questions from the Committee members. o These were renewed in the American Homeownership and Economic Opportunity Act of 2000 (PL 106-569). On May 20, 2009, President Obama signed into law S. 896, Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-22) which explicitly confirms the General Accountability Office (GAO) authority to audit the activities of the Federal Reserve and the Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. On July 22-23, 2009 in his semi-annual testimony before the Senate and House Committees, Mr. Bernanke made the following statements: "The Congress should have the ability to oversee all aspects of our operations, including whether or not we have appropriate financial controls, whether we are lending on a good basis of collateral, and so on. So we are willing to work with Congress on that. We do think that the Congress has the right to see how we are using taxpayer money. Where we are concerned is that the Congress would be intervening in our specific policy decisions relating to monetary policy and the economy." In a round of questions and answers with Senator Jim Bunning, Mr. Bernanke responded to the question of why the American public and Congress believe that the Fed's independence has already been compromised with the following: "I understand, but I think it's a misconception. The Federal Reserve has worked with Treasury, both the Republican and Democratic Treasury because in a situation of crisis, it's very important, and I think that the American people want to see their financial leadership working together to protect the stability of the system. He replied to Senator Bunning who said "your job is monetary policy, not fiscal policy", with "My job is also financial stability.. We have a joint statement with Treasury which makes clear that the Fed should not be responsible for credit allocation or fiscal policy. We are looking at financial stability. That's our objective." With the massive scale and complexity of the U.S. government and economy, and increasingly, the global interconnections of business and financial systems, I believe it is essential that we maintain a central bank for the United States. And I believe that the central bank must remain independent of political influence. I support allowing the Federal Reserve emergency powers during unusual and exigent circumstances because I believe it is essential that the Federal Reserve have the ability to respond quickly when the need arises. I have been generally supportive of Chairman Bernanke's actions over the last year to ensure that this country avoided the mistakes of the Great Depression, where the Federal Reserve did not take action which could have forestalled or mitigated the massive destruction of employment and wealth. I also believe that unlike his predecessors, Chairman Bernanke has made efforts to expand the transparency of Federal Reserve Actions. He has established a guiding principle to provide to the public as much information as possible. He has created a separate section of its website devoted to providing data, explanations, and analyses of its lending programs and balance sheets. On June 10, the Federal Reserve issued the first of a series of monthly reports to provide more detailed information on its credit and liquidity programs. The report includes information on the number of borrowers, the amounts borrowed by type of institution, collateral by type and credit rating, and data on the concentration of borrowing. It also includes information on liquidity swap usage by country as well as quarterly income information on the different classes of Federal Reserve assets. (See www.federalreserve.gov/files/monthlyclb-sreport200907.pdf) Finally, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York has made available the investment management agreements related to its financial stability and liquidity activities. At the same time, I believe it is essential for Congress to provide appropriate oversight to ensure that one chairman does not have the ability to push forward a political economic philosophy beyond the bounds of monetary policy. For example, during the Chairmanship of Alan Greenspan, there were instances where he stepped outside of his role as the administrator of the country's monetary policy to weigh in against a concept of oversight for derivatives proposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. His intervention effectively stopped attempts to regulate what has become now a major issue in the markets for derivatives and energy related commodities. So, in summary, I do not believe that HR 1207 is necessary, and I can not support it. The GAO already has authority to audit the transactions by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury for the roughly $3 billion of commitments under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, as well as reviews each year of specific activities of the Federal Reserve. The Special Inspector General has recently issued its Second Quarterly Report to Congress, dated July 21, 2009, which lays out many further details of the TARP program, including its recommendations for further control actions. I believe, however, that we must preserve a strong central bank and the Federal Reserve must maintain independence over monetary policy operations. I see no benefit and significant risk for political interference with long-term damage if Congress and the GAO become involved in monetary policy. Thank you again for your letter. If I can be of any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to our future correspondence.
Categories: Finance, Law, Action Item, Federal Legislation, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: HR 1207, |
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In case you missed this, Dr. Paul was on Alex Jones today before Freedom Watch. Listen to the good Dr. laugh at 4:53...beautiful. Enjoy!
What does liberty mean to you? Liberty is...
Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Media, US Constitution, Current Events, Revolution, Socialism, Video, World Affairs, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: alex jones |
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The youtube video of Mike Castle's Townhall Meeting has gone viral. So many people are talking about this. My opinion is that we need to let it go. It is smoke screen at this point. Even National Review has declared that Obama was Born in the USA. They even pointed out that this whole thing was initiated by a Hillary supporter. Funny how you don't hear much from the left about it. It's perfect for them. While pundits like Hannity are shouting to the masses about a birth certificate, HR1388 (The Give Act) has passed. If signed into law this would bring about "mandatory volunteerism," which is not only un-Constitutional, it's illogical. Also obscured by this distraction, kids in Florida are going to a tax supported "tolerance" camp and are coming back as political activists. Too many parallels between now and Germany in the early '30's. I gave Obama the benefit of the doubt in November. Not that I voted for him, but I saw no difference between he and John McCain, so I felt comfortable is casting my vote for 3rd party and not subscribing to the lesser of two evils doctrine as I have in the past. However, Obama's rush to socialize has me rethinking my decision. I do not think we would have been moving this quickly under McCain. Of course, this can work out for good. Maybe this is the wake-up call that Americans need to get on board and fight for Liberty. The mid-term elections are only 15 months away. We need a clean sweep of the house and senate. We need candidates who truly understand what Liberty is and who will stand up and fight for it. So let's stop talking about birth certificates and birth places and let's be proactive in spreading the word about Liberty and let's fight to protect it! Categories: 3rd Parties, Action Item, Current Events, Social Issues, Socialism Tags: |
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"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
The United States has gradually degenerated from a Republic based on individual liberties to a socialized oligarchy run by an exclusive few. The country was founded upon the platform of individual rights. We declared our independence from Great Britain because of excessive regulation and taxation. Americans fought for the right to live their lives free from the subjugation of an overbearing governmental body. The Founding Fathers declared our independence with these immortal words: We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Since the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the United States has gone from taking personal responsibility for our own lives to dependence on government to make all decisions in our lives. There are 306 million Americans and we have defaulted on our responsibility for governing this nation to 535 corrupt politicians, 10 "too big to fail" banks, a secretive Central Bank, 17,000 corporate lobbyists, and thousands of government bureaucrats. Essentially 306 million citizens are managed by a few thousand elitist rulers. George Orwell's classic novel Animal Farm was inspired by the a scene he witnessed: "I saw a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge carthorse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat." Orwell wrote the novel during World War II and published it in 1945. It was a contemptuous indictment of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union. He recognized that propaganda and abuse of language could smoothly control the opinions of enlightened intellectuals in democratic countries. He saw through the prism of Soviet propaganda to the true evil of Stalin and his KGB Dogs. Intellectuals in Great Britain's Ministry of Information attempted to censor his right to publish the book because it would offend their supposed ally Joseph Stalin. He knew the truth, while intellectuals were horribly wrong. Stalin murdered 700,000 Russian citizens during the Great Purge of the 1930s. The plot of Orwell's Animal Farm is quite simple. It follows the Russian Revolution from 1917 through 1944. Three pigs-Snowball (Leon Trotsky), Napoleon (Joseph Stalin), and Squealer (Vyacheslav Molotov) formulate Old Major's (Vladimir Lenon) principles into a philosophy called Animalism. The animals defeat the farmer Mr. Jones (Czar Nicholas II) in a battle, running him off the land. They rename the property Animal Farm (Soviet Union). The cart-horse Boxer (Russian working class) devotes himself to the cause with particular passion, committing his great strength to the prosperity of the farm and adopting as a personal axiom the affirmation "I will work harder." Napoleon (Stalin) and Snowball (Trotsky) increasingly argue over the future of the farm, and they begin to struggle with each other for power and influence among the other animals. After a speech, nine attack dogs (KGB) burst into the barn and chase Snowball (Trotsky) from the farm. Napoleon (Stalin) assumes leadership of Animal Farm (Soviet Union) and declares that there will be no more meetings. From that point on, he stresses, the pigs alone will make all of the decisions for the good of every animal (Workers). Napoleon (Stalin) begins expanding his powers, rewriting history to make Snowball (Trotsky) a villain. Napoleon (Stalin) also begins to act more and more like a human being-sleeping in a bed, drinking whisky, and engaging in trade with neighboring farmers. The original Animalist principles strictly forbade such activities, but Squealer (Molotov), Napoleon's propagandist, justifies every action to the other animals, convincing them that Napoleon (Stalin) is a great leader and is making things better for everyone despite the fact that the common animals are cold, hungry, and overworked. Looking in at the party of Pigs and Farmers through the farmhouse window, the common animals can no longer tell which are the Pigs and which are the human beings. The perversion of founding principles is not limited to communist countries. On the farm there were the Seven Original Commandments:
All of the Seven Commandments are eventually broken by the pigs for their own gain. Squealer (Molotov) constantly changes the Commandments to the pigs' benefit, taking advantage of the other animals. Through the manipulation of language, the Pigs accumulate more power and privileges:
Ultimately, all the commandments are boiled down to one commandment:
Could this degeneration of founding principles happen in the United States? The distressing answer is that it already has. It has accelerated at a breakneck pace since 2000. Orwell's themes are as true today as they were in 1944. Corruption "All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome. Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind." & Our elected officials are supposed to represent the wishes of the citizens that elected them. They derive their just powers from the governed. In the early days of our Republic, citizens could freely enter the White House without hesitation. Federalist Papers 55 and 56 explicitly promised, without qualification, that there would be one Representative for every thirty-thousand inhabitants. The framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights intended that the total population of Congressional districts never exceed 50,000 to 60,000. Currently, the average population size of the districts is nearly 700,000 and, consequently, the principle of proportionally equitable representation has been abandoned. Our elected officials no longer represent the people. They represent the 17,000 corporate lobbyists who spend $3.3 billion per year to "persuade" them what is best for their special interests. This is why a Congressperson can receive 9 to 1 calls from their constituents against a $700 billion banker bailout bill and still vote for the bill. The ideals of our fledgling Republic have been corrupted by politicians who have sold their souls to corporate and banking interests. The corruption became more insidious with the creation of the Federal Reserve and the institution of the Federal income tax in 1913. The levers of money printing and raising taxes gave the select few (Pigs) the wherewithal to control and manipulate the working class population. Debt and taxes are the friends of a corrupt politician. The Cabal of bankers who control the Federal Reserve has been printing money for 96 years to such an extent that the U.S. dollar has lost 96% of its purchasing power versus gold. But, with Orwellian irony our government leaders proclaim a "strong dollar policy". This is a lie. The only way out of the current colossal debt dilemma is by allowing our currency to depreciate even more so that the debt becomes less burdensome in dollar terms. The National Debt is now $11.6 trillion. The National Debt in 1913 was $2.9 billion. Therefore, the National Debt has gone up by 400,000% in 96 years. FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND PERCENT! I had to go back and check my calculation three times. The people we elected to Congress have spent $11.6 trillion more than the government has generated in revenues, with $10 trillion of it accumulated since 1981. Despite this "investment" spending by our elected officials, the country's infrastructure is crumbling, we import 66% of our energy supplies versus 28% in 1982, our public education system is on par with a Third World country, our healthcare system is bloated, expensive and corrupt, and we have racked up another $56 trillion of future liabilities for unfulfillable promises made by our myopic leaders. The Bills passed by Congress (written by lobbyists) exceed 1,000 pages, with payoffs and pork to constituents, corporate contributors and other influential allies. These Bills are not even read by our leaders before being passed. Hundreds of pages of amendments are added at 3:00 am. As the ruling pigs in Animal Farm are slowly corrupted, they take the spoils while the working class proletariat toil for nothing. Congress and the bankers are the ruling Pigs, we are the overworked common animals. Talk is cheap and lies are expensive. Do as I say not as I do because
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Class Oppression If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. & The American Revolution was fought for the ideals that "All men are created equal" and we had the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The Russian Revolution of 1917 was based upon Karl Marx' idealistic Communist Manifesto which pitted the oppressors against the oppressed. Communism was supposed to be a system in which goods were owned in common and available to all as needed. The ten conditions for a transition to Communism are:
George Orwell's 1984 and Animal Farm were biting condemnations of the Soviet Union, its perversion of the revolution's ideals and class tyranny that ultimately widened in its society. The American Republic was constructed upon the individual and their freedom and liberty. After reading the above list of conditions, the United States is at least 50% of the way to a perverted form of communism as our leaders have instituted a progressive income tax, restricted the right of inheritance through taxes, centralized credit in the hands of the State, allowed corporate farms to dominate agriculture along with providing tax breaks and protective tariffs, gotten into bed with the Military Industrial Complex, banking industry, and auto industry, provide free public education to the working classes while they send their privileged children to private schools. By satiating the poor working classes with bread and circuses like welfare programs, easy credit, no income taxes, cable TV, fast food, cheap liquor, and drugs, the ruling classes are able to reap obscene riches through the systematic raping of the American public through the use of inflation and taxes on the middle class. There are some ideas so wrong that only a very intelligent person could believe in them. & The success of any system of government is ultimately dependent upon the integrity, honesty and honor of its leaders. If they become corrupted by power and money, the system will ultimately collapse. It may be a natural progression in all societies that intellectuals with superior intelligence will take advantage of those who perform physical labor. The intelligentsia in Animal Farm is the Pigs, who learn to walk on two legs, wear clothes, sleep in beds, drink alcohol and consider animals that walk on four legs as their inferiors. They perverted the founding principles of the revolution. The intelligentsia of the United States has perverted the founding principles that all men are created equal and we are each entitled to our individual liberty. The ruling elite constitute the 1% richest Americans and the politicians they have bought. The top 1% own 35% of all the net worth in the country. They own as much as the bottom 90% of Americans. They "earn" 22% of the income and pay 40% of the taxes in the U.S. I would contend that the majority of the intelligentsia has utilized their private education, Washington and Wall Street connections and ability to manipulate the financial and political system to further enrich themselves at the expense of the average American. Source: CNN Money Gullible Working Class It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it; consequently, the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning. & The definition of democracy is: government by the people. Today, the United States is democratic in name only. The political class, which supposedly represents the citizens, has perverted the original concept of a representative democracy. Our representatives were supposed to personally sacrifice by taking time off from their everyday professions to do what was best for the country. After performing this noble duty they would go back to their original vocations. Instead 40% of Congress is lawyers, their goal is to make a career in Washington DC and after leaving Congress they seek riches as lobbyists. Once elected, they utilize the power and money gained from the position to maintain that position permanently. This is why incumbents win elections 95% of the time. In 2004, incumbents spent $700 million to get re-elected, while challengers spent $200 million. These obscene sums of money have perverted the original intention of the Founders.
Source: Wikipedia The proliferation of drugs among the poor keeps them dazed and sedated. Various welfare programs and easy credit keep them from rioting as they can "purchase" luxury cars and electronic gadgets enjoyed by the upper classes. The bad debts are picked up by the taxpayers. As a further control, those in power have put 2.3 million people in prisons, most of whom are poor and 60% who are minorities. By distracting the majority of people in the country with cable TV entertainment, the internet, Twitter, cell phones, sports, movies, and shopping malls, the Pigs who run the show are able to oppress and control the masses. The highly educated use the idiocy and naïveté of the oppressed to their advantage by using the rigged financial system to generate ever more riches for themselves. The banker gods peddled fraudulent mortgage schemes throughout the world in order to enrich themselves. When it blew up in their faces, they turned to their government co-conspirators (Hank Paulson, Ben Bernanke, and most of Congress) to keep their riches. Their Congressional benefactors have obliged by stealing trillions from the taxpaying classes and redistributed it to the Pigs running Goldman Sachs, Citicorp, and Bank of America. Abuse of Language George Orwell's most pointed criticism of political leaders was their misuse of language to further their wicked agendas. He exposes the outrageous abuse of words in 1984 and Animal Farm. The ruling elite manipulate the language as an instrument of control over the masses. "The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns, as it were, instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink." & The intelligentsia understands that the masses can be manipulated with convincing talking points and misleading slogans. Politicians never tell their constituents they are doing some pork barrel spending. Every dollar of new spending is spun as "investment spending". We have evidently made $11.6 trillion of "investments" in our National Debt. Somehow we enacted "campaign finance reform" and still manage to spend $1.3 billion on political campaigns. Our beloved numbskull Vice President Joe Biden said last week, "We have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt". President Bush said, "I've abandoned free-market principles to save the free market system". President Obama insisted that the only way to save our country from catastrophe caused by excessive debt was to borrow $700 billion and spend it on infrastructure projects, of which only 3.5% was allocated to our crumbling infrastructure. During the Vietnam War a U.S. Major declared, "It became necessary to destroy the village in order to save it." In 1947 the government changed the name of the Department of War to the Department of Defense, as we today have garrisons of 100,000 troops in 117 foreign countries. The Department of Homeland Security, Patriot Act, and War on Terror are all deceptive titles and slogans purposely meant to hoodwink Boobus Americanus. "In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia. The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history." & President Obama and his cronies hammer away that 47 million Americans are uninsured. It is a lie, but that does not deter them from continuing to make the claim. The latest Census report says that within the borders of the United States as of 2007 there were 45.65 million people without health insurance. But this number included 9.73 million foreigners, leaving only 35.92 Americans who were uninsured. Among the uninsured in the United States there were also 9.1 million people making more than $75,000 per year who did not choose to purchase health insurance. Therefore, we are imposing a trillion dollar solution for 28 million people who are poor and uninsured. That is $36,000 per person while imposing a huge invasive bureaucracy on the lives of the other 278 million Americans. The masses believe the lies. Green Extremists have convinced children and dullards that global warming is destroying the planet. They state their position as fact, when their thesis does not meet the scientific method criteria as fact. Their contentions are based on computer models. Our financial system was also based on financial models that said that worthless mortgages were really gold. We know how that worked out. The facts are that the earth has warmed prior to the industrial revolution and has cooled. The sun, water vapor, earth's orbit, volcanoes, interstellar clouds, cosmic rays, tectonic plates, land use, CO2, sunspots, gravitational pulls, ocean currents and solar flares all impact earth. It is far too complex to declare that we know what is happening. Let's get tomorrow's weather forecast right first. Men plan and God laughs.
Must have been a lot of cows farting in the 1400s The Orwellian language of Big Government turns people into pliable subjects. It lulls us into passively accepting ever-increasing taxes while encouraging our reliance on an embedded and mutating bureaucracy administered by corrupt career politicians and backed by corporate sugar daddies. Wall Street shysters have mastered the art or twisting and distorting reality to benefit themselves. Subprime loans, which triggered the worldwide financial crisis, were called "nonprime". The billions of worthless toxic loans that still sit on the books of our biggest banks at original cost are now referred to as "legacy loans". How quaint. The lowest rated bonds of the worst companies are referred to as "high yield debt", not junk bonds. We describe our economy as "free market". There is nothing further from the truth. Bailouts for corporate failures and rewarding the excess risk takers are not hallmarks of free market capitalism. Government takeovers of banks, insurance companies, and auto companies are not free market capitalism. It is a warped form of corporate fascism - the intermingling of the State and corporations for the benefit of a few. Kevin Depew from Minyanville.com described the Orwellian lies of Hank Paulson as he sat before Congress explaining his criminal actions last Fall: "Paulson asserted throughout his testimony that he, almost single-handedly, averted an "economic collapse" and, moreover, that we should actually be thanking him for it. The ugly assemblage of half-truths, obfuscations, smarmy evasiveness and prickly showboating would have embarrassed Bernie Madoff. But it wasn't Bernie Madoff. It was a former United States Treasury Secretary." Myopia "Enlightened people seldom or never possess a sense of responsibility." & Animal Farm represents any human society whether it be capitalist, socialist, fascist, or communist. Leaders are capable of being corrupted by power within any form of government. The myopic thinking of the Pigs in Animal Farm will eventually destroy the farm. Orwell ends the novel with the animals watching the Pigs mingling with farmers through a window. They couldn't tell the difference between the supposed revolutionaries and those they had fought against. If he had looked into the future he would have seen that the Soviet Union would decay from the inside as the corrupt few eventually came to believe their own lies and propaganda. It collapsed 44 years later as a corrupt, bankrupt, shell of a country. The combination of myopia, greed, wickedness, ignorance and indifference are a brew that are leading the United States down the same path. As the Pigs in our society have enriched themselves, the average American has seen their real standard of living stagnate over the last 40 years. The Pigs have manipulated government inflation statistics so the masses think they are getting ahead. The myopia of our politicians has put the country into a predicament that we can't escape without tremendous pain and suffering. In order to keep their positions of power they have passed bills for decades that promise trillions more in goodies than we can possibly pay for. They have paid no thought to the long-term consequences of their actions because they don't care. Future generations are of no concern to gluttonous power hungry Pigs. During the eight years of the Bush presidency the ruling class used fear tactics and propaganda to ram through laws which allow Government to monitor the movements and communications of every American. Liberties have been stripped and freedoms have been restricted. Now President Obama is attempting to take control over the few aspects of our lives that remain relatively free. The Orwellian phrase "Cap & Trade" sounds much more innocuous than an energy tax of $1,500 on every household in America that will drive manufacturers out of the country, along with millions of jobs. "America's Affordable Health Choices Act" is the Orwellian name for a bill that will create a massive new bureaucracy, cost at least $1 trillion, cost small businesses billions more in health costs, give government the final decision on whether you are worth saving, and provide more freebies to poor Americans. This will keep the poor sedated and less likely to cause trouble for the ruling class. Bill of Frights Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances except when the Department of Homeland Security determines that you are a domestic terrorist who is a member of the Libertarian Party and attend Tax Day Tea Parties. A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed except when the government fears you will use those arms against them. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law. The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized unless we suspect that you are a terrorist or anti-government activist. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation unless politicians decide that a shopping mall would be a better use for your private property. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense unless we classify you as a non-combatant and put you in prison for two years without charging you or providing counsel. In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law after you wait for two years for your speedy trial. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted unless approved by Dick Cheney. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people unless activist judges determine otherwise. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people except that all these powers have been usurped by the Federal government. "During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." &
& Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away; Have you heard the news? & Categories: Ron Paul, Civil Liberties, US Constitution, Ethics, Revolution, Economy Tags: Orwell, ron paul, revolution, Constitution, Obama | ||||||||||||||||||||
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PAtriots, Your requests have been answered. Pennsylvania will proudly welcome and host Ron Paul and the Campaign for Liberty this fall at the Campaign for Liberty's Regional Conference. The official word from national is this will be the only conference in the northeast this year. You've been patient, you've worked extremely hard, and now is your chance to see that work pay off in the form of direct contact with C4L national, grade A grassroots political training, as well as speeches from some of the most prominent leaders in the freedom movement. We're expecting a tremendous amount of people to be in attendence. considering everything included in your registration fee, training, lunch, materials, etc, $76 is a steal! Just from one blog post and a facebook update from national, registration numbers are increasing at a very fast pace. Hurry up and register today for only $76 before the rest of the east coast does. I love everyone involved in the Campaign for Liberty, but if I'd like to be able to hold our heads high knowing that the bulk of attendees are local. Time to show the world why the first American revolution happened in Philadelphia...maybe it's something in the air, the soil, or the water...or maybe it's just a crazy coincidence, but I know our local patriots can set the stage for the thrust that this revolution needs. Feel free to email me directly with any questions at PhillyC4L@gmail.com, and MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER TODAY, DON'T WAIT!!! Love and Liberty, Michael Salvi Conference Registration Information
Campaign for Liberty's Northeast Regional Conference will be held Thursday, September 17th through Saturday the 19th. It is the fourth of several Regional Conferences planned for 2009. Each conference is professionally video recorded. Campaign for Liberty Members who register for the conference will have the added benefit of being able to take the training from all the other regional conferences online. When you register, you will immediately get access to the training videos from the St. Louis and Seattle Regional Conferences. Training videos from the Las Vegas Regional Conference will be available soon.
2 Easy Ways to Register Today!
OR Click any one of the following links for details: Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, Action Item, Current Events Tags: Regional Conference, training, Valley Forge, pa |
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Every year in the middle of the summer, my family takes a little time to relax at the Jersey Shore. We are fortunate to have a home away from home to unwind and forget about the rest of the world for a while. At least that's how it used to be... This year, like many previous summers, we kicked off the vacation with our traditional annual yard-sale. A yard-sale by definition is when you put all of your unwanted items out in the driveway and front yard (just short of the curb for pick-up by the garbage man) and complete strangers give you their hard earned FRNs for your discards. Hence the phrase, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." Typically, you are selling the refuse at pennies on the dollar. The yard-sale, garage sale, tag sale, whatever you call it, is truly an exercise in free market capitalism (with the exception of the $5.00 permit from the town elders). Supply meets demand head on. In actuality, there are many bargains to be had.
Like last year, we included some interesting reading material for our patrons. This year we stepped it up with current Campaign for Liberty fliers and petitions for S604. Of the 80 or so people that traipsed across our front yard in search of treasure, we captured approximately 20 signatures for S604, and handed out dozens of Campaign for Liberty fliers. We met some excellent new people and saw some familiar faces by way of repeat customers from previous years. Some people stopped not for the yard-sale, but because they wanted to "meet" and "talk" to us, you know, the people with the "Ron Paul" signs and the "Say NO to Socialism" sign that I got in Minneapolis at the Rally for the Republic, nailed to their house and the vehicles covered with Ron Paul and C4L propaganda.
Some notable visitors today included a young lady who is attending the Naval Academy who insisted her mother stop, two retired police officers from Bensalem and Philadelphia Pennsylvania respectively, a physician and activist who practices medicine in Philadelphia when he is not picketing Congresswoman Schwartz's office, the town Fire Marshall, an Army reservist...The list goes on. We shared stories about the Federal Reserve , and the overreaching federal government, while we collected signatures. Of course, we encouraged everyone to join Campaign for Liberty and help us in the r3VOLution. The retired LEOs and the reservist were also directed to Oathkeepers...The r3VOLution is alive and well at the Jersey Shore, and not a bad first day of vacation. Time to jump in the pool, then kick back poolside with my guitar and a cold beverage. Peace.
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, Action Item, Federal Legislation, Just For Fun, Current Events, Revolution, Miscellany, Video, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: s604, Yard sale |
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Campaign for liberty orientation. New? Not sure what to do? heres an orientaion video to help. Thanks to the creator of this video.
C4L blogging...
Campaign For Liberty Friends Invitation Instructions
Categories: Video Tags: orientation, C4L |
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Missouri car dealer Mark Mueller of Max Motors knows what it takes to motivate buyers in this worsening economy. Want to sell more cars? Give away an Ak-47 with each truck purchase. Their motto "God, Guns, Guts, and American pick-up trucks"!
Liberty is...an AK-47 with every purchase! Have you posted yet? "Liberty is..." For liberty, Rob Categories: Media, Domestic Policy, Health Freedom, US Constitution, Current Events, Miscellany, Video, World Affairs, Congress Tags: MAx Motors, Mark Mueller, ak47, guns |
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Finally...from earlier this week.
What does Liberty mean to you? "Liberty is..." For liberty, Rob Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Finance, Media, US Constitution, Federal Legislation, Video, World Affairs, Economy, Monetary Policy Tags: Glenn Beck, Federal Reserve, hr1207, S604 Goldman Sachs |
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Another Way
Suppose for a moment our current depression/recession/meltdown, whatever, didn't just materialize out of nowhere? What if desperate economic times like these could be forever avoided? Moreover, what if you knew what the one common ingredient causing this and all similar tragedies in history was?
Now I'm not an economist but some who are have been warning a long time about what we are currently experiencing. These brilliant free market economists, sadly, have gotten little if any of the notice they deserve. Not only did they make clear decades ago the boom and bust of our economy is not a mystery, they showed these wild swings a result of intentional deliberate government policy. Here's a little history and a few ideas of theirs:
In 1913 the Federal Reserve was created with the idea that the free market could not on its own achieve full employment, low interest rates, economic stability, rising wages, and a stable dollar without a central bank "of last resort." The Federal Reserve was given exclusive privilege to increase or decrease the supply of paper dollars (see chart) in circulation and in issuing credit to banks.
The power to print, unrestrained and as many paper dollars as the Federal Reserve wants, when it wants, and then give them to whom it wants was approved in 1971. That's when the final link the U.S. dollar had to gold was severed. From there forward the Fed could print, unbridled, any quantity of dollars at its sole discretion.
By definition "inflation" of the currency in circulation is the actual increase in the quantity of dollars in circulation. Rising prices are also commonly referred to as inflation but that's not what is meant here.
Creating new money this way is used whenever governments can't raise a loan or fear revolt by increasing taxes. Handing out these paper tickets called money makes possible a transfer of wealth from those holding dollars to those who receive the newly created dollars first.
The benefit goes to those early recipients in being able to spend the newly created dollars first, before prices ultimately rise to compensate for the money's devaluation. As these new dollars enter into circulation they dilute the value of all dollars. Think adding water to milk. The beneficial effects of these actions fade as all prices adjust upward to compensate for each dollar's now reduced value.
O.K., so what does all this have to do with lost jobs and the tanking economy?
These Federal Reserve actions initiate artificial booms in certain sectors of the economy as those chosen recipients of the fresh dollars are now able to pay more for items they want than before. Generally these are the politically well connected. Like shopping for an item while your pockets are being filled with cash, they are now able to pay more for that item.
An appearance of false prosperity then arises in those sectors supplying these items as prices are bid up which then attracts additional suppliers. Resources are diverted there creating an irreversible shift of goods, services, wealth and income to provide the items demanded. When the money inflation is stopped these specialized items then cannot be sold for their inflation-boosted costs. Mountains of waste, abandoned factories, tools, machines, and displaced labor soon follow.
20th century free market economist Ludwig von Mises said "If you increase the quantity of money you decrease the purchasing power of the monetary unit." Those then who have chosen to hold their wealth in dollars or dollar related investments find those dollars will buy less in the future due to the decreasing purchasing power. Undeserved losses are inflicted on the middle class who tend to save and invest in dollar instruments. The thrifty and those on fixed incomes are punished the most.
It's been said just one in 10,000 can recognize the currency is becoming worth less not the commodities they buy becoming more dear. The dollar has lost over 95% of its value since Federal Reserve "inherited" it in 1913.
Federal Reserve activity also artificially lowers interest rates. That's what is meant when you hear the Fed has "set" interest rates at such and such an amount. Expansion of the money supply temporarily overwhelms the market rate of interest producing this result.
"Interest" is the price paid to have things now. No one will ever attach the same value to having an apple now as to one in a year or 10 or 100 years. Lower interest rates might sound good, however, interest rates function as a signal on how much available savings there are at any given time. High interest rates mean there are not much savings; falling rates indicate new savings are available. Forcing interest rates artificially low also removes the incentive for those who prefer to save when savings just might be what is needed most.
Perhaps most importantly these artificially low interest rates mislead businessmen into starting projects they otherwise would not, if not for the low rates. Projects suddenly appear profitable due to the low interest rates. As the projects are initiated, labor is hired, machinery is ordered and so on; the boom begins. These "bad" investment projects are doomed to failure as in reality there are not enough real resources available to complete them. The "signal" (interest rates) of real resource savings has been distorted. Job layoffs, factory shutdowns and abandoned projects inevitably follow. A recession begins.
Painful though necessary, "recessions" allow these past mistakes to be cleaned up. That is if they are not interrupted by government bailouts, stimulus schemes and even more credit and paper money expansion to cover up the necessary pain. Federal Reserve actions create the crisis then more of this same Fed activity hampers the recovery. Government has no real resources and is incapable of stimulating the economy. It can only inflate, destruct and redistribute wealth. No wealth is created by printing money.
The founders of our country knew first hand about runaway inflation during our revolution. That's why they named commodity backed money in the U.S. Constitution making only gold and silver legal tender. "Not worth a Continental," referring to the printed-to-oblivion U.S. Continental Dollar, to this day means "worth nothing."
The free market economists believe money does not need to be created by government. Money arose quite naturally out of convenience, without political authority. Ideologically they put money in the same class as bills of rights and political constitutions.
Explore: www.mises.org, www.fee.org. Become active: www.campaignforliberty.com.
Kent Lalley Somerset, PA
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There are two parts to this audio segment from Glenn Beck's 7-14-09 taping of his television show exposing Goldman Sachs. Dr. Paul contributes to the discussion in part 2. As always, he delivers the message with clarity and consistency. If you would like to fill in a few blanks regarding Goldman Sachs listen to both parts. Part 1 of 2 Glenn Beck on Goldman Sach's
Part 2 of 2 Glenn Beck on Goldman Sach's with Dr. Ron Paul
Many in our movement have disdain or distrust for Glenn Beck. If you fall into that camp, you will get no argument from me. Putting it mildly, Glenn does not always share the same views as many of us in the r3VOLution, and his guests are often a whose-who in the CFR. However, when he does echo our message, it is extremely beneficial. Glenn's audience, and loyal army of 9-12ers, is, for the most part, in tune with our message of limited Constitutional government, individual liberty, sound money and free markets. Where we tend to part company is on the issue of foreign policy. Our mission should be to continually align ourselves on the topics which we agree, and continue to seed the notion of the original intent of the founders with respect to foreign policy. It doesn't hurt to educate them on the relationship between the Fed and the CFR, and their dominance over our foreign policy...a little at a time. It is not imperative to bring them around to our way of thinking immediately on this pivitol topic. Once they learn to follow the moneytrail, it will become abundantly clear, tinfoil hats aside. Remember, after all, it is a tough pill to swallow when you learn that your blind patriotism is actually just programmed cheer-leading for the very financiers, bureaucrats, and globalists whose mission is to destroy U.S. sovereignty and roll us into "global governance". For liberty, Rob p.s. - Have you told us what "Liberty is..." to you yet? Categories: Finance, Media, Grassroots News, Commodities, US Constitution, Executive Power, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Economy Tags: Glenn Beck, goldman sachs, hr1207 |
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Campaign for Liberty and FreedomFest teemed up this past week to organize a conference that certainly was a memorable experience for those involved. The event kicked off on Wednesday night with a cocktail reception in the exhibit hall. Quite a few of the FreedomFest attendees were not familiar with C4L before but were quite receptive to the message of sound monetary policy and H.R. 1207/S. 604. In my (somewhat biased) opinion, C4L had one of the most engaging booths at the conference thanks in part to one of the volunteers, Jeff Jones, who provided us with all the equipment and internet to play YouTube videos throughout the event. Peter Schiff stopped by the booth on the first day and signed a few of our volunteers' books. Overall, we sold lots of merchandise, handed out brochures/Audit the Fed slim jims, signed up new members and collected numerous petitions for S. 604. Thursday evening I attended a fundraising dinner for Adam Kokesh in support of his congressional run. I would like to take a moment to wish Adam the best of luck with his campaign and encourage the grassroots to get active in supporting his candidacy. For myself, personally I had the best time on Friday when all the C4L folk started to arrive for the third regional conference. Being from Pennsylvania it was great to meet and talk with people from the West Coast and find out what had been happening in their own states with C4L. Tom Woods also stopped by the booth and talked with volunteers before the FreedomFest sponsored debate to abolish the fed took place. During this time, liberty rider, Michael Maresco walked into the exhibit hall within an hour of his E.T.A. even after pedaling 97 miles across the Mohave Desert the day before. (Planning to start again on the 15th, Mike should finish his ride in another 10 days - pedal, pedal...) The kickoff to the regional conference on Friday night was electric with more than 1,200 people packed into the ballroom to hear Tom Woods and Ron Paul. Tom Woods's speech was certainly one to remember but I will not say anymore than that until the video is posted. It was great to see Carol Paul accompany "the love of her life" to the stage and introduce him. Dr. Paul gave a great speech and appeared to be energized by all the support he is receiving for H.R. 1207 and espoused hope for the future that our tireless minority will continue to light brush fires in the minds of Americans. The training seminars I attended were very informative. Aside from actively petitioning Congress, education is perhaps one of the most important activities that we can engage in. I hope that in this respect, what happened in Vegas will not stay in Vegas. In closing, I would like to thank all the members and fellow volunteers of C4L that made the trip to Las Vegas and helped to make it a memorable time. I highly encourage not only attending regional conferences close to your own region, but also branching out (if possible) and going to a few that are farther away. It was exciting to see what the grassroots have accomplished nationwide and meet people from across the country who are engaged in the same fight for freedom. - Tim Shoemaker
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And now a new bill is introduced into the house to remove any opposition to the green movement and cap and trade. Here it is:
HRES 628 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 628 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should pursue the global elimination of obstacles to the proliferation of technologies and services that science has proven are necessary to address the most pressing environmental problems of our time. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 10, 2009 Mr. DREIER (for himself and Mr. KUCINICH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States should pursue the global elimination of obstacles to the proliferation of technologies and services that science has proven are necessary to address the most pressing environmental problems of our time. Whereas addressing the critical global environmental issues of our time is of paramount importance; Whereas advanced technology will be central to addressing these environmental and energy challenges; Whereas advanced technology represents a key element of American comparative advantage in the worldwide marketplace; Whereas the U.S. should strengthen and reform its policies to encourage the use of environmental technologies and services; Whereas obstacles to the global proliferation of environmental technologies and services limits their accessibility and affordability; Whereas these obstacles thwart our policy of encouraging the use of these types of products and services; Whereas eliminating these obstacles would make these types of products and services more accessible and more affordable; Whereas the resulting increased use of these types of products and services would reduce environmental damage, increase the efficiency of energy consumption, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, enhance our national security, reduce costs for consumers, and increase job creation; Whereas full participation by the developed and developing worlds in this effort is essential in order to realize the necessary level of global proliferation of environmental technologies and services to achieve the above-stated goals; and Whereas the U.S. can pursue regional efforts to eliminate these obstacles to the global proliferation of environmental technologies and services as a way to build momentum for a global agreement: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that-- (1) the U.S. should pursue the global elimination of obstacles to the proliferation of technologies and services that science has proven are necessary to address the most pressing environmental problems of our time; and (2) the U.S. has the ability and the obligation to provide global leadership in advancing this effort.
This could in effect mean we could go after any country that doesn't agree with what we are trying to do? This is getting out of hand and very scary real fast. Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Foreign Policy, Education, Finance, Globalism, Election News, Republican Party, Democratic Party, Action Item, US Constitution, Ethics, Executive Power, Federal Legislation, Current Events, Revolution, Social Issues, Socialism, Voting, War/Military, World Affairs, Economy, Monetary Policy, Congress Tags: |
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I started out just wanting to re-post the following video from Russia Today on youtube, which features Ron Paul endorsed Congressional candidate Adam Kokesh, and senatorial hopeful from Connecticut, Peter Schiff. Then I started thinking...I have been disconnected from the Main Stream Media for a while. Occasionally, just checking in to hear the spin, or post a video that I feel is worthy of liberty-lovers' time and energy. So, I decided to search the Internet and a few prominent news sites for news from "Freedom Fest 2009"...The result, nada, nothing, zilch. I found an article about the UFC 100 which occurred in Vegas this weekend, but no prominent stories from Sin City about the virtues of freedom. Surprised? I am not. Conclusion, in this era we must be the media. And we must be more vigilant than ever in promoting the ideals of liberty. Russia today is the most prolific generator of videos on youtube. And while most of what RT produces I view with uncertainty (they too have an agenda), they occasionally break out with a story that benefits our cause. Maybe its the adage, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend". Either way, enjoy this piece.
Update: 2nd video added 07-14-09 7:30 am
For liberty, Rob
p.s. - if you have not participated in my new project, please do. In one sentence voice what "Liberty is..." to you www.Libertyis.org Thank you! Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Grassroots News, Action Item, US Constitution, Current Events, Philosophy, Revolution, Social Issues, Socialism, Video, Economy Tags: Las Vegas, Peterr Schiff, Adam Kokesh, Freedom Fest, freedomfest |
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After Senator DeMint's amendment issue yesterday, I took the opportunity to write my Senators (Specter and Casey). Also, even though he's not my Senator, I dropped a quick thank you note off to Senator DeMint. Here are the letters: Senator DeMint, Senator Specter/Casey, Categories: Campaign For Liberty, Federal Legislation, Economy Tags: hr1207, s604, Federal Reserve |
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Wow! What an amazing day we had, 50+ Campaign for Liberty members spreading the message of liberty in the City of Brotherly Love! C4L members came from far and wide to march in the Welcome America Parade in Philadelphia, and participate in what just might have been, nationwide, the largest one day public outreach ever conducted by the "freedom movement". Some of states represented at our Campaign for Liberty event in Phildaelphia, were Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Minnesota, Texas, and a very special new member from China, who as a young man was present at Tiananmen Square during the 1988 massacre. In a very heartfelt conversation he had with Pennsylvania's C4L State Coordinator, David Jahn, he expressed his gratitude for Campaign for Liberty and stressed the importance and significance of our efforts. Unofficial numbers from the Truth, Freedom, and Prosperity meetup group estimates 145+ "Freedom Activists" were present, helping us share the message of truth and liberty to the thousands in attendance at the Parade, the Tea Parties, and other happenings in historic center city Philadelphia! On this day, we set out to honor the 56 brave seccessionists who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, so we could live free, and carry the torch of liberty. My day began at 4:00 am. I awoke early to make my way to the Philadelphia police department's storage warehouse and retrieve the float that we had dropped off the day before. Incidentally, the police officer who performed the inspection of our float on Friday is a member of Oathkeepers, and is on his own mission, seeding the message of the Oathkeepers to his fellow law enforcment officers. He travels with his pocket Constitution, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, and Oathkeeper's handouts to share with his bretheren. This man gives a whole new meaning to the term "Philadelphia's Finest". At about 7:30 am the float was in position, staged on 5th Street near Independence Hall where the signing of the Declaration of Independence took place 233 years ago. Our members soon began to arrive, and by 11:00 am (the official start time of the parade) the final decorations on the float were in place. It was adorned with two 4' x7' Campaign for Liberty banners, twenty or more American flags, and at least 4 Gadsden flags. Riding on the float were Samuel Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, several well dressed, feisty ladies of the rEVOLution, and our good friend Michael Badnarik. We also had two information tables on Independence Mall loaded with literature and well staffed with C4L members, and Committees of Safety's own Walter Reddy collecting petition signatures, membership applications, and spreading the message of individual liberty and limited Constitutional government. Prepared to march behind the float, were about 40 Campaign for Liberty members in our commerative C4L T-Shirt (watch the video to see the shirt! They still available for a $15 donation or a one ounce silver round, contact me). We made our way along the parade route through Olde City, around Independence Mall, and down Market Street. Engaging the audience as we went, we handed out several thousand fliers, flags, and Constitutions along the way. With Samuel Adams' visceral cries of "FREEDOM!!!", and Michael Badnarik leading the chants for "Liberty!!!", we were well recived by the thousands of onlookers. At the conclusion of the parade we participated in the events on Independence Mall. While our members were working the crowds at the two consecutive Tea Parties, I had the honor and priveledge of introducing my good friend (and now stepfather) Michael Badnarik as he gave his first of two speeches. Seated in the presenter's section, I spent some time with Jake Towne who is a liberty candidate running for congress in Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district. He is definetly a candidate to watch, and worthy of our support in the upcoming midterm election cycle. I could probably write an endless column about the intensity, the raw emotion, and the signifigance of this independence Day, and I am sure many of you feel the same way. But I will leave you with this final thought. As I reflect on the day's events, it is abundantly clear that our message was heard, and very well received. Americans are hungry for the truth, and have an insatiable thirst for freedom when reminded of our roots. The spirit of the founders is alive and well in the birthplace of our nation, the City of Brotherly love, the cradle of liberty, Philadelphia. Special thanks to everyone that participated and helped make today a success, there were far too many to mention you all, thank you. Thank you to those who traveled great distances to be with us, Michael Badnarik, Walter Reddy, Rob Gray and his family, and above all, I must thank my wife for making the sacrifices, affording me the ability to devote so much time to liberty.
Categories: Ron Paul, Campaign For Liberty, Civil Liberties, Domestic Policy, Grassroots News, US Constitution, Current Events, Revolution, Social Issues, Socialism, Economy Tags: tea party, Philadelphia, Declaration of Independence, michael salvi, Walter Reddy, Michael Badnarik, Independence Day, jake towne, Rob Gray, AOCS |
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Our group's members worked a two day gun show in York on June 27th and 28th. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them for volunteering. None of them have done anything like this before and this was our group's first outreach to spread the message of liberty. Those that worked the show stated that attendence was low and that they have never seen a gun show with so little attendees. That being said, they sold quite a few things to help out: pocket constitutions (86 out of 100) from the C4L store, license plate frames with "Don't Tread On Me" and the Gadsden stickers were good sellers (29 out of 30). Numerous HR1207 and Campaign For Liberty brochures were handed out and they concentrated on getting signatures for S.604, for which 89 signatures were obtained as well as 15 HR.1207 signatures. It was a great first experience for our members and we look forward to doing more outreach in our community!
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-An Open Letter to the President-
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