"It [government] covers the surface of society with a network of small complicated rules, minute and uniform, through which the most original minds and the most energetic characters cannot penetrate, to rise above the crowd. The will of man is not shattered, but softened, bent, guided; men are seldom forced by it to act, but they are constantly restrained from acting: such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to be nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd."

-- Alexis de Tocqueville
[Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clerel, le Comte de Tocqueville] (1805-1859) French historian

Our Mantel

Pleas tiled our wood stove alcove,
built the grate (to let the heat out),
and built the mantel!

In this photo:
Mom, Sugar Bear
Their adopted Baby, Stefano
Dad, Honey Bear

Which Presidential Candidate Did NOT Support the Bailouts?

Apples!

To see what we did, please visit:
http://dunbarcreekmercantile.blogspot.com/2011/11/apple-day.html

Students for Liberty weekend in Austin, Texas

Jason Rink & Adrienne with her tombstone.

Pre-zombie Shane McGonigal

Zombie Andrew Kaluza
(see the worried young lady on the phone?)

Helping Skyler turn into a zombie...

...Kelly added the blood...

...add false teeth and a wig...

...and we now have Adrienne & Zombie Skyler! =)

Hurry up everyone-

(even Lincoln said that the Government can go too far.)

-we have to start the Founding Father's Zombie Crawl!

How do you like my tombstone sign?

Kaja and Shane

Thanks, Shane McGonigal for this group shot!

The after party, upstairs at Austin's Pizza.
(Austin's Pizza donated 15% of sales to the Students for Liberty group )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are so sorry that we forgot to take any photos at the Students for Liberty Regional conference, on Saturday.

(I stole this group shot form Kelly Jemison's FB page)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andrew Kaluza, Jeff Fraze and Debbie McKee, Texas interim coordinator for Campaign for Liberty.

And this is the photo we have from Young Americans For Liberty Campaign Boot Camp (it was all day long). We only have it because as we were going to walk out the door, Adrienne said "wait! There are NO pictures from today!" Can you tell we were tired and had a long weekend!?!
Adrienne's post:
http://adrienneand.blogspot.com/2011/10/this-last-weekend-in-austin.html

Protect our Liberty

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the Government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers.
The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."

-- Justice Louis D. Brandeis
US Supreme Court Judge
Source: Justice Louis D. Brandeis, dissenting, Olmstead v. United States,
277 US 479 (1928)

To see comments on this quote, please visit:
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Louis.Brandeis.Quote.CDBD

To read a bit about him:
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Louis_Brandeis

Day Two Protest the banking system (and the wars!)

We were at the Fed from about 3:30 to 9:00 last night. We met some really great folks and had a good time visiting. I encouraged everyone I talked with to spread the message, especially to the Occupy Dallas folks, that's really what we were there to do.

A couple of OD guys came over and tried to get us to join them at Pioneer Plaza. They said there were only about 70-80 of them over there. We said come join us!! They finally did come (escorted by the police!) and stood across the street. We tried to wave them over, but they mostly stayed over there. Some of them were with us and some of us were over there. Don't listen to the media hype about this, they will marginalize us as they always do. Try to keep us from realizing how similar we are. They don't want us to join or work together!

We ended up chanting together a few times and they seemed to listen when Alex spoke directly to them (across the street with bullhorn). Many of the sign messages on either side of the street said the same thing. I suggested to them they chant "this is what America looks like" instead of using the word democracy!

All in all it was a great event. I personally didn't listen to Alex or any of the others, I just spent my time talking to the folks on the outside edges of the crowd and the ones coming and going and I passed out another 100 flyers. We had about 250-300 in attendance if you include the 50 or so across the street! I really wished I could have met and visited with everyone! And yes, I got a lot of "oh! you're Debbie McKee, I heard you on the radio yesterday! You sounded so nice, not like Alex!".

One photographer recognized Adrienne and said that a photo he took of her with her sign on Thursday went global/viral by that evening. It was put out there for news agencies, etc. to pick up and use and away it went! If anyone sees it PLEASE let us know where we can find it. Another time when we protested Bernanke's visit to Dallas a Reuters photo of her also went global. That's quite fun!

I encouraged everyone who could to go join the OD folks at Pioneer Plaza afterward to mix and mingle, spread the message. That is what is about folks!!!! If you have any free time to spend working on this, PLEASE do!!!! Find them and talk with them. Take flyers, DVDs, whatever you can.

It's about the message not the candidates, remember, the message is MOST important in the long run.

Debbie McKee
taking a well deserved break!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PS the strangest thing was that as the organizer for the usual End the Fed rallies, I always am the first to arrive and the last to leave, pick up the trash, etc. then the police leave. Well, I had to tell the detective we've worked with since 2008 that I had to leave and I'd encouraged folks to move on over to Pioneer plaza, but that was all I could do! So, there were about 40 people still there when we left and more trash than I could deal with, I did pick up some. As we walked by and said goodnight to the FED security guys, they were really friendly and nice! We also told the police thank you for their service. They were spread really thin this weekend because of the Fair, the Texas/OU game, Occupy Dallas, and us. I hope tempers don't get short from long, boring, but stressful hours. I told our detective friend that there would likely be a trickle of folks there off and on. I couldn't tell who or how many.




Occupy Dallas protesters...A man with us yelled: "Red rover, red rover, let Occupy come over!!!" =)






(Adrienne thought that this photo was interesting, so that's why it was posted...)

Photos from the first day...

...of Occupy Dallas protest & End the Fed rally.



brief report:

Adrienne and I just got back home. We were there from a little before 9 AM (first ones there) and left about 11:15 to make the phone interview with Alex Jones in my car phone booth. I didn't do a great job, but hey, I was very hot in my closed up car and tired! We had to work our way through the marchers to get to our car. DPD said they had about 300 people, it could have been more, we were pretty crowded on the sidewalk.

The Dallas Observer interviewed me. Lots of us were out there. I met a student from TCU who is involved in YAL. Many liberty minded folks seemed to just come because they saw the Occupy Dallas website. DPD set up barricades so we were penned in. That was rather an uncomfortable feeling.

As the marchers arrived I passed out my flyers (only brought 100) and said "I'm glad you are here, we've been protesting the Fed since November 2008!"

The amount of press was unbelievable!!!

They didn't hang around on the hot sunny corner very long before they started calling for marching on Chase bank across the street! They ended up mostly up the street a little way under the trees! We ALWAYS hang out where the traffic can see us!

PLEASE COME OUT TOMORROW!!!! Alex is speaking around 5:30. He said he'd share his bullhorn, but he doesn't realize I'm not the bullhorn type!

So, I need some back up!!!!



"Our troops are cannon fodder for the Power Elite."

"Looting U.S."

There were some great signs, some thought provoking ones. Like "what's our oil doing under their sand?", "Who would Jesus Bomb?" and "we want a Revolution - of thought". Several End the Fed signs!! And a couple of Don't tread on me! flags!!

My main purpose in activism efforts is to help people see what is really going on. Whether it's political campaigns or tea parties or end the fed. It's ALL about reaching out to help wake people up. The message is sooo much more important than ANY personality or election. Some will listen and investigate, some won't. Duty is ours, results are God's. Revolution means a change in thinking and I believe we can see it coming.

"Rebellion Has Arrived In America"

We have more in common with the "leftists" (the illegal aliens, the Muslims, etc...insert whatever group you've been programed to war against) than we do with the ruling elite. It's us against them. Wake up people!
Debbie McKee

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/mike-kireger-rebellion-has-arrived-america

"Rebellion Has Arrived In America"

By Mike Krieger

I will be the first to admit that I faded the whole idea of this "Occupy Wall Street" protest. I had already seen several failed attempts at protest in NYC come and go and I just sadly assumed the spirit of that once great city had died forever. I am extraordinarily happy to report that I was wrong.

full post:

From Mike Krieger of KAM LP

The Bill of Rights is a literal and absolute document. The First Amendment doesn't say you have a right to speak out unless the government has a 'compelling interest' in censoring the Internet. The Second Amendment doesn't say you have the right to keep and bear arms until some madman plants a bomb. The Fourth Amendment doesn't say you have the right to be secure from search and seizure unless some FBI agent thinks you fit the profile of a terrorist. The government has no right to interfere with any of these freedoms under any circumstances.

- Harry Browne

The inherent right in the people to reform their government, I do not deny; and they have another right, and that is to resist unconstitutional laws without overturning the government.

- Daniel Webster

It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.

- Samuel Adams

Rebellion Has Arrived in America

As most of you know, I spend almost as much time studying social changes and geopolitics happening around the world as I do studying markets. While carefully observing those areas are always important to a macro investor such as myself, when you are smack in the middle of a Fourth Turning they take on an increased level of importance. What has shielded the U.S. from a lot of the social strife sweeping the rest of the globe at the moment has been the U.S. dollar’s reserve status since this allows us to print seemingly infinite amounts of paper dollars and shove them down the throats of the rest of the world for their resources. This keeps the populace fat, happy and most importantly asleep and apathetic. Well I am pleased to announce that those days are OVER. The American populace is now in the very beginnings of a state of open peaceful rebellion against the criminal oligarchic mafia that runs the nation through fraud and corruption. The status quo is likely to become increasingly defensive as a result and may lash out aggressively like a cornered rat, but they cannot and will not win. They can only really win when they own your mind and that battle has already been lost. Six months from now the state of rebellion will have moved from just beneath to the surface to the forefront of everyone’s mind. It will be a peaceful and constitutional rebellion and it will end with new ways of doing things, more freedoms and a very long road toward rebuilding a safe, fair, free and localized society once TPTB’s prison planet grid of control has been torn down forever.

Occupy Wall Street

I will be the first to admit that I faded the whole idea of this “Occupy Wall Street” protest. I had already seen several failed attempts at protest in NYC come and go and I just sadly assumed the spirit of that once great city had died forever. I am extraordinarily happy to report that I was wrong. When I watched some video of police brutality at NYC protests this weekend I was stunned. Not because the cops acted like some mercenary storm trooper thugs, but because this protest that has started the week before still had momentum! Check out this link regarding what is going on. It has two must watch videos. http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=194965 The first one already has over 400k watches on youtube. This is the spark I have been waiting for and I am pleased beyond belief that it happened in Manhattan right where it should. How about this appearance of Cornel West at the protest on Tuesday. http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/cornel-west-at-occupy-wall-str... I am proud of my old home today. This is a big deal. The serfs are coming together. Keep it up.

Most of you reading this right now are thinking that this is interesting but he is exaggerating and this will blow over. I am here to assure you that it is not and this whole thing is about to grow exponentially as the economy continues to stagnate and people climb the learning curve. Are you aware that the founder of Salon.com, David Talbot, is publicly calling for an “American Spring?” This of course is a reference to the Arab Spring, in which revolution swept across North Africa earlier this year and led to the collapse of the Tunisian and Egyptian governments and then major government bribes to the people living in the oil rich kingdoms. Mr. Talbot writes “In these increasingly hard times, Salon is dedicating itself to an American revival. Our editorial mission will become more explicitly and aggressively populist. We will be publishing more investigative pieces, exposing the shadow dance of power. And both Democratic and Republican targets will be fair game, since both parties are increasingly under the control of the same corporate forces.” His full piece is here http://www.salon.com/about/american_spring/index.html?story=/about/insid... You need to read it if you want to understand where all of this is headed. How about journalist Chris Hedges talking about “Occupy Wall Street” http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/chris-hedges-occupy-wall-stree... We the people now understand it is not “rich vs. poor,” businessperson vs. teacher.” It is serf vs. oligarch. They are 0.1% and we know what they are up to. GAME ON.

Jaime Dimon Proves he is a Complete and Total Psychopath

I am not even going to write my own thought paragraph about how delusional and insane this man’s statements were the other day on banking regulations. Rather I will provide links to articles by people that have done a great job of exposing the absurdity of this parasitic oligarch’s comments. My favorite line by far on this is from fellow ex-Wall Streeter Nomi Prins who writes:

“There are few things more cringe-inducing than a government-subsidized bank CEO spouting self-serving, entitlement-laden idiocy to the world just because he and his bank might be subject to some extra constraints. That hasn’t stopped JPM Chase CEO Jamie Dimon from acting like a spoiled, sociopathic brat while characterizing proposed Basel III capital requirements and regulations as ‘anti-American’ at every opportunity. They are not ‘anti-American’ but globally risk-mitigating in a time of widespread economic Depression, a point lost in the haze of Dimon’s megalomania.”

Her full article is here http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-jamie-dimon%E2%80%99s-shameful-.... Precious metals hero and money manager Eric Sprott chimed in with this letter to the Globe and Mail. http://www.businessinsider.com/eric-sprott-jamie-dimon-letter-2011-9

Jaime Dimon is a real piece of work. It is as if he is asking for a custom made guillotine (metaphorically speaking of course as I do not condone violence in any way shape or form). At least Lloyd Blankfein had the sense to read the writing on the wall, shut up and hire an attorney.

So in conclusion, rebellion has arrived on America’s shores and it is about time. The moment is here for each of us to make important decisions. Save freedom and liberty or allow the oligarchs to enslave us and your children for generations. Peter Orzag recently wrote that “We need Less Democracy.” http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/magazine/94940/peter-orszag-democrac... This is what these guys are gunning for. Just think about who this “WE” he is talking about is.

And don’t kid yourself. Pretty much everyone on this list is a serf no matter how rich you are. Don’t kid yourself.

Peace and Wisdom,
Mike

"Wanton killing of innocent civilians is terrorism, not a war against terrorism." - Noam Chomsky

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Number Of Iraqis Slaughtered In US War And Occupation Of Iraq "1,455,590"

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Sacrificed (Officially acknowledged) In America's War On Iraq: 4,792 www.icasualties.org/

Number Of International Occupation Force Troops Slaughtered In Afghanistan : 2,718

Food for thought....

This video will just take 4 minutes of your time:

Tyrannical Power is Absolute.....

"[Tyrannical] power is absolute, minute, regular, provident and mild. It would
be like the authority of a parent if, like that authority, its object was to
prepare men for manhood; but it seeks, on the contrary, to keep them in
perpetual childhood: it is well content that the people should rejoice,
provided they think of nothing but rejoicing. For their happiness such a
government willingly labors, but it chooses to be the sole agent and the only
arbiter of that happiness; it provides for their security, foresees and
supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their
principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property,
and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care
of thinking and all the trouble of living?"
-- Alexis de Tocqueville
[Alexis Charles Henri Maurice Clerel, le Comte de Tocqueville] (1805-1859) French historian
http://quotes.liberty-tree.ca/quote_blog/Alexis.de.Tocqueville.Quote.62D1

When Martin Luther King Reached the Point of No Return

shorter version here

original post here

By John W. Whitehead
8/25/2011

"I have begun the struggle and I can't turn back. I have reached the point of no return."--Martin Luther King Jr.

The official dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is scheduled to take place on Sunday, August 28th, the 48th anniversary of King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech. If anyone deserves a national monument in his honor, it would certainly be Martin Luther King Jr., a man who inspired countless Americans, including myself, to take a stand against injustice.

King was an amazing individual: courageous, passionate about freedom, willing to tackle large-scale issues (such as materialism, militarism and the Vietnam War), and relentless in his pursuit of justice--he stood his ground, even in the face of death threats and opposition from friends and associates. A warrior and a visionary, King saw first-hand what tyranny looked like and worked tirelessly to oppose it. As King observed, "The universe is on the side of justice."

King's journey to the "mountaintop," as he put it, began with a boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. City officials had done everything possible to stem the boycott of their segregated bus system by the black citizens of Montgomery. Inevitably, the city resorted to what had always worked in the past: the use of police power.

The date was January 26, 1956. It was in the afternoon, and the young minister of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, was on his way home with two fellow church members. The acknowledged leader of the highly controversial boycott, he was put on notice to follow the traffic laws meticulously. There was no reason to make himself an easy target for arrest. But, as fate would have it, the police targeted the young minister, and he was arrested: "Get out King; you are under arrest for speeding thirty miles an hour in a twenty-five mile zone."

Thus began Martin Luther King Jr.'s journey toward jail. The moment of truth, however, had arrived for the young minister. Warned that he could be made to disappear by the authorities, fear began to grip King. As he writes:

As we drove off, presumably to the city jail, a feeling of panic began to come over me. I had always had the impression that the jail was in the downtown section of Montgomery. Yet after riding for a while I noticed that we were going in a different direction. The more we rode the farther we were from the center of town. In a few minutes we turned into a dark and dingy street that I had never seen and headed under a desolate old bridge. By this time I was convinced that these men were carrying me to some faraway spot to dump me off. "But this couldn't be," I said to myself. "These men are officers of the law." Then I began to wonder whether they were driving me out to some waiting mob, planning to use the excuse later on that they had been overpowered. I found myself trembling within and without. Silently, I asked God to give me the strength to endure whatever came.

This was at the height of segregation in the American system. It was a time where, when blacks got out of line, at a minimum they faced jail time. Only a month earlier, Rosa Parks, a seamstress, had refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus to a white man. This violation of the segregation law brought a swift arrest.

But King by now was the troublemaker. Cut off the head and the movement dies. This King knew. That is why he began to panic as his ride with the police continued:

By this time we were passing under the bridge. I was sure now that I was going to meet my fateful hour on the other side. But as I looked up I noticed a glaring light in the distance, and soon I saw the words "Montgomery City Jail." I was so relieved that it was some time before I realized the irony of my position: going to jail at that moment seemed like going to some safe haven!

As the jail doors slammed shut behind King, he felt a strong inner peace: "For the moment strange gusts of emotion swept through me like cold winds on an open prairie. For the first time in my life I had been thrown behind bars."

Soon King's bail was posted and King was free to leave. But King's rendezvous with jail cells was just beginning. More importantly, the movement that began in Montgomery was moving beyond state borders. A nationwide movement with a capital M was in process. This made King even more of a target.

Several weeks later, King happened to be in Nashville giving a lecture when he learned that he, with others, had been indicted by a grand jury for violating Montgomery's segregation laws. He immediately booked a flight home, stopping over to see his father in Atlanta. Martin Luther King Sr. recognized that a new scenario had developed. The threat was no longer jail time. It was death. "My father, so unafraid for himself," writes King, "had fallen into a constant state of terror for me and my family."

Earlier, King's home in Montgomery had been bombed and the police were watching his every move. After the bombing, King's mother had taken to bed under doctor's orders. King's father brought some of Atlanta's leading citizens into his home to speak with his son about the dangers of returning to Montgomery. But King knew that often courage in the face of tyranny is all that the oppressed have at their disposal. It was time, as King said, to take a stand. As he told those assembled:

My friends and associates are being arrested. It would be the height of cowardice for me to stay away. I would rather be in jail ten years than desert my people now. I have begun the struggle, and I can't turn back. I have reached the point of no return.

Upon arrival in Montgomery, King headed for jail to discover that the others indicted with King had the day before surrendered for arrest. "A once fear-ridden people had been transformed. Those who had previously trembled before the law were now proud to be arrested for the cause of freedom."

Against incredible odds, the blacks of Montgomery won the right to be treated equally on the city's buses. Soon, the movement took on amazing proportions which would compel a government that refused to hear their pleas to listen and heed their demands. But not a shot was fired by the blacks of Montgomery. Led by a man who believed in nonviolent resistance to government oppression--a man who believed that governments must listen to and heed our demands, these brave people would soon transform the face of America.

Few suspected that King's voice would be prematurely silenced, but King knew his days were numbered. He knew there was a larger force at work in his life. And that's how he concluded his sermon--the last words he spoke in public:

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

Forty-three years after King's assassination, our nation is still plagued with wars, government surveillance and a military-industrial complex that feeds a national diet of warmongering. And King, once a charismatic leader and voice of authority, has been memorialized in death to such an extent that younger generations recognize his face but miss out on his message. Yet he still speaks volumes to us today.

"Speaking truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act," George Orwell once said. Such was Martin Luther King. They may have killed the man, but his spirit of truth lives on. We would do well to learn from him how to speak truth to power.

TINY ICELAND SHOWS US THE WAY WITH THEIR ON-GOING FINANCIAL REVOLUTION

"They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign. That’s why it is not in the news anymore." Hmmm. Sound familiar, RP supporters? JG


TINY ICELAND SHOWS US THE WAY WITH THEIR ON-GOING FINANCIAL REVOLUTION. by Deena Stryker
http://www.freestatevoice.com.au/politics/item/811-tiny-iceland-shows-us-the-way-with-their-on-going-financial-revolution-by-deena-stryker

A LESSON TO BE LEARNED BY ALL AUSTRALIANS.

An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.

As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here's why:

Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatized, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many English and Dutch small investors. But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt. In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent. The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalized, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.

Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution. But only after much pain.

Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.

Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros. This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.

What happened next was extraordinary. The belief that citizens had to pay for the mistakes of a financial monopoly, that an entire nation must be taxed to pay off private debts was shattered, transforming the relationship between citizens and their political institutions and eventually driving Iceland’s leaders to the side of their constituents. The Head of State, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, refused to ratify the law that would have made Iceland’s citizens responsible for its bankers’ debts, and accepted calls for a referendum.

Of course the international community only increased the pressure on Iceland. Great Britain and Holland threatened dire reprisals that would isolate the country. As Icelanders went to vote, foreign bankers threatened to block any aid from the IMF. The British government threatened to freeze Icelander savings and checking accounts. As Grimsson said: “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North. But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.” (How many times have I written that when Cubans see the dire state of their neighbor, Haiti, they count themselves lucky.)

In the March 2010 referendum, 93% voted against repayment of the debt. The IMF immediately froze its loan. But the revolution (though not televised in the United States), would not be intimidated. With the support of a furious citizenry, the government launched civil and penal investigations into those responsible for the financial crisis. Interpol put out an international arrest warrant for the ex-president of Kaupthing, Sigurdur Einarsson, as the other bankers implicated in the crash fled the country.

But Icelanders didn't stop there: they decided to draft a new constitution that would free the country from the exaggerated power of international finance and virtual money. (The one in use had been written when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark, in 1918, the only difference with the Danish constitution being that the word ‘president’ replaced the word ‘king’.)

To write the new constitution, the people of Iceland elected twenty-five citizens from among 522 adults not belonging to any political party but recommended by at least thirty citizens. This document was not the work of a handful of politicians, but was written on the internet. The constituent’s meetings are streamed on-line, and citizens can send their comments and suggestions, witnessing the document as it takes shape. The constitution that eventually emerges from this participatory democratic process will be submitted to parliament for approval after the next elections.

Some readers will remember that Iceland’s ninth century agrarian collapse was featured in Jared Diamond’s book by the same name. Today, that country is recovering from its financial collapse in ways just the opposite of those generally considered unavoidable, as confirmed yesterday by the new head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde to Fareed Zakaria. The people of Greece have been told that the privatization of their public sector is the only solution. And those of Italy, Spain and Portugal are facing the same threat.

They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign.

That’s why it is not in the news anymore.

Ron Paul Vs ...Tea-o-cons or Obama

My comment on Youtube :

Very good! Very well said!! Thank you!!! I'm a very conservative Christian and don't think the government has any business in ANYONE'S personal choices. I didn't always think this way, I was a typical "right-wing conservative". Ron Paul helped me adjust my thinking along these lines a few years ago. I'm soooo glad he did!!! Anyone with an open mind who honestly examines the liberty issues will come to the same conclusions, I'm sure.

"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." Thomas Paine

The Death Penalty Is a Miscarriage of Justice: It Should Be Abolished

By John W. Whitehead
August 15, 2011

watch/listen here
read here

"The reality is that capital punishment in America is a lottery. It is a punishment that is shaped by the constraints of poverty, race, geography and local politics."—Bryan Stevenson, death row lawyer

There is nothing moral or just about the death penalty—certainly not the way it is implemented in America, and anyone who says otherwise is either deluding themselves or trying to get elected by appearing tough on crime. Take Troy Davis, for example, a 43-year-old black man from Georgia who has spent the past 20 years of his life on death row for allegedly shooting and killing a white off-duty police officer—a crime he very well may not have committed.

According to Amnesty International, the case against Davis consisted entirely of witness testimony, which contained inconsistencies even at the time of the trial. Since then, all but two of the state's non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted or contradicted their testimony. Many of these witnesses have stated in sworn affidavits that they were pressured or coerced by police into testifying or signing statements against Troy Davis. One of the two witnesses who has not recanted his testimony is Sylvester "Red" Coles — the principle alternative suspect, according to the defense, against whom there is new evidence implicating him as the gunman. Nine individuals have signed affidavits implicating Sylvester Coles.

Despite the fact that the case against Davis has largely fallen apart, the courts have not been inclined to grant Davis a new trial or evidentiary hearing. At a minimum, there's enough doubt as to Davis' guilt to commute his sentence. And even with prominent politicians and public officials such as former President Jimmy Carter, Pope Benedict XVI and Desmond Tutu lobbying on his behalf, Davis continues to languish on death row at a Georgia prison.

Unfortunately, Davis' journey to death row and his impending execution are indicative of the many failings of the capital punishment system in America, a system sorely lacking in justice and riddled by racial prejudice and economic inequality, not to mention outright corruption.

As it now stands, America's Western allies have abolished the death penalty, leaving America as one of only three industrialized democracies still carrying out capital punishment. Internationally, the U.S. ranks fifth in terms of the number of prisoners put to death, putting America in such ill-esteemed company as the regimes of China, Iran, North Korea, and Yemen.

Within the U.S., 14 states and the District of Columbia have done away with the death penalty. Execution remains an option in 34 states and for federal inmates. Of the states still actively putting prisoners to death, Texas and Virginia rank highest for the number of executions carried out since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. Indeed, Texas Governor Rick Perry has presided over more than 200 executions during his time in office, more than any other governor in U.S. history. Contrast this with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn who, on March 9, 2011, signed a law banning the death penalty, saying it was impossible to fix a system that had wrongly condemned at least 20 innocent men to death. New York, New Jersey and New Mexico have also done away with capital punishment in the past two years.

Thus far, the greatest argument in favor of a moratorium on the death penalty rests in the overwhelming evidence that the system is consistently error-bound and flawed. In a Columbia University study on 5,760 capital cases, the report found an overall rate of error of 68 percent. In other words, courts found serious reversible errors in nearly 7 out of 10 capital cases. The most common errors included egregiously incompetent defense lawyers, prosecutorial suppression of evidence and other misconduct, misinstruction of juries, and biased judges and juries.

In the Columbia University study, the team of legal analysts concluded that the death penalty system was "collapsing under the weight of its own mistakes. They reveal a system in which lives and public order are at stake, yet for decades has made more mistakes than we would tolerate in far less important activities. They reveal a system that is wasteful and broken and needs to be addressed."

The racial disparities in sentencing are well known. For example, there are 1,371 blacks on death row (42% of the total death row population) despite the fact that blacks only make up 12% of the U.S. population. Indeed, blacks are 40% more likely to be sentenced to death than a white defendant who has committed the same crime. Class and wealth are also a factor in who receives the death penalty. In fact, almost all death row inmates could not afford their own attorney at trial and there is a significant disparity in wealth between murderers who live and those who are executed.

Abolishing the death penalty would also save taxpayer money. Some studies estimate that states spend 48% to 300% more prosecuting cases in which the death penalty is an option versus cases in which it is not. In North Carolina, it costs more than $2 million to execute just one person.

As for the argument that the death penalty is a deterrent to future violent crimes, there is no convincing evidence to support that claim. Indeed, 67% of U.S. police chiefs do not believe that the death penalty significantly reduces the numbers of murders. As Gregory Ruff, a police lieutenant in Kansas, noted, "I have never heard a murderer say they thought about the death penalty as consequence of their actions prior to committing their crimes."

No matter what our individual views on the death penalty, its application clearly deserves closer scrutiny. "Our capital system is haunted by the demon of error," Governor George Ryan once said, "error in determining guilt and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die." The inconsistency and utter randomness of imposing the death penalty by any governmental body should give even the most hard-line death penalty advocate pause.

The Essential Rules of Tyranny

post found here

As we look back on the horrors of the dictatorships and autocracies of the past, one particular question consistently arises; how was it possible for the common men of these eras to NOT notice what was happening around them? How could they have stood as statues unaware or uncaring as their cultures were overrun by fascism, communism, collectivism, and elitism? Of course, we have the advantage of hindsight, and are able to research and examine the misdeeds of the past at our leisure. Unfortunately, such hindsight does not necessarily shield us from the long cast shadow of tyranny in our own day. For that, the increasingly uncommon gift of foresight is required…

At bottom, the success of despotic governments and Big Brother societies hinges upon a certain number of political, financial, and cultural developments. The first of which is an unwillingness in the general populace to secure and defend their own freedoms, making them completely reliant on corrupt establishment leadership. For totalitarianism to take hold, the masses must not only neglect the plight of their country, and the plight of others, but also be completely uninformed of the inherent indirect threats to their personal safety. They must abandon all responsibility for their destinies, and lose all respect for their own humanity. They must, indeed, become domesticated and mindless herd animals without regard for anything except their fleeting momentary desires for entertainment and short term survival. For a lumbering bloodthirsty behemoth to actually sneak up on you, you have to be pretty damnably oblivious.

The prevalence of apathy and ignorance sets the stage for the slow and highly deliberate process of centralization. Once dishonest governments accomplish an atmosphere of inaction and condition a sense of frailty within the citizenry, the sky is truly the limit. However, a murderous power-monger’s day is never quite done. In my recent article ‘The Essential Rules of Liberty’ we explored the fundamentally unassailable actions and mental preparations required to ensure the continuance of a free society. In this article, let’s examine the frequently wielded tools of tyrants in their invariably insane quests for total control…

Rule #1: Keep Them Afraid

People who are easily frightened are easily dominated. This is not just a law of political will, but a law of nature. Many wrongly assume that a tyrant’s power comes purely from the application of force. In fact, despotic regimes that rely solely on extreme violence are often very unsuccessful, and easily overthrown. Brute strength is calculable. It can be analyzed, and thus, eventually confronted and defeated. Thriving tyrants instead utilize not just harm, but the imminent THREAT of harm. They instill apprehension in the public; a fear of the unknown, or a fear of the possible consequences for standing against the state. They let our imaginations run wild until we see death around every corner, whether it’s actually there or not. When the masses are so blinded by the fear of reprisal that they forget their fear of slavery, and take no action whatsoever to undo it, then they have been sufficiently culled.

In other cases, our fear is evoked and directed towards engineered enemies. Another race, another religion, another political ideology, a “hidden” and ominous villain created out of thin air. Autocrats assert that we “need them” in order to remain safe and secure from these illusory monsters bent on our destruction. As always, this development is followed by the claim that all steps taken, even those that dissolve our freedoms, are “for the greater good”. Frightened people tend to shirk their sense of independence and run towards the comfort of the collective, even if that collective is built on immoral and unconscionable foundations. Once a society takes on a hive-mind mentality almost any evil can be rationalized, and any injustice against the individual is simply overlooked for the sake of the group.

Rule #2: Keep Them Isolated

In the past, elitist governments would often legislate and enforce severe penalties for public gatherings, because defusing the ability of the citizenry to organize or to communicate was paramount to control. In our technological era, such isolation is still used, but in far more advanced forms. The bread and circus lifestyle of the average westerner alone is enough to distract us from connecting with each other in any meaningful fashion, but people still sometimes find ways to seek out organized forms of activism.

Through co-option, modern day tyrant’s can direct and manipulate opposition movements. By creating and administrating groups which oppose each other, elites can then micromanage all aspects of a nation on the verge of revolution. These “false paradigms” give us the illusion of proactive organization, and the false hope of changing the system, while at the same time preventing us from seeking understanding in one another. All our energies are then muted and dispersed into meaningless battles over “left and right”, or “Democrat versus Republican”, for example. Only movements that cast aside such empty labels and concern themselves with the ultimate truth of their country, regardless of what that truth might reveal, are able to enact real solutions to the disasters wrought by tyranny.

In more advanced forms of despotism, even fake organizations are disbanded. Curfews are enforced. Normal communications are diminished or monitored. Compulsory paperwork is required. Checkpoints are instituted. Free speech is punished. Existing groups are influenced to distrust each other or to disintegrate entirely out of dread of being discovered. All of these measures are taken by tyrants primarily to prevent ANY citizens from gathering and finding mutual support. People who work together and organize of their own volition are unpredictable, and therefore, a potential risk to the state.

Rule #3: Keep Them Desperate

You’ll find in nearly every instance of cultural descent into autocracy, the offending government gained favor after the onset of economic collapse. Make the necessities of root survival an uncertainty, and people without knowledge of self sustainability and without solid core principles will gladly hand over their freedom, even for mere scraps from the tables of the same men who unleashed famine upon them. Financial calamities are not dangerous because of the poverty they leave in their wake; they are dangerous because of the doors to malevolence that they leave open.

Destitution leads not just to hunger, but also to crime (private and government). Crime leads to anger, hatred, and fear. Fear leads to desperation. Desperation leads to the acceptance of anything resembling a solution, even despotism.

Autocracies pretend to cut through the dilemmas of economic dysfunction (usually while demanding liberties be relinquished), however, behind the scenes they actually seek to maintain a proscribed level of indigence and deprivation. The constant peril of homelessness and starvation keeps the masses thoroughly distracted from such things as protest or dissent, while simultaneously chaining them to the idea that their only chance is to cling to the very government out to end them.

Rule #4: Send Out The Jackboots

This is the main symptom often associated with totalitarianism. So much so that our preconceived notions of what a fascist government looks like prevent us from seeing other forms of tyranny right under our noses. Some Americans believe that if the jackbooted thugs are not knocking on every door, then we MUST still live in a free country. Obviously, this is a rather naïve position. Admittedly, though, goon squads and secret police do eventually become prominent in every failed nation, usually while the public is mesmerized by visions of war, depression, hyperinflation, terrorism, etc.

When law enforcement officials are no longer servants of the people, but agents of a government concerned only with its own supremacy, serious crises emerge. Checks and balances are removed. The guidelines that once reigned in police disappear, and suddenly, a philosophy of superiority emerges; an arrogant exclusivity that breeds separation between law enforcement and the rest of the public. Finally, police no longer see themselves as protectors of citizens, but prison guards out to keep us subdued and docile.

As tyranny grows, this behavior is encouraged. Good men are filtered out of the system, and small (minded and hearted) men are promoted.

At its pinnacle, a police state will hide the identities of most of its agents and officers, behind masks or behind red tape, because their crimes in the name of the state become so numerous and so sadistic that personal vengeance on the part of their victims will become a daily concern.

Rule #5: Blame Everything On The Truth Seekers

Tyrants are generally men who have squelched their own consciences. They have no reservations in using any means at their disposal to wipe out opposition. But, in the early stages of their ascent to power, they must give the populace a reason for their ruthlessness, or risk being exposed, and instigating even more dissent. The propaganda machine thus goes into overdrive, and any person or group that dares to question the authority or the validity of the state is demonized in the minds of the masses.

All disasters, all violent crimes, all the ills of the world, are hoisted upon the shoulders of activist groups and political rivals. They are falsely associated with fringe elements already disliked by society (racists, terrorists, etc). A bogus consensus is created through puppet media in an attempt to make the public believe that “everyone else” must have the same exact views, and those who express contrary positions must be “crazy”, or “extremist”. Events are even engineered by the corrupt system and pinned on those demanding transparency and liberty. The goal is to drive anti-totalitarian organizations into self censorship. That is to say, instead of silencing them directly, the state causes activists to silence themselves.

Tyrannical power structures cannot function without scapegoats. There must always be an elusive boogie man under the bed of every citizen, otherwise, those citizens may turn their attention, and their anger, towards the real culprit behind their troubles. By scapegoating stewards of the truth, such governments are able to kill two birds with one stone.

Rule #6: Encourage Citizen Spies

Ultimately, the life of a totalitarian government is not prolonged by the government itself, but by the very people it subjugates. Citizen spies are the glue of any police state, and our propensity for sticking our noses into other peoples business is highly valued by Big Brother bureaucracies around the globe.

There are a number of reasons why people participate in this repulsive activity. Some are addicted to the feeling of being a part of the collective, and “service” to this collective, sadly, is the only way they are able to give their pathetic lives meaning. Some are vindictive, cold, and soulless, and actually get enjoyment from ruining others. And still, like elites, some long for power, even petty power, and are willing to do anything to fulfill their vile need to dictate the destinies of perfect strangers.

Citizen spying is almost always branded as a civic duty; an act of heroism and bravery. Citizen spies are offered accolades and awards, and showered with praise from the upper echelons of their communities. People who lean towards citizen spying are often outwardly and inwardly unimpressive; physically and mentally inept. For the average moral and emotional weakling with persistent feelings of inadequacy, the allure of finally being given fifteen minutes of fame and a hero’s status (even if that status is based on a lie) is simply too much to resist. They begin to see “extremists” and “terrorists” everywhere. Soon, people afraid of open ears everywhere start to watch what they say at the supermarket, in their own backyards, or even to family members. Free speech is effectively neutralized.

Rule #7: Make Them Accept The Unacceptable

In the end, it is not enough for a government fueled by the putrid sludge of iniquity to lord over us. At some point, it must also influence us to forsake our most valued principles. Tyrannies are less concerned with dominating how we live, so much as dominating how we think. If they can mold our very morality, they can exist unopposed indefinitely. Of course, the elements of conscience are inborn, and not subject to environmental duress as long as a man is self aware. However, conscience can be manipulated if a person has no sense of identity, and has never put in the effort to explore his own strengths and failings. There are many people like this in America today.

Lies become “necessary” in protecting the safety of the state. War becomes a tool for “peace”. Torture becomes an ugly but “useful” method for gleaning important information. Police brutality is sold as a “natural reaction” to increased crime. Rendition becomes normal, but only for those labeled as “terrorists”. Assassination is justified as a means for “saving lives”. Genocide is done discretely, but most everyone knows it is taking place. They simply don’t discuss it.

All tyrannical systems depend on the apathy and moral relativism of the inhabitants within their borders. Without the cooperation of the public, these systems cannot function. The real question is, how many of the above steps will be taken before we finally refuse to conform? At what point will each man and woman decide to break free from the dark path blazed before us and take measures to ensure their independence? Who will have the courage to develop their own communities, their own alternative economies, their own organizations for mutual defense outside of establishment constructs, and who will break under the pressure to bow like cowards? How many will hold the line, and how many will flee?

For every American, for every human being across the planet who chooses to stand immovable in the face of the very worst in mankind, we come that much closer to breathing life once again into the very best in us all.

Reprinted with permission from Alt-Market.com, a barter networking and informational website.

July 30, 2011

Brandon Smith [send him mail] is founder of the Alternative Market Project (www.alt-market.com) as well as the head writer and co-founder of Neithercorp Press. He specializes in macroeconomic analysis as well as studies in mainstream media disinformation, and is now focusing on the creation of a national network of barter markets designed to insulate and protect local economies from the inevitable collapse of the current unsustainable fiat system.

Copyright © 2011 Alt-Market.com