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Category Archives: politics
New Year’s Resolutions for Congress – Ron Paul
As I prepare to retire from Congress, I’d like to suggest a few New Year’s resolutions for my colleagues to consider. For the sake of liberty, peace, and prosperity I certainly hope more members of Congress consider the strict libertarian constitutional approach to government in 2013.
In just a few days, Congress will solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic. They should reread Article 1 Section 8 and the Bill of Rights before taking such a serious oath. Most legislation violates key provisions of the Constitution in very basic ways, and if members can’t bring themselves to say no in the face of pressure from special interests, they have broken trust with their constituents and violated their oaths. Congress does not exist to serve special interests, it exists to protect the rule of law.
I also urge my colleagues to end unconstitutional wars overseas. Stop the drone strikes; stop the covert activities and meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. Strive to observe “good faith and justice towards all Nations” as George Washington admonished. We are only making more enemies, wasting lives, and bankrupting ourselves with the neoconservative, interventionist mindset that endorses pre-emptive war that now dominates both parties.
All foreign aid should end because it is blatantly unconstitutional. While it may be a relatively small part of our federal budget, for many countries it is a large part of theirs–and it creates perverse incentives for both our friends and enemies. There is no way members of Congress can know or understand the political, economic, legal, and social realities in the many nations to which they send taxpayer dollars.
Congress needs to stop accumulating more debt. US debt, monetized by the Federal Reserve, is the true threat to our national security. Revisiting the parameters of Article 1 Section 8 would be a good start.
Congress should resolve to respect personal liberty and free markets. Learn more about the free market and how it regulates commerce and produces greater prosperity better than any legislation or regulation. Understand that economic freedom IS freedom. Resolve not to get in the way of voluntary contracts between consenting adults. Stop bailing out failed yet politically connected companies and industries. Stop forcing people to engage in commerce when they don’t want to, and stop prohibiting them from buying and selling when they do want to. Stop trying to legislate your ideas of fairness. Protect property rights. Protect the individual. That is enough.
There are many more resolutions I would like to see my colleagues in Congress adopt, but respect for the Constitution and the oath of office should be at the core of everything members of Congress do in 2013
2012 Year in Review | David Collum
Free Markets, Rule of Law, and Other Urban Legends
[Every year, friend-of-the-site David Collum writes a detailed “Year in Review” synopsis full of keen perspective and plenty of wit. This year’s is no exception. Moreover, he has graciously selected PeakProsperity.com as the site where it will be published in full. It’s quite longer than our usual posts, but worth the time to read in full. A downloadable pdf of the full article is available at the bottom of the post — cheers, Adam]
Glenn Hubbard, Leading Academic and Mitt Romney Advisor, Took 1200 an Hour to Be Countrywide’s Expert Witness | Matt Taibbi
Karma is a bitch. Just ask Glenn Hubbard.
CT. COP on Sandy Hook Inconsistencies: “THINGS DON’T ADD UP” – SGTbull07
Published on Dec 18, 2012
Firearms industry expert and part-time police officer Mark S. Mann (pseudonym) lives in Connecticut, just miles from the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary. He’s been following the story closely, talking to cops he knows in the area and he will be reporting for us as this story develops. Mark says there are just too many inconsistencies with the ‘official’ story and he says, “things don’t add up.” As we all now know, regardless of whether the mass murders of children and adults at Sandy Hook was a false flag operation, or the actions of a lone nut, the establishment intends to use this event to attack the Constitutional rights of law abiding Americans – they’re coming after the guns. And just like Stuart Rhodes of Oath Keepers, Mark says, “We will not tolerate any abuses to our 2nd Amendment rights.”
Chart Of The Day: The Death Of America’s Middle Class | ZeroHedge
There is one chart that everyone should see that is part of Reuters’ must read special series: The Unequal State of America: Redistributing Up – it is the chart we have said over the past 4 years is the only one that matters for America – that showing the flattening of America’s wealth distributon Gaussian curve, aka the plunder and accelerating destruction of America’s middle class, at the expense of the poorest and the wealthiest. This is nothing but the inevitable outcome of a co-opted, conflicted and controlled marionette government, which does the bidding of the wealthiest lobby powers (read corporate shareholders and Wall Street), partitioning the bulk of the wealth to the richest, while sending the scraps to the poorest in order to keep itself in power due to the power of the ever poorer, democratic majority. Alas, since there is never a free lunch, and since the Fed does not create wealth but through its currency debasement merely accelerates the transfer of wealth, someone ends up footing the bill? Who? None other than that part of the US population which made the United States of America the greatest country in the world, and is now watching it implode first slowly, then fast.
The chart in question:
Continued:
via Chart Of The Day: The Death Of America’s Middle Class | ZeroHedge.
4 Awful Reactions to Sandy Hook School Shooting – And Thoughts on a Better Response – Reason.com
Nick Gillespie|Dec. 15, 2012 12:48 pm
Horrific events such as the mass shooting at Newtown, Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School are terrible enough in showcasing the evil that men do.
But they also regularly bring out the worst in observers, commentators, and pundits who will never let a lack of knowledge or expertise stand in the way of making grand pronouncements.
Here’s a short tour of four of the least-helpful reactions to an attack that slaughtered more than two dozen Americans – most of them kids 10 years and younger. They come courtesy of a former presidential candidate (Mike Huckabee), an international media mogul (Rupert Murdoch), an Oscar-winning filmmaker (Michael Moore), and a famous crusading journalist (Geraldo Rivera).
Following that is a discussion of the reality of gun violence in America and what might actually address some of the issues in play.
via 4 Awful Reactions to Sandy Hook School Shooting – And Thoughts on a Better Response – Reason.com.
Wake the F*ck Up! – A Rebuttal (NSFW!) – YouTube
Published on Sep 28, 2012
Samuel L. Jackson’s “Wake the Fuck Up” video urges Americans to re-elect Barack Obama even as it chides the president’s supporters for a lack of enthusiasm.
Why might voters be less than pleased with Obama? Reason TV responds with its own rhyme.
Go to http://reason.com/reasontv/2012/09/28/wake-the-fck-up-a-rebuttal for downloadable versions, full links, and more. And go to http://reason.tv for more videos.
Produced by Meredith Bragg and Nick Gillespie (who also narrates).
About 1.30 minutes. Scroll down for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason’s YouTube channel to get automatic notifications when new material goes live.
US Demands Judge Dismiss Lawsuits Against Assassination of Citizens — News from Antiwar.com
Vows to Declare ‘State Secrets’ If Case Continues
by Jason Ditz, December 16, 2012
The Obama Administration has demanded that a federal judge throw out a lawsuit relating to the assassination of three US citizens in Obama-ordered drone strikes, saying that questions about overseas kill lists are beyond the purview of the court system and that it is inappropriate to question the president in this regard.
The demand comes with a threat to declare the entire issue of the killings a “state secret” if the judge doesn’t dismiss the lawsuit out of hand, which would make the case as a practical matter virtually impossible.
The Justice Department’s motion went on to say that the court system had no say over the question of whether assassinating American citizens overseas was proportionate or justified, and that questions of “due process” in the summary executions were not something courts could constitutionally consider.
The motion also insisted that there was no standing to question the assassination of Anwar Awlaki or his son, Abdulrahman Awlaki, because the later was the heir of the former and was killed before he was able to file a lawsuit as executor of the estate.
The elder Awlaki was referred to as a “leader” in a terrorist group in the motion, but the administration has repeatedly declined to provide any evidence for this, and has only cited sermons critical of US foreign policy as proof he is an “extremist.” The younger Awlaki was never even suspected of a crime, but was assassinated shortly after his father.
via US Demands Judge Dismiss Lawsuits Against Assassination of Citizens — News from Antiwar.com.
How to Make the Case for Freedom! – YouTube
Published on Dec 15, 2012
Freedomain Radio Listener Emails, 5 December 2012
– Do Boys Learn Differently from Girls?
– How to Best Make the Case for Freedom?
– What about Right to Work Legislation?
– Is It Initiating Force to Get Your Children to Do Chores?
Right to Work Bill Passes!
Do you think boys learn differently than girls?
What's happening? 