Fwd: Early Victory in State Sovereignty Battle

Here's a message from the Campaign for Liberty about their role in the recent movement for States Rights through station of the 9th and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

Also, just a heads up for any readers I might happen to have, I am going to have to slow down my blogging. I need to find a job and stop disappointing my wife by hardly ever doing any house work while she's away. So I'll be doing one more post tomorrow and then that's it until next Sunday or Monday.

In Love and Liberty from Bergen, Hordaland, Norge,

Christopher D. Osborn

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Campaign for Liberty
Date: Fri, Feb 13, 2009 at 10:56 PM
Subject: Early Victory in State Sovereignty Battle
To: Christopher Osborn

February 13, 2009

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Please take a moment to read the following report from C4L Interim State Coordinator Kirk Shelley regarding recent action in the Oklahoma legislature to uphold the state's sovereignty under the Constitution's Tenth Amendment.

Similar action is being taken all over the country, as resistance to the federal government's continual intrusion into our lives grows. I urge all our Oklahoma members to immediately contact their state representatives in support of final passage for House Joint Resolution 1003. More details are included in this report.

If you are in a state where such a resolution has not been introduced, contact your state legislators today and tell them to stand up for your state's sovereignty.

In Liberty,

John Tate

President, Campaign for Liberty

*******************************

Paul Supporters Lead Fight to Restore State Sovereignty in Oklahoma

"State House to consider historic bill to take back state's rights under the 10th Amendment to the Constitution"

Oklahoma City – For far too long, the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been known as the forgotten amendment. With power grab after power grab, Congress has slowly eroded the rights of states to keep powers not specifically granted to the federal government.

As more and more citizens and state legislators across the country begin to realize that this loss of states rights is at the core of many of our nation's problems, those legislators have set out to stop the out of control Congress and restore some sense of sanity and constitutional protections to the individual states.

On February 11th, Oklahoma became the first state to act on legislation to do just that. This action was directly brought about by a Ron Paul supporter, and it is Campaign for Liberty members that will see this battle all the way through.

You see, the 10th Amendment in our nation's Bill of Rights has long been despised by our big government foes. That amendment was drafted to enshrine in the Constitution what the Founders and the original states already knew: any power not expressly given to the federal government is kept by the states and the people. Although a lot of freedom-minded individuals have long fought for full compliance with this amendment in modern times, there has been a void of leadership and a lack of focused action - until now.

That void has been filled by the formation of Campaign for Liberty, which was born from Ron Paul's galvanizing 2008 Presidential campaign.

Campaign for Liberty is fighting in state legislatures across the country and in Congress to preserve and restore constitutional rights to all citizens, to subdue an out of control federal government, and to win back our lost freedom.

The fight in Oklahoma is a great example of the kind of battles we face in the next stages of the Ron Paul Revolution.

With the support of Dr. Paul's activists throughout the state, the Oklahoma legislature has taken up a vital bill to put Congress in its place and to remind it that there are limits to federal power.

This past Wednesday, the Oklahoma House Rules Committee unanimously supported House Joint Resolution 1003 (http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2009-10HB/HJR1003_int.rtf), which expresses the sovereignty of the State of Oklahoma and clearly calls for an end to unconstitutional federal government mandates.

Representative Charles Key (R-Oklahoma City), the sponsor of this bill, has spearheaded a national movement to put the federal government on notice that the separate states are sick and tired of having their actions dictated by Washington, D.C.

Rep. Charles Key is a supporter of Dr. Paul – in fact, he was the first elected official in Oklahoma to endorse Ron Paul's candidacy for President (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa5sCO-3ly0) because of Dr. Paul's strong support for the US Constitution.

Oklahoma IS an example of how the R3volution is leading the battle to restore constitutional rights and freedoms to our citizens. The fight to reclaim our Republic and restore our Constitution is just beginning, and, with the continued efforts of Campaign for Liberty members all across the country, it is a fight that we can and will win.

Kirk Shelley

Oklahoma Interim State Coordinator, Campaign for Liberty

2008 State Coordinator, Ron Paul for President

P.S. If you live in Oklahoma, please contact your State House representatives and senators immediately. You can find their contact information here: http://www.capitolconnect.com/oklahoma/default.aspx

In Liberty,

Christopher D. Osborn
Bergen, Hordaland, Norge

Newly Educated Fred Thompson?

Here we have a fairly new video of Fred Thompson mocking the liberal idea that spending and printing money and not saving will save us all:

On the other hand, we have him below mocking Ron Paul on these very same issues.  



I want to know, is Sen. Thompson newly educated, or is he just acting?  If it's not just acting, I would love to see him join Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty, or perhaps donate to Downsize D.C.

Also, here's a messege from Tom Dyson of Daily Wealth:

The Stupidity of Government Intervention
By Tom Dyson

The only other time I'd ever seen this was in my school history books, learning about the Great Depression...

In September 2007, Britain's most overleveraged mortgage bank – Northern Rock – asked the government for an emergency loan. When its customers heard the news, they rushed to the nearest branch of Northern Rock to withdraw their savings. They formed queues around the block.

The next day, the government announced it was guaranteeing Northern Rock's deposits, and the panic went away. Then a funny thing happened...

Suddenly, people started draining money from all the other banks in Britain and depositing it at Northern Rock!

The government intended to make the financial system stronger by shoring up Northern Rock. But it made the financial system weaker by undermining the financial strength of all other banks. In the end, the government ended up nationalizing the whole system.

The same thing happened in Ireland. It was the weakest financial system in the euro-zone. Then it guaranteed all its deposits. All the money in Europe started flowing into Ireland. This weakened the banking systems in the other European countries, and they had to guarantee their bank accounts, too.

In the United States, the government is doing everything it can to help homeowners stay in their houses. These people couldn't afford their houses in the first place, but the government wants to keep them happy. So it won't let the banks foreclose their properties, and it's making banks reduce the principal on the loans.

Would you lend money to a home buyer knowing the government won't let you take the house if he doesn't pay you... or that the borrower doesn't have to pay the whole loan back? No way. Not unless you could charge an astronomical interest rate. The government won't let you do that either. Government regulations cap the interest rates you can charge on a mortgage.

So the government thinks it's helping unfreeze the credit markets. But it's actually making them worse.

Here's the point: Government intervention makes the whole system weaker.

Intervention kidnaps money that would otherwise be available to businesspeople and entrepreneurs... and it invests it in places that businesspeople and entrepreneurs would never put their money... like uncompetitive car companies or failed banks. Then it creates unintended consequences that make everyone poorer.

Government stimulus does not stimulate, it stifles. So when you look at the current levels of government intervention all around the world... India, Australia, China, Taiwan, Britain, Europe, and the biggest of all in America... you have to conclude it will lead to the biggest loss of productivity ever.

When the government controls an economy's financial decision-making, no one makes any money. This is why the government interventions haven't had any effect so far. It's also why stock prices will fall to valuations far lower than at normal bear-market bottoms of the past few decades.

So I'm not ready to call a bottom in the stock market. I'm only willing to buy a stock if it has a balance sheet with no debt, it generates tons of cash flow from selling a simple product, and it pays a dividend I know cannot be cut under any circumstance.

Besides that, I'm sticking to gold and cash.

Good investing,

Tom

Happy New Year Everybody!

From Bergen, Norge,

Christopher D. osborn

Post Election Reactions, Part 1

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h November 4th, 2008

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Quote of the Day: "Under democracy, one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right." Source: "Minority Report" (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1997 [1956]), p. 222

Subject: A state of permanent preparedness for impeachment

It's Election Day. What should we say about it? We're tempted to declare it a day of mourning, but instead, we're going to argue that today is the day to adopt a state of permanent preparedness for impeachment.

As of yet, neither a Democrat nor a Republican has been elected President. That outcome will be revealed later today. But before that happens, we should commit ourselves to closely monitor the actions of the new President, and to be ready to call for his impeachment, should that become warranted.

We should be prepared to do this regardless of partisan loyalties.

What warrants impeachment? Different people will have different standards. We plan to maintain a running "bill of impeachment," listing broken laws, Constitutional violations, and abuses of power. It will be up to you to agree or disagree with the items we choose to list, and to decide whether or not any one item or group of items justifies impeachment.

It's possible, given your level of sensitivity, that the new President could do something on his first day that would immediately warrant impeachment in your eyes, or that he will never do enough bad things to justify such an action.

The call will be yours.

Some people reasonably object that impeachment is too vulnerable to partisan ax grinding. There are also many things for which a president could be impeached of which the impeachers themselves will be guilty. It is precisely these concerns that prevented us from advocating the impeachment of President Bush. But . . .

We have come to believe, after long consideration, that this was a mistake on our part. President Bush should have been impeached. In our view, he richly deserved it, as have many previous presidents, both Democrat and Republican.

The Founders provided impeachment as one of many checks on government power. In doing so they were painfully aware of the dangers of faction, or what we call partisanship. They must also have known that no president would ever be impeached by a saintly Congress. But they provided for the impeachment power anyway. We think we know why . . .

Unchecked government power is so toxic that it must be limited by every means available. Impeachment is one tool for doing so, even when it is tainted by partisanship and hypocrisy.

Which is better, to allow a president to run wild, or to check his criminality through impeachment, even if the impeachers are hypocrites with partisan motives? We would choose the latter outcome.

But there is one other factor to consider. The mere threat of impeachment could itself regulate presidential actions, long before formal impeachment proceedings became necessary. This is especially true if the President and Congress begin hearing a growing cry for impeachment from a large number of citizens.

Calling for impeachment, when each of us feels it is justified, could serve as a powerful warning to both the President and Congress.

As of today, there is no "bill of indictment" for an impeachment proceeding. No such list can even be compiled for the new president until after January 20, 2009. But what we can do today is warn Congress that we intend to be vigilant this time. Toward that end . . .

We've created a permanent impeachment campaign, where we will list, if necessary, any potentially impeachable offenses by the incoming president. In the meantime, the message-to-Congress for this campaign reads as follows . . .

"I'm serving notice that I'll be watching the actions of the incoming president very closely. Should he break laws, violate the Constitution, or abuse his power, I'll be urging you, early and often, to start impeachment proceedings."

If you like the idea of maintaining a "permanent state of impeachment preparedness" then use our Educate the Powerful System to send this message to Congress.

If you feel that President Bush should have been impeached, then you could, if you wish, use your personal comments to state this opinion, and any supporting justifications you care to mention.

This is the most appropriate action we can suggest on Election Day.

Thank you for being a member of the growing Downsize DC army.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

My comments: Sounds like a good idea, but I don't think we'll be needing this provision in the next 4 years. I really hope I'm right.

The Heritage Foundation November 5th 2008

Dear Christopher,

We conservatives have our work cut out for us to hold back the liberal tide, and The Heritage Foundation is prepared to fight back.

Liberals have expanded their control of the Congress, and they have won control of the White House too.

The Left is sure to claim a mandate to impose its radical agenda on America—from the economy to energy to the war on terror, from the Supreme Court to taxes, health care and education.

If we are to fight back against the liberal onslaught, we need your support today. Our goal is to raise $80,000 towards this effort by November 15.

Help Heritage fight to defend conservative principles and advance conservative ideas with your gift today.

Triumphant liberals have already spelled out their plans:

• On the campaign trail, liberals called for tax increases, massive new government health care programs, drastic new environmental controls and more.
  
• Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts said, “we'll have to raise taxes ultimately” as a result of liberal spending increases. He also wants to cut defense spending by a quarter.
  
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she supports re-imposing the Fairness Doctrine—an onerous regulation that could silence conservatives on talk radio.
  
• Liberals of all stripes have pledged to enact the Employee Free Choice Act, a handout to big labor that eliminates the secret ballot in unionization elections.

The Heritage Foundation is ready to stand up to this challenge. We will not stray from our mission to fight for the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

We are ready to fight back against the liberals and advance our conservative principles. We will build on our 35-year record of success—from welfare reform to missile defense to tax cuts—and help get America back on track.

But we need your help if we are to raise $80,000 by November 15 to make this possible. Will you stand with us?

Make a contribution to help Heritage counter the liberal threat.

In Washington, there are no permanent victories and no permanent defeats. We must remain firmly committed to our principles in both good times and in bad. That’s why your help is so important.

Now more than ever, we are grateful for your support for our conservative principles and ideals. Without the support of conservatives like you, none of what we do would be possible.

Sincerely,

Edwin J. Feulner, Ph.D.
President

My comments: Honestly, I won't be donating, and not even for lack of money. If I donate any money to a political cause in the next 4 years, it'll probably be to DownsizeDC.

MoveOn.Org November 5th, 2008

Dear Christopher,

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Last night, together, we made history.

In the sun and the rain, from Virginia to Nevada, from New York to New Mexico, you knocked on doors, made phone calls and registered people who'd never voted in their lives. And you helped elect President Barack Obama.

So once again—thank you. Thank you for bringing our country back.

Tomorrow, we'll start on the next phase of this journey. But today, let's celebrate this moment. We've created a "Hope Wall"—a place where you can see what this victory means to other MoveOn members, and share your own thoughts and photos. Take a second right now to share your joy with the rest of us!

Here's one comment that pretty much sums it up:

I am so proud to be an American.—Edna B., Boynton Beach, Florida

Remember back in 2001 and 2002, when so many of you joined MoveOn? When President Bush had an 80% approval rating, when you held candles to stop a war the media was cheering on, when there were few politicians with the courage to stand up for the truth? Back then, a victory like this seemed impossible.

But yesterday you proved that nothing is impossible. If we stand up together and if we fight together and if we believe together, we can change the course of history.

Today, a new day has dawned in America.

Thank you for making it happen.

–Eli, Aaron, Adam G., Adam R., Aisling, Andrea, Anna, Ben, Carrie, Daniel, Dave, Erik, Ilyse, Joan, Justin, Karin, Laura, Lenore, Marika, Matt, Michael, Neil, Nick, Nita, Noah, Patrick, Patrick S., Perrin, Peter, Randall, Ray, Sam, Stephen, Tanya, and Wes

P.S. MoveOn members did a truly heroic amount of work on this campaign. Check out what you accomplished at www.moveon.org. It's amazing.

P.P.S. If the links above don't come through, click here for the Hope Wall:

http://pol.moveon.org/obama/hopeforum/?id=15059-10294791-IesoOXx&t=7

Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our 4.2 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

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PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. This email was sent to Christopher D. Osborn on November 5, 2008.

My comments: Uhh... you're welcome! ... ? Again, I actually voted for Bob Barr and would probably NEVER donate or volunteer for MoveOn.org. That said, I am glad of their victory in helping to elect Barack H. Obama.

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h November 6th, 2008

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Quote of the Day: "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." -- William Shakespeare

Subject: Not your usual post-election commentary

The media describes every election as historic, the most important in a generation, etc. When the voting is done they tell us a new era has dawned, that things will change, that nothing will ever be the same, blah, blah, blah.

One aspect of these claims is true, this time. It is both historic and meaningful that the United States has elected its first African-American president. We applaud and celebrate this. We think the significance of this event transcends mere symbolism. Otherwise, the election was what all other elections have been . . .

" . . . a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Can we support this harsh assessment? Consider . . .

The election thoroughly repudiated the Republican Party. They lost the White House in a landslide, and got clobbered in Congressional races. We might assume from this, if elections really produced change, that many Republican policies of the last eight years will be reversed. We predict that almost none of them will be.

The Republicans were responsible for . . .

* Enacting the largest new entitlement in decades -- the prescription drug program
* Passing social engineering schemes like "No Child Left Behind"
* Starting an un-provoked war
* Gutting constitutional liberties
* Running-up vast deficits

Will the Democrats reverse any of these actions? Sadly, we think the answer is "No." What, then, was the point of the election?

Was it merely to punish the Republicans while leaving their sins uncorrected? Was the purpose to give the Democrats permission to pursue all of their own pet projects for social engineering, and to spend, spend, spend to their hearts content?

Undoubtedly this last item is the message Democratic politicians will claim they heard. After all, they received a mandate, and if the mandate was not to pursue their dreams then the word has no meaning.

Of course, some voters can say, "Don't blame me, I voted Libertarian . . . or for the Constitution Party . . . or the Greens." Didn't these voters, at least, send a clear message about what they want?

We think not.

What does the average person assume when he or she sees third party candidates listed in his newspaper with tiny vote percentages next to their names? We think he or she assumes that . . .

"Those are fringe candidates with fringe ideas that no one supports. Therefore, I need not consider what they have to say."

The system is rigged against third parties. This guarantees low vote totals for those parties. It also guarantees that the ideas those parties represent will always be viewed as marginal.

Third parties don't promote ideas, they marginalize them!

Oh yes, we know all about the exceptions, like the Socialists and the Progressives, both of whom had ideas adopted by the major parties. But please notice, those ideas made the politicians, and even tax-funded intellectuals in the school system, MORE POWERFUL. That's the real reason those ideas were adopted; it wasn't because the Socialists and the Progressives managed to score a few points on Election Day.

So what does voting for partisan candidates actually accomplish? What does it communicate? As far as we can tell the answer is nothing, except that . . .

It gives the victims of the con game -- the American people -- an illusion of control. But we have no control -- no say so.

Voting in the partisan electoral contest merely gives sanction to the con-artists who constantly victimize us. That's the role of the voter, to sanction what the politicians do. That's it. It's like Emma Goldman said, "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal."

Is this the way you want things to be?

The ways of the future do not lie in the ways of the past. The ways of the past involved hoping the new boss would be different than the old boss. But many decades have come and gone, and the new boss has always been the same as the old boss. We should abandon the old ways and adopt new ways.

The way to a better future lies in withdrawing our consent and issuing direct orders to our supposed public servants. Votes send confusing signals. But plain talk is rarely misunderstood.

The new way involves building a new social force with the power to make public servants miserable. Withdraw consent. Issue orders. Make the public servant submit.

The politicians are busy right now convincing themselves that the public wants top-down, centralized, Democratic social engineering. Who can disabuse them of this notion? After all, the votes have been cast. The people have spoken.

Only YOU can disabuse the politicians of their self-serving interpretations of inarticulate votes. The Republicans were repudiated. Therefore, the things the Republicans did must also be repudiated. This should be the mandate for the new Congress. Fortunately, we have a vehicle for doing just that . . .

Ron Paul's "American Freedom Agenda Act" would repeal a good chunk of the bad things the Republicans did. Use our Educate the Powerful system to ask your elected representatives to pass this bill.

Use your personal comments to tell your elected representatives that the Republicans were repudiated, therefore the things the Republicans did must also be repudiated.

And stay tuned for new steps in a new direction, starting next week.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h
is the official email list of DownsizeDC.org, Inc. & Downsize DC Foundation

CONTRIBUTE to the Electronic Lobbyist project

http://www.DownsizeDC.org is sponsored by DownsizeDC.org, Inc. -- a non-profit educational organization promoting the ideas of individual liberty, personal responsibility, free markets, and small government.

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IF you have difficulties or inquiries, simply hit reply to this message. We're eager to help, including with requests to unsubscribe.

My comments: I don't like their cinicism on voting, but I still like their strategy. It doesn't matter who's in charge, asl long as they know whatWe The People want and that their position in power will be jeapordised if they don't do what We say. Some day I'll have money and be able to support them financially.

Vote YES on Question 1

Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty has endorsed the The Committee for Small Government's Small Government Act. Before you read the email they sent out though, let me show you exactly what it's going to say on your ballot. I'm an absentee voter, so I've already seen it and voted yes. I sent it off in the mail yesterday, and I hope it gets there on time.

QUESTION 1

LAW PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION

Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives before May 6, 2008?

SUMMARY

This proposed law would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for all categories of taxable income for the tax year beginning on or after January 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010.

The personal income tax applies to income received or gain realized by individuals and married couples, by estates of deceased persons, by certain trustees and other fiduciaries, by persons who are partners in and receive income from partnerships, by corporate trusts, and by persons who receive income as shareholders of "S corporations" as defined under federal tax law. The proposed law would not effect the tax due on income or gain realized in a tax year beginning before January 1, 2009.

The proposed law states that if any of its parts were declared invalid, the other parts would stay in effect.

A YES VOTE would reduce the state personal income tax rate to 2.65% for the tax year beginning on January 1, 2009, and would eliminate the tax for all tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2010.

A NO VOTE would make no change in state income tax laws.

It is my sincere belief that A YES VOTE on this law would be of great benefit to every citizen of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In fact, I believe that it would have a greater positive impact on the lives of Bay Staters than any other election or law to be decided on on this years ballot.

There are other questions on the ballot which are also very important, such as the presidency (Baldwin or Barr!), as well as QUESTION 2, A YES VOTE would replace criminal penalties for possession of one ounce or less of marjuana with a new system of civil penalties. However, for bay Staters anyway, QUESTION 1 would have the greatest effect, and so I will not be bothered with any further campaigning for any other political cause this voting season.

Now for a message from Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty and The Committee for Small Government.

October 24, 2008

[We wanted to pass along this email from our friends at The Committee for Small Government, who are working hard to end the state income tax in Massachusetts. —Campaign for Liberty]

Two people who share your values. About the writers of the message below:

Carla Howell and Michael Cloud are long-time Ron Paul supporters. They endorsed, campaigned for, donated to, and voted for Ron Paul for President. Carla Howell was a featured speaker at the December 6, 2007 Boston Tea Party Rally for Ron Paul for President at Faneuil Hall (on YouTube). Michael Cloud is a public speaker who has shared the stage with Dr. Paul a dozen times. Both Carla Howell and Michael Cloud joined Dr. Paul as co-plainiffs in the Supreme Court Case against the John McCain/Russ Feingold Campaign Reform Act.

+++++

Urgent Message to You from Two Strong Ron Paul Supporters

from Carla Howell and Michael Cloud

Dear Fellow Supporters of Ron Paul,

Ron Paul campaigned to Repeal the Income Tax – and dramatically shrink the size and power of government. Now you have the opportunity to take the first step to make Ron Paul's dream a reality – by helping us to repeal the income tax in Massachusetts this November 4th.

We are co-sponsors of Ballot Question 1, the legally-binding ballot measure that will END the Massachusetts state income tax.

Maybe you've read articles about our ballot initiative in the 'Wall Street Journal,' 'the New York Times,' 'the Boston Globe,' 'National Review,' 'Reason,' 'CATO,' 'the National Taxpayers Union,' or at LewRockwell.com. Or seen us on CNN or Fox News.

Do we really have a reasonable chance to win? Or is this just another fantasy?

Four different polls show us dead even. One poll shows support for ENDing the income tax at 45% -- with 45% against. 9% undecided. Two other polls show 45% For and 45% Against – with 10% undecided. One strange poll showed 37% For and 37% Against - with 26% undecided.

This is the second time we've put this END the income tax initiative on the ballot. Last time, with a few hundred volunteers - and a total advertising budget of $89,000 – we got 45.3% of the vote. 885,683 votes.

50/50 odds of repealing the state income tax. And a chance of setting in motion a series of state-by-state repeals of income taxes.

Why will Massachusetts voters vote YES – and END the income tax? What are the benefits to them?

1. Our Ballot Initiative will give back over $3,700 each to 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers. $3,700 average. Each worker. Not just once. Every year.

2. It will take $12.6 Billion out of the hands of Massachusetts Big Government – and put it back into the hands of the men and women who earned it. Not just once. Every year.

3. In productive, private hands this $12.6 Billion a year will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Massachusetts.

4. This will force the state legislature to streamline and cut the waste out of the Massachusetts state spending.

5. This will force the state legislature to get rid of the failed, flawed government programs that don't work – and often make things worse.

6. It'll make the state legislature accountable to Massachusetts workers and taxpayers – instead of the government employees, lobbyists, and special interests who profit from high government spending.

7. With less government and no income tax, Massachusetts will become a magnet to private, productive businesses and individuals. More good jobs and more good workers.

8. And with 3,400,000 Massachusetts taxpayers getting back an average of $3,700 each in their take home paychecks, this just might radically reduce home foreclosures.

Wouldn't these huge, immediate, direct benefits get you to the polls on November 4th?

But there's a huge 900 lb gorilla standing between us and victory.

Who? The Teachers Unions.

Massachusetts Teachers Association, S.E.I.U. (the government employees union), AFL-CIO (who get plush government construction pay), and the other unions who get tax-funded jobs.

Union dues have already bankrolled $2,090,100 of the NO on 1 War Chest. That's 99.93% of the anti tax-cut funding!

In addition, these unions and their allies also reported $443,437 in in-kind donations.

In addition, these unions have mobilized an estimated $1,200,000 worth of paid and unpaid union activists to stop us from ending the income tax.

Plus, with the Massachusetts Teachers Association driving this effort, the unions and their political allies are generating widespread news coverage of Ballot Question 1.

Over 53 newspaper articles and opinion pieces in just the last 10 days!

The unions are very effective. 100% of the newspaper editorials oppose our Ballot Question 1. Over 96% of opinion columns are against us. Over 83% of the newspaper articles are indisputedly against us. The remaining articles usually lean 50% to 70% against Ending the income tax.

Despite our opponents' $2,090,100 in union dues dwarfing our fundraising, despite their several thousand paid and unpaid union activists being over 100 times the number of our volunteers, and despite their overwhelming advantage in Newspaper and TV support –

WE ARE STILL DEAD EVEN IN THE POLLS.

Some polls show us and our opponents each at 45% -- with 10% undecided. One poll shows us and our opponents each at 37% -- with 26% undecided.

With everything they've thrown at us, we're still tied.

With less than three weeks left, we can beat them.

We and our team are doing media interviews, debating our opponents, appearing on talk shows – and we're reaching more and more of the 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers.

The Massachusetts Teachers Association and their allies have already begun as much as $5,000,000 in Negative Ads and Fear Ads in these last 2 or 3 weeks.

To win, we probably need to run $500,000 in our high-impact ads. Or as close to that amount as we can.

We have $49,816 in the bank. We need to raise $450,000 immediately – if not sooner.

Our ads can tip the scales – and give us victory for the taxpayers.

We've developed and tweaked an advertising language, message and approach that's viral. Contagious. Infectious. Persuasive and unforgettable to Massachusetts taxpayers.

Each $20,000 in advertising will produce an additional $40,000 in positive news coverage, publicity, and word of mouth.

Together, you and we CAN win if you donate as much as you can, if your donation helps us run just 10% of the advertising our opponents are running.

Join us, and be an indispensible member of the Army of Davids that ENDS the Massachusetts income tax in less than 3 weeks.

Will YOU please contribute $500 or $250 or $150 right now – so we can produce and place the first wave of advertising?

If you are successful in your career, if you have enough cash or credit to make a larger donation, you will make a huge difference. Will you please donate $10,000 or $5,000 or $2,500 or $1,000 today?

Your donation is our advertising budget – to END the income tax. It's our campaign budget.

Other Ron Paul donors are counting on YOU to give what they are giving. To join them. They need YOU to donate now. Will you please donate $85 or $65 or $45 today?

Even $5 will help.

Don't wait. Please contribute now by credit card by clicking on "Donate" at our web site:

www.SmallGovernmentAct.org

Or please write your check today and mail it to:

The Committee For Small Government
6 Goodman Lane
Wayland, MA 01778

Make history. Make a donation today.

You will remember this for many, many years. Thank you.

Small government is possible.

Your friends and allies,

Carla Howell & Michael Cloud

Co-Sponsors, Ballot Question 1 to END the Income Tax

Please keep in mind that this project is not run by the Campaign for Liberty. All questions and other items of business should be taken care of by contacting those in charge through the information given on their website. Also‚ because we are not in charge of this project‚ Campaign for Liberty cannot make any guarantees about it. However‚ it is our opinion that this is a worthy cause. By participating in this project, you take full responsibility for any issues arising from that participation.

I sincerely hope that all who read this do what they can to have this bill passed. Most importantly, if you're eligible to vote, please remember to do so this Tuesday November 4th. Your vote DOES matter, especially in reguards to this closely devided issue.

September 2nd Rally for the Republic in Minniapolis, MN

From Ron Paul's Campaign for Liberty:

Friday, August 22, 2008

Dear Friends of Liberty,

The schedule is complete, the merchandise is being printed, and arrangements are being finalized.

With only 11 days to go until Campaign for Liberty's Rally for the Republic, your staff is burning the midnight oil trying to nail down all the final details.

This should be one of the biggest and best kick-off celebrations in the history of American politics. I sure hope you will join us.

We've got a jam-packed, exciting day planned for Tuesday, September 2nd, but the excitement doesn't stop after the stage lights turn off at the Target Center.

Grammy award winning guitarist (and Ron Paul supporter) Jimmie Vaughan will be our host and provide the entertainment for The Rally for the Republic After-Party. The party will be taking place at The Lone Tree/Annex - one block away from the Target Center.

It will officially start at 9:30 pm, and it will last until 4 am. There is a $10 cover charge, and there will be a cash bar/limited food menu.

Jimmie Vaughan is the brother of late guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, and a musical legend in his own right. In addition to his involvement with many bands and famous artists over the years, he is an accomplished and successful solo artist that is known for his masterful blues guitar work.

From the official bio on his site:

Known for his deceptively simple yet complex attack, his clean, uncluttered style capitalizes on conveying the emotion and message within the music, He utilizes raw emotion, simplicity, and an elegance that is powerful and accessible, yet communicates exactly what he feels inside. It's an approach that has earned him the respect of many of the greats of contemporary music, and guest appearances on such albums as B.B. King and Eric Clapton's Riding With The King, Bob Dylan's Under The Red Sky, Willie Nelson's Milk Cow Blues, Carlos Santana's Havana Moon and Don Henley's Inside Job.

So, don't feel like you have to rush out of Minneapolis after the Rally! The C4L staff would love to meet you if you are able to attend.

If you have not purchased your ticket yet, I urge you to do so today. We are down to our last few tickets!

For more information about the Rally for the Republic please go to www.RallyForTheRepublic.com. You can also visit TicketMaster.com to guarantee yourself a seat. Ron and I believe this will be one of the most important events in the history of our movement.

If you cannot attend, I sincerely hope you will consider a contribution to Campaign for Liberty to help us defray the costs of this event, and help set the foundation for this vital organization. Just click on the Donate button at the www.RallyForTheRepublic.com main page.

Hope to see you there.

In Liberty,

John Tate


P.S. - We are less than 15,000 people away from hitting our goal of 100,000 members. Can you do me a favor and invite a friend, co-worker, or family member right now to join the Campaign for Liberty? Visit our community page to send invitations through our website.

Ron Paul's Campaign For Liberty | The Revolution Continues

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.

read more | digg story

A Letter From Ron Paul:

Dear Supporter,

These past 17 months have been among the most exciting and eventful of my life. Together you and I delivered a message of freedom the likes of which American politics had not seen in decades. I wasn’t sure the country was ready for it. But it was a message, I discovered, that many Americans had been waiting for a long time to hear.

I have been blessed with the most informed, well read, and enthusiastic supporters of any presidential campaign. Your extraordinary efforts in organizing and fundraising grabbed the attention of millions of Americans and shocked just about everyone in politics and the media. I still cannot get over all the fantastic work you did.

Something of great significance has just occurred in our country’s history.

With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign is at an end. But the larger campaign for freedom is just getting started. Therefore, I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty.

The work of the Campaign for Liberty will take many forms. We will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We’ll have our own commentaries and videos on the news of the day. I’ll work with friends I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we’ll expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We’ll make our presence felt at every level of government, where just a few people with our level of enthusiasm can make a world of difference. We’ll keep an eye on Congress and lobby against legislation that threatens us. We’ll identify and support political candidates who champion our great ideas against the empty suits the party establishments offer the public.

We will be a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you. We’re not about to let all this good work die. To the contrary, with your help we’re going to make it grow – by leaps and bounds.

This is the most ambitious venture of my political career, and I think it can achieve great things. But I can’t do this alone. I need you to help me. I need your energy, your creativity, your ideas, and your dedication.

People frustrated with our political system often wonder what they can do. I have founded this organization to answer that question, to give people the opportunity to do something that really makes a difference in the fight for freedom. Please join me by becoming a member of the Campaign for Liberty. Our goal is 100,000 members by September. Can we reach it?

Our campaign netted 1.1 million votes in the primaries of a shrinking Republican Party. Millions more support us. I need you to help me reach them – and to keep making new converts to the cause. What a force we can be, if only we rise to the occasion.

Now what about the Republican Convention in St. Paul? Our delegates will attend, of course, and I expect our contingent to have a visible presence there. Without disruption, we will do whatever we can to influence the party and its platform, and return the GOP to its limited-government roots. This is very important.

This brings me to my second announcement. I invite you to join us at Williams Arena at the University of Minnesota on Tuesday, September 2nd, for a grand rally. We intend to draw over 11,000 people. We’ll have live music and entertainment, and special guests. I’ll address you all as well. A massive rally will generate still more interest in our ideas. And what a great time it will be.

Remember that it was Senator Robert Taft, who shared our views, who was called Mr. Republican. But we are not merely the Republican Party’s past. If the enthusiasm of young people for our campaign is any indication, we are also its future.

Right now I will need your patience and input as we develop our program and assemble just the right team of individuals. But it is my intention to launch the Campaign for Liberty in its full capacity at our rally in Minneapolis this September.

Over the past week we’ve learned that the Democratic presidential nominee, supposedly an antiwar candidate, is committed to the same rhetoric, the same propaganda, and the same aggressive intentions toward Iran as the Bush administration. As usual, the major parties refuse to offer Americans a real choice.

The Campaign for Liberty will lay the groundwork for a different America, the kind of America you and I, and millions of our fellow countrymen, want to inhabit.

“Dr. Paul cured my apathy,” a popular campaign sign read. Others said our campaign cured their cynicism. We have now reached a moment of great moral decision: will we let ourselves retreat into apathy and cynicism once again, or will we dig in for the long haul and fight all the harder? Will we retire from the scene quietly, or will we give the establishment the fight of its life?

“In the final analysis,” I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, “the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them.”

The time has come to act on these words. May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to the politicians, the opinion-molders, and the establishment, and saved their country.

Join us, and be a part of it.

For liberty,

Ron Paul

Ron Paul Says, "No"

What part of that message do some of his supporters not understand?

read more | digg story

Now that Ron Paul has no chance of winning, we should focus on three things.

1. Trying to get him a speaking position at the Republican convention so more Republicans have the opportunity to hear what he has to say right from the horses mouth instead of from the little scrapes they hear on the news.

2. Spreading the message, because it's the message that matters most. Ron Paul is a great man, but still only a man. In fact, he's an old man who will likely die in the next twenty years or so, and retire before that. The message should last forever.

3. Finding like-minded individuals to run for congress (as well as other government offices) to help Dr. Paul in actually making a difference in our country. So far Dr. Paul has hardly been able to do anything in his long career as a congressman because he is only only one man whose ideas are very different from most people in politics.

I am very glad to see this article by "rtbohan" and I hope many people in the movement read it and take it to heart.

Sincerely,

Christopher D. Osborn

Big Changes

You might notice a couple changes to the blog. Who am I kidding, you've probably never been here before and never will again. I'm sorry, that's not true, a few people in my family might check it every once in a while.

Anyway, the first change you should notice is the change to the name of the blog from Fipher.net to Min Sannhet. I've made this change because I've decided to slowly shed the name Fipher from my life. It will never go away completely. Anyone who has always known me as Fipher can continue to do so, but I won't be using it myself so much. It part of my past now, a past that had good and bad moments, but still thew past. I'm married and trying to move to Norge (Norway) and become more in touch with my inner self. It's time to move forward.

So, the blog is now titled Min Sannhet, Nosk (Norwegian) meaning My Truth.

Another couple of changes to the blog may seem superficial, but they really aren't. The first change I made was add a big banner linking to Free Rice, the online Vocabulary game where you improve your vocab while donated rice to the U.N. World Food Programme. Below is a great video about it.



The last change to the blog is the banner in the "Quote of the Unnamed Time Period" block. I made the change because Ron Paul no longer has any chance of winning the 2008 presidential election, however, his new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto has finally come out, and I would like as many people to read it as possible. Besides wanting others to read it, I'd like to read it myself. Anyone willing to get me a copy will be rewarded handsomely with a big warm hug.

Here's a video related to the book.



Now, how can I be a supporter of the WFP, a United Nations programme, while at the same time be a strong supporter of Ron Paul? Well, me not helping the WFP is not going to make it go away. Also, as far as government agencies go, the WFP does pretty good. They're not just giving away food. Granted, they're doing a lot of that, but a huge part of it is teaching people how to fish, rather than just giving them fish. The WFP is designed to not be a permanent organization feeding the poor and keeping them poor, and so while I'd rather it be funded by volunteer donations than tax money from various governments around the world, I can still be supportive of their mission. Besides, playing the Free Rice game doesn't cost me anything. Pluss, Free Rice doesn't just give the WFP more money to pay with and perhaps waste. Instead, they buy rice and give it to the WFP to distribute where their experts think it's needed.

The last change is not to the site, but to me. I'll be leaving for Boston some time during the second week of May. Orbitz.com is acting up so I haven't bought the tickets, but the plan is for me to stay from the ides of May to almost the ides of September. The reason is UDI gave us a no for my request for a family immigration living and working permit, and the appeal process can last "many many months" so I'm heading back where I can work.

Unfortunately Lisa won't be comming with me because her school doesn't end 'till June, starts back up in early August, and pay here is much better on average. So she'll stay in Bergen going to school and working for Helsebutikken, I'll go to the Vineyard working for MVSB, and we won't see each other for about 4 months. Oh well, that's the way life goes sometimes. We've just got to work through it and find the lessons to learn. There's now flashy video I can post about that, is there?

Ron Paul Announces Grand March on Washington D.C.

In a video released tonight Ron Paul states, “We are at this point where we have to do something major…We have to make a grand stand, we have to stand firm and see where are numbers are…”

I'll write more on it later, perhaps tonight.

read more | digg story

March 1st, 2008
10:45 PM

So, I guess I didn't get to writing more about it that night. Here's a campaign update video witch that digg story refers to.



In addition, I've found a few related links. The first is pretty much just a little news article from Restore The Republic titled WARNING: RON PAUL DC MARCH UPDATE. This first one I think is the most important for Paulites to read.

The second I found is a website called revolutionmarch.com which is a grassroots website to organize information pertaining to the march as well as the actual march.

From the website:

The purpose of our rally is to get many thousands of freedom loving people in one place so we can be heard. An event SO HUGE, that even the Main Stream Media can’t ignore it!

The last is a blogger blog, Revolution March, which seems to fulfill a similar purpose as revolutionmarch.com or even this very blog posting of mine. An interesting feature it has, which I haven't gotten a chance to check out, are two blogtalkradio recordings about the march. I have however registered an account so I can comment on them as soon as I listen to them.

For my final words on the whole subject, I want to urge people to not take this march as a stand for Ron Paul to be elected president, or to attack John McCain or any other politician. This march should be about the revolution as whole. This campaign may have shown there there is hope, that there are a lot more people reseptive to the message of true Liberty than Dr. Paul ever imagined. However, it has also show that we still have a lot of work to do. The primary focus of the campaign is no longer to get Dr. Paul into the White House, but to use th campaign as a vehicle to get the messege of Liberty to as many Americans as possible so we can really start to change this country around back closer to the way our founders might have imagined it.

Let's face it, even if we were able to pull off the miricle of getting Dr. Paul into the White House, he would hardly be able to make many of the changes we would hope without congressional support. We need to change not only the way the Republican Party thinks, but the way the whole country thinks. We need Paulites running for office in every branch of government, from city counsel to Senate.

Basically what I think we should be looking for as a result of this march and book bomb is either a much stronger and united Libertarian party or a changed Republican party, and through this, a stronger and better America. This revolution is not just about one great man, but a great idea for a great nation.

The Revolution: A Manifesto

In case you hadn't noticed by the ad I've got on the side here, I have officially become a part of the Ron Paul Revolution. I haven't had the funds to contribute, but I've been doing what I can to educate my parents and doing what I can to voice my support for him and his ideals on the web. This is part of it.

Apparently Dr. Paul will be releasing a book for the first time in twenty years. It's called The Revolution: A Manifesto. A grassroots organization called Ron Paul Book Bomb has sprouted up to promote it. They believe sincerely that this book could be THE book of our generation which will change the U.S. and the world, and so they're trying to get it on the best seller list of the NY Times, Amazon, and Barns & Noble to make sure as many people read it as possible. The organization is not directly affiliated with the Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign or Grand Central Publishing, but instead is grassroots (or perhaps, motherboard) to the core (or kernel).

Below is a promotional video about it from YouTube. I warn you beforehand that it is a little long.



Books have changed things before, and I have faith in Congressmen Dr. Ron Paul's message enough that I think his words do have the potential to create big change. American's leadership role in the world via military might is over, and must now focus on changing the world through supreme, divine example. It is time for an end to war and a rise in absolute freedom. It is time for Sun Myung Moon, it is time for Ron Paul.

The revolution is now. The only question is, which side will you be on?

NAACP President: Ron Paul Is Not A Racist

Austin NAACP President Nelson Linder, who has known Ron Paul for 20 years, unequivocally dismissed charges that the Congressman was a racist in light of recent smear attempts, and said the reason for him being attacked was that he was a threat to the establishment.

I truly hope that this can be spread around so this rumor of Dr. Paul being a racists can be fully squashed. I don't agree with him 100% on all the issues, but I cannot imagine anyone who believes so strongly in individual liberty could possibly be at all racist. Racism and Libertarianism are completely counter to won another. If you read up on Libertarianism, I'm sure you will agree.

Click here for an article by Ron Paul about racism and the government's role in it.

read more | digg story

"Yet it is the Federal government more than anything else that divides us along race, class, religion, and gender lines.  The Federal government, through its taxes, restrictive regulations, corporate subsidies, racial set-asides, and welfare programs, plays far too large a role in determining who succeeds and who fails in our society." - Rep. Ron Paul, MD, December 24th, 2002

Global Warming, or Global Fraud?

Thanks go to my father, James G. Osborn, for bringing this video to my attention, and finally to yours.

First, some background information. Professor Robert M. Carter is a research professor in the Marine Geophysical Laboratory at James Cook University, Australia, and a founding member of the Australian Environment Foundation. He is considered an experienced marine geologist, environmental scientist, paleontologist, and stratigrapher. Here's his personal website.

Biologist Dr. Jennifer Marohasy is a senior fellow and director of the environment unit at the conservative Australian think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs. Check out her Sourcewatch profile here.

Here it is, thank goodness for YouTube. This is the first of four videos. I won't post the rest, but you can see the others on YouTube itself here in the related videos section. Just to give you a little warning, he's an Australian Scientists, so because of his accent and the terminology he's sometimes hard to understand. However, at least in the first video, I think you'll get it pretty easily. The last video is also pretty easy to understand.



See also: List of scientists opposing global warming consensus.

On a different topic, I also recommend checking out the YouChoose'08 section of YouTube. It's really a great place to check out all the candidates. Within this section, I especially like the CNN/YouTube Debate Section.

Candidates I like the best, in order, are John McCain, Ron Paul, Barack Obama, and Christopher Dodd. In case you don't now John McCain and Ron Paul are Republicans, while Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd are Democrats.