Topic: Ron Paul
Fight the Gestapo Tactics of our Congress, McBama, and Bush with Ron Paul and I A plea to readers on the passing of the Paulson Plan, Ron Paul's Congressional statement today, my recommended actions to take, and in support of BJ Lawson for Congress. Just updated with a link to and discussion on the 442-page bailout!by Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution
(libertarian)
Friday, October 3, 2008
To any Reader of this Column,
As you may be aware at 2 PM today the US House of Representatives passed the Paulson Plan. By 3 PM, President Bush signed this bill into law, and the central banks and investment bankers everywhere can take a sigh of relief for 1-2 months (in my estimation). It will be academically interesting to see if the banks do start offering credit again; I actually doubt it. I wrote why I opposed this bill here "SENATE PASSES BAILOUT! And What to Do, NOW! (New Update from Vern McKinley)". The names of the economic morons who passed this bill in the House today are listed here. The names of those who accepted the bribery described below and switched their Monday 'No' vote to 'Aye' are listed here.
As a reminder, the House had voted down the 110-page HR 3997 bill on Monday, September 29, but the Senate speedily amended HR 1424, which was ironically initally named "Paul Gladston Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007." As I wrote the Senate and McBama added in some pork intended to sway the Republicans who had killed HR 3997. What is amazingly is the amount of pork. The Senate added 332 pages! Don't believe me? Read it here.
Everyone, these legislators were not voting on whether to save the economy or not, they were bribed! Look at just some of the ridiculous line items that were added below:
Sec. 204. Additional standard deduction for real property taxes for nonitemizers. Sec. 205. Tax-free distributions from individual retirement plans for charitable purposes. Sec. 304. Extension of look-thru rule for related controlled foreign corporations. Sec. 305. Extension of 15-year straight-line cost recovery for qualified leasehold improvements and qualified restaurant improvements; 15-year straight-line cost recovery for certain improvements to retail space. Sec. 307. Basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions of property. Sec. 308. Increase in limit on cover over of rum excise tax to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Sec. 309. Extension of economic development credit for American Samoa. [My note: The likely explanation for this is that StarKist has a large tuna-canning operation in American Samoa. And StarKist's parent company is based in - guess who's? - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home district.] Sec. 310. Extension of mine rescue team training credit. Sec. 311. Extension of election to expense advanced mine safety equipment. Sec. 312. Deduction allowable with respect to income attributable to domestic production activities in Puerto Rico. Sec. 314. Indian employment credit. Sec. 315. Accelerated depreciation for business property on Indian reservations. Sec. 316. Railroad track maintenance. Sec. 317. Seven-year cost recovery period for motorsports racing track facility. Sec. 318. Expensing of environmental remediation costs. Sec. 319. Extension of work opportunity tax credit for Hurricane Katrina employees. Sec. 320. Extension of increased rehabilitation credit for structures in the Gulf Opportunity Zone. Sec. 321. Enhanced deduction for qualified computer contributions. Sec. 322. Tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia. Sec. 323. Enhanced charitable deductions for contributions of food inventory. Sec. 324. Extension of enhanced charitable deduction for contributions of book inventory. Sec. 325. Extension and modification of duty suspension on wool products; wool research fund; wool duty refunds. Sec. 401. Permanent authority for undercover operations. (as related to tax provisions) [my note: 401+402 are very dangerous for civil liberties] Sec. 402. Permanent authority for disclosure of information relating to terrorist activities. (as related to tax provisions) Sec. 501. $8,500 income threshold used to calculate refundable portion of child tax credit. Sec. 502. Provisions related to film and television productions. Sec. 503. Exemption from excise tax for certain wooden arrows designed for use by children. [my note: what the heck?] Sec. 504. Income averaging for amounts received in connection with the Exxon Valdez litigation. Sec. 505. Certain farming business machinery and equipment treated as 5-year property. Sec. 506. Modification of penalty on understatement of taxpayer’s liability by tax return preparer. Subtitle B—Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 Sec. 601. Secure rural schools and community self-determination program. Sec. 602. Transfer to abandoned mine reclamation fund. Sec. 702. Temporary tax relief for areas damaged by 2008 Midwestern severe storms, tornados, and flooding. Sec. 704. Temporary tax-exempt bond financing and low-income housing tax relief for areas. Sec. 709. Waiver of certain mortgage revenue bond requirements following federally declared disasters. Sec. 710. Special depreciation allowance for qualified disaster property. Sec. 711. Increased expensing for qualified disaster assistance property.
This great article estimates the total cost of all the bailouts to date is at over $17,000 per household and reviews the bill, which I believe to be accurate. I remind you all, these taxes WILL be paid by the taxpayer over the coming years, so when you hear McBama talk about tax cuts - all hogwash!
As I mentioned above Sections 401 and 402 are privacy violations and already expired on January 1st, 2008, so this bill makes 402 permanent and renews 401.
"The bailout bill also gives the Internal Revenue Service new authority to conduct undercover operations. It would immunize the IRS from a passel of federal laws, including permitting IRS agents to run businesses for an extended sting operation, to open their own personal bank accounts with U.S. tax dollars, and so on. (Think IRS agents posing as accountants or tax preparers and saying, "I'm not sure if that deduction is entirely legal, but it'll save you $1,000. Want to take it?")... A 1999 internal report said the IRS had 126 "trained undercover agents" working in field offices at the time. This is the first time that such undercover authority would be made permanent...
"There's another section of the bailout bill worth noting. It lets the IRS give information from individual tax returns to any federal law enforcement agency investigating suspected "terrorist" activity, which can, in turn, share it with local and state police. Intelligence agencies such as the CIA and the National Security Agency can also receive that information.
"The information that can be shared includes "a taxpayer's identity, the nature, source, or amount of his income, payments, receipts, deductions, exemptions, credits, assets, liabilities, net worth, tax liability, tax withheld, deficiencies, overassessments, or tax payments, whether the taxpayer's return was, is being, or will be examined or subject to other investigation or processing, or any other data received by, recorded by, prepared by, furnished to, or collected by the Secretary with respect to a return."
For those who are not familiar with the US government verbiage for "terrorist" activity, I believe this column would qualify. Swell for me I suppose.
Everyone, I am hearing confusion or just plain frustration from some email and all over the internet. One is basically shouting at me to brandish my guns but right now all I have is just a pen - the nation where I currently reside in Asia has an outright ban on firearms. However, I beg you to think about this for a moment -- with everything you know and have read about Congress, about Bush – with everything that you have seen and read here at the Chart and elsewhere by modern-day Bastiats that have warned of the coming troubles, why WOULDN’T something like the bailout get passed? The rot in the republic is quite deep, I have always thought that we need a "vast minority" of everyone outraged before real change, Revolution-type Change, not Obama-change, could occur. In a way, with the November 4th election still pending, I argue this could be the best thing that could happen to the Revolution as it will spark public outrage (as it should!!).
Of course I advocate peaceful revolution, and exhausting the Ballot Box and all of the other Five Boxes of Liberty [excellent article from Simplulo] must be done first. As for resorting to force, or the Ammunition Box, my personal statement is that I am not a pacifist, although sometimes people do infer that from some of my antiwar articles. Do not assume that persons against unjust wars are all peaceniks and not willing to die to protect their families instead of living, as they view it, as a slave of the State. Many of the "terrorists" (regardless of ideology, I do not condone the killing and torturing of innocents of course!) whose mothers and fathers and families our armies have killed believe in the same principle of freedom, of life without slavery. Our founding fathers fought and died believing in these very same principles. We must now ask ourselves the very same question that Adams, Revere, Paine and Washington asked themselves over 230 years ago - whether to live enslaved or to live and die as free men, as free women. I point out that if you never gave this question serious thought before, you might need to know that answer for yourself in the coming months and years.
Call me a pacifist if you will, but no guns just yet :) However, when my freedom of speech evaporates (aka the Soap Box), it is time in my opinion that its then time to start reaching for the Ammunition Box. And no worries, I won't forget about the other 2 Boxes from Simplulo's article. The Ammo Box is the most dramatic but is a last resort. Plus you have to avoid shooting yourself in the foot.
So we must go far beyond just the Ballot Box, but remember the Ballot Box is still a potent weapon. Remember that both McBama and O'Cain voted for the Paulson Plan, and by their ignorance are really condemning us to a multi-year Depression, which economically speaking I recently stated my belief was initially avoidable, although a recession was (and still is, Paulson Plan or no Paulson Plan) completely unavoidable. I recently wrote "The Nader-Palin Debate - Is It Time for the Revolution to "Go Viral"?" and sent an email to Mr. Lyman, the Campaign for Liberty, and Ms. Donovan based on the use of viral media, although I have no idea if anything will happen. I do advocate supporting third parties.
Also please don't panic! Though but by all means stay politically active. See my opinion here - "Ron Paul and the Struggles of Attrition". Although I did not expect the Paulson Plan to be leveraged through Congress so soon via Gestapo force tactics today (try The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans, you will see what I mean - too many disturbing parallels), it was not really unexpected.
I still advocate contacting your Representatives (all of them now, state and federal) and letting them know how you feel, but do not forget to reach out to your neighbors and have rational discussions with them. Staying active locally I think is also key, as one of the very first writers at The Nolan Chart, Jahfre Fire Eater, writes about in his column, but as I live abroad and was politically apathetic when I lived in the US, I have no experiences to share here. As far as my state Representative, I had a nice, polite conversation with her, and although she initially claimed innocence from having anything to do with Washington DC. After I read to her the US Constitution over the phone, she now completely understands that I want her to execute Article V of the US Constitution which enables each and every state to call an assembly to address grievances with the federal government and amend the Constitution to limit their powers.
If you disagree with me on some sticking points (or all points for that matter!) I personally do not even view that as a problem, either I failed to explain properly or you can prove me wrong, or you just think differently, and I do not find it a big deal. However, do not expect me to twiddle thumbs while my country burns. Just the fact that you are reading this suggests you care too. For those who do agree, keep in mind that some people that may not agree with you may take quite awhile to come around to what we see as the truth, and persistent reason and passion (not to be confused with fanaticism) are the only weapons that may work here. Extremism in the name of liberty is no vice, but for crying out loud do not use a sledgehammer when a chisel will do the job! Force and venom certainly will not work, and they are the very antithesis of everything we - meaning libertarians, constitutionalists, antiwars, true republicans - stand for, and furthermore will likely create the opposite of the intended effect.
For instance, if you explain to your neighbor in economic terms why this bailout will just be a momentary delay, and as Ron Paul terms it below the Paulson Plan will actually do greater overall harm to the economy, and that instead of a recession we will now have a depression, your neighbors may not initially agree, but just wait. When its obvious there is a severe recession/depression, try to talk to them again, they may be more willing to listen. ( Photo source - Executed Inmates at the Nazi's Secret State Police's (Gestapo is just the German abbreviation) Lager Nordhausen Concentration Camp April 1945)
Madame Speaker, only in Washington could a bill demonstrably worse than its predecessor be brought back for another vote and actually expect to gain votes. That this bailout was initially defeated was a welcome surprise, but the power-brokers in Washington and on Wall Street could not allow that defeat to be permanent. It was most unfortunate that this monstrosity of a bill, loaded up with even more pork, was able to pass.
The Federal Reserve has already injected hundreds of billions of dollars into US and world credit markets. The adjusted monetary base is up sharply, bank reserves have exploded, and the national debt is up almost half a trillion dollars over the past two weeks. Yet, we are still told that after all this intervention, all this inflation that we still need an additional $700 billion bailout, otherwise the credit markets will seize and the economy will collapse. This is the same excuse that preceded previous bailouts, and undoubtedly we will hear it again in the future after this bailout fails.
One of the most dangerous effects of this bailout is the incredibly elevated risk of moral hazard in the future. The worst performing financial services firms, even those who have been taken over by the government or have filed for bankruptcy, will find all of their poor decision-making rewarded. What incentive do Wall Street firms or any other large concerns have to make sound financial decisions, now that they see the federal government bailing out private companies to the tune of trillions of dollars? As Congress did with the legislation authorizing the Fannie and Freddie bailout, it proposes a solution that exacerbates and encourages the problematic behavior that led to this crisis in the first place.
With deposit insurance increasing to $250,000 and banks able to set their reserves to zero, we will undoubtedly see future increases in unsound lending. No one in our society seems to understand that wealth is not created by government fiat, is not created by banks, and is not created through the manipulation of interest rates and provision of easy credit. A debt-based society cannot prosper and is doomed to fail, as debts must either be defaulted on or repaid, neither resolution of which presents this country with a pleasant view of the future. True wealth can only come about through savings, the deferral of present consumption in order to provide for a higher level of future consumption. [See my Money Matrix series for more details.] Instead, our government through its own behavior and through its policies encourages us to live beyond our means, reducing existing capital and mortgaging our future to pay for present consumption.
The money for this bailout does not just materialize out of thin air. The entire burden will be borne by the taxpayers, not now, because that is politically unacceptable, but in the future. This bailout will be paid for through the issuance of debt which we can only hope will be purchased by foreign creditors. The interest payments on that debt, which already take up a sizeable portion of federal expenditures, will rise, and our children and grandchildren will be burdened with increased taxes in order to pay that increased debt.
As usual, Congress has shown itself to be reactive rather than proactive. For years, many people have been warning about the housing bubble and the inevitable bust. Congress ignored the impending storm, and responded to this crisis with a poorly thought-out piece of legislation that will only further harm the economy. We ought to be ashamed.
Ron Paul has also issued a plea to support BJ Lawson with funding for his North Carolina campaign for Congress. While I as of yet do not know much about Mr. Lawson, the text of Dr. Paul’s endorsement is practically glowing, much more so than his fairly lukewarm recommendation of Chuck Baldwin for President. [In my humble opinion, since Paul was advocating third party candidates, he decided that it would be too hypocritical if he himself did not choose someone, and he simply picked who he liked best - not someone that people were trying to squeeze down his throat.]
If Lawson wins, we could double the Ron Paul faction in the House in one swoop (got to start somewhere!),and Paul believes the race is very winnable. I will do more research on Lawson first, but I will in all likelihood take a stand with my personal hero, Dr. Paul. You can access Lawson’s website here and view the endorsement below. Per his website, Lawson is halfway towards his campaign goal of $500K.
A lot of folks have begun calling B.J. Lawson the next Ron Paul. The comparison is very flattering. . . for me.
For those who are not yet familiar, B.J. Lawson is a wonderful young candidate running for Congress in North Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District. B.J. is a medical doctor, family man, Constitutionalist and a fierce defender of individual freedom. We need B.J. Lawson in Congress to stand beside me in the fight for liberty, and against the corporate socialism that has overtaken our economy!
B.J. is running against an entrenched big government liberal who voted for the $700 billion taxpayer bailout of Wall Street and has a long history of voting for huge spending, raiding your social security trust fund for pet projects, and even voted for the Patriot Act.
A recent poll shows B.J. Lawson within striking distance in this election, but he needs your help! B.J. needs $250,000, right away, to run the campaign he needs to take this race right down the wire. I know that if we band together, we can help him get the money he needs.
I am asking you, as a fellow Defender of Liberty, to mark the four week countdown to this November’s election and join with me and donate to B.J. Lawson’s campaign this Tuesday, October 7th. I know times are tough, but that is all the more reason why we need to send a message and help B.J. Lawson...
Aside from engaging in "Ballot Box" political activism, in my writings (and decide for yourself and your family, I am no one’s d*mn keeper!), among other actions, I have urged readers with my set of evidence to
1) own some PHYSICAL gold and silver (No GLD or SLV paper ETF’s) 2) have AT LEAST 2-3 months cash on hand 3) have food, water on hand for the same time period 4) and my father would recommend you also own a gun and know how to use it (I write my father as I am not in the habit of not practicing what I preach, but I have elected to live in a country where no one has this right)
I stand for the Restoration of the Republic, a return of Honest Money to We the People, and a swift end to the Global War of Terror. I hope you are standing beside me as this battle is joined with our domestic enemies, our very own government.
P.S. I want to clarify that last sentence as I am all too aware that the government can construes this as an act of terrorism if they so choose. One such example is this article, "This Article is Illegal (or Christine Smith, You GO GIRL! Bob Barr's a Loser)", which makes the point that Bush has effectively declared the entire antiwar movement illegal by Executive Order. I don't want to discard my freedom so carelessly as I want to keep on writing.
If those in power actually intend the best for the American people, but their behavior is so contrary, so immoral, and so unconstitutional with my positions, the government ceases to be my government in all but name. In my writings I unceasingly demonstrate that the federal government no longer heeds the Constitution with any type of respect. An unconstitutional government is not my "friend" or "protector" or "mommy;" it is my bitter enemy.
Hitler truly wanted the best for his country as well, and understand that I do not make that claim and my reference to Gestapo tactics lightly. My highly recommended reference is The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard Evans (2003). I've alluded to this in prior columns, and I thinks a good topic for later on as well. Germany was literally a sea of physical violence by many multiple political parties’ private militias (like the Nazi’s Brownshirts and the Steel Helmet faction) in the late 1920s into the 1930s. The Nazis eventually won this battle and also did amazingly well at the ballot box in 1932. The German constitutional government, with quite a few notable exceptions, held together fairly well until a combination of events such as Hitler becoming Reich Chancellor, the famous Reichstag fire of the German parliament building, Goring’s illegal manipulation of the Reichstag, resulted in the signing of the Enabling Act that tore the Weimar Republic’s constitution into shreds.
My argument is that the American constitution has been torn apart in a silent fashion by Congress, by the Supreme Court, and of course by President Bush, but historically speaking we are at the end of a long time of unconstitutional acts stretching back much, much farther back than 8 years. People talk about how the United States has all these great checks and balances, but I argue it is now obvious we now only have one check and balance remaining. That is the true keepers of the Constitution, us. Remember, the House and Senate just passed a key, highly important bill where 80-95% of Americans were in opposition! And the House basically changed their minds and passed the same act they rejected 4 days earlier just because the Senate, led by McBama, added a bunch or earmarks, pork, Christmas tree ornaments, bribes – whatever you want to call them. There’s still time, we still have hope, we still have freedom of speech, and I also have hope that our own soldiers when ordered will refuse to fire on us. On that note, I’ll get off my Soap Box. :)
FUN FACT: In the post WW1 years up until when Hitler was given power as Reich Chancellor election turnout hovered around 80-85%, so you cannot say Germans were politically apathetic! The political situation of this time was quite intriguing. Evans writes the Nazis were really on the decline when Hitler took power, but a series of "necessary evil" decisions by the government and the voters combined with luck and skillful propaganda led to the body count in the photo you see above, although of course I am over simplifying things. If you are still curious, read the book!
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
As always, unlike the NFL, the author grants full permission to allow any accounts of, rebroadcasts, retransmissions, repostings in part or full of this article to your blog or anywhere else in order to promote the Restoration of our Republic.
Veritas numquam perit. Veritas odit moras. Veritas vincit. Truth never perishes. Truth hates delay. Truth conquers.
US Soldier 2008 Body Count in Afghanistan Sets All-Time High Published: October 5, 2008 Imagine you are in a room, alone with 20 American soldiers for one day. At sunset, all their bodies thud to the floor, stone dead. At dawn, 20 more enter the room and again die at sunset. It repeats every day for 7 years. It will repeat tomorrow. This is what I know of their story, their sad statistics.
HEY! CONGRESS! Al-Qaeda does NOT have an Air Force! Published: September 30, 2008 The US House Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired a meeting published as "Defeating al-Qaeda's Air Force: Pakistan's F-16 Program in the Fight Against Terrorism." The Champion of the Constitution reports on what this meeting covered, what it really demonstrated, and how it connects with the dream of Ron Paul, Dwight Eisenhower, myself and who knows? perhaps even you.
Spill a Soda, Go to Jail for a Year Published: September 27, 2008 The latest strange-but-true antics of oppression from our dear Police State. Check out the story of the infamous soda-spiller at a Veteran's Affairs Hospital in Idaho.
Save Ron Paul's Voice - A Money Matrix Addendum Published: September 28, 2008 Learn how by reading. Article is intended as a poke-in-the-eye for members of the Ron Paul Revolution who complain about the bailouts and the financial, banking, and housing crises and do not realize that they may in fact be hypocrites.
I never noticed, until I focused On everything you did, you said, You lit the fuse inside my head! Thank you for reminding me of why I'm sick inside! Thank you for the venom, did you think it would paralyze? These scars I scratch, I tear, are there under my skin Where you've always been! Thank you for reminding me to sin with a grin! - from Shinedown, "Sin with a Grin" If seeking truth is treason in the empire of lies, I am one happy sinner. Spit the venom back out, we don't need it anymore!
When the truth walks away, everybody stays! Cause the truth about the world is that crime does pay! So if you walk away, who is gonna stay? Cause I'd like to think the world is a better place! I'd like to leave the world as a better place!
The views expressed in this
article are those of Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution only and do not represent
the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Jake Towne, the Champion of the Constitution is
solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an
employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
Thank you so much for your kind words; Dr. Lawson certainly appreciates the article. If you have any questions please feel free to email me (ray.mckinnon@lawsonforcongress.com) or call the campaign headquarters at 919.481.1177
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Madame Speaker, only in Washington could a bill demonstrably worse than its predecessor be brought back for another vote and actually expect to gain votes. That this bailout was initially defeated was a welcome surprise, but the power-brokers in Washington and on Wall Street could not allow that defeat to be permanent. It was most unfortunate that this monstrosity of a bill, loaded up with even more pork, was able to pass.