Gordon Gekko and Barack Obama

by BlueCarp | 7:20 pm, October 30, 2008

Gordon Gekko, Oliver Stone’s evil corporate raider in the 1987 movie Wall Street, said “Greed is good.”

Stone, with his usual subtleness, let us know that, in fact, greed is not good. And Stone is correct.

Greed is bad.

However, somehow the condemnation of greed has morphed into a hatred of profit.

It is as if the upcoming New Great Society promulgated by our next president is an all out attack on profit.

The “windfall” profit made by greedy oil companies must be taxed so that the wealth can be “spread around a little.”

The existence of profit does not equate with the existence of greed. Greed is evil.

But profits keep children fed. Profits pay wages. Profits buy medicine. Profits create jobs.

The government, contrary to the overwhelming belief of our next president and his army of well-intentioned supporters, does not do any of these things.

Government, by itself, does not feed children. It does not pay wages. It does not buy medicine. It does not create jobs.

People confuse the government confiscation of someone else’s profit with government money. The government does not earn its money. The government confiscates money earned by people and uses it to political ends. In some instances, like funding police and national defense, this confiscation is necessary. In most, it is not.

It is easy for the government to dole out largesse when it is doling out money it did not earn.

A faith in the inherent benevolence in the government is as misplaced as Gordon Gekko’s belief in greed.

No, greed is not good. But neither is government largesse.

Any belief otherwise is misplaced.

And we are looking straight ahead at four years of government benevolence. When Obama’s term is up, we will not be nearly as worried about “windfall” profits. There will not be any.

And we will learn, yet again, what happens when there is no profit for the government to confiscate.

Will the Republicans learn anything from the massive defeat looming ahead?

by BlueCarp | 9:44 am, October 29, 2008

From the Associated Press:

Barack Obama, gunning for a national landslide, now leads in four states won by President Bush in 2004 and is essentially tied with John McCain in two other Republican red states, according to new AP-GfK battleground polling.

The results help explain why the Democrat is pressing his money and manpower advantages in a slew of traditionally GOP states, hoping not just for a win but a transcendent victory that remakes the nation’s political map. McCain is scrambling to defend states where he wouldn’t even be campaigning if the race were closer.

This is what happens when the Republicans nominate a liberal.

They get their collective ass kicked. The Democrats are the liberal party. By nominating a liberal, the Republicans have made themselves irrelevant.

The only small government party in this country is the Libertarian Party.

If small government Republicans can not retake their party, the Republicans are going to join the Whigs in the historical dustbin.

An Obama presidency, combined with Democratic control of congress, is going to result in a tremendous economic setback for this country.

And it’s largely the Republicans’ fault for letting it happen. They failed to provide any real alternative. The only defense of McCain from even hardcore Republicans is that he’s’ “not as bad as Obama.” That is insufficient.

The Libertarian Party is in a position to make massive gains in the aftermath of the impending economic debacle ahead.

The question is whether or not small government Republicans try to rebuild the rotting infrastructure within their crumbling party, or join the party that actually supports their limited government philosophy.

It is the same choice faced by those on a sinking ship with plenty of lifeboats. Go down with it, or jump the hell off a ship that no longer serves its intended purpose.

It ain’t kosher

by BlueCarp | 10:13 am, October 28, 2008

“Small government Republicans” voting for McCain are akin to orthodox Jews ordering pork sausage for breakfast.

Hey, sausage ain’t as bad as chitlins, so it’s okay.

Boulder liberal Mark Udall kicking Bob Schaffer’s ass in the polls.

by BlueCarp | 9:52 am, October 27, 2008

This poll has Democratic senate candidate Udall with a 13 point lead. The national Republican party has pulled its money out of the state. They have given up and conceded the Senate seat to Udall.

Why is Schaffer doing so poorly? One reason is the direction taken by the Republican party.

The Republican presidential candidate does not help Schaffer. Usually, the presidential candidate can provide coat tails to fellow party members in state and local races.

Since McCain is almost as liberal as Obama (but not quite), all the coat tails go to the Democrats.

If you want to vote for a candidate that actual believes in smaller government, vote Bob Barr.

McCain is going to lose by 10% anyway. Send a message to the Republicans that unless they return to free market, small government policy, there is no need for them to exist. The Democrats have the market cornered on big government and market regulation.

Vote for liberty. Vote and join the Libertarian Party, or accept the mediocrity of McCain and tell the Republicans that it’s okay to try a Socialist-lite strategy.

Unholy Alliance: Labor Unions and the Denver Chamber of Commerce

by BlueCarp | 1:12 pm, October 25, 2008

Amendment 54 is a Colorado ballot initiative that would keep any organization and its principals that receive no-bid government contracts from donating to political campaigns. The complete text is here.

Hard to argue with Reason

by BlueCarp | 12:16 pm, October 24, 2008

Reason senior editor Radley Balko wrote a column titled

Why the Republicans Must Lose

Nothing short of defeat will put the GOP back on its limited government track

He notes

The Republican Party has exiled its Goldwater-Reagan wing and given up all pretense of any allegiance to limited government. In the last eight years, the GOP has given us a monstrous new federal bureaucracy in the Department of Homeland Security. In the prescription drug benefit, it’s given us the largest new federal entitlement since the Johnson administration. Federal spending—even on items not related to war or national security—has soared. And we now get to watch as the party that’s supposed to be “free market” nationalizes huge chunks of the economy’s financial sector.

Read the whole thing here.

Bob Barr back in Denver this Friday.

by BlueCarp | 3:57 pm, October 15, 2008

Without apology.

by BlueCarp | 4:58 pm, October 8, 2008

I believe in freedom. Without apology.

Taxes encroach on freedom.

State power encroaches on freedom.

I am not an absolutist. I am not an ideologue. I am not an anarchist.

I believe that taxes and the state are necessary.

Yet so is water. Too much of it, and you drown. You die.

Taxation and state power have grown far beyond any legitimate usefulness they might have. Our society is drowning in both. We have given ourselves a fire hose when all we need is a Dixie Cup.

The United States government is the single largest employer in the country. This is obscene.

The government produces nothing of value. Nothing. Why are so many people necessary to produce nothing of value? They are not.

They are wasteful. Would that it were that was all. But they are worse than wasteful. They prevent actual production of value. The government makes it harder for people that wish to produce to do so.

Unreasonable licenses, fees, regulation, red tape and bureaucracy make it so.

Without the production of value, there are no jobs. There is no food. There is no shelter. People produce these things. Government does not.

Indeed, oftentimes people form corporations to produce things. Yet corporations are nothing. They are legal fiction. Corporations are nothing but the individuals that comprise them.

True, government is nothing but people that comprise it. The difference is that people are free to purchase things from the people in a corporation or not, yet people are forcibly coerced into giving money to the government.

To some, this government coercion is fine. To me, it is not.

I make no apology for being anti-government.

I am tired of being criticized for lacking compassion because I am against the government and against the forcible confiscation of people’s money. It is not the government’s job to provide compassion.

It is mine. It is yours.

By sloughing off the responsibility of “compassion” over to the government, some are relieved of the moral burden of being compassionate themselves.

If they vote in favor of government force to take other people’s money to help the needy, they are compassionate. They care. At least that is the fiction under which these misguided people operate. It is so much easier to believe in fiction than reality.

It is not compassionate to take someone else’s money for a cause, no matter how worthy. It is compassionate to voluntarily give money to a cause in which one believes.

Some say charity will never be sufficient to provide for all the worthy causes. That government taxation is necessary to provide for all of these worthy causes. I say these people’s definition of “worthy cause” is overly broad.

If people do not wish to give money to a cause, the cause is not worthy to that person. It is immoral to force that person to give anyway, because government deems it necessary.

It is so much easier to force others to donate than to ask nicely. If one has to ask, then the answer might be “no.”

The faux-compassionate, pro-government faction can not stand for that. They deem themselves too compassionate to give others that freedom.

I am anti-government. I am anti-tax. I am pro-freedom. I am pro-liberty.

And I make no apologies.

The McCain nightmare gets worse and worse

by BlueCarp | 10:05 am, October 8, 2008

The credit crisis was not due to lax regulation

by BlueCarp | 10:57 pm, October 6, 2008

People’s willingness to believe in the power of regulation over the free market is amazing. Perusing a listserv, I came across this snippet of economic illiteracy:

“Much of this was the result of lax regulations on financial insitutions which allowed them to make these risky loans in the first place, thus encouraging the overspending and under savings, encouraging individuals to purchases houses that are well beyond their means and thus drving up the housing costs, which of course in turn encouraged more investment in the housing.”

Bailout? More like a buffet.

by BlueCarp | 9:03 am, October 3, 2008

The Debates

by BlueCarp | 9:40 pm, October 2, 2008

I have read about a mythical time when the Republicans believed in limited government and free markets.

Listening to Obama/Biden debate McCain/Palin is like listening to Lenin debate Trotsky.

It’s like each camp is trying to one-up the other on who will regulate the “greed and corruption” of Wall Street and oil companies the most.

I think Ralph Nader is concerned the Republicans are going to start taking votes from him.

More on the proposed federal bailout

by BlueCarp | 9:00 am, October 1, 2008

Check out this Republican Senator’s comments in a Bloomberg.com article:

“Over $1 trillion worth of market value was wiped off the books by the stock market drop,” said Senator Robert Bennett, a Utah Republican. “It is ordinary people looking at ordinary pensions, with their ordinary Main Street kind of 401(k) plans, who lost that $1 trillion. And they lost it in a matter of minutes.”

That “$1 trillion worth of market value was wiped off the books” because the assets were overpriced, by say, about $1 trillion.

Of course, a lot of that “market value” has bounced back since Bennett’s hysterical pronouncement.

Bennett would have long term economic policy based on “a matter of minutes” on the stock market. That is exactly the kind of over-reaction that politicians are famous for.

Calm down, Senator Bennett. Take a deep breath. We are in this for the long term. And the government buying valueless assets to prop up the market value of private companies that bought them in the first place will only prolong the agony.

Liberals using kids as props – Shameless

by BlueCarp | 4:54 pm, September 30, 2008

The House got it right: No Socialization of Failed Businesses

by BlueCarp | 1:16 pm, September 29, 2008

At least for today.

Congratulations to the House for killing the bailout.

This article is telling. It shows some of the wrong-headed ideas behind the bailout in the first place.

To wit:

“Clearly something needs to be done, and the market dropping 400 points in
10 minutes is telling you that,” said Chris Johnson president of Johnson
Research Group.

Yes, Mr. Johnson, something needs to be done. That something is the unemployment of the bankers that made bad loans. While we are at it, the worthless loans can be written off and any salvageable loans can be sold at market value. It’s quite simple.

The value of the failed private businesses – and thus the stock market – has been artificially propped up by government regulation (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were government creations designed to issue sub-prime loans the market would not provide) and bad business judgment. Perhaps if Mr. Johnson’s research group had been a little better at its job, he could have seen this coming and done something before running to Congress asking for taxpayer money to prop up worthless assets.

William Kaye, managing partner of the Great Asia Hedge Fund in Hong Kong, has it right.

He asked

“Why not let them go broke?” he said. “People who do stupid things should get
punished.” He said the Paulson bailout reminds him of the piecemeal way Japan
let a banking crisis drag on throughout the 1990s by periodically rescuing banks
instead of allowing them to go out of business.

Artificially propping up the credit market will only prolong the agony. The market has to adjust. Short term pain is preferable to long term systemic failure.

Thankfully the House understands that.

Economic Knowledge from March 2005

by BlueCarp | 10:48 am, September 27, 2008

Paul Cleveland, of the Ludwig von Mises Institute, wrote this article in March of 2005. A highlight from the article:

. . . many think that the U.S. government would prevent Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae from failing financially if changes in the market worked against their portfolio values. Whether this assumption is correct or not is unclear. However, what is clear is that U.S. taxpayers are on the hook to bail out these institutions at least up to the line of credit and potentially could be called on to pay much more if they failed. In fact, rightly or wrongly, investors generally believe that this is the case given the low risk profile the companies enjoy.

Looks like those investors were right.

To hear economic illiterates say that the current financial “crisis” is a failure of the free market would be laughable if it were not so sad.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are creatures of government interference in the free market. And they have failed, with disastrous results.

BlueCarp recommends everyone read the articles at Mises.org. This is a good place to start.

LPCO Recommendations on the 2008 Ballot Initiatives

by BlueCarp | 5:37 pm, September 25, 2008

The Board of Directors of the Libertarian Party of Colorado sets forth the following recommendations on the 18 COLORADO INITIATIVES currently on the ballot for this November, 2008.

TITLE	SUBJECT	SUMMARY DESCRIPTION	LPCO SAYS	EXPLANATION
Referendum L	Candidate age limits	If passed, this would lower the age of a candidate for the Colorado House and Senate from 25 to 21.	YES	If you can get the votes, age is irrelevant.
Referendum M	Obsolete constitutional provisions	If passed, this would eliminate obsolete provisions in the state constitution about land value increases.	YES	Nothing substantive changed by eliminating these obsolete provisions.
Referendum N	Obsolete constitutional provisions	If passed, this would eliminate obsolete provisions in the constitution about intoxicating liquor.	YES	Nothing substantive changed by eliminating these obsolete provisions.
Referendum O	Initiative process	If passed, this would make it harder for citizens to place constitutional amendments on the ballot for voter approval, but make it easier for citizens to place state statutes on the ballot. It also provides protection against the state legislature from amending statutes passed through the initiative process.	NO	The LPCO fully supports the citizen initiative process. Since this Referendum makes it harder for citizens to place Constitutional Amendments on the ballot we oppose it.

Amendment 46	Affirmative action	If passed, this would prohibit the state from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment to any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.	YES	The government should not give preferential treatment to any group.
Amendment 47	Right to work	If passed, this would prohibit unions and employers from negotiating “union shop” contracts under which employees would be required to pay union membership or “agency” fees as a condition of continued employment.	YES	The LPCO supports the right to work.
Amendment 48	Definition of “person” and abortion	If passed, this would change the definition of ‘person’ in the Colorado Constitution to include any fertilized egg, embryo or fetus.	NO	While the LPCO takes no official position on abortion, this proposed constitutional amendment would have far reaching implications and unintended consequences throughout the entire state constitution.
Amendment 49	Public payroll deductions	If passed, this would bar automatic dues deductions for private enterprises, including unions, from public employee payrolls.	YES	The government (at taxpayer expense) should not act as collector, bundler and distributor of dues for any private organization.
Amendment 50	Casino gambling	If passed, this would allow the general assembly or voters in the cities that permit limited gaming to extend the hours of limited gaming operations; to add roulette, craps, or both to the allowed games; and to increase the maximum bet up to $100.	YES	The government has no business telling people what they can do with their own money. If people want to gamble, it is not the government’s business.
Amendment 51	Sales tax for the developmentally disabled	If passed, this would increase the sales tax, in July 2009 and again in July 2010, to fund services for the developmentally disabled.	NO	While this is an admirable cause, it is best addressed via private charity and not taxation.
Amendment 52	Severance tax and transportation	If passed, this would create the Colorado Transportation Trust Fund, to be funded by that portion of the severance tax that exceeds the amount deposited to the state severance tax fund in the previous year, adjusted for inflation via the Consumer Price Index	NO POSITION	Since this amendment does not raise taxes, it only changes how existing taxes are spent, the LPCO takes no position.
Amendment 53	Criminal liability for business executives	If passed, this would increase the conduct for which criminal liability attaches for conduct of business executives.	NO	This amendment makes executive conduct that is currently subject to civil liability and makes it criminal. Further, fraud is already illegal.
Amendment 54	Government contracting reform	If passed, this would prohibit those benefitting from no-bid government contracts valued at more than $100,000 a year from contributing to political causes for the duration of the contract plus two years.	NO POSITION	There was disagreement among the BOD concerning the best way to address this issue.
Amendment 55	Employee relations, “employment at will” doctrine	If passed, this would end the “employment at will” doctrine in the state. Employers would have to document “just cause” for firing an employee.	NO	This amendment would unnecessarily open additional litigation avenues, be of limited benefit to employees, and make the cost of doing business unnecessarily expensive in the state.

Amendment 56	Employee relations, health insurance	If passed, this would require employers of more than 20 people to pay for health insurance for their employees and families; also would establish a government program to administer the program.	NO	This amendment would make the cost of doing business in this state prohibitive and drive jobs out of the state.
Amendment 57	Employee relations, workplace conditions	If passed, this would allow employees to sue employers for work injuries outside of the workers’ compensation system.	NO	This amendment would make the cost of doing business in this state prohibitive and drive jobs out of the state.
Amendment 58	Taxes	If passed, this would eliminate a tax credit for property taxes paid for payers of the severance tax, using the revenue primarily to fund college scholarships.	NO	This amendment unnecessarily raises taxes for a cause better suited for private charitable contributions.
Amendment 59	Education funding	If passed, this would create a state education fund savings account within the state education fund, to be funded from 10% of the monies deposited into the state education fund, including revenue that would otherwise be rebated under the TABOR rules, would also require that state educational spending increase by rate of inflation plus 1% through fiscal year 2010-2011; and restricts spending of the state education fund to specific education expenses	NO	This amendment would eviscerate TABOR.

Why did Ron Paul endorse Chuck Baldwin?

by BlueCarp | 11:07 am, September 23, 2008

Ron Paul has done more for the cause of limited government and personal liberty than any politician since Barry Goldwater.

That’s why his presidential endorsement of Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin is puzzling.

He announced his endorsement via his Campaign for Liberty site.

Before making the announcement, he discussed his “Unity Press Conference,” which was attended by Baldwin, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney – but not Bob Barr:

Obviously the press conference could have been even more successful without the last-minute change of heart by the Libertarian Party candidate by not participating. He stated that his support for the four points remains firm. His real reason for not coming, nor letting me know until forty minutes before the press conference started, is unknown to me. To say the least, I was shocked and disappointed.

Of course, the Barr campaign has a different version of events. Bob Barr campaign manager Russ Verney, in an email to supporters, said:

After rumors were spread in advance of the news conference that Bob Barr was dropping from the race – just to hype the event – I became even more hesitant to attend. Those tactics were unacceptable and when asked about it, Ron Paul’s staff simply smiled and said it would attract the press.

When I was provided a copy of Ron Paul’s prepared remarks just hours before the start of the planned news conference it became clear to me that the message Ron Paul intended to deliver was essentially to scatter the votes for the liberty agenda to the four winds.

His remarks not only encouraged anyone listening to support any one of four candidates, he also applauded ‘non-voters’. To me encouraging people not to vote is not principled leadership for the Liberty agenda.

Apparently there was a lack of communication between the two camps and some hurt feelings. But this is politics. There is no place for hurt feelings.

In his endorsement of Baldwin, Paul wrote:

Yet in the long run, this last-minute change in plans will prove to be of little importance. I’m convinced that problems like this always seem bigger at the moment, yet things usually work out in the end. Recovering from the mistakes and shortcomings of all that we do in this effort is not difficult if the message is right and our efforts are determined. And I’m convinced they are. That’s what will determine our long-term success, not the shortcomings of any one person.

Given the context of the entire announcement, it appears that the “shortcomings of any one person” is a thinly veiled jab at Barr. No problem. This is politics.

Paul continued:

The Libertarian Party Candidate admonished me for “remaining neutral” in the presidential race and not stating whom I will vote for in November.

…

I’ve thought about the unsolicited advice from the Libertarian Party candidate, and he has convinced me to reject my neutral stance in the November election. I’m supporting Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate.

That is the general background leading up to Paul’s endorsement.

Most people outside the insulated world of third party politics probably have a question: “Who is Chuck Baldwin?”

Let’s look at the Constitution Party website for some answers.

Among other things, the CP wants to end American involvement in overseas wars, limit the federal government’s powers to those specifically enumerated in the Constitution, and return power to those states by reviving the dormant Tenth Amendment.

So far, so good.

But let’s look at some of those “other things,” as well.

The CP website asks visitors to “Join the Constitution Party in its work to restore our government to its Constitutional limits and our law to its Biblical foundations.”

Biblical foundations? At best, that claim is historically questionable. Throughout its website, the CP picks quotes from John Adams and others that indicate a belief that Christianity is an important part of American government.

Of course, the CP ignores quotes from Thomas Jefferson and others that indicate a different belief.

For an organization that purports to support a stringent reading of the Constitution, it fails to address why the words “Jesus Christ,” “Christianity,” “bible,” or even “church” fail to appear in the document.

The CP has to look outside the document to support its position, which is exactly what liberal judicial activists do to support their arguments for expansion of federal power.

The entire CP platform is online.

It begins: “The Constitution Party gratefully acknowledges the blessing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as Creator, Preserver and Ruler of the Universe and of these United States.”

The CP therefore has no place for those that do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

Ironically, this would keep Thomas Jefferson out of the CP. Jefferson denied that Christ was divine, and put together a little something called “The Jefferson Bible” to support that belief.

It is hard to imagine how a political party that rejects Jews, Muslims, atheists, Wiccans, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics and Thomas Jefferson can be said to support either freedom or liberty.

In that regard, the CP platform sets forth its specific positions very clearly:

The CP is against homosexual rights.

The CP is against abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.

The CP supports the war on drugs.

The CP favors government regulation of the internet and the media in general because both contain sexually provocative images.

The CP is anti-free market in that it favors government restriction on the private use of personal money on gambling and prostitution.

The CP is anti-free trade.

The CP supports government’s power to kill criminals.

The CP would not allow women in combat.

The CP believes that education “cannot be separated from religious faith.”

The CP would eliminate all immigration into the country “except in extreme hardship cases or in other individual special circumstances.”

The CP would keep out immigrants based on whether or not the government found them a moral burden on the country or not.

The CP supports “all the legislation which would remove from Federal appellate review jurisdiction matters involving acknowledgement of God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government.”

There can be no doubt Ron Paul believes in individual liberty, freedom and limited government. But it is hard to see how Chuck Baldwin and the CP advance these beliefs.

It appears that Paul has taken a perceived slight from Bob Barr personally, and in a fit of pique, endorsed a religious zealot, intolerant of non-Christians and a believer in government authority to implement a Christian theocracy.

And that’s too bad

Let’s End the Republican Charade

by BlueCarp | 10:06 am, September 21, 2008

Let’s list some recent Republican accomplishments:

1. Nationalization of failed private lenders and insurers – AIG, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac.

2. Substantial curtailment of the Fourth Amendment in the name of freedom – Patriot Act, FISA.

3. Creation of bigger government – Department of Homeland Security (instead of merging existing government departments like the FBI, DEA, ATF, ad nauseum, the Repubs created another layer of government).

4. Advocacy of more regulation – McCain’s answer to the mortgage crisis.

Can we just end the charade? Republicans are more interested in retaining power than they are anything else. “Winning” has become paramount. Principles matter not.

At least some Republicans used to stand for limited government and additional personal freedom. See Goldwater, Barry and Reagan, Ronald. No longer.

The one sitting Congressional Republican that actually fights for limited government and personal freedom, Ron Paul, is treated like a leper by the Republican establishment.

Let’s end the charade. Reject the Republican poseurs.

Join the Libertarian Party.

“Yes on 49 “

by BlueCarp | 11:50 am, September 18, 2008

The Rocky supports

Amendment 49 – just as we previously supported various versions of this policy at the local level. It would block state and local government agencies from deducting dues or fees from employee paychecks for unions or other membership groups.

Why this is an issue at all is a mystery. There is no reason for the government – at tax-payer expense – to serve as dues collector, accountant and money bundler for any private organization.

Of course, unions are against it. They currently get a free ride that other private organizations, like the NRA and AARP, do not get. If Amendment 49 passes, unions will have to get money like every other private organization: By asking their members.

As the Rocky notes: “In other words, government provides a free dues collection service for major lobbyists. . . The free deduction and collection of dues is a special benefit denied to most other worthy civic organizations.”

Maybe the kids were noisy because they were talking with Osama bin Laden

by BlueCarp | 4:55 pm, September 15, 2008

Headline from the UK’s Telegraph:

“Anti-terrorism laws used to spy on noisy children”

Subhead: “Councils are using anti-terrorism laws to spy on residents and tackle barking dogs and noisy children.”

Well, certainly nothing like this would ever happen in America. After all, our surveillance statute is called the Patriot Act, so only Patriots will use it.

Anyone that complains about this is on the side of the terrorists.

McCain: Big Government Republican

by BlueCarp | 7:36 am, September 13, 2008

Matt Welch of Reason magazine chronicles McCain’s belief in the government as the answer to America’s problems. McCain does not believe in freedom and liberty, he believes in government programs.

The argument that McCain is better than Obama, and therefore should get my vote, is nonsense.

They both worship at the altar of the State. Just because one wants to take us in the direction of Statism, and away from personal liberty, at 100 mph and the other at 90 mph is no reason to favor one over the other.

It is like being asked to chose between death by hanging or death by firing squad: different methods with the same result.

If you prefer a less macabre simile, it is like being asked to chose chitlins or pigs feet for supper. Either way, you are gonna be eating some nasty dinner.

And those that chose the pigs feet because it ain’t as bad as the chitlins? Guess what their choices will be tomorrow – exactly the same.

The only way to get new choices is to reject the ones offered or go to a different diner.

By accepting the two poor choices, one is perpetuating the system that gives us those choices.

Nothing is going to change unless we first want to make it change, and second do something about it.

I agree with Ron Paul that voting for any third party legally on your state’s ballot is better than voting for the systemic mediocrity presented by the two-party duopoly. If you really want more government regulations and redistribution of wealth, vote for Nader or McKinney. If you really want freedom and liberty, vote for Bob Barr.

If you want something else, vote for it.

It is reasonable to see a time when either wing of the two-party duopoly consistently fails to garner even a plurality of legally cast votes. When that happens, the duopoly will be broken and real change and real choice will be available.

Start in 2008. Make your vote really count. Don’t waste it on something you don’t really believe in because you want to “win.” What kind of victory is that? It’s not even pyrrhic. It’s not even a victory.

5,000 Protesters “March Against the Machine” in Denver

by BlueCarp | 9:01 pm, August 27, 2008

UPDATE: HERE are more photos of the protesters rushing the Pepsi Center.
The cops were ready for them.

It looked like things would get exciting there for a minute, but fortunately for Denver there were no 21st Century Bill Ayers wannabes exploding bombs and and torching government offices.

* * * * *

Here are a few images from Wednesday evening’s March Against the Machine. For the first time there were more protesters than police, however the police were very well armed and ready for anything.

This was a decent protest. It was about the size of the Pro-Life rally yesterday that didn’t get any press.

This was the largest protest yet this week in Denver and ended peacefully even after around 1,000 of the antiwar youths rushed down to the Pepsi Center after the official protest ended.

UPDATE: Army Capt. Brian Faunce was 23 when he died in Iraq in an accident. You must have a college degree before you become captain. Army Capt. Brian Faunce was 23.
Hat Tip Just a Grunt

A couple of dozen self-proclaimed veterans marched down the streets in Denver today at the DNC Convention.

They said they were Iraq War veterans– Who knows?

** The People’s Press has several updates from today’s Denver events.

Vets For Freedom Founders Board Anti-”Bush Legacy” Bus– Confront Staff For Showing US Soldier Snuff Films! (Video)

by BlueCarp | 4:37 pm, August 27, 2008

Vets For Freedom Chairman Pete Hegseth and Vice-Chairman/Founder Dave Bellavia hijacked the anti-”Bush Legacy” bus this morning at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado.

The two patriots from the bipartisan Vets For Freedom just got back from a recent visit to Iraq. They attended the DNC Convention this week to talk with Democratic politicians about the great success of the Bush Surge in Iraq.
Obviously, this was not an easy week for the two VFF Founders.

They were not pleased to hear that the “Bush Legacy” bus is traveling the US promoting anti-Bush propaganda and that part of that propaganda includes showing US soldier snuff films taken by insurgents in Iraq!

Outrageous! It’s one thing being antiwar or anti-Bush…
It’s another thing to show enemy propaganda of attacks on US soldiers!

Here Pete Hegseth confronts one of the Bush Legacy staffers on their horrible insurgent propaganda:

** It is telling that according to Dennis Prager, who is at the DNC Convention, no speaker has yet mentioned Iraq.
Hat Tip Bruce Kesler

Previously:
Vets For Freedom Hijacks the Anti-”Bush Legacy” Bus!

Hillary Supporters Phone Bank For McCain During DNC Convention

by BlueCarp | 3:31 pm, August 27, 2008

John McCain recently released a video “Debra” featuring Debra Bartoshevich, a lifelong Democrat and former Clinton delegate, explaining why she supports John McCain.

Tonight in St. Louis, Democratic McCain supporters are meeting in St. Louis, Missouri to phone bank on behalf of the McCain Campaign:

ST. LOUIS, MO — U.S. Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign today announced that this evening, August 27th, from 6:30-8 p.m. Democrats for McCain are skipping the DNCC coverage to meet at the St. Louis Victory Office to phone bank on behalf of John McCain.

This phone banking falls on the heels of the campaign’s release of the new television ad, “Debra.” The ad features Debra Bartoshevich, a lifelong Democrat and former Clinton delegate, explaining why she supports John McCain. Because John McCain has the experience and judgment we need at these challenging times, millions of Democrats from across the country are supporting him. The ad will air in key states.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

WHO: Democrats for McCain

WHAT: Phone banking for John McCain

WHEN: Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 6:30-8 p.m.

WHERE: Victory Office
921 Fee Fee Rd
Maryland Heights, MO 63043

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