Will the real Tea Party candidate please rise? Posted by ericrantanen

Posted 04/20/10 Last updated 04/21/10

If Charlie Crist decides to run as an independent, he will shake up the Senate race as a truly viable 'Third' party candidate.  I think this is a good thing.

The Mythological Democrat looks out for the common man.  The Mythological Republican is fiscally conservative.  In practice, we get:

• Multi-Trillion Republican Medicare prescription drug entitlement (Nov 2003)
  • Unfunded by the 'Cut-taxes-and-spend Party'.
• $700 billion Republican brokered bank bail-outs (Oct 2008)
  • Federal Reserve Purchases over $1 Trillion unmarketable debt
  • money.cnn.com/news/.../economy/bailouttracker/index.html
• $787 billion Democrat brokered stimulus package (Feb 2009)
  • Primarily government spending
  • www.asranalytics.com/stimulus-bill-visualization
• (Probable) Multi-Trillion Democrat Health Insurance mandate (March 2010)
  • Quote (2/24/2010 Capitol Hill hearings): WellPoint CEO Angela Braly said Anthem's rate increases were needed to keep the company solvent as healthy, young people have dropped coverage to save money, leaving an older, sicker population that requires more care.
  • Problem solved by hosing the young - 'Buy insurance or we fine you.'

In addition, we can attribute the following to both parties:

• Near $13 Trillion National debt with no end in sight.
• Social Security is now running a deficit.
  • Congress has been raiding Social Security since 1965 to supplement the General Fund.  Now Congress must raid the General Fund to help pay out benefits, thereby adding to the on-book deficit.

My point: The Establishment Parties have no will to do anything that may cause short term political pain, so they kick the can, and delay the day of reckoning.  Voters are tiring of this as they see the day of reckoning coming closer with each kick.

Charlie Crist is being pilloried by the Republican establishment, who favors Marco Rubio.  In a two way Republican primary, this works.  In a three way election for the US Senate, it won't, as the moderate voters outnumber the vocal minorities on both sides of the aisle.

I have not always agreed with his policies - in 2008 he recommended an increase in college tuition to bring Florida up to the national average.  But portraying Crist as not conservative is somewhat absurd.  In 2008 he signed a law allowing employees to keep firearms stored in their vehicles on company property.  After fuel prices ran up to over $4 a gallon in Summer 2008, Crist said:

"We have to be sympathetic to the pocketbooks of the people of Florida and what they're paying at the pump for gas, and balance that with: Is there any way that our state might be able to contribute in terms of resources to have greater supply and therefore lower prices?"

This is the type of pragmatic politician that I think can win votes in the middle.  And that is where the 'Tea Party' is gaining support, from the moderates tired of politics as usual.  So ironically, an anti-establishment run by Crist makes him a better 'Tea Party' candidate than Rubio.  I think voting will demonstrate exactly that should we see a three way race in November.

21st Century Voodoo Economics, or 'Why Everyone Should Work For The Government' Posted by ericrantanen

Posted 04/20/10

In the current economic downturn, it looks like there is yet another big winner: Federal Government employees. Here's the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-12-10-federal-pay-salaries_N.htm?POE=click-refer

Highlights:

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months - and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

The growth in six-figure salaries has pushed the average federal worker's pay to $71,206, compared with $40,331 in the private sector.

While the private sector continues to implode (excepting those eligible for bail-out, such as various and sundry banks, GM, AIG, etc.) the federal government has been adding about 10,000 employees a month. From the data provided, one may infer that about 2 million individuals are directly employed by the federal government. The fact that around 400,000 make over $100k doesn't frighten me nearly as much as the $71k average salary. This is purely for mathematical reasons, as 2 million people averaging $71k makes for about a $142 billion dollar annual payroll. That's nearly as much as we've shoveled into AIG since last year! (around $173 billion for those keeping score)

An apologist on the payroll doesn't think the salary structure is all bad:

Jessica Klement, government affairs director for the Federal Managers Association, says the federal workforce is highly paid because the government employs skilled people such as scientists, physicians and lawyers. She says federal employees make 26% less than private workers for comparable jobs.

Unfortunately, she neglects the fact that 26% of private sector scientists are currently driving cabs. (and 73% of statistics are made up on the spot)

Effectively, the Federal Government is removing 'skilled people' from the private sector and empowering them to (at best) compete with private industry in an arena where budgets don't matter and money can be created at will or (at worst) restrict the activities of private industry.

Good luck to the private sector, unless you are chasing government money.

Ron Paul's CPAC Victory has Neoconservatives Scrambling Again Posted by Tom Leser

Posted 02/21/10 Last updated 02/21/10

"Ron Paul's Victory at IA Caucuses Means Little" is likely to be a headline we would see in January 2012 should Ron Paul decide to run for President, and should he be victorious in this first very important battle.

Dr. Paul's victory in the CPAC 2010 straw poll is a major accomplishment for him and his supporters.  Politically speaking, this is the most important straw poll second to the Ames, IA straw poll event that occurs every presidential cycle.  The magnitude his CPAC victory is evidenced by the marginalization campaign that has now begun.  The straw poll victory was a substantial one:

Ron Paul - 31%
Mitt Romney - 22%
Sarah Palin - 7%
Tim Pawlenty - 6%
Mike Pence - 5%
Newt Gingrich -4%
Mike Huckabee - 4%

Certainly some will lash out at me for stating that such a marginalization campaign even exists, laud charges of "black helipcopters", and throw about every other ad hominem and red herring they can think of, but it is as plain as day.

Those who oppose Dr. Paul are smart, rather "slick", and they do not blatantly issue direct slams against him anymore like they used to.  Instead, simple facts about the poll itself, which minimize its significance, are pointed out which were strangely absent in prior years when Romney won the poll.

If you can minimize the straw poll itself, then you can (attempt to) minimize the momentum generated by a potential candidate that you do not like.  A brief review of the headlines illustrates this.

The USA Today today states "It is clear that Paul brought a lot of people" to CPAC, said Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who ran the straw poll.

Of course Ron Paul didn't bring that many people to CPAC.  I don't think he owns that many vehicles, nor a 747 to do this.  It was the conservative message of individual liberty, following the Constitution, restoring sound money, adhering to market based economics over central planning, and of course a noninterventionist foreign policy thatbrought CPAC attendees to vote for Ron Paul.

Fox News states "The straw poll is not binding -- and not necessarily a good forecaster, given that in 2008, John McCain went on to take the party's nomination over Romney."

Is anybody out there with a 5th grade education (sorry 4th graders) and above dumb enough to believe that the straw poll makes its winner the president two and a half years later?  The fact that Romney won the poll in 2008 is good news, because they are insinuating Ron Paul will be a final player in the race for the Republican nomination.  Had it been Ron Paul in there at the end vs. John McCain, the outcome would have been much different.

Then of course you have your local Glenn Beck wannabe talk show hosts (those of which who never talk about him, and when they do refer to him disparagingly and idiotically as "Jesus") who post on facebook:

"Bill Mick is getting a kick out of the Paulistines going nuts over the CPAC vote where, with 31% of the Republican straw poll, Ron Paul is now the next President of the United States! Is that like having a head coach in waiting?"

This from a guy who only talks about Ron Paul when his monday morning libertarian co-host, Bruce Wechsler, mentions his name.  When mentioned, host Mick shouts with a venomous hillbilly accent "Oh yeah, because he's Jesus!"  Of course he has never read any of the Congressman's best selling books either, but as all others in the mainstream media he has all the answers and is always right.

The worst yet was Fox News Sunday Morning with Chris Wallace.  The CPAC segment came up and it wasn't until Juan Williams, the so called liberal Fox News contributor, merely mentioned Ron Paul's name which sent Chris Wallace into laughter and stated "I told you not to mention Ron Paul".

Chris Wallace let all of the contributors have their say, including the infamous neoconservative movement founder Bill Kristol who did his absolute best to top the anti-Ron Paul sentiment on the panel, but then Chris Wallace turned the conversation into the "serious contenders" in 2012.  Upon saying this he seemed to catch himself, turned to the camera as if to pre-emptively address the  profusion of emails that would come in, and said "Yes, Ron Paul is a serious contender, you can vote for whoever you want" while rolling his eyes.  Keep in mind that Wallace was the one that so dastardly accused Ron Paul of taking his marching orders from Al Qaeda during a 2008 President debate.

Of course, "serious contenders", are whom these media elites deem to be "serious contenders".  They spoke of the usual Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney.  They even discussed Tim Pawlenty, which is odd, considering how little name recognition he has.  Sure he had brief moments where his name being tossed around in 2008 as a potential McCain running mate, but outside of his own state (where again?) nobody knows about him.

How do they define a "serious contender" and why would Ron Paul not be one?  Fox News alone even has featured Ron Paul on their network over 60 times after his predictions of economic turmoil came to fruition in 2008.  He has released two political books in the last two years that have hit the New York Times Top 10 Bestsellers list (#1 for the Revolution: A Manifesto), and led a coalition of Republicans and Democrats to pass his Audit the Fed bill in the House.

Prior to all of this he was a serious contender in 2007, when he first announced, solely because of his principled integrity.  The main factor of a serious contender should be somebody with a 20 year record that is Constitutionally perfect.

Recall back in early 2007 when Ron Paul truely was not well known, and chances of winning were next to none.  Those of us who knew of him, were instantly fired up and knew he was the best candidate to possibly come from Washington, but we still knew it was a major uphill battle.  At that time, nobody who followed Dr. Paul had thought that a "Ron Paul Revolution" would even come about, nor go as far as it did.

The polls started off at 2%, as expected.  However, the poll numbers slowly started to rise.  These were individual and nearly victories, small victories, but victories nonetheless.

With every one of these minor victories of Ron Paul's campaign, each and every one was met with the same marginalizing rhetoric.  First it was that he would never get in any money.  He then sets a fundraising record and the response was that it wouldn't matter.  He goes on to beat his own fundraising record and outraising all other Republican candidates.

The response was that money didn't matter because his supporters can open their wallets but they're not enough to show up at the polls.

The bottom line is that grassroots politics is won at the local level.  If Ron Paul decides to run again in 2012, he will be in a better position to win in early battle states like Iowa and New Hampshire.  This is no doubt due to the continued organizing of his base in the Campaign For Liberty, the Republican Liberty Caucus, and the non GOP co-opted Tea Parties which would likely back him.

Judging on how Ron Paul's successes are marginalized by many in the mainstream media, and continue to happen today as shown by the CPAC Straw Poll reaction, expect the IA Caucuses and NH Primaries to be minimized should Ron Paul win them both.  Winning the Republican nomination would likely yield the same result from the talking heads.

Respect from the talking points media is not what Ron Paul is after, as one cannot achieve respect from those who hold a philosophically diametric position, but  spreading the message of liberty is what he is after and what he has been very successful in doing the past few years.

When you hear name drops of our Founding Fathers, how often do you hear of a Melancton Smith, or a Samuel Bryan, or a Robert Yates mentioned?  The answer is likely to be never.

The usual ones that have gone down in fame are name dropped such as Madison, Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, etc.  However the aforementioned were overall more important to the cause of liberty due to the Anti-Federalist Papers they published.

Expect the smears, and the marginalizing to continue at an ever increasing rate, as Ron Paul would have to win the presidency twice to gain an ounce of respect of the USA Today, Fox News, Chris Wallace, or even a Bill Mick.  But thank God that respect from these entities is not what the good doctor is after, but rather spreading the message of liberty.

Let us hope, that for the sake of being able to spread this message even further by implementing it within the oval office, Ron Paul does at least decide to run for President in 2012.  Without running, there is no chance in winning.   If he does run, he stands a very good shot at winning, irregardless of what the talking points mainstream media has to say.

Copyright © 2010 Tom Leser

A profitable government Posted by Galt

Posted 12/13/09

The problem is our government has entered a new paradigm. They have to show a profit! Let me explain.

Forget about Keynes, think Capone!
Each year the politicians have to show they have done something, fixed something, enlarged the public services provided; profit.

I spent the last two evenings reading an interesting document Catagory: Horror! It describes the Florida state's $200,000,000,000 of 'business': The September 15th budget forcast for 2011-2013. http://leg.state.fl.us/cgi-bin/view_page.pl?File=meetings.html&Directory=com mittees/joint/jclb/&Tab=committees&Submenu=2

Profitable - for politicians and their collaborators.

It shows how they take city, county, and state money and chase after federal grants to multiply their profits.

The SunRail is a grab for TARP money. The state senate also got approval from the unions saving 200 jobs to be paid by state, paid $641,000,000 to CSX for their rails with permission to continue using them without charge, and they did pass the transportation bill. This sets up their next grab for the next $2,600,000,000 for Florida high speed trains.  Got to get our piece of the $60,000,000,000 federal rail pie.

I saw the route for SunRail for the first time. It runs through Kissimmee, to Orlando and to Deland. 61 miles in 16 stops. Interesing that it does not go to other transport hubs... like the AIRPORT! Port Canaveral or the Port of the Tampa. 2.2 billion dollars for a replacement for a failing bus system?

I haven't seen anything quite like that Florida budget report from the federal government, except maybe this for 2010:
http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=bebd92f 1-0193-4228-bfd3-e7a353fefe10

Where once a proud people conducted their lives free of the coercion, Freedom and Liberty are being choked by the GIMME weed.
...and Jesus wept.

We're all (rail) Keynesians now in Florida Posted by Tom Leser

Posted 12/09/09 Last updated 12/19/09

After 12 years of trying, proponents of state run everything have finally gotten their wish and Sun Rail, a $2.6 Billion boondoggle, passed the FL house and the Senate.  As with all levels of government, a bigger problem with these programs is that the proponents of them will never simply come out and profess their support for statism, but make up every possible excuse in favor of them while claiming they still believe in the free market.  

I recently heard from a SunRail apologist that this is good because it will "bring in tourism". This is not only wrong, but it is flawed on many levels. For one, it may not bring in more tourism, and even if it does, does this really matter?

I recall earlier in the year when a member of the Brevard county commission, who should have voted against a $300,000 bill to subsidize the arts, Trudie Infantini, voted in favor of it giving the reason that it will bring tourism to Brevard County. It may increase tourism, and it may not, does this really matter?

IF tourism is the key, then here is the solution: Offer up retail establishments for people from out of town to come and visit where they can simply pickup money. Now there is no question here, this would certainly bring in tourism, would it not? Now the tourist'ers would counter that this is a straw man fallacy. However, the logic is completely consistent. At what point do you reject the notion of increasing government's role in our life for the reason of tourism? I balk at making this point as I am certain some in government may find the idea of free money stores a good idea.

IF tourism is the key, why fiddle around with things like rail, arts, etc. if there's no guarantee that there's enough of a demand for these services to bring in tourism.

Well of course tourism is not the key, being free and prosperous is. To be free and prosperous is most certainly not compatible or consistent with redistributing wealth via a "broken window", and then rationalizing it away as a benefit to tourism.

All of the financials that have been independently reported about this program suggest that it is not sound, so this is indicative that a market approach is not yet feasible simply because not enough demand exists. This is basic economic policy but I suppose supply and demand is now an altruism.

Where have the propents of capitalism gone? Are there none in the FL legislature? As a supporter of the free market and an engineer who has worked 4 years in the rail industry I can say that I do not oppose commuter rail. On the contrary, I support commuter rail and would have liked to seen this happen one day, provided that the private capital and demand exist for it.

The one area we should all oppose Sun Rail on is that it was not provided for out of consumer demand of a much needed service, but by the demand of keynesian politicians who seek the newly printed stimulus money coming from Washington.

But of course for market based approaches to consumer rail to work we'd have to lower taxes across the board, abolish programs, drastically reduce spending in Tallahassee, restore property rights, cut regulations, etc. but when was the last time we had a single candidate for the FL legislature that advocated this approach? Well one would have to actually believe in liberty to advocate this approach, another altruism. Nixon was right, we are all Keynesians now.

Help BC4L win free money! Posted by CrystalEveritt

Posted 11/30/09 Last updated 12/22/09

Edit: This fundraiser is temporarily delayed at the request of Florida C4L for legal reasons. It  is not cancelled, but simply delayed until early next year. Thank you for your patience and willingness to help out. Let us know if you wish to be notified when this fundraiser officially begins.

Dear Patriots,

We are going to start an online magazine fundraiser for Brevard Campaign For Liberty. The company we are going to use, gives a $100 bonus when we sell 20 subscriptions on the first day that we officially begin the fundraiser. When we get at least 20 people to commit to buying a magazine(s), we will buy on the same day, so that BC4L can receive the $100 bonus.

Magazines make inexpensive, yet very appreciated gifts. They are also great gifts because they give for an entire year. The lucky subscription owner will not only get a magazine, they can feel good knowing that 40% of the subscription price went towards defending Liberty.

Please check out the list of magazines. You don't really have to make a choice immediately, we just need your commitment to making a purchase. Here is a sample of what the site will look like. It contains the list of available magazines. Their selection is incredible.

http://www.supportourgroup.com/ZM000

Please commit to our Liberty Magazine Bomb, by sending me a quick email saying that BC4L has your support.

For Liberty,

Crystal Everitt
Brevard County Coordinator
Campaign For Liberty
CrystalEveritt@gmail.com
(321) 895 - 4 - C4L

Credit where credit is due Posted by Galt

Posted 11/22/09 Last updated 11/22/09

Creating inflation to make the public debt go away is nothing new, and has nothing to do with paper currency.  To understand the tyranny of government go back to the basics:

From Adam Smith in 1776 "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations" Chapter 4

"in every country of the world, I believe, the avarice and injustice of princes and sovereign states, abusing the confidence of their subjects, have by degrees diminished the real quantity of metal, which had been originally contained in their coins.

The Roman as, in the latter ages of the republic, was reduced to the twenty-fourth part of its original value, and, instead of weighing a pound, came to weigh only half an ounce.

The English pound and penny contain at present about a third only; the Scots pound and penny about a thirty-sixth; and the French pound and penny about a sixty-sixth part of their original value.

By means of those operations, the princes and sovereign states which performed them were enabled, in appearance, to pay their debts and fulfil their engagements with a smaller quantity of silver than would otherwise have been requisite. It was indeed in appearance only; for their creditors were really defrauded of a part of what was due to them. All other debtors in the state were allowed the same privilege, and might pay with the same nominal sum of the new and debased coin whatever they had borrowed in the old.

Such operations, therefore, have always proved favourable to the debtor, and ruinous to the creditor, and have sometimes produced a greater and more universal revolution in the fortunes of private persons, than could have been occasioned by a very great public calamity.

_________________________________

In the worldwide electronic currency, inflation can be instantanous; a wonder of the new age, the depreciation in the value of your life, your liberty, and your property. 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/6599281/Societe-Generale-tells-clients-how-to-prepare-for-global-collapse.html

Government and Money Posted by Galt

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

Let's get back to the basics.  Anytime you ask the government to do something for you, you give more power to the government - and they don't give it back.

Quoting from Murray N. Rothbard "What has Government done to Our Money" pp48,49 1964!

"13. Government and Money

Many people believe that the free market, despite some admitted advantages, is a picture of disorder and chaos.  Nothing is "planned", everything is haphazzard.  Government dictation, on the other hand, seems simple and orderly; decrees are handed down and they are obeyed.  In no area of the economy is this more prevalent than in the field of money.  Seemingly, money, at least, must come under stringent government control.  But money is the lifeblood of the economy; it is the medium of for all transactions.  If government dictates over money, it has already captured a vital command post for control of the economy, and secured a stepping-stone for full socialism.  We have seen the free market in money, contrary to common assumption, would not be chaotic; that, in fact, it would be  a model of order and efficientcy.

What then have we learned about government and money?  We have seen that, over the centuries, government has, step by step, invaded the free market and seized complete control over the monetary system.  We have seen that each new control, sometimes seemingly innocuous, has begotten new and further controls.  We have seen that governments are inherently inflationary, since inflation is a tempting means of acquiring revenue for the state and its favored groups.  The slow but certain seizure of the monetary reins has thus been used to (a) inflate the economy at a pace decided by government; and (b) bring about socialistic direction of the entire economy. 

Furtermore, government meddling with money has not only brought about untold tyranny into the world; it has also brought chaos and not order.  It has fragmented the peaceful, productive world market and shattered it into a thousand pieces, with trade and investment hobbled and hampered by myriad restrictions, controls, artificial rates, currency breakdowns, etc.  It has helped bring about wars by transforming a world of peaceful intercourse into a jungle of warring currency blocs.  In short, we find that coercion, in money as in other matters, brings, not order, but  conflict and chaos. " 

---- (=|=) ---- 1964! 

 So don't pick just Great Society welfare, or unemployment insurance, or national parks, or food stamps, or health care, or space programs, or defense or... we the people are being governed, by the government, for the government. 

You don't get rid of fleas by giving them more blood.  Write all the books, blogs, and magazine articles you want; until you excite the mind of the public, and set ablaze the righteous anger of a previously free people, it is just talk. 

A lesson learned from my campaign Posted by Galt

Posted 11/06/09

Ran for city council.  794 people voted for me, cool!  November 3rd vote I was behind by 40 votes.  Lost by 300 votes because of absentee ballots.  Only 13.3% of 16700 registered voters bothered with the off year election.  Sooooo... 

You must reach out with your mailed flier to absentee voters on the day they are mailed their ballots.  The Supervisor of Elections will provide a mailing list and will even print the mailing labels for free, if you ask.   So write your mailing card and have them printed and ready to go that day.  Every few days new absentee voter requests are sent to you, and you can mail to them too.  There, I just told you how to with 1/4 of the vote.

Brevard Oktoberfest booth Posted by CrystalEveritt

Posted 10/21/09 Last updated 10/25/09

We were successful in promoting Campaign For Liberty at our four day Brevard County Oktoberfest booth. It could not have transpired without a comparable persevering, seven person crew to work the event. It would not have occurred at all, without our members that committed financially, to make our endeavor feasible. The name exposure alone would have made the labor involved in being part of this event, worth-while. Obtaining enthusiastic recruits is an enormous accomplishment for Brevard Campaign For liberty. The indisputable positive impact of this event on Brevard Campaign For Liberty will be felt for a long time to come.

Dan, Alex, Thomas, and Eric toiled though the light rain for the first two days, without abated enthusiasm in speaking to anyone that approached our booth.  We had such a superior parcel of real estate, giving us the maximum amount of foot traffic passing our booth. The event was in the evening, so we lit the banners with spotlights. It was energizing to see, that Campaign For Liberty already had some name recognition, as some people walked by exclaiming encouragement. Events like the Brevard Oktoberfest will increase public recognition even more. On account of Oktoberfest being a drinking festival, the crowd tended to be more social than average, making our endeavor easier. When we weren't active with the general crowed, the employees of the fair would approach to discuss the the need for smaller government.

Jonathan, Kim, David and myself worked the two sunny days of the Brevard Oktoberfest. We were able to sign up twenty-two people  that are desirous of getting involved with Brevard Campaign For Liberty.  Some people took the constitutions as gifts for friends or family. One lady stopped by to assert her belief in the public option. To my delight, She conceded that forced association is not appropriate. Numerous people came up to tell us how much they admired Ron Paul, and everything he stood for. A couple of people came by to tell us that although our message was commendable, what we sought was unattainable. David did a great job inspiring all of us in his list of our past achievements, including the Fed hearing that others said would never happen.

Despite half the event being in the rain, our accomplishments still add up to a great victory. The Brevard campaign For Liberty showed a colossal amount of devotion to getting our message to the people that attended Oktoberfest. We labored hard each of the four days, and had a heroic attitude in the face of private personal hardship.  I am absolutely certain we had a sizable impact on the future of Brevard Campaign For Liberty. I am eager to see some of the people we  signed up, work our next big event with us. The Brevard Campaign For Liberty is destined to grow exponentially.