US in Extremists' Hands: Ron and Rand Paul the Only Moderates in Washington

I was in the gym this evening and watched CNN for a few minutes.  In that few minutes I heard the phrase "Republican extremists" more than half a dozen times.  I do not consider CNN a news channel, but even for Democratic propagandists the shrill advocacy sounded extreme. 

The American government is in the hands of extremists.  Spending has increased by 50% in less than a decade, yet the cranks in Washington and their cheer leaders in the legacy media believe that everything that the federal government spends money on, from trillions in subsidies to Wall Street, to billions in subsidies to failed automobile firms, to hundreds of millions in pointless government bureaucracies, is essential. 

John Tate of Ron Paul 2012 just e-mailed:

As Congress and the White House cut another "deal" to benefit their Wall Street buddies and further empower Big Government-loving lobbyists, Ron Paul has once again strongly condemned the status quo and promised to implement legitimate changes if elected President.

I hope you'll take a moment to read his statement below and then pass it on to your family and friends to show them that Ron Paul is the leader we need in the White House.

After you read the statement, let your representative and senators know you support Ron Paul's call for fiscal sanity.

Tell them to reject this latest sellout and instead join Dr. Paul in fighting to balance the budget and return government to its constitutional limits.

You can reach them by calling the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

And you can help us recruit millions of more voters for Dr. Paul by contributing today at www.RonPaul2012.com.  Every dollar goes toward growing our campaign, spreading Ron Paul's message of freedom, and winning this race.

A few days ago Matt Hawes of the Campaign for Liberty urged against the GOP's agreement on the debt ceiling:

Why is the GOP leadership scrambling for support? Because they know the American people are outraged at yet another surrender and are putting historic pressure on Republican members to reject any business as usual proposal that will keep our country running full steam ahead toward economic disaster.

I hope you contact your representative today with one simple message. When threatened to “get in line” to support the statist quo and presented with the leadership’s plan today, tell them to just say “no.”

No to phony deals.

No to more debt.

No to more runaway spending.

No to selling out our futures so they can make an unpopular, desperate president happy.

To try to pacify those who actually want to solve our nation’s problems, the leadership put together a plan that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates will reduce the deficit by $917 billion.

Over the next ten years.

Meanwhile, they’ll let the President have a $900 billion increase in the debt ceiling – right away.

But wait! The leadership is bragging that their plan will reduce the Fiscal Year 2012 budget deficit by a whole $22 billion – in what’s expected to be an over $1 trillion deficit.

That is, frankly, insulting.

You know how you convince people to “get in line”?

You lead.

Real leadership wouldn’t require a panicked scramble that involves cursing at the people you courted to get power less than a year ago.

Real leadership wouldn’t require threatening your fellow members of Congress.

Real leadership during this economic crisis would inspire the American people, who would take care of putting the pressure on their elected officials because they would see that you were willing to fight for legitimate change.

Real leadership would follow Senator Rand Paul’s example by calling for at least $500 billion in cuts this year and an immediate, fundamental change in how government operates.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough of being told I’m “extreme” because I think it’s fiscally responsible to drastically cut spending when we’re trillions of dollars in debt.

So, please, join me in contacting Congress to urge our representatives to oppose the House Republican Leadership’s so-called “plan.”

Over half a million Americans have “gotten in line” with the freedom message by joining Campaign for Liberty because they know we are fighting for solutions – not surrender.

If the House Republican Leadership expects people to join them, then they should start trying to give people something worth following. 

xxx

Let us face the facts, my friends. The United States is in the hands of insane extremists. Led by a Wall Street owned and ignorance purveying media, the American public is hocking its freedom and its financial welfare. In the end, moderates like Paul will be proven right. But many Americans are going to personally suffer, and they only have themselves to blame.

Attacking Liberty, Indiana Supreme Court Overlooks Patriot Act

Jim Crum, one of my Chicago correspondents and a blogger on American Thinker, forwarded me Barnes v. State of Indiana,  a case that was decided in Indiana's Supreme Court, the state's highest court.  In tandem with the Democratic Party-dominated Senate's decision to renew the Patriot Act, the case illustrates the American judiciary's indifference to liberty and its cooperation with the Bush-Obama administration's totalitarian agenda.  The American court system needs to be reconstituted.  States' rights need to be renewed and the US Supreme Court eliminated.  The courts are not the friend of freedom or of the American people.

The facts of the Barnes case come out of a Law and Order episode.  In November 2007 Barnes had gotten into an argument with his wife, Mary, and she called the police, telling them that Barnes had thrown things but there had been no violence. By the time police arrived, Barnes had left the apartment. Upon questioning, Barnes yelled to the the police that they were not needed because he was leaving.  Mary appeared, giving him a duffle bag, and then returned to the Barnes apartment. Barnes and Mary reentered the apartment and Barnes told the police that they could not enter.  Mary told Barnes to "just let the police in."  When the police entered Barnes resisted violently. The police used a Taser and subdued Barnes. He was charged with battery on a police officer, resisting law enforcement, disorderly conduct, and interference with reporting a crime, all class A misdemeanors. 

As part of the trial, Barnes wanted to give this instruction to the jury:
 

When an arrest is attempted by means of a forceful and unlawful entry into a citizen‘s home, such entry represents the use of excessive force, and the arrest cannot be considered peaceable. Therefore, a citizen has the right to reasonably resist the unlawful entry. 

The trial court did not permit Barnes to give the instruction. The jury found Barnes guilty. Barnes then appealed, and the Indiana Court of Appeals found that the instruction should have been given, and its omission invalidated the convictions, ordering a new trial. The Supreme Court then reviewed the case (prior to any new trial) to determine whether a new trial was needed.

The Supreme Court's reasoning goes:

Now this Court is faced for the first time with the question of whether Indiana should recognize the common-law right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers. We conclude that public policy disfavors any such right. Accordingly, the trial court‘s refusal to give Barnes‘s tendered instruction was not error.

The English common-law right to resist unlawful police action existed for over three hundred years, and some scholars trace its origin to the Magna Carta in 1215....The United States Supreme Court recognized this right in Bad Elk v. United States, 177 U.S. 529, 535 (1900): ―If the officer had no right to arrest, the other party might resist the illegal attempt to arrest him, using no more force than was absolutely necessary to repel the assault constituting the attempt to arrest. The Supreme Court has affirmed this right as recently as 1948. United States v. Di Re, 332 U.S. 581, 594 (1948) (One has an undoubted right to resist an unlawful arrest, and courts will uphold the right of resistance in proper cases).

In the 1920s, legal scholarship began criticizing the right as valuing individual liberty over physical security of the officers. Hemmens & Levin...One scholar noted that the common-law right came from a time where ―resistance to an arrest by a peace officer did not involve the serious dangers it does today. Sam B. Warner, The Uniform Arrest Act, 28 Va. L. Rev. 315, 330 (1942). The Model Penal Code eliminated the right on two grounds: ―(1) the development of alternate remedies for an aggrieved arrestee, and (2) the use of force by the arrestee was likely to result in greater injury to the person without preventing the arrest... In response to this criticism, a majority of states have abolished the right via statutes in the 1940s and judicial opinions in the 1960s.

We believe that a right to resist an unlawful police entry into a home is against public policy and is incompatible with modern Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Nowadays, an aggrieved arrestee has means unavailable at common law for redress against unlawful police action. E.g., Warner...(citing the dangers of arrest at common law—indefinite detention, lack of bail, disease-infested prisons, physical torture—as reasons for recognizing the right to resist); State v. Hobson, 577 N.W.2d 825, 835–36 (Wis. 1998) (citing the following modern developments: (1) bail, (2) prompt arraignment and determination of probable cause, (3) the exclusionary rule, (4) police department internal review and disciplinary procedure, and (5) civil remedies). We also find that allowing resistance unnecessarily escalates the level of violence and therefore the risk of injuries....Accordingly, the trial court‘s failure to give Barnes‘s proffered jury instruction on this right was not error.

The Indiana Court's reasoning is specious, because the United States has continued to violate the Consititution and common law liberties through the Patriot Act.  By granting itself leeway to violate any American's rights merely by calling him a terrorist, the Patriot Act overturns all of the Indiana Court's reasoning.  It does not permit bail. It permits indefinite detention. It does not require prompt arraignment. It does not require  the rules of evidence.  Rather than weakening  the liberties that Indiana grants to its citizens, the Supreme Court should be strengthening them in light of current events.

I do not speak for the people of Indiana, but they, like New Yorkers, seem to have allowed themselves to be subjugated to an illegitimate legal system.

With respect to the Patriot Act, the Democratic Party-dominated Senate again proves that it opposes civil liberties. With all of the Democrats' claims during the Bush years that they didn't like Bush because he curtailed liberty, the Demcorats have not repealed the Patriot Act, despite ample opportunity to do so. Obama has turned out to be an anti-Semitic version of Bush. 

The Patriot Act's chief opponent in the Senate is a Republican, Rand Paul.  John Tate of the Campaign for Liberty writes:

On Thursday, Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell collaborated with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in a backroom pact to extend the so-called "Patriot" Act - with as little debate as possible - for 4 years before some of the most liberty-savaging components expire on Friday, May 27.

The surveillance state's ability to snoop through your business records, pry into your library book checkouts, monitor so-called "lone wolfs," and spy on your personal communications through roving wiretaps will be extended until 2015, which "coincidentally" is not an election year.

So much for all that lofty rhetoric last fall about adhering to the Constitution.

By taking a chainsaw to the Fourth Amendment, they have pledged their allegiance to the Surveillance State.

Even more galling, a cloture vote is scheduled for 5PM Monday, because they believed Senator Rand Paul would be out of town, and they would have a free hand to slip extending the government's domestic spying capabilities through without anyone noticing.

And that has always been the plan from the get-go.

So it goes. The Democrats lied to their constituents and claimed to oppose the Patriot Act, which legalizes searches and seizures. At the same time, the courts in Indiana brush aside one of the few remaining defenses against police incursions on freedom.  Democrats crow about how wonderful Obama is while the Democratic Party out-bushes Bush. The Republicans can't figure out what the meaning of the word "freedom" is. So American freedom dies.

Campaign for Liberty Protests QE2

November 1, 2010


Dear Friend of Liberty,

While everyone is focused on Election Day, the Federal Reserve will be meeting this Tuesday and Wednesday to decide if it will pursue another round of "quantitative easing."

Dubbed "QE2" by analysts, this means the Fed will once again pump money into the economy by buying government bonds.

The Fed thinks this will stimulate the economy by lowering interest rates (which are already near zero) – the same kind of interference that led to the housing bubble and this crisis.

And the same kind of interference that has only made this crisis worse.

Despite all of the talk about "change" in Washington, our leaders seem capable of only using plays from a tired, old, Big Government book.

As we’ve written before, this hasn’t been a very good year for the Fed.  Whether it’s watching the U.S. Senate reconfirm Ben Bernanke with the fewest votes of any Fed chairman, seeing 80% of the American people voice their support for Audit the Fed, or listening to increased criticism about its QE2 plans, it’s clear we’ve got the nation’s most secretive institution playing defense for the first time.

The massive groundswell of support we created for Audit the Fed made it almost impossible for the vast majority of the U.S. House to refuse to cosponsor Dr. Paul’s original legislation, H.R. 1207.

But talking a good game for the cameras and backing it up are two very different things, and when their support was required to keep a thorough audit in the House financial reform bill, many of those cosponsors turned their backs on you and voted against it.

Click here to see our "Hall of Shame" displaying who thought their Big Government agenda was more important than true transparency.

 



It’s long past time America threw out the federal government’s outdated playbook of ineffective interference. 

To strengthen our economy, we must drastically cut spending, cut taxes, and restore sound money.  Only then will we increase prosperity, promote growth, and end this economic crisis.

In Liberty,



John Tate

President

P.S. The liberty movement has an historic opportunity to hold big government politicians accountable.  Make your voice heard tomorrow by getting out there and voting for liberty.

P.P.S. Unlike the Fed, Campaign for Liberty cannot just print money out of thin air.  Click here to chip in a contribution of $10 to help C4L fight for sound money and to Audit the Fed.

Senate Republicans Ready to Jump On Democrats' Big Government Regulation Gravy Train

I just received this letter from John Tate of the Campaign for Liberty.  Read it, take action and weep. Can American democracy have failed this badly that the response to the failures of the Federal Reserve-Investment Banking nexus is to strengthen both? 

April 22, 2010

Dear Mitchell ,

Despite all the limited government rhetoric you're hearing from the Republican Party these days, it appears that Senate Republican leaders, including Richard Shelby, are more than ready and willing to work with Chris Dodd to empower the Fed, add more layers of federal bureaucracy to our economy, and set the stage for future crises.

According to Talking Points Memo, Shelby has stated, "We're very close to a deal and there will be a substantial number of Republicans that go along with it."

The White House is doing everything it can in the media to cram yet another powergrab down the American people's throats. A vote could come at any time, so it's crucial that liberty activists make their voices heard immediately.

Keep reading for more information on how to contact your senators.

Chris Dodd's legislation, which should be called the "Fed Empowerment Act," ignores the true cause of the recent financial downturn: interference in our economy and manipulation of our currency by Congress, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve.

For all the talk of "change" in D.C., our elected officials are following the same tired old script: if the federal government created the problem, the only solution must be to give it even more power.

Now Senate leaders want to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will be housed in and funded by the Fed.

And the Dodd bill would create a "Financial Stability Oversight Council" that would have the ability to require nonbank financial companies to be under the Federal Reserve's supervision based not on their current status, but on what effect they may potentially have on the economy!

Who knows how many businesses will soon be targeted and broken up, under the guise of "reform," solely for standing up to the federal government.

Recently, Washington Examiner journalist Tim Carney has done some terrific work exposing the corporatism behind the White House's rhetoric.

To see how Obama's "reform" plan will actually benefit the big banks and Wall Street firms, especially Goldman Sachs, at the expense of smaller companies and the rest of us, click here to read his piece entitled "Goldman rallies for Obama in Wall Street 'reform'."

Don't let Chris Dodd strengthen the federal government and further entangle the Federal Reserve in our economy without a fight.

Remind your elected officials that any serious effort at true financial reform should start with thoroughly auditing the Federal Reserve.

Click here to get contact information for your senators. Tell them to reject Chris Dodd's Fed Empowerment Act and to stand up for transparency by working for a standalone vote on Audit the Fed, S. 604!

The American people have already suffered too much because of Washington's previous interference in our economy.

Together, let's take a stand for freedom and true reform by opposing the Dodd Fed Empowerment Act and pushing for a long overdue standalone vote on Audit the Fed.

In Liberty,

John Tate
President

Repeal Obamacare (and Lots More Too)

A flurry of e-mails are in my inbox calling for a repeal of Obamacare, law suits against it and efforts to unseat Blue Dog Democrats and other vulnerable Congressional flunkies who voted for it. I certainly hope these efforts, one and all, come to fruition. But if repeal is in the air, perhaps a few additional things can be repealed. Such as the Bush prescription drug plan; the bailout; the Department of Energy; the Department of Labor; and the Department of Education. As well, how about a 15% across the board cut in government payroll and a rescinding of 15 laws? Which laws? Heck, there are thousands to choose from. It shouldn't be hard. Pick the 15 most expensive.

David Horowitz

David Horowitz writes:

"You know the problem - the arrogant assault on our constitution by Barack Obama and his minions in the House and Senate. The way they forced the national takeover of our health care system is the greatest threat to our democracy since Russia placed nuclear missiles on Cuba.

"Yes! It's that serious. But as a longtime supporter of the Freedom Center, I'm certain you understand this.

"What I need today is for you to help me print more of the two most powerful and popular booklets the Center has ever published. I'm talking about Obama's Rules for Revolution and The Art of Political War for Tea Parties.

If you want to help David H. go to this link: https://secure.donationreport.com/donation.html?key=OMG7PRA9EQQA

American Center for Law and Justice

The ACLJ is a Christian rights organization. Jay Sekulow writes:

"I'm sorry to say, Congress and the President have let you down.

"The worst part is that this law includes a mandate that FORCES Americans to participate - meaning you could be forced to buy a health care policy that funds abortions!

"But let me assure you: THIS IS NOT OVER.

"If you want to join their efforts to fight the abortion provisions in the law click here.

Mitt Romney writes:

"President Obama's healthcare bill is unhealthy for America. Without a single Republican vote in the House or the Senate, he pushed through a bill that millions of Americans do not want, and for which we cannot conceivably pay.

"Health care reform shouldn't mean higher taxes, cuts to our seniors on Medicare, insurance price controls or greater federal involvement in our lives. But unfortunately that's just what we're getting.

"America has been taken down the wrong path by President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, which is why it's critical we elect fiscally-responsible conservative leaders in November who will repeal this bill and restore commonsense principles to healthcare.

"That is why I am writing to you today to announce a new initiative at my Free and Strong America PAC called "Prescription for Repeal." Over the coming weeks and months, my PAC will be providing GOP candidates with the support and funding they need to defeat Democrats who supported ObamaCare."

If you want to contribute to Mr. Romney's Prescription for Repeal PAC click here.

Americans for Limited Government

Robert Romano of Americans for Limited Government sent out a press release supporting Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (remember from last fall?) who is filing a law suit against the law's individual mandates. Romano writes:

"March 22nd, 2010, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today condemned the House of Representatives for enacting what he termed "the government takeover of health care that will ration treatment, increase the cost of premiums, and force Americans onto government-run insurance.

"Last night, the House passed the Senate version of "ObamaCare" 219 to 212. Wilson encouraged states, like Virginia, to pursue their plans to sue against the constitutionality of the federal mandate that individuals purchase health insurance.

"Wilson said that the "Constitution does not permit Congress to enact any mandate for individuals to purchase anything, let alone health insurance.

"Wilson said that the "Constitution does not permit Congress to enact any mandate for individuals to purchase anything, let alone health insurance."

Amazingly Romano does not have a link asking for a donation.

Campaign For Liberty

John Tate of C4L writes:

"Late Sunday night, the U.S. House of Representatives abandoned the Constitution, made a mockery of the words of the Founders, and drew a line in the sand as it passed the Senate’s health care bill 219-212.

"The morning after the federal government acted yet again to increase its control over our lives, the freedom movement has two clear options.

"Option #1 is to give President Obama, Rahm Emanuel, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid exactly what they want by throwing in the towel, surrendering any hopes of free market health care reform, and taking the pressure off an exhausted Congress.

"Option #2 is to rededicate our efforts, work harder than ever to spread the message, turn up the heat, and give them the fight of their political careers.

"You see, our elected officials are used to enduring knockdown, drag-out battles over controversial issues, and the one thing they always count on after a contentious vote is that the phone lines will go silent and their inboxes will slowly be whittled down. After all, they know our side lost, and the bill will soon be signed into law.

"That may have been true about the legislative fights of old, but our Revolution must not allow this dangerous relic of past political thinking to continue.

"Read the roll call of the House vote here. Get contact information for your representative here.

"If your congressman voted for Nancy Pelosi’s power grab, contact him right away today by phone and email and let him know what you think of his failure to uphold his oath to the Constitution.

"Remind him that you’re watching and will do everything in your power to hold him accountable for his vote and to make sure his constituents know he believes they should either carry government-approved insurance or answer to the IRS.

"Tell him his actions have made you more committed than ever to fighting for free market health care reforms like those contained in C4L’s Operation Health Freedom.

"And make sure he knows this will be the first of many calls, emails, and faxes he can expect in the coming days and months.

"If you are able, please help Campaign for Liberty spread the word, hold our elected officials accountable, and carry on the battle for health freedom by donating today.

"Only your continued support will keep us at the forefront of the fight to push back against the statists’ advances and reclaim our liberties.

"I don’t know about you, but I’m sick and tired of being lectured on responsibility and fairness by reckless politicians who think money can be generated out of thin air forever and who believe the Declaration’s statement concerning “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” means we have to bow the knee to their every whim.

"They’ve staked their claim and left no doubt about where they stand.

"Now it’s our turn to prove we will never give up on our principles.

Principles that don’t include forcing your neighbor to buy whatever good or service you think they should have under penalty of IRS action. Principles that reaffirm the fundamental right of each American to live their life and pursue their dreams without constant government interference.

Please, contact your representative today and clearly state your independence from politics as usual.

Get Liberty.org

Get Liberty.org
writes:

"The die has been cast. Last night, despite overwhelming opposition by the American people to the government taking over the nation’s entire health care system, the House of Representatives voted 219 to 212 to do just that, adopting the Senate version of ObamaCare.

"Despite the victory lap House Democrats took on Capitol Hill last night, and Barack Obama at the White House, the American people should not be disheartened. It was for their efforts alone that this process divided the Congressional majority for a year, making it long, bloody, and costly.

"34 Democrats joined with 178 Republicans to cast bipartisan opposition to the measure. That is no mistake. Without the tenacity of the American people, expressed in the tea parties, at the town halls, and in hundreds of thousands of phone calls, emails, letters, and faxes sent to Washington and district-level offices, this bill would have surely passed a year ago.


George Phillips (Congressional Candidate NY 22nd CD)

"Despite widespread opposition from the American people and being brokered through a series of back room deals, Congress passed the Democrats' health care legislation yesterday.

"My opponent Maurice Hinchey came down in favor of the bill, and in a close vote, was one of the deciding voices.

"Hinchey refused to hold Health Care Town Hall meetings last summer, and in doing so I believe he refused to listen to the concerns of his constituents.

"I've signed a pledge stating I'll vote to repeal this bill when elected and fight for solutions that truly lower health care costs without a massive government take over.

"We're approaching an important March 31st fundraising deadline where a public report will be filed with the FEC.

"Send a message to Maurice Hinchey about your opposition to the bill by donating to our campaign today.

"Donate through clicking on our website or sending donations to our PO Box below.

"Thank you for your support.

"Sincerely,

"George Phillips"

Let us repeal health reform and file law suits. Let us go further and aim to repeal all of the legislation passed since 1970.