Return with New Commentary

it's been such a long time since I blogged here, but I come back with new commentary about the US government:




America, Land of Freedom That Was
It was not more than fifteen years ago that when someone would ask me as to my thoughts of America, I would easily have said that it was the land where freedom reigns. To my disliking and disappointment, those years passed with America turning its head from freedom to dictatorship. Llewellyn Rockwell, Jr., founder and president of Ludwig von Mises Institute, wrote that the American government as a whole is basically a dichotomy of the same goals; the Democrats looking to Athenize while the Republicans looking to Spartanize the people (2008). Both these processes require a type of control on the people and a type of suppression on others. We see this prevalent today especially after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 where the congress sweepingly passed the Patriot Act, followed by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, and the ballooned presidential executive powers that came as a result.
On October 26, 2001, after passing congress with a clear majority, President George W. Bush signed in to law the USA PATRIOT Act. No sooner has this law been passed that I saw the concern people have with people the curbs on their civil liberties. Accusations crossed the House and Senate floor about political wiretaps and illegal searches in an accused individual’s home. Congressman Ron Paul wrote about it in his book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, that the Patriot Act itself violates the Constitution by allowing searches without court approval on a probable cause (2008). To place this in laymen’s term, when someone gets accused of “terrorist” acts, the government may see it fit to search the individual’s home, bank accounts, and mail without proper warrant. This goes beyond even when during the Clinton administration that IRS audits and FBI investigations without proper court ruling was prevalent. If taken further ideologically, “terrorism” can mean any act that the current administration disapproves of. Considerably, my act of writing this paper regarding government actions, if taken out of context, can be a form of terrorism just because it is an opposition and someone in the administration may not approve. Under the USA PATRIOT Act, anyone can be a terrorist with extreme prejudice unless backed by the administration. While the Patriot Act has taken our civil liberties at bay, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 has been the nail at our coffin.
On October 17, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Military Commissions Act into law with applauses from Democratic and Republican leaders on both houses. Accusations soon fired as cases after cases were filed due to provisions in the MCA that suspended habeas corpus, a writ designed for people to legally challenge unlawful detainment by a government. Opposition came as the Supreme Court and Senator Arlen Spector decried the Act as unconstitutional, yet cases of abuse still surfaced. In the case of Jose Padilla, the government issued a statement that he was an “enemy combatant” and therefore cannot be tried in a civilian court and without charge. Jose Padilla spent three and a half years in jail with various forms of “torture,” sleep deprivation, and solitary confinement (Paul, 2008). Another similar, but less well known situation, was the case of Bilal Hussein, who was detained and sent to military prison without charge or formal indictment (Paul). These two cases alone proves in my eyes that the government, albeit the president, has more powers than the king of Britain when we fought him during the American Revolutionary War.
If war is the health of the state, then war is the unhealthy deterioration of our freedoms. It is of no consequence that the current War on Terrorism has trampled our constitution and the Iraq War is seen as the ultimate breech of constitutional rights. What the executive branch of the government has done by initiating this war was ignore the mandate that only Congress has the right to declare and take the country to war. Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution lays this out clearly, yet it was ignored by both Executive and Legislative branch. With this war, the consequences of the Patriot Act and MCA of 2006 were seen in its full bloom. The Haditha killings, Abu Ghraib prison scandals, and numerous atrocities committed in this was signaled to the world that the United States does not stand to promote freedom as it preaches from the pulpit of the White House. Instead, it has curbed those freedoms guaranteed by its own constitution through war and manipulation.
Had the US done what it is doing today 15 years ago and someone asked me on my opinion about this country, I would have said that this country has ascended into oblivious dictatorship. Now, instead of viewing government as the protector of our life, liberty, and property, we fear government more than common disasters that come our way. We now ask ourselves, what can we do now that we have given government more powers than their mandate? What can we do when we fear government or when different became dangerous or when opinions became hate? In the movie V for Vendetta, the character V tells it plainly, “people should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.” I am still reeling from my disappointment of this country, but that doesn’t stop me from doing what I can to return to our principles.

Think your freedom of speech and religious beliefs are safe?

THink again...

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/29/BAQPVAUVO.DTL

What is so wrong with being non-violent? I commend this Quaker lady for her bravery in standing up to the statist machine.

Ron Paul Schools Ben Bernake... Again

Ron Paul Campaign Update 021108

Do We Really Want John McCain?

with Romney's exit (or suspension) from the race, the chance for a brokered convention this November has slimmed down to almost nothing. kind of bad news for us Paulites, but I'm not deterred. Even though, the new "front-runner" the media has pushed on our face is John McCain.
I gotta ask my GOP collegues and fellow citizens... what the hell are you thinking? Well, let's take a look if we really want a McCain candidacy and policies?

Why won't Ron Paul just shut up?

Answer: Cause he just kicks ass when he schools Juan McCain and Mitt Romney.

A Ron Paul Progress Report

The Revolution Continues...

My thoughts on the past couple of days: Top 3

First off... I was watching the Democratic debate on CNN and Hilary was talking about how she's not giving in on giving out Universal Healthcare for All. Yeah... how, genius? As a nurse and healthcare worker, apparently she's not for improving the healthcare system at all, but intends to overload us with fraud, beurocracy, and cost/taxes. If you like high healthcare cost now that can't cover some people, you're gonna like a broken system that cannot treat most people.

Second... Rush Limbaugh.

Yesterday, I was listening to him complain about how the media labeled him as "insignificant" (thanks to Andrew Macolm from LA Times :). Well, IMHO, Rush's head got so big it's starting to float away because instead of issues, he spent 20 whole minutes griping about himself. On a good note, he did criticize all Republican candidates yesterday, except Ron Paul.

Last, I'm sure everyone knows, the young Heath Ledger died.

I remember seeing him in Roar and I'll see him in The Dark Knight. You'll be missed, Heath.

My tribute to nurses today!

Nurses, advocates for patients and angels on earth.

How's this for "fair and balanced?"

Two examples... New York Times:



and Fox News:





If you haven't noticed... you might want to ask yourself, "where is Ron Paul?" After all, he DID finish 2nd place in Nevada... right? Or do the news think differently.

Dr. Ron Paul bags 2nd place in Nevada

More than twice what the poll numbers predicted, here's proof:
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/01/19/politics/horserace/entry3732071.shtml

and

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/01/a-ron-paul-surg.html

Good Eye, Eagle Eye!

ever wanted to have superhuman vision like Superman? Well, now you can with the new electronic contact lenses being developed by the engineers at the University of Washington.

http://www.zapnat.com/2008/01/17/electronic-contact-lenses-give-superhuman-version/

amazing what human beings are capable of...

Is this guy a prophet or just a congressman? (speech before the 1987 economic recession)

This is Dr. Ron Paul in 1983. When he talks about the economy these days, it seems people are in a daydream that everything will be all right, but he's warning us or gloomy, even darker, days ahead. When he warned people and politicians in 1983, did they listen? The result was the economic recession of 1987.

My question to you all is, what are you going to do about it? Will you sit there and wait for our debt to go so high that your children or grandchildren will be paying for your mistakes? Or will you finally get up and do something about it (like vote)?

The Straightalking John McCain!!

Back from a week full of activities... and a broken internet system :)

Here, today, I'll share a video of, what the establishment GOP wants, the "eventual" nominee, John McCain.



Just notice how he never flip-flops like the others and full of "honor" as the military person he is.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Dr. Ron Paul: The Similarity

Watch the video and... need I say more?

Chipmunks and Linkin Park fans UniTe!

Just thought I'd take a break from the campaign trail and show you this awesome video(well, it's more like a 3 photo slide show), though that doesn't mean my support for Dr. Paul has erroded any even though we captured both Iowa and New Hampshire 5th place. I say, not bad for someone they thought would disappear early.

In any case, I've always wanted a chipmunk for a pet :)



See you guys in South Carolina.

New Hampshire Primary today.

today is another test, this time in New Hampshire. my prayers and all the best to New Hampshire residents and supporters.

As a bonus, I'll add this video as a reminder as to why we are fighting for freedom and why I'm voting for Ron Paul:



Please note: I don't endorse Rosie O'Donnell's beliefs... actually I think most of them are nutty, her right to speak is a Right.

Ron Paul on ABC Debate 010507

gotta say... he really wiped the other candidates' faces on the floor
Part 1 of 2:


Part 2 of 2:

Ron Paul on Situation Room Today... oh, and the Bernake Cereal

Fair assessment of Ron Paul's exclusion from Fox's candidate "forum" this Sunday:


also... thanks to Manuel Lora from LewRockwell.com for this awesome picture:


http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/018251.html

Rudy with some blowback :-D

looks like Rudy was feeling the heat with some "blowback" during his interview with Wolf Blitzer discussing his dismal showings (4%). he was easily trumped by my man, Ron Paul (10%) and won 2 delegates.

http://www.nolanchart.com/article912.html

Bill O'Reilly vs Nick Gillespie

again, Big Dick Bill proves he's just a neocon who can't handle reason; you can see this with his face everytime he's hit with a well calculated response.

CNN Roundtable discussion of my favorite candidate

I say Jeffrey Toobin deserved that email bomb... and maybe a little slap on the head.

Today is IOWA Day

Today is it, folks... let's remind George Stephanopoulos his standing bet: get him to give every cent in his pocket to Ron if he wins the nomination.

What do you know... Mrs. Paul is reminding him already: