How Dare They Ignore our Declaration of Independence

There is quite a bit of talk this week about the issues with the "indefinite detainment" provision in the National Defense Authorization Act.  Most Defenders of Liberty bring up the Constitutional argument, which is quite sound.  However, I feel it's more important to take a look at an earlier document: The Declaration of Independence.

Our Founding Fathers wrote so eloquently that the reason for declaring independence from the British crown was due to "a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tryanny over [the] states".  Among the facts submitted in this wonderful document was the King's practice of "depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury".

Do we really want to commit the same abuse of government power that our Founding Fathers thought justified a revolution? If this is not an important issue to you then I fear the direction this country is heading.

The Paulinian Republicans vs the rest of them

After last night's debate, it's pretty obvious that Ron Paul is the leader on economic issues.  The majority of the candidates turned to Dr. Paul when expressing their views on spending cuts and the federal reserve.  This appeared to be an effort to seek approval from the consistent defender of limited government and free markets.  At one point last night, Mitt Romney even used Ron Paul's name to establish more credibility for one of his positions.  Is this a desperate ploy by the front-runners to win over some of the Paulinian Republicans?  One thing is for sure, Ron Paul is changing the political landscape in this country and he deserves more attention by the mainstream media.

The Hypocrites of the Left

This afternoon, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill) advised Americans to take their money out of Bank of America due to the increase in fees for debit card accounts.  The new fee that banks like BoA are starting to charge is a direct response to the Dodd-Frank bill which limits how much banks can receive on debit card transactions.  Sen. Durbin was a supporter of the bill.  It never ceases to amaze me how out-of-touch these politicians are with the impact of their regulatory behavior. 

By the way - this legislation is also the reason that debit card reward programs have terminated. 

Wake up MSNBC! Social Security is the Biggest Ponzi Scheme Ever Created.

When young people pay into a system that provides benefits to the elderly, and there is no chance that the youth will have the privilege in the future to those same benefits, you have a ponzi scheme.  To make matters worse, the surplus in the trust fund has been used to finance our past federal deficits.  And to top it off the inflationary policies of the Federal Reserve have allowed prices to rise with no equal rise in the amount of benefits to the recipients of the current checks.  Who is the culprit?  Anyone who yields the principles of the free markets to government centralized planning is guilty of leading us down this path of bankruptcy. 

The Cluelessness of the Obama Administration

President Obama could use a good lesson in economics.  If I was the instructor, the first thing I would tell him is a President is not a jobs creator.  However, he can be a job destroyer and that's exactly what his expansion of federal regulation, his imposition of ObamaCare and the threat of raising taxes on the rich is doing to America.  Obama is releasing information about his new "jobs" plan that includes extending unemployment benefits, increasing aid to local governments and prolonging the reduction in payroll taxes.  But the basic principle Obama doesn't understand when it comes to the economy is that the solution to prosperity in this country is ensuring that entrepreneurs can keep the fruits of their labor and can operate in an environment friendly to business.  This exact reason is why Obama's "jobs" plan will do absolutely nothing for our country.  If I was his instructor he would receive a pretty terrible grade.  In reality, the American people are the instructor and their grade of him is being reflected in his diminishing job approval numbers every week.   

The Stupidity of Minimum Wage Laws

The state of California is currently considering a bill (Assembly bill 889) that would require parents to pay babysitters minimum wage, provide breaks every two hours and pay the sitter over-time.  This kind of central planning is absurd.  The advocates will argue that it provides the sitter a better workplace environment and more income.  But what they neglect to see, like in most minimum wage situations, is that it will reduce employment when parents no longer can afford to higher a sitter due to the higher costs created by law.  With that said, the more important question here is: if the government can invade our home economy, is there any limit to governmental power and oversight??

How Obama Will Spin Economic News Using the Hurricane

Here we are on August 25th and the stock market has taken a 14% hit in August, unemployment has remained high, new jobless claims have risen for the past two weeks and centralized economic planning in Europe is leaving countries in a severe debt crisis.  The economy is showing no signs of growth.  Despite these facts, in a matter of a week Obama will use the destruction of Hurricane Irene to explain why the economy is hurting.  He will use the ignorance of the American media to perpetrate this lie. 

Why Support Ron Paul?

I've been heavily involved in politics for over 10 years and am well versed in American history.  When I read Thomas Jefferson and other founding fathers, I realize that they preferred a limited federal government where the people are entitled to their life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.  If we fast forward to modern day, there seems to be only one candidate who still believes in these founding principles: Ron Paul.  He advocates for the elimination of the federal income tax, which allows the government to take our private property.  Dr. Paul pushes for a gold standard because the government will continue to destroy the value of the dollar which will lead to rising prices.  And he is against the concept of centralized economic planning, which is leading the world to the brink of financial bankruptcy.  If you like what you hear, consider donating to Ron Paul so we can restore the principles of limited government and individual liberty.  https://secure.ronpaul2012.com/

Obama's Corporate Jet Owner Hypocrisy

It's being reported today that President Obama's wife arrived early on the first couple's vacation to Martha's Vineyard by a special government jet, instead of flying with her husband on Air Force 1.  Of course this is completely different from the "rich" corporate execs that use private jets to fly to their vacation homes.  It's different because the corporate execs actually pay for the costs; not the taxpayer!

Regulation affecting your debit card

If you have been paying attention to your bank recently, you probably noticed that the feature of cash rewards is going away.  In fact, a couple large banks are starting to charge a fee every month for the use of debit cards.  The reason this is happening is due to new fedearl regulations that impose restrictions on the amount a bank can charge a retailer per transaction.  Since your rewards are based on the revenue received from debit card usage, banks are forced to remove a benefit that many consumers have come to enjoy.  This is a great case on how central planners mess with our lives.

Is Fox News' Response Satisfactory?

On August 15th, I wrote to Fox News:

I’m an avid viewer of Fox News, but am upset with your network’s coverage of Ron Paul’s candidacy for President.  My views of limited government and sound money are quite nested with historic American viewpoints going back to Jefferson.  I feel this viewpoint deserves equal airtime.  Please consider reporting Ron Paul’s success in a more fair and balanced way.  Thank you.

Jake Duesenberg

This morning I received a response:

I said he had a strong finish in Iowa..  and will be a factor going forward.

Congressman Paul will also be in our coverage tonight.

Thanks for watching and thanks for the email.

Bret Baier

Anchor, “Special Report with Bret Baier”

Fox News Channel

Did Fox News do a good job addressing my concerns on an obvious case of media bias?

Didn't Ron Paul Take 2nd?

After a historic finish in the Iowa Straw Poll where Ron Paul placed second with less than 200 votes than Bachmann, the media has been derelict in their duty to report the news.  Fox & Friends this morning ran a segment which made the assertion that the race is down to just three contenders: Romney, Bachmann and Perry.  Not only did Ron Paul come close to winning the Iowa Straw Poll, he also overwhelmingly beat Perry in a poll of Texas Republicans.  The media's job is to report; not make up our decision on who to vote for in the primaries. 

Fed keeps rates unchanged

As stated many times on F&E, most of our economic problems are created by the Federal Reserve.  Once again the central bank has chose a policy of inflation.  The only way the Fed is able to keep interest rates below market levels is by credit creation.  This has devastating effects to the budgets of American families.

We Can Do Better

On the heels of the debt deal 84% of Americans disapprove of the job that congress has done.  Employment is down, prices are up and the light at the end of tunnel seems to be from an oncoming train.  It would be easy to blame the state of our nation on the actions of our government alone.  The sobering fact of the matter is that while we can certainly point a finger at them for reckless policies and over the top spending, we need to look at ourselves as well.  Government spends beyond its means as do most of us Americans.  We need to take personal responsibility for our own finances, because if we don't "big brother" will exploit our apathetic attitudes.  In the coming months it will be important "cut" a lot of these politicians out of Washington, but while you're at it cut your credit card in half as well.