* Why the right to anonymity is important
* The controversial nature of the case about which we want to file a brief
* What the brief will cost and how much time we have
Your right to be anonymous
You already exercise your right to anonymity when you vote. Without the secret ballot you would be vulnerable to various forms of intimidation. Other forms of anonymous expression used to be protected. For instance . . .
America’s Founder’s published anonymously
The country you know and love probably wouldn’t exist without anonymous expression. Many of the most influential writings of the Founding era were published anonymously . . .
. . . including the Federalist and Anti-Federalist Papers.
The men who debated the Constitution wanted to be able to speak their minds, without fear of retribution. So . . .
If anonymous expression was important for the creation of the United States, isn’t it important for you too?
For instance, should you be able to . . .
* Distribute anonymous pamphlets
* Make anonymous contributions to candidates
* Broadcast anonymous advertisements
This kind of anonymity was crucial to the civil rights movement
In the past, the identity of those who contributed to the work of civil rights movement was legally protected, in order to shield them from retribution, intimidation, and violence.
It’s doubtful the civil rights movement could have obtained the funding it needed without the legal right for people to both make and receive anonymous donations.
But YOU don’t have this right today. You cannot . . .
With implications for the entire country, in the state of New Mexico, our 2010 legislature is coming to an end and once again we are being called upon to bare our necks and feed the Vampire Hog of Government. And in the action-speaks-louder-than-words category, the Democrat Party, which has run this state for the past 70 years, has managed, in spite of a half billion dollar deficit, not to close unneeded departments, stop unnecessary spending, derail our money-sucking Rail Runner choo-choo, or even remove anyone from our bloated state payroll not even, as a local TV news investigator discovered, employees running non-existent museums or just showing up to pick up nice fat government checks.
For you see, rather than cutting spending, our legislature is going to increase taxes. One of the proposed taxes that was within inches of becoming law here in hispanic New Mexico, was a tax on hispanic foods like white flour tortillas, hard taco shells, salsa, and red chili pods. This would have been like putting a snow tax on Eskimos or a hurricane tax on Floridians. Of course if they’d held their ground they would have gotten away with it because they know that all we ever do in New Mexico is grumble for a couple of weeks and then return to our brainless, happy-go-lucky selves.
But if Barack Obama is as smart as everyone claims he is, he will sit up and pay attention to what our politicians almost did here which he can use to solve his own trillion dollar deficits. If Democrats could try to tax ethnic food in New Mexico, imagine what they could do nationwide. Plus, if successful, the dietary dragon lady Michelle Obama would no longer be able to castigate us over our heft.
Michael Steele, Chairman of the RNC, visits Ron Paul at the Campaign For Liberty booth at CPAC 2010 to pick up a copy Paul’s most recent book, “End the Fed“.
I wonder if Steele voted for Paul in the Straw Poll? Nah… couldn’t be, or could it?
(The Steele part is at the very beginning, no need to watch the rest of the longish video)
Saturday was the final day of CPAC 2010 and it was a great one. I started the day by attending Ann Coulter’s speech in the main ballroom. She was funny and quick-witted as expected. Also, as expected, she continued playing the part of the neo-conservative poster girl. At one point she admitted, “If Ron Paul is behind it, and it has nothing to do with foreign policy, I agree.” Regardless of your opinion on Coulter it’s a good sign that Ron Paul is popular enough to warrant such discussion.
I then made my way to the friendly environs of the Young Americans for Liberty Youth Summit. This young group of American patriots left me impressed. There is no doubt that these students of today will be the liberty leaders of tomorrow.
Following the summit was a panel of speakers discussing why good conservatives are anti-war. The room was packed with two rows of people standing in the back. Philip Girardi, Karen Kwiatkowski, Bruce Fein, and Jacob Hornberger took turns speaking. All were excellent, but for me, Jacob Hornberger, was the best at clearly articulating all of the major arguments for a non-interventionist foreign policy. He did it with passion. It rivaled Judge Napolitano’s speech from the Liberty Forum the other night.
Day 2 is finished at CPAC 2010 and what an interesting day it was. Here’s a recap. It’s rather long.
We made our way to a panel discussion called “Saving Freedom: Defending the Constitution”. The panelists included Steve Bierfeldt of the Campaign For Liberty. Bierfeldt was the man who was detained by the TSA for carrying a “suspicious” amount of cash. He fought the TSA and they modified their policy. The discussion from all the panelists were interesting and educational.
Mike Miller and I (Marc Gallagher) are attending CPAC over the next few days. This is our first update from the conference. It’s difficult making your way through throngs of people wanting to hand you literature that completely goes against the philosophy of liberty. The Campaign For Liberty row in the Exhibit Hall is an oasis.
We arrived at the hotel around 11am, checked in and headed to the C4L booth to pick up our “credentials”. We then wandered around aimlessly for a bit looking for the “XPAC Lounge” to get good seats for the live Freedom Watch show set for 12:30pm.
by John Browne, Senior Market Strategist, Euro Pacific Capital
At a time when more and more offices are going paperless, governments in most of the developed world are doing the opposite. Finance ministers from Washington to London, Tokyo, Madrid, and, most pointedly, Athens, are attempting to paper over gaping financial chasms in the global economy by issuing ever greater quantities of currency and debt. But paper can only stretch so far.
The key problem facing the western world is the 80-year decline in central banking discipline. In truth, these banks have become little more than the private piggy banks of their parent governments. Often furtively, central banks have “bought” ever larger amounts of government debt, which has allowed a consequence-deferred spending spree. The result has been decades of apparent economic growth and prosperity.
To close these gaps, it is widely agreed that governments need to curtail spending, but that inclination is nowhere evident. In a television appearance last week, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan explained the predicament bluntly: “[Public] spending is untouchable.”
It is increasingly evident to ordinary Americans that big government demands big spending, financed by big taxes and big issues of government debt, ultimately cleared by big printing presses. They want it stopped, but the politicians won’t budge.
Supporting this bill will enable you to honor your oath of office. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution limits federal powers to only those functions the Constitution specifically mentions. Congress has no power to . . .
* pass a legal tender law
* create a central bank
* create money (the Constitution only authorizes the federal government to make coins out of *existing* gold and silver money)
This means that our current system is the exact opposite of what the Constitution requires . . . Read More »
In a quite oddly edited interview Ron Paul and Rand Paul appeared on CNN’s AC360 last night. Anderson Cooper asked some pointed questions about the Tea Party movement and the Sarah Palin connection.
The interview was poorly edited with Cooper’s questions coming entirely too quickly following answers by Paul and son. Check it out below.
Liberty Maven
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by John Browne, Senior Market Strategist, Euro Pacific Capital
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