Liberty Maven

This week I’m wondering, once again, why believing in and following the Constitution is considered by many to be radical extremist behavior? America’s founding document should be more than some piece of old paper that tourists come to gawk at while visiting our nation’s capital. It’s like America has become an atheist nation and the Constitution is the Bible.

The power culture in DC ignores the Constitution because it is in their best interest to do so. Perhaps our founders were stupid for expecting a unit of law-making force and power (the government) to remain restrained by a document (the Constitution) that those (the citizenry) who are bound by the laws are supposed to enforce. No, it’s not perfect, but it has worked, more or less, for over 200+ years. The big question of the current generation seems to be how do we keep it from slipping away completely? Will America be America in 10 years? The writing on the wall says ‘no’, but it is our duty to do everything in our power to change that writing to say ‘yes’.

Michael Maresco has done more than most in this effort. Last week he completed his most recent journey across America via bicycle in an effort to raise awareness about America’s road from freedom to fascism. To me and many others he is the ultimate liberty hero. People like Michael give me hope. Please check out the site dedicated to his ride. Read through his travel log, look at the pictures, and be inspired by what you witness. He shows us all what is still great about America through the people he met and the places he’s seen. See LibertyRider.com.

Now a quick note on the name of this web site. I want to make it clear that I never intended to be dubbed THE Liberty Maven. I’ve been called that and I get uncomfortable every time it happens. The truth is that the domain name was available when we (Mike Miller and I) were trying to come up with a name for the site and it sounded good, so we got it. The intent of the name is to let everyone know that it is they who need to become liberty mavens. Having a country of liberty mavens is the goal. That goal may not be attainable, kind of like the “pursuit of happiness”, but always reaching for it is the important thing. I also want to thank you for continuing to read Liberty Maven. We don’t thank our readers enough. It is because of you that the site still exists and remains a passion for me and our other contributors. Thank you.

Now let’s talk about money bombs and 2010 elections. Peter Schiff needs to be  shown some love in the form of monetary contributions to his exploratory committee. If he’s going to run against Chris Dodd he’s going to need a lot of money. In light of that various freedom loving people have pooled together for a week long money bomb event dubbed the Schiffathon. It culminates with the money bomb day on August 7th. Check out www.Schiffathon.com for details. There is no better candidate to unseat Dodd than Schiff. Please show him that he has our support by donating on August 7th. His campaign website is www.SchiffForSenate.com. If Schiff should decide not to run all exploratory donations will be refunded.

Ron Paul’s son Rand is also readying himself for his own Senate campaign in Kentucky. He stated all along that if Jim Bunning were to not seek re-election then he would run. Well, this week Bunning announced he would not be seeking re-election so that obstacle is out of the way. I imagine we’ll find out fairly soon that Rand has officially joined the race. At this point it is just a formality. His primary opponent will be establishment-loving Republican Trey Grayson who has raised over $600k for his own exploratory committee. Rand has raised over $160k.

All eyes are going to be on Rand Paul’s own money bomb on August 20th, his father’s birthday. The goal is $1 million, which would be an amazing feat. If that goal is met it would likely cause a lot of press, probably even national press. It would also immediately make Rand Paul a formidable opponent of Grayson to more than just the Ron Paul faithful. Please pledge at RunRandRun.com to help him toward the $1 million. Rand Paul’s campaign site is RandPaul2010.com.

People always wonder, “what can I do to help bring change to DC?”. Well, donating to both Peter Schiff and Rand Paul is a great start.

And now some random thoughts, quotes, and tweets:

• The size of government keeps getting blown up like a balloon that people think will never pop. People are wrong.

• The government paid me to do it, but I worked for the Constitution. – Judge Andrew Napolitano

• Those who surrender Liberty for goverment health care deserve neither. – @RUQRU on Twitter

• Did you hear the good news? We’re in the middle of a jobless recovery. Apparently, it’s similar to a cropless harvest. – @aristoddler on Twitter

• Socialism turns innovative dazzling dreamers into lazy apathetic cynics. Capitalism makes dreams possible.

• It’s time to “Clockwork Orange” Congress. Make them deathly ill when they attempt to vote for more spending.

• Liquidity is a lot like liquid, it’s a lot easier to spill than to un-spill. – Peter Schiff

• If the government program you’re proposing is really such a good investment, why is it that only the government is willing to make it? – Harry Browne

And my own favorite quote of the week:

• Some people say Libertarians want anarchy. But anarchy is what we have now. Our cities aren’t safe, our schools are centers of violence and the politicians have turned the rule of law into a chaotic web of regulations and mandates. Libertarians want to restore order by removing the destabilizing influence of government. – Harry Browne

Have a freedom-filled weekend!