Archive for the ‘Texas’Category
Ron Paul on Obama’s Iraq Speech: Mission Not Accomplished
LAKE JACKSON, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Congressman Ron Paul today released the following statement on President Obama’s speech from the Oval Office last night:
“The President’s announcement that all U.S. combat troops have left Iraq is no more believable than the ‘Mission Accomplished’ declaration was in 2003.
“Once again, we are being told the mission has been accomplished and our brave men and women are coming back home. Though the people are hopeful they remain skeptical, and rightfully so.
“The biggest problem is that success in Iraq is undefinable since the mission was never defined. The reasons given for the invasion were based on misinformation. Now, the war has cost us hundreds of billions of dollars and this has contributed significantly to our economic woes.
“Forty-four hundred Americans are dead, thirty thousand severely wounded, and more than a hundred thousand are suffering from serious health problems related to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. This alone should tell us that it was not worth the investment and the needless sacrifice of our young people and the taxpayers.
“It is deceitful to imply we will avoid hostilities with this new policy. We still have to contend with:
- the 50,000 troops carrying weapons remain in Iraq
- the 100,000 contractors that remain with more expected to go to Iraq
- the 9,000 special ops personnel trained in assassinations that remain in Iraq
- a huge embassy, bigger than the Vatican, that will remain
- Dozens of military bases that will stay
- Al Qaeda organizations that did not exist before the war
- Muqtada al Sadr, a strong nationalist who has gained much political power
- The fact that Iran benefits tremendously with the Shiites now in power in Iraq and is a close ally of al Sadr
“Osama bin Laden wins by ‘proving’ that America has an agenda of occupation in the Middle East. And, we continue to walk into his trap and hand him up his best recruitment tool in his efforts to incite hatred and terrorism against the United States.
“What’s worse, President Obama made it clear last night that the troops and resources leaving Iraq will not come home to defend our country or ease our economic woes. They will instead be diverted to Afghanistan, perhaps also Pakistan and, I fear, even Iran.
“From my viewpoint we are the losers in this fool’s errand of endless war. Tragically, this new policy is not one of peace but merely a charade that will severely undermine our national security and continue us down the path to bankruptcy—a threat that we best not long ignore.”
04
09 2010
I AM C4L – Introduction
04
09 2010
FEDS CONVICT TEXAN FOR SELLING A GUN TO ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH TEXAS DRIVER’S LICENSE
“This is a pretty dangerous precedent.”
-F.F.
Contact: Paul Velte, 512-296-5563
Peaceable Texans for Firearms Rights
website: http://www.io.com/~velte/pt.htm
In Federal District Court on July 20, 2010, the ATF won a conviction from an Austin jury that defies logic and reason. In a trial before Federal Judge Sam Sparks, government lawyers conceded Texas resident Paul Copeland did not know his buyer was an illegal alien, but the jury they should convict him anyway because he “had reasonable cause to believe” he was selling to an illegal alien because the two men and a boy who were present at his table at the time of the sale: 1) were Hispanic, 2) spoke Spanish, and 3) wore cowboy clothing. And the jury did as asked. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Freel acted as lead prosecutor in the case.
The firearm transaction at issue occurred on January 16, 2010, at a gunshow at the North Austin Events Center, at 10601 N. Lamar Blvd., in Austin, Texas. Undercover ATF agents followed Mr. Huerta, his son, and another Hispanic male, Hipolito Aviles, around the “Texas Gunshow” that day, and claimed to observe Huerta’s transaction. Austin P.D. used Copeland’s case as the reason to close down the gunshow, leading to a protest by Austin residents in front of APD headquarters on January 25.
Mr. Copeland is a 56 year old Cedar Creek resident and Vietnam veteran who liked to buy, sell, and trade firearms as a hobby. On January 16, however, he had the misfortune to sell a handgun to Leonel Huerta Sr., who spoke both English and Spanish. Huerta Sr. negotiated his purchase from Copeland in English, showing Copeland his Texas Driver’s License. At Copeland’s trial Huerta admitted on the witness stand, that he is in the country illegally, (Huerta Sr. had previously admitted this fact to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Leo Buentello). ATF Agent Shawn Kang claimed he saw Huerta later hand off the gun to Aviles. Despite these admissions, Huerta Sr. was never arrested, charged, or deported. Instead, his presence at the gunshow was used to entrap an American citizen into an unwitting violation of a federal gun control law. Huerta Sr., who is a resident of the City of Austin, appeared as a witness at the trial, admitted he was in the country illegally before federal prosecutors and a federal judge, yet he was allowed to leave the courtroom under his own power. To date Huerta Sr. has not been prosecuted for his purchase, possession, or disposition of the handgun he bought from Copeland, while Copeland is now a convicted felon.
“Instead of busting the illegal alien for buying, they bust the citizen for selling,” commented Paul Velte, attorney and founder of Peaceable Texans for Firearms Rights, a gun-owners rights advocacy group from Austin. Velte asked, “who was in a better position to know the buyer’s immigration status, the buyer or the seller?” He also said, “What happened to Paul Copeland should enrage all Americans. The Federal Government is using illegal aliens to entrap citizens lawfully exercising their right to sell firearms. The illegal alien walks free, but the citizen gets convicted. The same government charged with controlling immigration is the one using illegal immigrants to attack its own citizens. Does this make any sense? It makes no sense unless the purpose is to discourage attendance at gunshows and frighten citizens from selling their firearms to other citizens.”
Velte pointed out that “There is no way for a citizen to know who is here legally or not. In fact, under Austin’s ‘sanctuary city’ policy, not even the police officer at the door of the gunshow was allowed to ask a person’s immigration status, yet the average Texan inside the show is expected to assume that a person standing before them with a Texas driver’s license is in the country illegally just because they look Mexican and speak Spanish.” Velte noted that the federal government’s lawsuit against Arizona was based on that very type of conduct: Concluding someone could be here illegally based on their looks or their language. Velte said gun owners in his group are outraged, and they want to know:
- Why is the illegal alien who purchased the gun, Leonel Huerta Sr., still living in Austin?
- Why does he still have a Texas Driver’s license?
- Why is ATF using illegal aliens to set up and convict American citizens?
- What has he been promised for his cooperation?
- Why has he not been prosecuted? He committed three distinct crimes: he purchased a firearm knowing he was an illegal alien, he possessed the firearm, and he transferred the handgun to another illegal alien (Hippolito Aviles, who was convicted and given time served on June 30, 2010).
- Why has Huerta Sr. not been deported?
Judge Sparks sentenced Copeland on August 27 to six months confinement and 24 months of probation, and called Copeland “a liar” for not admitting guilt. ATF confiscated Copeland’s entire gun collection and initiated forfeiture proceedings. Copeland was also fired from his job due to the indictment, and he would have lost his home to foreclosure, if not for his family stepping in to pay his mortgage while he serves his sentence.
04
09 2010
Ron Paul: Courage
“Bravery, fortitude, will, and intrepidity, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation…
i.e. Courage
i.e. this guy…
31
08 2010
Iraq: An End or an Escalation?
By Ron Paul
Amid much fanfare last week, the last supposed “combat” troops left Iraq as the administration touted the beginning of the end of the Iraq War and a change in the role of the United States in that country. Considering the continued public frustration with the war effort, and with the growing laundry list of broken promises, this was merely another one of the administration’s operations in political maneuvering and semantics in order to convince an increasingly war-weary public that the Iraq War is at last ending. However, military officials confirm that we are committed to intervention in that country for years to come, and our operations have in fact, changed minimally, if really at all.
After eight long draining years, I have to wonder if our government even understands what it is to end a war anymore. The end of a war, to most people, means all the troops come home, out of harm’s way. It means we stop killing people and getting killed. It means we stop sending troops and armed personnel over and draining our treasury for military operations in that foreign land. But much like the infamous “mission accomplished” moment of the last administration, this “end” of the war also means none of those things.
50,000 US troops remain in Iraq, and they are still receiving combat pay. One soldier was killed in Basra just last Sunday, after the supposed end of combat operations, and the same day 5,000 men and women of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood were deployed to Iraq. Their mission will be anything but desk duty. Among other things they will accompany the Iraqi military on dangerous patrols, continue to be involved in the hunt for terrorists, and provide air support for the Iraqi military. They should be receiving combat pay, because they will be serving a combat role!
Of course the number of private contractors — who perform many of the same roles as troops, but for a lot more money — is expected to double. So this is a funny way of ending combat operations in Iraq. We are still meddling in their affairs and we are still putting our men and women in danger, and we are still spending money we don’t have. This looks more like an escalation than a draw-down to me!
The ongoing war in Iraq takes place against a backdrop of economic crisis at home, as fresh numbers indicate that our economic situation is as bad as ever, and getting worse! Our foreign policy is based on an illusion: that we are actually paying for it. What we are doing is borrowing and printing the money to maintain our presence overseas. Americans are seeing the cost of this irresponsible approach as our economic decline continues. Unemployed Americans have been questioning a policy that ships hundreds of billions of dollars overseas while their own communities crumble and their frustration is growing. An end to this type of foreign policy is way overdue.
A return to the traditional American foreign policy of active private engagement and non-interventionism is the only alternative that can restore our moral and fiscal health.
31
08 2010
C4L Rising
31
08 2010
Government is not the answer.
In this June 2009 speech in the U.S. House, Congressman Paul described the threat posed by continuing to follow failed policies and described how America can return to prosperity.
22
08 2010
The Anti-Fed Revolution
By Anthony Gregory
End the Fed by Ron Paul
(New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2009), 212 pages.
Through his 2008 presidential campaign, Ron Paul managed to make monetary policy a national political issue. For nearly a century it had been a relatively obscure topic, and throughout my lifetime respectable opinion considered it a fringe inclination even to be interested in it. Certainly, those who questioned the necessity of even having a central bank had long been relegated to the kooky periphery of political discourse.
This all changed with Paul’s campaign, which put restoring sound money at the top of the 21st-century populist libertarian agenda, second only, perhaps, to ending the U.S. military empire. The financial crisis has made Americans from all walks of life dare to question the central banker behind the curtain. Recent polls show that the Federal Reserve is now among the least-trusted federal agencies, with a vast majority of the public supporting a thorough and independent audit. Paul’s efforts to bring about such an audit garnered more than two-thirds support in the House of Representatives, and for the first time, the Fed’s partisans are on the defensive, publishing articles vindicating its expansionary credit during the Bush years, which an increasing segment of the population, including some in the mainstream press, now blame for causing the housing bubble and consequent financial collapse.
Capitalizing upon this rising public distrust of the once-sacred central bank, Ron Paul has written End the Fed, a direct attack on the moral, economic, and legal foundations of the Federal Reserve. Although much of what can be found in the book can be learned elsewhere, no other popular treatment — concise, sharp, accessible, principled, and insightful — fills the niche that End the Fed serves to fill.
Of Paul’s many accomplishments in popularizing the ideals of liberty, his successful advancement of the Austrian school of economics deserves special recognition. End the Fed provides an accessible introduction to the economic thinking of Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, Murray Rothbard, and others of the Austrian tradition, whose focus on individual human action is arguably the most radical of all the economic disciplines, and the most compatible with principled libertarian political philosophy. They are not one and the same, for economics is a value-free, scientific study of cause and effect, and the use of resources by people pursuing their interests in a world of material scarcity, whereas libertarianism is a political philosophy centered on moral precepts of property rights, with a definitive normative focus.
But the two reinforce each other by employing methodological individualism — the study of human affairs in terms of individual choices and decisions — and together they show that we are not required to choose between a free society and a prosperous one. For helping to bring such a radical and yet intuitively comprehendible outlook to the general public, one that is not burdened by the mathematical esoterica and affinity to central planning that permeate mainstream economics, we owe Ron Paul a debt of gratitude.
Fiat money
Of course, what makes Austrian economics so particularly compelling and important these days is its explanation of the boom-and-bust business cycle. Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek, the latter of whom won the Nobel Prize in 1974 for his work on this topic, explained unsustainable and systemic economic booms in terms of artificially easy credit, which leads to malinvestment in economic projects, especially long-term ones that cannot be justified by current savings. In a free market, interest rates are determined by the willingness of people to forgo spending and instead save their money. When the rates are lowered by the Fed, it discourages saving while simultaneously encouraging borrowing and investing. This leads to a cascade of high wages, massive construction, rising prices, and everything else we associate with booms such as those seen in the 1920s, the Nasdaq bubble, and the skyrocketing housing prices of the Bush era. But eventually, as economic projects must yield a return, the savings are shown not to have been there to justify the investment. Whereas a free market in interest rates harmonizes production and consumption over time, central bank distortions lead to the boom and bust.
The Fed was sold to the public partly on the basis that it would end the business cycle and financial panics forever. But “the data show otherwise,” writes Paul.
22
08 2010
Ron Paul: Left and the Right Demagogue Mosque, Islam
“Once again… the voice of reason.”
-F.F.
LAKE JACKSON, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Congressman Ron Paul today released the following statement on the controversy concerning the construction of an Islamic Center and Mosque in New York City:
“Is the controversy over building a mosque near ground zero a grand distraction or a grand opportunity? Or is it, once again, grandiose demagoguery?
“It has been said, “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.” Are we not overly preoccupied with this controversy, now being used in various ways by grandstanding politicians? It looks to me like the politicians are “fiddling while the economy burns.”
“The debate should have provided the conservative defenders of property rights with a perfect example of how the right to own property also protects the 1st Amendment rights of assembly and religion by supporting the building of the mosque.
“Instead, we hear lip service given to the property rights position while demanding that the need to be “sensitive” requires an all-out assault on the building of a mosque, several blocks from “ground zero.”
“Just think of what might (not) have happened if the whole issue had been ignored and the national debate stuck with war, peace, and prosperity. There certainly would have been a lot less emotionalism on both sides. The fact that so much attention has been given the mosque debate, raises the question of just why and driven by whom?
“In my opinion it has come from the neo-conservatives who demand continual war in the Middle East and Central Asia and are compelled to constantly justify it.
“They never miss a chance to use hatred toward Muslims to rally support for the ill conceived preventative wars. A select quote from soldiers from in Afghanistan and Iraq expressing concern over the mosque is pure propaganda and an affront to their bravery and sacrifice.
“The claim is that we are in the Middle East to protect our liberties is misleading. To continue this charade, millions of Muslims are indicted and we are obligated to rescue them from their religious and political leaders. And, we’re supposed to believe that abusing our liberties here at home and pursuing unconstitutional wars overseas will solve our problems.
“The nineteen suicide bombers didn’t come from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan or Iran. Fifteen came from our ally Saudi Arabia, a country that harbors strong American resentment, yet we invade and occupy Iraq where no al Qaeda existed prior to 9/11.
“Many fellow conservatives say they understand the property rights and 1st Amendment issues and don’t want a legal ban on building the mosque. They just want everybody to be “sensitive” and force, through public pressure, cancellation of the mosque construction.
“This sentiment seems to confirm that Islam itself is to be made the issue, and radical religious Islamic views were the only reasons for 9/11. If it became known that 9/11 resulted in part from a desire to retaliate against what many Muslims saw as American aggression and occupation, the need to demonize Islam would be difficult if not impossible.
“There is no doubt that a small portion of radical, angry Islamists do want to kill us but the question remains, what exactly motivates this hatred?
“If Islam is further discredited by making the building of the mosque the issue, then the false justification for our wars in the Middle East will continue to be acceptable.
“The justification to ban the mosque is no more rational than banning a soccer field in the same place because all the suicide bombers loved to play soccer.
“Conservatives are once again, unfortunately, failing to defend private property rights, a policy we claim to cherish. In addition conservatives missed a chance to challenge the hypocrisy of the left which now claims they defend property rights of Muslims, yet rarely if ever, the property rights of American private businesses.
“Defending the controversial use of property should be no more difficult than defending the 1st Amendment principle of defending controversial speech. But many conservatives and liberals do not want to diminish the hatred for Islam–the driving emotion that keeps us in the wars in the Middle East and Central Asia.
“It is repeatedly said that 64% of the people, after listening to the political demagogues, don’t want the mosque to be built. What would we do if 75% of the people insist that no more Catholic churches be built in New York City? The point being is that majorities can become oppressors of minority rights as well as individual dictators. Statistics of support is irrelevant when it comes to the purpose of government in a free society—protecting liberty.
“The outcry over the building of the mosque, near ground zero, implies that Islam alone was responsible for the 9/11 attacks. According to those who are condemning the building of the mosque, the nineteen suicide terrorists on 9/11 spoke for all Muslims. This is like blaming all Christians for the wars of aggression and occupation because some Christians supported the neo-conservative’s aggressive wars.
“The House Speaker is now treading on a slippery slope by demanding a Congressional investigation to find out just who is funding the mosque—a bold rejection of property rights, 1st Amendment rights, and the Rule of Law—in order to look tough against Islam.
“This is all about hate and Islamaphobia.
“We now have an epidemic of “sunshine patriots” on both the right and the left who are all for freedom, as long as there’s no controversy and nobody is offended.
“Political demagoguery rules when truth and liberty are ignored.”
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100820005843/en/Ron-Paul-Left-Demagogue-Mosque-Islam
21
08 2010
Ron Paul Introduces SEC Transparency Act
Congressman Ron Paul yesterday introduced the SEC Transparency Act of 2010 (HR 5970), a bill designed to force greater transparency in the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bill is designed to repeal the amendments made by section 929I of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act relating to the confidentiality of materials submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Recent news reports have publicized the little-noticed provision in the recently-passed financial reform package that the Securities and Exchange Commission has used to deny requests for information under the Freedom of Information Act. Paul’s bill would repeal the provision in the newly-passed legislation the SEC has used to deny FOIA requests.
“It is unfortunate, yet not unexpected, that legislation touted as fixing problems with the banking system actually makes them worse and provides more cover and power for organizations that failed us like the SEC and the Fed,” Paul said in introducing the bill. “I expect in the coming weeks and months that many more harmful provisions like this will come to light and it will take quite a bit of work to undo the damage from this massive and misguided legislation.”
http://www.ronpaul.com/2010-07-30/ron-paul-introduces-sec-transparency-act-of-2010/
01
08 2010
Ron Paul: Why Do They Want To Kill Us? Because We Occupy Their Land!
Dr. Paul highlights how many people thought this administration would shrink our foreign wars. Instead, drone attacks have doubled, civilian casualties are high, we sent $7.5 billion in “aid” to Pakistan with much of the money going to the ISI (Pakistani intelligence service) who, it turns out, have been funding the Taliban. Dr. Paul states “we slip into wars” by slowly increasing the amount of our involvement…
29
07 2010
Give the American people accurate information
On Wednesday, Congressman Paul discussed the business cycle and government contributions to our economic turmoil at the Joint Economic Committee hearing.
17
07 2010
Ron Paul Discusses the future of “Audit the Fed” efforts
Congressman Ron Paul discusses the latest in the efforts to get a full and complete audit of the Fed as well as the future of Fed transparency.
See a list of H.R. 1207 cosponsors who voted against the motion here:http://www.campaignforliberty.com/mat…
02
07 2010
Ron Paul: Iran Sanctions = Act of War
Ron Paul explains why sanctions on Iran might not be that good. The idea of sanctions means war against another country. Ron Paul explains that they can’t afford to be at so many places at once. The US spends $1 trillion a year to operate. He explains that the US is flatout broke and at the same time looking for another war. He says that according to information he has, the CIA is working on a nuclear weapon. Ron Paul also says that Iran has never been found guilty of breaking the non-proliferation treaty. He says the hype about “weapons of mass destruction” is war talk exactly like what sent the US to Iraq where no weapons of mass destructions were found. What the US is doing is driving Iran to the Chinese as he explains. The US is trying to take over the world with natural resources Ron Paul says.
02
07 2010
FEC Attempts to Shut Down Campaign for Liberty
“Insane… Insane… Insane. Obama is showing his true tyrant colors. Never thought Obama would be as bad as he has been. He’s a little tyrant slob parasite. Impeach this mad man.”
-Fred Face 6/30/10
Campaign for Liberty
June 30, 2010
Dear Liberty Activist,
The FEC has launched a pair of investigations on Campaign for Liberty.
Both are meritless, but could seriously disrupt our growing program.
Please read Campaign for Liberty President John Tate’s letter below and stand with us.
This is exactly the type of government action to quell liberty that I have spent my life opposing.
Sincerely,
Congressman Ron Paul
—
Dear Friend of Liberty,
The best way to know you are succeeding in changing Washington is when you get attacked by the FEC.
And attack us they have!
I’m writing you this letter today not to scare you or to cry wolf. I’m writing to let you know that our success has its price, and that price right now is the wrath of the Obama Administration and its attack dogs at the Federal Election Commission.
I urge you to read this message and then sign the Declaration of Support (in which I ask for your advice on a critical legal and moral question), as we are forced into battle with federal agencies and courts.
You see, this isn’t theoretical. They’ve already come after us in multiple cases, alleging that Campaign for Liberty has acted illegally merely by putting the candidates on the record and reporting their positions.
My attorneys tell me we are under a gag rule and cannot go in to too many details or even tell you with what we have been charged and where the charges originated.
But I can say there have been at least two complaints filed in two different states against our issue discussion activities.
They claim we are in violation of various FEC rules and laws.
Their allegations are completely false. And we must fight back now, or they will win and be able to silence our movement.
You see, the Washington, D.C., establishment doesn’t like to be challenged. They hate it when we fight back.
They are absolutely BESIDE themselves when we are winning.
In less than 2 years, your Campaign for Liberty has become a major force on the American political landscape.
I can give you a list of our accomplishments, talk about our growth (we are approaching half a million members), and show you press coverage from across the nation on our efforts.
But nothing shows our success more than how our enemies react when challenged.
When that happens, they do what they do best: use the power of the federal government to attack us.
They want to do one of two things: shut us up, or shut us down.
This battle is over a very fundamental idea – that Campaign for Liberty and our members should have a voice in lobbying their legislators and exposing the radical views of candidates for office.
Exposing what they’re up to – that’s what the powers that be can’t stand. That’s because they don’t want Americans to know:
** Congress is spending at a record pace and has now left us over 13 TRILLION dollars in debt, with no end in sight.
** The out of control FED has not accounted for nearly 2 trillion dollars and has doubled our monetary base, risking our entire economy.
** The federal government has imposed a mandate that every American either purchase a health care product the Feds approve of, costing tens of thousands of dollars, or risk fines and jail time.
** The federal government has attempted to take away your 1st, 2nd and 4th Amendment rights, all in the past year, with more certainly to come.
We’re exposing them – and holding them accountable as they come back home to seek reelection.
Of course, this may not sound like the end of the world. But just think: the FEC has an ARMY of lawyers and a budget of nearly $70 MILLION dollars.
That’s a lot of lawyers.
And add to it the fact that this group of people is adamantly against free speech under the First Amendment, and well, you have a recipe for trouble.
Subpeonas. Depositions. Fishing expeditions that cover tens of thousands of documents.
Legal fees just to defend our right to free speech.
Thousands of hours of staff time to comply with their demands.
You can see where this is going.
If FEC radicals succeed, I will not even be allowed to tell you and your neighbors how candidates for the House and Senate (or for President in the future) have voted on Liberty issues, so you can put the heat on them when they are most likely to listen.
Let me explain that a bit more.
For the first time ever, there is a nationwide group that is dedicated to holding politicians accountable for their votes on Liberty issues.
It’s Campaign for Liberty, and our over 450,000 members are doing battle across the country to hold the politicians’ feet to the fire.
Whether it is getting more than 300 sponsors for Audit the Fed, or lobbying to stop Cap and Tax and Real ID schemes, Campaign for Liberty is making a difference.
And we’re prepared to make an even bigger difference this fall, as the time comes to inform the people where their candidates stand.
So the statists in Washington are out to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Their main weapon is the Federal Election Commission.
The FEC has always been against free speech and a tool of the powerful elite in Washington, who desperately seek to hang on to power.
But as bad as the FEC has been since its inception, with the Obama Administration in power, you and I face even more aggressive assaults on our free speech.
My attorneys have warned me that the puppets at the Federal Election Commission are ordering me to stop mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Americans against power grabs in Congress.
In doing so, they are trying to cripple our ability to stop dangerous legislation in Congress. If we continue to oppose these Liberty-stealing bills as we have in the past, I face the danger of multimillion-dollar fines and even a jail term!
In fact, I may even be questioned in court for writing this letter tonight.
I must make a decision soon. Should I allow the Federal Election Commission to tie my hands during this crucial election year?
Or should I defy their gag-rule regulations . . . and face prosecution from the out of control federal authorities for exercising our right to political speech?
Please give me your answer by filling out the Declaration of Support.
If you and other members want me to proceed with our efforts to inform the public of the positions of your candidates on Liberty issues, and to oppose legislation in the Congress (and I hope you do), I will also need your financial help.
So please consider making a generous contribution of 10, 20 or even 40 for this battle, if you can.
The fact is the enemies of Liberty are preparing for a political attack far more serious than their election power grab of 2008, in which they put in power some of the biggest enemies of freedom and promoters of Big Government in a generation.
Our program to stop more statist takeovers in Congress is simple. By mobilizing our grassroots army, we can put a lot of heat on individual Congressmen and Senators.
The FEC insists we can’t do that during election years.
They say by telling you where your Congressman and Senators stand, I may influence your vote. The FEC election regulators contend that’s illegal electioneering.
Basically, government bureaucrats and their out of control regulations insist I dismantle our lobbying operation during election years — precisely at the time it would have its greatest impact.
Top legal experts tell me that this harassment by the FEC and any attempts to shut down our program violate several decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court and are flatly unconstitutional.
But they also warn me that if I challenge the FEC ruling, I may face a huge, tax-funded lawsuit which could stretch on for decades and cost us as much as a million dollars.
In addition to potential million-dollar fines and legal penalties, I also face an enormous funding challenge.
Our program to fight back in Congress will require at least $3.2 million.
So there are a lot of decisions to make, and I wanted to be sure I have your support as we move forward.
If I am to proceed with this effort (which I am hoping you will allow), I will need more than just your authorization. I will need your financial support as well.
Every dollar, every quarter, every dime will be used to defeat dangerous Liberty-stealing schemes in Congress and in all 50 states.
George, please respond soon.
This is one of the most far-reaching questions I have ever had to pose to you. The future of Campaign for Liberty is at stake.
If our people are heard, I am sure Liberty will once again thrive in our country. And we are making great strides in even just the past year.
So please, act today. If you believe our voices should be heard, and that the federal government CANNOT be allowed to silence them, it’s vital you answer today.
Thank you for all you do for Liberty.
In Liberty,
John Tate
President
Just like in 2008, the establishment and statists are desperate to shut us up or shut us down. They don’t want to have their records exposed.
You and I cannot give them the playing field. We must fight back today.
http://www.infowars.com/fec-attempts-to-shut-down-campaign-for-liberty/
30
06 2010
Checking Presidential Power
On Thursday, Congressman Paul appeared on Fox News’ Your World w/ Neil Cavuto concerning presidential power and BP.
26
06 2010
Drunk Off-Duty Officer Fires Gun In Police Car!
“Jesus… what is the hiring policy of cops these days… anyone of the street?”
-F.F.
The Dallas Police Department has released what could be one of the most embarrassing videos from the organization in recent memory. A police officer is on leave after firing her gun into a squad car floor when colleagues tried to drive her home from a bar where she’d drank too much while off duty.
22
06 2010
The FBI Knocked on My Door!
“The Joint Terrorism Task Force Division of the FBI Visits an Austin Peace Activist to Question About Pre-Crimes! On April 21, 2010, two agents of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) came to my house to talk to me, a part time peace volunteer for Palestine. After verifying that they really were with the FBI, I asked them to wait. I shut my door, took a deep breath, and grabbed my video camera….”
13
06 2010
What’s This Guys Name…
Dr. Ron Paul urged Congress to restore our economic stability and strengthen our national security by rejecting failed big government policies in this speech before the House from June 2009…
08
06 2010
C4L Interviews Daniel McCarthy
03
06 2010
Ron Paul Defends Rand Against Concerted Corporate Media Attack
Ron Paul
May 28, 2010
Dear Friend,
It sure didn’t take long for the entire establishment to attack my son Rand in the days after he won the Kentucky Senate primary.
As I left Kentucky last week, I was both happy for Rand and anxious for what I knew would be coming at him soon. But it came sooner than even I feared.
A mainstream media network has gone into all-out warfare against Rand, beginning with a full 24 hours of repeating outright lies by Rand’s Democrat opponent.
It’s funny. Rand’s opponent’s ideas are anti-freedom. They’re pro Big Government. They’re pro-welfare state, and will stand lock-step with the Obama agenda. And if they are the issue, he can’t beat Rand in Kentucky. So he’s trying to make sure this race is on a different playing field.
Rand needs to fight back. Some of it will be now, some will be in the coming months. But he needs your help to do it.
I know it seems like he won his primary by a lot, and it certainly was a great achievement. But having done this many times before, I urged him to take nothing for granted, and to run like he was 10 points behind. He did just that, and it was an amazing victory to watch! I was very proud of him and his team.
And thanks to you, he had the funds to do everything he needed to do. But he wisely used those funds in the primary, and has only a small amount left in his campaign treasury as we begin the general election.
And now he’s under all-out attack.
I hope you’ll help him out the way you did in the primary. We can’t count on others to help. Sure, he’ll have a few more friends now. But we need that to be in ADDITION to what our movement can give him. We can’t rest now, this is one of the biggest opportunities for a liberty minded candidate in a long time.
Please consider helping Rand today, and as often as you can throughout the general election. He’s going to need to raise three of four times what he raised in the primary to compete with the national special interests that will pour money into Kentucky to stop him.
These early attacks prove one thing for sure: The establishment and the powers that be in Washington are scared to death of a Senator Rand Paul. And they should be.
Now let’s start helping him get there to shake up the Senate!
Please donate today at www.RandPaul2010.com.
In Liberty,
Ron Paul
http://www.infowars.com/ron-paul-defends-rand-against-concerted-corporate-media-attack/
28
05 2010
Ron Paul- “More Blank Checks to the Military Industrial Complex”
by Ron Paul
Congress, with its insatiable appetite for spending, is set to pass yet another “supplemental” appropriations bill in the next two weeks. So-called supplemental bills allow Congress to spend beyond even the 13 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government. These are akin to a family that consistently outspends its budget, and therefore needs to use a credit card to make it through the end of the month.
If the American people want Congress to spend less, putting an end to supplemental appropriations bills would be a start. The 13 “regular” appropriations bills fund every branch, department, agency, and program of the federal government. Congress should place every dollar in plain view among those 13 bills. Instead, supplemental spending bills serve as a sneaky way for Congress to spend extra money that was not projected in budget forecasts. Once rare, they have become commonplace vehicles for deficit spending.
The latest supplemental bill is touted as an “emergency” war spending bill, needed to fund our ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The emergencies never seem to end, however, and Congress passes one military supplemental bill after another as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan drag on.
Many of my colleagues argue that Congress cannot put a price on our sacred national security, and I agree that the strong, unequivocal defense of our country is a top priority. There comes a time, however, when we must take stock of what our blank checks to the military industrial complex accomplish for us, and where the true threats to American citizens lie.
The smokescreen debate over earmarks demonstrates how we have lost perspective when it comes to military spending. Earmarks constitute about $11 billion of the latest budget. This sounds like a lot of money, and it is, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the $708 billion spent by the Pentagon this year to expand our worldwide military presence. The total expenditures to maintain our world empire is approximately $1 trillion annually, which is roughly what the entire federal budget was in 1990!
We spend more on defense than the rest of the world combined, and far more than we spent during the Cold War. These expenditures in many cases foment resentment that does not make us safer, but instead makes us a target. We referee and arm conflicts the world over, and have troops in some 140 countries with over 700 military bases.
With this enormous amount of money and energy spent on efforts that have nothing to do with the security of the United States, when the time comes to defend American soil, we will be too involved in other adventures to do so.
There is nothing conservative about spending money we don’t have simply because that spending is for defense. No enemy can harm us in the way we are harming ourselves, namely bankrupting the nation and destroying our own currency. The former Soviet Union did not implode because it was attacked; it imploded because it was broke. We cannot improve our economy if we refuse to examine all major outlays, including so-called defense spending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6d5Nls830g&feature=player_embedded
26
05 2010
Ron Paul on Fox Business
On Friday, Congressman Paul appeared on Fox Business’ Varney & Co. to discuss the price of gold and the markets.
26
05 2010
Why should taxpayers be on the hook?
“Because the majority of people in this country have had their backs broken and they won’t make a peep about being robbed.”
-F.F.
21
05 2010
Whistleblower Claims That BP Was Aware Of Cheating On Blowout Preventer Tests
As the federal and congressional probes continue into the causes of the Gulf oil rig explosion, new information is coming to light about the failure of a key device, the blowout preventer, to shut off the gushing well, which could have prevented the growing catastrophe.
And new questions are being raised about the testing of the preventers. At today’s hearing before a House subcommittee, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., revealed that the blowout preventer had a leak in a crucial hydraulic system and had failed a negative pressure test just hours before the April 20 explosion. And at a hearing in Louisiana on Tuesday, the government engineer who gave oil giant BP the final approval to drill admitted that he never asked for proof that the preventer worked.
In addition, an oil industry whistleblower told Huffington Post that BP had been aware for years that tests of blowout prevention devices were being falsified in Alaska. The devices are different from the ones involved in the Deepwater Horizon explosion but are also intended to prevent dangerous blowouts at drilling operations.
Mike Mason, who worked on oil rigs in Alaska for 18 years, says that he observed cheating on blowout preventer tests at least 100 times, including on many wells owned by BP.
As he describes it, the test involves a chart that shows whether the device will hold a certain amount of pressure for five minutes on each valve. (The test involves increasing the pressure from 250 pounds per square-inch (psi) to 5,000 psi.) “Sometimes, they would put their finger on the chart and slide it ahead — so that it only recorded the pressure for 30 seconds instead of 5 minutes,” he tells HuffPost.
Mason claims that a BP representative was usually present while subcontractors performed the tests.
The 48-year-old veteran oil worker claims that in the oil industry, particularly at BP, “the culture is basically safety procedures are shoved down your throat and then they look the other way when it’s convenient for them.” He claims that oil operators often wouldn’t report spills and that when he spilled chemical fluid in 2003, he was told by his superiors not to report it. Mason, who now runs a small operation hauling freight in the Alaskan bush and owns guest cabins, says he was fired by a drilling company in 2006 after he wrote a letter to the editor of the Anchorage Daily News to condemn the firm for incorporating overseas and thereby avoiding taxes.
Mason and another oil worker provided sworn statements in a 2003 lawsuit that rig supervisors “routinely falsified reports to show equipment designed to prevent blowouts was passing state-mandated performance tests,” reported the Wall Street Journal in 2005.
Mason was interviewed by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2005 during a probe into allegations that Nabors Drilling, a subcontractor to BP, falsified such tests, among other claims that BP failed to report blowouts at the massive Prudhoe Bay oil field. The probe was spurred by oil industry critic Charles Hamel, who forwarded his allegation to then-Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska.
Hamel claims that BP is at fault for the falsification because “Nabors had nothing to gain by shortening the time because they got paid, and BP rep was on rig at all times.” He adds that BP was the beneficiary of a falsified test, claiming that the company rushes work and cuts corners to save money.
Hamel sent a letter to Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations subcommittee, in advance of Wednesday’s hearing into the Gulf oil rig disaster, urging him to ask BP about the falsification claims:
“You and your fellow Committee members may wish to require BP to explain what action was ultimately instituted to cease the practice of falsifying BOP tests at BP Prudhoe drilling rigs. It was a cost saving but dangerous practice, again endangering the BP workforce, until I exposed it to Senator Ted Stevens, the EPA, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.”
After a four-month-long investigation, the commission in Alaska found that a single Nabors employee “violated rules regarding testing of blowout prevention equipment (“BOPE”) on Rig 9ES by falsifying test results with a practice referred to as “chart spinning.” The AOGCC proposed a $10,000 cost assessment on Nabors to reimburse it for the expenses incurred during the investigation.
As part of the probe, BP officials were interviewed, says AOGCC investigator Jim Regg, but the company was not assessed any costs or found to have committed any violations in its role as operator of the well. The commission did not find any evidence of the other allegations regarding BP. A spokesperson for BP did not return repeated calls for comment.
AOGCC commissioner Cathy Foerster explains that investigators didn’t find widespread evidence of such falsification at oil drilling operations, calling it “an isolated incident” and adding, “It cost the state $50-60,000 and all that came of it was this poor kid got fired.”
Foerster, who said that the commission is funded through a surcharge assessed on oil operators, dismissed industry critic Hamel’s allegations regarding malfeasance in the oil industry: “It’s a light breeze and he declares a Category 5 hurricane.” She added that there is usually a “shred of truth” to his claims, before warning that reporters who misrepresent her comments could face “legal ramifications.”
Hamel, who is on the board of the Project on Government Oversight and formerly worked as an oil trader, has a long history with BP — the company was forced to pay more than $1 billion in safety-related improvements to the 800-mile Alaska pipeline as a results of investigations prompted by Hamel.
Alyeska Pipeline, he company, which operated the pipeline on behalf of BP, responded by hiring a private security firm, Wackenhut, to conduct surveillance on Hamel in the 1990s.
“They tapped my phone at my home in Alexandria, Virginia, had keys to my house — I discovered that they went into my house twice,” he says. And he claims that they sent a group to follow him up in Alaska, including a woman dressed provocatively who tried to get him into a hotel room with her.
A congressional hearing was called to examine the spying of Hamel and Wackenhut later settled a lawsuit filed by Hamel. And Alyeska apologized to him in full-page newspaper ads.
“These oil interests are very powerful — they will stop at nothing to stop you.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/12/bp-whistleblower-claimed_n_573839.html
13
05 2010
Ron Paul on Fed Audit, I Am Very Concerned
“I can’t grasp why Americans can’t see that this is one of the few qualified people in politics to be president…. Oh ya, I forgot most people don’t read or look into things more than their Daddies, (mainstream media tv), dictate to them.”
-Fred Face 5/12/10
12
05 2010
What Reality Do You Live In?
With a clearly squeegeed third eye last night… we came indoors from nature and good stuff to see Chris Matthews flapping his fat pentagon paycheck stupid irish mouth like a rabid dog on the television in the background. Man, if you can’t see that there is zero difference between Chris Matthews & Bill O’Reilly than good luck with everything.
And then the silly little Time Square firecracker truck on CNN with the 2 psychotic anchors. I don’t know their names & don’t want too… deer caught in the headlights, teachers pet, corn-ball black dude & bimbo, borderline porn actress, fake concerned, vapors of a spiteful hateful woman, anchor chick. These are not normal people that give distorted news & information. They are very very sick people. Talking about whether the firecracker truck is international & possible domestic terrorism w/ some inbred southern FBI terrorism expert redneck fuck-head… “But domestic terrorist would want to hit federal buildings”… and on… and on…
I’m not sure what reality most of the people in this country live in but I’m sure fuckin’ glad many of us see right through it, (often frustrated that majority of people are on a slow learning curve), but sometimes I’ll just laugh & laugh & laugh at the ease some people are lead around on a leash.
-Fred Face 5/2/10
02
05 2010
Umm… Let’s All Relish In The Confusion…
“The Teas Party has turned into a joke. And thats exactly what the media and the Republicans, (who hijacked the whole movement to distract & discredit what the whole movement was really about early on when it was just normal Librarians & Ron Paul supporters), sought out to do.”
-Fred Face 4/23/09
23
04 2010
Amnesty Madness
Being against Amnesty For Illegal Immigrants ain’t got nothing to do with racism…
(Unfortunately, these things need to be explained in a country steaming with “white liberal guilt).”
-Fred Face 4/15/10
15
04 2010
Billy Joe Shaver Found Not Guilty for Shooting: On the Scene in Waco
-“I am very sorry about the incident,” Shaver said outside the courtroom. “Hopefully things will work out where we become friends enough so that he gives me back my bullet.”
(…. CLASSIC)
Patrick Doyle
After a three-day trial that drew friends Willie Nelson and Robert Duvall to a Waco, Texas courtroom, outlaw country artist Billy Joe Shaver was found not guilty Friday on charges of aggravated assault for shooting a man in the face outside a Texas bar in 2007. “I am very sorry about the incident,” Shaver said outside the courtroom. “Hopefully things will work out where we become friends enough so that he gives me back my bullet.”
In a packed, sweltering courtroom, Shaver, 70, admitted to shooting Billy Bryant Coker on the back porch of Papa Joe’s Saloon, a beer joint outside Shaver’s Waco hometown. The singer pleaded self-defense, claiming Coker stirred his drink with a pocket blade, wiped it on Shaver’s shirt and asked him to come outside. “I felt he was gonna kill me,” Shaver testified. “He was a big bully, the worst I ever seen — a big bad one. And I been all around the world.”
State prosecutors argued Shaver could have left in his truck before shooting Coker. “I’m from Texas,” Shaver responded in his honky-tonk Texas drawl. “If I was a chicken shit I would have left.”
The shooting occurred March 31, 2007, after Shaver stopped into the smoky bar for a beer with his former wife, Wanda. Shaver testified Coker was rude to Wanda and told Shaver to “Shut the fuck up.” After the two went outside, witnesses testified Shaver asked Coker, “Where do you want it?” then pointed a .22 pistol at Coker’s cheek, pulled the trigger and fled in his truck. When Shaver was asked on the stand if he shot Coker because Shaver was jealous the victim was talking Shaver’s wife, Shaver laughed. “I get more woman than a passenger train can haul,” he said.
Shaver’s song “Live Forever” was used prominently in Crazy Heart, and Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan have recorded his music. In 1973, Waylon Jennings recorded nearly an entire record of Shaver songs, Honky Tonk Heroes, and Willie Nelson says he considers Shaver the greatest living songwriter. Nelson leaned forward in his seat as Shaver testified, and told RS outside the courtroom, “I don’t think Billy Joe would do anything wrong. Whatever happened, I don’t think it was Billy Joe’s fault.”
15
04 2010
Obama in dead heat with Ron Paul: Rasmussen poll
“I wouldn’t say he’s a long shot… considering what could happen within this country leading up to the next election.”
-F.F.
By Sahil Kapur
Ron Paul is a long-shot for the Republican nomination for president by any standard, but a Rasmussen poll finds him in a statistical tie with President Barack Obama.
The survey, released Wednesday by the conservative-leaning organization, finds Obama edging out Paul by 42 points to 41 in a hypothetical 2012 matchup. Eleven percent said they would prefer a different candidate, while 6 percent were undecided.
Rep. Paul (R-TX) has rankled the GOP and conservative establishment with his opposition to its big-spending ways and penchant for war, but has garnered an ardent following of small-government libertarians from across the nation.
His anti-war statements at last weekend’s Southern Republican Leadership Conference were met with a mixture of cheers from his fans and boos from the mainstream crowd. Refuting a central Republican talking point, he said Obama was a “corporatist,” not a “socialist.”
Paul won the Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll in February and fell second to likely 2012 hopeful Mitt Romney by a single vote at SRLC. He ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination in 2008.
The results of this study will surely be questioned as Rasmussen has been widely criticized by liberals for allegedly gaming its polls to boost conservatives and Republicans while downplaying progressives and Democrats.
While Rasmussen claiming its methods are unique as they’re geared toward likely voters, observers have pointed out that his surveys consistently show higher marks for conservatives over liberals than any other accredited polling group.
Although Obama’s poll numbers have considerably declined in the last year, a recent CNN survey found that he remains the most popular political figure nationally. Unlike Paul, he commands a large majority of support within his party.
The study’s margin of error is 3 percentage points. It was conducted by Rasmussen on April 12-13 over the phone with 1,000 “likely voters.”