It's been a while since my last post and quite a bit has happened since then. What has happened is the economic meltdown that has been stalking the US for decades.
What we have witnessed in the last few months is one of the final nails in the coffin of the American Republic. The Democratic Congress and the Republican Executive Branch have committed the US Government to a massive bailout of banks and other supposed capitalist institutions. These wealthy companies and corporations scream and rail against socialism and government intervention,but when the chips are down want to socialize their massive losses due. Of course, the Republicans,the phony state's rights and limited government party, have fully exposed their love of Big Government and their endorsement of state capitalism. Their free market ideology was mainly a fraudulent and crass attempt to make the American sheeple believe they are the Jeffersonian party.
The Republicans have now fully endorsed socialism and the fleecing of the American middle class. Their form of class warfare is exposed. 700 billion dollars are stolen legally from the American people and redistributed to the elite super rich and their financial institutions. This is a redistribution of wealth from the poor and middle class to the rich. Of course there is no constitutional authority for such crimes against the American people, but hey, who cares about the Constitution, right?
This only the beginning, my friends. The American Republic is almost dead. The Empire is now beginning to publicly blossom. The volatility we see in the NYSE is only a prelude to a massive financial disaster that will engulf the not only the US, but the world. Republican socialists, or what they truly are, Hamiltonians, are presiding over the end of the Republic. The Democrats abandoned the Republic long ago. The Republicans have claimed for decades to be the party of limited government, but now they are exposed for what they truly are. Economic statism and fascism is here to stay. What's next, a trillion, 5 trillion, 10 trillion of fiat money to save the elite?
The American Republic, for all it's flaws, was the greatest experiment in libertarian government for and by the people. America has prospered in spite of strong central government, not because of it. Jeffersonian principles in government are dead, except in people like Congressman Ron Paul, or even Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. Now we must find how to survive the coming calamity. Get out of debt, live frugally, and vote out all the criminals in Congress who voted for the bailout. Maybe, just maybe, we can restore the Republic in the coming years, although I am not optimistic. Beware of the Empire because it is showing it's fangs.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Radical Revolutionary Tradition, Part 1
The United States of America is a constitutional republic born out of a radical revolution in the late 18th century. The US was the first democratic republic since the ancients, Greece and Rome. Our republic was a product of the European and American Enlightenment, it's philosophies, and it's patriots and freethinkers. Unfortunately this great land has abandoned it's revolutionary tradition and embraced the Old World philosophy of war ,realpolitk, and empire. In this essay I will attempt to elucidate and enlighten the reader on our revolutionary past and the benefits of freedom, liberty and republican government over slavery, despotism and empire. Let us begin.
The Intellectual Background
The American Revolution, as opposed to the War of the American Revolution, begun arguably in 1763 with the end of the French and Indian War and the complete domination of North America by the British Empire. The American colonists were a very literate and rural population. In 1765 the Stamp Act caused the opening salvo in the battle for liberty against the British Parliament. In every colony, except Georgia, protests against the act were conducted. Committees were formed to send petitions to Parliament, newly appointed Stamp collectors were threatened, and forced to renounce their offices, and ships carrying English stamps were prevented from landing. Terms like "slavery", "despotism", and "tyranny" were read in colonial newspapers and heard by many colonists from such firebrands as Samuel Adams,
Patrick Henry, and James Otis. Where did these and other revolutionaries find their philosophy?
The American Revolutionary tradition has it's roots in the revolutionary opposition ideology of the 17th century English Revolutions of the 1640's and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Men like Algernon Sidney, Leveller John Liliburne, Richard Rumbold, and John Locke. Sidney, and Locke were the most influential of all, but the English Levellers , who have been greatly overlooked, also provide a radical tradition against power, monarchy, and feudalism.
Sidney and Locke
Algernon Sidney was an English revolutionary who participated in the English Civil wars of the 1640's. Sidney, in addition to being a libertarian, was a believer in republican government. He was a vocal opponent of the Divine Right of Kings, and in his treatise Thoughts on Government opposed the Divine Right of Kings doctrine as articulated by monarchist,Sir Robert Filmer. Locke's First and Second Treatise on government also refuted the doctrines of Filmer and Hobbes. Both Sidney and Locke knew that men with absolute power usually ended up destroying the liberty of their subjects. Power , as Lord Acton would later say, corrupts ,and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This was the doctrine of Sidney and Locke. Both men were revolutionaries of their era. Sidney's Thoughts on Government cost him his life in 1683 for it's radical doctrine of the right of revolution and opposition to unlimited power. Locke was forced to flee to France to protect himself. Both Sidney and Locke espoused the radical ideal of the right to revolution. People, they argued, have the right and the duty to overthrow tyrannical government.
When government established a tyranny it no longer fulfilled it's proper ends: the protection of the natural rights of the people, and the right of people to pursue happiness. If these ends of government were violated, the social contract was broken and the people were under no obligation to obey such a government. They were in a "state of nature" and assumed the right to create a government that suited their ends and protected their liberty.
The English Levellers
The English Levellers were a group of radicals who participated in the radical English revolutions and civil war of 1645-1649. The Levellers were far ahead of their time in their views of the proper role of government. The Levellers believed that men had an absolute right to the freedom of conscience, and that the civil state should play no role in saving the souls of men. They also believed firmly in the right of men to have personal liberty. They rejected the right of the crown to arrest people without due process, or imprison people indefinitely. They were firm supporters of the abolition of the infamous Star Chamber, a council of the crown which imprisoned opponents of the monarch without legal process, the right to counsel, or jury trial. The Levellers stood fast against such unlawful and tyrannical procedures.
The Levellers also rejected the Divine Right of Kings. They did not believe that the king had a right to rule over his subjects by the grace of God. This rejection was extremely radical. The English aristocracy and clergy opposed such radical views and supported the king's "right" to dissolve Parliaments, and rule without any check on his power. Such views are unfortunately coming back into vogue today with the modern Republican Party demanding obedience to the President, our "leader". Many Levellers were devout Christians, some were rationalists and freethinkers, but all agreed in the freedom of men to worship God according to their own consciences, even Roman Catholics. They believed the state had no role in saving the souls of men. They were opposed by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, the Presbyterian clergy, and the royalists and Tories who supported strong government.Unfortunately history has forgotten them and the Tory views of the royalists and aristocrats have portrayed them as a kind of communist style movement. The Levellers were supporters of assisting the poor, the downtrodden and providing a free society, but they were anything but communists.
Here are just some of the parts of their program for a new England:
1) abolition of the House of Lords
2) abolition of tithes
3) complete freedom of religion and separation of church and state
4) abolition of monarchy
5) establishment of a republic
6)abolition for imprisonment of debt
These are just a few of their ideals. These ideals heavily influenced the American and French revolutionaries. Thomas Jefferson possessed several Leveller tracts in his library, and was distantly related to the great Leveller John Lilburne. One Leveller, Henry Marten was also a radical republican and hater of monarchy. Marten served on the court that condemned James I to death. Marten was an unapologetic, libertarian radical who believed that England should be a republic, have no state religion, and have a wide democratic franchise. His views are a precursor to the views of men like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. Marten was tried for his partcipitation in the regicide of 1649 when the monarchy was restored in 1660. Most regicides were executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. Marten valiantly defended himself at his trial and was spared death. He never apologized or renounced his republican views. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he died in 1680.
Here is where royalists and modern conservative Tories lie to reconstruct history. It was not the French, but the English who first beheaded their monarch. It was English radicalism that influenced both the American and French revolutionaries.This radical heritage espoused the rights of mankind against arbitrary government, liberty of the individual, the excellence of republican government, the dangers of aristocracy and monarchy, and the tyranny of a union of church and state. THIS IS OUR HERITAGE! Do not believe the lies of neoconservatives, leftists, Christian Right fanatics or any other groups that promote the fraud of the "conservative" American Revolution, or it's historical background. We must become conservatives in a true sense. A conservative that "conserves" the libertarian radicalism of our forefathers, and their forefathers.
As you can see there is distinct linear heritage of radicalism from the English revolutionaries and their ideals to the American Revolutionaries in the struggle against the Tory English government. It is clear that this heritage is in complete contradistinction from the false neoconservative and Christian Right view. It also totally refutes Marxist and leftist propaganda that the American Revolution was conservative. Both camps view of the American Revolution as conservative or just a simple rebellion are totally false.
The Scottish Enlightenment
Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson, , Thomas Reid and Henry Home , Lord Kames, are the primary leaders of the radical Scottish Enlightenment. This part of the Enlightenment contributed greatly to the radicalism of both the American and French Revolutions.
Adam Smith
Normally known to all as a philosopher of free trade and capitalism, he was also a profound political and moral philosopher. Smith was a powerful advocate for free trade and the free exchange of goods with minimal government interference. He advocated peaceful trade between individuals and nations, and was opposed to monopolies in commerce, such as the East India Company. Smith opposed all forms of mercantilism and state managed economy. What will surprise many libertarians is that Smith was also a proponent of public education. He felt that a government had an obligation to educate and enlighten the minds of it's citizens. He recognized that an ignorant, poverty stricken populace , like in Britain could never really be free. Smith felt by educating citizens they would be come more public spirited, productive and happy as their knowledge increased. This was shared by men like Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.
Francis Hutcheson
Hutcheson was the Scottish Enlightenment's moral philosopher. He believed man had a natural moral sense and that human beings were not depraved and decadent as propagated by religionists. Hutcheson also was a firm believer in the right of a people to revolt against tyrannical government, and to overthrow their oppressors. Jefferson had several of Hutcheson's writings in his library and adopted Huutcheson's view of the moral sense as innate in human beings.
This Anglo-American tradition is a gift to not only the United States, but the world. Classical liberalism had it's flaws, but no matter, that is what progress and the progression of history are for. The classical liberals built this great tradition and it is ours to improve upon, as we have over the last two, almost three centuries. Let us move on to Part II.
The Intellectual Background
The American Revolution, as opposed to the War of the American Revolution, begun arguably in 1763 with the end of the French and Indian War and the complete domination of North America by the British Empire. The American colonists were a very literate and rural population. In 1765 the Stamp Act caused the opening salvo in the battle for liberty against the British Parliament. In every colony, except Georgia, protests against the act were conducted. Committees were formed to send petitions to Parliament, newly appointed Stamp collectors were threatened, and forced to renounce their offices, and ships carrying English stamps were prevented from landing. Terms like "slavery", "despotism", and "tyranny" were read in colonial newspapers and heard by many colonists from such firebrands as Samuel Adams,
Patrick Henry, and James Otis. Where did these and other revolutionaries find their philosophy?
The American Revolutionary tradition has it's roots in the revolutionary opposition ideology of the 17th century English Revolutions of the 1640's and the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Men like Algernon Sidney, Leveller John Liliburne, Richard Rumbold, and John Locke. Sidney, and Locke were the most influential of all, but the English Levellers , who have been greatly overlooked, also provide a radical tradition against power, monarchy, and feudalism.
Sidney and Locke
Algernon Sidney was an English revolutionary who participated in the English Civil wars of the 1640's. Sidney, in addition to being a libertarian, was a believer in republican government. He was a vocal opponent of the Divine Right of Kings, and in his treatise Thoughts on Government opposed the Divine Right of Kings doctrine as articulated by monarchist,Sir Robert Filmer. Locke's First and Second Treatise on government also refuted the doctrines of Filmer and Hobbes. Both Sidney and Locke knew that men with absolute power usually ended up destroying the liberty of their subjects. Power , as Lord Acton would later say, corrupts ,and absolute power corrupts absolutely. This was the doctrine of Sidney and Locke. Both men were revolutionaries of their era. Sidney's Thoughts on Government cost him his life in 1683 for it's radical doctrine of the right of revolution and opposition to unlimited power. Locke was forced to flee to France to protect himself. Both Sidney and Locke espoused the radical ideal of the right to revolution. People, they argued, have the right and the duty to overthrow tyrannical government.
When government established a tyranny it no longer fulfilled it's proper ends: the protection of the natural rights of the people, and the right of people to pursue happiness. If these ends of government were violated, the social contract was broken and the people were under no obligation to obey such a government. They were in a "state of nature" and assumed the right to create a government that suited their ends and protected their liberty.
The English Levellers
The English Levellers were a group of radicals who participated in the radical English revolutions and civil war of 1645-1649. The Levellers were far ahead of their time in their views of the proper role of government. The Levellers believed that men had an absolute right to the freedom of conscience, and that the civil state should play no role in saving the souls of men. They also believed firmly in the right of men to have personal liberty. They rejected the right of the crown to arrest people without due process, or imprison people indefinitely. They were firm supporters of the abolition of the infamous Star Chamber, a council of the crown which imprisoned opponents of the monarch without legal process, the right to counsel, or jury trial. The Levellers stood fast against such unlawful and tyrannical procedures.
The Levellers also rejected the Divine Right of Kings. They did not believe that the king had a right to rule over his subjects by the grace of God. This rejection was extremely radical. The English aristocracy and clergy opposed such radical views and supported the king's "right" to dissolve Parliaments, and rule without any check on his power. Such views are unfortunately coming back into vogue today with the modern Republican Party demanding obedience to the President, our "leader". Many Levellers were devout Christians, some were rationalists and freethinkers, but all agreed in the freedom of men to worship God according to their own consciences, even Roman Catholics. They believed the state had no role in saving the souls of men. They were opposed by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, the Presbyterian clergy, and the royalists and Tories who supported strong government.Unfortunately history has forgotten them and the Tory views of the royalists and aristocrats have portrayed them as a kind of communist style movement. The Levellers were supporters of assisting the poor, the downtrodden and providing a free society, but they were anything but communists.
Here are just some of the parts of their program for a new England:
1) abolition of the House of Lords
2) abolition of tithes
3) complete freedom of religion and separation of church and state
4) abolition of monarchy
5) establishment of a republic
6)abolition for imprisonment of debt
These are just a few of their ideals. These ideals heavily influenced the American and French revolutionaries. Thomas Jefferson possessed several Leveller tracts in his library, and was distantly related to the great Leveller John Lilburne. One Leveller, Henry Marten was also a radical republican and hater of monarchy. Marten served on the court that condemned James I to death. Marten was an unapologetic, libertarian radical who believed that England should be a republic, have no state religion, and have a wide democratic franchise. His views are a precursor to the views of men like Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Paine. Marten was tried for his partcipitation in the regicide of 1649 when the monarchy was restored in 1660. Most regicides were executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered. Marten valiantly defended himself at his trial and was spared death. He never apologized or renounced his republican views. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he died in 1680.
Here is where royalists and modern conservative Tories lie to reconstruct history. It was not the French, but the English who first beheaded their monarch. It was English radicalism that influenced both the American and French revolutionaries.This radical heritage espoused the rights of mankind against arbitrary government, liberty of the individual, the excellence of republican government, the dangers of aristocracy and monarchy, and the tyranny of a union of church and state. THIS IS OUR HERITAGE! Do not believe the lies of neoconservatives, leftists, Christian Right fanatics or any other groups that promote the fraud of the "conservative" American Revolution, or it's historical background. We must become conservatives in a true sense. A conservative that "conserves" the libertarian radicalism of our forefathers, and their forefathers.
As you can see there is distinct linear heritage of radicalism from the English revolutionaries and their ideals to the American Revolutionaries in the struggle against the Tory English government. It is clear that this heritage is in complete contradistinction from the false neoconservative and Christian Right view. It also totally refutes Marxist and leftist propaganda that the American Revolution was conservative. Both camps view of the American Revolution as conservative or just a simple rebellion are totally false.
The Scottish Enlightenment
Adam Smith, Francis Hutcheson, , Thomas Reid and Henry Home , Lord Kames, are the primary leaders of the radical Scottish Enlightenment. This part of the Enlightenment contributed greatly to the radicalism of both the American and French Revolutions.
Adam Smith
Normally known to all as a philosopher of free trade and capitalism, he was also a profound political and moral philosopher. Smith was a powerful advocate for free trade and the free exchange of goods with minimal government interference. He advocated peaceful trade between individuals and nations, and was opposed to monopolies in commerce, such as the East India Company. Smith opposed all forms of mercantilism and state managed economy. What will surprise many libertarians is that Smith was also a proponent of public education. He felt that a government had an obligation to educate and enlighten the minds of it's citizens. He recognized that an ignorant, poverty stricken populace , like in Britain could never really be free. Smith felt by educating citizens they would be come more public spirited, productive and happy as their knowledge increased. This was shared by men like Jefferson, James Madison, and Benjamin Franklin.
Francis Hutcheson
Hutcheson was the Scottish Enlightenment's moral philosopher. He believed man had a natural moral sense and that human beings were not depraved and decadent as propagated by religionists. Hutcheson also was a firm believer in the right of a people to revolt against tyrannical government, and to overthrow their oppressors. Jefferson had several of Hutcheson's writings in his library and adopted Huutcheson's view of the moral sense as innate in human beings.
This Anglo-American tradition is a gift to not only the United States, but the world. Classical liberalism had it's flaws, but no matter, that is what progress and the progression of history are for. The classical liberals built this great tradition and it is ours to improve upon, as we have over the last two, almost three centuries. Let us move on to Part II.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Economic Meltdown
Well, the economic future of the United States is looking dire. This week's bailout proposals of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the failure of IndyMac Bank have shown the perils of fiat money and central banking. Since the days of Alexander Hamilton, the wealthy have wanted a central bamk in the US. In 1836 Andrew Jackson destroyed the second Bank of the United States. From then until 1913 the United States had no central bank.It is also no coincidence that this period was a period of unsurapassed economic growth. Unfortunately the US never learned it's lesson. Now we are reaping the harvest from the evils of central banking, easy credit, and inflation and deflation.
Folks, we are headed for some very rough and ominious times. I believe we will see a depression that will dwarf the Great Depression of the 1930's. As the banks meltdown, so will the rest of the US economy. It will have a domino effect that will wipe out the savings and money of the middle class. Already the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is asking for permission to change it's rules and pay bank customers only 10 cents on the dollar or 10% of the money they have in the bank under 100,000. Currently, the FDIC is required to pay up 100,000 per account. Now they are asking to basically eviscerate the life saving of millions of depositors.
This is pure fraud and we have only seen the beginning of it. Experts are predicting $200.00 oil by this time next year, and the possibility of a depression in the coming future. The economic house of cards that the US economy is built on is starting to collapse. When it fully collapses and hits rock bottom, the US will be thrown into a world of chaos and political darkness. I have no doubt that martial law, and the virtual, if not actual, abolition of many of our constitutional liberties. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments are already under attack daily. The new FISA wiretapping law, rendition, and the push for war in the Middle East are just a few examples.
Americans need to wake up. If they do not the liberties Americans hold dear will be gone! Protect yourself and prepare for the worst.
Folks, we are headed for some very rough and ominious times. I believe we will see a depression that will dwarf the Great Depression of the 1930's. As the banks meltdown, so will the rest of the US economy. It will have a domino effect that will wipe out the savings and money of the middle class. Already the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is asking for permission to change it's rules and pay bank customers only 10 cents on the dollar or 10% of the money they have in the bank under 100,000. Currently, the FDIC is required to pay up 100,000 per account. Now they are asking to basically eviscerate the life saving of millions of depositors.
This is pure fraud and we have only seen the beginning of it. Experts are predicting $200.00 oil by this time next year, and the possibility of a depression in the coming future. The economic house of cards that the US economy is built on is starting to collapse. When it fully collapses and hits rock bottom, the US will be thrown into a world of chaos and political darkness. I have no doubt that martial law, and the virtual, if not actual, abolition of many of our constitutional liberties. The Fourth and Fifth Amendments are already under attack daily. The new FISA wiretapping law, rendition, and the push for war in the Middle East are just a few examples.
Americans need to wake up. If they do not the liberties Americans hold dear will be gone! Protect yourself and prepare for the worst.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Self Defense and the Breakdown of Society
If things keep going the way they have been: destruction of the Constitution, perpetual war, growing domestic tyranny, and economic collapse, the end of the American Republic will be complete. As the republic dies two things will happen. First, massive crime, and gangsterism will rule the day, Second, the political void will be filled by some despotic regime. It is the criminal gangsterism and how to defend yourself from it that this article is about.
Suppose America breaks down into chaos as described in Thomas Chittum's chilling book " Civil War II: The Breakdown of America". Gangs, racial violence and strife, brutal poverty, and starvation become the norm. How does one protect yourself, family and community from such horror. As a libertarian, I believe every individual should be prepared, and that every neighborhood and community should band together voluntarily and create defense associations and committees to fight roaming gangs and criminals. Let us begin.
We will number and list some of the things that need to be done.
1) All neighborhoods need to form themselves into defense associations for the collective purpose of defending themselves. Elect a committee, the size varies due the size of the neighborhood, of at least 10 people.
This committee should attempt to contact and form defense agreements with other towns and cities. The job of the committee is to prepare for attacks from roaming gangs.
2) The committee should require all able bodied men over 16 to be armed. Regular patrols should be set up around the town at all ingress and egress points. Armed patrols should also be posted to guard food and water supplies since these will be in hot demand if a Katrina like situation occurs.
3) Citizens should be committed (voluntarily)to pooling their resources such as food, water, fuel, transportation, and communications devices to help in protecting the whole.
4) Radio, TV and Internet ( if functioning) broadcasts should be monitored daily around the clock to keep the people alert for any new developments.
5) All citizens should be prepared to use firearms and other defensive measures. Places like Rwanda, Croatia, and Haiti are prefect examples of defenseless and sheep like actions and reactions to violence. The will to survive should be Paramount.
6) The Defense Committee should meet weekly and if necessary, daily, to prepare everyday operations.
7) Free trade with other towns, if possible, should be established to obtain the supplies needed. The American Revolution is a good example of this.
Now here are a list of the items you should have in preparation for such an event.
1) Firearms. You must have weapons to defend yourself. Preferably rifles, shotguns and always, handguns. Train with them. Be familiar with them.
No how to clean and take the weapon apart.
2) Food. Start stocking up now. Canned food, dried goods,fuel,water,and clothing. You should also buy a generator.
3) Transportation. Have a working vehicle. Although fuel will be very difficult to come by, a vehicle could save your life if overun by tyrannical government forces or gangsters.
4) Radio. Have a working radio. This could prove invaluable to you for intelligence gathering.
5) Valuables for barter. Cash, ie, paper money, will be more than likely worthless, so have items of value to barter with other families and defense associations. What to barter could include food, water, tools, weapons,books, radios, etc. Just about anything can be bartered if it has a useful purpose.
I am not trying to be an alamist, but the talk of war with Iran,200.00 a barrel oil, the liquidation of the real estate market, and the erosion of our liberties makes preparation not just necessary, but imperative. The breakdown of this wonderful nation has been planned by elites for decades. This once free democratic republic was a bastion of liberty and a middle finger to elitists and royalists. The hatred that the elites from the time of the American Revolution has not abated, only become more stealth like.
Please organize. People with skills like self defense, law enforcement or military training, organizational/managerial, and public relations will be needed if small communities are to survive the coming depression.
In my next post we will explore the rapid decline of the USA in the last 18 months.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Big Government Conservatism
The Republican Party is the party of Big Government. Simple as that. Under George W. Bush we have seen the largest increase in federal spending, surpassing Lyndon Johnson's Great Society of the 1960's. "Compassionate Conservatism", whatever that is, has seen the national debt increase to almost 10 TRILLION dollars. Now, there is enough blame to go around, but under this President, the spending has been insane.
Republicans have lost their way. Barry Goldwater conservatism is dead. Goldwater believed in frugal government, states rights, individual liberty, and decentralized government. The crackpots and fascists who run the Republican Party have long thrown Goldwater under the bus, running over his ideals in the process. Let's look at some of the "achievements" of the Bush administration:
An insane war costing billions by the day and slaughtering Americans and Iraqis. War always centralizes government to it's highest levels. Usually it is a pretext to do so.
The No Child Left Behind Act- an unconstitutional law that usurps state powers and foists an unfunded federal mandate on the states.
a four TRILLION dollar increase in the national debt, further bankrupting our nation.
Opposition to states rights in such cases as medical marijuana, euthanasia,gun control, and the blatantly unconstitutional intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
Support for the destruction of habeus corpus in the USA
Support for secret wiretapping by federal agents on American citizens without a warrant
Mandated marriage counseling during divorce proceedings
The blatantly unconstitutional "Office of Faith Based Initiatives"
Massive increases in federal education spending
Massive increases in federal medicare spending
Opposition to state environmental laws (California's fuel standards)
Support for CAFTA and other international "free trade" treaties that usurp the sovereignty of individual state government's as well as the federal government.
The list goes on and on. As I obtain more info, I will post more of the treason against the Constitution and our liberties from this wing of the corrupt political establishment.
Remember neoconservative fascist William Bennett referred to himself as a "Hamiltonian", and related " I'm no libertarian". So much for limited government.
He is proud to be a believer in the ideals of Mr. Hamilton I am sure: state religion, massive subsidies for business, aristocracy, and monarchy in the form of near worship of George Bush.
Reject these "conservative" phonies. Vote Libertarian.
Republicans have lost their way. Barry Goldwater conservatism is dead. Goldwater believed in frugal government, states rights, individual liberty, and decentralized government. The crackpots and fascists who run the Republican Party have long thrown Goldwater under the bus, running over his ideals in the process. Let's look at some of the "achievements" of the Bush administration:
An insane war costing billions by the day and slaughtering Americans and Iraqis. War always centralizes government to it's highest levels. Usually it is a pretext to do so.
The No Child Left Behind Act- an unconstitutional law that usurps state powers and foists an unfunded federal mandate on the states.
a four TRILLION dollar increase in the national debt, further bankrupting our nation.
Opposition to states rights in such cases as medical marijuana, euthanasia,gun control, and the blatantly unconstitutional intervention in the Terry Schiavo case.
Support for the destruction of habeus corpus in the USA
Support for secret wiretapping by federal agents on American citizens without a warrant
Mandated marriage counseling during divorce proceedings
The blatantly unconstitutional "Office of Faith Based Initiatives"
Massive increases in federal education spending
Massive increases in federal medicare spending
Opposition to state environmental laws (California's fuel standards)
Support for CAFTA and other international "free trade" treaties that usurp the sovereignty of individual state government's as well as the federal government.
The list goes on and on. As I obtain more info, I will post more of the treason against the Constitution and our liberties from this wing of the corrupt political establishment.
Remember neoconservative fascist William Bennett referred to himself as a "Hamiltonian", and related " I'm no libertarian". So much for limited government.
He is proud to be a believer in the ideals of Mr. Hamilton I am sure: state religion, massive subsidies for business, aristocracy, and monarchy in the form of near worship of George Bush.
Reject these "conservative" phonies. Vote Libertarian.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Democratic Libertarianism, Part 1
The Democratic Party is the oldest active political party in the world. It traces it's inception from the first party battles of the 1790's between the Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans. Up to the American Civil War the Democratic Party, with the exception of slavery, was known as the "liberal" party of America. It was the party of the common people. It stood for opposition to corporatism, artificial privilege, and aristorcracy and for free trade, liberty and self government.
After the Civil War the Democratic Party became co-opted by big government socialists and statists giving us the current state it is in today. Opposing the Democrats were the Federalists, who later became the Whigs. who stood for aristocracy, big money and big business, corporate dominance and big government. The Whigs later morphed into the Republican Party of today, a bastion of conservatism and corporatism. The Democrats and Republicans, for the most part are the same forces that have existed throughout history. As Jefferson pointed out " Serviles and Liberals", "Aristocrats and Jacobins", "Democrats and Monocrats" have existed as opposites throughout history. One the supporters of the people and the other of privilege and power.
The Democratic Party is no longer the party of Jefferson or Andrew Jackson, but is there hope for Libertarians to return it to it's roots? I am not sure, but there is no hope for the Republican Party. The Republican Party has proven to be a fascistic party not responsible to the people nor concerned with the cause of liberty. The Bush Administration has assaulted the liberties of the American people for seven years and evicerated the Bill of Rights. Forget the Republican Party my libertrarian friends.
Although I am a devoted Libertarian, I must ask again,can we return the Democratic Party to it's libertarian roots? I think so. Here's what we need to see as a start:
Unwavering support for the Bill of Rights
Ending the War on Drugs
Ending the War in Iraq
Ending all corporate welfare and subsidies
Repeal of the income tax
Abolition of the IRS
Ending all taxes on Social Security income
Ending all taxes on unemployment benefits
Repeal of the 2005 Bankruptcy Protection Act
Abolition of the Federal Reserve System
Ending all federal deficit spending
Passing a Balanced Budget Amerndment
These items would be the beginning of returning the Democratic Party to it's libertarian and Jeffersonian roots.
I am not a Randian libertarian worshiping property and the market. I believe the ability to own property to be a basic human liberty, but not the most important. I agree with James Madison that a man has "property in his rights" meaning speech, religion, movement, and his pursuit of happiness. It is these ideals that the Democratic Party once stood for. The Randian worship of the market economy has become a cult like religious belief. Nothing is perfect, not the market, society or government.
Supporting the Common Man
The middle class of America make up the bulk of our society. They determine it's morals, economics, and culture. They pay the majority of the bills, taxes and sacrifice their sons in wars for their country. Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican party were the true friends of the middle classes or "yeomanry" as Jefferson called them. Opposing the Jeffersonians were the Federalists who represented big business, the aristocracy of the cities, and as arch Federalist Fisher Ames called them the "rich, wise and well born". The Federalist policies did not benefit the masses. High taxes, a new standing army, subsidies for big business, were part of the class warfare program of the Hamiltonian program. The Federalists exist today as the Republican Party.
For too long Libertarians have allowed the corporate Randian mindset to dominate it's views on economics and liberty. Although I agree with Rand on some issues, I believe the Jeffersonian ideal of liberty to be the best articulation of freedom for a society. Modern libertarian ideals are in many ways at variance with Jeffersonian Democracy. Many libertarians espouse hatred of democracy. They prattle on that we are a "republic not a democracy" and that Benjamin Franklin once said "Democracy is two wolves sitting down to discuss how to eat the sheep" something that is not listed in any of his writings. Let's address the "republic not a democracy". Partly correct. The United States is a republic. In Latin republic means " the public thing" or res publica. It is also true that the Founders did not create a gigantic national democracy in the Greek city state ideal which would be impossible. They DID create a federal democratic republic consisting of state republics. They rejected a monarchy, aristocratic republic, or oligarchy. America is what Jefferson called a "representative democracy" where representatives are democratically elected to represent their interests. Many libertarians and conservatives rail against democracy and claim it is the source of all our problems. Not true. What would they prefer? Anarcho-Capitalists would prefer a monarchy or feudal government. Talk about the Dark Ages. Conservatives love the current corporate despotism, and many libertarians love the market and nothing else.
America is run not by a democracy but by a corrupt aristocracy consisting of corporations, wealthy politicians, and special interests DESPITE our democratic ideals. The two party oligarchy in Washington, DC is the true culprit.
It is my belief that we must ressurect the Democratic ideals of Jeffersonianism: free trade ( not NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO, which are statist globalist schemes), decentralized government, support for the common man through lower taxes, ending corporate welfare, opposition to special interests in government, curtailment of the military industrial complex, support for the Bill of Rights, and encouragement of democracy at the local level.
In Part 2, we will lay out more fully a Democratic-Jeffersonian program.
After the Civil War the Democratic Party became co-opted by big government socialists and statists giving us the current state it is in today. Opposing the Democrats were the Federalists, who later became the Whigs. who stood for aristocracy, big money and big business, corporate dominance and big government. The Whigs later morphed into the Republican Party of today, a bastion of conservatism and corporatism. The Democrats and Republicans, for the most part are the same forces that have existed throughout history. As Jefferson pointed out " Serviles and Liberals", "Aristocrats and Jacobins", "Democrats and Monocrats" have existed as opposites throughout history. One the supporters of the people and the other of privilege and power.
The Democratic Party is no longer the party of Jefferson or Andrew Jackson, but is there hope for Libertarians to return it to it's roots? I am not sure, but there is no hope for the Republican Party. The Republican Party has proven to be a fascistic party not responsible to the people nor concerned with the cause of liberty. The Bush Administration has assaulted the liberties of the American people for seven years and evicerated the Bill of Rights. Forget the Republican Party my libertrarian friends.
Although I am a devoted Libertarian, I must ask again,can we return the Democratic Party to it's libertarian roots? I think so. Here's what we need to see as a start:
Unwavering support for the Bill of Rights
Ending the War on Drugs
Ending the War in Iraq
Ending all corporate welfare and subsidies
Repeal of the income tax
Abolition of the IRS
Ending all taxes on Social Security income
Ending all taxes on unemployment benefits
Repeal of the 2005 Bankruptcy Protection Act
Abolition of the Federal Reserve System
Ending all federal deficit spending
Passing a Balanced Budget Amerndment
These items would be the beginning of returning the Democratic Party to it's libertarian and Jeffersonian roots.
I am not a Randian libertarian worshiping property and the market. I believe the ability to own property to be a basic human liberty, but not the most important. I agree with James Madison that a man has "property in his rights" meaning speech, religion, movement, and his pursuit of happiness. It is these ideals that the Democratic Party once stood for. The Randian worship of the market economy has become a cult like religious belief. Nothing is perfect, not the market, society or government.
Supporting the Common Man
The middle class of America make up the bulk of our society. They determine it's morals, economics, and culture. They pay the majority of the bills, taxes and sacrifice their sons in wars for their country. Jefferson and his Democratic-Republican party were the true friends of the middle classes or "yeomanry" as Jefferson called them. Opposing the Jeffersonians were the Federalists who represented big business, the aristocracy of the cities, and as arch Federalist Fisher Ames called them the "rich, wise and well born". The Federalist policies did not benefit the masses. High taxes, a new standing army, subsidies for big business, were part of the class warfare program of the Hamiltonian program. The Federalists exist today as the Republican Party.
For too long Libertarians have allowed the corporate Randian mindset to dominate it's views on economics and liberty. Although I agree with Rand on some issues, I believe the Jeffersonian ideal of liberty to be the best articulation of freedom for a society. Modern libertarian ideals are in many ways at variance with Jeffersonian Democracy. Many libertarians espouse hatred of democracy. They prattle on that we are a "republic not a democracy" and that Benjamin Franklin once said "Democracy is two wolves sitting down to discuss how to eat the sheep" something that is not listed in any of his writings. Let's address the "republic not a democracy". Partly correct. The United States is a republic. In Latin republic means " the public thing" or res publica. It is also true that the Founders did not create a gigantic national democracy in the Greek city state ideal which would be impossible. They DID create a federal democratic republic consisting of state republics. They rejected a monarchy, aristocratic republic, or oligarchy. America is what Jefferson called a "representative democracy" where representatives are democratically elected to represent their interests. Many libertarians and conservatives rail against democracy and claim it is the source of all our problems. Not true. What would they prefer? Anarcho-Capitalists would prefer a monarchy or feudal government. Talk about the Dark Ages. Conservatives love the current corporate despotism, and many libertarians love the market and nothing else.
America is run not by a democracy but by a corrupt aristocracy consisting of corporations, wealthy politicians, and special interests DESPITE our democratic ideals. The two party oligarchy in Washington, DC is the true culprit.
It is my belief that we must ressurect the Democratic ideals of Jeffersonianism: free trade ( not NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO, which are statist globalist schemes), decentralized government, support for the common man through lower taxes, ending corporate welfare, opposition to special interests in government, curtailment of the military industrial complex, support for the Bill of Rights, and encouragement of democracy at the local level.
In Part 2, we will lay out more fully a Democratic-Jeffersonian program.
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Sons of Liberty and Nullification of State Power
In 1765 the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act. This act was applicable to Britian's North American colonies. The act called for a one cent tax on all newspapers, wills, codcils, manifests,contracts,paper, glass, lead, and paint. The act was part of a larger plan of the British government to tighten it's hold on it's American colonies after the Seven Years War with France, which ended in 1763. The object of this essay is to give a history lesson. This lesson has been lost, but provides an excellent example of what an oppressed and determined people can do to resist tyrannical government power and actions.
What did the colonists do? They did two very important things. They formed into secret organizations like the Sons of Liberty, and they forcibly resisted and nullified the Stamp Act. Yes, I said "nullify". This word makes statists the world over gasp with trepidation. Through the actions of the Sons of Liberty, protests, mass meetings, inflammatory news articles, and sometimes violence was employed to thoroughly disable and nullify the act. Many conspiracy theorists will also gasp and fret that the birth of the American Revolution was started by a secret society. Yes, the Sons eventually came out publicly, but even today we do not know their full membership. Let's examine some of their tactics.
Secret Meetings
In Boston, Newport, New York, New Haven, Ct, Savannah, Ga, Philadelphia and Charleston men calling themselves "Sons of Liberty",after the name given to the colonists by Colonel Issac Barre in the British Parliament, organized themselves to resist the hated Stamp Act. Many of these men came from the upper classes, but a large section of them came from the colonial middle and lower classes. In these meetings they vowed to oppose the Stamp Act and prevent it from being enforced in America, effectively nullifiying it. Stamp collectors were threatened, beated, tarred and feathered, harrassed, and in some cases had their property destroyed. Many were made to sign pledges to refuse to collect the tax, and were threatened to be labled "enemies to their country" if they didn't reject their new positions. Many Marxist historians, while praising the resistance of the Sons of Liberty, condemn them as rich white men who only cared about their own liberty. Of course in any mass movement there will be people who are myopic and concerned only with their own interests. To broadly paint the leaders of these secret societies as selfish only furthers the Marxist myth of class warfare. The fact is, no revolution can survive without leadership. This leadership generally comes from the upper and middle classes, and all revolutions up to our day have proven this. What revolutionary leaders cannot do is continue any revolution without the mass support of the populace. Let's examine this further.
Support of the Masses
When one truly examines the American Revolution it is apparent that it was a mass movement of the colonial population. Murray Rothbard, in his four volume history of the American colonies, Conceived in Liberty, details this in full. Men in the Sons of Liberty, Masonic Lodges,and colonial churches lead the charge, but it was the people who made the Revolution possible. From 1765 through 1776 the American people were subjected to increasing tyranny from the British establishement in America. Higher taxes, impressment of sailors, nepotism in the colonial governments, dual officeholding, enforcement of mercantilist laws, like the Navagation Acts, suspension of several legislatures, particularly New York and Massachusetts, and the keeping of a standing military in the midst of the civilian population all contributed to the restivness of the colonial population. The Boston Tea Party, the burning of the British warship Gaspee in Rhode Island, tarring and feathering of royal officials,
threats and protests against Stamp agents, are just a few examples of the
actions of the people. The people were lead by men like Samuel Adams, Charles Thomson, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson,Joseph Warren, John Adams,most of whom were members of secret societies like the Masons and Sons of Liberty. These men lead the populace in nullifying the power of the British government in America.
The Nullification of British Power
Throughout the period of the American Revolution, royal governors and officials routinely complained about the violence of the populace and how their authority was threatened by the revolutionaries. They recongnized that their power was slowly evaporating. They saw laws like the Stamp Act repealed due to pressure and threats, the Townshend duties resisted by nonimporation agreements, mass meetings in defiance of law, and confrontations with soliders, like the Boston Massacre, and colonial assemblies asserting their power. This nullification movement was lead by secret societies like the Sons of Liberty, behind closed doors. Masonic lodges met and developed plans and agreements for their members to utilize for resistance. Leaders met in taverns and coffeehouses to discuss resistance measures and plot, yes plot, future actions. These combinations effectively nullified and eviscerated British power. We could learn from their examples. Americans should use non violent means to resist the following:
1) Any attempt to submerge the USA into a North American Union with Canada and Mexico
2) A war with Iran
3) Increased power for the UN or WTO
4) Continued abuse of eminent domain
5) Fascistic measures destroying American liberties
6) Any gun control legislation
7) Any attempt to increase the power of the federal government
8)Any attempt to institute a draft or civilian conscription
9) Any law or act that further restricts liberty
10)Any attempt by the federal government to suppress a secession movement within the USA
11) Further evisceration of our constitutional rights and liberties (particularly the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments). The Bush Administration's attack on attorney-client privilege is particularly appalling.
I am in no way advocating any violence. I do not believe that we are at that stage. Non violence protest and action should always be a first step.
The New Stasi
The Stasi was the feared and ruthless secret police of the German Democratic Republic or more appropriately, Communist East Germany. In America today the neocon rightwing and leftist groups are building a new despotism in our nation of liberty. In the growing power of the Federal government are the building blocks of a new Stasi, so to speak. The FBI, DIA, ATF, and DOJ are amassing great power through laws like the PATRIOT Act, The Real ID Act, and the definition of some American prisoners as "enemy combatants". People may laugh, joke or wave my comments asideas paranoia, but the building of this massive power structure is real. A new "Sons of Liberty" type movement is needed.
Liberty and freedom are not free. Both are typically destroyed by the overpowering hand of the state. It doesn't matter if you are rightwing, leftwing or libertarian. Our freedoms are ours to have, not government's to grant.
What did the colonists do? They did two very important things. They formed into secret organizations like the Sons of Liberty, and they forcibly resisted and nullified the Stamp Act. Yes, I said "nullify". This word makes statists the world over gasp with trepidation. Through the actions of the Sons of Liberty, protests, mass meetings, inflammatory news articles, and sometimes violence was employed to thoroughly disable and nullify the act. Many conspiracy theorists will also gasp and fret that the birth of the American Revolution was started by a secret society. Yes, the Sons eventually came out publicly, but even today we do not know their full membership. Let's examine some of their tactics.
Secret Meetings
In Boston, Newport, New York, New Haven, Ct, Savannah, Ga, Philadelphia and Charleston men calling themselves "Sons of Liberty",after the name given to the colonists by Colonel Issac Barre in the British Parliament, organized themselves to resist the hated Stamp Act. Many of these men came from the upper classes, but a large section of them came from the colonial middle and lower classes. In these meetings they vowed to oppose the Stamp Act and prevent it from being enforced in America, effectively nullifiying it. Stamp collectors were threatened, beated, tarred and feathered, harrassed, and in some cases had their property destroyed. Many were made to sign pledges to refuse to collect the tax, and were threatened to be labled "enemies to their country" if they didn't reject their new positions. Many Marxist historians, while praising the resistance of the Sons of Liberty, condemn them as rich white men who only cared about their own liberty. Of course in any mass movement there will be people who are myopic and concerned only with their own interests. To broadly paint the leaders of these secret societies as selfish only furthers the Marxist myth of class warfare. The fact is, no revolution can survive without leadership. This leadership generally comes from the upper and middle classes, and all revolutions up to our day have proven this. What revolutionary leaders cannot do is continue any revolution without the mass support of the populace. Let's examine this further.
Support of the Masses
When one truly examines the American Revolution it is apparent that it was a mass movement of the colonial population. Murray Rothbard, in his four volume history of the American colonies, Conceived in Liberty, details this in full. Men in the Sons of Liberty, Masonic Lodges,and colonial churches lead the charge, but it was the people who made the Revolution possible. From 1765 through 1776 the American people were subjected to increasing tyranny from the British establishement in America. Higher taxes, impressment of sailors, nepotism in the colonial governments, dual officeholding, enforcement of mercantilist laws, like the Navagation Acts, suspension of several legislatures, particularly New York and Massachusetts, and the keeping of a standing military in the midst of the civilian population all contributed to the restivness of the colonial population. The Boston Tea Party, the burning of the British warship Gaspee in Rhode Island, tarring and feathering of royal officials,
threats and protests against Stamp agents, are just a few examples of the
actions of the people. The people were lead by men like Samuel Adams, Charles Thomson, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson,Joseph Warren, John Adams,most of whom were members of secret societies like the Masons and Sons of Liberty. These men lead the populace in nullifying the power of the British government in America.
The Nullification of British Power
Throughout the period of the American Revolution, royal governors and officials routinely complained about the violence of the populace and how their authority was threatened by the revolutionaries. They recongnized that their power was slowly evaporating. They saw laws like the Stamp Act repealed due to pressure and threats, the Townshend duties resisted by nonimporation agreements, mass meetings in defiance of law, and confrontations with soliders, like the Boston Massacre, and colonial assemblies asserting their power. This nullification movement was lead by secret societies like the Sons of Liberty, behind closed doors. Masonic lodges met and developed plans and agreements for their members to utilize for resistance. Leaders met in taverns and coffeehouses to discuss resistance measures and plot, yes plot, future actions. These combinations effectively nullified and eviscerated British power. We could learn from their examples. Americans should use non violent means to resist the following:
1) Any attempt to submerge the USA into a North American Union with Canada and Mexico
2) A war with Iran
3) Increased power for the UN or WTO
4) Continued abuse of eminent domain
5) Fascistic measures destroying American liberties
6) Any gun control legislation
7) Any attempt to increase the power of the federal government
8)Any attempt to institute a draft or civilian conscription
9) Any law or act that further restricts liberty
10)Any attempt by the federal government to suppress a secession movement within the USA
11) Further evisceration of our constitutional rights and liberties (particularly the 4th, 5th and 6th Amendments). The Bush Administration's attack on attorney-client privilege is particularly appalling.
I am in no way advocating any violence. I do not believe that we are at that stage. Non violence protest and action should always be a first step.
The New Stasi
The Stasi was the feared and ruthless secret police of the German Democratic Republic or more appropriately, Communist East Germany. In America today the neocon rightwing and leftist groups are building a new despotism in our nation of liberty. In the growing power of the Federal government are the building blocks of a new Stasi, so to speak. The FBI, DIA, ATF, and DOJ are amassing great power through laws like the PATRIOT Act, The Real ID Act, and the definition of some American prisoners as "enemy combatants". People may laugh, joke or wave my comments asideas paranoia, but the building of this massive power structure is real. A new "Sons of Liberty" type movement is needed.
Liberty and freedom are not free. Both are typically destroyed by the overpowering hand of the state. It doesn't matter if you are rightwing, leftwing or libertarian. Our freedoms are ours to have, not government's to grant.
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