Senator Rand Paul is having a fantastic couple of days.

Summary of Senator Paul's points on al-Awlaki:

Anwar al-Awlaki was executed by a drone. Anwar al-Awlaki was a US citizen. As a citizen, al-Awlaki should have had a trial. This process is guaranteed under the Bill of Rights. A conviction in absentia would have been enough to allay the fears of the public. We all know that there are those that will never be happy. By executing al-Awlaki without any public scrutiny, the USG crossed a line that cannot be uncrossed. The point Sen Paul and Sen Lee (Utah) make are that we need to return transparency, accountability and make these processes very well defined.

We must rise above "consensus" or mob rule to act morally when using the force of government. We have due process for a reason, we should not ignore our rights and processes.

Lawfare Blog post on Drone Memos

Filibuster Reflections from Across the Liberty Movement:

The Libertarian Republic

Lions of Liberty

Tea Party Economist

Liberty Blog

Rand Paul Review

Rand Paul Flix

Yesterday evening we listened in on a conference call hosted by Evan Cutler of Alaskans for Ron Paul:

This conference call is the first of two calls with the second planned for sometime on Thursday, 06 September.

During this call Mr. Cutler described a phone call he made to Dr. Paul on 02 September 2012 to urge Dr. Paul to reenter the Presidential Race as a VP candidate for the Libertarian Party. Mr. Cutler claims that he has spoken to "insiders" within the Libertarian Party that are interested in Dr. Paul joining to ticket.

My personal thoughts are that the above suggestion is a bad idea.

1. Is our long term plan as a movement to move the Republican Party along or will we allow ourselves to be completely marginalized?
2. Any liberty candidate that has ever been associated with Dr. Paul will feel repercussions from this at all levels, because a Romney loss will be blamed on Dr. Paul.
3. Gary Johnson as President and Dr. Paul as VP - Does anyone else feel a little uncomfortable with that? I'm sure GJ is a great guy but his debate mannerisms were off and his presentation was poor. He did not even register in the primaries or caucuses. He simply does not inspire. No ticket since Romney/Ryan has relied so heavily on the VP. I do not see this working out favorably.
4. Pro-Choice: Gary Johnson and the Libertarian Party are Pro-Choice. Just like Pro-Life does for the lefties this is a position that is going to polarize the electorate. From his campaign website: "Life is precious and must be protected. A woman should be allowed to make her own decisions during pregnancy until the point of viability of a fetus." Well, we just lost a lot of potential voters. There are an astounding number of one issue voters and for a lot of people this is that issue. Dr. Paul has said in the past that he is "right to life." I'm not real sure what that means, but it is political gold.
5. A lot of people believe that Dr. Paul's We Are The Future Rally in Tampa was the torch passing to us, the supporters. (See Israel Anderson of Ron Paul Flix attempt to temper enthusiasm.)

I applaud everyone for trying to hold on to the dream, but this is a classic case of fear of the unknown. It is time for us to pick up the flag and continue the charge up the hill.

There are a lot of exciting things going on. Nothing is going to change overnight. I think we need another 4-5 years of hard work before we start to see real change.

Just watch State Sen Tom Davis of SC speak at Ron Paul's Rally. This guy is the real deal. He will be the one to kick that worthless warmongering big government scumbag Lindsey Graham out of office. We need to get behind this guy just like we did with Rand Paul and encourage him to run. A DeMint/Davis 1-2 punch out of South Carolina would be awesome.

Justin Amash, Jim DeMint, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul are gentlemen we should be proud to support. Follow these men on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure to follow your own representatives on Facebook and Twitter. Call them out, challenge them when they vote against the Constitution. Relentless constant pressure will win the day.

This revolution can grow, we just need to keep our eyes on the prize. New people join everyday because they see how you act, they feel your passion, and they hear the message articulated in your voice. Dr. Paul is our champion, unfortunately he is no longer our leader (Thanks to the book: The Starfish and The Spider). He left a legacy and a blueprint in his various writings.

Stop the infighting. Stop the blame game. Get off your ass. Find liberty candidates in your area that are running for local and state elections and support them. If you can't find a candidate in your area you better step up and find a position to run for.

We can rebuild this, better than before.

For Liberty,

To understand how foreign policy will change after the 2012 presidential elections, we must first identify the trends in Washington and abroad. The 2004 and 2008 presidential elections dealt with foreign policy matters in grandiose and ideological terms, shaping the discourse on America's role in the world during the first decade of the twenty-first century. This November, foreign policy issues will take a back-seat to the economy—but not because we have taken on a smaller role in foreign affairs. The trend in Washington has called for greater US engagement abroad to promote liberal democratic values, free market principles and free trade to further US interests and secure hegemony. The campaign rhetoric of 2008 on both sides of the aisle did not depart from the conceptual trend of continued US engagement, only on how best and when to use our Armed Forces. For all of the perceived differences between Presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, foreign policy changed little after the 2008 election. How foreign policy changes after the 2012 election, and America's role in an increasingly changing world, will depend not so much on who is elected president but on the difficult questions we ask to force a paradigm shift in Washington.



When then-Senator Obama was elected in 2008 he ran on a platform of change. By and large, Obama has held true to his promise. The change he promised included ending the war in Iraq, setting a timeline for withdrawal in Afghanistan, and broadly scaling back US boots-on-ground interventions. For his part, President Obama has been kept true to his campaign promises. Similarly, Romney discusses tightening the pressure on the Iranian regime and the need for more naval fleets as cornerstones of his foreign policy, issues he would most likely accomplish if elected president. Unfortunately, these changes in policy are exaggerated to energize the bases and are blown out of proportion by the 24-hour news media. They make it sound as if the democratic and republican parties are on completely opposite sides of the political spectrum. These disagreements on policy lack intellectual depth, as they have become the status quo of what the party establishments have settled upon. While Obama and Romney do have different backgrounds and worldviews (though not as pronounced as many believe) at their core both see greater US engagement as paramount to the foreign policy goals they want to accomplish. The paradox of the Obama Administration is that as they have called for less direct involvement, the proxy wars and constant drone strikes have noticeably increased--which ultimately will lead to prolonged conflict. If Romney is elected, tightening sanctions and marginalizing Iran even more could culminate in another avoidable armed conflict.


Since 2008 China has continued to steadily increase its purchasing power parity and establish itself in Africa. The Middle East was rocked by the so-called Arab Spring. Vladimir Putin has asserted Russia back as a serious geopolitical player in Asia. Iran and Israel have increased tensions and are on a collision path to war. Iraq was left a failed state. Afghanistan continues to flounder on any real progress. The trends around the world have been of increased tension towards the very principles espoused as cornerstones of US foreign policy. We must ask, then, does greater presence abroad increase our national security and foster freer trade? Are we any better off? Politics has become a reactionary sport in Washington—but on this point we must agree to ask the questions. The Obama and Romney campaigns are microcosms for how so many of us see the world: as black or white, republican or democrat, pro-war or anti-war. But these aren't are only options. It is how many of us have been conditioned to think, shackling our potential by limiting our options and intellectual capability. This election, expect foreign policy to follow the conventional trend prevalent in the Obama and Romney campaigns, unless we do something about it.




For Liberty,

Paul

      Isaac Newton proved white light was heterogeneous; it carried the colors of the rainbow within it until the moment it collided with a prism, and then the colors splintered off dispersing the colors of the rainbow.   To understand how the US contributed to a society that has increasingly begun viewing and identifying itself along various colors of the rainbow instead of heterogeneous white light, we must first acknowledge that we provided The Prism.  American foreign policy in Iraq has conceptually ignored this fact.  Namely, the theoretic Sunni-Shi’ah and Arab-Kurdish divides that have so dominated the Washington paradigm of Iraq were accepted at face value as ancient divisions.  This has shaped the Iraqi political climate, Iraqi culture and thought since the US-led invasion in 2003.  These ideas were borne into reality in every corner the American footprint laid its boot in Iraq. 

After a long observation of the events that have taken place in recent months, we are back. Many of the recent events have been overwhelming for some, disappointing for others and of no importance to most. I am here to say most of it has been of no importance to me. My motivation and inner flame to continue the fight for liberty remains. The players always change, what stays is the game and the rules of that game are exactly what we, in the liberty movement, are trying to change. Therefore, we must move on and continue to fight for liberty and individual freedom for all. 

Now on to the most pressing issue, The Affordable Care Act (Obamacare or whatever you want to call it). It is just another government program attempting to solve a problem by enlisting the government's awesome bureaucrats and throwing the people's money at it, and we all know how that turns out for our country.  

Welcome to the first full day of what is assuredly our last as a free nation. The government is setting itself up for complete information domination.

Educate yourselves on this bill. Contact your Senators and urge them to vote no. There is no way Obama vetoes this bill.  NONE.

Gizmodo's What is CISPA?

CISPA Wikipedia Page

Gotta love foreign press! - The Guardian's Coverage of Dr. Ron Paul's opposition to CISPA
Where is fox/cnn/msnbc on this bill?

Digital Trends Opinion Piece

Wired Opinion Piece

Please add to the links in the comments below and we will update this post as more information becomes available.

-For Liberty

  Would a proportional representation system foster liberty and individual freedom more than our current single member district plurality system? In our current "lesser of two evils" approach to selecting our elected officials only one side of the table is represented in a district. The majority is represented strongly while the minority is forced to either remain unrepresented or choose the "lesser of two evils". In this way smaller parties are flushed out and herded into the larger parties and their flagship. In today's political arena, we have only two choices because of this system.  

According to reports out today the televangelist, Pat Robertson, is calling for the end of prohibition of Marijuana. His reasoning is interesting and seemingly SANE. We have been critical of mainstream Christians for sometime for their anti-Christian support of the Drug War in these United States. It is important to not that if someone like Pat Robertson who has a history of some fairly racy and controversial statements/opinions on a wide range of topics can come out in support of an issue that is counter to the mainstream GOP beliefs then maybe this Liberty movement as a whole is making serious and speedy progress at a time when we desperately need real change.  

  Ash Wednesday today the first day of lent and the beginning of 40 days of prayer and fasting observed by Christians throughout the country.The Jews will also gather to celebrate Passover in April, one of many traditions observed under the religious freedom that the U.S. Constitution was designed to preserve. Religious freedom in the United States has been an issue that has taken center stage in recent weeks. Religious Liberty is the freedom to choose and practice any religion. This does not differ from Liberty. An individual has the right to choose, think, and act for oneself so long as it does not negatively affect anyone else. Religion is a hot button in America, with a history of violence and mayhem in the name of religion. However, does the government have the right to force a fee upon you for practicing religion? I don't thinks so.  

_    Unfortunately, I think the Republican Party at large lacks the ability for empathy. This was evident during the first of two SC debates when the crowd was heard booing Dr. Paul when he suggested applying the golden rule to our foreign policy. Is this idea so radical? Are we not a Christian Nation founded on Christianity's principles? What the hell is going on in this country? Why are we in such a rush to go to war? These are questions that Americans would benefit from answering for themselves.