Two hundred thirty two years ago, Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, and with representatives of the 13 colonies signed it, thereby laying the cornerstone for America to become a free nation. The Tree of Liberty had a blood-price, as 4,400 Americans died and 6,200 were wounded on Revolutionary War battlefields.
“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.”
The 13 colonies abruptly severed the royal governorships of Great Britain, and Americans declared themselves independent of King George III’s rule. This dissolution was instigated by Britain’s internal taxes, trade tariffs, and military impositions, and the pitiless ignominy of no representation in Parliament.
Ron Getty writes about the heritage of The American Revolution that we celebrate today http://ca.lp.org/lp20080526.shtml
The Libertarian Party is calling for restraint in words and actions when dealing with Iran. “The charged rhetoric from the Bush administration regarding Iran is very similar to that which was common in the lead up to the war with Iraq,” says Libertarian Party National Chairman William Redpath, “and that’s a path we do not need to travel down again.”
“Opening up a third front against Iran would be absolutely disastrous for our economy and our military,” says Redpath. “The Bush administration needs to weigh their rhetoric carefully, so as not to increase tensions in an already strained situation.”
This week, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen stated in a Pentagon press conference that his preference is “to handle all of this diplomatically with the other powers of governments,” adding that “opening up a third front right now would be extremely stressful” on the Armed Forces.
Full Release @ http://www.lp.org/news/press-releases/libertarian-party-says-iran-should-not-be-the-new-iraq
“The most basic principle to being a free American is the notion that we as individuals are responsible for our own lives and decisions. We do not have the right to rob our neighbors to make up for our mistakes, neither does our neighbor have any right to tell us how to live, so long as we aren’t infringing on their rights. Freedom to make bad decisions is inherent in the freedom to make good ones. If we are only free to make good decisions, we are not really free.”
“Socialist ideologies blur this line between self reliance and government control because the mistakes of the individual are spread to everyone else. Thus the government becomes very interested in your decisions and way of life, with the justification that you could make a mistake others will have to pay for. The end result is, of course, that everyone loses privacy and control over their own lives. Whether they realize it or not, they are no longer truly free.”
“This week in Congress brought some examples from both sides of the aisle on these issues of freedom and personal responsibility. We talked about online gambling quite a bit with the markup of some legislation dealing with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Now, I am not someone who enjoys throwing money away, but I am someone who understands issues of freedom and self-ownership. As such, I strongly support the right of free people to do with their hard-earned money as they please. Gambling is ultimately a matter of personal choice, and some people find it entertaining. As long as I am not forced to underwrite their losses, it is none of my business what gamblers do with their time and money.”
Full column by Rep. Ron Paul @ http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003412.html
“Just a few years ago, lending institutions were spending considerable time in courtrooms, accused of practicing so-called redlining, predatory lending, and discrimination. Bankers were not making enough loans to minorities, low-income households, and families with bad credit. A number of studies showed that white buyers were given preferential treatment when it came to obtaining a loan. A superficial examination of the records seemed to indicate a clear bias toward white couples.”…
“…Soon the federal government was in the forefront of initiating laws and adopting rhetoric to assist low-income, high-risk borrowers with generous mortgage programs, often enticing home buyers into loans they could not afford. The legislation included the American Dream Down Payment Act in 2003, which authorized the distribution of $200 million a year to help low-income families with down payments and closing costs. President Bush explicitly told federal agencies to loosen up or eliminate regulatory barriers to affordable home ownership.”
“Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both government-sponsored enterprises that subsidize credit through the U.S. Treasury, got into the act.”
“According to Kathleen Hays at CNNMoney in 2005, “Fannie and Freddie have blazed the way for competitive mortgage products that have helped to revolutionize the mortgage lending industry in ways that the more conservative, less innovative banks had not in the past.”
Real Estate professional Larry Samuels looks at the mortgage mess http://ca.lp.org/lp20080505.shtml
“A bill essentially legalizing Bush’s warrantless surveillance program just sailed through the Democratic House and is expected to sail through the Democratic Senate. It would expand wiretapping powers against foreign targets, extend the grace period of warrantless domestic eavesdropping on Americans at home, and grant retroactive immunity to telecom companies that cooperated in illegal domestic spying. The New York Times calls it “the most significant revision of surveillance law in 30 years,” but it is also just the latest example in 30 years of Democratic betrayals of the Fourth Amendment.”
“In 1978, Democratic President Carter signed the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act into law. A meager response to Nixon’s surveillance of peaceful activists and other such abuses, FISA established a secret court within the Justice Department to issue special warrants for wiretapping foreign suspects. Even when spying on a “United States person,” intelligence officials now had 72 hours before they needed a warrant. Carter said in his signing statement, “This is a difficult balance to strike, but the act I am signing today strikes it.” The Fourth Amendment lost its teeth.”
“From 1979 to September 11, 2001, more than thirteen thousand FISA warrants were issued. Not a single application was rejected.”
“But that wasn’t enough for Bush…” Anthony Gregory looks at how Democrats enabled President Bush in his latest attack on liberty http://independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=2244
“What is the importance of the war in Iraq relative to other
current issues? This is a question I am often asked, especially as Americans continue to become increasingly aware that something is very wrong with the economy. The difficulty with the way the question is often asked relates to the perception that we are somehow able to divide such issues, or to isolate the cost of war into arbitrarily defined areas such as national security or international relations. War is an all-encompassing governmental activity. The impact of war on our ability to defend ourselves from future attack, and upon America ’s standing in the world, is only a mere fraction of the total overall effect that war has on our nation and the policies of its government.”
“The cost of this particular war is enormous, and therefore it’s of great importance. There is no single issue that is more important at this particular time. The war has, of course, made us less safe as a nation and damaged our credibility with allies and hostile nations alike. Moreover, years of growing deficits have been spurred on by the high price tag of war, and the decision to pay that price primarily by supplemental spending rather than traditional “on-budget” accounting.”
“War takes what would otherwise be productive economic capacity and transfers both that capacity and the wealth it would generate in normal, peaceful times into far less economically viable activities. It also impacts budget priorities in ways that are detrimental to our nation. I have often pointed to the fact that we are building bridges in Iraq while they are collapsing in the United States .”
Full column by Rep. Ron Paul @ http://antiwar.com/paul/?articleid=13009
“Oil prices are on the minds of many Americans as gas hits $4 a gallon, and continues to surge. How high can prices go? How can we solve these problems? What, or who, is to blame?”
“Part of the answer lies in understanding bubbles and monetary inflation, but especially the Federal Reserve System. The Federal Reserve is charged with controlling inflation through interest rate manipulation, however, many fail to realize that creating money, and therefore inflation, is really its only tool. When the Federal Reserve inflates the dollar as drastically as it has in the past few decades, the first users of the newly created money go in search of investments for their dollars. They must invest this money quickly and aggressively before it loses value. This causes certain sectors to expand beyond what would naturally occur in the free market. Eventually the sector overheats and the bubble bursts. Overinvestment in dotcoms eventually led to a collapse of the NASDAQ. Next we had the housing bubble, and now we are seeing the price of oil being bid up in the creation of another new bubble. Investors are now looking to commodities like oil, for stability and growth as they pull capital out of real estate. This increased demand for investment vehicles related to oil contributes to driving up the price of the actual product.”
Full column by Rep. Ron Paul @ http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003380.html
Dr Murray Sabrin held high the banner of liberty in his campaign for Senate in New Jersey’s Republican primary. A long-time advocate of Free Market economics, Dr Sabrin was endorsed by Congressman Ron Paul and supported by the Republican Liberty Caucus and many Libertarian Party members. Dr Sabrin was defeated in the primary by former Congressman Dick Zimmer, also a long-time friend of the Libertarian Movement.
In 1972, Dick Zimmer worked with New Jersey Libertarians in a dump Nixon campaign. As a state legislator and Congressman, Mr Zimmer associated with the Republican Liberty Caucus and other libertarian organizations.
As a member of Congress, Dick Zimmer fought for less government:
“While others talk about fiscal responsibility and cutting spending, Zimmer has an unmatched record of fighting on behalf of New Jersey taxpayers. Zimmer was instrumental in persuading the House to phase out the obsolete wool and mohair subsidy, saving taxpayers more than $500 million over five years. He worked hard to protect taxpayer money from being spent on wasteful government programs and pork barrel projects. Zimmer supported $700 billion in specific spending cuts, which would have balanced the budget.”
- The National Taxpayers Union three times named Zimmer the most fiscally conservative member of the entire Congress based on the net savings of legislation he sponsored.
- Citizens Against Government Waste designated Zimmer a “Taxpayer Hero” every year he served in Congress except the two years he was named a “Taxpayer Superhero”.
- The anti-deficit Concord Coalition honored Dick as a deficit hawk and placed him on its “House Honor Roll,” rating him in the top 10 percent of Congress.
- Zimmer never failed to receive the Golden Bulldog Award from the Watchdogs of the Treasury for his votes in Congress.
The Courier-Post notes “On Iraq, Zimmer wisely breaks with McCain and says the United States should look to withdraw combat troops quickly.”
Dick Zimmer is a candidate that libertarians and limited government conservatives should consider in November. More info @ http://www.zimmerforsenate.com/
“Recently Congress sent the latest Farm Bill to the president. The bill features brand new federal programs, expansion of existing subsidies, more food stamps and more foreign food aid. This bill hits the taxpayer hard, while at the same time ensuring food prices will remain elevated. The president vetoed the bill, citing concerns over its costs and subsidies for the wealthy in a time of high food prices and record farm income. Nevertheless, this over-reaching, government-expanding Farm Bill will soon be law.”
“The truth is most farmers simply want honest pay for honest work. However, if the government is providing competing farms with advantages, and one wants to remain a farmer, one must seek a proportional advantage from government. It is a difficult position for the farmer. Some are better at qualifying for taxpayers’ largesse than others as evidenced by the fact that more than 60% of the subsidies go to just 10% of recipients, edging out the small family farm. This entire system is unfair and demoralizing. It disproportionately benefits big agribusiness at the expense of struggling family farms.”
Rep. Ron Paul looks at the latest Farm Subsidy bill http://www.freeliberal.com/archives/003368.html
“Speculation is growing that the U.S. economy may have already slipped into recession. If the past is any guide, politicians on the campaign trail will be tempted to blame trade and globalization for the passing pain of the business cycle. But an analysis of previous recessions and expansions shows that international trade and investment are not to blame for downturns in the economy and may, in fact, be moderating the business cycle.”
“In recent decades, as foreign trade and investment have been rising as a share of the U.S. economy, recessions have actually become milder and less frequent. The softening of the business cycle has become so striking that economists now refer to it as “The Great Moderation.” The more benign trend appears to date from the mid-1980s.”…
“America’s recent experience of a more globalized and less volatile economy has not been unique in the world. Other countries that have opened themselves to global markets have been less vulnerable to financial and economic shocks.”
Complete article by Daniel T. Griswold @ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9446