Liberty Maven

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

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Quote of the Day: “Ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that govern them.”
– Hans Sennholz

Subject: Great news on the “Enumerated Powers Act”

The “Enumerated Powers Act” (H.R. 1359) would compel Congress to identify their Constitutional authority for every law they pass. It wouldn’t stop them from passing bad laws, but it sure would highlight the fact that most of what they do has no Constitutional authority at all.

We pretty much know what they would do. They would have to invoke the so-called “general welfare clause,” which is really just the preamble to the Constitution, or the “commerce clause,” which was really intended to foster free trade between the states. It would become very embarrassing very quickly, and we could pound them about it constantly.

When we last reported to you the “Enumerated Powers Act” had 47 co-sponsors in the House. Well, now it has 52. But there’s even better news . . .
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Recently Bob Barr has been seen cozying up to left leaning bloggers and everyone’s favorite environmentalist, nobel prize winner Al Gore. He has released statements and been quoted in articles saying things that have upset the Libertarian apple cart. The radical and purist among us seem to have implanted Barr with an ultra sensitive warning device that triggers anytime potential non-libertarian words leave his mouth. Requesting anyone labeled “radical” to relax is like asking a starving man to “eat that cracker slowly”, but in this case calm is what is required.

First, Bob Barr issued a press release “clarifying” his stance on federal government bailing out Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The release was entitled, “Privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, End Government Subsidies.” That certainly sounds rather libertarian, but some found decidedly non-libertarian rhetoric within the article.

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Ron Paul was interviewed recently on KET in Kentucky on a program called “One To One”. He discusses his current campaign, his past campaign, his book, his previous media appearances, Austrian economics, the rally being planned to coincide with the GOP Convention, and much much more. This is a must see interview for every Ron Paul supporter. It is in 3 parts.

Part 3 is here.

or “What? There’s a War there too?” War Deaths Ratchet Up as Barack Obama and the Neocons Continue to Ignore Geopolitical and Cultural Realities

by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution . Originally published July 20, 2008 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article4291.html

Dr. Ron Paul (when permitted to speak) at the ‘07 Republican Presidential Debate on our logic in attacking Iraq instead of Bin Laden following 9/11

“Let me see if I get this right – we need to borrow $10 Billion from China, and then we give it to Musharraf, who is a Military Dictator, who Overthrew an Elected Government, then We Go to War, Losing all these Lives, Promoting Democracy?”

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This article is dedicated to:

1st Lieutenant. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii

Sergeant Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, California

Corporal Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Georgia

Corporal Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Washington

Corporal Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee

Corporal Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia

Corporal Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina

Corporal Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Missouri

Private First Class Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Kentucky

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These are the names of the nine (9) combat dead in a skirmish on July 13, 2008, on the Afghani-Pakistani border. Their outpost in the city of Wanat was overwhelmed by Pakistani tribal freedom fighters, and American forces retreated under heavy fire. To these dead young Americans and the other 4,673 American warrior dead in Afghanistan and Iraq, sorry guys, I will never give up, but not enough of us are protesting, contacting our Congress, and basically making a nuisance of ourselves about the senselessness of your deaths. The cost of gas, the financial markets and whether the next President can save us from terrorists and fix the economy, gay marriage, health care even! are still too important. As in Iraq, as in Vietnam, the thesis is Obama and America simply does not understand regional cultural and political truths, and that you cannot invade a country, oppress, torture, and kill its people, and expect them to be happy about it.

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D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

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Quote of the Day: “My policy has been, and will continue to be, while I have the honor to remain in the administration of the government, to be upon friendly terms with, but independent of, all the nations of the earth. To share in the broils of none. To fulfil our own engagements. To supply the wants, and be carriers for them all: Being thoroughly convinced that it is our policy and interest to do so.”
– George Washington, from a letter to Gouverneur Morris

Subject: A Congressman changes his mind on Iran resolution

House Concurrent Resolution 362 and Senate Resolution 580 both urge President Bush to blockade Iran. President Bush could also view these resolutions as a green-light to attack. Either a blockade or an attack would remove Iranian oil from the world market, and potentially close the straights of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil supply flows.

The loss of any oil from the Persian Gulf would send oil prices soaring and potentially plunge the entire world into an economic depression.

Your life and your future, are hanging by a thread. Congress could choose to cut that thread at any moment.

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The Nevada GOP continues toward it’s own demise. Now look what they are doing.

Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention and will instead pick its delegates to the national convention by private conference call.

The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul local reports. hijacked the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention in September. Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs, according to

“With so many people concerned about the economy, it simply wouldn’t be fair for us to ask delegates from all over the state to spend money to attend a convention if we know that a quorum won’t be present,” state party Chairwoman Sue Lowden said in a release.

The news provides further evidence of a fractured and unenthusiastic Republican Party in some parts of the country. Last week, the GOP nominee in a North Carolina congressional race suspended his campaign while he confronted fissures in his own party. Polling suggests a significant “enthusiasm gap” on the part of Republican voters this year, which has left the party’s candidate, Sen. John McCain, trailing Democratic rival Sen. Barack Obama in the presidential contest.

Paul’s outsider candidacy, meanwhile, attracted an unexpected seam of support in the party as he stressed strident libertarian themes in his run for the Republican nomination. Although the Texas representative has dropped out of the presidential race, his standard-bearers in Nevada continue to press his cause, hoping to shift the Republican Party toward the libertarian positions he advocated in his campaign.

During the Nevada GOP State Convention seven delegates had been elected before the convention was postponed due to time constraints (or at least that was the excuse). Since that time a large group of Ron Paul supporters reconvened the convention and elected delegates. Now the GOP establishment refuses to reconvene an official convention and instead is opting to select delegates via private conference call. I immediately thought that this must violate some kind of law.

As it turns out a lawsuit has been filed by some Nevada GOP delegates against the state party.

Nevada State Republican delegates are filing a complaint tonight, saying yesterday’s decision for the Nevada Republican Executive Committee to appoint delegates for the national convention is in violation of state law.

Republican delegate Wayne Terhune says more than one thousand delegates have been silenced with the decision and deprived of their ability to select national delegates.

“The State Executive Committee announced yesterday that they won’t bring the Nevada State Republican Convention out of recess,” said Terhune, a Republican activist in Washoe County.  “They shut down the Convention in April, and now they aren’t giving delegates a chance to have their voices heard.  This is a violation of the law.”

Mike Weber, a local Republican who has served on the National Republican Rules Committee, announced early today he is shifting the focus of his State Assembly race to make sure state delegates have their voices heard.  “Most Republicans are getting fed up with party leaders because of underhanded tactics instead of principled leadership,” he said in a press release. “The announcement that national delegates will be appointed by a small group behind closed doors only reinforces this distrust.”

There is little hope that this will end up favoring the Paul delegates, but they aren’t going down without a fight. The question is… can the Nevada GOP come through this unscathed? Only time will tell.

(Thanks to George Dewey for alerting us to this story)

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

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Quote of the Day: “Politicians never accuse you of “greed” for wanting other people’s money — only for wanting to keep your own money.” – Joseph Sobran

Subject: Falling health care prices

Overall, health care prices continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, but there are exceptions. The cost of some procedures and drugs is falling, both in terms of time and money.

What happened? Did Congress pass a law or create a new program? No. Congress had nothing to do with it. Instead, it happened because of . . .
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Okay, the Truth is not exactly Breaking News but read House Concurrent Resolution 362 anyway. The March Towards Hell Continues.

by Jake, the Champion of the Constitution
Originally published Thursday, July 17, 2008 at http://www.nolanchart.com/article4267.html

Michael Scheuer gave a moving speech with practical solutions about the Wars on Terrors at the Revolution March last weekend.

Here is an excerpt:

“There is not a nickel’s worth of difference between President Bush and former president Clinton; between Senator McCain and Senator Obama; between Speaker Pelosi and Mayor Giuliani, or between any of the foregoing and their pro-empire, Israel-first cheerleaders at the Council of Foreign Relations, the National Endowment for Democracy, and the America-Israel Political Action Committee. They are all rank and reckless interventionists, bent on involving America in other peoples’ wars and content to see our republic destroyed by their ego-building and democracy-crusading military adventures overseas.”

When I heard it for the first time, I agreed but thought it was a little strong to compare Pelosi with Giuliani. Then I remembered Pelosi’s semi-treasonous speeches to the Israeli AIPAC lobby , and the failure of the Democrats she leads to stop the Wars after being elected to do so in 2006. Then I saw this alert from Pat Buchanan titled “A Phony Crisis ” about Iran. In it, he complains that one of Pelosi’s goons, Rep. Gary Ackerman D-NY has introduced a bill, House Concurrent Resolution 362 proposing to blockade Iran. And 220 Democratic Goons and Neocons in the House have endorsed it! (Translation: This is a 50.5% majority, this bill is going to PASS! Don’t you love democracy! ) While I wrote a long time ago that the Bush administration already declared Financial War on Iran, which most Dems supported, I did not think the Dems would be so brazen to foist a warmongering piece of trash like this:

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I lamented that I did not have the complete video of the speech given by former CIA Bin Laden Unit head Michael Scheuer at the Ron Paul Revolution March/Rally last weekend. Well here it is (finally). His speech starts about 3:17 into the first video below and continues into 2 other video parts (all included below).

Part 2 | Part 3

Ron Paul also appeared yesterday on Glenn Beck’s TV show in an interview about the financial markets and monetary policy. Beck praises Paul on him being right on economic matters. Now if only Beck could be turned on foreign policy he’d be the best friend in the media Ron Paul has. I’m not holding my breath on that one though. Enjoy the video below.