1Declaration: Free Markets, Free People, Free Minds

Last night if you are unaware the Senate passed a horrid bailout bill (socialist in nature) to bailout the financial markets from their own reckless behavior and against the wishes of the American people. Not to mention the numerous earmarks included in the bill briefly outlined below.

New Tax earmarks in Bailout bill

- Film and Television Productions (Sec. 502)
- Wooden Arrows designed for use by children (Sec. 503)
- 6 page package of earmarks for litigants in the 1989 Exxon Valdez incident, Alaska (Sec. 504)

Tax earmark “extenders” in the bailout bill

- Virgin Island and Puerto Rican Rum (Section 308)
- American Samoa (Sec. 309)
- Mine Rescue Teams (Sec. 310)
- Mine Safety Equipment (Sec. 311)
- Domestic Production Activities in Puerto Rico (Sec. 312)
- Indian Tribes (Sec. 314, 315)
- Railroads (Sec. 316)
- Auto Racing Tracks (317)
- District of Columbia (Sec. 322)
- Wool Research (Sec. 325)

Not to mention on top of this a tax hike on oil and gas companies that will further increase the price of a gallon of gas. Check out this article in the Houston Chronicle about this issue.

John McCain: A Conservative who will NOT support a bill with Earmarks - Oh Really?

John McCain's vote in support of this bill offers a clear image of the deception he has espoused in his rhetoric about not signing or supporting a bill with an earmark. Not to mention sacrificing conservative/libertarian economic ideology that offers the idea that government should not intervene in the free markets as it is counter productive to solving problems, slows the rectification of economic woes, and sets a precedence for reckless business practices in the future by removing the consequences for failure.

The free market is the best avenue for opportunity and prosperity for all Americans. Too bad this bill espousing government intervention is more in line with the neo-liberal* socialist ideology of the US Democratic Party. So much for the idea of being a principled conservative Senator McCain.

Barack Obama's vote for a socialist government intervention is to say the least expected. No deception or lies on his part on this issue.

I would urge you all to vote for the only Presidential candidate that has opposed the Bush-McCain-Obama-Bailout (B.O.M.B.) watching out for the American taxpayer: Libertarian Bob Barr.

Correspondence to Texas Senators John Cornyn (up for reelection) and Kay Bailey Hutchinson

To the Honorable Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchinson,

Tonight I was dismayed and surprised to see your "Aye" vote on the Financial Bailout issue. This vote is directly contrary to traditional conservative or in my case libertarian economic philosophy. Government intervention in the marketplace exacerbates problems and slows the correction of the problems.

Your vote precipitated by fear instead of rationality, big government solutions (bordering socialist) instead of free market principles marks a dark day for this great nation that will breed further fiscal irresponsibility and recklessness by corporations, CEO's and individuals. This sets poor precedence for the future as it breeds a sense of government dependency and irresponsibility for both corporations and individuals by removing the consequences for failure.

Free markets cannot be free without the right succeed and the right to fail. Removing the first breeds economic and job stagnation. Removing the latter breeds complacency for responsibility and accountability. The free market is the best avenue for prosperity and opportunity for all Americans. Without both aspects due to governmental intervention, economic prospects and the American people suffer.

This Congressional action is on the same level of the abhorrent Patriot Act that was hastily enacted by the use of fear instead of rationality and disregarding the consequences of the further erosion of civil liberties and the Constitution for governmental expediency and power.

As it stands, you can no longer count on my vote in the upcoming election or in the future.

In Liberty,
skeiser

I would urge ever reader here to likewise send a correspondence to your Senators letting them know of your opposition to this bill and either thank them for their support or scorn them for their lack of rationality on this issue. Then take a moment to write to your member of the House of Representative to express your opposition to this bill. You can find their emails here or visit their official Senate or House pages. Take a moment to send McCain, Obama, Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader), and Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House) an email as well. Feel free to use my correspondence as an outline or template for your own.

With any luck and a lot of constituent correspondence the bailout bill will once again fail in the House vote on Friday but only if you act as a reasonable voice of opposition.

Make your declaration!

Definitions
neo-liberal - political ideology of government intervention in economic matters as in opposition to liberalism/classical liberalism political philosphy of laissez faire economic principles

Libertarian Presidential hopeful Bob Barr issued a press release today stating that if left alone Americans will solve social problems better than government can. The best way for government to solve social problems is by getting out of the way, cutting spending, and cutting taxes.

This is an idea I have always supported. When government gets entrained in the business of providing welfare governmental power increases and erodes individual liberties and the effectiveness of the private sector of providing more cost effective solutions. Government should remain neutral to all groups providing a fair and reasonable form of governance. Providing social welfare to one group at the cost of another group through higher taxation does not retain the neutrality government should foster in order to preserve the idea that "all men are created equal." Governmental biases favor the erosion individual choice and Liberty.

One of America’s great strengths has always been the willingness of Americans to organize to solve social problems,” notes Bob Barr, the Libertarian Party candidate for president. The great French classical liberal Alexis de Tocqueville commented on American social activism nearly two centuries ago in his classic Democracy in America. “We see this same commitment today, with the news that Americans donated more than $300 billion to charity last year, a record level, despite increased economic uncertainty,” Barr observes.

[...]

Barr adds, “Unfortunately, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama remain mired in a government spending mindset. Indeed, the major parties have even worked to hook private agencies on public funds.” President George W. Bush initiated the so-called faith-based initiative, supported by Sen. McCain, to provide increased grants to religious organizations. Sen. Obama also has endorsed this approach.

Barr expanded further on this idea laying out an idea to encourage donations thereby expanding the private sectors role in social welfare programs, an idea the founding fathers would support without question.

Instead of expanding government social spending, “Washington should encourage Americans to take on greater responsibility in meeting charitable needs.” First, taxes should be cut. “This year Americans will spend almost four months working just to pay for government,” observe Barr. “That leaves far too little for the famous little platoons which do so much to improve American society.”

Second, “we should consider creating a special tax credit for charitable giving, to provide Americans with a dollar-for-dollar tax reduction for money contributed to social services. We could then deduct an equivalent amount from the federal welfare budget. This would enable Americans to shift welfare from the public to the private sectors,” says Barr. It would also avoid the inevitable politicization that accompanies government grant-making.

“Private charity is a better mechanism for helping people because it is more flexible and cost-effective, and is able to speak to more than financial needs—it can help meet the many often complicated problems faced by people and their families,” he explains. Government by its nature must be rule-bound and bureaucratic. But “neighbors helping neighbors at the local level is the way Americans traditionally aided those around them in meeting difficult family circumstances and other social needs.”

To read the rest of the article: Bob Barr 2008 Blog » Blog Archive » Cutting taxes encourages giving

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Libertarian Presidential Nominee Bob Barr is the only real nominee for change from the status quo. John McCain and Barack Obama favor politics as usual in contemporary American politics. The two party system has hindered American choice and enlarged the size of the federal government in an attempt to keep others out of the picture. Bob Barr favors elimination of the IRS, replacement of the tax system with the Fair Tax, reduction in federal spending, balancing the budget, and personal choice. Barr's campaign platform is the Constitution of the United States.

Libertarian presidential nominee Bob Barr offers actual change. He has not only renounced the two-party system, the Patriot Act and the Defense of Marriage Act, he’s worked with the libertarian party, the ACLU and the NRA to undo decades of damage to our civil liberties.

There is much to be said for someone so entrenched in the system to not only admit wrong, but to take initiative in correcting it. This is not something we can say for John McCain or [Barack] Obama, both of whom voted to fund the war and extend the Patriot Act.

Unlike Obama or McCain, who Barr rightly calls a vote for business-as-usual, he is committed to addressing our dependence on foreign oil, the falling value of our dollar and the $58 trillion the two-party system would have our grandchildren pay off. Barr is the only major contender willing to do this by addressing the cause of these problems — not the pretend causes. Barr offers real hope and actual change by unifying us as Americans, as citizens with unalienable rights and a servant government.

The sooner we embrace this vision, the sooner it will be achieved.

Read the article here in the Norwich Bulletin.

This years presidential election may be on of the most followed elections in US history. In what should be a clear cut Democratic presidency because of poor economic indicators, an unpopular war, and the most unpopular president in history the Democratic candidates can't take an upper hand and keep fighting each other instead of Republican nominee, John McCain.

The 2008 Presidential Election will have its two major parties, the "Big Two" once again vying for power, but it will not be an election between conservatives and liberal. This will be an election between moderates and liberal fascists (yes...I borrowed that term from Jonah Goldberg's book Liberal Fascism) and will feature a variety of other third party candidates from Libertarians to statists.

Today's "Big Two" (Republicans and Democrats) politicians are out of touch with the founding principles of our country. (Go ahead and read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and information about the signers of the Declaration. Then try reading about the over reaching British government and compare where our government is heading.) Instead of limited government, maximation of individual liberty, and self-responsibility our nominees and elected representatives preach about and enact laws that seek to minimize individual liberty by limiting choice (no more incandescent light bulbs) and increasing government intervention in our daily lives. They have clearly forgotten, or what I believe have intentionally misplaced, the idea of the most famous Chinese provers, " Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will feel himself for a lifetime."

The "Big Two" (not all politicians but a large portion of them) no longer believe in the people of this nation. Democrats are in favor of the "nanny state," welfare state, or as Neal Boortz calls it the, "I want my mommy state." Democratic candidates offer up a constant barage of rhetoric on nationalized health care, lies about global warming (without scientific evidence), and the golden oldie to blame the rich or big corporations for your problems. Republicans offer few better solutions. John McCain recently spoke to 9th war Hurricane Katrina victims promising more federal government intervention and preaching of the failures of the national level response while neglecting the lack of state, local, and personal responsibilities. There is no doubt things could have been handled much better with regards to the federal response but the primary responders state, local, and private citizens all failed to take responsibility. McCains sponsoring of the McCain-Feingold bill limiting people's freedom of speech, McCain-Kennedy bill offering amnesty for illegals, and McCain-Liberman global warming bill offer more credibility to this argument.

This leads me to one conclusion. The politicians, praised by some of you, but nothing more than mere mortals and imperfect beings like yourself believe that you are totally incapable of taking care of yourself. Look at the policies they are creating and then look at yourself and American society at large objectively. Instead of offering permanent solutions that feature individual improvement, problems need solving by more government dependency and inefficient government programs.

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach and man to fish and he will feed himself for a lifetime." This quote no longer applies. Self-responsibility have been eliminated and freedom of choice has been erroded. Clearly this quote no longer applies so lets update it for the time.

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Give a man a fish a day (aka welfare and entitlements) and he will become dependent on us (government and politicians) and vote for us (politicians) forever." This has become the ideology of the "Big Two" and it will continue until the people of the United States call for change sternly in elections or mass communications with their representatives.

Don't forget that their are more than just two political parties! I firmly believe that Liberty in America can only be saved by Libertarian ideals.

In the Sunday April 20th, 2008 Opinion Page of the New York Times, an article was presented showing McCain as an irresponsible presidential candidate by wanting to cut taxes even more. McCain wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent and to repeal the alternative minimum tax which would save American taxpayers over $1 trillion dollars in taxation that would be utterly wasted by an inefficient federal government on programs they have no Constitutional right to involve themselves in as it is. The opinion actually stated that these two tax cuts would reduce tax revenue to the government.

The Article points out that he wants to double the dependent exemption further reducing tax collections by $171 billion over the next 4 years, suspend the gasoline tax over the summer which would reduce taxes by $10 billion, and finally cut corporate taxes. The author of the article finally points out that McCain has given no way to make up these tax cuts except cutting out loopholes and McCain's favorite action to "cut pork-barrel" spending.

The author concludes that this is all political pandering to buy votes and McCain must go back to the drawing board to show how he would govern without adding to our fiscal problems.

Concluding with the authors opening thoughts. The author opens the article by stating the federal government will not be able to deal with problems of the future such as health care (not in the federal government jurisdiction - state and personal level), road and bridge repair (state and local level jurisdiction), and alternative energy (better handled by the free market, when the people demand it and when it can become economically viable without government subsidies it will occur).

The author of the article clearly misses the point that these issues are not in the federal governments jurisdiction (check the Constitution for your answer on this and then read the 10th Amendment, the answer to all these issues are there) and are all better left to the individual and state levels. Eliminating these costly programs would save Americans billions of dollars each year in unnecessary and inefficient government programs allowing Americans to invest more wisely and with much greater efficiency for their needs.