Libertarians for Ron Paul

California voters have an opportunity on June 3, 2008 to protect property rights and limit the eminent domain powers of local governments. Throughout California, local governments have been using eminent domain to take homes, farmlands and business property, and transferring this property to private developers.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has qualified Proposition 98 for the June 3rd primary ballot. Proposition 98 will prohibit eminent domain takings for the purpose of helping private business. It will also add safeguards if property is taken for public use. Proposition 98 will really protect property rights in California.

Proposition 99 was put on the ballot by the League of Cities, as a decoy, It offers little protection against eminent domain, but claims that it protects our homes. The Libertarian Party of California urges you to vote YES on Proposition 98, NO on Proposition 99. http://ca.lp.org/june08_9899.shtml

.A more thorough look at the two propositions in California Freedom ca.lp.org/cf/CF-200805.pdf 

“Barack Obama recently said, “I believe in our ability to perfect this nation.” Clearly there is something the candidate of “change” will not change—the pattern of extravagant presidential rhetoric. Obama is trying to replace a president who vowed to “rid the world of evil”—and of tyranny, too.”

“But then, rhetorical—and related—excesses are inherent in the modern presidency. This is so for reasons brilliantly explored in the year’s most pertinent and sobering public affairs book, “The Cult of the Presidency: America’s Dangerous Devotion to Executive Power,” by Gene Healy of Washington’s libertarian Cato Institute.”

George Will reviews new Cato book @ http://www.newsweek.com/id/138505

“The Cult of the Presidency” is available @ www.renbook.com for $21.00 plus shipping

“On Sunday Barack Obama urged graduates of Connecticut’s Wesleyan University to devote themselves to “collective service.” This is not an unusual theme for a commencement address. But it was interesting how long he went on discussing various kinds of nonprofit activism without ever mentioning the virtues of commerce or of individual achievement.”…

“Or this year’s Republican nominee. John McCain also denounces “self-indulgence” and insists that Americans serve “a national purpose that is greater than our individual interests.” During a Republican debate at the Reagan Library on May 3, 2007, Sen. McCain derided Mitt Romney’s leadership ability, saying, “I led . . . out of patriotism, not for profit.” Challenged on his statement, Mr. McCain elaborated that Mr. Romney “managed companies, and he bought, and he sold, and sometimes people lost their jobs. That’s the nature of that business.” He could have been channeling Barack Obama.”

David Boaz of the Cato Institute looks at the Presidential hopefuls of the pro-government parties  http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9429

“It’s a curious thing in America that each July we celebrate how the founding fathers threw off the shackles of an oppressive monarchy, that we favorably compare our republican system of governance with the world’s tyrants, dictatorships and monarchies (and rightly so)—and yet we then celebrate those American presidents who most behaved like tyrants, monarchs and dictators.”

“Presidents like Woodrow Wilson, Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman are regularly put at the top of lists of America’s greatest presidents. This is true when both historians and the American public at large are polled. Yet these are presidents who did everything they could to expand the power of their offices, to extend the sphere of influence of the federal government and to bully through policies that met inconvenient hurdles otherwise known as checks and balances.”

Radley Balko explains why executive authority is the most important issue this November @ http://www.reason.com/news/show/126621.html

“Longtime lobbyist Charles Black Jr. is John McCain’s man in Washington, a political maestro who hopes to guide his friend, the senator from Arizona, to the presidency this November.”

“But for half a decade in the 1980s, Black was also Jonas Savimbi’s man in the capital city. His lobbying firm received millions from the brutal Angolan guerrilla leader and took advantage of Black’s contacts in Congress and the White House.” …

“In addition to Savimbi, Black and his partners were at times registered foreign agents for a remarkable collection of U.S.-backed foreign leaders whose human rights records were sometimes harshly criticized, even as their opposition to communism was embraced by U.S. conservatives. They included Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire.”

Full  story @ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?=/c/a/2008/05/22/MNIT10QN20.DTL

Delia Lopez is the Republican nomimee in Oregon’s Third Congressional District. She is challenging Democrat Congressman Earl Blumenauer on a platform emphasizing Property Rights, Privacy Rights and National Sovereignty.

Delia Lopez has actively supported Ron Paul’s campaign for President, and pledges to oppose continued funding of the Iraq War. She says:

“We must leave Iraq ASAP, and let the Iraqi’s decide how their country will be rebuilt.”

More information @ http://dlopezforcongress.com/ 

“This week, as the American economy continued to suffer the effects of big government, the House

attempted to pass two multi-billion dollar “emergency” spending bills, one for continued spending on the war in Iraq , and one increasing spending on domestic and international welfare programs. The plan was to pass these two bills and then send them to the president as one package. Even though the House failed to pass the war spending bill, opponents of the war should not be fooled into believing this vote signals a long-term change in policy. At the end of the day, those favoring continued military occupation of Iraq will receive every penny they are requesting and more as long as they agree to dramatically increase domestic and international welfare spending as well. ”

 ”The continued war in Iraq and the constant state of emergency has allowed Congress to use these so-called “emergency” bills as a vehicle to dramatically increase spending across the board – including spending that does not meet even the most generous definition of emergency. For example, the spending proposals currently being considered by Congress provide $210 million to the Census Bureau and $4 million for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. $4.6 billion is requested for the closing of military bases, but not any of the more than 700 bases overseas – bases here at home!”

Rep. Ron Paul looks at the continuing cost of the Iraq War http://antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=12864

“John McCain announces timetable for withdrawal from Iraq!”

“Well, actually, he did no such thing, and probably will never do any such thing, but this morning, in an interesting speech (and crappy companion commercial) dreamcasting ahead to the year 2013, the presumptive Republican nominee cleverly set bait for the national media to undo his most enduring campaign blunder to date: Letting slip the bedrock truism that McCain sees no downside whatsoever to having U.S. troops stationed in Iraq in the year 2109.”

Matt Welch looks at McCain’s latest ploy on Iraq http://www.reason.com/news/show/126525.html

“The House passed two bills attempting to rehabilitate the housing and mortgage market this week. There doesn’t seem to be any shortage of criticism and blame for the bad decisions, and rightly so. Lenders and banks do share much of the blame for the overheated market. Lending standards were relaxed, or even abandoned altogether, creating an exaggerated pool of homebuyers that led to ballooning home prices that many, especially real estate investors, expected to continue forever. Now that the bubble has burst, the losses are staggering.”

“However, many in Washington fail to realize it was government intervention that brought on the current economic malaise in the first place. The Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates created the loose, easy credit that ignited a voracious appetite in the banks for borrowers. People made these lending and buying decisions based on market conditions that were wildly manipulated by government. But part of sound financial management should be recognizing untenable or falsified economic conditions and adjusting risk accordingly. Many banks failed to do that and are now looking to taxpayers to pick up the pieces. This is wrong-headed and unfair, but Congress is attempting to do it anyway.”

Full commentary by Congressman Ron Paul http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003342.html 

“We need to stand up to the special interests, bring Republicans and Democrats together, and pass the farm bill immediately,” Barack Obama declared last November. It was a weird thing to say, since the farm bill, which subsidizes an arbitrarily chosen section of the economy at the expense of taxpayers and consumers in general, is special-interest legislation by definition.

“The latest version, which President Bush has promised to veto, includes tax breaks for racehorse owners, “marketing aid” for fruit and vegetable growers, research funding for organic farmers, enhanced price supports for domestic sugar producers, increased subsidies for dairy farmers, a $170 million earmark for the salmon industry, and billions of dollars in automatic payments and “permanent disaster assistance” for corn, wheat, cotton, rice, and soybean growers. Take that, special interests!”

“Less than a month ago, the Associated Press reported that “it’s not a good year for a farm bill,” what with surging food prices, record farm income, a tight federal budget, and a resistant president unconcerned about getting re-elected. But in the logrolling culture of Washington, the solution to wasteful, unjustified spending is more wasteful, unjustified spending.”

Jacob Sullum takes on welfare for rich farmers @ http://www.reason.com/news/show/126484.html