Posted by sweetliberty on 03/10/10

I came across this post in one of my favorite blogs this morning:

http://motls.blogspot.com/2010/03/us-president-describes-climate-change.html

"A U.S. president describes climate change: a puzzle"

Worth a read! Forgive the grammatical awkwardness; the poster is from the Czech Republic (although Harvard educated). A clip:

"When Jefferson lived in the D.C., he measured the average snowfall by winter to be 14.5 inches, while the interval was from 4.5 to 21 inches. In the modern decades, the average total snow precipitation per year (season) is exactly 14.7 inches (see the extreme right, annual column), identical as it used to be during Jefferson's years in Washington!"

Posted 03/10/10 MichaelBarry Sebring, FL

I sort of wish we would warm up a bit. I have worn out my only pair of thermal underwear this year.

Posted 03/10/10 Scott from PA Hopwood, PA

MichaelBarry: Be thankful that you live in Florida and not the hills of Garrett County in western Maryland (about 45 minutes from here - we have only gotten ~ 75" of snow so far this winter): "At 262.5 Inches, Garrett County Records Snowiest Winter" 03/02/10 6:16 pm by Alexandra Meril http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0310/711421.html

Posted by sweetliberty on 03/10/10

I just wanted to share something with you guys. I would bet that most of you are way beyond this, and are far better at communicating with folks who haven't quite come over to the side of Liberty yet, but for those who — like me — sometimes struggle with saying what you want to say, staying positive, and explaining things easily, here are a few things I've discovered in my discussions along the way:

1) Always correct someone when he or she calls America a democracy. This is vitally important. If you miss an opportunity to catch this one, later on when you try to hit on individual rights, you'll have to circle back, and by then it might be too late.

2) Never miss an opportunity to state the fact that freedom does not equal democracy, and that democracy does not equal freedom. Ron Paul pointed this out clearly in one of his writings, and not only is it true, but once you establish this fact with the person you're talking to, you take away two potential things: warmongering (i.e. the Middle East) and voting away an individual's rights.

3) Ask the person what the smallest possible minority would be. When they correctly answer "one," channel your inner Ayn Rand. Haha... Tell them that if a political party can't stand up for the rights of the individual, then it's no champion of the minority, no matter by which demographic or made-up delineators that party breaks minorities into.

I've had pretty good success with discussions if I do these three things (and a fourth: keeping a calm head; always a challenge for me! Haha...). There are certain things that can't be argued with, and once you can establish them between you and your partner in conversation, you've found some common ground with which you can keep coming back to. :)

Posted 03/10/10 Isomies Mechanicsville, VA

Separate people from the politicians. The government is not the country. The U.S. government is not America. You and I are America. The bakery you go to every morning is America. Baseball and football, rock and roll and rap, big ol neighborhood barbeques on a Saturday night with your family; that is America. Those people in D.C.? They are not America. That's the big parasite that feeds off the rest of us. The U.S. government does not represent us, it is not us, it harms us, and continues to drain us, its host.

Posted by sweetliberty on 03/09/10

Here's a great link to an article I ran across today:

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_14634373

Utah legislators passed HCR17, to prohibit the federal government from designating any more national monuments without local consent. I'm ecstatic to hear about this, not only because I love it when states assert their sovereignty, but also because, as a Utahn by birth (and about to move back to Utah from California) I understand just what these National Monuments can do to an area.

On the one hand, National Parks like Zion and Arches generate lots of income for the nearby small communities (and the whole state). On the other hand, these National Parks are perpetually under-staffed, under-funded, and under-maintained. They are at once an asset and a tremendously stressful liability. They at once promote visitation to the land, and restrict it. They're a blessing and a curse. But they're only a blessing because of the amount of traffic and visitation they receive. The traffic amount that Zion and Arches get are not typical.

Ever heard of Cedar Breaks National Monument? What about Hovenweep National Monument? Could anyone not born in Utah locate Rainbow Bridge National Monument on a map? These are areas that the federal government has pretty much seized, blocking their use as anything productive. No energy development. No free-range cattle grazing. No private tours or overnight excursions (without federal consent). Et cetera.

When Bill Clinton was in office, he seized Grand Staircase Escalante and made it a National Monument. If you've never before visited Escalante, here's a quick snapshot: it's a huge (in square miles) area in a sparsely populated section of the state, that doesn't get much drive-though traffic. It's a ba-zillion times the size of Zion National Park, and a ba-zillion times harder to get to. It has less than half the resources of Zion (places to stay, places to eat, accessible hikes) and doesn't offer the same postcard views. Don't get me wrong: it's absolutely stunningly beautiful. But unlike Zion and Arches, you can't drive your motor home in, take a few photos that will knock your neighbors' socks off, and drive out. It's remote and vast. It doesn't just come up to your windshield for you.

I had a friend in college who ran pronghorn helicopter hunting tours in Escalante. I had another friend who grazed cattle there. Both pursuits were effectively shut down when the area was designated. Both livelihoods impacted negatively. No more resourceful use of the land -- the federal government has taken it over, and now you can look, but no longer touch. Oh, and give us money, too, because we're broke. We won't be opening half the Park this year, or resurfacing the beat-up roads, because of funding issues.

Alot of people see the desert landscape, decree that it's "barren and empty," and think nobody could possibly have any use for it, other than snapping Ansel Adams and finding swimming holes during spring break. They think because there aren't any noticable gushing oil wells, or fields of timber, that there aren't any resources. They think that because the area is sparsely populated, that seizing the land won't affect "that many people." The truth it, it affects *everyone* who lives there.

I'm glad to see Utah stand up to the federal government's meddling in its land, its citizens' pursuits of happiness and business. I'm glad to see Utah assert the rights it has as a sovereign state.

Posted by sweetliberty on 02/28/10

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0222/Supreme-Court-Does-part-of-Patrio
t-Act-violate-citizens-rights

"On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether a part of the Patriot Act designed to isolate terrorists violates Americans' rights to freedom of speech and association."

Please: someone in the Supreme Court have more common sense and knowledge about inalienable rights and the Constitution than Congress and Obama.

Posted 03/01/10 serphoto Los Angeles, CA

Yes! thanks for sharing.. let's hope for the best

Posted by sweetliberty on 02/28/10
Last updated 02/28/10

What do you guys think about this: getting our representatives to introduce a bill that stops income tax, social security, and medicare withholdings in the paychecks of minors. The U.S. government shouldn't be in the business of robbing children. Clearly, this is taxation without representation, since minors are not allowed to vote.

While abolishing the income tax altogether is clearly the end goal, this might be a foothold. I think there could be support from both major parties. It's a move in the right direction, and a moral one at that.

Thoughts? Has this been done before?

Posted 03/04/10 David Ewing Santa Rosa, CA

Perhaps the government shouldn't be in the business of robbing us adults of our property either :)