"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
May 15, 2008 Fascism, Corporate State's Achilles Heel Consider that these fascist corporations have a large, soft, vulnerable Achilles heel. Yes, they are in bed with the government – their top executives go back and forth between both sides of the bed – to such an extent that it no longer is possible to tell who is impregnating whom. But there still is a difference.
- by Alan Stang / NewsWithViews
You Say You Want a Revolution? John Quincy Adams, whose wise counsel about America going “not abroad in search of monsters to destroy” is naturally quoted in Ron Paul’s post-campaign manifesto, The Revolution, also provided what may, on some (distant, we may hope) day, be the epitaph on Representative Paul’s congressional career: “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
- by Bill Kauffman / Taki's Magazine
NPR Interview: Ron Paul's 'Revolution' Texas congressman Rep. Ron Paul talks about his book, The Revolution: A Manifesto and his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Sen. John McCain is the presumptive Republican nominee, but Paul plans to continue his campaign to the GOP convention where he will take his message of limited government and opposition to the war.
In his book, Paul says that his "revolution" is not new: "It is a peaceful continuation," he writes, "of the American Revolution and the principles of our Founding Fathers: liberty, self-government, the Constitution, and a noninterventionist foreign policy. That is what they taught us, and that is what we now defend." MP3 Audio - by Talk of the Nation / NPR
Ron Paul Hopes to Crash McCain's Party "What's happening with Ron Paul cannot be ignored by John McCain," said Greg Mueller, a Republican consultant not affiliated with any campaign.
"You need every vote, whether it's a social conservative, a tax conservative or a national defense conservative. Like the social conservatives, if that vote had been ignored, George Bush would not have made it in 2000. … They have to be excited, energized to get other people to vote."
- by ABC News
$2000 Gold in 2009 says Peter Schiff Peter Schiff, Ron Paul supporter and President & Chief Global Strategist at Pacific Capital Inc, predicts $2000 gold in one year.
Tax Rebate Will Only Stall, Not Stop Recession The U.S. economy is in a recession and stimulus from a government tax rebate later this quarter will only temporarily stem a fall in consumer spending, a Merrill Lynch economist said on Wednesday. U.S. households will get tax rebates next month as part of a $152 billion stimulus package passed earlier this year, aimed at propping up an economy hit by the subprime mortgage crisis, losses at top banks and a credit crunch. "I still maintain the business cycle is bigger than the government," Merrill's North American economist David Rosenberg said at a client conference in Singapore. He said the world's largest economy was already in recession as consumer spending and confidence had fallen and jobs losses were rising, with the number of hours worked having fallen sharply.
- by Reuters / CNBC
Double-Digit Inflation? Like the Burns Fed of the 1970s, the Bernanke Fed is trying to avert a chain reaction of failures. Like the decision-makers under Burns, the team under Bernanke is talking the talk of moderation, while walking the walk of inflation.
Can't they add up the numbers? Don't they see the handwriting on the wall? Maybe, maybe not. But all that matters is their actions — and the consequences of their actions ...
- by Free Market News Network
Federal Spending Rising Twice As Fast As Taxes Federal spending is rising more than twice as fast as receipts so far this fiscal year, reflecting the economic slump and the rising costs of the military and other government programs, the Treasury Department reported Monday. The U.S. government took in a record $404 billion in revenue in April, up 5% from a year earlier, but outlays rose 19% to $244.5 billion, cutting the monthly surplus down to $159.3 billion, the Treasury Department reported Monday.
- by Rex Nutting / MarketWatch
Democrats Agree on $3 Trillion Budget Plan Congressional Democrat leaders have reached agreement on a $3 trillion budget blueprint that would authorize a small increase for domestic priorities and spare millions of households from an unpopular tax. But it postpones most major budget decisions until after this fall's presidential election. The deal, reached late Friday between House Budget Committee Chairman John M. Spratt Jr. (D-S.C.) and Senate Budget Committee chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), would increase spending on government programs in the fiscal year that begins in October about $20 billion beyond President Bush's request.
- by Lori Montgomery / The Washington Post
Ron Paul Fox Business Interview David Asman 05/13/2008
JPMorgan Admits Receiving Multi-Billion Dollar Gift From the Fed The controversial deal orchestrated by the Federal Reserve that pushed Bear Stearns into the hands of JPMorgan Chase, at the height of the sub-prime crisis, will turn into billions of dollars in gains for for JPMorgan Chase. The deal will result in an immediate second quarter gain of $1 billion for JPMorgan Chase, admitted Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon. The projected $1 billion gain reflects the addition of Bear Stearns capital, offset by roughly $9 billion of losses reflecting asset sales, purchase accounting, restructuring, litigation costs and Bear’s second-quarter losses, Dimon told a UBS investor conference.
- by Robert Wegner / NationalEconomist.com
Congress Defies Veto Threat, Votes to Halt Oil Stockpiling The House and Senate voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to temporarily stop filling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a response to public anger over rising oil prices as the average price of regular unleaded gasoline nationwide hit a new high of $3.73 per gallon.
- by Zachary Coile / The San Francisco Chronicle
US Confession: Weapons Were Not Made in Iran After All In a sharp reversal of its longstanding accusations against Iran arming militants in Iraq , the US military has made an unprecedented albeit quiet confession: the weapons they had recently found in Iraq were not made in Iran at all. According to a report by the LA Times correspondent Tina Susman in Baghdad: “A plan to show some alleged Iranian-supplied explosives to journalists last week in Karbala and then destroy them was canceled after the United States realized none of them was from Iran. A U.S. military spokesman attributed the confusion to a misunderstanding that emerged after an Iraqi Army general in Karbala erroneously reported the items were of Iranian origin. When U.S. explosives experts went to investigate, they discovered they were not Iranian after all.”
- by CASMII Press Release
Truth and War It has often been said that "truth is the first casualty of war."
While this cliché is undeniably true, it reveals, like most clichés, a certain world-weary cynicism that is unflattering and downright dangerous, for it betrays the blithe acceptance of something that, in my opinion, should never, ever be tolerated: Leaders who lie about wars.
The American people are not, contrary to the assertions of our postmodern professoriate, an innately warlike people. For the most part, they prefer to be left alone to raise their children, toil at their work, and worship their God in relative peace.
Unfortunately, almost from our nation’s founding, Americans have been plagued by a political elite harboring globalist and utopian pretensions, a dark coterie of decision-makers who believe that no skirmish anywhere in the world should occur without American soldiers partaking in the bloodshed. Time and again, the American people have been manipulated and cajoled – sometimes kicking and screaming – into wars that were ultimately irrelevant to our national security.
- by Steven LaTulippe / LewRockwell.com
Economic Causes of War Under a system of private ownership of the means of production and free enterprise, with the only function of government being to protect individuals against violent or fraudulent attacks on their lives, health, or property, it is immaterial for the citizens of any nation where the frontiers of their country are drawn. It is of no concern for anyone whether his country is big or small, and whether it conquers a province or not. The individual citizens do not derive any profit from the conquest of a territory.
- by Ludwig von Mises / Mises Institute
Ron Paul on the Neoconservatives This is a speech given by Ron Paul on the House floor in which he names the neocons and the views they adhere to. The speech in its entirety can be viewed also...just search "Ron Paul Neo-conned." It's about 51 mins and goes much more in depth.
Military Analysts Named in Times Expose Appeared or Were Quoted More Than 4,500 Times Summary: A New York Times article detailed the connection between numerous media military analysts and the Pentagon and defense industries, reporting that "the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform" media military analysts "into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks."
- by Media Matters
Emotional Bush Pledges Support to Israel An emotional President George W. Bush pledged that America would remain "Israel's best friend in the world" on Wednesday during a celebratory visit to Jerusalem to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state.
- by Matt Spetalnick and Tabassum Zakaria, Reuters / SwissInfo
False Prophets of Doom Now that another Earth Day has come and gone, let's look at some environmentalist predictions that they would prefer we forget.
At the first Earth Day celebration, in 1969, environmentalist Nigel Calder warned, "The threat of a new ice age must now stand alongside nuclear war as a likely source of wholesale death and misery for mankind." C.C. Wallen of the World Meteorological Organization said, "The cooling since 1940 has been large enough and consistent enough that it will not soon be reversed."
- by Walter Williams / The Charlotte Observer
Air Force Aims for 'Full Control' of 'Any and All' Computers The Air Force wants a suite of hacker tools, to give it "access" to -- and "full control" of -- any kind of computer there is. And once the info warriors are in, the Air Force wants them to keep tabs on their "adversaries' information infrastructure completely undetected."
- by Noah Shachtman, Wired / Free Market News Network
Judge Mandates GPS Tracking for High School Students Students in one Dallas high school are now being tracked by police, using GPS devices, if they don't show up often enough to hear what the state has to teach them.
Not only are their movements tracked during school hours, the state has taken the liberty of tracking all of their movements until 9PM.
A glowing review by the local Fox affiliate is here, but questions about privacy concerns should probably be directed to Principal Cynthia Goodsell.
- by Chris Brunner / LewRockwell.com Blog
Orwell Cinema: Living in the Land of the Blind It has been 60 years since George Orwell published his novel 1984. Described as political satire, it is, in reality, a political prophecy.
Much of what Orwell envisioned in his futuristic society has now come to pass. Surveillance cameras are everywhere. The government, as we have learned, listens in on our telephone calls and reads our emails. Political correctness--a philosophy that discourages diversity--has become a guiding principle of modern society. Hate crime legislation punishes thoughts. We are increasingly ruled by multi-corporations wedded to the state. And much of the population is either hooked on illegal drugs or ones prescribed by doctors.
All of this has come about with little more than a whimper from a clueless American populace largely comprised of nonreaders and television somnambulists. But we have been warned about this in novels and movies for years. In fact, film may be the best representation of what we now face as a society on the verge of fulfilling Orwell's prophecy. Video Blog - by John W. Whitehead / The Rutherford Institute
Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse Mount Rushmore, with its carving of presidents Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, is in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. Visitors find the sight impressive, but few know that its history provides a good example of the failure of a government-funded project.
As often happens with government projects, Mount Rushmore was never completed. Borglum's original design was for a sculpture of the four presidents to their waists but, we are told, "time and money only provided for their heads." In addition a planned "Hall of Records" was never built.
A few miles from Mount Rushmore, by contrast, is an inspiring example of the power of free enterprise
- by Bill Trench / LewRockwell.com
May 14, 2008 An Evangelical Response to "An Evangelical Manifesto" Who are the Evangelicals? The issue of Evangelical identity and definition has been central to the Evangelical project from its very beginning in America. Given the nature of the movement, definition is elusive and constantly contested.
The release of "An Evangelical Manifesto" on May 7 caught the attention of the national media, and thus it represents yet another opportunity for evangelical definition. The document, released May 7, also represents a challenge, for its framers hope to redefine the movement in the context of our unsettled times.
- by AlbertMohler.com
Voting for Yellow Dogs, Again A special note: I would like to say at the very outset that I have the highest respect and admiration for Congressman Ron Paul. In past years, I have supported him with campaign contributions. I wish him well. However, it is my hope that Congressman Paul will soon resign from the Republican Party. The Republican Party is not worthy of him.
- by Henry A. Clemens / The Covenant News
GOP's Presence in Washington Shrinking Fast Two recent interim elections for vacant House seats should have been won by Republicans. But Democrats took both and forecasts for the fall elections expect many more GOP losses.
Democrats now control the House by 235-198. To recapture control of the House, the GOP will have to take 20 Democrat seats, win more than two dozen races where their own party members have retired, and avoid losses by their incumbents.
This is a very tall order...
- by John F. McManus / The John Birch Society
McCain Still Failing To Close With GOP Voters There is clearly a strong anti-McCain sentiment among two wings of the Republican Party. The Huckabee voters represent the evangelical part of the GOP. The Paul supporters reflect the strong strain of libertarianism within the party. Although McCain has in recent months maneuvered to win over both wings of the party, and has garnered some support from visible evangelical leaders, many rank-and-file Republican voters still harbor strong suspicions of the Arizona Senator.
- by Peter Dreier / The Huffington Post
McCain, Huckabee and evangelicals John McCain, who has spent the last two months trying to consolidate right-wing support as the Republican candidate for president, has a problem of disputed dimensions with a vital component of the conservative coalition: the evangelicals. The biggest question is whether Mike Huckabee is part of the problem or the solution for McCain.
- by Robert Novak, Chicago Sun Times / SignOnSanDiego.com
Ron Paul, Still a Candidate, Heads to GOP Convention Showdown Benton said Paul will use whatever support he can garner at the National Convention to push for adoption of his monetary policy goal to reintroduce gold and silver as an alternative to the dollar. Benton said Paul believes it would stabilize the country’s monetary unit, which has been in a steady decline against the euro. Benton said Paul has no plans to oppose any of McCain’s platform positions.
- by Greg Simmons / FOX News
Ron Paul interview KTRH Houston Dr. Paul was on his hometown news radio station this morning, KTRH in Houston, and he discussed the role he envisions for his supporters at the GOP Convention in September.
- by Ron Paul Audio
Fox Commentator: Ron Paul Revolt could be 'Disaster' for Republicans Rep. Ron Paul is still in the GOP race and even drew 16% of the vote in the recent Pennsylvania Republican primary. Now his supporters are planning to stage a "revolt" at the Republican National Convention in September, possibly with the aim of securing Paul a prime time speaking slot.
Conservative radio talk show host Mike Gallagher told the hosts of Fox and Friends on Tuesday, "There is no question that this could be a major headache for John McCain."
- by David Edwards and Muriel Kane / The Raw Story
FOX discusses Ron Paul Revolt at the Republican Convention
Is Barr the New Hope for America? There is much excitement in some libertarian circles over the entrance of Bob Barr into the race for the Libertarian Party's nomination. Even the mainstream media has been reporting his candidacy, as well as that of Mike Gravel. Based on the way these men are covered, you would have thought that the party had previously planned not to run a Presidential candidate, or that it hasn't run a candidate in every Presidential race since its founding. Nonetheless, many are thrilled with the idea that, if we nominate Bob Barr, this press coverage could continue. Others see the Barr candidacy as an opportunity to continue the energy of the Ron Paul campaign. I believe the excitement over the Barr candidacy is misplaced, will lead to disappointment, and that Barr should not receive the LP's Presidential nomination.
- by Joshua Katz / LewRockwell.com
McCain Breaks From Bush Administration on Climate Change, Calls for Mandatory Caps Senator John McCain on Monday threw his support behind the idea of placing mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions. He called for the United States to lower its emissions to "at least 60 percent below 1990 levels by the year 2050."
- by Sarah Lai Stirland / Wired.com
Congress Eyes Dramatic Expansion of GI Bill Congressional Democrats are pushing what could become the most dramatic expansion of college aid for military veterans since World War II, with a bill they hope will buoy them this election season and become an albatross for Republicans.
Pitched by the Democrats is a plan that would essentially guarantee a full-ride scholarship to any in-state public university, along with a monthly housing stipend, for individuals who serve the military for at least three years.
- by Anne Flaherty, ASSOCIATED PRESS / SignOnSanDiego.com
The Prime Directive A decision to go to war, sub rosa back-and-forth between Washington and Tehran using the Kurds (probably the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which has close ties to Iran) as intermediaries, missile strikes near Tehran, the dissent of Robert Gates: all of this is very big news. Yet not a word is reaching the general public.
The same pattern that characterized the run-up to war with Iraq is being employed in the case of Iran. We're acting on intelligence that is so overcooked the stench is overpowering. There is no evidence these alleged training camps even exist, or, if they do, that their purpose is to train Iraqi "militants." Indeed, all efforts to show the media hard evidence for this phantom threat seem to have evaporated into thin air: these charges are the intelligence community's equivalent of "vaporware."
- by Justin Raimondo / Antiwar.com
Taking a Stand Against War As someone who has been urging focused citizen activism for some time now, I find it heartening that there are those in the United States who put action to words and seek to lead by example. This is the case with Chicago Alderman Joe Moore, who, together with seven of his 49 colleagues (Toni Preckwinkle, Sandi Jackson, Eugene Schulter, Robert Fioretti, Freddrenna Lyle, Ricardo Munoz and Mary Ann Smith), has prepared a resolution for the Chicago City Council opposing war on Iran. By itself, this resolution most probably will not serve to alter the policies currently being pursued by the Bush administration. But when a great American city such as Chicago takes the lead in expressing its rejection of irresponsible national policy, other cities should, and will, take notice.
- by Scott Ritter / Truthdig
Anglo-American Ascendancy Lost in Unnecessary Wars A popular American myth is that “the greatest generation” saved the world from Nazi tyranny. As Buchanan points out, the fact of the matter is that the Normandy invasion in June 1944 played little, if any, role in Germany’s defeat. By the end of 1942 Hitler had lost World War II at Stalingrad, long before any American troops appeared on the scene. What the Normandy invasion achieved 18 months later was to keep the Red Army from over-running all of Europe.
- by Paul Craig Roberts / VDare.com
Is Real ID Really Going to Happen? Little about Real ID has gone as planned. All 50 states, and the District of Columbia, were given extensions by the Dept. of Homeland Security to comply with Real ID. This extension was given despite the fact that 17 states passed resolutions saying they have no intention of ever implementing the program.
- by Matthew Blake / The Washington Independent
Real Estate Doom There are today over 18 million empty houses in the United States today. Of these, 650,000 are in foreclosure. Under these circumstances, lenders should be aggressively negotiating to get new buyers to take over the payments. They should be dropping prices to market levels. If they don't, vandals will strip these houses of everything movable. But the foreclosure system is paralyzed. The locals have no authority to negotiate. The distant bureaucrats are insulated from reality.
- by Gary North / LewRockwell.com
Housing Prices Tumble in Two-Thirds of U.S. Cities The median price for a single-family home in the U.S. dropped 7.7 percent in the first quarter, the biggest decline in at least 29 years, as values tumbled in two- thirds of U.S. cities, the National Association of Realtors said. The median, the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less, was $196,300, down from $212,600 a year ago, the largest decline in records going back to 1979. Sales of single-family houses and condominiums fell 22 percent to 4.95 million at an annualized pace, the slowest in a decade, the Chicago-based group said in separate reports today
- by Kathleen M. Howley / Bloomberg
Home Mortgage Hijinks The home mortgage default and foreclosure figures are in for February. The Bush Administration was not anxious to release them. The figures don't look good. The home mortgage crisis has become contagious. It's spreading from the subprime home market into the prime loan market. Approximately 2.3% of the holders of prime rate mortgages were at least 60 days late. That number is up 1.4% from a year ago. It is the highest level of delinquencies from prime rate borrowers in a decade. Prime rate mortgages are given only to the "A" list of credit worthiness.
- by Jon Christian Ryter / NewsWithViews.com
Credit Crisis Makes Americans Sell Possessions Americans who have lost their homes in the property crisis are starting to lose their possessions too as even the cost of storage proves too much for them.
- by Tom Leonard / Telegraph UK
Not-So-Safe-Deposit Boxes: States Seize Citizens' Property to Balance Their Budgets The 50 U.S. states are holding more than $32 billion worth of unclaimed property that they're supposed to safeguard for their citizens. But a "Good Morning America" investigation found some states aggressively seize property that isn't really unclaimed and then use the money -- your money -- to balance their budgets.
- by Elisabeth Leamy / ABC News
Citizens Uniting Against Fluoride A group of private citizens in San Diego County is planning to file a large-scale lawsuit in federal court against public water districts and challenge the constitutionality of using industrial-grade hydrofluosilicic acid to fluoridate drinking water.
Jeff Green, national director of Citizens for Safe Drinking Water in San Diego, told WND, "We are raising funds for a lawsuit that has been prepared for plaintiffs who are asserting their constitutional rights under the Ninth and 14th Amendments to be free of what they term 'bodily intrusions' by a water wholesaler adding an unapproved drug into their water."
- by Chelsea Schilling / WorldNetDaily
If I Were A Terrorist A James Pence Video!
May 13, 2008 WWJD? What Would Jefferson Do? In The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson wrote, "...Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed..." The American War for Independence had just begun a little more 14 1/2 months before he wrote that.
That excerpt is telling and each word and phrase should be contemplated. It's obvious that Jefferson wants the reader to know that the action of that Congress was not a rash one, arrived at in the heat of the moment. No, the colonies had endured a host of abuses and could endure them no longer.
Jefferson also, tellingly, observes that people tend to bear the indignities that are heaped upon them. It is an observation of human behavior that rings true today from that great hall in Philadelphia down our history to us today. It is obvious that the abuses of our American government and our state capitals far outstrip any were being heaped upon us by King George III.
- by Roderick T. Beaman / Ether Zone
The Constitution Protects Us from Them The Framers understood the most important point about the nature of government: It constitutes the biggest threat to the freedom and well-being of the citizenry. Unfortunately, it is a point that has been lost among many modern-day Americans, who have come to view government as their friend, protector, provider, and savior.
- by Jacob G. Hornberger / Future of Freedom Foundation
GOP Getting Crushed in Polls, Key Races John McCain is planning to run as a different kind of Republican. But being any kind of Republican seems like some sort of death sentence these days.
In case you've been too consumed by the Democratic race to notice, Republicans are getting crushed in historic ways both at the polls and in the polls.
- by Jim Vandehei & David Paul Kuhn / Politico.com
Ron Paul's Revenge Calling St. Paul. Come in, St. Paul. It seems there may be some trouble brewing for this summer's GOP convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. You see, another Paul is looming large on the horizon, threatening to stir up mischief at the August coronation of John, the would-be Baptist of that new and improved sect of Republicanism--Bush-Lite, for lack of a better term. As Paul's supporters learned from Guy Fawkes, surprise is the name of the game.
- by David Knowles / AOL News
Birds of a Feather As Jerome Corsi recently reported, John McCain has long enjoyed sizeable funding from the ultraliberal gazillionaire George Soros, and from liberal Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. (See the report here)
Question: Why would ultraliberals such as Soros and Kerry give so much money to a "conservative" Republican? Answer: They know that McCain is anything but a conservative. In fact, McCain is so liberal, he actually discussed becoming John Kerry's Vice Presidential running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2004.
Dr. Corsi also reported the fact that McCain has chosen Juan Hernandez as his Hispanic outreach director. A former Mexican government official, Hernandez is a man who openly advances a "Mexico first" policy everywhere he goes.
- by Chuck Baldwin / NewsWithViews
GOP Pressures Barr Not to Run Former Rep. Bob Barr says a number of Republicans have been trying to persuade him not to run for president on the Libertarian Party ticket, but none has given him a convincing reason.
The former Republican congressman from Georgia formed an exploratory committee last month and told The Washington Times that he has since been subjected to the behind-the-scenes pressure from Republicans not to run.
- by Ralph Z. Hallow / The Washington Times
Voter ID Battle Shifts to Proof of Citizenship The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.
The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.
- by Ian Urbina / The New York Times
Evangelicals Press to Fight Global Warming
Concerned about what they see as a moral and biblical issue, religious groups from the right are joining with environmental organizations from the left in supporting strong measures to fight global warming.
Some Christian leaders are using the clout they have built up in Republican circles to lobby conservatives in Congress to support regulations on greenhouse-gas emissions.
- by Jonathan J. Cooper / STLToday.com
He's a born-again Christian with two family members in the military. He grew up in the Bible Belt, where almost everyone he knew was Republican. But this fall, he's breaking a handful of stereotypes: He plans to vote for Democrat Barack Obama.
- by Haley Edwards / The Seattle Times
U.S. Evangelicals Call for Step Back from Politics A group of U.S. evangelical leaders called on Wednesday for a pullback from party politics so that followers would not become "useful idiots" exploited for partisan gain.
One in four U.S. adults count themselves as evangelical Protestants, giving them serious clout in a country where religion and politics often mix. Conservative evangelicals have become a key support base for the Republican Party.
But the movement has had growing pains and the statement issued on Wednesday, called an "Evangelical Manifesto," is the latest sign of emerging fractures as some activists seek to broaden its agenda beyond hot-button social issues such as opposition to abortion and gay rights.
"Christians from both sides of the political spectrum, left as well as right, have made the mistake of politicizing faith," the manifesto declares.
- by Ed Stoddard / Reuters
The Results of Christian Activism
Bigger Government, Deficits, Wars Without End It seems that so much of what we are facing as a country has come because those who claim to be Christian have not lived with integrity or demanded the same from people who have solicited their favor. Consider that, according to the 2000 census, 76.5 percent of the population considers itself to be Christian. Certainly a nation that has more than three quarters of its population claiming to believe essentially the same thing would not suffer from the widespread social conditions that violate those beliefs.
Usually when the terms "Christian" and "social conditions" are brought together, thoughts immediately turn to condemnations of sexual issues, such as extramarital sexual activity, abortion, homosexuality, divorce and the collapse of the American family. Although those phenomena have caused their share of problems, perhaps the greatest damage we Christians have caused to America's culture has come through our materialism, greed and political myopia.
- by Bob Strodtbeck / The Covenant News
Big Government Responsible for Housing Bubble However, many in Washington fail to realize it was government intervention that brought on the current economic malaise in the first place. The Federal Reserve’s artificially low interest rates created the loose, easy credit that ignited a voracious appetite in the banks for borrowers. People made these lending and buying decisions based on market conditions that were wildly manipulated by government. But part of sound financial management should be recognizing untenable or falsified economic conditions and adjusting risk accordingly. Many banks failed to do that and are now looking to taxpayers to pick up the pieces. This is wrong-headed and unfair, but Congress is attempting to do it anyway.
- by Ron Paul / Texas Straight Talk
Get Ready for More Bank Failures Bear Stearns may have been deemed too big to fail. But ANB Financial, a small bank in Arkansas, wasn't. And we might need to brace for even more bank shutdowns.
- by Paul R. La Monica / CNNMoney.com
Beijing and Riyadh will Call the Shots on Ailing Dollar's Future A plummeting US currency would also cause chaos globally, as central banks sought to protect the value of their reserves. And after the inevitable overshoot, the currency would snap back, sending financial markets into a tailspin, and threatening a fully-blown global slump.
- by Liam Halligan / Telegraph UK
The Pentagon vs. the U.S. Lacking a common understanding of the foundational principles upon which the nation was built, a citizenry will grow to view military service as an imposition, as opposed to an obligation. Simply put, one cannot willingly defend that which one does not know and understand. The fundamental ignorance that exists in America today about the Constitution creates the conditions which foster the divide between citizen and soldier that permeates society today. America must take ownership of its military, not simply by footing the bill, but by assuming a moral responsibility for every aspect of military service. The vehicle for doing this has been well established through the Constitution: the legislative branch of government, the Congress, which serves to represent the will of the people.
- by Scott Ritter, Truthdig / The National Expositor / Freedom's Phoenix
The Truth About Veteran Suicides Eighteen American war veterans kill themselves every day. One thousand former soldiers receiving care from the Department of Veterans Affairs attempt suicide every month. More veterans are committing suicide than are dying in combat overseas.
These are statistics that most Americans don't know, because the Bush administration has refused to tell them. Since the start of the Iraq War, the government has tried to present it as a war without casualties.
- by Aaron Glantz / LewRockwell.com
How the Military Analyst Program Controlled News Coverage: in the Pentagon's Own Words On the question of whether the Pentagon maintained an illegal covert domestic propaganda program -- and on the broader question of whether the American media's political coverage is largely shaped and controlled by the U.S. Government -- I don't believe it's possible to obtain more conclusive evidence than this:
- by Glenn Greenwald / Salon
US The Most Manipulated Population on Earth:The Art of Deception "Americans and the rest of the world are watching different wars on TV: the real one presented by the foreign media all around the world, and the other sanitized war presented to the American people by the American networks. The United States population is probably the most manipulated population on the face of earth."
- by Daily Paul
"Fear," says Paul Findley, a frequent critic of US foreign policy to Israel. He blames the Israeli lobby for contributing to his defeat in 1982 when running for reelection as a Republican congressional representative from Illinois.
None of the three remaining presidential candidates have uttered "even a syllable" of complaint about US policy toward Israel, rather a "paean of praise," Mr. Findley says. "This is a phenomenon without precedent in American history."
- by David R. Francis / The Christian Science Monitor
But the plain truth is, when Anna said she doesn't find this country to be especially free, it was Anna talking. Granted, her complaint is hardly new. People often grouse about the lack of freedom in the land of the free.
But you see, Anna is from Estonia, a former republic of the old Soviet Union. As in, the Evil Empire, world's leading exporter of communism. So when Anna says she feels less free in the United States, where she now lives, than in the once-totalitarian regime where she was born, well ... it gets your attention. And when she says Americans sometimes remind her of the gray, fatalistic men and women who shuffled along under communism, unwilling to think too deeply, say too much or laugh too loudly for fear of offending the State, it is striking, to say the least.
- by Leonard Pitts / The Dallas Morning News
The research of Mr G Edward Griffin (Ron Paul supporter & author of The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve) reveals how all viewpoints can be stripped down to 2 basic positions.
Discover how the different approaches of Collectivism and Individualism impact on all aspects of our lives, from human rights, governmental authority and the use of force.
- by Ron Paul for President 2008
The resource links throughout this website are provided for research and educational purposes. The opinions and views expressed are those of the original author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of Today's American Dream or it's webmaster.
Fair Use Notice
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/images/quotes_special.gif)
