Saturday, June 30, 2007

Dick 'Big Brother' Cheney

had_enough
had_enough,
originally uploaded by rab_fw.
Had about enough of Big Brother? My take on a scene from the film '1984' featuring John Hurt, Richard Burton and.....%#*^!.. Dick Cheney?

Friday, June 29, 2007

Identifying With the State

"Our politico-centric pain and suffering has been brought about by our having allowed external forces to move in and occupy the vacuum we created at the center of our being. The only way out of our dilemma involves a retracing of the route that brought us to where we are."

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Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Conservatives Must Oppose Militarism and War

"(T)he military cannot rightfully be considered a proper tool for forging a world where liberty and democracy may flourish. Such notions are hideously liberal, for they are based on the most dangerous of utopian delusions: that men can be made at gunpoint to change; that nations can be built as easily as destroyed; that societies are artificial rather than organic and can be made to order. These ideas have none of the realism that distinguishes conservatism from dreamy liberal mush."

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Sunday, June 24, 2007

Ron Paul: Lone Star

"(W)e have one man who... fights for the Republic, not the Empire."

Read the article here

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Goodbye and Good Luck, by Charley Reese

"The American people have been conned into accepting the idea of an empire, when there is no need for one.... The imperialists have created the illusion that we are in control of the world and if we weren't, everything would fall apart."



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Friday, June 22, 2007

The Martyr of Mosul, Pat Buchanan

"For the martyrdom of Christianity in its birth cradle, blame must fall heavily upon the men who conceived this misbegotten war."



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Thursday, June 21, 2007

Phantom Politics, Dr. Clyde Wilson

"Many Americans are dumb enough to believe that they are “defending their country” by attacking a foreign people that have done them no harm and pose them no threat. Defending one’s country has been turned into a phantom unanchored in reality."



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Have We Forgotten 2003 Already?

"Clearly, language threatening to wipe a nation or a group of people off the map is to be condemned by all civilized people. And I do condemn any such language. But why does threatening Iran with a pre-emptive nuclear strike, as many here have done, not also deserve the same kind of condemnation? Does anyone believe that dropping nuclear weapons on Iran will not wipe a people off the map? When it is said that nothing, including a nuclear strike, is off the table on Iran, are those who say it not also threatening genocide? And we wonder why the rest of the world accuses us of behaving hypocritically, of telling the rest of the world “do as we say, not as we do.”"



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We Are All Potentially Enemy Combatants

"In a world where the president has the power to label anyone, whether a citizen or permanent resident, an enemy combatant and detain that person indefinitely without trial, no liberty exists and everyone is potentially an “enemy combatant.”"



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Monday, June 18, 2007

Wanted: A New Conservatism

In recent weeks Will has all but endorsed Rudy Giuliani (whom else?) for president and ridiculed Ron Paul, who takes the U.S. Constitution seriously, as an anachronism. I imagine he slapped his flippers together in glee when Giuliani attacked Paul for saying the obvious, that the 9/11 attacks were motivated by American foreign policy, rather than by virginal American innocence. Paul might have been speaking for Jefferson, Madison, and Hamilton, men to whom Giuliani would have little to say, unless he could say it with his middle finger.



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Foreign Policy Socialists of the GOP

As Ron Paul says the Republican party truly has lost it’s way… So called conservatives tend to agree that socialism doesn’t work, though the mainstream GOP has been turning more socialist everyday and this is especially true with regard to foreign policy. Let’s look at the basis for the anti-socialism argument as a starting point...



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Sunday, June 17, 2007

Lying Us Into War, Again

"Sen. Joe Lieberman, who seems to be one of those who loves war as long as he doesn't have to fight it, really believes that we can attack Iran without Iranian retaliation, then he's naive. If he knows better, he's a liar, and to lie the American people into a second war before the other lied-into war in Iraq is even over is despicable. He should be shunned by all decent people."



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We Have Always Been At War With Eastasia...

Fred Kaplan, writing in Slate, opines:“It’s time to start thinking cold-bloodedly about what we might yet eke out of Iraq. An intriguing possibility is on display in Anbar province, where U.S. troops have formed an alliance with Sunni insurgents for the common purpose of killing al-Qaida jihadists.“These insurgents were killing American soldiers just a few months ago. They may resume doing so, once this operation is complete. Such is the nature of coalition warfare, especially when our original coalition partners have largely pulled out of the war.”I’ve been saving this link for the proper occasion, and it looks like I’ve found it. Yes, we have always been at war with Eastasia. Isn’t that right, comrade?



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Friday, June 15, 2007

Will YOUR candidate sign this pledge?

It will be interesting to see which Presidential candidates will sign the Freedom Pledge produced by The American Freedom Agenda. All that it would require would be a willingness to uphold the oath they will take once elected to uphold and defend the Constitution.

The stalwart conservatives behind this project are Bruce Fein, Bob Barr, Richard Viguerie, and David Keene.

One Presidential candidate has already signed this document. Dr. Ron Paul. I wonder who else will state unequivocally that the oath they take means something to them? Who else will bind him or her self with the strong cords of the Constitution? We'll see.

Here's the pledge:

Freedom Pledge

I, (candidate), hereby pledge that if elected President of the United States I will undertake the following to restore the Constitution’s checks and balances, to honor fundamental protections against injustice, and to eschew usurpations of legislative or judicial power.These are keystones of national security and individual freedom:


1. No Military Commissions Except on the Battlefield. I will not employ military commissions to prosecute offenses against the laws of war except in places where active hostilities are ongoing and a battlefield tribunal is necessary to obtain fresh testimony and to prevent local anarchy or chaos.

2. No Evidence Extracted by Torture or Coercion. I will not permit the use of evidence obtained by torture or coercion to be admissible in a military commission or other tribunal.

3. No Detaining Citizens as Unlawful Enemy Combatants. I will not detain any American citizen as an unlawful enemy combatant. Citizens accused of terrorism-linked crimes will be prosecuted in federal civilian courts.

4. Restoring Habeas Corpus for Suspected Alien Enemy Combatants. I will detain non-citizens as enemy combatants only if they have actively participated in actual hostilities against the United States. I will urge Congress to amend the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to permit any individual detained under the custody or control of the United States government to file a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in federal courts.

5. Prohibiting Warrantless Spying by the National Security Agency in Violation of Law. I will prohibit the National Security Agency from gathering foreign intelligence except in conformity with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, and end the NSA’s domestic surveillance program that targets American citizens on American soil for warrantless electronic surveillance.

6. Renouncing Presidential Signing Statements. I will not issue presidential signing statements declaring the intent to disregard provisions of a bill that I have signed into law because I believe they are unconstitutional. Instead, I will veto any bill that I believe contains an unconstitutional provision and ask Congress to delete it and re-pass the legislation.

7. Ending Secret Government by Invoking State Secrets Privilege. I will not invoke the state secrets privilege to deny remedies to individuals victimized by constitutional violations perpetrated by government officials or agents. I will not assert executive privilege to deny Congress information relevant to oversight or legislation unless supreme state secrets are involved. In that case, I will submit the privilege claim to a legislative-executive committee for definitive resolution.

8. Stopping Extraordinary Renditions. I will order the cessation of extraordinary renditions except where the purpose of the capture and transportation of the suspected criminal is for prosecution according to internationally accepted standards of fairness and due process.

9. Stopping Threats to Prosecuting Journalists under the Espionage Act. I will urge Congress to amend the Espionage Act to create a journalistic exception for reporting on matters relating to the national defense. As a matter of prosecutorial discretion, until such an amendment is enacted I will not prosecute journalists for alleged Espionage Act violations except for the intentional disclosure of information that threatens immediate physical harm to American troops or citizens at home or abroad.

10. Ending the Listing of Individuals or Organizations as Terrorists Based on Secret Evidence. I will not list individuals or organizations as foreign terrorists or foreign terrorist organizations for purposes of United States or international law based on secret evidence.


I will issue a public report annually elaborating on how the actions enumerated in paragraphs 1-10 have strengthened the ability of the United States to defeat international terrorism, secure fundamental freedoms, and preserve the nation’s democratic dispensation.



___________________________

(Candidate)


Date: ______________________

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The Interventionist-Internationalist Complex

CFR members who are running for President (or considering doing so):Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Jim Gilmore, Newt Gingrich, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson. Guess who's missing from this list?



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Monday, June 11, 2007

Post–Constitutional America

(T)he time is ripe for a constitutional counterrevolution. Discontent with the ruling system... is deep and widespread among several classes of people: Christians, conservatives, gun owners, taxpayers, and simple believers in honest government all have their reasons. The rulers lack legitimacy and don’t believe in their own power strongly enough to defend it.The beauty of it is that the people don’t have to invent a new system of government in order to get rid of this one. They only have to restore the one described in the Constitution — the system our government already professes to be upholding. Taken seriously, the Constitution would pose a serious threat to our form of government.



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American Idols

"A tolerant fellow Christian just told me he thinks atheists are entitled to their opinions. I told him I think they're entitled to my opinions; I've heard enough of theirs! Don't even get me started on the subject of that fool Darwin. The world would be a lot better off if he'd taken up astrology, like Attila the Hun."



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Sunday, June 10, 2007

Smug Neocon Kristol Disses Bush Big Time

"For President Bush, loyalty is apparently a one-way street; decency is something he’s for as long as he doesn’t have to take any risks in its behalf; and courage – well, that’s nowhere to be seen. Many of us used to respect President Bush. Can one respect him still?” Take that, Dubya!



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Saturday, June 09, 2007

The Real Reason for Bush’s Invasion of Iraq Is a National Security Secret

"What is moral degeneracy if it is not using nuclear weapons to murder masses of innocent civilians and spread deadly radioactivity over vast areas merely in order to force a country to do as we order? If this isn’t barbarism, what is barbarism?"



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Why the Tax Protestors' Movement Cannot Succeed

"Much tax protester time is spent praying to the Constitution. Big problem. Constitutions don't limit government power because the government has claimed the exclusive right to say what they mean." More important, the public no longer believes in or understands the values that gave rise to the Constitution..."



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Thursday, June 07, 2007

Whither the Remnant? by Butler Shaffer

You do not know and will never know who the Remnant are, or where they are, or how many of them there are, or what they are doing or will do. Two things you know, and no more: first, that they exist; second, that they will find you.~ Albert Jay Nock



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Tuesday, June 05, 2007

If You Think Bush Is Evil Now, Wait Until He Nukes Iran

(T)he Democrats have decided that it is easier to be complicit in war crimes than to represent the wishes of the electorate and hold a rogue president accountable. If Cheney again prevails, America will supplant the Third Reich as the most reviled country in recorded history.



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Ron Paul vs. The Christian Right

Why would the leadership of the Christian Right reject someone who was pro-religion, pro-life, pro-family values, pro-religious liberty, pro-Constitution, and a veteran, who not only was opposed to same-sex marriage, unrestricted immigration, gun control, and the United Nations, but never, in all his years in Congress, voted to raise taxes, took a government-paid junket, or voted for a congressional pay raise?Why?I believe this is due to three things: ignorance, stupidity, and statolatry.



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Monday, June 04, 2007

Big Brother looks familiar....

 


Big Brother, Winston & O'Brien
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My son, the libertarian.....

Patrick is 19. Here's what he had to say on his MySpace blog recently. (The numbers indicate YouTube subscriptions per candidate at the time):

Ron Paul ...12,001 -- Wants to restore Bill of Rights and Constitution!
Obama...5,768 -- Did cocaine with Rick James (its In Obama's book)!
Clinton...3,212 -- Talking head for Socialist Elites and Israel. Supports carbon tax!
Romney.2,014 -- Mormon, believes he will be a God one day with many spirit wives!
Giuliani..1,389 -- From crime family, Married his cousin, Divorced 3 times!
McCain..1,259 -- Supports expensive, endless war against a poorly defined enemy "Terrorism"!

Ron Paul has completely ambushed the media and the American public. I first heard of Ron Paul about 4 years ago and he instantly became one of my heroes after I heard a speech he gave on the floor of congress. This was right around the time when I became interested in politics and was becoming fed up with the two parties controlling our lives and the world. I decided I was a libertarian.

About a year ago, my dad came to me announcing to me that Ron Paul was planning on running for president and that he was going to support him as much as he could through bumper stickers and internet blogs. All I could think at the time was "Good luck, Ron Paul's chances are thinner than a strand of hair." So I didn't take it seriously.

Over the past month or so though, things have changed. This old hero of mine from four years ago that no one knew about, that no one cared about, whose ideas were so challenging, is now gaining so much popularity and support in just a matter of 2 weeks, both Republicans and Democrats are fleeing to this Moses-type character because they know he's our only hope for freedom by leading us out of slavery.

I watch these videos on youtube of GOP debates where Ron Paul is ripping it up, fundraising speeches, etc. The response to his ideas (which have been my ideas for the past 4 years) is overwhelming. He's taking everyone by surprise and everyone in the media is talking about him. I seriously have been on the verge of tears to see him giving America some hope to free us from this enslaved corporate-statism that is our bloated, out-of-control government.

You can even go to the videos of the democratic debates and all the coments talk about Ron Paul. His support and following is extraordinary to me, I have never seen this happen to an unknown politician with radical ideas. Yet even with all his support, the corporate-owned government media is trying so hard to hold him back, but Paul continues to prevail and continues to challenge peoples ideas. The extraordinary part is that his ideas are ACTUALLY getting across to people.

4 years ago I argued with so many republicans about the war in Iraq and all the republicans just gave me endless #### about their threat to us. I told them that the war is not just, I told them Iraq has nothing to do with 9/11, I told them 9/11 was the result of bad foreign policy of interventionalism. I told them that no matter what Bush says, things in Iraq will only get worse, and the war will never end or succeed. They thought I was wrong and blindly supported Bush thinking he would prevail. These things never prevail... Over time though, Bush's ratings began to go down, he began losing support as the war continued to rage on with no hope in sight. There's still none... even after 4 years of arguing with republicans.

And now with an election drawing near... a voice comes out of the shadows of the libertarian ideology and is reaching to people as an alternative... and people are actually listening... My shock is that REPUBLICANS... the people I so loathed and hated... are coming to their senses after witnessing Bush's failures. Republican's are showing signs of moving in a new direction AWAY from neo-conservativism and towards constitutional liberty... towards real freedom... real genuine honest to God sacred freedom that we've been missing out on. The freedom I've been wanting for four years and beyond.

There's hope... I know there is. I'm not losing faith in the world and its people...

Under Ron Paul's Presidency, we would have:

-An end to the war in Iraq, our troops from bases all over the world home and safe. No more bloodshed. No more war.
-An end to tyrannical bureacracy: the IRS, the Federal Reserve, the CIA, the FBI, the DEA, virtually all of the Departments.
-A prevention of the REAL ID act, and other Big Brother scams.
-An end to the income tax.
-Social and personal liberty and freedom.
-An end to expensive, dangerous and pointless pursuits such as the War on Drugs
-An end to corporate subsidies and corporate/state sponsorships (corporatism)
-FREE SPEECH!
-A return to the Constitution.

Patrick's blog

My guess is, not a big seller....

 


If this is the only bumper sticker you have to sell you'll not last long in the business!
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Sunday, June 03, 2007

Tolkien v. Power

The Lord of the Rings is the epic journey to destroy the One Ring, which symbolizes power. More precisely, the book aligns itself against power--not "economic power" or "social power," but specifically political power. This is also the central theme of the classical liberal political tradition.



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Dying for Nothing

So, if you don't want to say the kids are dying for nothing, you can say they are dying for Halliburton, for ExxonMobil, for the president's ego, for a ########## theory of a bunch of academics, for Israel, for money or for oil. What you cannot truthfully say is that they are dying for freedom.



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Republican Authoritarianism

Prof. Harvey Mansfield of Harvard, no less, reveals his desire for a king. Thanks for sharing Professor, but I prefer the 'rule of law' and perhaps a Ron Paul presidency to your dictator idea.



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Ron Paul and the Founders versus Our Interventionist Elite

America’s bipartisan governing elite never expected their common interventionist foreign policy to be damned by a man who has long worked among that august group. But Paul proved himself not only a political maverick, but one of the few elected federal officials who still prizes - indeed, treasures his status as an American citizen.



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