See the World

Exotic places and beautiful faces
that's what they said I'd see
Three squares and a roof over my head
now that's a cube at least
they were right about something

When I killed my first man I was barely seventeen
I closed his beady eyes as he read a magazine
He didn't seem real threatening but the Captain he was shouting
and then slapped me on the back while laughing

he said, "Clean yourself up son you look white as a ghost."

I replied

Can you get me out of here
I can't close my eyes lest I see that face
I've got to get myself away from here

maybe, just maybe, dyin' ain't so bad

Now its better him than me
because I am a wiser man
That teenage boy went in to hiding
to keep the man from crying
The man crushes bones
and the boy sends letters home
But I wonder what will happen if I ever make it back

I hear

"Hey boy get your rifle we rolling out again"

Can you get me out here, ma the boys are taking care of me
I've got to get myself away from here,
tell Jimmy not to come there ain't nothin' left to do

Now I see the world
for what it is and what it was
while I was fightin for your freedom
you was starin' at the teevee

I'll let you in on a secret
I didn't set you free
and if I did you'd never know
'cause the flag got in your eyes

I fear

living dead people unliving dead lives

Can you get me out of here
where's the freedom that you offered
Don't you want to get out of here
thirty pieces won't buy a cup of coffee

War and death and taxes ain't no way to see the world

Human Flying Squirrels

Some people are nuts

McCain: Like Hope, But Different

Open Letter to Ron Paul Supporters

Hold fast folks. We have to stay in this till it hurts and then we win.

9/11 Changed Everything?

Mark Silva of the Baltimore Sun apparently didn't get the memo about the media blackout of Dr. Paul. Thank you Mr. Silva for making note of a tremendous and powerful speech. Silva thought that Dr. Paul's claim that 9/11 had nothing whatsoever to do with Iraq may have been a bit off-putting to some of the CPAC attendees. I wasn't there but didn't get that impression from the video. However, Iraq, and this is in George Bush's own words, had nothing to do with 9/11.

9/11 is only relevant to Iraq in that it is being used as an excuse to abandon completely the core principles of the Republican party and the constitution itself. Those who want us to remain in Iraq to preserve "honor" use 9/11 as the reason that everything has now "changed". Well nothing has changed. For thousands of years, leaders have used catastrophe to justify tyranny. This 9/11 fear-mongering is unbecoming to men of substance and principle. Unfortunately, there are very few of those sorts of men left. We've become a nation of women and children (my apologies to women and children), hiding behind the skirts of mommy government and for what reason? Threats from nations that would have to mount machine guns on migrating geese to have a formidable air force?

How far we've come when we could once stare down an empire possessing 45,000 nukes that actually existed as opposed to today where our own foreign policy experts expect us to pee ourselves over nations which may, 10 years in the future, possess a crude prototype. Republicans who call Ron Paul "kooky" or "insane" should be ashamed of themselves for acting like school girls and throwing 9/11 around as if it justifies any of the tyranny that they promote. While many use 9/11 as a justification for everything and unfailingly mention those who died as deserving of honor, they will in the next breath completely dishonor those same victims by using them as political bludgeons against anyone who disagrees with their plans to enslave us.

Ponder that a moment. Who is being provided security when we give up our privacy and other freedoms? Certainly not the common citizen. When Benjamin Franklin uttered the oft-repeated words about giving up safety for security, he was making a very belligerent comment. He was illustrating his utter and complete contempt for the dishonesty and cynicism displayed by those who would attempt to scare people into giving up their freedoms.

"He that would give up essential liberty to obtain a little bit of temporary security, deserves neither liberty nor security."

If somebody tells you that they can protect you but only if you will concede a little freedom, they are lying. You should never trust a word that they tell you from that point forward. What they are saying is freedom to act in your own self-interest might impair their ability to protect you. By making such a claim they have conceded that they are not only incapable of protecting you, but also have no intention of doing so.

Dees Strikes Again

Another great illustration from David Dees.

No More Money Bombs

Stop the money bombs. I am glad for tomorrow's event. But from here on out we can't afford to wait anymore. We have to raise the bar higher and make it more consistent. This is a long-term project and we need to keep raising money every day. Open the flood gates and don't let up until this thing is over.

The success of the Iraq war.

Here's some information from somebody who knows. Somebody who's been there. The testimony here is prefaced by a bit of Ron Paul from the debate in SC.

Another News Story That Never Was: Ron Paul Second in Wyoming

Ron Paul came second in Wyoming according to CNN. Now, this should be a huge news story. But of course, it isn't.

My Country or my Vintage Fender Stratocaster

Pretty easy choice actually. Though I really love this guitar. If you happen to be somebody from overseas who wants to support Ron Paul then buy my 1963 Pre-CBS l-Series Fender Stratocaster. Viola! A great way to legally make sure my wife and I can reach the 2300 dollar max on donations to the campaign! Of course domestic purchasers are welcome as well :)

How to Get Ron Paul the Nomination

Because I am always interested in the mechanisms of politics as well as philosophical matters, this sort of thing is very interesting to me. There is only one part of this that may run afoul of the official campaign strategy and that is the decision not to waste time with the typical republican. This may not be an option in some states where the primary is not open. In fact, if the deadline has already passed for voter registration and the primary isn't open, talking to non-republicans is a complete waste of time. It bodes well for the general election though should we persevere.

What we did in Jefferson County

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please circulate

RON PAUL WINS JEFFERSON COUNTY !

GREAT NEWS FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY!
We had a great night here in Jefferson County, Iowa. Ron Paul won with over 35% of the vote out of 838 votes cast, Huckabee was second with 31%! The conversations at our victory party last night were about how wonder ful it would be if Jefferson County could secede and become our own country with Ron Paul as our President! We want everyone to know why we won and what you can do to improve on our results. We think we have some extremely important and positive information to share with all of our friends around the country, and the world, who believe in Freedom.

You should know where I am coming from so you can better appreciate the perspective that is being shared in this message. I did not grow up in Iowa, I grew up in the Chicago area and have lived in several different states including California for eight years. I have worked in virtually every major city in the country in my various business activities and as a professional speaker. I moved here with my family in 1982 and ran for Governor here as the Libertarian candidate in 2002. I have a pretty good perspective on this state and how unique it is.

The first thing you need to know is that Jefferson County has different demographics than any other county in Iowa. A significant portion of our population, like me, did not grow up in Iowa. Jefferson county is demographically more like the rest of the country than any other county in Iowa. We have a University here that has attracted families from California, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, and literally all over the country. In my opinion this creates a diversity of opinion and backgrounds here that resembles the rest of the country more closely than other Iowa counties.

In general Iowans expect their elected representatives and the media to tell them the truth, there does not seem to be as much skepticism about what they hear in the media as in other states. There is no tradition of success for third party candidates in this state. Those of us in the Paul campaign tried to get, what seemed to us, basic constitutional reforms like eliminating the Department of Education, in the party platform last night. The general response was that we were being too radical. In summary, Iowa is a great state with wonderful people and a great place to live, but it is not likely to be a state that is going to lead the nation in embracing change. At this point the Ron Paul message is to extreme for the average Iowan.

If you look at the difference in the straw polls nationwide, versus the straw poll in Iowa, and you look at our caucus results here in Jefferson County, versus the caucus statewide results you get the picture. The picture looks pretty darn good.


Straw polls: Nation wide

Ron Paul has finished in the top 3 in 84% of the straw polls (41 out of 49)
Ron Paul has finished in the top 2 in 69% of the straw polls (34 out of 49)
Ron Paul has finished 1st in 55% of the straw polls (27 out of 49)

Straw poll in Ames, Iowa

Ron Paul finished in 5th in Iowa with 9.1% of the vote.


In the January third caucus Jefferson county's results were:

Paul----298---35%
Romney---132---16%
Thompson---80---10%
McCain--38----5%
Giuliani----25---3%
Hunter---3----0%
Huckabee---263---31%

State wide the results were:

Huckabee 39,814 34%
Romney 29,405 25%
Thompson 15,521 13%
McCain 15,242 13%
Paul 11,596 10%
Giuliani 4,013 4%
Hunter 515 1%


1. Jefferson county has more people from other states per capita than other Iowa counties and Ron Paul was a clear winner here, that bodes well for other states.

2. The Straw poll results in Iowa for Ron Paul were close to the caucus results in Iowa, 9% to 10%, if that trend holds for the other states that is incredible news for the Ron Paul campaign because Iowa had just about the worst straw poll results of any of the straw polls held anywhere in the country.

3. The fact that we did well in Jefferson County and we have a higher per capita ratio of out of staters is a strong indication that Iowa is unique and that the straw poll results will be a good indicator of how election results will turn out in other states.

We worked hard in this state and we did improve a bit on the straw poll results. However, if we just do as well in the other primaries as we did in the other straw polls Ron Paul will easily win the nomination.

One other point, our experience with young people here in Jefferson County leads us to believe that Ron Paul would have done much better state wide if the election had not been held during the holiday break. That probably cost us enough votes in the large college towns to keep us from owning a solid third place finish state-wide.

The other reason we did well in Jefferson County, in our opinion, is that we did not waste much time on regular Republican voters. We focused on anti-war independents, anti-war Democrats, and especially on young people. We highly recommend this strategy. We also did a lot of work here and I am including a complete list below of what we did. This list was compiled today by Roger Leahy, one of our key organizers.

I have to mention a couple of other items as well. We had a phenomenal campaign chair here that worked 18 hours a day seven days a week. His name is Brian Horsfield, he is a British citizen and can't even vote in America!

One great thing we did that we recommend to all the campaigns. We held a speech competition a week before the caucus and we had nine contestants participate. We went out of our way to recruit young people to participate. The two winners were Samara Burnes who is 21 years old, and Monty Congden a 28 year old military veteran. Both of them attended the local public high school. They absolutely blew people away at the caucus, both of them had many people approach them to let them know that their speeches tipped them over to Ron Paul. The speech competition also served to completely energize all the supporters who attended. We blew it by not getting their speeches taped for youtube. We have asked them if they will let us video their speeches so hopefully we will have them up for you soon.

One last item, my comments about the people in Iowa are not meant to be critical, it is just a unique culture here. I am confident that once the people of Iowa have the opportunity to get the full picture of who Ron Paul is and what he stands for they will come around and be very supportive. They did not really have that opportunity. The state's main newspaper, the Des Moines Register, makes Fox look fair and well balanced. They did not even list Ron Paul as one of the Republican candidates in their daily campaign reports! I guess there just wasn't enough room on all those pages.

Good luck to all Paulites
Clyde Cleveland

From Roger Leahy:
We have received compliments from the RP campaign staff, and inquiries from Ron Paul supporters in other states wanting to duplicate our success.
This has prompted me to recall those various ingredients. They have included:

An early rally in person by Dr Paul in August where 500 persons heard his message at the town square.

Enthusiastic travel and participation in the Straw Poll in Ames by local RP supporters.

Building a list, mostly locally with help from the campaign, of about 150 local RP supporters.

Having a fantastic Meetup organizer in Brian, who has inspired us on a daily basis with national RP news and setting up local RP events.

Staffing a booth on Saturday mornings at the Farmer's Market from August through December where we were available to discuss Ron Paul.

Staffing booths at the monthly Art Walk to promote Ron Paul.

Lots of local signs for Ron Paul, including 4' by 8' signs on the main roads and far more yard signs than any other candidate.

We set up a small local office on the town square, with internet and phone, where literature, buttons, signs and bumper stickers were available 24/7.

All these materials were provided free to the public and were sponsored by local donations.

We dropped Ron Paul literature on Sundays at church parking lots, and distributed RP literature on door knobs around town.

Weekly and Ads and occasional inserts were placed in the local (daily and weekly) newspapers for the past couple of months.

A focus on local areas of concern, particularly health freedom, restoring civil liberties, opposition to the Patriot Act,

restoring the Constitutional limited Federal government, a humble, non-interventionalist foreign policy, etc.

We met weekly over lunch for organizational meetings that were open to the public.

We help Public Ron Paul meetings in the public library about monthly, showing videos and giving talks.

Held a speech competition to choose and selected two great young speakers to talk for Ron Paul at the caucus.

We outfitted 2 pick-ups with 4 by 8 Ron Paul signs and parked them prominently on the main highways or on the town square.

We bought some RP magnetic signs and put them on our car doors.

We emailed and called our lists of friends and business associates to explain the importance of supporting Ron Paul.

We directed our efforts mostly to our friends, who were largely Democrats, Independents, or non-political folks.

We tried to win over Obama and Edwards supporters, in fact some of our Ads contrasted Ron Paul with them.

We made a strong effort to get people to register Republican just for voting for Ron Paul, even if they switched back the next day.

We communicated often via emails (sometimes dozens per day) sharing ideas and inspiration (allowing folks to opt out if they wished).

Although we had a Meetup Group (totally open and un-monitored), only about 1/3 actually joined it. The rest we just emailed directly.

We emailed and talked with each other continuously and inspired each other continually with Ron Paul news and links.


What we did not do:

We had very little contact with traditional Republicans or the conservative Christian community.

We did not make phone calls to Republican or any registered voter lists. (we tried it, but found it disappointing.)

We did not focus on Ron Paul's positions on abortion or immigration (unless asked about them).


When I wrote the above list, I was pretty impressed with our local activities.

We have such a core group of Ron Paul patriots, and we are not going to settle for less than a transformation of our country.

We wish tremendous success to the Ron Paul Revolution in New Hampshire and up to the Convention.

Wouldn't it be wonderful to inaugurate President Ron Paul?

GO RON PAUL!!

Roger

Keeping it simple

This is the best video on monetary policy made so far for the Ron Paul movement. It needs to be aired on TV. No, I'm not kidding about that last part. A sense of humor is key. The Revolution should be fun.

McPocrisy

So, John McCain, the guy who co-authored the McCain/Feingold campaign finance law, can participate in a debate on Fox News even though Fox has excluded the one man in the race who has outraised the invitees. And Dr. Paul has done this by not only sticking to the letter but the spirit of the law McCain wrote. McCain participates with nary an utterance that it the exclusion is wrong. A Pox on the man's (using the word lightly) house. Or should I say a Fox on his house?

Who We Are.

My open letter to the old media will be up at Lew's in the morning.

I Shoudln't Make Predictions

Iowa is a disappointment but there is data to be analyzed. In some counties, Dr. Paul came in second with over 25% of the votes. The quality engineering side of me wants to know the mechanics of the campaign efforts. The goal is to find some pattern that can be reproduced in the next states. Why was Dr. Paul able to do so well in some counties and is there a correlation that can be made? If so, then you might just find a winning formula

Great new Video

Laura posted this over at Red State Eclectic. I don't know where she finds them....

Why Ron Paul will win.

Because his supporters Rock. They are taking over the GOP. After all, it's their party, not Bill Kristol's or George Bush's party. When Ron Paul wipes the floor with the rest of his opponents because his supporters filled all of the precinct chair slots and at large delegates in every state, the first thing they should do at the national convention is to rescind the membership in the party of George Bush and Dick Cheney. That would certainly send a great message....

Oh...why am I saying this...

"In some counties, people are looking at Ron Paul supporters and they are not sure who we are and what we are all about," said Paul's state coordinator, David Hart. "Some people are concerned there is going to be a change in the power base, and they should be."

That's why.

Why we Homeschol

Oh...and why we support Ron Paul...

Political Science

Over at Laura's we've been discussing the dustup over Ron Paul's "acceptance" of the theory of evolution. It inspired me to fire off a piece about how science really doesn't belong in politics. Politics is a clumsy, brutal affair because it is essentially blunt force.

Color me suprised

The co-chairman of Guiliani's veteran coalition in New Hampshire has had to resign.

“I don’t subscribe to the principle that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims,” Deady said in the article. “They’re all Muslims.”

It's surprising to me that anyone expressed any outrage over such a statement. We're bombing muslims into oblivion in the middle east. Seems like this is our official policy.

As somebody with Native American blood, I find this statement in keeping with how my ancestors were treated up until very recently. "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" was a statement I've actually heard in my youth by people who meant it. I look white so it wasn't directed at me of course.

"Nits make lice" was uttered in a political speech by Colonel Chivington, the guy who murdered women and children at Sand Creek. Google "sand creek massacre" as I'm too lazy to include a link for you. :)

K.T. Tunstall: Wow

glumbert - One Woman Band

Tangled Webs

I have a new article up at Lew's. Tangled Webs: Don't Weave Them says Ron Paul

As usual, Ron Paul is right about foreign policy while his opponents mouth platitudes.

Huckabee: Sheer Genius

Never mind that he tried to turn a tragic event into a political opportunity. But Huckabee also misstated the number of Pakistanis who have entered the country illegally in a clear attempt to add more fear into the mix. I mean, nevermind that the U.S. has propped up a dictator who illegally took power in Pakistan, let's concern ourselves with the number of Pakistani nationals who are trying to come here, overturn our republic and install a Sharia-based, islamo-Fascist government. And with 660 of them so far (a made up number) we should be waking up any day now to blasphemy charges....

By the way, the article I've linked is a must read. It finishes pretty strong with CNN analyst Bill Schneider essentially calling Huckabee supporters stupid.

But CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said the debate over whether Huckabee has command of the nuances of the Pakistan crisis would have little impact on his support.

"Mike Huckabee is a populist. His comments on Pakistan reflect a populist understanding of the crisis, which, is to say, not much," Schneider said. "Sure, the political establishment is snickering, but I doubt that his misstatements bother his supporters much."

2007: A Paulitical Odyssey

The fourth quarter of Ron Paul's run for the Presidency has surely been a whirlwind if not historic.

These past few months have seen a flurry of activities, all of which signify the steady, logarithmic growth of the Ron Paul campaign. Where other campaigns are peaking, or have already peaked, the Ron Paul campaign has maintained a consistent and steady upward pattern, all without any willing help from the Old Media. The Old Media has been covering the historic events as they occur with an obvious reluctance. The Ron Paul Revolution's methods and effects on the current status quo can be summed up in a single cinematic scene: H.A.L.'s breakdown in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

If you remember this classic, you remember H.A.L. putting up obstacle after obstacle only to have Dave Bowman finally prevail and shut down that which had become a sinister master to those it was designed to serve. The Revolution is doing the same thing: regaining control over a government that has become master rather than servant of the people. The usual excuses and obstacles are being respectively discarded and ignored. What's rarely noted is the symbiotic relationship between members of the Revolution and its courageous leader; a perfect give and take affair in which each victory by one side or the other, makes the whole stronger. Several examples stand out.

On December 17, 2007, Glen Beck interviewed Dr. Paul and gave him the entire hour in which to answer his questions. That Dr. Paul agreed to appear was an act of courage bordering on heroism. Only weeks earlier, Beck had circled the neoconservative wagons, inviting David Horowitz and Jonathan Sands on his show to smear Paul's supporters and accuse them of terrorism. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but I personally don't think that Beck's change of heart, if that is indeed what it was, had anything to do with ideology. The prior attack brought forth quite a few suggestions that Beck's sponsors be contacted. I'm quite sure that this call wasn't ignored. How else do you explain such a quick turnaround in programming; from a long segment attacking Ron Paul's campaign to a full hour interview?

Perhaps this also explains the reason for Beck's bizarre behavior. Ranging from strange sexual innuendo, to a very clumsy attempt at playing the victim, it looked like Beck intended to be mean but couldn't quite pull it off properly. His body language and speech suggested he wasn't truly prepared for what he was facing. He looked as a man suppressing confession. Or, maybe he was afraid of openly attacking somebody so obviously polite and honest. As Lew Rockwell said back on November 18, "Ron is so transparently decent that the libels of the haters rebound against them, undermining them rather than him." 

The decimation of another Old Media commentator came on December 19th, as Neil Cavuto became the latest victim. Cavuto decided to pose Dr. Paul as his analyst to comment on whether or not "warm and fuzzy" candidate commercials were effective and then brought up a three-month-old story about donations by questionable characters to the campaign, finally asking, "What are you going to do about that?" Dr Paul's answers were so perfect that by the end of the interview you can hear Cavuto groaning and mumbling; wishing that the pain and embarrassment would just stop. Listening to the final 30 seconds of that interview, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.

Dr. Paul's increasing media exposure was made possible by the other half of the Revolution, those crazy supporters. Having raised 4.2 million dollars on November 5th, supporters were not content to rest on their laurels. That mark was shattered on December 16th when over 6 million dollars were delivered to the campaign, surpassing John Kerry's record of 2004. It wasn't nearly the whole story.

"My God, it's full of Ron Paul supporters..."

During this quarter:

·       Supporters launched the Ron Paul blimp, raising over 300,000 dollars to launch it.

·       Hundreds (over 400) are moving to New Hampshire in order to canvass for Dr. Paul.

·       A Letter writing campaign was initiated so that hand-written letters could be delivered to voters in every county in Iowa. Over 518,000 have been mailed.

·       Meetup groups all across the country have been training members how to get elected as delegates to the national convention. It's already having a disquieting effect on Republican carpet-baggers across the country.

·       Ron Paul's poll numbers, even though certainly under counted, have risen from 2% to 7% nationally. This represents a steady changing of minds, exactly what you hope for in a political campaign.

·       Rallies were held world-wide on December 16, to commemorate the latest fund-raising achievement as it happened including in Belgium and France. The movement is global.

In short, there is no stopping this Revolution. The Old Guard is H.A.L. The Revolution is Major Dave Bowman. The film, arguably Kubrick's most innovative, is essentially about awakenings. This modern Revolution is an awakening, The Dawn Of Man. A new generation and the remnant are picking up the bones and discovering that, indeed, they hold their own future in their hands. And like H.A.L., the Old Guard is putting up its obstacles but it will not succeed.

Also, like H.A.L. the Old Guard is artificial. The true power in government is derived from the people. What we’ve accepted for so long is an artificial construct, namely, that our safety and our rights are the government’s to manage. We are at a time when our rights are being ignored on the pretense that our safety is at stake.

In our story, the obelisk, an object which was placed as an experiment meant to advance mankind, is the constitution. Its creators were not aliens, but men who fought and sometimes died for the principles contained therein.

I estimate that we are at the point where David Bowman is trying to re-enter Discovery One and H.A.L. is revealing that he is on to the conspiracy. The result is just as inevitable. While now is not the time to celebrate victories, I do expect a party to rock the globe (without spending any tax dollars) on January 20, 2009. That will be the day to rest and assess what has been achieved. And a day where the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Ron Paul Tied for Third in Iowa

Laura posted the link to this and a video of the story. When I watched it I had to stop and rewind..."Did I hear that right?"

Apparently so.

Unlike other candidates consigned to the periphery, Paul has refused to go away. He is now in a tie for third in Iowa with supposed top-tier hopefuls.

Federal Reserve/Gold Standard and the Keynesian Kooks

There is a lot of activity today trying to dis' Ron Paul about his monetary policy statements. Megan McArdle over at the Atlantic is a kook though she claims that Dr. Paul is the kook.

For me, I'll take the word of a man who knows enough about the fed to accurately predict recessions over some hysterical journalist.

"..as we drive the economy this year and for next year's election you will see conditions improve, but sure enough you will see the consequence of the inflation that we have today; in a couple of years you will see the recession, if not the depression of '86 or '87. So it is for this reason, out of humanitarian concern for our people, that we must reject the notion of central planning in money; just as we reject the ideas of central planning in agriculture or steel manufacturing."

Ron Paul at a von Mises Institute sponsored debate between Dr. Paul and Federal Reserve Board Governor Charles Partee 1983.

Very good Ron Paul Ad

License to Thrive

I thought this was pretty funny.

Glen Beck Interview with Dr. Paul is Up!

Wow. I'm not a fan of Glen Beck. His hysterics regarding terrorism have been a consistent reason for me to turn him off whenever I've caught him on the radio. I don't have television so I've never seen his TV programs but WOAI out of San Antonio carried his radio show for a long time.

However, I think that Beck is ambitious and is one of the few media personalities who has recognized that the revolution is a seriously large and powerful demographic. After watching this, I'm convinced he's getting on board.

Thanks to Students for Ron Paul for getting this up so quickly.

I think that Beck wants it both ways judging by certain segments of the interview but thought better of it because he didn't get a fight. He really tried to play the guilt by association card, but I believe the man has a conscience and realized that it just wasn't going to look good for him if he kept pushing it. So, the net effect is that Dr. Paul got about 35 minutes to answer questions in-depth.

We'll see how Beck treats this going forward but he has already shown he doesn't want to anger Ron Paul's supporters.

The Constitution is Just a God-Damned Piece of Paper

The Bush/PNAC doctrine trickles down to other oath-takers with an "R" next to their name.

"Some people in this chamber love the Constitution more than they love the safety of this nation.

We should all send President bush a letter thanking him for protecting us." - Jeff Sessions - 12/18/2007

It's like they want to destroy the Republican Party. Thanks to Steve Gordon for bringing this to our attention.

Still Think Ron Paul's Ideas are "Fringe?"

Think again. Hillary unveiled her new stump speech in Iowa today.

With polls showing most Democratic voters eager for a new direction in Washington, Clinton, with her long record in public life, has been forced to battle the perception that Obama would be the more effective change agent.

"We are ready for a new beginning," she told an audience in Council Bluffs. "It all comes down to one question: who is ready and able to make the changes we need on Day One in the White House."

Now, really. Which candidate would actually bring change to Washington? Answer: Ron Paul.

We Just Passed Five Million

Not too bad and there are about three more hours left. Still possible to get six million. Watch the detractors (losers) next week tell us how this was a failure.

Doing My Part

The widget was the coolest thing anyone has ever done for a campaign website.

I've donated what I could afford so far. I plan on getting to the maximum but that is going to require that I sell a rare guitar. I'll let everyone know when I've finally put it up on E-Bay, but I have a 1963 Fender Stratocaster I'll be putting on the block for the Ron Paul cause. That might even make it so that I can donate the maximum for both my wife and I. Today, we approach 4 million with 7 hours to go. Very exciting. I hope that we can get a big push at the end and strike out towards 8 million.

Deliver Us

This is so far my favorite illustration. There is a very touching story to go with it and the young lady who created this, Leah Tiscione, is extremely talented.

Really? Hillary donated to Ron Paul?

From Ron Paul Forums comes this interesting image and it is a screenshot from the Ron Paul campaign ticker.

Some of the Dirt on Huckabee Clinton doesn't want to leak yet.

Very interesting information is available via a lawsuit filed against the state board of education and the governor of Arkansas in a dispute about district funding. This Arkansas Supreme Court Decision is a gold mine of information that utterly devastates Huckabee's self-promotion as the "education" candidate.

This is from the Supreme Court's Chief Justice (by the way, the "home schooling advocate" Jonell Caldwell, named in the suit and who claims to be a pioneer in homeschooling in AK and has a much viewed video in support of Huckabee is in fact the chairman of the Arkansas State Education Board)

Results of the State's own Benchmark testing for eighth grade students in April 2000 showed that only sixteen percent were proficient or above in math statewide, and in the Little Rock School District only nine percent were proficient or above.

With respect to Arkansas high school students entering state universities, fifty-eight percent needed remediation in either English or math. For the Rogers High School students entering a university (including some students with 3.0 grade averages), forty-four percent needed remediation in either English or math.

Judge Kilgore concluded in his 2001 order that the "State has a remarkably serious problem with student performance." We agree.

...

Do you remember the NEA convention speech where Huckabee is talking about making sure that teachers are valued by way of increased salaries? What an incredible, bald-faced liar. If he really thought this was a priority, perhaps he'd have pressured the legislature to increase teacher pay. Not that I am a fan of paying teachers who can only achieve a 9% competency rate amongst students in math, but it's clear that Huckabee plays very fast and loose with the facts.

Arkansas' entry level for teacher salaries is last when compared to our eight bordering states, and Arkansas spends twenty percent less than the national average for teachers across the board. The entry level salary for Arkansas school districts bordering Memphis, Tennessee was about $5,695 less than that offered in Memphis school districts, and for more experienced teachers the differential was almost $6,000. A similar disparity exists for beginning salaries between school districts in Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas. Arkansas school districts pay about $4,000 less than those in Texas.

HSLDA and Huckabee

Their endorsement of Mike Huckabee makes me sick to my stomach. Huckabee does not have a decent record when it comes to home schooling. My open letter to homeschoolers should be up at Lew's tomorrow is up at Lew's now

Seasons Greetings From Ron Paul and his Family

Makes you wish you were a part of this family. I wonder what it's like around the Giuliani clan at Christmans....

Vaccine Politics

I have been a bit slow in producing articles lately for Lew. My business has been taking off and I've been occupied with that. Vaccines are a subject of which I have always been fascinated. Back in the 19th century, some scientists thought that the theory behind vaccines was a "grotesque superstition."

I have been coming around to this view for several years now. My latest on the subject will be up at Lew's tomorrow. Here's a preview.

What has resulted from this unholy marriage of corporate interests and the government is not public health but political medicine. Both figuratively and literally, political medicine is poison that seeks to destroy common sense, customer choice and too often, lives. When it isn’t denying medication that has been proven useful to cancer patients, it is attempting to mandate medicine and ban food supplements.

If one didn’t know any better, one might conclude that the FDA and related health agencies of the federal government, want you to get sick.

Robert Ringer: Voice of Tyranny

Where does Joe Farrah find such idiots?

By square one, I am referring to the great paradox that few Americans are willing to face up to: In order to preserve freedom, some freedoms must be restricted.

Bob is convinced that every Muslim is going to kill us. The level of his hysteria would be hard to match even though he tries to voice his opinion as one who truly cares about freedoms. As in, I really care about your freedoms but you better just give them up because, "when someone points a gun at you and says he's going to kill you, you don't have time to engage in an intellectual dialog about free speech and civil rights. The first order of business is to kill the guy with the gun in his hand."

His logic doesn't get any better. I wonder if he would also have us all disarm as well. But his logic, and the logic of all the warmongering neocons is this:

Give up your rights, or die.

Now, it's pretty funny. The most fundamental right, is our right to life. So by giving up that right, you die. If you give up your rights, you die. That is why the founding fathers, and they weren't that original actually (see: Magna Charta), believed that the ownership of firearms was paramount to freedom.

Bob Ringer has it wrong as do the rest of his carpet-bagging, neoconservative brethren. Live Free, or die. If we alllow ourselves to be swayed by such illogic as his, then we don't deserve to be free anyway.

USA Today Ad Guy.

Writes a letter to explain why he supports Ron Paul. He also lays out the importance of December 16. Thanks to Laura for posting it at her blog

Bush: Security Genius, Isolationist.

A kid in Iceland somehow got a secret number into the White House and gave it a ring, posing as the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. The White House Staff had lots of tough questions to ask to prove he was the actual President of Iceland but he made it through their gauntlet because "I had Wikipedia and a few other sites open, so it was not so difficult really."

Agents were dispatched to give him a stern talking to and to make sure he knew he'd be on the "no-fly" lists of the TSA. The report didn't mention it but I have it on good authority that they promised his baggage would be lost too if he dared to come to the U.S.

With a crack team like this, it's a mystery how the events of 9/11 could have occurred.

Why do I get the feeling that if Ron Paul were President, he'd encourage him to visit the U.S. and wouldn't be alienating him?

Help! My Ron Paul Revolution Song needs Video

I can make music, but I am clueless when it comes to making video. I recently wrote and produced a Ron Paul revolution song and would love to see it put to video. If you are a person who can do this, I encourage you to download the song (located here and use this as the soundtrack.

The song is titled "I'm Alive". "I'm Alive" can refer to a lot of things but mainly it refers to "the remnant" of freedom advocates once believed to be all but dead until the Ron Paul revolution began. Non Serviam over at Ron Paul Radio has been playing this song daily on Ron Paul Radio. He is responsible for the mastering.

Shoot me a link if you decide to pick this up. And, for what it's worth, I don't have a huge readership here. About 1k visitors a month, so I'd be much obliged if you pass this around.

[UPDATE: Somebody suggested I checkout podsafe. Much cooler than Garage Band I think and gives me the ability to embed the player like youtube.

Hillary's Economic Cluelessness

I mean....really. On CNBC(HT Lew Rockwell) she gives her plan to bail out the poor, poor people who were "lured in" by apparently unscrupulous lenders. Her plan would freeze interest rates (confiscate property of the lenders) for 5 years.

The the interviewer's credit, she asked some very pertinent questions which leads me to the conclusion that Hillary hasn't got a clue. She called the Federal Reserve an "independent body" of which she would not be comfortable dictating a strategy. She either doesn't realize that it was the Fed's horrible monetary policies which created this crisis, or does and sees it as an opportunity to further control the market.

Actually, both are probably true. She views any crisis as an opportunity to send more jack-booted thugs out into our streets to dictate what happens to us.

When asked where the billions of dollars would originate to finance her plans, she glibly responded, "it comes from where it comes: the budget."

If that isn't the most vacuous and condescending (to the people who are being robbed)response ever ......ooooohhh I can't even finish this sentence properly it makes me so mad.

Couple that with some info that Laura posted today about the Fed allowing banks to get discount loans directly from the Fed, and you have all you need to know about these corrupt thieves who allegedly represent us.

Go Ron Paul Go....

Local News Coverage

My partner and I started DriveBuy Technologies back in August. We're now in 12 states and growing. The local news ran a story this morning about the technology we've developed.

[Update: picked up by MSNBC]

And the Polls are Accurate Now?

From a yahoo news article (Reuters) on polling:

"State polls may be even more valuable ultimately because that is the primary trail. They reflect the presence of very intense campaigning that other states are not getting," Miringoff said.

Even a month before the first votes, a state poll can be extremely misleading, Donahue cautioned. At this point in the 2004 race, Democrat Howard Dean had a huge lead over John Kerry in New Hampshire, where Kerry won. At this point in the 2000 race, Republican George W. Bush led Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire, but lost that primary by 18 points, she said.

"In 2000 and 2004, the polls were so incorrect at this point in time as to be completely meaningless," she said.

Why was McCain attacking Ron Paul in the last debate? Because he knows that Ron Paul is not a dark horse anymore, he's the front runner.

Look Ma! We're on TV!

Tomorrow, December 4, 2007, my company, DriveBuy Technologies will be featured on KXAN's morning news show here in Austin. The show airs between 5 and 7 AM. We develop SMS text messaging applications (cell phone) for real estate professionals and business owners seeking to expand their reach.

If you live in Austin, check it out. I don't have a television so I'll have to wait for the re-runs on You Tube.

Salon is the New New York Times

I remember the first time I actually read a NYT newspaper for the first time. Great writing is an understatement.

I also remember during Clinton's presidency when Salon was created. It wasn't very good but it certainly has come along. Greenwald is superb. Here's a great article about Ron Paul in New Hampshire and it is reminiscent of what made the NYT a great paper.

Ronmey's Money.

So, just how fiscally wise is it to blow 160,000 dollars on straw poll tickets so that some 100 or so attendees can vote 800 times between them and phony up the results? Isn't that an awful lot of money for something so trivial as a straw poll?

The local GOP organization made a bunch of money, but can the primary be bought in the same way? Are these events the way that the campaigns have traditionally won the state primaries? Is this entire primary thing just a sham?

The GOP needs a rude awakening. The end-run is to ignore the primary popular votes and stack the national convention with Ron Paul delegates. It can be done. Ron Paul doesn't have to win the primary votes outright. He only needs to have the delegates at the convention.

The Florida Meetup is PISSED

The meetup organizer lays it out. Apparently the local GOP chairman threatened to "hurt" one of the members if she didn't keep quiet about it. That didn't seem to scare her in the slightest. (HT: Laura)

Romney supporters voting multiple times....

Not a lot of press on this....I wonder why. Ron Paul came in second but only because his supporters voted once. This guy votes at least 5 times while the camera rolls.

Democrats Can't Debate without Hollywood Writers?

I've seen some pretty bizarre things but this one makes sense....

Found at the bottom of a St. Petersburg times news article about the Florida Straw Poll:

The Democratic National Committee has canceled a Dec. 10 presidential debate in Los Angeles because of a potential strike by CBS news writers.

God knows they don't want to utter any unscripted, straight answers.

Tea Party

David Dees is quickly becoming my favorite illustrator. My Tightens the Screws article for Lew featured a brilliant illustration by David and I get at least one a week from him, every one brilliant in its own way. David's a master at combining relevant themes and you can find an archive of his stuff at his site and over at Rense.com which has featured his work. The commercial projects he's been involved with will surprise you.

10.3 Million and Counting

So we've now surpassed Giuliani's third quarter fund raising. Based on the way the man is positively blowing up, I have my doubts that Giuliani will surpass his third quarter fund raising. And McCain could suprise but my gut says he'll be lucky to raise 5 million.

Fred? About the same. He's been a big disappointment. From a philosophical/political viewpoint, I might be able to live with Fred (though there's no way he'd beat a democrat in the general). He was one of the few sane voices in the Senate during its investigation into Janet Reno's home fry restaurant in Waco. But today, he has no fire, he looks like skeletor and nobody gets excited about anything he has to say. So I really don't think that even the corporate donors will be writing checks to his campaign. I have to admit that before Fred Announced I saw him as the real dark horse of this campaign. He allegedly had some charisma and that is what I think the poor neoconservative values voters were hoping to find. Oops... "First, can I get a round of applause?"

Huckabee might raise 3 million this quarter. We still have a month to go. Huckabee's poll numbers on the other hand put him in the top tier. But it seems awfully convenient. I mean...how? He doesn't have money to spend, doesn't have grass roots support of any note and even though he is being touted as the "surprise" candidate by the old media, there's no "there" there.

The only challenger to Ron Paul's fund raising will be Romney and my guess is that he will write himself another loan which will represent the majority of his fund raising "success".

So in terms of money, Ron Paul will likely be #2 if not #1 in the fourth quarter. What's very exciting about this campaign is that the growth is steady. It hasn't peaked.

And I really don't think it will peak until we get into the middle of the general election and perhaps beyond. Laura pointed out that today's fund raising of over $500,000 was a "disappointment" to certain commentators.

To whom? Certainly not to Ron Paul or his supporters. More of the old media's rotten spin since they can't find bad news to report elsewhere. Wait 'til 12/16 you putzes. That is going to be a world-wide event with sympathetic protests held in Europe.

Show me any Candidate on either side that is inspiring support in any country other than the U.S. Isn't happening because the world is scared to death of the whole lot of megalomaniacal sociopaths who aren't named Ron Paul.

Superb Alternet article in defense of Ron Paul

Alternet's Joshua Holland has a superb article deconstructing the idiotic guilt by association attacks on Ron Paul's campaign. Money quote:

But more than that, the typical analysis misses the fundamental dynamic driving Paul's popularity. His campaign occupies that political space where right- and left-populism intersect, and that space exists only because there are significant areas of national policy where neither of the two parties, nor any of the "mainstream" candidates, have shown any willingness to represent their constituents.

And the award for best live blogger of the debates goes to....

Steve Gordon. His last one was a laugh riot too.

Will the Real Kooks please stand up?

All of this bashing of Ron Paul supporters got me to thinking that the truly dangerous kooks, are members of the neoconservative punditry. Enjoy.

Ron Paul Delegates: Ahead in West Virginia

According to the very worried-sounding Senator from West Virginia:

So, the Ron Paul people have been coming out in droves and signing up to be At-large Delegates to the State Convention. In fact, at this point, I believe they are ahead in the ‘at large’ category of Delegates.

Lookout GOP, we're taking you back.

More Evidence that the old Media is starting to get it

from the Washington post:

And little wonder. In the 1990s, conservative Republicans rose to power by relentlessly attacking Big Government. Yet the minute they took control of both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, they kicked out the jams on even a semblance of fiscal responsibility, signing off on the Medicare prescription drug benefit and building literal and figurative bridges to nowhere. From 2001 to 2008, federal outlays will have grown by an estimated 29 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, according to the Office of Management and Budget.

Aaron Zelman to the ADL: Burn in Hell

The JPFO has always had the most strident pro-gun organization in existence and nobody can touch their reasoning: gun control enabled the holocaust to occur.

The ADL has decided to flex its muscles in the Ron Paul direction and Zelman minces no words. I love this guy.

I've been an ADL hater ever since Mark Pitcavage put constitution.org on his now-defunct, militia watch site. Mark, by the way was instrumental in fomenting, directly and indirectly, the anti-militia and anti-constitutional mindset that led to the ATF's raid on the Branch Davidians. There are no words strong enough one could use to denounce the treasonous ADL.

I agree with Aaron in this instance though it may be unbecoming. Sometimes, there aren't enough rocks.

Thompson's Lack of Enthusiasm? Turn That Proposition Around

The MSNBC blog (HT: Laura) follows Fred Thompson's campaign noting that not only are his staffers unenthusiastic about the campaign, but the low number of people who come to see him speak seem just as apathetic.

a small crowd of less than 50 also seemed to lack an enthusiasm for the candidate. Throughout the roughly 20-minute speech, largely centered on national security, Thompson stopped several times for applause, yet there were only uninspired responses from the crowd. As Thompson entered the rustic VFW hall, the crowd had to be prompted to applaud by his campaign staffers in back of the room.

I have no idea if my comment will make it on their blog since comments are moderated but here's the response I posted...

So at what point do you guys start noticing that Ron Paul's support is staggering?

We now know via this blog that a dozen for Romney and 50 for Fred where applause has to be prompted is newsworthy. (Last month, shortly after his announcement at a stop in New Hampshire he [Thompson] had to ask a crowd of about 20 for applause). Maybe Fred isn't the one lacking enthusiasm. Maybe his platform is not only un-inspiring to his supporters but to Fred and anyone on his staff.

So where do you note that 5000+ in Philadelphia, 2000+ in Nashville, 2000+ in Michigan, 1000+ in Nevada, 700+ in Austin (back in May!), all crowds that arrived to see Dr. Paul in varying weather conditions, is newsworthy?

Isn't it time to recognize that the real front runner of this Republican race is in fact Ron Paul? Isn't it time to re-assess this absurd notion that it is Ron Paul who is the quirky "fringe" candidate?

Poison Your kids or We'll Shoot

In Maryland the state has herded children into a courthouse like cattle and forced vaccinations under threat of imprisonment. Even Fox news thought this was extreme.

Of course, there's no law that they can use to actually punish parents for not vaccinating their children. But that didn't stop them from threatening jail time and a good number of parents just gave in. We definitely should be ashamed of letting this sort of thing to happen. Vaccination "science" is dubious at best and this should be a choice made by parents. But when your biggest political donors are drug companies, it is no wonder that this happens.

Here in Texas, Governor Perry, who takes a good amount of cash from Merck, signed an executive order demanding that girls in Texas schools take a vaccine that hasn't been shown to have any positive effect in reducing cervical cancer rates.

Of course Merck is going to be profitable when the government is mandating the use of its products. This practice has been going on for years, benefiting many different industries and corporations here in the U.S.

Giuliani's Implosion Imminent

From the MSNBC News Blog (embedded reporter's view):

The crowds, however, don’t seem to have gotten the message. A rally for Giuliani in front of Manchester City Hall garnered only a few dozen supporters. Backers of Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich almost seemed to match them in numbers. Giuliani generates healthy crowds at town hall meetings, but they are not all loyalists. When it comes to rallies and events where partisans are expected in droves, Giuliani’s crowds disappoint. And the mainstream media has started to notice.

Top tier? My eye. The front runner has been Ron Paul for at least two months.

Ron Paul beats Hillary

Alex Jones commissioned Zogby to perform a "blind poll" which pitted resumes rather than names against one another. Ron Paul's issues were 20 points ahead of anyone, Republican or Democrat.

As Steve Gordon wrote back in September, Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate that can beat Hillary in the general election. In fact, it wouldn't even be close in my opinion. It would dwarf the landslides we saw in 1980 and 1984.

But now even the scientific data seems to overwhelmingly support the idea.

HT: Laura

The Ron Paul Zeppelin? Whole Lotta Love!

For those who have "maxed out", here's another way to help. Check out Ron Paul Blimp dot Com

Each time I think I've seen it all, somebody comes up with another brilliant idea. During the winter, I'm not sure how much sense this makes in northern states. You need visibility for this one. It's a blimp to be painted up with Ron Paul copy that would fly around the states. Of course it would attract a great deal of attention and it's completely a grass roots effort.

The site asks that you only give if you haven't yet maxed out. They've already received 65k in pledges. How cool is that?

Don't talk about drugs on campus.

Last week in Round Rock, just north of Austin, a high school newspaper published a story claiming that drug use was common at the high school.

The Principle of the school removed the paper from circulation citing issues of "journalistic integrity" as her reasoning. She wrote a letter to parents to let them know that she was making sure the journalism students were on their toes.

I found that the content and sources could not be validated, that information from school counselors were misrepresented, and that it was not even known if the student sources even existed as the names used were aliases. I was very disappointed that rules of good journalism were not in place and that the approval system failed as well.

Uhh huh. It couldn't be that one of the allegations was that a common drug being dealt on campus was the Ritalin that was handed out like candy by school health administrators to students diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. It probably couldn't be that the article claimed that school officials knew of the drug dealing and turned a blind eye to it.

Nah...they pulled the paper from circulation because it was a case of bad journalism.

Prescription pills are popular for school-related issues. Many teens diagnosed with ADD or ADHD sell their Aderol, Ritalin and Hydrocodine. Some students believe that pills help them to better focus and concentrate on school work.

Local AM radio station KLBJ posted the principle's letter and the original article on their web site. I graduated in 1981 when the biggest drug war push was just beginning. The student's article here mirrors what I saw in high school and that was 25 years ago. Except for one thing: back then there was nobody in my school being prescriped Ritalin and other drugs for these pseudo disorders.

The drug war has obviously failed miserably if its intent was to rid society of dangerous drugs. If its intent was to turn us all into watched sheep, it has been wildly successful. Now it would appear to also be affecting our right to talk about it.

Ron Paul helps us to Remember America's Great Past

What I've noticed about several old media outlets is that they're finally starting to "get it" regarding what's going on, sort of....

For Mr. Levins and other supporters, Mr. Paul is more than just a choice on the Republican primary ballot. He is talismanic, a 72-year-old 10-term congressman who transcends partisan politics. For them, he's the man who can restore the Constitution, end the Iraq war, bring back the gold standard for money and stop an erosion of civil rights.

It's a good piece and I do not mean to deride the writer. But he's only noting half of the story. Yes, it's true that his supporters are excited. But it's not just about their level of enthusiasm at events where Ron Paul appears. It's their level of enthusiasm which motivates them to act and spend their money when Ron Paul is not appearing in their town.

For instance, today, Lawrence Lepard, a venture capitalist, spent $85,000 in one whack on a full page ad in the USA Today.

I would bet he's also already "maxed out."

He didn't do it alone. The effort was launched on Ron Paul forums and lickety-split a graphic artist was located, the copy was discussed and the ad was produced. Months ago, I blogged about this sort of spontaneous activity even before the Iowa straw poll when the critical mass appeared as if it would be reached sooner, rather than later.

A Lawrence, Kansas, painting contractor had painted a huge Ron Paul sign on a roof that was going to be replaced. Funny how it wasn't until I started writing about this tonight that even I didn't "get it" yet. I mean, I "got it", but I didn't know why exactly.

I'm sitting here with a big grin because I've known that Ron Paul is going to win, but not why we all get so excited about him, until now. Yes, "Hope for America", strong message of liberty, excited supporters, blah blah blah.

We're so excited, and so many people keep enthusiastically supporting him because we're being reminded of the so-called American dream. I realize that the message is strong and is the basis for this remembrance. But that is not the secret. There are actually two reasons why this campaign has become so powerful.

The first is Ron Paul's credibility combined with his ability to inspire the imaginations of those who hear his message.

The second and most powerful reason is that the grass roots accomplishments of this campaign have been mirroring the laissez faire, unregulated success of our ancestors during the late 18th century. Anyone could own a press and many did. The amazing technological advances that seemed to just keep exploding from the barns and warehouses of ordinary citizens were much like what we keep seeing on YouTube video after video.

Not that cures for cancer are being discovered, but were our society to organize itself the way that these Ron Paul meetups are organized, completely voluntarily and with a high tolerance for people of different backgrounds working toward a common cause, I have no doubt that a cure could be found.

We're witnessing in action what has occurred in the past, and on a small scale, how our country could be organized and run again. Actually, we're seeing something much closer to anarchy and it is exhilarating. If Ron Paul were not a student of Von Mises and Hayeck, this wouldn't be happening.

This is why Ron Paul will win the primary and why his supporters will completely demolish Hillary next November. It will be an epic land slide. Ron Paul is the first to admit that he isn't really doing anything in the way of campaign strategies, though I think he's very modest. They have a plan there in Virginia and have been executing that plan.

I think he understands that there is as much pulling as pushing. The grass roots is the personification of the ideals he espouses. He reminds us of the America that once was: full of innovation, peaceful, cosmopolitan and most of all, free.

The grass roots are then running with that concept and demonstrating how that works in action.

That's what the old media is failing to recognize. Ron Paul is causing us to remember a great past and imagine a future built on the same traditional principles that allowed imagination to truly fuel innovation. We remember and we hope.

Breasts are Dangerous

HT: Karen DeCoster 34 FFs require special TSA search techniques.

Don't wait for 12/16 to donate

Money bombs are nice but the campaign needs money now to have any sort of chance on Super Tuesday even if he wins Iowa and New Hampshire. Don't wait.

Orwell Lives

In Boston, cops have initiated a program to send cops door to door confiscating weapons. They will show up unannounced and ask (demand) to search the bedrooms of teenagers living there.

It's a way to "empower the parent" says the Rev. Jeffrey Brown co-founder of the anti-crime Boston TenPoint Coalition.

Of what is this statist a "Reverend"? The Church of Satan?

Washington Post on Liberty Dollar Raid and Ron Paul

Good article here

As if Ron Paul's supporters needed any more motivation to storm the battlements and wreak havoc on the Republican presidential primary, now comes this: the feds are trying to take away their money.

Earth to Washington Post: They took away our dollar in 1913. This is about keeping it that way.

The UnLiberty Dollar

In 1913, a 'dollar' was defined as 1.12929 ounces of silver. That definition hasn't changed. What has changed is the value of the paper 'dollars' -- declared 'legal tender' -- that you might just use (two of them) to get a cup of Starbucks coffee. Based on the government's own measure of 'inflation', the paper dollar is only worth about 4 cents today as compared to the value it held back in 1913 when it was still backed by gold and silver. Of course, the government's definition of inflation has nothing whatsoever to do with reality, but I digress.

In the late 90s, Bernard von Nothaus, a long-time opponent of the Federal Reserve system, decided to produce an alternative dollar which would be backed by silver. He called it the Liberty Dollar. As its popularity grew, so did the Federal government's discomfort. They decided to investigate. In 1999, the Secret Service investigated and "… determined there wasn’t a federal currency violation." They did suggest however, that perhaps NORFED, the organization von Nothaus began as a political vehicle to oppose the income tax and Federal Reserve, might be running afoul of SEC regulations.

It seems to be a trend that when an agency can't find anything wrong with a spontaneous and unregulated economic endeavor, they keep searching. Not counterfeiting? Maybe they're trying to engage in some other special activity that we regulate! Let's call up a different agency! Most people would call this harassment by authorities, something that is illegal in all 50 states. Nobody gave the feds that memo, apparently.

But why on earth would they care? What von Nothaus had created was a medium of exchange, the value of which could be easily determined. Where's the harm in that? To obtain Liberty Dollars, you had to pay with the "legal tender" printed by the U.S. Treasury, so why the scrutiny?

Perhaps, the government doesn't like to have its schemes foiled. If the Liberty Dollar and its creators were kooky for thinking that gold and silver is money, there was still the slight chance that people in the U.S. would gravitate toward that real money rather than the counterfeit stuff the Treasury kept handing out (by the trillions). NORFED wasn't the only group which offered alternative currencies. It just happened to be the only group that offered real money -- gold and silver -- as opposed to barter paper or scrip, and even its paper was backed by gold and silver.

Recently, the U.S. Mint declared on its website that use of the Liberty Dollar was a federal crime. The Mint didn’t provide specifics and von Nothaus filed a lawsuit which claimed that the declaration was defamation and a great harm to his business. This suit has been allowed to go forward even after many attempts by the defendant’s lawyers to have it dismissed. The government would never retaliate against somebody exercising their constitutional rights would they?

If the government feared that the liberty dollar would become popular, its fears were realized. As of Monday, eight years after its inception, the Liberty Dollar was the most popular alternative currency instrument in the United States.

On Wednesday, November 14, 2007, the government tried to kill it. Details are sketchy, but 12 armed federal agents raided Liberty Dollar's headquarters and took everything. Not only did they take the computers and records, they confiscated dies, medallions ('coins' are a statutorily defined artifact) and the gold and silver kept in the vaults. The paper certificates in circulation were instantly devalued. What in the world would motivate the government to do this?

The search and seizure warrants were posted at the Liberty Dollar web site. According to the seizure warrant, the allegation is that NORFED has been engaging in money laundering and wire fraud. The search warrant is nothing more than a wholesale fishing expedition. The seizure warrant itself uses three cites of criminal seizure statutes, USC 18 982 (2)(b), USC 18 981 (1)(b) and 21 USC 853(f).  I'm no lawyer but in reading those sections of the law it becomes only too obvious how cavalier our federal police have become when it comes to reading the laws they are allegedly sworn to uphold and the Constitution which allegedly authorizes these laws.

Let me show you what I mean.

In USC 18 Section 982 (2)(b) we find:

The court, in imposing sentence on a person convicted of a violation of, or a conspiracy to violate—

(A) section 215, 656, 657, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1014, 1341, 1343, or 1344 of this title, affecting a financial institution, or

(B) section 471, 472, 473, 474, 476, 477, 478, 479, 480, 481, 485, 486, 487, 488, 501, 502, 510, 542, 545, 842, 844, 1028, 1029, or 1030 of this title,

shall order that the person forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds the person obtained directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation. [Emphasis added]

This section is describing criminal forfeiture which clearly requires a trial and can only be executed during the sentencing phase. There is no legal authority given in this statute to seize assets prior to a conviction. One of the statutes listed as being the source of authority is USC 18 981 (1)(b). It reads:

(B) Any property, real or personal, within the jurisdiction of the United States, constituting, derived from, or traceable to, any proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from an offense against a foreign nation, or any property used to facilitate such an offense, if the offense—

(i) involves the manufacture, importation, sale, or distribution of a controlled substance (as that term is defined for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act), or any other conduct described in section 1956 (c)(7)(B);

 I am assuming here that 1956(c)(7)(b) - money laundering - is the specific reason that this forfeiture applies. That statute is about a crime against a foreign nation or bank. Did a foreign nation or bank file a complaint against NORFED or does the government just make it up as they go along? Are they going to produce a victim or will we find that the "crime" is theoretical? Here's the section:

(7) the term “specified unlawful activity” means—
        ...

(B) with respect to a financial transaction occurring in whole or in part in the United States, an offense against a foreign nation involving—

...

(iii) fraud, or any scheme or attempt to defraud, by or against a foreign bank (as defined in paragraph 7 of section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978)); [emphasis added]

The final cite for seizure authority given is 21 USC 853(f).

The Government may request the issuance of a warrant authorizing the seizure of property subject to forfeiture under this section in the same manner as provided for a search warrant. If the court determines that there is probable cause to believe that the property to be seized would, in the event of conviction, be subject to forfeiture and that an order under subsection (e) of this section may not be sufficient to assure the availability of the property for forfeiture, the court shall issue a warrant authorizing the seizure of such property.

Folks, this is a crock of [expletive deleted]. The government here has used as its authority, to seize property subject to seizure under banking laws, statues which apply to drug enforcement. Title 21 contains laws applicable to the Food and Drug Administration. Liberty Dollar and those who bought their products, have little chance that any judge will look at this blatant tyranny and reject it. A judge signed these warrants. More than likely the same judge that will hear any motions relevant to this case. It would seem that there is a very good argument to make against the legality of this snatch and grab, but frankly, I don't think the government cares about the law. The law is now just hieroglyphics used to justify tyranny. If it really meant anything to anyone in government except as a means to spread a patina of legitimacy over blatant criminal acts, this hodgepodge of legal "authority" wouldn't be the norm.

Liberty Dollar and its customers have been denied the right of due process. Every civil and criminal seizure proceeding must allow the defendant a hearing to challenge the government's assertion that a preemptive seizure is justified. That never happened in this case and this government is proving itself beholden to no law, especially not the Constitution.

We have one chance to strike it down in our favor without resorting to violence. In 1913, the original liberty dollar was replaced with the unliberty fiat dollar. In 1971, Nixon finally put the nail in the coffin by finally severing the relationship between gold and silver and the "dollar". A man you may have heard about was driven into politics to change this. That man was Ron Paul. His stance on money has been consistently derided by ignorant (or worse) commentators but this issue has resonated amongst the population almost as strongly as has his principled stance on foreign policy. Von Nothaus even minted a version of the Liberty Dollar with Ron Paul's image on it.

Sound money is the only way that people can truly be free. Obviously, our government won't even give us a whiff of freedom. If you're not a Ron Paul supporter, try and get the candidate you support to even talk about sound money. Chances are your candidate will refuse to answer any questions about the issue or defer to the "experts" working at the Federal Reserve. With every day that passes, the truth of Ron Paul's admonitions become more evident. The persecution of Liberty Dollar shows us that our government is not interested in our freedom. Rather than protect our freedoms, they are at each passing moment inventing new ways to stifle and control us.

We have one chance to change it all and restore our liberties. Let's not blow it. All of us have been affected by the fiat unliberty dollar. For those who have been directly affected by the raid, there is a signup for the sure-to-follow class-action against our government. Sign up. Register to vote Republican in the primaries and support Ron Paul, the only Presidential candidate who is a defender of the true liberty dollar.

Wonderful Young Man

Responds to Glenn Beck....

And Now for Something Completely Different

My wife. She wrote an article about a day in the life of the homeschooling mom. My wife is scary. In more ways than one. For instance, I've tested on IQ tests at anywhere from 135 to 147. The last test I saw her take she knocked out 170. When she wakes up that is. She then deals with brain damaged children (ours) all day and her IQ plummets.

Anyway, Lew was kind enough to publish it. I think she's a better writer than I, personally but maybe I'm not so objective.

Sneak Preview

This will be up in the AM at Lew's. Ron Paul Tightens the Screws -- Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Money Bomb. (Does that make me a terrorist?)

Aliens hacked my blog!

Not really....just my 9-year-old if you're wondering about the cat videos.... P.S. I love you too Shannon.

Warehousing Humans

I was pondering how the U.S. has less cultural icons than it has institutional icons and how we tend to warehouse people. Over at Lew's.

Animal Testing

OKAY NOT LIKE ANIMAL TESTING!!!!!!!

SHANNON

P.S. I LOVE YOU DAD.

Stupid cat

HaHaHaHaHaHaHa!

Ron Paul: November 5th Starts With a Bang!

I caught a screenshot from about midnight Central Daylight Time from Ron Paul Graphs.com. The starting total was $2,788,637 just before I dropped my own $100 donation.

They've now updated that to a starting total of $3,115,107.

If we use the former, as of 1:00 CDT, the total is $3,345,180, and so far the total raised is $560,000 in roughly 2 hours.

If we use the latter start number (3.1 million), it's $230k in two hours. That's still a phenomenal rate. Using that rate, we're at 115k per hour and today will see about 2.7 million by the days end. It's less than the 10 million we wanted to see, but will certainly put Ron Paul on track to get to the 12 million mark by December 31. By the end of the day the total raised for the quarter could be about 5.4 million if this remains steady.

However, the former number is the correct number according to my screen shot which captured the RP Graphs data at 12:56 Eastern Daylight Time. That means that the number is more like $230,000 per hour and the total at the end of the day could very well be 5.4 million and 8.1 million for the quarter so far. 5.4 million In one day? Let's hope this pace remains this way.

Update: I sent a note to Dan, who runs the graphs site, regarding the discrepancy in the start numbers:

I added in the offline donors.. I think that is what you saw.

$326k

Ron Paul: Disco Sucks

Ron Paul:Disco Sucks