The Paradox of Progressivism

It is so frustrating arguing with progressives (there are exceptions, so none of my progressive
friends should necessarily think I am aiming this at you, on the other hand, if the shoe fits . . . ).
They complain about the power of big corporations. You point out the marketplace as a solution
and they say pointing out relatively small problems that the market doesn't work or doesn't work
efficiently enough and then proposes even more regulations, the solution to which exacerbated
the problems to begin with.

One of the solutions that the free market offers, in fact the fundamental indispensable one is that
failure in the market place means that the failures go out of business.That not only keeps bad
actors out of that marketplace but also sends the correct signals on what behaviors in the
marketplace are viable and which are not. it is self correcting and self improving. Dare I say it is
progressive. Case in point: the bank bailouts.

What is the progressives response to not bailing out the banks? Oh, can't do that, that will create
a world-wide depression. So their viewpoint becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.  They denounce
the free market because it doesn't work and then they don't allow the main tenet of free markets,
consequences in the marketplace, to do its work.

What is the cause of this faulty reasoning? An ignorance in economics? True believers in power?
I tend to believe more of the latter. The paradox of progressivism is the hatred of power that is
not theirs to control. A love of power to force people to behave in the way they see fit.They don't
seem to understand that when power is their main tool, those who have access to power will be
the ones who will wield it, i.e., those evil corporations. Yet, those Charlie Brown progressives
will still keep the faith, and vote for the right people into power, that Lucy will actually hold that
football for them.

Their fear of anything that isn't power related, i.e. the free market machinations of millions of
consumer and producer votes in the marketplace, leads them to a kind of a whining Stockholm
syndrome mentality, a love/hate relationship with their masters. Their Utopian vision of
interventionist protectionism allows for an ever increasing set of problems to which the only
solution they know is to implement more of the same, descending society down a labyrinth of
despair, which sets the stage for the likes of Donald Trump . . . or Hillary Clinton for that matter.
Yet still they cling to that ring. The ring of power is known and maybe someday it will be theirs.
Much better than that unknown quantity called freedom.

And they call libertarians Utopian.

Reflections on a Class Reunion

A forty-fifth high school reunion passes,
My classmates and I, hardly lads or lasses,
Although it was great to renew the bond,
A peculiar feeling I have found,
One of melancholy, a bittersweet taste,
A mortal warning, not pondered in haste,

The passing of a number of age-peered souls,
And most of us, in the autumn of our years,
Yet I still pursue my childhood goals,
Despite the rejections, the blood, sweat and tears.

As father time moves on faster,
Closing in on goals I've yet to master,
Some of us shine in the bask of autumnal bliss,
Laureled, content, rightfully serene,
But for me there is something amiss,
As I yearn for the fruition of an American dream.

The Inherent Contradiction of Foreign Policy by Force

Neoconservatives are prone to make the observation that libertarians are naive in their belief in a non-interventionist foreign policy because that is just not how the world works. “Nature abhors a vacuum” and “if we aren’t the policeman of the world then some other country which is much more evil will step in.” And they do have a point, looking back on history, it is replete with examples that foreign policy is akin to the rule of the jungle, i.e., might makes right.

What astounds me though is their complete lack of consistent thinking on this matter. If they took this view of history and employed this reasoning across the board of public policy, you would be hard pressed not to conclude that they really support no rule of law at all. If in foreign policy, why not economics? Why shouldn’t force be the reigning paradigm? Why shouldn’t all activity revert to the law of the caveman–what is mine is mine because I can take it?

No, they say. Society can’t run without the rule of law. We would have chaos. Oh really. And what sort of cognitive dissonance is required to arrive at these independent thoughts? What is so markedly different between the actions of nations and the actions of individuals? Is there something that magically gives dispensation to those who organize by force and maintains that monopoly of force, by force? The hundreds of millions who have died through war by governments over the ages, it occurs to me could be the very definition of chaos.

Yet the neocons insist that force is the method by which to successfully implement foreign policy.

And by that reasoning, slavery would also be the rule of the day.

Soviet style central planning would dictate economics.

Dictatorships would be the preferred form of government.

Deep down they must know that liberty has won the argument when it comes to political and economic organization; that cooperation, contracts and voluntary trade works much better than force. That to the extent liberty has been tried, it has made mankind freer and more prosperous than any other system tried.

Foreign policy by force is the last vestige of caveman mentality. It, too, will go the way of the dinosaur, slavery, and soviet style central planning. It is the regressive remnant of the law of the jungle. Its chaotic results will eventually defer to more peaceful cooperation, voluntary trade and diplomacy. It will do so because peace, prosperity and freedom hold more value for man than murder, prisons, and brute force.

And that day will come sooner rather than later when the neocons recognize the inherent contradiction of their beliefs.

Force or freedom? There really is no other choice.

Would Ghandi-style Resistance Work In America?

I just saw Ghandi again, for like, the sixth time. Every time I watch it, the movie has an even bigger impression on me. I watch the movie, not as an historical depiction, but as a primer on overthrowing oppression.

I’ve had discussions with my friend, Jim Young, on whether or not Ghandi’s approach would work in the U.S. He suggests that the English thought of themselves as a civilized society, in fact the reason for their empire was to civilize the world. Of course, Ghandi’s tactics exposed the British Empire for what it was–just a group of thugs exploiting people for their own benefit. And it was those in control of the British Empire who were exposed as uncivilized, e.g, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, that killed some 1000 or so peaceful, unarmed protestors.

So do Americans consider themselves civilized? You would think that those who believe in the “exceptionalism” of America would include “civilized” as part of that umbrella. Does the oppression of the Indian people by the British Empire compare to the oppression that the ruling establishment foists upon the American people and abroad? My wife says, “no,” that at no time in the U.S. has law enforcement killed 1000 people in a demonstration. And that is true, at least in the U.S. But what about the continual shootings of American citizens by militarized cops almost always with impunity? And the declaration of power to assassinate American citizens? And the claim to power to indefinitely detain American citizens without due process of law? The number of innocent deaths from law enforcement since 911 exceeds 1000. By comparison, law enforcement only shot 85 total bullets in 2011 in Germany. That figure is sometimes exceeded in the killing of one person by law enforcement in the US. Of course, internationally it is even worse as the apologists for American Empire refer to collateral damage in the wholesale killing in Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen (just in the recent past).

Ghandi understood that those resisting to oppressors needed a present, alert and active news media in order to succeed in exposing the tyranny for what it was. Today, we have countless new sources of information through the internet. So exposure should not be a problem.

But are Americans willing to look themselves in the mirror to see what has become of this burgeoning police state where we have more citizens in prison per capita than anywhere else in the world–by far? And we have a military budget that is virtually equal to the rest of the world combined. How long can Americans sit back and allow the piecemeal destruction of innocent lives by our “protectors”? How long can Americans sit back and allow the destruction of innocent lives, those who choose to live off the grid; those who choose to self medicate; those who choose to supply vitamins or raw milk in the market place; or grow vegetables on their front lawn; or become an entrepreneur without paying tribute to the government, or those who choose to deal in an alternative currency? How long will Americans tolerate the tyranny imposed on those who choose to live a life of freedom? How many Americans understand what freedom is?

And if a sufficient number of people do come to this realization, would Ghandi-style active non-violent resistance be effective here? Or do Americans, collectively, only answer to violence?

I am only asking these questions. I don’t have an answer. Because I don’t have an answer to why Americans in mass aren’t already demanding an end to tyranny. Haven’t they the ability to think abstractly or do they choose not to? Does the tyranny have to happen to them or their loved ones? Is it that only a small segment of America experiences this tyranny whereas under the British Empire, the Indians were reminded of it every day? Would it matter if every American knew that a 35 year- old mother is undergoing a life sentence without parole, because she told somebody over the phone that she would “Let me see what I can do” when being asked to supply some drugs. Never said, “yes”? Never supplied the drugs?

I was brought up Roman Catholic although I am not one now. But one concept from Jesus has always stuck with me.”Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.” I hear Jesus calling to the millions of Christians in America. Are they listening? Are they afraid? Do they care? Do those who believe in an “exceptional” America care? Do we think we are civilized? Does a truly civilized person stick their head in the sand when confronted with news of American tyranny? Are we civilized, are we cowards, or are we thugs?

The Beacon of Hope

The hope of a welcoming solstice light,
as it shines in a measured renewal glimmer,
begins to heal the pain of darkness blight,
That tunneled view of venerated power.

Of tasered taunts by uniformed thugs,
Swat-team terror with innocents slaughtered,
militarized mopes with unbridled mugs,
Licensed warriors swapped for freedom, long bartered,
To process terror and drug wars, unchartered.

This cognitive dissonant view of life,
to be free to choose via only permission,
Pervades so many-- this dark- side plight,
a conquered class by prejudiced division.

Forbidden plots on front yard lots,
raw milk supplied, by the authorities denied,
a lemonade stand, summarily banned,
vitamin shops, shuttered by cops,
feeding the poor, no longer du jour,
paper guns rendered, then children suspended.

But now a new media illuminates oppression,
Filtered no longer by puppeteered hacks,
Pandora’s web with lightning propulsion,
Exposes the truth that the Establishment lacks.

This celebrated season of hope, love and peace,
lights up a renaissance, a universal release,
where licensed aggression may one day cease,
burst from the dark clouds which stifled so sleepily,
The beacon of truth shines ever so brightly.

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday season, and a hopeful, loving, peaceful and freedom- filled new year.

"We, the Government?"

“We are the government.” I am amazed that so many progressives still seem to really believe that. They love to use that phrase when justifying transfer payments from private individuals through the government to those in need. In other areas of concern, not so much. Have they really thought all this through?

After hearing the phrase, “We are the government,” ad nauseum from progressive types, I feel compelled finally to respond in a more complete manner than to just shake my head in despair.

Forget, for a moment, the dearth of logic implicit in the Rousseauian social “contract” that supposedly binds us all in a collective bond where individual choice on whether or not to make that contract is no choice at all– a glaring disparity from what is taught in Contract Law 101. According to those supporting the concept, we are born with that contract. I suppose if people believe they can be born with original sin, then it is not too far off the logic meter to fall for the social contract myth, too.

But even buying into the social contract concept requires one to believe that an open and fair democratic process takes place by we, the people, so that we can make our collective decisions on the public policies of the day. Of course, in America that is a farce. To run as an independent or “third party” candidate requires one to jump over huge purposefully high hurdles, put there by the ruling elite to keep themselves the ruling elite. Here in Illinois it takes as much as ten times or more signatures to get on the ballot compared to the ruling elite parties. That, in and of itself, nullifies any validity to the claim that “we are the government.”

But disregarding that trumping point, too, one must still take the following into account. If we are the government, then it follows that we must take responsibility for all the decisions made by government, and for all of the ramifications.

Progressives, are you ready to take full responsibility for:

the pitiful conditions of Indian reservations;
the disgrace that is public housing;
the power we, the government, have given to government to indefinitely detain American citizens;
the act of assassinating American citizens;
the insurmountable debt laid upon our children, grandchildren and posterity;
the swat team raiding of vitamin stores;
the swat team raiding of raw milk producers;
the swat team raiding by the Dept. of Education on those who have defaulted on their student loans;
the illegality of feeding the poor in many municipalities;
the swat team murdering of innocents, slaughtered because mistaken identification, wrong address or wrongful entry;
the unpunished murdering of the mentally ill by today’s militarized cops;
the killing of tens of thousands of innocents in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Yemen via drone attacks;
the half million women and children dead in Iraq because of economic sanctions imposed by the US;
the killing of eagles because of the use of subsidized windmills;
the tasering of children;
the bombing of innocents in Dresden, Viet Nam, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I have merely scratched the surface. If one really believes, in the concept that “we are the government” then it naturally follows that any acts by government are the responsibility of “we, the people.” That is quite a cross to bear. Really, an unbearable one. It would be hard to truly take responsibility for all this. I think I would shoot myself. How could any sane, moral person really stand up to this burden? The reality is, one can’t; one doesn’t. The concept of “we, the people, are the government” is a sham. And I believe progressives deep down in their hearts know it. It is only a rhetorical tool to try to convince others and themselves that the government actions that they support are justified by some magical wave of the wand over-ruling the non-aggression principle–as if actions by government are given a special dispensation to the moral law.

But in reality, there are no dispensations to the moral law. If there were, it wouldn’t be moral.
It would be sophistry. And that is what it is.

Thanksgiving

I suppose this is late, but here goes anyway.

I am thankful for those who fight for freedom, in every way--

for those scholars who publish reasoned, cogent and persuasive arguments;
for those scholars who educate our future freedom fighters;
for the modern-day Patrick Henrys who are willing to fight in defense of the natural right;
for the organizers who put together action furthering the goal in a practical and effective manner;
for the true journalists who inform us the happenings and the trends–for good and ill;
for the activist who writes, preaches, demonstrates, petitions, and leaflets for the cause;
for the individual who promotes freedom and non-aggression by the virtue of living its principles;
for those who challenge every unjust law at every step at every court appearance;
for those who run for office in order to strengthen the cause;
for those who consciously rebuke the political apparatus in order to not sanction the process of force;
for the novelist who brings these noble ideas to a general audience;
for the film maker who brings those novels to film;
for the film maker who transfers the great wealth of information from scholars and journalists into a documentary form;
for the petition signers;
for those who lend moral support for the cause;
for those who practice civil disobedience to unjust laws;
for those public interest law firms who support those fighting tyranny;
for all of those photographing and filming abuse from government and “law” enforcement;
for those in the information and social media disseminating information here-to-fore unknown but to a few;
for the fundraisers and benefactors to the cause;
for the cartoonists, musicians and other artists promoting the cause;
for all of those spending their time fighting for the cause of freedom, and not wasting their time and ours putting down those who choose a different path than they do.

I am not thankful for those who:

stick their heads in the sand, who would rather be ignorant than informed;
purposefully impose their political and social constructs on others through the use of force;
believe might makes right;
consider themselves arresting officer, judge, jury and executioner all in one–all at the time of arrest;
wish to impose their religious views on others through the use of force;
who think that force is okay as long as it is wielded by “our side”.
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The Day the Neocons Died (sung to the tune of “American Pie”)

Just a short while ago,
we were ruled by such a heavy hand,
the prez claimed things reserved but to ancient kings,
It brought on us such a strain,
When he took the power to detain,
Citizens forever, a naked tyrant’s claim.
Our lives were most fully owned,
by a ruling class who must atone,
For claiming absolute power,
But Rand Paul didn’t cower,
Challenge he did with a simple tone,
to stop the threat of hellfire drones,
That filibuster struck so deep inside,
The day the neocons died.

So bye, bye, American Empire,
Take your tasers and your lasers and shove it inside,
Your hellfire missiles, and your media lies,
Singin’ this day the neocons died,
This day the neocons died.

Did you read that book of reason,
from that Remington Rand, some thought as treason,
To never aggress except in defense,
Did your human action make the scene,
you’re free to choose the American dream,
as we forge a new liberty.
It now has become quite crystal clear,
The rummies of neocon wars and fear,
And wolves of which trade on terror plots
Are extinct now, oh, those sorry lots.
We were glued to the Cspan II viewing screen,
As Rand took the stand with a liberty theme,
The filibuster struck so deep inside,
The day the neocons died.

Singin’ bye, bye, American Empire,
Take your tasers and your lasers and shove it inside,
Your hellfire missiles, and your media lies,
Singin’, this day the neocons died,
This day the neocons died.

Now Lindsey and John, with their tantrum rants,
join the Rupert lackeys and his sycophants,
With dying gasps as their cries just fade away,
Meanwhile, the burgeoning source of news,
From the twitterverse and the Facebook tools,
the world wide web heralds in a liberty tune,
But usurpers and co-optors lurk in the wings,
Ready to redirect the liberty strain,
Beware these rubes without substance,
For the price is eternal vigilance.
Pundits changed their hats so super quick,
Rush not to the hand it is super slick,
The filibuster struck so deep inside,
The day the neocons died.

Singin’ bye, bye, American Empire,
Take your tasers and your lasers and shove it inside,
Your hellfire missiles, and your media lies,
Singin’, this day the neocons died,
This day the neocons died.

Cell Phone Ban Doesn’t Go Far Enough

I see that the Illinois House, in their continuing quest to keep us all as safe as a child in a pro-life mother’s womb, has passed a bill that would prohibit driving with hand held cell phones anywhere in the state of Illinois. I sure appreciate their concern for my safety while behind the wheel driving, but I‘ve been thinking about that for awhile and have decided that our venerable politicians have been somewhat derelict in their duty this time round. Certainly the bill doesn’t go far enough.

Not being the expert in highway safety as our diligent representatives in Springfield are, I, nonetheless, have been able to come up with my modest proposal to improve on this august legislation.

It appears to me that talking on the phone has to be one of the least distracting things done while people are driving compared to other venalities. Listening to the radio can certainly distract the driver, especially with those sub-woofer boom boxes reverberating in the back seat. As melodious as such music is to our ears, I am sure everyone agrees that safety must comes first and rap must take the rap. If we can save just one child, . . . Let’s just ban music systems all together. After all, it’s for the children.

And while we are at it, there are many other activities that must be verboten. Eating certainly distracts more than cell phone use. Heck, I like to munch down a Chicago dog as much as the next guy. But let’s get with the program. Those Chicago dogs in Springfield need to take another look at eating in the car, instead of them eating up our pocket books with incessant profligate spending. We must ban eating while driving. And needless to say, no exception can be made; donuts will also have to be proscribed. I know this will involve fighting the great pressure from the law enforcement unions, but now is the time to remain strong.

And who hasn’t seen women (and some men) distracted while farding. Farding is quite the hazard. Applying makeup to the face while driving puts us all in dire jeopardy. So farding must be prohibited.

Come to think of it, conversations can be very distracting while driving, especially carrying on with those in the back seat. Banning this has the added bonus of banning backseat drivers at the same time. And while we’re at it, beating on the children in the back seat, I know, lifelong sport for some, will also have to go. You can’t keep those hands on ten and two while walloping your children now can you?

I wouldn’t know about this next point personally, but I have heard told, in the past, from truck driver reports, of certain sexual activity being performed on one while driving. I’m sure we can agree that this could climax into a serious accident. Let’s add that to the list.

I’m sure I have just scratched the surface. But maybe this list will help keep our politicians in Springfield attune to the job at hand. I wouldn’t want to go too far yet, but let us keep in mind the ultimate goal is ultimate safety, from cradle to grave security wrapped in the beneficent arms of our caring politicians. With that in mind, let us look forward to the ultimate goal of just down-right banning automobiles, thereby saving tens of thousands of lives every year. Who is ready to invest in the plastic bubble cocoon industry with me? Any takers?

“The Police State” Brought to you by . . .

So now it happens that Cook County (for those of you outside of Illinois, better known as Crook County) has a corporate sponsor for the real estate tax bills sent out. The ad is right there on the tax bill. Chase Bank is offering a $!00 savings on who knows what. Wouldn’t want to waste my time finding out. My first reaction was, Well, now fascism has no shame. It’s right in the open. But some of my libertarian colleagues see nothing wrong. After all, this is saving taxpayers money holding down the mailing costs. But the marriage is insidious. If you look at the long run, how the marriage of big corporations and government has snuffed out the small businessman, especially at the state level where the big boys are given the tax breaks and everyone else has to make up the difference, by allowing this to happen, one is basically waving the white flag. We will never get to have equal opportunity under the law as long as this type of thing is allowed. Enforcing the 14th Amendment would go much further in reducing our taxes than an advertised corporate mailing does.

But I do see the trend. Not in the too distant future, . . .

Swat-team raid funded by the GEO Group, the leader in private prison administration. “Constitution? We don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution.”

Front yard gardening citation sponsored by Scotts. Green lawns, forever. “Bastions of sameness--It’s the American way.”

Your income tax bill sponsored by H&R Block. “Compliance is a virtue.”

Prison Tortures Reality TV, brought to you by Erotic Leathers, Inc.

"Public Education": Molding students to obedience, compliance and dutiful citizenship since 1642, brought to you by the National Federation of School Boards, with additional sponsorship by the NEA.

Domestic drone attacks sponsored by Northrup Grumman “Because there is a potential terrorist lurking behind every rock.”

This five-mile backup brought to you by the Road Construction Guild of America. Stimulizing America. “You want jobs? We got jobs!”

This limited gun confiscation sponsored by the Brady Center. “Don’t worry. It’ll never happen here.”

“Middle East Bombings, Live!”sponsored by the Military Industrial Complex, Dick Cheney, honorary chairman, hosted by Charles Krauthammer.

Red light ticket citations backed by American Traffic Solutions, your source for red light surveillance since 1984. “You’re on candid camera!”

This Excessive Energy Use citation sponsored by Solar Solutions, Inc. “Who said you can’t tax the sun?”

Uninsured motorist citation sponsored by State Farm Insurance. “State farms were a great idea, State farm Insurance even better.”

“Public Canings of Recalcitrant Teens” brought to you by the Imperial Cane and Strap Co., makers of the finest rattan canes imported from Singapore, when flexibility and sturdiness are required for maximum effect. Tested by the Saint Catherine’s Sisters of the Poor Convent.

Mandatory yearly vaccinations sponsored by the Big Pharma Guild.. FDA Approved,. Liability exempted. “It’s for your own good.”

This printing-press run brought to you by Goldman Sachs. “We know bailouts.”

Dutiful Evaluation of the Aged in Terminal Health (DEATH) Panel, formulated by the Heritage Foundation, Romney/Obama sub group, “After all, you’ve already had a wonderful life.”

As this all becomes reality, we might as well bring this idea to full fruition. As some have already observed, here is an idea whose time has come: mandatory Nascar-style jackets worn by all elected politicians sporting the brands to which they are all beholden. Oh, what a lovely sport.

10 questions I am sure were asked at last night's debate

The incarceration rate per capita in the US is by far greater than any other country in the world. Are American people that much more evil than the rest of the world that they need to be incarcerated to such a degree?

How do you reconcile the abolition of the right of habeas corpus and indefinite detention with the Bill of Rights?

How do you reconcile your belief that the President has the power to murder American citizens without due process, with the Bill of Rights?

Since the inception of the Federal Reserve, the dollar has lost over 95% of its value. Is it time that we ended the Fed?

Why is it wrong and illegal for a private citizen to counterfeit, rob, cheat, and steal, but when the government does it, it is considered good public policy?

If America is such a beacon of freedom, why does it need to spend almost half of all the military spending in the world?

How do you reconcile having over 900 military bases throughout the world with the belief in “limited” government?

If marijuana is so dangerous, never having killed one person, that it must be illegal, than how dangerous are the legal prescription drugs that kill tens of thousands of Americans every year?

A trillion dollars of debt here, a trillion dollars of debt there, at what point does that become real money?

What gives the government the right to hold a gun to Americans’ heads while saying, “Your money or your life?

South Carolina Vote Fraud

Here is the link to the regression analysis on vote fraud in South Caroina discussed on today's radio show.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_wWkfsJPShUMWQxMTc2NzgtM2MzYy00ZGJhLWI1MmYtMWU2ZGU1OWZkZjhk/edit

The Magic Show

To a rational man it has to be absolutely stunning as to what extent the American people believe in magic. Now, I’m not talking about the garden rabbit-out-of-the-hat variety, but something much more disturbing. So many Americans invert their moral beliefs, as if by magic, when they allow government to engage in an activity that they would abhor in the private sphere.

That became quite clear to me when Ron Paul was jeered and booed for extolling the virtues of the golden rule applying it to foreign policy. Here is a universal code of conduct, proffered by all religions, and also the non-religious. Yet, when it comes to foreign policy, shazamm. Immunity from logic. Individually, the golden rule makes sense. But collectively, through government, the rules are different? We can intervene in the affairs of other nations, bomb, torture, and murder, and not expect adverse consequences? Simply amazing. Shazamm.

Of course this cognitive dissonance does not just cover foreign policy. Virtually all people denounce theft as immoral. Yet, when government does it through the “democratic process,” shazamm, it becomes moral. Of course the founding fathers abhorred democracy. Thomas Paine said, “Democracy is the most vile form of government.” For some reason, most Americans apparently believe that as long as they can get 50 % of the people to go along with them, virtually any deplorable conduct is just fine, in fact, moral. The income tax code is filled with thousands of pages where numerous coalitions of thugs get together to steal from another group of people who didn’t feel compelled to participate in organized crime. As H..L. Mencken once said, “Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods.” Theft in private is a vice; theft in the political process is a virtue. Shazamm.

I’ve been thinking of doing my part for the economy lately, instituting my PEE program for America, Prazak Economic Easing. Basically, I would go down to my basement and crank up the old printing press, and start issuing my Prazak Reserve Notes. Now I wouldn’t call them that. After all, my laudable goal would be to get more money into the economy to make everyone richer (especially myself). So I would make them look as close to Federal Reserve Notes as possible so that they would be universally acceptable. Now who could object to such a noble, lofty, yes, patriotic goal? Wouldn’t John Maynard Keynes be proud?. Being a prudent man, I passed along this idea to my attorney first, who was somewhat non-plussed suggesting that there was some law against counterfeiting out there. He went on to point out that only Ben Bernanke had the power to do such economic good for the nation. His heroic benevolent issuance of money to the government and big banks, he assured me, were done with the blessings of the oracles of Wall Street, and K Street. He went out to point out that any independent PEEing in public would get me prison time. The blessings of that sort of golden like showering of paper money are left to the anointed ones. Shazamm!

Ok, so I’m getting my mind right now. What other magical miracles happen when government waves its magic wand? Well, I do recall that George Bailey, in “It’s a Wonderful Life” was looking at jail time for losing $5000 of its building-and-loan’s funds. A serious crime. Yet, the day before 9/11, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld admitted that there were 2.3 trillion dollars unaccounted for in the Pentagon budget. Figuring in inflation, I do believe that the $5000 missing from the Bailey’s building and loan wouldn’t be quite worth 3.2 trillion in today’s dollars. I think that is a safe assumption. So one might think that there is no moral equivalence until we understand the following. We must remember the important work of the Pentagon wiping out Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and other non humans. What’s a trillion here or a trillion there when it comes to the moral imperative of water boarding, drone-inducing collateral damage, a Haliburton jobs program, and Empire building? Moral equivalence indeed.

Well, even some vices are actually prohibited by our Constitution. Bribery is one. So maybe one can assume that that is one area where the magic show doesn’t apply. Yes, if I bribe an official to change the zoning of my property, I’m sure I could go to jail. If a lobbyist bribes an elected official, well I suppose it’s possible that there might be some negative consequences, but probably only if you are as arrogant or stupid as, say a Governor Blogojevich. The smart ones are a little more indirect in their approach. But there is one area where the magic show shines.

The federal government holds out gobs of cash to the states if they will enact various regulations in those states. When it comes to the drug war, seat belt enforcement, speed limits, and the drinking age of 21, the states are bribed with stolen goods of tax dollar money if they will pass those regulations. One interesting off shoot of this is the fact that 18 year olds can go out and give their life for the Empire yet can’t legally drink a sip of beer. Only in the magical “land of the free and the home of the brave” can such logic exist. We obviously can’t have drunkards protecting the Empire.

Now let’s move on to a law that isn’t in the US Constitution but is assumed jurisdictional by the Feds, that of kidnaping. Surely, this is one area where the magic show doesn’t apply. Right? Wrong. Regarded as one of the most heinous crimes, kidnaping is universally frowned upon, well except when it comes to in loco parentis guardianship in the government schools. Lockdowns that kidnap children for hours is routine in the warrantless searches for drugs on school campuses. It’s for their own good.

And then there is the paramount example of the IRS. On November 28, 1984, IRS agents raided the Engleworld Learning Center (a day-care center) in the Detroit suburb of Allen Park, MI, because of overdue taxes. The IRS agents forced parents to pay the center's taxes when they came to pick up their children. According to the Washington Times, "Inside were a handful of bewildered parents, unable even to see their children until they paid money for taxes they did not owe to two IRS agents sitting near the entrance. Allegedly, the children--as many as 30 of them-could not run to greet their parents . . . as ordinarily was their custom. IRS agents kept them closely guarded in Room C of the center. At least one agent was posted in another room where pre-schoolers, some still in diapers, were detained." Parents were not allowed to see their children until they signed an agreement with the IRS to pay up. It’s only right.

It all makes sense if you consider the fact that the real parents of children apparently are not the parents. In the Alice in Wonderland magical kingdom of government, it takes a village, no, come to think of it, Hillary was a a piker. It takes the State to raise a child.

And now consider the world of Ponzi schemes. The latest bad boy in the private sector was Bernie Madoff. He probably cheated people of tens of billions of dollars. Pretty serious stuff, but a mere pittance compared to Social Security, one of the most beloved programs by Democrats and Republicans alike. If a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent practice where “investors” on the top of the list are paid by newer “investors” on the bottom of the list, where no true investment takes place, but an ever expanding source of revenue is required to keep the scheme going, than nothing compares more completely than the multi-trillion dollar Ponzi scheme of Social Security. Yet, there are some differences. Bernie Madoff didn’t hold a gun to anybody’s head to force them to invest. But Social Seucrity is so important that it has to be guaranteed successful by making it mandatory through the use of force. Shazamm! From financial fraud to Social Security nirvana. For good moral reason is Social Security the third rail of politics.

Let’s see. What vice haven’t we covered yet? What about extortion? There is a provision of the appropriately named Patriot Act that threatens US citizens with prison if they exercise their Constitutional free speech rights concerning a warrantless federal raid of their home. I guess today’s definition of a patriot is one who loves big brother so much that he can quite clearly see how two plus two equals five if big brother says so. After all, that is how the magic show works. Double thinking is necessary in the eye of the magical mystery tour of moral inversion.

When one thinks about it for not too long, one must conclude that most of the laws in this country do fall under the magical sway of state sanctioned extortion.

Be a kid selling lemonade, get shut down and fined
Plant an illegal plant, go to jail.
Ingest an illegal herb, go to jail.
Engage in a trade without permission from the magicians, go to jail.
Trade in real money, go to jail.
Tell a joke to the TSA, go to jail.
Exercise your free speech rights, go to jail.
Buy a gun to protect yourself, go to jail.
Educate your children at home, in some jurisdictions, go to jail.
Keep what you earn, go to jail.
.
The moral good of extortion, bribery, misappropriation of funds, theft, torture and murder are alive and well through the magical application of government. Shazamm!

Don’t get it? You don’t see how fair is foul and foul is fair? War is peace? Freedom is slavery? Ignorance is strength? By the magic of the government wand, the government is the good. There is always Room 101 for the recalcitrant learners. Still not sure, join the ranks of cool hand Luke. The President will oblige. He has already asserted the power. What we have heah, is failya to communicate.

Regulatory Fantasyland

The following paragraph is a commentary coupled to a video on Corporations faking Blueberries in various products. My response to Mr. Adams follows his paragraph.
here is the link to the video: http://tv.naturalnews.com/v.asp?v=7EC06D27B1A945BE85E7DA8483025962&fb_source=message

1. Blueberries Faked in Cereals, Muffins, Bagels and Other Food Products - Food Investigations
MIKE ADAMS, Health Ranger - Natural News
This is the latest in the breakdown of our food supply. It shows us what comes of deregulation, and how corporations behave when they are not required to meet standards of national wellness. People like Ron Paul who want to eliminate all government regulations of the "free market," live in as fantasy world detached from actual facts. Market forces are making it harder! and harder to raise healthy children because profit comes first. Wellness is hardly a consideration.



Yes, someone is living in a fantasy world, and it isn’t Dr. Paul. It takes an extreme leap of faith to ignore the legion of examples where the big corporations have the regulators in their pockets. The big corporations do not get their power from their standing in the market place; they get their power from the use of the monopoly of power, i.e., the government, through subsidization, tax breaks, and regulations and taxation on their smaller challenging competitors who don’t have the resources as the big corporations do to get in bed with the government.

Mr. Adams makes a typical mistake of many progressives, confusing crony capitalism with the real free market variety. What we have today is crony capitalism. The corporations get their strength not so much from their market power as they do from controlling the regulatory apparatus. The big corporations have controlled the regulatory apparatus ever since the first bureaucratic inception of regulation, the establishment of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Faced with the market reality of lower prices for train tickets form Chicago to New York where there was a lot of competition, compared to Chicago to Peoria, were there was no competition, the rates were lower going from Chicago to New York than from Chicago to Peoria. So what did the FTC determine? Did they lower the rates from Chicago to Peoria? No, they raised the rates from Chicago to New York

It has been thus ever since. The powerful corporations gravitate to power to keep, maintain and expand their power. So they buy and sell Congress and get their boys in the regulatory apparatus with a perpetual revolving door. The result: the small entrepreneur who makes a better mousetrap, instead of having customers beating a path to their door, are greeted by the taxman and regulators. Remember the Tucker car and DeLorean’s too? The big boys keep the little guy out by using the powerful force of government. Has ever been so It is foolish to think it could happen any other way Who is living in the fantasy world? Me thinks it is Mr. Adams.

In a true free market, fraud would be answered in a common law court, with fully informed juries meeting out punishment and restitution. That didn’t happen under the regulatory structure a few years back when the state of Illinois sued the city of Milwaukee for polluting Lake Michigan. The case never made it to a jury because the city of Milwaukee made a motion to dismiss the case based on the fact that they were polluting within the EPA guidelines of how much they could pollute. In a free market common law court, Milwaukee would have been held accountable for the trespass of pollution.

True free market deregulation, the type that Ron Paul espouses, does not give any business a free ride to commit fraud. They would be held accountable in court. And the adverse verdict would blemish their reputation, hurting them even more in the market place. Those who try to commit fraud would then think twice the next time. As it is today under crony capitalism, the corporations know they have the bureaucrats in their back pocket. They buy their way out of accountability.

Progressives like Mr. Adams need to understand and differentiate between crony capitalism, where the government and corporations are partnered together (Mussolini called this fascism), and free market capitalism where the government does not play favorites. The market regulates through reputation, success or failure, common law court decisions, and a market regulatory apparatus such as Underwriters Laboratory, which has no government function, but does an excellent job assuring the safety of a variety of products.

Who but the most powerful, will take the reigns of the most powerful? Saying that democracy should only begs the question. Who controls the apparatus of democracy? Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The way to curb the power of the powerful is to restrict the entity with the most power, the entity that has a monopoly of force, that, of course is government.

Who Would Jesus Kill?

A long time ago, in my early twenties, I was still harboring a remnant of a belief system having to do with Roman Catholic Christianity. I even joined my local church choir at St. Barbara’s, in Brookfield, Illinois.

The most memorable phrase from the gospels for me attending weekly mass for so many years was, “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother, that you do unto me.”

During that time singing with the St. Barbara’s Choir, I came across a report in the local newspaper that the village was moving against an elderly couple, Bert and Elizabeth Kuellmar, with condemnation proceedings. Concerned about “the heavy hand of the state,” I decided to investigate. What I discovered was a friendly elderly couple that was somewhat eccentric. They were employing a compost pile before that activity became popular. Evidently the neighbors believed that composting attracted rodents and so, got the long arm of the law on them. I really didn’t see much else one could complain about. The couple was poor. The inside of the house looked somewhat run down, but nothing of the dangerous sort. As if that was anybody else’s business anyway.

To make a long story short, I wrote an open letter to our pastor that appeared in the local newspaper, appealing to him as a Christian to help those people out. After all, I thought that was what Christianity was all about. Never heard back from him but I received plenty of feedback from some of my fellow choir members who thought I was way out of bounds in soliciting help for the Kuellmars. Evidently, those signing a petition to have the elderly couple’s house condemned were fellow parishioners (including a neighbor of the Kuellmars who was eyeing the property). I was stunned, flabbergasted. There I sat and sang with the choir every Sunday hearing the Word of Jesus’ teachings; “Love thy neighbor”, “love they enemy,” “Jesus, the prince of peace,” “Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother, that you do unto me.” I quit the church soon after . . .

I hadn’t thought much about that episode in my life lately, until I heard presidential candidate Rick Santorum expressing pleasure at the idea of scientists being assassinated in Iran. Now Mr. Santorum isn’t just any candidate; he is the most pious of Christians running. Just ask him. There is a favorite bumper sticker among Christians: WWJD? What would Jesus Do? I have a few suggestions myself that might get more to the point. How about, WWJK? Who Would Jesus Kill? Or WWJB? Who Would Jesus Bomb? And maybe a new hymn is in order.


Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother,
That you do unto me ...
Excepting those Muslims,
You might want to kill,
Especially the Taliban,
O grant us our fill,
Collectively we cheer on
more blood of our brothers.
We will do what we crave,
Let’s bring on more murder,
Warring crusade is our love.


And now, as a matter of exclamation point, the South Carolina Republican primary debate provided all viewers with a very telling insight into the mindset of too many folk who call themselves Christians. Ron Paul calls for a foreign policy based on the golden rule. The jeers and boos from the South Carolina Republican audience (of which 60% or more call themselves evangelical Christians) I’m sure were heard all the way to heaven, even if they might have been instigated from a different source.

So from my perspective, whether at the community level, or the level of global foreign policy, the Christian Right has spoken loud and clear. My only question is, to what extent do my Christian friends and acquaintances support what I believe to be such a diametrical aberration from Christian doctrine. Please let me know. I will consider silence as acquiescence.

Dystopia NOW

As in all election cycles, demagoguery is alive and well this time around. One particular demagogic shot that hasn’t been given much scrutiny yet, is the charge by Newt Gingrich that the federal government must act pro-actively to stop terrorism as exemplified by the Oklahoma City bombing, This happened during a Republican presidential debate where Congressman Ron Paul urged Americans to adhere to Constitution protections when dealing with terrorists, pointing out that even infamous Nazi mass murderer, Adolf Eichman, was given due process of law before being executed.

The mainstream media has chosen to magnify that emotional heat in their process to excommunicate Ron Paul from their definition of serious discussion, while shedding no light on the trenchant reasons for adhering to Constitutional principles.

The emotional reaction to such a statement is that, of course, everything that needs to be done should be done to stop such a horrible carnage. After all, who doesn’t want to save lives? The non-thinking reactionary will close his mind after believing and emoting the “obvious.”

But a rational view requires a more studied outlook. How does one prevent the occurrences such as the Oklahoma City bombing?. Well, that, of course, requires surveillance–monitoring phone calls, internet use, financial transactions, and associations of various types.

After studying and understanding the reasoning behind the Fourth and Fifth Amendments in the Bill of Rights, one must conclude that our founding fathers were very reticent to allow the existence of a police state where surveillance is the norm. If fact, they fought a revolution in great part against the use of writs of assistance that were used to enforce the Townsend Acts and the Intolerable Acts. The writs of assistance gave power to the British crown to search and seize without warrants signed by a judge, giving law enforcement this power without restraint of time, place or items searched. The founding fathers wanted nothing to do with these type of police- state tactics and made sure that pro-active regulation thorough indiscriminate search and seizure was prohibited by the supreme law of the land.

I fear that if put to a vote, the Bill of Rights would be voted down by today’s American constituency. There is a lack of understanding or vigilant urgency as to what it takes to preserve the freedoms that used to define America. And the sycophantic mainstream press to the corporate power elite makes sure that any discussion of this is beyond the bounds of serious discourse.

As a result, the federal government has taken extraordinary steps at an accelerating pace eroding, yes, virtually eliminating the civil rights Americans once held dear, all in the name of the war on terror.

Through the Patriot Act, the use of writs of assistance has been legalized.

President Obama has issued an executive order claiming the power (and carrying it out) to assassinate US citizens. This has been executed without arrest, arraignment, right to an attorney, jury trial, or judgment.

The US Congress has just passed and President Obama has signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act . This enables the Executive branch to use the military to apprehend US citizens accused, in secret, of engaging, or aiding and abetting, in terrorist activities and detain them indefinitely without any due process of law.

It is worthy to note that these types of totalitarian tactics throughout history have always boomeranged against those who supported such initiatives. But, of course, reactionaries never think that far ahead.

So, all of this culminates into a nightmare scenario envisioned by Philip K. Dick in his short story, which was made into a Tom Cruise movie, “Minority Report.” Those who have read the story or have seen the movie recall that in a futuristic society, the government apprehends would- be killers ahead of time and executes them for pre-murder. Well, the future is now. These three acts taken together do exactly what Phillip K. Dick feared and prophesied.

American citizens must ask themselves, is this the type of society in which they would like to live? Is illusory safety from isolated terrorist threats, exacerbated by an interventionist foreign policy, worth it in exchange for very real terrorism from ones own government? One must not forget that government sponsored terrorism resulted in over 100 million deaths in the Twentieth Century. Do they really want to live in a dystopian nightmare of missing family members, murdered citizens without any due process-- full, naked power, without check in the Executive branch? The full ramifications of such a policy may not happen tonight, this year, or the next. It may not happen en-masse with this president. But if history is any guide at all, it will happen. Americans are not immune to the nature of the old adage, power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

And it will happen, to a great degree, because of the reactionary enabling of the establishment press to the demagoguery of the likes of Newt Gingrich, married in their vow to assassinate the character of the champion of freedom, Ron Paul.

Year-end Letter

Dear friends, family, relatives, colleagues, and associates,

I hope everyone is having a great holiday season.

This is the time of the year that many of us write our year-end letters highlighting the past year especially as it relates to our families. Because I believe this is such a pivotal year in the history of the United States, in the history of freedom, I am going to summarize not so much on the “normal“ activities of my life this year, but instead concentrate on those most important happenings concerning public policy.

Those of you who know me well know quite well that during my earlier adult years I became focused (some would say obsessed) on the deterioration of individual freedom in this country. As I grew older, I discovered that to get along with my fellow man, I had to broaden my horizons to lead a more full life, de-emphasize my concerns, and in the process might even convince some people of my warnings by not being so obsessed with them. As civilization didn’t immediately collapse, my focus continued to broaden.

But now I have observed over the past few years an accelerating pace of a devolution of society and a terrifying increase in the presence of a police state in the US. So I am here, now, on record, stating that I am reverting to being a real pain in the ass --to some, those ostriches who would stick their heads in the sand, refusing to see tyranny in front of their very eyes, refusing to hear the plaintive cries of the oppressed, refusing to engage their mind as to what is rationally clear, that once was the promise of America is now gone.

As a young boy growing up in the Fifties, my education was filled with stories about American exceptionalism. Only in the US, could one really reach his full potential because of the opportunity provided by the freedom America provided. The rule of law and the Constitution guaranteed our rights to free speech, religion, of the press and petition for redress of grievance. The right to bear arms protected us against our protectors. We had the right to confront an accuser. The Government couldn’t blast into our homes without a proper search warrant signed by a judge. Our property couldn’t be taken without due process of law. We had the right not to be a witness against oneself. We had a right of trial by jury of our peers.

I believed in all of that. I remember reading about Patrick Henry and Francis Marion, the swamp fox of the American revolution, and reveling in the fantasy of being in their shoes. America was the greatest country on earth. I believed in it. I reveled in it. I ate it up.

Maybe, as I grew older, I realized as a part of growing up that the ideals didn’t always fit the real world. But the older I got, the greater became our national debt, the more our money was worth less. One couldn’t just start a business; one had to get permission from government. And the taxation-–as a child in the Fifties we were taught the serfs had it so horrible in the Middle Ages because they had to give up 20% of their income to their landlords. Yet, the average American was paying close to 50% in taxes. Something was wrong. And then–-all of those lives lost in Viet Nam-–for what? To stamp out Communism? It turns out that the introduction of McDonald’s, rock music, and Levis into the Soviet Union probably had more to do with the demise of Communism than anything else.

I also remember watching all of those old Nazi films in the Fifties, the most memorable line being, “May I see your paperssss pleasssse?” That was the symbol of totalitarianism. That represented the horror in living in a police state. Yet, now Americans take it in stride to subject themselves to the grope and scope of the TSA, routine roadblocks on the highways and the prospect of a national ID card ( to chase down all those nasty illegals) that amounts to an internal passport, the very thing Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union imposed to keep its citizens in line.

All my life our freedoms and our wealth have eroded. The same political establishment keeps on getting elected and things have gotten consistently worse. As someone once said, the Democratic and Republican Parties are two wings on the same bird of prey. And now Congress has just passed legislation that gives power to the executive branch to use the military to arrest and indefinitely detain American citizens (the National Defense Authorization Act). And President Obama has asserted and carried out the power to murder American citizens, with no due process, no lawyers, no arrest, no jury trial, no right to habeas corpus. Why didn’t the newspaper headlines read, in huge bold letters, “Martial Law Passed by Congress,” or “President Assassinates an American citizen and his son.”

All of those ideals I cherished as a child are now gone in the name of the war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on poverty, the undeclared wars overseas that is bankrupting our country, summing up, the war on freedom. The groundwork has been laid; the last nail in the coffin of liberty has been set. Horror stories of botched swat-team drug raids abound. Swat teams descend on a person who has defaulted on his student loan. Vitamin stores are raided. These incidents are horrible enough. But the groundwork is now set which will bear the fruit of future horror stories commensurate of those involving the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The American people are not immune from this immutable law.

There is only one man who has been able to penetrate the ruling class barrier, who has challenged the establishment, challenged the status quo, stood up against the destruction of our economy and the confiscation of our liberties. That man is running for president. That man has never voted to raise taxes, won’t take a Congressional pension, always voted against big government, never went on a paid junket, always voted according to the Constitution, and always supported individual freedom and personal responsibility. That man is the only man, the only Republican or Democrat running for president who has the moral integrity, the knowledge and the wisdom to fully restore the greatness of America, that greatness promulgated by freedom and blossomed with a prosperity that no time in history can compare. That man should be the next president of the United States; that man is Dr. Ron Paul.

I urge all of you to recognize the true crisis we are in. Once freedom is taken away, it is almost impossible to win it back. Please educate yourselves to the situation at hand. If you do, I believe most of you would agree that Ron Paul is our last peaceful hope to restore the values of freedom, prosperity and peace.

In Defense of A Defensible foreign Policy

The following is a letter I sent to a conservative friend of mine who disagrees with a non-interventionist foreign policy.



Most people as I do recognize the heroic nature of those in uniform who work for the defense of ones country. The conflict arises from deciphering what is offense and what is defense.

Only defensive war is just. The legacy of just war theory in Western Civilization derives from the writings of Cicero, St Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, among others, Over the ages the writings of those philosophers have been refined into the following principles for the justice of war:

1.having just cause;
2.being a last resort;
3.being declared by a proper authority;
4.possessing right intention;
5.having a reasonable chance of success;
6.the end being proportional to the means used
(http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/).
The Western tradition of the primacy of the individual and certainly the legacy of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution, versus those political philosophies of collectivism, such as Communism, Socialism, fascism or nationalism, requires one to look at indiscriminate war as the most vile form of collectivism, a destruction of the rights of an individual. To wage war without the paramount value of refraining from the killing of innocent civilians from an American viewpoint is simply, morally wrong.

Pre-emptive war such as that waged against Iraq can never fit into the category of a just defensive war. First, it wouldn't be by definition a last resort, but instead, a first option. War wouldn't be declared by a proper authority since surprise is a necessary aspect of pre-emptive war. There would be no declaration of war. The ostensible reasons for war will have not been vetted sufficiently, since the requirement of pre-emption naturally hastens the move to war. And, of course we now know that the haste to get into that war without realizing the truth or falsity of those "weapons of mass destruction" resulted in execution of war without justification as all the charges of 'weapons of mass destruction" were false.

If every nation on earth held to the same philosophy of pre-emption during the twentieth century, there would be nothing human left on earth. Surely, both the Soviet Union and the United States of America would rationalize that since missiles are pointed at each other, better take out the one side before the other side attacks. Mutually assured destruction. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. An aspect of the traditional view of just war set up more limited wars by proxy in the third world. But now that the US believes it enjoys a virtual monopoly of force on the rest of the world, not moral considerations, but the presence of pure naked power, has enabled the US to posit the theory of pre-emptive war. Having the power to wage pre-emptive war certainly doesn't justify that war from any moral aspect that the great philosophers of the ages painstakingly developed through just war theory.

One can understand that if one is waging a truly defensive war and going after true military targets, some "collateral damage" may be unavoidable. But in the perils of a "war on terror," where the enemy is elusive and hard to identify, major collateral damage is unavoidable. Getting beyond the fact of its immorality, the utilitarian aspect of this is bankrupt. Every time innocents are killed, the mythical hydra snake multiplies as once moderate Islamists become instantly radicalized by virtue of the fact that their loved ones have become "collateral damage." If you doubt the occurrence of this, ask yourself this question, If you had a Chinese family living next door to you who were really freedom fighters, subversives plotting to overthrow the tyranny in China, while living in the US, what would your reaction be if the Chinese brought in a drone to wipe out those Chinese terrorists. They succeed, but unfortunately some of your loved ones become collateral damage in the process. How long would it take you to become radicalized against the Chinese?

Even non-violent acts of war such as the Clinton sanctions against Iraq may have killed up to 500,000 innocent children. Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, when asked about this, said, "We think it is worth it." This fatal conceit and hubris of the elite has blown back at us, to far greater extent than most would want to admit. How many moderate Islamic people were radicalized by that quote which was broadcast all over the Arab world? To answer that question you must ask yourself how many Americans would become radicalized if a foreign country imposed economic sanction on us that resulted in a half million of our children dead. Hell hath no fury, . . . But even if those sanctions didn't result in raising one more radical, the step must certainly be considered morally wrong. Certainly the end is not proportional to the means used.

Limited government conservatives are prone to rely on the founding fathers for advice as to how to approach public policy. The Constitution is often quoted. And conservatives lament when "liberals" read into the Constitution powers that are not there or powers that derive from a "living Constitution." ( A living Constitution is where two people are playing poker, one has two pair, the other, three of a kind. The one with two pair says "The rules have changed in this modern era. Two pair now beats three of a kind.") Why is it then that those who believe in an aggressive foreign policy become cognitively dissonant concerning Constitutional powers in this field? The Constitution is very clear. Article I, section 8: "Congress has the power to declare war." Nowhere does the Constitution allow the Congress to delegate this grave responsibility. To believe so is to walk the path of "liberals" who read so much power into the Constitution that they take the position that Congress through the commerce clause can tell individuals what vegetables can or can not be grown on their own property for their own consumption. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickard_v._Filburn) This is, of course an absurd proposition, but no less absurd than the notion that Congress can delegate their responsibility to declare war onto the Executive branch. On this point alone, foreign intervention since World War II has been and is illegal, unconstitutional and wrong.

Those of us who believe in limited government are fond of quoting the founding fathers on a variety of issues. Why is it that those who believe in an aggressive foreign policy choose to ignore the admonitions of the founders on the points of foreign policy? Thomas Jefferson and George Washington in his farewell address preached of a foreign policy of non-intervention. They called for free trade with all and entangling alliances with none. But times are different, now, you say? Listen to yourself--that is exactly how liberals sound as they run roughshod over the Constitution. Fundamental principles do not change.

And we need not turn to the Eighteenth Century to garner support for non-interventionism. In the Fifties, "Mr. Republican,' Robert Taft, had this to say on war, "War by its very nature tended to concentrate power in the hands of the central state, and thus threatened the cherished American ideals of limited government and separation of powers." And of course, President Eisenhower, in his farewell address prophetically warned of the power of the (Congressional[He used this word in the first draft; it was eliminated by speech time]) Military Industrial Complex. Eisenhower also believed that the use of nuclear weapons against Japan was unnecessary. Said Eisenhower, " in [July] 1945... Secretary of War Stimson, visiting my headquarters in Germany, informed me that our government was preparing to drop an atomic bomb on Japan. I was one of those who felt that there were a number of cogent reasons to question the wisdom of such an act. ...the Secretary, upon giving me the news of the successful bomb test in New Mexico, and of the plan for using it, asked for my reaction, apparently expecting a vigorous assent.

"During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives. It was my belief that Japan was, at that very moment, seeking some way to surrender with a minimum loss of 'face'. The Secretary was deeply perturbed by my attitude..." (http://www.doug-long.com/quotes.htm) General Douglas McArthur, Herbert Hoover and Admiral William D. Leahy (among other foreign policy leaders) had similar misgivings.

If an alien from another planet came to earth and studied war history over the past seventy years observing that the US is the only nation on earth to use nuclear weapons, would the alien not think it rather hypocritical for the US to deny other nations' right to have these weapons for their security, i.e., Iran?

As one who believes in limited government, I firmly believe that fundamental principles don't change. Those principles include that human beings have the right to life, that in order to promote life, they have the right to produce and to keep those products of their labor and expertise. They have the right to choose, to make decisions in any manner controlling their life as long as they don't infringe on the equal rights of others to do the same. This is the essence of being a free human being. Extrapolating this into foreign policy requires one to realize that for one country to intervene into another country's business is wrong and immoral. Entangling alliances such as NATO or the United Nations violate this principle.

But what about true national defense? If 911 was an invasion, then the perpetrators should be brought to justice. Since the perpetrators of 911 didn't represent a nation state, the response becomes a little more problematic. But the answer is yet in the Constitution. In Article I, section 8, it provides for the use of "Letters of Marque and Reprisal." This process commissions a group of people (on the seas historically, they were privateers) to go after specific individuals for crimes committed against the US. After 911, Congressman Ron Paul called for the use of letters of marque and reprisal to go after Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaida. The value of this approach is that the killing of innocent people being killed is minimized, the actual perpetrators are punished instead of innocent civilians being killed because of collective guilt by association.

Instead, to call for a perpetual war against a concept, "terror", is a recipe for a burgeoning police state. I actually predicted this after the first gulf war. (www.freedomrings.net/html/writings/essays/Lessons_of_the_Persian_Gulf_War.htm) Randolph Bourne had it right, "War is the health of the state." From time immemorial, government has used war as an excuse to take away citizens' natural rights. During the War Between the States, (I actually prefer the phrase, "The War of Northern Aggression"), Lincoln did all of the following:

Took away the right to habeas corpus;
Interned thousands of people without charging them of a crime including many journalists;
Deported A Congressman;
Took away the natural right and the unalienable right as professed in the Declaration of Independence, to secede;
Introduced fiat currency backed by nothing of value which is nothing less than theft through inflation;
Introduced the draft to this country--really a form of slavery;
Introduced for the first time in this country, the income tax, another form of theft and/or slavery.

Some of these violations stayed with America, others temporarily went away only to come back to haunt us because of the precedent.

The war on terror has accelerated this process. The Patriot Act and the Military Commissions Act completely violates the principles in the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Our Founding Fathers fought a revolution against the processes that these laws permit. After passing the Stamp Act, King George needed a way to enforce the act so he used writs of assistance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writ_of_assistance). These writs enabled tax collectors to go into homes without any search warrant signed by a judge. These were general warrants. Officials could violate privacy and property rights for any whim at any time. The ratification of the Fourth Amendment was a direct answer against the use of Writs of Assistance. Our Fourth Amendment gives no exception for times of war. Moreover, no war has been declared. As the Constitution in the Fourth and Fifth Amendment refer to persons or people, not citizens, military tribunals and the holding of persons indefinitely is also un-Constitutional.

These acts, as bad as they are, now pale in comparison to recent events. The President has asserted the power to assassinate American citizens based solely on the claim of the Executive branch, with no transparency. Any fair-minded individual should see the danger in this. This is a recipe for totalitarian rule. To prevent this sort of thing is why the Bill of Rights was enacted. To make matters worse, in the recent case where President Obama carried out this murder of Awlaki, he also murdered his son who hadn't been declared an enemy combatant. Very reminiscent of how the Mafia does business. Better kill the son, too, or he might come back to retaliate. And now, the Congress has just passed a law that completely takes away the Constitutional rights of American citizens claiming that the military can pick up any citizen in the world, including in the US, which has now been declared a battlefield, and hold them indefinitely, and assassinate them. Any future president now has this power. Anyone who doesn't see the danger of this, has his head totally in the sand. One might as well call me an enemy combatant, because I believe any government official who supports this, in essence is guilty of treason. I am an enemy combatant against those who have subverted the Constitution turning my country into a police state. Gitmo, or worse, here I come.

To destroy our freedoms in order to save them is completely Orwellian.

Interventionism becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. the United States' problems with the Middle East hasn't happened in a vacuum. Adapted from Iraq, Iran, and September 11: A Chronology, by Jacob G. Hornberger, December 19, 2002)

1951 -- Iranian people democratically elect Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh as Iranian premier.

1953 -- U.S. government, operating through the CIA, ousts Mossadegh in favor of shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, a cruel and tyrannical dictator who, with U.S. government support, brutalizes his own people for the next 25 years.

1979 -- Iranian people revolt and oust the shah of Iran from power and take U.S. officials hostage in anger and retaliation against the United States. U.S. government is outraged over the ouster of the shah and the hostage-taking.

1981 -- Iranian people release hostages to the United States.

1980s -- U.S. government enters into partnership with Saddam Hussein, dictator of Iraq, to retaliate against Iran. U.S. government furnishes chemical and biological weapons to Saddam.

Late 1980s-- With U.S. government support and assistance, Saddam uses U.S.-government-supplied chemical weapons against Iranian troops.

1986 -- U.S. government enters into partnership with Osama bin Laden and other Islamic radicals to resist Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. U.S. government furnishes partners with weaponry, including U.S.-made Stinger missiles.

1991-- Soviet Union falls and Cold War ends. NATO faces abolition and U.S. military-industrial complex faces massive reduction in budget and influence.

1991 -- Saddam contends that neighbor Kuwait is stealing Iraqi oil through slant drilling and is also violating contractual agreements in OPEC. Saddam signals partner U.S. government of intention to invade Kuwait to resolve dispute. U.S. government, through U.S. Ambassador April Glaspie, expresses no objections, stating, “We have no opinion on your Arab-Arab conflicts, such as your dispute with Kuwait.. . . Kuwait is not associated with America.”

1991-- Saddam invades Kuwait to resolve slant-drilling and OPEC dispute. President George H.W. Bush turns on partner Saddam and declares him to be a new “Hitler” effectively dissolving the long partnership between U.S. government and Saddam. Bush declares intention to attack Iraq with UN assistance to repel Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

1991 -- Persian Gulf War. UN forces, led by U.S. government, defeat Iraq and oust Iraq from Kuwait. UN and President George H.W. Bush leave Saddam in power but require him to dismantle his nuclear facilities and chemical and biological weapons.

1991-- U.S. government attempts to oust Saddam from power through UN-enforced military-economic blockade, also known as “sanctions,” against the Iraqi people, which continues to the present. According to UN officials, sanctions contribute to the deaths of multitudes of Iraqi children, with estimates ranging from hundreds of thousands to a million.

Early 1990s -- U.S. government establishes illegal no-fly zones over Iraq, resulting in a continuous U.S. bombing campaign against Iraq. Illegal bombing campaign kills hundreds of Iraqi people.

1993 -- U.S. World Trade Center terrorist bomber cites death of Iraqi children as a motivating factor in bombing attack.

1996 -- Osama bin Laden turns against former partner U.S. government and declares war against United States, stating in part, “More than 600,000 Iraqi children have died due to lack of food and medicine and as a result of the unjustifiable aggression imposed on Iraq and its nation.”

1996 -- U.S. government, through U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madeleine Albright, announces that the deaths of half-a-million Iraqi children resulting from the military-economic blockade against Iraq have been worth it.

1998-2000 -- High UN officials resign posts in protest against deaths of Iraqi children from sanctions.

2001 -- September 11 terrorist attacks on World Trade Center and Pentagon. U.S. government declares perpetual “war on terrorism” and begins indefinite campaign to restrict rights and freedoms of the American people. NATO is reinvigorated, military spending soars, and military-industrial complex expands, all for the indefinite future.

2002 -- President George W. Bush repeats President George H.W. Bush’s 1991 declaration that former U.S. government partner Saddam is a “Hitler” and that therefore he must be ousted from power, 12 years after the Persian Gulf War. Bush claims that former partner Saddam hates America for its “freedom and values.” Bush cites former partner Saddam’s acquisition of nuclear components and biological and chemical weapons (including those obtained from the United States) as proof that Saddam presents a dire threat to the United States.

2002 -- UN Security Council, prodded by U.S. government, requires Saddam to file updated weapons report fully accounting for nuclear components and biological and chemical weaponry.

2002 -- Saddam files updated nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons report with the UN Security Council.. U.S. government objects to public release of identities of suppliers of nuclear components to Iraq. UN turns report over to United States, which releases censored summary that deletes identities of nuclear suppliers, but information on suppliers nevertheless leaked to press. United States among suppliers of nuclear components to former partner Saddam.

2002-- Bush administration announces that former partner Saddam is in breach of UN resolutions by providing an incomplete accounting of nuclear components and biological and chemical weaponry, possibly on the basis of a comparison between the nuclear, biological, and chemical weaponry that the U.S. government originally furnished Saddam and what he has accounted for.


If radical Islamic fundamentals attack us for our freedoms, why is it that Switzerland and Canada never get attacked? Could it possibly be because those countries take a neutral stance on foreign policy? You say it is because America is the leader of the free world? Leader of what? The world certainly isn't free and if Osama bin Laden's goal was to destroy our freedoms, he has succeeded, because our freedom has been destroyed from within, ostensibly to save it. And, really, the only thing we are a leader in now, is military spending, spending as much as the rest of the world combined, and currency debasement as the dollar is still the world's reserve currency. But even now, that is changing as more countries abandoned the dollar as it becomes worth less and less.

Which brings me to my final reason, we need to abandon our aggressive foreign policy. Our country is bankrupt! Counting unfunded liabilities, it is over 100 trillion dollars in debt. We simply can't afford to have 900 military bases in over 140 countries in the world. We can't afford to be the world's policemen. We can't afford paying for the defense of Germany, Japan, South Korea, or any other nation for that matter. The increasing bankrupt nature of our economy is the largest security threat to the US.

In conclusion, the American aggressive foreign policy violates the long-standing Western view of just war theory. It runs contrary to our heritage and the views of the Founding Fathers. It violates the logic of conservative limited government philosophy. It destroys the Bill of Rights, and turns the US into a police state playing right into Islamic fundamentalists' hands. It has created ill will throughout the world that makes interventionist philosophy a self-fulfilling prophesy. It has bankrupted our nation, both economically, and morally. It has turned me, and other freedom fighters who love the foundation of our country more than anything else, into enemy combatants. The last nail in the coffin containing freedom has been set. The rest, I fear, will be history that may rival the atrocities of Hitler's Germany or the Soviet Union. My only hope is Ron Paul.

Thank you, Mark Levin

Thank you, Mark Levin


Thank you so much, Mr. Levin. I think I’ve got my mind right now. While in the past there seemed to be a failya to communicate, I believe you have finally convince me on how wrong I have been about that nutcase, Ron Paul. Foolishly, I thought he believed in individual freedom, personal responsibility, and limited government. I somehow believed that an aggressive foreign policy was incompatible with a free society. I foolishly have been enslaved by the Constitution, believing it meant what it said, and said what it meant. How could have I been so wrong about the founding fathers admonitions against entangling alliances, or Republican Senator Robert Taft’s claim that “War by its very nature tended to concentrate power in the hands of the central state, and thus threatened the cherished American ideals of limited government and separation of powers."

When did that moment of revelation happen in mind, that you were right?. I am not sure if it was the tenth or fifteenth time you called Ron Paul a nut..Surely the aggregate quantity of times you called him a nut impressed me more and more, that you must surely be right. Saying it five times certainly wasn’t enough, but it certainly made more sense every time it was expressed.

Of course, it helped me a great deal that every time you called Ron Paul a nut, your decibel levels increased dramatically. Nothing is more convincing than that fifteenth time or so, when you called Ron Paul a nut, and the force of your voice pierced right into my brain. Maybe it was at that point that I got it. Verbal projection is a very important quality in life, especially in the arts. May I suggest that as a side job, you get into opera singing. Those sitting in double balcony, double Z seating will surely hear you clearly. Soprano?

And thank you for clarifying that you are not a neocon. You opposed those uprisings in Egypt and Lybia., after all. I am sure that your opposition had nothing to do with Obama’s support in those conflicts. Because your logic is impeccable, especially when it is repeated over and over at a high pitched decibel level that I haven’t experienced since my rock concert college days. Ah, those were the days, . . . Hey Mr. Levin, how about a few bars of “White Rabbit!”

And oh, that logic! You certainly convinced me that America needs to support Israel. Because why? Because “Israel’s our ally, for God’s sake!” Why waste our time thinking about the reasons Israel has such a special place in American hearts. It just is. I get it!


Israel’s our ally, because, because,
Because, because, because, because, because,
Because of the wonderful things she does,
ya ta ta ta ta ta ta,
We’re off to fight for Israel,
She’s right, whatever she does!

The Fed, the Enabler

This speech was given at an “End the Fed” rally in Chicago, August 6, 2011

The most absurd idea to come out of political discourse is not Marxism. One can understand an emotional, albeit irrational tie to that philosophy.

Nor is it collectivism. One can understand the lure of collectivism in general, even though it runs against a logical perview.

Nor is it Keynesianism. One can understand the mistaken notions of Keynesianism during recessions and depressions to “jump start the economy” even though we all know the deleterious effects of such policy.

No, the most absurd idea to come out of political discourse has to come from the neoconservatives and their fellow travelers who extol the virtues of free market capitalism and in the same breath acknowledge—to them-- the necessary existence of the Federal Reserve and the perpetuation of endless war. Now. There is the ultimate chicken and egg question. Which must come first? The desire for war and the necessity to fund such war without directly laying taxes? Or the existence of a national bank such as the Federal Reserve that gives open season to big government—and make no mistake about it—the biggest government enterprise is war. “War is the health of the state” as Randolph Bourne has so aptly put it.

How can one possibly hold to an existence of limited government when having a military budget that is virtually more than all other military budgets combined in the world?

How does one have limited government when fifty to sixty percent of the national debt is militarily related? And don't buy the silly notion that the national debt is fourteen or sixteen trillion. If private business calculated their finances in such a manner, the officers of the business would be thrown in prison. The real debt is over 100 trillion—that is necessarily counting the unfunded liabilities that have accrued over time—Social Security, Medicare and pensions—and a big hunk of which is
military pensions.

How does one become delusional enough to pontificate about limited government when supporting or voting for the likes of the Patriot Act that has totally destroyed what Fourth Amendment guarantees were left after the implementation of other wars such as the war on the mafia and the war on drugs? Nothing can be more unlimiting than allowing big government to invade our homes without a search warrant and even without notice after the fact. Our phone conversations, our internet activities, our email, and even our garbage—are all under surveillance, without proper, Constitutional court order. All in the name of one war or another. But the real war—we all know-- is the war on our freedom. Our founding fathers fought a revolution for such outright, long train of abuses.

Swat teams are descending upon student loan defaulters, raw milk users, and unfortunate individuals caught in case after case of mistaken identities, gunned down by swat teams, --casualties of the war on drugs, casualties of government sponsored terrorism. Make no mistake about it. You are far more likely to become a victim of government terrorism than from some Islamic extremist driven with zeal because some American drone plane killed his children.

All this and more—yes, the strip searching of a 95 year old woman with a diaper comes to mind—and yet the neocon either ignores or fully supports these totalitarian invasions of our freedom and perpetual war around the globe, and in the same breath—talks about limited government. Absolutely the most absurd idea ever to come out of political discourse.

Here in Illinois, three fellow travelers with the neocons—call themselves tea party Congressman. Randy Hultgren, Joe Walsh and Robert Dold, all voted for the Patriot Act. They are all enemies of freedom and should be held to the level of respect they deserve. None of them call for the end of the Federal Reserve. Why? Because the Federal Reserve is the enabler to end all enablers. It is the enabler of big government. It is the enabler of perpetual war.

Do you think for a minute that the American voters would allow the continuation of such wars if they had to pay for the real cost up front with taxes? Heck there might even be a revolution afoot if that happened. That is why a Federal Reserve is necessary. To keep the people from revolting from what is a totally corrupt, totalitarian system of perpetual war and domestic surveillance, high taxes, higher inflation and a total disregard to our natural rights.

So if you want a continuing plunge into abject serfdom, and totalitarian slavery, with death squad swat teams of real terror, support the Fed. Support the politicians who want to perpetuate the Fed.

If you want to be part of the most absurd political movement imaginable, than extol the virtues of free market capitalism, limited government and the Constitution at the same time you call for perpetual war and domestic surveillance and the existence of its enabler, the Federal Reserve.

But if you are a rational human being who believes in individual freedom, then the course is clear. To begin to travel the road to freedom and prosperity, one must first open the gateway to freedom. The key to that gateway is to end the Fed. End the Fed! . . .