liberty

For nigh-on fifty years, the libertarian movement has worked ceaselessly to ensure Republican electoral success. Long before the Southern Democrats broke ranks and invaded the GOP, we have been toiling in the rear, making good on the Republican pledge to minimize statism and increase personal liberty in all of its manifold forms.

And what have we to show for it? In 1980, we worked to secure the Republican nomination for Ronald Reagan. In 1988, we were no more free when he left office than when he assumed it (it is convenient to forget that Jimmy Carter was the first President to begin the push for deregulation), with a larger deficit to boot. But still we stayed true to the faith.

We acquiesced to the nomination of George Herbert Walker Bush in 1988; we voted for him en masse on the promise of "no new taxes". And we were no more free when he left office in 1992 (indeed, Bill Clinton was far more fiscally conservative than he; even in his first campaign he pledged to lower the deficit). We were lied to.

We showed our real strength in 1992. Ross Perot may not have been an ideological libertarian, but one cannot deny that he appealed to our kind in a way that few nominees in recent history have. We broke the back of the Republican machine.

And then, in 2000, we came back to the fold, and voted for a man who pledged us a 'humble' foreign policy and smaller government. We were deceived yet again - at the end of his term we were involved in two budget-busting wars, were laden with a theocratized central State, and left all the poorer for it.

And in every recent poll I've seen, Mike Huckabee has led the Republican pack.

This represents, I fear, something more than the results of 'fusionism', that outdated political philosophy we have hued to since 1964. It represents nothing less than the systematic shutting-out of political power on the part of certain elements within the Republican Party of their libertarian base.

For I am not at all convinced that those aforementioned Southern Democrats ever really abandoned their big-government, populistic political persuasions. To be sure, they can mouth the credo of "small government" like anyone. But what they mean by it is something quite other than what we who are earnest with it mean.

For them, "small government" is a catch-all phrase behind which lies one talismanic symbol: a cross. For them, "small governent" is any government that uses and abuses its monopoly of force in the pursuit of whatever cultural cause is en vogue with them at the moment. It has not yet occurred to them that a genuinely small government could never pay for the wars they so love to fight.

To yearn for freedom, to strive for liberty not only for one's self but for one's fellow men: this is the meaning of libertarianism. And it is fundamentally incompatible with purient nationalism. But I see no alternative offered by Republican policy makers.

Consider the "War on Drugs". Every Republican politician I know of - particularly those from the South - support it. And then they simultaneously pretend to be fiscal conservatives. But if they knew anything about which they speak so well, they'd know how much of a disaster that War has really been, how much an example it is of the big government they love to hate.

I am discontent with the present situation. And I reject the status quo. This does not mean that we are to automatically turn to the Democrats; it does mean that, if we fail in our fight to secure the future direction of the Republican Party, the time has come to collapse the "big tent". And the Tea Partiers are most certainly not the answer - they are one and the same with the abortion-protesting herd I loathe so much.

The political axis of the twenty-first century will not be defined by the old and outdated paradigm of liberal capitalism as against socialist collectivism. In the future the war will be waged, in the social arena, between individualism and authoritarianism. It is our purpose, as lovers of liberty, to fight always and everywhere against the man who would set himself up as God, or as the prophet of a dictatorial God, and take it upon himself to decide the destiny of free men everywhere.

In our being together as nation or State we are only human beings. How we deport ourselves in other respects as individuals, and what self-seeking impulses we may there succumb to, belongs solely to our private life; our public or State life is a purely human one. Everything un-human or "egoistic" that clings to us is degraded to a "private matter" and we distinguish the State definitely from "civil society," which is the sphere of "egoism's" activity.

The true man is the nation, but the individual is always an egoist. Therefore strip off your individuality or isolation wherein dwells discord and egoistic inequality, and consecrate yourselves wholly to the true man -- the nation or the State. Then you will rank as men, and have all that is man's; the State, the true man, will entitle you to what belongs to it, and give you the "rights of man"; Man gives you his rights!

So runs the speech of the commonalty.

- Max Stirner

This is an ongoing fight in many states. Republicans need to figure out how to work with libertarians, rather than treating them as unwelcome outsiders. You can't ask for libertarian votes and then tell them to shut up and go away.  But on the other side of this, libertarians also need to realize that a winning coalition requires an accomodation of interests and the way to lead the coalition is by showing them how they can actually win.  Revolution! may be a lot of fun, but revolutionaries tend to get their heads cut off.  Libertarians need to play electoral democracy....and Republicans need to remember what Ronald Reagan said: "the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism". - Jon Henke

On Friday — timed just right to minimize news coverage — Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer and the state party Grievance Committee notified a number of party members, many of them holding elective office, that they were effectively purged from the party and had been removed from their offices and would be ineligible to hold any other party positions for periods ranging from two to four years.

We are in the early stages of a war. There may be no military action, no bullets or bombs, but we are in a war none the less. This war is for the soul of America. This war is for the preservation of the principles our country was founded on and which have kept us free and prosperous since our beginning. President Obama and his allies do not like America, at least not as it is and has been. They do not believe that America is the greatest country in the history of civilization. They do not believe in American exceptionalism. They do not believe that we as Americans have a right to be proud of what we have accomplished and to be proud of the good we have done for the world. They believe America needs to be remade. They are wrong.

Obama and friends are wrong about what America believes and what America stands for.

America is a Christian nation. There may be arguments about the particular faith of some of the Founding Fathers, but the majority were undeniably Christians. One would have to “willfully suspend disbelief” to believe  otherwise after reading our founding documents as well as our history. The real history, not the revisionist history. We do not deny anyone the privilege to worship as they choose, or to decline any form of worship. But our country was founded under Christian principles and beliefs.

The God of our founders and the God I pray to is Yahweh, Jehovah God, the God of Abraham and Issac. The God of the Bible. He is not some generic “man upstairs”. He is the Creator of the universe and of mankind. Because of His deep love for us, He gave His son Jesus willingly as an atonement for our sin. He is boundlessly good and has all power. He is Love, but He is a jealous God. He will chastise and correct us as individuals and as a nation if we stray too far for too long. We have strayed far and long and we need to return to Him as a nation. Pray for His mercy, His blessings, His wisdom and His guidance. If ever we needed it, it is now. If you don’t know Him, seek Him and you will find Him.

We do not believe that America needs to be remade, as Obama has stated. We believe that instead we need to return to the ideals of our Founders. We need to return to lower taxes, limited, smaller government, and unfettered personal freedom.

We do not believe that America is arrogant. Strong, confident and proud, yes. Arrogant, no.

America does not stand for wealth redistribution. We are generous, compassionate people with our money, but our generosity is not for Obama to dictate.

We believe that capitalism is the best economic system. Socialism doesn’t work. Marxism doesn’t work. We believe in equality of opportunity, not in equality of outcome. Some people work harder, some people are smarter, some people have better ideas. When those people succeed, the country succeeds. When they become wealthy, the country becomes wealthy. Wealthy people buy things, they build things, they create jobs,  they start businesses, they invest in American prosperity. America would collapse without them. They are not evil and do not deserve punishment.

America does not believe in the punitive taxation of our achievers. We believe in encouraging and rewarding achievement. It is counter productive to tax successful achievers into oblivion. All Americans should pay taxes so that all Americans have a stake in keeping the system honest. Consider that the City of Chicago just closed for a day to save money, with more days scheduled for more savings. A productive business does not save money by closing. Businesses produce wealth by being open for business. The government only takes, while producing nothing. Financially speaking, they are far more efficient and productive if they would just stay at home. We know that poor people don’t get any richer just because money is taken from the wealthy.

America does not stand for federally funded abortion on demand. A large and growing segment of us believe that abortion is wrong. However, the law of the land allows it for now. But using our tax dollars to support it is unacceptable.

America does not believe in a weakened, ineffective military. We do not believe that our military should be used to enforce social experimentation. We believe in spending our tax dollars to equip and train the greatest fighting force ever known to mankind, then praying to God that we will not have to use it. We love peace, but we are not afraid to fight for  liberty. We know that we don’t make weak nations any stronger by being weak ourselves. Being the only remaining superpower is a good thing. A very good thing. We have no desire to weaken ourselves in the interest of “fairness”. Senator Barbara Boxer had the audacity to publicly humiliate a brigadier general for referring to her as “ma’am” rather than as ”senator”. This is symptomatic of the arrogance and ignorance of many of our elected representatives. They have come to think of themselves as royalty. They think wrongly. I know of several fitting monikers for Senator Boxer, but decorum prevails.

We welcome legal immigrants, as we always have. But for those who have no more respect for our country and our laws than to cross our borders unlawfully, we are not welcoming. We certainly don’t believe in giving them the rewards of our hard earned tax dollars in the form of social benefits. We do not support amnesty for illegal aliens. Secure our borders and enforce our laws. English is our language. Learn it if you want to live here.

We do not believe in homosexual marriage. We believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. Period. That does not make us homophobic. That does not make us haters. We also do not support the concept of hate crimes. Any unlawful harm to a human being by another human being is wrong, and should be dealt with under our criminal codes. The fact that the victim may be a part of some minority doesn’t make the crime worse. It is just as wrong to harm a white heterosexual male as it is to harm a black homosexual female. The actions of the law breaker should determine the punishment for the crime, not the race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or other social characteristic of the victim.

America is not a racist nation. There are some racists in America. There are also some murderers in America, but that doesn’t make us a murderous nation. We recognized the evil of slavery, and we abolished it. We have done more to eliminate racial bias in our culture than any other nation. When we disagree with a person of another racial or ethnic background, that disagreement cannot be dismissed by a cry of “racism”. Neither are our police officers inherently racist, as Obama implied during the recent uproar over the arrest of a black Harvard professor by a white police sergeant.

We do not believe that radical Islam is our friend. We do believe that Israel is our friend and deserves our support. We believe that Islamic jihadists that want to kill Americans should be called terrorists and not some ridiculous watered down, politically correct name. They should be considered our mortal enemies, without consideration of how they “feel” or why they hate us. We are not the cause of their irrational hatred of us and what we stand for. We do not need to change so they will like us. We do need to eliminate them.

We do not believe that our President should sit down with tin horn dictators from Iran, North Korea, Venezuala or anywhere else unless there are precursory agreements about the substance and outcome of those conversations. Anything less will be used against us and will be seen as a source of legitimacy and power for our enemies, and as an indication of weakness on the part of America.

We do not believe in a government run health care system. We do not want our personal health care decisions made by the same government that has run Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Postal Service so ineffectively that they are all on the verge of bankruptcy. Reforms are needed, but the system does not need to be recreated and it most certainly does not need to be placed under government control. This has been tried and has failed in Canada and in Britain. Changing the name to “public option” or “co-op” doesn’t change anything. We don’t want it!

We do believe that as American citizens, we have the absolute privilege and right to attend town hall meetings, speak our minds, and ask questions. We are not un-American as stated by Nancy Pelosi and Steney Hoyer. We are not evil mongers as claimed by Harry Reid. We are Americans doing what Americans have always done – standing up against intrusive over-reaching government and demanding adherence to the Constitution.

We do not believe in the “fairness doctrine”. All Americans are free to express their opinions through any legal avenue available to them. Some are better at that than others. Some don’t care enough to expend the energy. Some  are better able to convince others. Some ideas are better than others. Some ideas are just plain bad. Some ideas are wildly popular and some have very limited or no support. The government’s definition of “fairness” is equality of all ideas, equality of the effectiveness of the presenter, and equality of the acceptance of the idea by Americans. This is nothing but government control of the market place of ideas, and the only way to force that to happen is to silence the best, most legitimate ideas so that the worst  ideas have equal legitimacy. Besides being stupid, this is un-American.

We believe in the 2nd amendment right to bear arms. This is not limited to hunting purposes, in fact it has nothing to do with hunting. The purpose of the 2nd amendment is to allow the citizenry to defend themselves against those who would harm them, whether that be a criminal or a tyrannical out of control government.

We believe that our elected officials work for us – not the other way around. We are their employers, not their subjects. As their employers, we retain the right to fire them when their performance becomes unacceptable. We as citizens loan them temporary power to act on our behalf. The power still rests with the people, not with the politicians. When they forget that, they must be reigned in. It is way past time for some serious reigning in. I would start with President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Senator Reid, then proceed from there. They have clearly forgotten who they work for.

According to the Declaration of Independence, Americans are “endowed by our 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,”. These rights did not come from the government and they cannot be taken away by the government. Any and all attempts to restrict these rights must and will be fiercely resisted.

I am proud to be an American. I am proud of our history, imperfect as it may be. I am proud of what my countrymen have overcome. I am proud of American ingenuity, American inventiveness, American determination, and especially American goodness. I thank God that I was blessed to be born American. I refuse to apologize for being a citizen of the greatest, most generous nation ever in existence. America has done more for many nations than they have done for themselves. American blood has been shed around the world in defense of justice and against tyranny. American dollars have been freely spent to aid those less blessed than we. I will not apologize for the greatness of my country.

Those of us who believe in America’s greatness, Her goodness, Her limitless future and potential, must fight and win this war. We must win it for our children, and for their children. We must win it for the Founding Fathers. We must win it for the thousands who have fought and died to preserve our right to fight and to live free. Generations past have lived up to their challenges. Generations future are depending on us to do the same. It is our turn, and history will judge us. Our generation now has  to stand and be counted.

We must win this war. Our weapons are our words. Our weapons are our votes, our participation in the system our fore fathers designed. Our ammunition is truth – factual information subjected to critical and honest analysis. Write letters to the editor, contact your representatives, attend town hall meetings, email friends…however you choose to participate, get in the fight! You, sitting on the sidelines, is what the other side is counting on. The stakes are too high to allow them victory.

More posts at http://commonconservativesense.com

Below is an excerpt from the Sixteenth American Jurisprudence, Second Edition, Section 256, which affirms that the U.S. Constitution, unless and until LAWFULLY amended as contained within it's express provisions, is a contract between the federal and state government and it's people, and the defacto Law of the Land. 

As a contract itself and in spite of U.S. history almost from the moment it was ratified by the 13 original colonies, any and all interpretations or applications of the provisions contained within it under the "common law" upon which contract law is  based according to the Magna Carta (used by the founders in their deliberations) by any and all judicial authorities at both the state and federal level is to be done using the "common useage" English definitions in such interpretations or applications pursuant to "contract law doctrine." 

The footnote citations relate to U.S. case law which enforces this restatement and can be researched after pulling up the Am.Jur citing for a listing of footnoted case laws at any local law library:

Section 256. Generally. The general rule is that an unconstitutional statute, whether federal [29] or state, [30] though having the form and name of law, is in reality no law, [31] but is wholly void, [32] and ineffective for any purpose; [33] since unconstitutionality dates from the time of its enactment, and not merely from the date of the decision so branding it, [34] an unconstitutional law, in legal contemplation, is as inoperative as if it had never been passed. [31] Such a statute leaves the question that it purports to settle just as it would be had the statute not been enacted. [36] No repeal of such an enactment is necessary. [37]

Since an unconstitutional law is void, the general principles follow that it imposes no duties, [38] confers no rights, [39] creates no office, [40] bestows no power or authority on anyone, [41] affords no protection, [42] and justifies no acts performed under it. [43] A contract which rests on an unconstitutional statute creates no obligation to be impaired by subsequent legislation. [44]

No one is bound to obey an unconstitutional law [45] and no courts are bound to enforce it. [46] Persons convicted and fined under a statute subsequently held unconstitutional may recover the fines paid. [47]

A void act cannot be legally inconsistent with a valid one. [48] And an unconstitutional law cannot operate to supersede any existing valid law. [49] Indeed, insofar as a statute runs counter to the fundamental law of the land, it is superseded thereby. [50] Since an unconstitutional statute cannot repeal or in any way affect an existing one, [51] if a repealing statute is unconstitutional, the statute which it attempts to repeal remains in full force and effect. [52] And where a clause repealing a prior law is inserted in an act, which act is unconstitutional and void, the provision for the repeal of the prior law will usually fall with it and will not be permitted to operate as repealing such prior law. [53]

The general principles stated above apply to the constitutions as well as to the laws of the several states insofar as they are repugnant to the Constitution and laws of the United States. [54] Moreover, a construction of a statute which brings it in conflict with a constitution will nullify it as effectually as if it had, in express terms, been enacted in conflict therewith. [55]

An unconstitutional portion of a statute may be examined for the purpose of ascertaining the scope and effect of the valid portions. [56]

The numbers in [brackets] are footnotes that refer to court decisions. You can look them up in the American Jurisprudence at any law library.

Juries in the United States have the right and power to judge the law as well as the facts. This means that a jury can acquit a defendant for any reason or none and need not give any reason for it's decision. Therefor bad statutes that are unconstitutional or immoral can be set aside, or good laws that are misapplied can be ignored. This is called "jury nullification." 

Mainstream media personalities have begun making a sport out of ridiculing “tea parties.” If you’re living on Mars, tea parties are spontaneously formed groups of activists disgusted with just about everything the federal government is doing. But in the marble bosom of the socialist salon, teaparties would seem to be the stuff of humor:

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: A source at the Americans for Limited Government in Washington D.C. called my attention to a dangerous piece of legislation that is working its way to the floor of the House of Representatives. This bill would restrict your rights as never before. Simply put, this would legislate that the Government could take an industry and slaughter it! And that is the least of the powers that they will gain if this is allowed to pass.

Left wing extremist, Henry Waxman and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce is set to vote on legislation that would place tobacco products under the authority of the FDA. The bill could be on the President's desk as soon as this Summer. While I am not a smoker nor do I even support smoking in general, one does not have to agree with smoking to see that this bill only serves to further centralize government authority over our daily lives. Through classifying tobacco as a drug under the authority of the FDA, the Government then can force people to do as they say, and as a result, put thousands of people out of work and block new proven smokeless products from entering the market.

Instead of helping to fix the problem, the government will use force and coercion to influence the change that they want. They are gaining power to influence your daily life, and do not think for one second that they will not exploit this for their own benefit. Although the ears of the Arkansas and other Blue Dogs democrats appear to have been clipped by Speaker Peloisi, if they don't stand up soon for against the continued onslaught of centralized government authority, they will become totally co-opted by Pelois' liberal cronies. As for Arkansas Vic Snyder, no need seek help since he represents the liberal extreme interests. And as much as I would like to ask "former" blue dog Marion Berry, he appears to be out for nap most of the time.

But I am going to plead with the one able minded Arkansas Blue Dog congressman who in the past has taken stands for his Arkansas constituents. That Congressman is Representative Mike Ross of Arkansas' 4th Congressional District. So here goes: Congressman Ross, please do not support legislation that would restrict liberty and freedom. As long as people are not restricting the liberties of their neighbor, there exists no need to punish them. It is not the job of the Government to tell people how to live their lives, rather, it is the job of the government to defend us from those who would restrict liberty. Congressman Ross protect our liberty and freedom. We are all watching and hoping! Join me and Contact your representatives!

Over 10,000 e-mails!

interesting things happening in politics both nationally and here in New...

Obama donor who just launched an anti-stimulus effort

As a result of the impending federal actions - Oklahoma takes offensive...

Anti-gun Land Bill On The Move

The Next Boston Tea Party

Our Ailing Educational System Sacrificed to Save A Budget

This Thursday and Friday you can hear NH GOP Chair Gov John Sununu on various radio stations speaking about Governor Lynch's budget. Thursday - Show: Howie Carr Show Stations: WRKO/WNTK/WKBK Host: Howie Carr Market: Boston/Southern, NH, Keene, Dartmouth Area Time: 5:15 PM-5:30 PM Call In Number: 877-469-4322 Friday -

Show: WGIR Morning News Stations: WGIR/WGIN/WGIP Host: Charlie Sherman/Angela Anderson Market: Manchester/Rochester/Exeter Time: 7:33 AM – 7:45 AM Call In Number: 603-645-6161

Show: Open Mic with Dan Mitchell Stations: WKBK Host: Dan Mitchell Market: Keene Time: 8:08 AM – 8:25 AM Call In Number: 603-357-1290 Michael Hamilton Executive Director New Hampshire Republican Party 10 Water Street, Concord, NH 03301 603-296-5116 (c) 603-225-9341 (o) mike@nhgop.org

Sheridan Folger,

Last Friday, President Obama met with a group of terrorism survivors in the White House and announced that all charges were dropped against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, the suspected mastermind of the bombing of the USS Cole in 2001. This event was mostly overshadowed by the uproar surrounding the spending bill in the Senate, but it marks a dangerous milestone as the Obama Administration begins to deal with the messy repercussions of closing the terrorist detention facility in Guantanamo Bay.

The President will face a number of tough decisions over the next year as he prepares to move detainees to other facilities, and it is certain that there will be a great deal of pressure on him to treat these detainees as common criminals and even to let go some of the 200 detainees considered too dangerous to release.

Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of treating the risk of releasing Guantanamo prisoners as a hypothetical issue. The Pentagon estimates that 62 former Guantanamo detainees have already returned to active involvement in terrorist organizations and that one has even risen to be the second in command of Al-Qaeda in Yemen.

In response to this troubling turn of events, Students for Victory recently launched the No Catch and Release petition campaign. No Catch and Release will gather public support for three general principles for handling the Guantanamo detainees. Each of the three principles are already supported by majorities of the American people. President Obama has repeatedly stated that he wants to listen to the ideas of all Americans, so this is our chance to make our voices heard.

You can read and sign the petition at http://www.studentsforvictory.com/savelives.

In just five months, Newt Gingrich’s Drill Here Drill Now campaign prepared the environment that allowed the #dontgo Revolution to take place and win an important policy victory for energy independence. We may not have the eloquence of Newt or the resources of American Solutions, but we do have a fired up and united grassroots ready to act to make this country safer.

We at Students for Victory are urging President Obama to follow these principles and we are building a widespread coalition of activists, bloggers, and organizations who will work with us to do the same. You can publicly endorse the principles and join the coalition at http://www.studentsforvictory.com/savelives.

All Americans have the right to have their voices heard. We face an uphill struggle against organized groups that favor releasing prisoners our soldiers fought to apprehend, but one signature at a time, one message to a friend at a time, and one blog post at a time, each of us can make a difference and act to help keep our loved ones safe.

We hope you’ll sign the petition, join the coalition, and get involved in the movement at http://www.studentsforvictory.com/savelives.

Consider this definition of social conservatism:

Traditional values, customs and ways of viewing the world have withstood the test of time, hence they should be given deferential treatment over newer values or customs that have not survived the same level of temporal scrutiny.  Moreover social change often leads to unintended consequences, most of the time deleterious ones, so change by itself should be regarded skeptically and, if deemed beneficial, should happen slowly, cautiously and methodically, so that any unintended consequences can be recognized and overcome.  Finally, individual liberty is only beneficially meaningful when it is conjoined with a moral people; hence policies that promote moral clarity should be favored over those that create moral obfuscation or relativism.

Where in this definition do you see the word government power? In other words, if there is social freedom, won't the rewards and punishments of cultural markets be enough to let some behaviors/traditions “survive” and others fail? Won't cultural evolution proceed by Darwinian processes, rather than Intelligent Design (read: inculcation by bureaucrats with a bible under one arm and the Complete Works of Edmund Burke under the other?) 

Customs survive or go extinct in one of two ways—either a) they’re protected by the force of powerful elites (witness slavery, Jim Crow), or b) because they ‘work’ within the environment in which they attempt to function. You may call b) relativism. So be it. But a) gets to be called “moral” by those who hold the power. It’s no different from leftish moralists with some “social justice” bee in their bonnets.

In any case: nothing under a liberty umbrella precludes social conservatism from being a personal cultural disposition that we all, as members of a free society, must tolerate -- like any other disposition or form of expression.

A man's 16 ft tall snowman, dubbed "Snowzilla" has finally died. Who would do such a thing? A body of politics, of course.

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/anchorage/story/630926.html

It's a sad day when a man can't build a snowman on his own property. And why is he denied this right? Due to his neighbors, who don't like the attention he receives and voted to label it a 'public nuisance' and 'safety hazard'.

It is rare where we see clear cut "tyranny of the majority" cases, but this would certainly be one.

On whose side are you? Do you think that the town should have the right to declare the snowman a public nuisance, or do you think he should be allowed to do what he pleases with his own property?