1Declaration: Free Markets, Free People, Free Minds

I recently received an email pointing me to this article appearing in the American Thinker writer by Bruce Walker. This article acutely points out the differences between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans. Although I am not a conservative I do agree on a majority of their positions because they believe in the ability of people to succeed on their own. I am not a Republican but they are a far cry better than any Democrat.

*******************************
The Lawyers' Party
by Bruce Willis
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/the_lawyers_party.html

The Democratic Party has become the Lawyers' Party. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are lawyers. Bill Clinton and Michelle Obama are lawyers. John Edwards, the other former Democrat candidate for president, is a lawyer and so is his wife Elizabeth. Every Democrat nominee since 1984 went to law school (although Gore did not graduate.) Every Democrat vice presidential nominee since 1976, except for Lloyd Benson, went to law school. Look at the Democrat Party in Congress: the Majority Leader in each house is a lawyer.

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.

A little confusion seems to be out their with the Fair Tax so I will do a brief recap of the Fair Tax. The information is widely available for FairTax.org and numerous books.

The Fair Tax or HR 25 is a complete replacement of the current tax code. The Fair Tax will repeal all payroll, income, savings, investment, estate, gift, and death taxes. The Fair Tax is a 23% federal sales tax on the final purchase of any new item or service. Used items or items produced in the home are untaxed. The Fair Tax does not change any current government program like Social Security or Medicare. The only thing that changes are how taxes are collected.

Under the Fair Tax productivity and hard work are no longer penalized as taxes are no longer based off of your income. Likewise people are free to save and invest without paying taxes on the interest or resulting income from a stock, CD, or other investment related transaction.

Under the Fair Tax you will receive your full paycheck.

The Prebate:

Under the Fair Tax every citizen in the United States will receive a prebate each month to cover the taxes on spending up to the poverty level. The prebate is dependent only on family size and the current poverty level rate as determined by the Dept. of Health and Human Services (In some cases the poverty level is also dependent upon the state of residence). The prebate will be adjusted for the rate of inflation yearly in accordance with inflation changes by the poverty level.

Under that Fair Tax your income is not reported to the federal government. The only thing reported is your employment status by the company of employment to determine Social Security status.

To clarify. The Fair Tax prebate is not based on income. A single person with no children will receive $196 per month no matter their level of income. To the prebate size you would receive each month please visit FairTax.org prebate levels.

Since taxation is based on spending, those who spend more will pay more. If you don't spend above the poverty level you don't pay. A family that spends twice the poverty level will have a tax rate of 11.5 percent. As spending increases the rate of taxation will increase until the rate reaches 23% because of the prebate. Taxation is totally voluntary under the Fair Tax. Because of the prebate the Fair Tax is a progressive tax.

I hope this recap clarifies some misconceptions that have popped up about the Fair Tax.

Well I got too busy yesterday and really just forgot but I hope you had a Happy Tax Free Day. Yesterday was the first day of the year where you finished paying your federal income taxes and began earning your money. That's right! Up until yesterday April 23rd you were working to pay your taxes for the year.

If that makes you feel good I hate to think what makes you feel terrible.

With the Fair Tax you have the decision when and who to pay taxes to. If you don't like what the government is doing, stop spending. If you like what they are doing spend more. If you can't afford taxes you won't pay as long as you live within your means.

To find out how to change the tax system please review my blog or go to FairTax.org.

Hope is just a desire. Change can happen, but you have to make it happen.

I am torn right now between two candidates. One is a member of a party I identified with for my entire life (John McCain) and the other of as the potential nominee of the Libertarian Party of which I have just become a member. The decision is an important one and one that all Conservatives and Libertarians should consider if they truly support smaller government and individual liberty. The risks are large as a Democratic Presidency is very likely this year. The decision will be far from easy, as one will be a vote to keep the Democrat out of office while the other will be a vote based more on principal, and will not likely be resolved by myself well into the year, probably not until November.

Please take a moment to read this article by Bob Barr on his blog at bobbarr2008.com.

Light Up the Darkness
April 23, 2008 by Bob Barr

The time is drawing near for me to make a final decision on whether or not I will seek the presidential nomination of the Libertarian Party and run against John McCain and the Democrat candidate.

This decision does not come easy.

If I decide to run, not only will I be affected by the events of the next six months but my family, and those for whom I care, will be forced to sacrifice a great deal in their lives. Indeed, whatever the outcome of the election, my decision will impact the lives of my family for many years to come.

Powerful people and parties will do all that they can to discredit and discourage me and those close to me. As a matter of fact, this pressure has already started to a significant degree.

Just the other night, I discussed this matter with my friend, Russ Verney, who will be managing my campaign if I choose to run. Russ ran the campaigns for Ross Perot and witnessed firsthand what can and does happen when a credible, third party candidate enters the presidential arena.

Russ was completely candid with me and did not hold back on the tactics and strategies that will be used against me and my family.

This is both discouraging and infuriating, but it is a reality in today’s political climate. Anyone who dares to challenge the establishment, two-party system is bound to pay a price for such audacity.

While this factor alone hardens my resolve to seek the nomination, it also gives me pause in making a final decision.

In choosing my future path, I’ve thought back and imagined what some of my personal heroes would do in a similar situation.

One man I admire answers also to the name, “Bob.” He was a person possessed of a gift that allowed him to speak to and lift the spirits of other men and women with his words and music.

When watching a film one evening, I was reminded of an event in his life and how he inspired so many with what would normally have been an easy decision.

In December 1976, this other Bob, along with his family and friends, were rehearsing for an upcoming concert when gunmen burst into his home and opened fire.

Bob was wounded, with a round entering his chest and passing though his arm. His wife, Rita, had been struck with a bullet in the head while fleeing with their five children.

Both survived and were rushed to the hospital, treated and released a day later.

The following evening, the concert went on but, out of fear of further violence, without many of the acts that had been scheduled to play. Despite a realization that the main performer and others would most likely not appear, a crowd of 85,000 people managed to gather for the concert.

Not to be discouraged, Bob raced to the concert at the last minute and rushed onto the stage.

Wounded and more than likely staring at his own gunman in the crowd, Bob Marley promised the joyous audience, “just one song.” He and his wife Rita, wrapped in bandages, took the stage for 90 minutes.

Later, Bob was asked why he would go through the effort to perform just two days after being attacked. He answered simply, “The people who are trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off. How can I? Light up the darkness.”

I take faith in the brave words and actions of that man and his wife.

We live in increasingly dark times as the flames of liberty diminish with each new grasp at power by those who attempt to control our lives and our nation.

We have a responsibility to ensure that those flames burn brightly for others to see despite the overwhelming challenges that we face.

Because of those odds, it will take more than one man to carry a torch for liberty. It will take the tireless efforts of all of those who truly cherish freedom.

Only then can we light up the darkness.

In 2008, we will face a choice between two candidates, both of who seek to move us further away from freedom and toward increased government power.

Instead, I want to give our nation a choice for liberty.

My time for a decision is now, and I need to hear from you and know that I have your support today and when times get tough down the road.

In the coming days, call up a friend or talk to a neighbor to tell them about this race and the need for a pro-liberty candidate.

Not only do we have an opportunity to make in impact during this election year but I also believe we have an obligation to do so.

However, I cannot do this without your help.

Please do all you can — and together — we can carry a light of liberty to the people.