Welcome to King County - home to Seattle and, by population, largest county in Washington State and 14th largest county in the US. We have a strong core of Liberty Campaigners spread across the county but we have a lot of territory to cover and nearly two million people to reach.
Our movement is gaining momentum, we need your help to keep picking up speed!
We have volunteer opportunities to match every talent and interest. Whether you have a lot of time or only a little time to devote to our common cause, we want to hear from you! Please introduce yourself by email, phone, or at one of our next events! You can find event postings at http://www.meetup.com/SeattleC4L/calendar/. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Campaign for Liberty believes it is time to reform the way health care is delivered in America. Years of ruinous government intervention, excessive regulation, and corporatism have damaged the patient-doctor relationship and driven up consumer costs.
The solution to our health care dilemma will not come from some grand scheme concocted by the same people who ran our economy into the ground and who continue to accumulate trillions of dollars in debt.
It will come from choosing freedom by ending government meddling in health care, protecting patient privacy, returning more of our hard-earned tax dollars to us, and ensuring the federal government does not block any information about alternative treatments.
Congressman Ron Paul, an OB-GYN who has delivered more than 4,000 babies, has introduced several pieces of legislation in Congress to bring true change to health care and to protect the American people from further government intrusion.
H.R. 2629, the Coercion is Not Health Care Act, stops government from taking even more of our money and railroading us into its health care scheme by preventing any individual or agency in the federal government from requiring anyone to purchase health insurance. H.R. 2629 also prohibits conditioning the receipt of any government benefit or participation in any government program on the purchase or maintenance of health insurance.
H.R. 1495, the Comprehensive Health Care Reform Act of 2009, allows all Americans to pay their health care bills through the method that suits them best by providing all Americans with a tax credit for 100% of health care expenses (fully refundable against both income and payroll taxes), allowing individuals to roll over unused amounts in cafeteria plans and Flexible Savings Accounts (FSA), providing a tax credit for premiums for a high-deductible insurance policy connected with a Health Savings Account (HSA) and allowing seniors to use funds in an HSA to pay for a medigap policy, as well as making all medical expenses tax deductible by repealing the 7.5% threshold for the deduction of medical expenses.
H.R. 1498, the Freedom from Unnecessary Litigation Act of 2009, addresses rising medical malpractice costs by providing a tax credit for negative outcomes insurance purchased prior to medical treatment and by preventing medical malpractice awards obtained through binding arbitration from being taxed.
As Dr. Paul said in his speech introducing H.R. 1498, "Relying on negative outcomes insurance instead of litigation will also reduce the costs imposed on physicians, other health care providers, and hospitals by malpractice litigation."
H.R. 2630, the Protect Patients and Physicians Privacy Act, allows patients and physicians to opt-out of any government-mandated or -funded system of electronic health care records and repeals the federal law creating an "unique patient identifier." It also denies the use of federal funds to advance the use of standard unique health identifiers in any federal, state, or private health care plan.
H.R. 3394, the Freedom of Health Speech Act, requires the FTC to actually prove health care claims are false before preventing those claims from being made, and H.R. 3395, the Health Freedom Act, ends the FDA's attempts to censure truthful health claims.
These are just a few of steps Congressman Paul has taken in Congress to address the health care crisis.
And be sure to visit Dr. Paul's congressional website, where you can get information on all the legislation he has sponsored and cosponsored in the current Congress and several previous ones, read his speeches introducing his legislation and remarking on other efforts, and learn more about his work to restore respect for the Constitution in Washington.
The federal government has meddled in our health care affairs long enough. It's time to choose freedom.
It's time to make sure Americans can receive efficient, effective health care by unleashing the power of the free market.
3. IMPORTANT: Strategic Plan to Stop Global Government Formation via Climate Treaty in Copenhagen in December 2009 - please give me your comments to improve this plan! - http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=26752
P.S., Congratulations to Washington State C4L members for all of the hard work on Audit the Fed petition gathering. We won the nationwide petition competition in September, with over 7,000 petitions! We'll get $1500 from C4L national to help build our state organization! BUT, let's not let our efforts go to waste. Please take action now on the URGENT item above! Details here: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=26751.
P.P.S., I look forward to seeing you at our next monthly meeting to discuss health care policy with Dr. Roger Stark from Washington Policy Center! Details here: http://www.meetup.com/SeattleC4L/calendar/11488836/.
We must put together a plan to stop this move to global government ASAP! I've outlined a strategic plan below, and look forward to your input. --Scott
WATCH THE VIDEO of Lord Monckton warning what the climate treaty will establish: 1) World Government, 2) Repayment of 'Climate Debt' (transfer of wealth from western nations to third world nations), and 3) Enforcement.
A draft of the treaty can be read here:http://www.globalclimatescam.com/documents/un-fccc-copenhagen-2009.pdf Here are some observations on the draft document as accessed on 10/22/09: Page 18: Section 38 of "A shared vision for long-term cooperative action" contains the text for forming the new government. Page 43: Section 41 discusses possible taxation methods Page 45: Section 46 Subsection (c) contains discussion of land use planning Page 45: Section 46 Subsection (h) of the "Objectives, scope, and guiding principles" contains the text for enforcement and establishment of the rule of law.
"There has been considerable debate raised about Monckton's conclusion that the Copenhagen Treaty would cede US sovereignty. His comments appear to be based upon his interpretation of the The Supremacy Clause in the US Constitution (Article VI, paragraph 2). This clause establishes the Constitution, Federal Statutes, and U.S. TREATIES as the supreme law of the land. Concerns have been raised in the past that a particularly ambitious treaty may supersede the US Constitution. In the 1950s, a constitutional amendment, known as the Bricker Amendment, was proposed in response to such fears, but it failed to pass. You can read more about the Bricker Amendment in a 1953 Time Magazine article: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806676-1,00.html"
We've got to take action to head this thing off now. Perhaps the best opportunity to stop this will be in pushing the Senate to reject the treaty. Read the following to get some ideas as to possible opportunities and issues in trying to block the treaty in the Senate:
EXCERPT: "The Kyoto Protocol which sets binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has been signed and ratified by 184 parties of the UN Climate Convention. One notable exception is the United States, and Yvo de Boer is "really happy" to see the US back in the international climate change process and that the US is also engaging domestically in the process.
"My big lesson from the Kyoto era is that it's really important that the government delegation that represents the United States is in close touch with the Senate, with the elected officials on what's acceptable and what's not," says de Boer, and he adds:
"I think that a major shortcoming of Kyoto was that the official delegation came back with a treaty they knew was never going to make it through the Senate. And this time I have the feeling that the communication is much stronger, that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, through John Kerry, is really expressing strongly what they feel needs to be done in Copenhagen."
Yvo de Boer thinks the Kyoto Protocol was rejected by the US for mainly two reasons. Firstly, because it did not involve action on the part of major developing countries. Secondly, because it was felt by the Bush administration that Kyoto would be harmful to the US economy."
This article is further food for thought on strategy development:
EXCERPTS: "Like past presidents, Mr. Obama will likely be tempted to avoid the requirement that treaties must be approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The usual methods around this constitutional constraint are executive agreements or a majority vote in the House and Senate to pass a treaty as a simple law (known as a Congressional-executive agreement).
Executive agreements have an acknowledged but limited place in our foreign affairs. Congressional-executive agreements are far more troubling. They have evoked scathing attacks by constitutional experts and have been strongly resisted in the Senate, at least so far."
"America needs to maintain its sovereignty and autonomy, not to subordinate its policies, foreign or domestic, to international control. On a broad variety of issues - many of which sound more like domestic rather than foreign policy - the re-emergence of the benignly labeled "global governance" movement is well under way in the Obama transition.
Candidate Obama promised to "re-engage" and "work constructively within" the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Will the new president pass a new Kyoto climate accord through Congress by sidestepping the constitutional requirement to persuade two-thirds of the Senate?"
"President Bill Clinton signed Kyoto, but the Senate in effect rejected it. He also signed the Rome Treaty of 1998 that established an International Criminal Court, which would subject American soldiers and officials to unaccountable international prosecutors and judges for alleged war crimes (including, potentially, the undefined crime of "aggression"). Mr. Clinton did not even send this agreement to the Senate. Mr. Bush "unsigned" it. Mr. Obama might re-sign it and seek approval by only a majority of both houses of Congress."
"It is true that some multinational economic agreements, like Bretton Woods, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and the North American Free Trade Agreement, went into effect after approval by majorities of Congress rather than two-thirds of the Senate. But international agreements that go beyond the rules of international trade and finance - that involve significant national-security commitments, or that purport to delegate lawmaking and enforcement functions to international organizations, or that could fundamentally alter the American constitutional system of individual rights - should receive the intense scrutiny of the treaty process, regardless of their policy merits."
STRATEGIC PLAN TO STOP THE CLIMATE TREATY - Considering all of the above, some elements of a strategy begin to come into focus:
1. Immediate development of a petition campaign and a media campaign to ramp up to the Copenhagen conference. Campaign for Liberty should lead the effort and build a large coalition of many organizations.
2. Mass deliveries of petitions, phone calls, faxes to the Senate, to Obama, and to national and local media.
3. Regular screenings of the movie "Not Evil, Just Wrong" nationwide between now and the December conference. (C4L should encourage every member to do a showing in their neighborhood!)
4. Mass distribution of DVD copies of "Not Evil, Just Wrong", including to the national and local media. (C4L should make a mass distribution arrangement with the filmmakers to get them more inexpensively.)
6. Other reputable movies, YouTube clips, etc can be assembled for use in the campaign as an alternate to, or in support of "Not Evil, Just Wrong". Possible options include:
7. Introduce bills to "repeal" the un-ratified 17th Amendment in State Legislatures, restoring Constitutionally required appointment of Senators, as discussed in the following two articles. This effort would introduce widespread discussion of the risk of Senate approval of the Climate Treaty and other usurpations of U.S. Sovereignty and states' rights.
8. Maintain a clear and strong focus on achieving passage of H.R. 1207 and S. 604 to Audit the Fed (since the U.S. funds a large portion of the United Nations programs, including these climate change treaty actions).
9. Campaign for Liberty recruitment should be a key part of all events and efforts so that we can build our strength for the coming Senate battle (and for other efforts).
Please send me your thoughts on this strategy ASAP, and I'll recompile a revised strategic plan.
NOW is the time to take action to reject the false alternative to our S 604 that has been introduced. Please take the following actions immediately:
Call Senator Murray and Senator Cantwell (preferably at their DC offices, also local offices if you have time or can't get through to DC) and tell them the following: - The Federal Reserve Accountability Act (S. 1804) is NOT an acceptable substitute bill - We demand full transparency and full accountability of the Federal Reserve, and ask that you cosponsor S. 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act - That you will assume if they DO NOT cosponsor S. 604 that the Senator doesn't support transparency
Here are some additional talking points about the new bill if you want to expand on the short message above: - The new bill is a waste of time, a distraction, a sham bill, a false choice - Only addresses TARP funds and other limited issues (most TARP stuff already is being audited already by Treasury department) - Does not have any timeline for real action - Would not allow an audit to review the Fed's inflation of the money supply or its agreements with foreign central banks, among other shortcomings - We will not support it, nor will we support any Senator that supports it - We demand full transparency and full accountability of the Federal Reserve, and ask that you cosponsor S. 604, the Federal Reserve Sunshine Act
Some of the best moments for me at Saturday at the Campaign for Liberty Seattle Conference happened in between the scheduled and pre-programmed lectures and exercises. These moments were spontaneous conversations with complete strangers during breaks, lunch, dinner, or over a beer at the game night event.
I had conversations with public school teachers who told me about the courage they had to put forth to teach history and world events as they actually happened instead of according to the conventional “wisdom.”
I talked with movement leaders at the C4L national level, hard-core activists from across Washington state, folks who are relatively new to the movement and are eager to learn as much as they can, and even children who know they will be fighting for this revolution their entire lives.
Sitting alongside hundreds of people who think, speak and act as I do makes me feel a little less lonely.
4. You are not normal:
At a segment about communication during Mike Rothfeld’s “Grassroots Activism Training,” Rothfeld explained how to approach the average person about our issues. He urged the attendees to go slowly and speak to the other person’s values and not overwhelm them with the full volume of our message right away.
Some people like the ideas about sound money and Constitutionally limited government, but have a different opinion on the Second Amendment. He reminded us that saying the wrong thing to someone like that would turn the person off to the entire organization.
The thing that I’m sure stuck in most attendees mind was when he said, “You’re not normal. Normal people don’t come and sit in a room like this on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon to listen to people like me.”
That’s when it clicked. We have to deliver our message in little bite-sized chunks to allow other people to agree with us where they naturally do. We have to meet them where their mind is now, and always remember that we are hyper-informed, hyper-active – not normal.
3. Scheming:
In No. 5 above, I talked about a few of the many spontaneous conversations I had with complete strangers. I also shared in many conversations with folks I already know in the Seattle liberty movement.
Instead of just sharing information and war stories, these conversations took the shape of ideas, resources, logistics, planning and preparing. In other words, these conversations began laying the groundwork for great things we will be doing in the future.
Of course I can’t divulge tactical details in this public forum, but I can say that many ideas we had as individuals were strengthened when area movement leaders were able to point out other members who shared our skills.
For example, I floated a few of my ideas for group communications with as many folks as I could find. Some folks were able to strengthen my idea by tacking on their own features based on their skills and resources.
2. Don’t know much about history:
First thing in the morning, Tom Woods delivered an amazing lecture about the Principles of ’98 (as in 1798) titled “The States vs. D.C.: Episodes of American History They Don’t Teach in School.”
He explained to us the struggle Thomas Jefferson endured before he was president to remove the shackles of the Alien and Sedition Acts. You’d think that this would be widely taught and celebrated in American public schools. You’d think it would be viewed by historians as another stand for rights against overreaching and tyrannical government. Instead, it is buried, suppressed and left out of curricula.
Instead, we get spoon fed the version that when states assert these kinds of rights it’s always defending something awful like slavery. Because of the version of Civil War history taught in public schools, the idea of states rights became synonymous with hatred, bigotry and slavery.
In the middle of Woods’ lecture, I could feel the crowd collectively wondering, “What else have I been lied to about?”
1. The legacy:
The most powerful moment of the day came at the beginning of Mike Rothfeld’s training when he posed the question, “What do you think Ron Paul’s legacy will be?”
He offered a few answers (e.g. the abolishment of the Fed, the return of sound money, the adoption of a new non-interventionist foreign policy) that got varying levels of applause. But then he said we were all wrong.
He asked us all to take a good look at the other people seated on all sides of us. Then he reached out his arm and slowly waved it across the crowd of activists in training and sincerely said, “All of you are Ron Paul’s legacy.”
He’s totally right. In 15, 25, 50 years, the things the people in that room (and many other training rooms across the nation) accomplish will become the Ron Paul legacy.
The statement hit many of directly in our hearts and acted as an attention-grabber for why the training that day was of the utmost importance.
Help shape Ron Paul’s legacy. Get the training you need to make a difference. And make sure to use the training to smartly move to action.
Were you there?
If you were at the Seattle regional conference on Saturday, what were your highlights?
This weekend the folks in Washington State's 1st Congressional District advanced our common cause of Liberty when their persistence resulted in another co-sponsor to the Federal Reserve Transparency Act!
Rep. Jay Inslee (D) held a series of town hall meetings across the District. Liberty Campaigners showed up in force with a dual purpose: to inform the other constituent attendees about the Federal Reserve, and to encourage their Representative to co-sponsor HR 1207. I'm happy to report that they were successful on both counts!
Our teams handed out information and directed fellow citizens to our informational resources. And finally, at the third and last town hall meeting our efforts were rewarded when Rep. Jay Inslee made a promise to become a co-sponsor. A member of our movement captured the success on video. We're proud to report that the patriot in the video encouraging the Representative is our own Michelle St. Pierre, a Washington State Regional Leader.
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