Hurricane. Personal Responsibility? Local Responsibility?

Congressman Ron Paul on America's Election Headquarters on Fox expresses the opinion that preparing and dealing with hurricanes is first a personal responsibility and then a local responsibility. Those who live on the coast should take the burden of their choice of where to live.

Paul also expresses his lukewarm at best reaction to McCain's pick of Sarah Palin as
his running mate.

Protecting Us from Large Breasted Women

That wonderful Federal Agency, the Transportation Safety Administration, once again is in the forefront of protecting this nation. This time it is not elderly woman in wheelchairs, bottles of water or shoes, but rather large breasted women.

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

When Berkeley resident Nancy Kates arrived at Oakland International Airport to board JetBlue flight 472, she thought she was heading off on a routine journey to visit her mother in Boston. Instead she ended up in a standoff with Transportation Safety Administration officials over her bra.

A big-busted woman wearing a large underwire bra, she set off the metal detector. She was pulled aside and checked by a female TSA agent with a metal-sensitive wand.

"The woman touched my breast. I said, 'You can't do that,' " Kates said. "She said, 'We have to pat you down.' I said, 'You can't treat me as a criminal for wearing a bra.' "

Kates asked to see a supervisor and then the supervisor's supervisor. He told her that underwire bras were the leading item that set off the metal detectors, Kates said.

The supervisor told her she had the choice of submitting to a pat-down in a private room or not flying. Kates offered a third alternative, to take off her bra and try again, which the TSA accepted.

"They tried to humiliate me and I was not going to be humiliated over this," Kates said. "If I was carrying nail clippers and forgot about them, I wouldn't have gotten so upset. But here I was just wearing my underwear."

It is comforting to know our wonderful government is doing its part to protect us from underwire bras. Soon we will all need to fly nude and encapsulated in plastic tubes. After all safety is job one.

Sarah Palin Has a Question

John McCain selected Sarah Palin as his running mate today. From the little I know of her she seems like a good choice. While not a libertarian, she is libertarian leaning. If she where running for President I might have to take a serious look at voting for her. But McCain is running for President and there is no way I would ever vote for him.

A while back Palin had a question:



McCain (well McCain's staff) must have told her.

In case they didn't here is the answer:

As designated by the Constitution of the United States, the vice president also serves as the President of the Senate, and may break tie votes in that chamber.

That is it as far as official duties. Otherwise it is what ever the President assigns to the Vice President.

By the way I'm still voting for Bob Barr.

Democrats Back Iraq War

This is a Republican National Committee commercial, but it still brings up relevant information. Here is a video showing a wide variety of Democratic Party leaders making statements supporting military action against Iraq.

As I have stated many times the Democrats could have ended this war at anytime since they took control of Congress. They don't need a veto proof majority nor a filbuster proof majority. All they need to do is to not provide the funding.

Vote for Bob Barr for President.

They Have No Core Beliefs

A great video about how most Republicans and Democrats are basically the same. Their policies are similar. They serve special interests rather than following the Constitution. Charles Goyette states:

"They sell off a little bit of themselves each time they stick out their hand."

Jack Cafferty states:

"It turns out the Democratically controlled 110th Congress maybe more worthless than the bunch that preceded them, if that's possible. The Democratically controlled Congress handed President Bush exactly what he wanted. More than he asked for even. Legislation that broadly expands the Administration's power to eavesdrop without warrants on Americans international phone calls and emails."

The Democrats "leaders" in Congress are a sick joke, they didn't do diddly squat to end the war in Iraq. They could have ended it at anytime since they control the purse string. By having a majority they could have withheld funding at anytime.

Barack Obama states that "nothing is off the table when it comes to Iran." This of course means that he doesn't rule out going to war. Obama is no change, he is just more of the same.

Can You Delegate a Right You Do Not Have?

Another video from Jan Helfeld interviewing Bill Richardson this time. Richardson starts off good but then gets terribly tangled up when it becomes apparent that his political positions don't agree with what he just said about rights and power.

Bob Barr on CNN’s American Morning

Bob Barr appeared on CNN’s American Morning today. He discussed Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Convention, how his campaign is addressing issues, like Social Security and cutting spending, that are being ignored or put on the back-burner by Barack Obama and John McCain.

Nancy Pelosi: Do As I Say, Not As I Do

Another video from Jan Helfeld interviewing a double talking politician. This time it is Nancy Pelosi, the woman who has refused to do anything to end the war in Iraq.

Here Helfeld asks Pelosi about how much she pays her interns. When Pelosi mentions that some interns are not paid, Helfeld asks Pelosi how she can allow that since she had said earlier that everyone should make at least the minimum wage. Note how Pelosi tries to justify not paying interns anything because they volunteer and get experience. When Helfeld asks if someone could volunteer at McDonalds, Pelosi says that is different, no one would do that.

This is another case of politicians making rules for others that they don't have to follow. Pelosi gets caught in a box trying to justify her not paying interns because she is responsible for them and trains them, while it would be illegal for McDonalds to do exactly the same thing.

Pelosi finally cuts off the interview and calls a security guard.

Barack Obama the New Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Reason Magazine reports from the Democratic National convention in Denver. What do the Democrats want? They want higher taxes. more power for unions and filibuster proof control of the Senate.

Reason's Tim Cavanaugh says that his leftist friends are correct in saying that corporate fat cats are underwriting the convention and to remember that there is a difference between rhetoric and reality.

The best insight was from Mike Flynn who worked with Obama in Illinois. Flynn said that Barack Obama the new Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Like Moynihan, Obama's rhetoric is great but he always votes as a leftist.

The Doctor, the Builder, the Teacher, the Farmer are Slaves to the All Powerful State

Big government is sold as the means to fulfill all our needs and wants. The truth is it makes us slaves. As government grows people become more and more accustomed to their slavery and eventually fear freedom.

From Congressman Ron Paul:

Freedom is Golden

As the Olympics wind down, I am amazed at how things change every four years. Many Americans were glued to their televisions to watch the excitement from Beijing, and also heard announcers wax nostalgic with memories of times when the Soviet Union was the USA's biggest competitor for Olympic gold. There was a time when it was unthinkable that a government as powerful as that of the Soviet Union's could possibly crumble, yet crumble it did. The irony is that the strength of the Soviet government was also its weakness, as no country, no economic system can remain strong under the crushing burden that is central planning.

Central Planning is sold to a hopeful people as a way to solve societal problems, to right wrongs, and bring about perfect justice and equality. Central Planning promises you everything you are entitled to. As a bonus, goods and services produced by others are added to the list of commodities that everyone has a "right" to. Suddenly everyone is entitled to healthcare, housing, education, food, et cetera. It might sound nice that the state will magically provide all these wonderful things, but these rosy promises mask a dehumanizing, ugly reality. The other side of these entitlements is that now the doctor, the builder, the teacher, the farmer are slaves to the all-powerful state. No longer do they serve patients, students, or customers. They work in complete obedience to the state, their only customer.

Central planning will tell you that you are entitled to many things. Liberty tells you that you are entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; to whatever you earn, and nothing that you don't. While it may seem harsh to some, we must look to basic economic truths and to history to see which model is cruel and which model is kind.

The truth is that central planning cannot provide for economic success like freedom can. Central planning makes promises it cannot possibly keep. We live in a world of unlimited wants and limited resources. If you put a massive and powerful government in charge of distributing those resources, it is not a surprise that government and those in bed with government are first in line for those resources. The poor and the middle class – the most hopeful and trusting – are hurt the most, as the state always underestimates their needs and overestimates their ability to pay taxes and absorb inflation.

The Soviet Union's collapse is a dramatic example of the failure of central planning. Americans celebrated this collapse, not only because it meant less competition for Olympic gold, but it provided hope that with the end of the Cold War, our policy makers could drastically reduce overseas commitments and out of control military budgets. Most especially, we celebrated because with the collapse of Soviet communism it was apparent that liberty, not central planning, is stronger. Freedom empowers the individual. Central planning dehumanizes the masses. There may always be a struggle for power and government, but for this reason, freedom will always win out in the end. And as we celebrate the accomplishments of our individual athletes in Beijing this year, we must continue to go for the gold here at home, and keep the flames of liberty burning bright.

More on McCain's Effort to Keep Bob Barr Off Ballot

In this video Bob Barr discusses John McCain's effort to keep Bob Barr off the
ballot in Pennsylvania. Bob quotes McCain's statement from 2000 calling such tactics “Stalinist politics.” Once again so much for the "Straight Talk Express."

Congressman Fortney "Pete" Stark Loses It

Congressman Fortney "Pete" Stark of California states that the more debt the nation has, the wealthier we are. When the interviewer Jan Helfeld questions the logic of that statement, Stark first becomes very arrogant and finally blows up.

Leave Local Decisions to Local Governments

I agree with this 100%, there nothing worse or more wasteful then the takeover of everything by the Federal government. A Bob Barr press release on local control:

Leave Drinking Age, Other Decisions, to States, Says Bob Barr

August 22, 2008 11:27 am EST

Atlanta, GA - “The federal government should stop trying to do everything, which it doesn’t do well, and start doing, and doing better, the few tasks that only it can handle,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “For instance, Uncle Sam has become a nanny-state, telling us what we can eat and how old we must be to drink. More than 100 university presidents have called on Washington to reduce the drinking age of 21. Maybe they are right and maybe they are wrong, but this isn’t a job for Congress. It should be the decision of the 50 states, which have very different histories, traditions, and views of such issues."

“The same goes for the speed limit," says Barr. "Republican Senator John Warner wants to revive the national 55 mph limit, but why should politicians in Washington decide how fast people can drive in Butte, Montana; Chicago, Illinois; Decatur, Georgia; and Lubbock, Texas? The respective limits should depend on local conditions, and are questions for the states and local communities.”

“Today the national government seeks to run every school system in America," Barr continues. "Washington has nationalized much of the welfare system. Congress funds everything from left turn lanes to bridges to nowhere across the country. It makes no sense to tax all Americans, ship their money to Washington, deduct a big handling charge, and then have legislators and administrators hand it back—with lots of strings attached."

“Unfortunately, both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama believe in an all-powerful federal government. While they and other members of Congress act like city councilmen and state legislators, they are failing to deal with national problems,” observes Barr. “The deficit next year will run a half trillion dollars. The occupation of Iraq continues to drag on. Social Security and Medicare are heading towards financial disaster. The federal government is filled with waste. Our liberties and privacy are under attack. But congressmen and presidents prefer to spend their time on local matters that should be decided by local people."

“Even if politicians in Washington were competent to manage local affairs, that wouldn’t be their job,” notes Barr. "They don’t know what is best for local communities. At the same time they’ve made a mess of the issues that are their constitutional responsibility. Only by looking beyond the Republicans and Democrats to Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party will we get real change in America.”

Bob Barr represented the 7th District of Georgia in the U. S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003, where he served as a senior member of the Judiciary Committee, as Vice-Chairman of the Government Reform Committee, and as a member of the Committee on Financial Services. Prior to his congressional career, Barr was appointed by President Reagan to serve as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, and also served as an official with the CIA. Since leaving Congress, Barr has been practicing law and has teamed up with groups ranging from the American Civil Liberties Union to the American Conservative Union to actively advocate every American citizens’ right to privacy and other civil liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. Along with this, Bob is committed to helping elect leaders who will strive for smaller government, lower taxes and abundant individual freedom.

To Serve and Protect and Get My Damn $10

Unfortunately as I say too often exactly the wrong kind of people are attracted to law enforcement. Here a Dayton Ohio cop uses his authority to get $10, which as the video shows he didn't even have coming to him.

Bob Barr Supports Texas School District on Guns

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr who is highly rated by the NRA and the Gun Owners of America, issued a press release supporting Harrold, Texas school district for deciding to allow teachers and staff to carry guns.

The usual suspects in the gun control movement are having a fit about this of course. The fact is schools are more dangerous when they are gun free zones, since only the law abiding citizen follows the laws that restrict guns. These dumb "gun free school zones" merely invite trouble.

Bob Barr Praises Texas School District that Allows Teachers to Carry Guns

August 20, 2008 12:44 pm EST

Atlanta, GA - “The best defense against crime is law-abiding citizens ready and able to defend themselves,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “The police can’t be everywhere at once, so the rest of us have to be prepared to act to stop crime. That’s why the school district in Harrold, Texas deserves praise for changing its policy to allow teachers and staff to carry concealed handguns. That school will be one of the safest in the country when classes restart next week,” says Barr.

“Tragically, former Texas legislator Suzanna Hupp learned this lesson first hand,” explains Barr. In 1991 a gunman invaded a Luby’s restaurant and killed 23 people, including Hupp’s parents. All of the customers, including Hupp, were unarmed. That was before Texas allowed people to carry a weapon. "Hupp responded by sponsoring the state’s concealed carry law,” Barr notes.

“We need a president who will uphold and aggressively protect the right of Americans to own firearms for any lawful purpose, including, most importantly, defense of one’s self and family, as Suzanna Hupp reminds us,” Barr adds. “The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to buy a gun. But the anti-gun lobby continues to fight to restrict firearm ownership. Barack Obama long has opposed gun rights and John McCain has received only lukewarm C+ ratings from the National Rifle Association. Neither can be counted on to truly protect this most fundamental constitutional right,” warns Barr, who received an A+ from the NRA while in Congress and who serves on the NRA’s board of directors.

“Our highest goals as citizens are preserving our lives and freedoms. Gun ownership is a critical means to achieve both of these ends. The American people can count on a Barr administration to uphold and aggressively protect their basic liberties, including the constitutional right of gun ownership,” says Barr.

Bob Barr Comedy Night

Bob Barr making a surprise appearance at Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky's annual Candidate's Comedy Night in Philadelphia on Aug. 19, 2008.

McCain Tries To Keep Bob Barr Off Ballot in Pennsylvania

Here is another example of the continuing efforts of the Democrats and Republicans to limit political choices for Americans and therefore retain power for the two status quo parties. This past Monday, Victor P. Stabile, Cumberland County Pennsylvania GOP chair, on behalf of the John McCain campaign, filed with the court of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania a petition to have Bob Barr removed from the ballot in Pennsylvania.

On Wednesday the Bob Barr campaign received a copy of the suit which alleges that an intentional substitution violation of Pennsylvania law was committed as the Libertarian Party attempted to gain the 24,666 required signatures for inclusion on the ballot. The signature requirement for third party candidates and independents who seek ballot access in Pennsylvania is greater than twelve times the number required for either the Democrats or the Republicans. The Barr campaign and the state Libertarian party were able to collect over 47,000 valid elector signatures since February, when this massive undertaking began.

The Sean Haugh from the Libertarian Party responded to the claim with this:

"The challenge to the substitution process is completely frivolous. It flies in the face of extremely well-established case law, as the McCain campaign and the Republican Party know full well, and may well be dismissed out of hand by the Commonwealth Court. The lack of moral integrity from the McCain campaign doesn’t surprise me, but the sheer lameness of this tactic does. It shows how pathetically desperate the McCain campaign is to stop Bob Barr."

Back in 2000, when faced with similar shenanigans, John McCain was quoted as saying:

”We all know that the Berlin wall is down . . . People should be able to get on the ballot in states… Everybody knows that I am a legitimate candidate. I should be on the ballot.”

Interestingly, it appears that this is another issue that he has changed, or refined, positions on since it no longer applies to him. Hypocritical, to say the least. Maybe changing positions on ballot access every eight years is what it takes to be a “maverick.”

The Nerve of That Bob Barr!!!

A great post by the Los Angeles Times Andrew Malcolm:

Here's a good one: Just because former Republican Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia is the official candidate for president of the Libertarian Party, he thinks he should be included in this fall's televised presidential debates.

Can you imagine? A third party muscling in on the political duopoly of the Republicans and Democrats?

But now there's an absolutely outrageous public opinion poll out showing ...

... that many Americans -- a majority, in fact -- think Barr should be included in the presidential debates. Just like the grownups Barack Obama and John McCain!

What in the world for? Millions of Americans would be dangerously exposed to another point of view. How could busy voters possibly decide among three or even four candidates? Is that what presidential campaigns have come down to now? A diversity of opinion?

Whatever happened to old-fashioned criteria like who has the most money or who looks prettiest on TV?

Read the entire post here.

Should Taxpayers Subsidize Professional Sports

Is subsidizing sports teams really beneficial for the community?

Sara Evans Announced as Performer at the Rally for the Republic

Country Music star Sara Evan has been announced as one of the performers at Ron Paul's "The Rally for the Republic on September 2 at Target Center.

Bob Barr in Washington Post

There was an extensive article yesterday in the Washington Post on Bob Barr. Overall it was quite good, while it covered his political views and career, it also showed the personal side of Barr.

The more I see of Barr, the more I like.

The political:

And then 9/11 happened. In its wake, Barr says, he became increasingly disenchanted with George W. Bush. He came to see his own party as having moved 180 degrees from the small-government philosophy that was at the core of the Republicans' 1994 "Contract With America."

Or, "if not 180 degrees from that, about 178 1/2 ," Barr says, with Barrlike precision.

In 2002 Barr lost his seat after redistricting. In an ironic twist, the national Libertarian Party was involved in the race, mounting a campaign against Barr because of his stand against medical marijuana.

In time, Barr concluded that the biggest threat to the nation was government power. The seeds of libertarianism long had been in him. At the University of Southern California, he briefly joined a group of campus Democrats, at which point his Republican parents threatened to pull him out of school; shortly after, at their suggestion, he read Rand's "Atlas Shrugged."

Looking back on his congressional career, he began to wish he hadn't voted for the Patriot Act. He decided that even Wiccan soldiers should be able to do their Wiccan thing. He concluded that both gay marriage and drug legalization should be left up to the states, even though, personally, he is still against both. Working as a consultant and lobbyist, he started to do work on behalf of civil liberties and privacy rights. He worked with the American Civil Liberties Union and, in the most bizarre twist, with a pro-pot group called the Marijuana Policy Project.

Aaron Houston, a lobbyist for the Marijuana Policy Project, remembers the time in 2006 when a libertarian ally told him, "Hey, I got this friend -- you'll never believe who it is. I think he might be coming around on your issues."

Barr registered as a Libertarian in 2006, and this February or March decided to run for president on the party's ticket. At which point, people who knew him were -- well, some of them weren't so surprised.

"I think it's fair to say that Bob has never been afraid to embrace controversial issues or positions and always had a knack for turning his actions into ink," says Towery, who now runs a polling firm out of Atlanta. Towery says he thinks Barr is quite sincere in his positions -- but he also knows how to milk his time on the podium.

The personal

In fact, over the course of two days of interviews, Barr is almost unfailingly polite and surprisingly self-deprecating. He jokes that he's Rodney Dangerfield -- gets no respect, wife won't even let him smoke a cigar in his own home! He is loath to rush conversations with strangers who approach -- even when they've stopped him at the airport en route to the security line with only 15 minutes before his flight takes off.

He is especially liked by children and older ladies, says wife Jeri. She says it's because he doesn't talk down to them.

"Older women just love him -- they come up and pinch his little cheeks," she says. "Most people would think Bob is rude, and he's not. . . . He's a bulldog, but he's a gentlemanly bulldog."

The article is titled "Bob Barr, the Master of a Curious Universe", it is worth a look.

McCain's Comments are Silly and Irresponsible

Bob Barr says that McCain's remarks about Russia are either simplistic or McCain lacks understanding about that part of the world. Bob Barr calls for Europe to take the lead role in dealing with the issue. Barr states:

"After all it is the Europeans who really ought to be more concerned with this. And we ought to be going to the Europeans and saying look NATO has outlived it's usefulness... You all need to band together you have a greater GDP than the United States."


Neil Cavuto hauls out the very old and very tired cliche about (fill in the blank) being another Hitler and therefore a preemptive response by the United States is warranted. This time it is Russia that fills the blank. Give it a rest Neil!

Let's Ban It!

Drew Carey says "Welcome to the Nanny State Nation, where the government minds your own business."

This video itemizes many of the bans in this country and points out that ultimately they are enforced at the point of a gun.

Bob Barr on I.O.U.S.A and the National Debt

Bob Barr encourages Americans to go see the documentary I.O.U.S.A.

The Joys of National Health Care in Canada: Part II

I previously posted about the delays in treating a brain cyst here.

Here is another delay, this time for Ovarian cancer where the patient went to the United States for relief. From the Toronto Globe and Mail:

The tumour in Debbie Trelenberg's abdomen was so large she was unable to fasten her jeans. She feared the mass might rupture – a sentiment shared by her family doctor – but an operation to remove it in Edmonton was nearly four weeks away.

So Ms. Trelenberg packed a bag, put on sweatpants and headed to the United States.

A grain farmer near Leduc, Alta., south of Edmonton, she paid $78,000 – money borrowed from her mother – for treatment that included surgery and a hospital stay in Amarillo, Tex., around this time last year.

In doing so, she raised an increasingly relevant question in a health-care system afflicted with disquieting waiting times: How long is too long to wait for a cancer operation?

In Ms. Trelenberg's case, she said it's a good thing she didn't wait. By the time the tumour was removed, on Aug. 8, 2007, it had nearly doubled in size from just two weeks prior, reaching 25 centimetres.

The bulbous piece of purplish flesh was diagnosed as a high-grade ovarian cancer. She was also found to have endometrial cancer. Despite the tumour size, her cancer was early stage, so it is highly likely she will be cured of the disease.

Since her operation, Ms. Trelenberg has twice been refused reimbursement by the Alberta government, most recently in June, when the Out-of-Country Health Services Appeal Panel said a wait of about four weeks was not found to be unreasonable by the surgeon who initially saw her.

Zogby Poll: Majority Want Bob Barr Included in Presidential Debates

From Zogby International:

Released: August 15, 2008

UTICA, New York - More than half of likely voters nationwide - 55% - want Republican-turned-Libertarian Bob Barr to participate in presidential debates this fall, while nearly half - 46% - said they think Ralph Nader should be allowed into the on-stage fray, the latest Zogby Interactive polling shows.

Among political independents, 69% said Barr should be at a lectern with Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama, and a majority of Republicans and Democrats agreed. Among Democrats, 52% said they think Barr should participate, while 50% of Republicans agreed.

Thirty-nine percent of Democrats and 41% of Republicans said they did not think Barr should be included in the debates.

The younger the respondent, the more likely they were to say that Barr should be included. Those at each end of the philosophical spectrum were more supportive of the idea of including Barr and Ralph Nader in the debates, while those in the middle were less supportive.

Full report here.

Stay Out of Georgia - Russia Conflict

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr calls for the US to stay out the conflict in Georgia>

No Military Entanglements in Georgia, Says Bob Barr

August 16, 2008 3:19 pm EST

Atlanta, GA – “Statements from both the Bush Administration and Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain regarding the continuing conflict between Russia and Georgia indicate once again their shared predisposition to involve America’s armed forces in foreign conflicts with no clear link to our country’s vital national security interests,” said Libertarian presidential nominee, former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr.

“President George W. Bush is now sending U.S. soldiers to Georgia under the banner of providing humanitarian assistance, placing American forces in an unsettled war zone that clearly risks involving the U.S. in a confrontation with Russia,” warns Barr. “The rationale for Sen. McCain’s refusal to rule out U.S. military action in behalf of Georgian President Saakashvili, remains unclear,” Barr noted. He continued, “Whether Sen. McCain’s position favoring U.S. involvement is based on his personal friendship with the Georgian leader, on a view that U.S. national interests are somehow immediately and seriously threatened by the conflict between Russia and Georgia, or on some other assessment, is unclear; but,” Barr also noted, “it threatens to involve us in a dispute challenging a heavily armed nuclear power in its backyard.”

“The dispute between Russia and Georgia has roots going back many centuries, and in the current conflict, neither side has clean hands,” Barr noted; and “a similar apparent failure to understand the deep, long-standing and historic animosities between ethnic and religious groups in Iraq led to serious miscalculations in that country. We ought to be much more careful about threatening U.S. military involvement in such situations than current leaders in Washington, including President Bush and Sen. McCain, appear to comprehend,” Barr said.

“U.S. foreign policy should be based on a hard-headed assessment of U.S. interests, not warm and fuzzy feelings about a particular foreign leader,” the Libertarian nominee said. “Moreover, the most important American interest is defending America. Sen. McCain appears to have forgotten that essential principle, since intervening on behalf of Georgia has nothing to do with defending America,” insists Barr. “Such simplistic approaches to foreign policy are always dangerous,” Barr warned, “but are especially so when they involve a major, nuclear power generally.

“Although America must always be prepared to use military force to defend itself, doing so should be the last rather than first resort, and the U.S. should not risk military involvement in such a tragic and unnecessary war, and one with so little direct or immediate relevance to America’s own security,” Barr concluded.

The Proper Role of Government

Here is the fifth and final part in a series of videos that explores the differences between Individualism and Collectivism.

I particularly like the explanation that Communism and Nazism are not opposites but actually are the same, with only some slight variations. Both are socialist/collectivists.




The previous videos in the series are:

Part I - The Nature and Origin of Human Rights

Part II - Individualism Versus Collectivism (Group Supremacy)

Part III - Coercion vs Freedom: When Coercion Enters Charity Leaves

Part IV - Equality and Inequality Under the Law

The Joys of National Health Care in Canada

A report on Canada's National Health care system and the long waits people are forced to endure.

Kathryn Johnson O'Brien has a cyst in her brain that causes blackouts. She can't drive, go to school or simply be alone. She has been having blackouts for over a year. It has been determined she needs an MRI. She has to wait another five weeks for one. Then she will have to wait another four to six months to see a neurologist to SCHEDULE a biopsy to determine if surgery is needed.

Kathryn Johnson Brien's case is not "severe enough" to get an MRI right away. So this young lady basically is losing over two years of her life waiting.

Georgia Attacked South Ossetia

Contrary to the impression given in the mainstream media and by the Bush Administration, Georgia does not have clean hands in this conflict.

Russia Today talked to Joe Mestas, an American citizen living in South Ossetia, who witnessed everything that happening in the region. Mestas talks about Georgia starting the war and how Georgia is mistreating the people of South Ossetia.



Here 12 year old Amanda Kokoeva from California who was in South Ossetia when Georgia started bombing appears on Fox News. When Amanda and her Aunt describe how Georgia started the war and when they thank Russia for coming to their aid, all of a sudden Fox needs to break for a commercial.

The Dogs Were a Threat - Yeah Right

Most people by now have heard of the SWAT team raid on the home of Cheye Calvo, the Mayor of Berwyn Heights, Maryland. Fortunately, because of the position of this latest victim in the insane war on some drugs, this story has gotten lots of coverage. Unfortunately these "botched" raids are all too common.

The cops bust in guns drawn, immediately shoot any dogs, treat the occupants of the home like dirt and proceed to trash the house. In many cases the drug these brave enforcers of the law are pursuing is pot. Marijuana a naturally growing plant that when smoked causes less harm than the alcohol these "officers" probably consume after work several times a week.

Here is Mayor Calvo's description of the raid:

Dear Friends and Neighbors-

Yesterday evening, as my mother-in-law prepared dinner and I changed clothes hurrying to head to a community meeting, a heavily-armed county SWAT team burst through our living room door and shot and killed both of our dogs. There were loud voices. In the sights of two high-caliber weapons, I was ushered downstairs in only my boxer shorts before I was bound and forced to kneel on the floor. My mother-in-law was bound face down in the kitchen. The dead body of my bigger and older dog, Payton, laid in a pool of blood on the other side of the living room.

It was some time before someone spoke to me other than to yell orders. I was told there was a warrant but was never shown one. After many questions and much anger, I was told that they had intercepted a package addressed to our house that contained 32 pounds of marijuana. The large, white box, which I just had retrieved from the front porch, sat unopened on a living room table.

The county police then proceeded to turn our house upside-down. I was moved to the kitchen, where I could see my little dog, Chase, lying in his own pool of blood. My mother-in-law watched them shoot him while he was running away. After about 90 minutes, they finally removed my restraints, which tied my hands behind my back. About the same time, Animal Control came to remove our dogs. Emotions overtook me; I broke down and sobbed.

They asked questions. Through my anger, hurt, and confusion, I answered them. Trinity came home from work a little after 8:00 pm, and they questioned her outside. We both were and remain in shock. It does not make sense, but shared what we could. About three-and-a-half hours passed before they acknowledged that they had found nothing to connect us to the box, but could not be 100 certain whether or not we were involved. The package alone was enough to arrest us all, they said, but they would not so long as we continued to cooperate.

Then they left. The broken front door remained open and unsecured. Blood from my dogs was pooled and tracked throughout the house. Our belongings were pulled from drawers, closets, and trunks and tossed about, piled in the middle of rooms and on tables and beds.

A Berwyn Heights officer on the scene helped me get the door shut. Just after midnight, I began to clean up the blood. We put a few things back. Trinity and I tried to sleep. Instead, we both laid there through the night as disbelief, fear, and anger played off one another. We try to make sense of it. They invaded our home and killed our dogs! That, above all else, can't be undone.

A friend came this morning to secure the door. People have begun to call, and the outpouring of friendship and support brings tears to my eyes. The media calls have begun, as well.

I wanted to get this out so that you at least hear the story from me. This promises to be a lengthy process, which will involve telling and re-living this story time and again. Hopefully, the healing will begin soon.

Warm regards,

Cheye

Some videos on the raid:

Still Persons of Interest:



"The reality is that this happens all the time in this country and disproportionally in Prince Georges county and most of the people to whom it happens don’t have the community support and the platform to speak out. So I appreciate you paying attention to our condition but I hope you’ll also give attention to those who may not have the same platform and voice that we have."



This was not a failed operation:



We were harmed by the very people who took an oath to protect us:



It is way past time to end this insanity.

John McCain: He's No Maverick

John McCain likes to portray himself as a maverick, so does the media. In reality John McCain is no maverick, he is just another big government politician.

McCain, Obama Use Millions of Taxpayer Dollars for Self-Promotion

Bob Barr on the Democratic and Republican Party being subsidized by the taxpayers.

McCain, Obama Use Millions of Taxpayer Dollars for Self-Promotion

August 13, 2008 9:35 am EST

Atlanta, GA - “My party has already held its convention without a single taxpayer dollar in its support,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party presidential nominee. But the Republican and Democratic conventions live on federal subsidies. Each party is receiving $16 million for operating expenses and another $50 million for security. But even this might not be enough in the view of some people. Colorado officials are talking about trying to pry some additional money from the feds.

“It probably doesn’t surprise a lot of people that Sen. Barack Obama’s party is trying to pry more money out of government. After all, Democrats have perfected the art of using a political crowbar to bust open the Treasury’s doors. But why is Sen. John McCain, supposed maverick and reformer, going along with the raid? How is he any different than any of the other people who fill Washington clamoring for a bailout?” Barr asks.

“Unfortunately, too many people spend too much time prying money from the feds,” observes Barr. “And both parties are to blame. It’s easier to list the groups that don’t get federal handouts than those that fill their pockets every year. With a half-trillion dollar deficit and a $9.5 trillion national debt, we obviously can’t afford to have all of these people breaking into the Treasury all the time,” says Barr.

“But what can be more obnoxious than forcing taxpayers to underwrite other people’s political opinions? As Thomas Jefferson told us: to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions that he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical. You’d think someone who postures as an opponent of special interests and government pork wouldn’t expect the taxpayers to subsidize his own very special interest political campaign,” notes Barr.

“It’s time someone in Washington said ‘no,’” explains Barr. “It won’t be Senators Barack Obama or John McCain, both of whom are creatures of the Washington establishment. Sen. Obama talks about a new politics, but his policies look an awful lot like the old liberalism. Sen. McCain says he is a maverick, but that doesn’t include getting his own political party off of the federal dole. When he does break with his own party he lines up with the Democrats. Whenever the issue is individual rights versus government power, he chooses government power.”

“Only I will say ‘no’ when city officials come to Washington trying to pry more money from the feds. I will tell the farmers the same. That’s what I will say to Big Business as well as Big Labor. I will have the same message for defense contractors and foreign governments. And for political parties, big and small, including my own,” Barr says. “If Americans want Washington to operate differently, they have to choose a different candidate, one who isn’t part of the duopoly that has ruled Washington for a century-and-a-half. They need to vote for Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party.”

Corn is for Food

Ethanol advocates claim that ethanol is a cheap, renewable energy source that reduces pollution and our dependence on foreign oil. This video from Reason TV describes all the downsides of ethanol.

Obama Bans the Color Green

Barack Obama told reporters not to wear green on his trip to the Middle East in July.

Bob Barr Says US Should Stay out of Russia - Georgia War

It is quite nervy of the US government to complain about either side in this conflict. The US has both supported breakaway countries (Kosovo) and opposed them (Kurdistan). To get on a high moral horse and dictate is laughable.

Here is Bob Barr's view on the current situation Georgia.

Russia-Georgia Conflict Demonstrates Importance of Avoiding Unnecessary Foreign Entanglements, Says Bob Barr

August 11, 2008 2:28 pm EST

Atlanta, GA -- “George Washington long ago warned America against ‘entangling alliances,’ and he was right,” says Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “Russia and Georgia risk falling into a full-scale war in which the U.S. can and hopefully will avoid any involvement. But had Georgia been a member of NATO we would now be risking a full-scale confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia,” Barr observes.

“Obviously, America should encourage both countries to back down and resolve their differences peacefully,” explains Barr. But “the status of South Ossetia, as well as Abkhazia, another Russian-supported separatist zone within Georgia, matters a lot more to Russia, on which the two territories border, than to the U.S. Moreover, Washington itself set a precedent for Russia when it intervened in Kosovo a decade ago, attacking Serbia to win independence for the separatist ethnic-Albanian majority,” notes Barr.

“The purpose of alliances is to defend America,” says Barr. “We should not create or expand alliances where the U.S. does not have vital interests. If the Europeans want to defend distant countries like Georgia, they can do so—after all, the European Union has a larger population and bigger GDP than America, without any of Washington’s other global military commitments. It is time for Europe to accept responsibility for its own security.”

“Any war is tragic, but not every war requires American intervention,” explains Barr. “We can do our best to mediate between Russia and Georgia, but we should avoid any military involvement. It is time to put the defense of America back into America’s defense policy.”

Bob Barr on Obama's Energy Policy

Bob Barr discusses Obama's energy policy on Fox Business News.

Bob Barr Discusses McCain's Energy Policy

Bob Barr discusses McCain's energy policy on Fox Business News.

Indian Trusts Lesson: Don't Trust the Government

Last October I posted Indian Trusts - The Historical Accounting Project about the lawsuit over the Federal Government's mismanagement of revenue that were supposed to be held in trust for Native Americans who owned land that was leased for oil and other natural resources.

The government cannot account for these revenues. In a horrendous ruling U.S. District Court Judge James Robertson ruled that the government only owes 1% of what the Native American plaintiffs were seeking.

Robertson said the there was no evidence of the "prodigious pilfering of assets from within the trust system" that the Indian plaintiffs had claimed and that they failed to prove the government used any money from the fund for its own benefit.

Instead, the judge accepted the Interior Department's position that it was 99 percent confident that no more than $455.6 million was missing from the trust fund.

So the judge put the burden of proof on the Native Americans. But it is the government that committed negligence by not maintaining the necessary accounting records. Just another case that proves that we should not trust the government.

Here is a video on the case:




Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit against the government and a member of Montana's Blackfeet tribe said they would appeal the ruling.

Penn Jillette on Bob Barr, Democrats and Republicans

Libertarian Presidential Candidate Bob Barr and his running mate Wayne Root visited Penn & Teller after one of their shows in Las Vegas.

Penn Jillette had this to say afterward:

Bob Barr said, ‘Republicans have become the party of fear. Democrats are the hate. And there’s lots of room for the rest of us.’ And I think that should somehow be the Libertarian slogan. I don’t want to be scared of everything and I don’t want to think that everybody is hateful and out to get us. You know, I think we should live with as much freedom as possible and trust people as much as we can. I like Bob Barr and I like Wayne Root and I’ll probably…I was really proud to have them back stage and they were fun to talk to.

Here are Penn's full comments:

From Crackle: Penn Says: Bob Barr

Jimmy Carter Era Energy Mentality

Energy policy has come to the forefront in the last few months with both major parties taking political whacks at each other. As is usually the case we have much more political posturing than we do real efforts to improve the situation.

Bob Barr in the following press release hits at a lot of the nonsense going on and offers a real alternative to more government control:

Bob Barr Criticizes “Jimmy Carter Era” Energy Mentality, Calls for More Energy Development

July 29, 2008 10:57 am EST

Atlanta, GA -- “As gas prices have risen, policymakers in Washington have exhibited a Jimmy Carter era mentality,” observes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. “They are upset that Americans use energy, and want government to take over the energy marketplace. But it is government that has left us vulnerable to reduced supplies and higher prices.”

Adds Barr, “legislators denounce speculators, as if people never before attempted to predict future price changes. Politicians criticize oil companies, as if the firms were able to set prices at will. If so, why were prices so low for so long? Most of the so-called solutions being proposed in Congress amount to more regulations and more subsidies, and would make our energy problems worse.”

“One of the worst ideas comes from Republican Sen. John Warner, who wants the federal government to again set a national speed limit. The greatest nonrenewable resource is time, which is why Americans routinely broke the Washington-imposed 55 mph speed limit between 1974 and 1995. Sen. Warner may believe his time is worth nothing, but the Constitution does not empower him and his colleagues to decide how fast people can drive on every road in America. One reason we have state and local governments is to enact traffic laws. That is not the federal government’s responsibility,” explains Barr.

Instead, Congress should get out of the way of energy development. “America’s Outer Continental Shelf is thought to hold some 86 billion barrels of oil. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has some eight billion barrels. Oil shale deposits in America’s west could contain the equivalent of as much as 1 trillion or more barrels of petroleum. It’s time we allowed Americans to develop America’s energy resources,” says Barr.

“Congress also needs to reduce the regulatory barriers to new refinery construction, and change environmental rules which mandate the sale of different formulations of gasoline in different regions,” Barr adds. “These government controls drive up gasoline prices. We couldn’t afford the cost during good times. We certainly can’t afford to pay more for unnecessary regulation now.”

For years “Democrats and many Republicans have blocked responsible energy development in America,” says Barr. “The upcoming election gives the American people a real choice. Instead of voting for Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dumb, they should choose a real alternative: Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party.”

Katrina Gun Confiscation

In wake of Hurricane Katrina, the police began confiscating guns from honest citizens by force:

The Free Market????

From Dale Everett at Anarchy in Your Head:



For a larger image click on the cartoon.


Dale's comments on this cartoon:

Contrary to a common belief, we don’t really have a free market, and what little bit is left is being chipped away.

Today’s comic was inspired by a comment from Brain Police. He does some great videos about the free market on YouTube. I recommend checking out his channel.

EDIT 8/7/2008: Comments that it makes no sense to name the comic “Prosecuting the Free Market” and then pointing out that we don’t have a free market were well taken. I guess I thought of it as an attack on what choices are left to us in the market place, the limited portion or the extent to which the market remains free, but the fact remains that it was hypocritical to use that title while at the same time pointing at that we don’t actually have a free market so I have hot-fixed it.

Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence read by Edward Norton, Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Kathy Bates, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, Ming-Na, Winona Ryder, Rene Zelweger, Benicio del Toro and Graham Greene.

Drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, this revolutionary declaration is the foundation of American political thought. The common view at the time was that rights were granted by the government to the people. Instead, Jefferson declared there is a higher law, "unalienable Rights," that every human has by their mere existence. Government only has those powers granted to it by the people, to protect these natural rights.




Read along:

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

867,134 to 0

867,134 to 0, that is the difference between a third party presidential candidate and a presidential candidate of the Democrats and Republicans. From the Moderate Voice:

One of the major hurdles which the Bob Barr campaign (along with any other third party candidates) must overcome is the sheer volume of footwork required to even get on the ballot in all fifty states and the District of Columbia. There are a dismaying number of hoops to jump through, none of which are required of the Republicans or Democrats. These can involve not only armies of boots on the ground, but daunting amounts of money.

Just for one example, an independent candidate running for president in 2008 would need to collect 867,134 signatures from voters in all 50 states in order to have their name on the ballot this November. How many signatures did Barack Obama and John McCain have to submit? Zero. While volunteers are great, you still need to pay some workers to get out on the streets and gather that much ink. All of this costs money.

The Republicans and Democrats write the ballot access and election laws to keep themselves in power. The rules should be the same for everyone regardless of party.

My 15 Minutes of Fame on "The Blog Bunker"

Earlier today I was a guest on the Sirius Satellite Radio show "The Blog Bunker". The show is hosted by Joe Salzone and is on the Indie Talk channel.

I was initially contacted by a post on my blog. Being the cautious type, I did some checking around to assure my self that the offer to appear on the show was legitimate. Once I had, I responded and worked with the show's Alexandra Di Trolio to set up a time for my appearance. Since I am not a subscriber to Sirius, I was not familiar with the show. Alexandra was quite helpful in giving me an idea what to expect. Still as the show time got closer, I started to get a little nervous.

Once on the show I thought things went well, Joe Salzone the host was easy to talk to and asked me questions on things I blog about. Specifically we talked about the effect of third parties in this election, Bob Barr and the proper role of government.

So if you blog and you get offered to be on the show, I say go for it. I'd do it again if asked.

Governor Brian Schweitzer: "I Am Not Afraid"

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer is the man! I hope he never backs down in this battle over Real ID (the national ID card). Schweitzer continues to tell Homeland (Illusion of) Security what they can do with their national ID card.

I previously posted on Schweitzer here:

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer Tells Feds to Go to Hell

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

*************************

Quote of the Day:

"Do you want our government to have the ability to track where you went, how you went, how you got there and when you got home? It would be naïve for someone to think this information will not be abused in the future. Virtually every decade these kinds of files have been used to violate people's privacy."

-- Brian Schweitzer, Governor of Montana


Subject: Chertoff threatens governor, governor threatens Chertoff

We knew that the state of Montana was resisting the REAL ID Act, but we just learned some of the details of that resistance. The story is so good we had to share it, in case you hadn't heard . . .

Brian Schweitzer, the governor of Montana, wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. The letter informed Chertoff that Montana would not be complying with the REAL ID Act. Our quote of the day supplies one of the reasons for Governor Schweitzer's rebellion. In response to the letter .
. .

Secretary Chertoff called Governor Schweitzer and threatened him. Chertoff told Schweitzer that Montana residents would be banned from airplanes, or subjected to severe, time-consuming inspections at airports.

The Governor countered with his own threat, "How about we both go on 60 Minutes a few days after the DHS starts patting down Montana driver's license-holders who are trying to get on the planes and both of us can tell our side of the story."

Chertoff didn't like that suggestion. He said, "I see the problem. We need to get this fixed."

So far, the "fix" involves granting Montana and all other rebellious states an extension of the deadline for complying with the REAL ID Act. But the real fix is to repeal REAL ID.

Have you protested to your elected representatives that the Secretary of Homeland Security has been threatening the citizens of states that don't comply with REAL ID? If not, please do so. You can mention the Chertoff-Schweitzer exchange in your personal comments. Ask Congress to repeal the REAL ID Act. You can send your message here.


If you've sent a REAL ID Act message recently, consider sending another "I am not afraid" message. We have a lot of new people who probably aren't familiar with our "I am not afraid" campaign. You can check it out here.

The iPatriot Act Coming?

Lawrence Lessig, law professor at Stanford Law School, talks about the coming iPatriot Act. Lessig says just like the Patriot Act, the iPatriot Act is already drawn up and just waiting for the right incident to happen.

I.O.U.S.A

I.O.U.S.A is a new documentary film by Patrick Creadon showing the economic problems our nation is facing. Of course our two leading presidential candidates will only make things worse.

ABOUT THE MOVIE

Wake up, America! We're on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions.

Throughout history, the American government has found it nearly impossible to spend only what has been raised through taxes. Wielding candid interviews with both average American taxpayers and government officials, Sundance veteran Patrick Creadon (Wordplay) helps demystify the nation's financial practices and policies. The film follows former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker as he crisscrosses the country explaining America's unsustainable fiscal policies to its citizens.

With surgical precision, Creadon interweaves archival footage and economic data to paint a vivid and alarming profile of America's current economic situation. The ultimate power of I.O.U.S.A. is that the film moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer potential financial scenarios and propose solutions about how we can recreate a fiscally sound nation for future generations.

Creadon uses candid interviews and his featured subjects include Warren Buffett, Alan Greenspan, Paul O'Neill, Robert Rubin, and Paul Volcker, along with the Peter G. Peterson Foundation's own David Walker and Bob Bixby of the Concord Coalition, a Foundation grantee.

Pointedly topical and consummately nonpartisan, I.O.U.S.A. drives home the message that the only time for America's financial future is now.

Here is the trailer from the movie I.O.U.S.A:



A longer trailer:



Here are some viewer reactions:

Welcome to 1984! Thank You Senators McCain and Obama

Bob Barr talks about the coming National ID card which has the support of both John McCain and Barack Obama. Welcome to 1984! Remember always trust the government!



Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has the correct attitude:

Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer Tells Feds to Go to Hell

More than 15 states have passed resolutions or statutory legislation forbidding implementation of the REAL ID Act, which is a national ID card. Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain both voted for REAL ID and will do nothing to prevent its implementation. The only way to prevent REAL ID and to undo the damage done to civil liberties is to put Bob Barr in the White House.

Zimbabwe: Robert Mugabe's Socialist Paradise

Here is a BBC report from Zimbabwe demonstrating the complete collapse of Zimbabwe's Economy under dictator Robert Mugabe failed socialist and racist policies. Inflation is reported to be about 12.5 million percent annually.

This is what happens when the government takes over everything and prints more and more fiat money.



Here is a BBC report on the revaluation of the worthless Zimbabwe dollar:

Conservative Businessman Richard Vague Says Iraq War Driving Higher Oil Prices

Richard Vague is the CEO of Barclay’s Bank US, which acquired the company that Vague founded, Juniper Financial. Prior to founding Juniper, Vague was CEO of First USA, which went from a start-up to an issuer of 57 million credit cards.

Here he is interviewed by Steven Clemons Senior Fellow and Director, American Strategy Program of the New America Foundation. Vague states that the Iraq War is the primary driver of higher oil prices.

Equality and Inequality Under the Law

Here is the fourth in a series of videos that explores the differences between Individualism and Collectivism.



The previous videos in the series are:

Part I - The Nature and Origin of Human Rights

Part II - Individualism Versus Collectivism (Group Supremacy)

Part III - Coercion vs Freedom: When Coercion Enters Charity Leaves

Nobody is Talking About the Issues

Bob Barr on FOX Election Headquarters today. When asked about the race card issue between McCain and Obama, Barr said "Neither of them are dealing with the issues."

Bob Barr Accepts Invitation to Debate from Commission on Presidential Debates

Well they would accept if they got an invitation. From the Bob Barr campaign

Barack Obama has accepted an invitation to the fall debates put on by the fraudulent Commission on Presidential Debates, a private entity that brings it upon itself to decide elections.

Our invitation has apparently been lost in the mail. However, we would like the CPD to know that we accept the opportunity to debate Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain.

We fully expect that Obama would want to include a minority party in the debates and Sen McCain’s experience in 2000 Republican primary convinced him that voters should have more choice at the ballot, not less choice.

Americans want choice on the ballot and only Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party are talking about issues that matter to voters.

Don't Steal! The Government Hates the Competition

Glenn Beck interviews Ron Paul on 7/30/08. Ron Paul discusses how government policies are making the working poor and the middle class suffer. Beck and Paul discuss the distractions from the so called presidential campaign of the two status quo parties.

In a very humorous, but also very scary comment, Paul states that a fellow member of the House Banking Committee did not know that the US dollar was not backed by gold.

Part I:



Here Paul talks about how doing the wrong things will lead to another depression like the 30's. He mentions how the actions of Herbert Hoover and Franklin Roosevelt made the Great Depression in the 30's longer and deeper than it would have been.

It always floors me when the media and others laud FDR for getting us through the Great Depression. We have never had such a long and deep depression as we did under him. The depression got hidden by the war effort and really didn't end until Roosevelt had died. There is a reason it lasted so long, it was all the big government policies of Roosevelt.

Ron Paul talks about our drift toward corpratism where the government is in bed with big corporations. He also mentions how the government and the HMO and banking industry are partners.

Part II:

National ID Card? McCain and Obama Yes! Barr No!

Both John McCain and Barack Obama voted for instituting a National ID Card, one of the hallmarks of a police state. In this press release Bob Barr takes the freedom protecting position opposing a National ID Card:

Barr Blasts McCain, Obama for Supporting National ID, Again Urges Congress to Repeal Real ID Act

August 1, 2008 2:47 pm EST

Atlanta, GA -- “’September 11’ has become the catch-all excuse for virtually every proposed expansion of government power,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party nominee for president. “One example is a national identification card and data base, long desired by some in government, and which was mandated by legislation passed by the Congress in 2005 with the support of both Senators McCain and Obama. Although I was no longer in the Congress when this bad legislation was passed, I had vigorously opposed it in the years since it became law, just as I led the successful effort to rescind a previous mandate for a national ID card.”

Unfortunately, he explains, “the Real ID Act establishes a new and privacy-invasive national ID card program. By forcing states to standardize their driver’s licenses and creating a vast national data base of private information on the citizenry, the law establishes through the back door something Americans would never have accepted directly—a National Identification Card.” In fact, “there was no open and honest vote on Real ID. The mandate was slipped into a supplemental appropriations bill, discouraging any real debate over the issue.”

“Creating anything close to a national ID card threatens Americans’ basic civil liberties and privacy while doing little or nothing to make us more secure,” warns Barr. The legislation also “means higher fees, longer lines, and greater inconvenience for Americans getting a driver’s license. The burden on states, which have to redesign and remake state licenses and include all manner of information on citizens applying for new driver’s licenses, would be extremely high and immensely costly, since they would have to restructure computer databases, security systems, verification measures, and more.”

“Technically no one has to have a federally approved license,” admits Barr. “That is, unless you want to get on an airplane or visit a U.S. courthouse, a veterans affairs hospital, a Social Security office or any other federal building. Americans once could live their lives with minimal contact with the federal government; but that is impossible today.”

Several states have passed legislation resisting or denouncing Real ID, while similar bills have been introduced in many others. “But the onus for dealing with Real ID falls on Congress,” says Barr. “As president, I would submit legislation to repeal the law. I also would use my authority as president to limit the law’s impact to the extent allowed by law—establishing privacy safeguards, extending compliance deadlines, and relaxing license requirements. Protecting the people’s liberties and privacy is central to government’s role, not an afterthought – factors obviously not important to my opponents in both the Republican and Democratic Parties who supported the Real ID Act.”

For more information on Real ID see:

Real ID Watch

Real Nightmare

UnRealID

Blog Unavailable - Sitemeter Issue

My blog was unavailable to Internet Explorer users for an undetermined amount of time last night. My blog uses Sitemeter to track how many people visit. From checking articles posted on the net, Sitemeter apparently made some change yesterday that conflicts with a bug in Internet Explorer.

I have removed Sitemeter until this problem is resolved. I apologize to anyone who was unable to view my blog last night.

Karl Rove and the Rule of Law

Bob Barr says being part of the Bush family does not make you immune to the Rule of Law.

Bob Barr: Maverick

Here is a profile of Bob Barr's campaign that was on HDNet World Report Wednesday.