Free Market Thought

NEW BLOG

2010-02-27T14:21:00.003-05:00

To anyone who still comes to this blog: Appstate YAL has a new blog at bravenewresistance.blogspot.com.

Fear the Boom and Bust - Hayek v Keynes Rap Anthem

2010-01-30T13:50:00.004-05:00

"Your so-called stimulus will make things worse,
Just more of the same, more incentives perversed"

This was written in part by Russ Roberts, the host of EconTalk, that blog I am always mentioning.

I love the gunshots throughout the song. lol

You owe it to yourself to watch this video.

Return to the blog?

2010-01-17T10:35:00.002-05:00

I have internet every now and then... because I don't pay for it... fuck the man. Anybody want to start writing on this again with me? I don't have anybody here in knoxville with who I can discuss these important issues, so I'd love to write on here again. I looked and my last post was from like the end of 2008... shit man. Anyway, holler at me if you're down.

Shawtay

2009-09-03T19:00:00.001-04:00

Anybody who hasn't seen these yet is missing out. Apparently one of the guys is an appstate alum too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDOYN-6gdRE&feature=video_response

But really...

2009-08-30T00:33:00.001-04:00

... cool website
Free University in Internet
Cool blog.

Found my login

2009-07-24T19:25:00.002-04:00

Everyone who wants to play fantasy English Premier League Soccer can join my newly formed league. To join just go to espn.com, find the soccer section, click the fantasy tab, create a team, and then click the "league" tab and then in the join league section type in "Raffies and co" and just join. and get beat. aye.

Blam!!

2009-07-17T18:41:00.002-04:00

What a cool podcast on "price gouging" in the event of natural disasters. Just another one of those things you may not have looked at objectively and in a broad sense. The concept is that when you limit the prices a vendor can charge for an item, the end result is that the product is not even offered at market because essentially the incentive to bring the product to market is obliterated. So the price is infinity instead of whatever "gouging price" the vendor tried to charge. Also, the gougers won't charge any amount that people can't pay, because they'd be wasting their time and money investment in the venture. So over the course of the sales, the price will end up representing the perceived value of the good by the people that really need it. In the example discussed, so-called price gouging even takes care of making sure the ice (typically) makes it to those to whom it matters most. A person who was in line to buy the ice to keep their beer cold will not be willing to pay say $12 a bag of ice while a person trying to keep insulin cold will, so on average, the insulin person will get it, and will be happy paying $12, maybe even $50 and will feel like they got a deal.
Damn, economics is fun. (I think)

Hope everyone is enjoying summer.

Need any starts? I will probably have extra zucchini, beans, sugar snap peas, maybe spinach and lettuce, and some dill.
Let me know and get a pot and some dirt, I'll hook you up when they are ready.
Peace, y'all.

And they said Zeitgeist was just another conspiracy theory...

2009-06-17T15:31:00.003-04:00

Time for 'new world order': Brazilian President


Time for 'new world order': Brazilian President

Jun 17 11:45 AM US/Eastern

The global financial crisis has reduced the differences between nations and created the opportunity to form a new world order, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday.
Speaking after a meeting with Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Kazakh capital Astana, Lula called on the global community to seize on the crisis to create a fairer world for developing nations.
"I want to say that before the crisis, there were many countries which had greater significance than others, and some countries which had no significance at all," he said through a translator.
"After the crisis, everyone has become similar. We have the possibility to create a new world order and together we should improve our relations."
Lula arrived in Kazakhstan Wednesday following the first-ever summit between fellow developing economic powerhouses Russia, India and China -- together with Brazil dubbed the BRIC nations -- in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.
Nazarbayev, head of Central Asia's largest economy, is keen to secure a larger role for his government in world affairs.
Following up on Lula's call, the pair said in a statement following their meeting that the United Nations should open up the UN Security Council to developing nations in an effort to bolster global security.
They said that opening the organisation, which only has five permanent members, to wider membership was the only way to make the often-criticised body "more legitimate and effective."

breitbart.com

Libertarian Classic: The Incredible Bread Machine

2009-06-16T14:27:00.001-04:00

2009-06-10T21:49:00.005-04:00

Thanks, congress. Obama can say anything he wants to woo the people, don't matta. And while we roll back our environmental commitment, China launches their Green Energy Revolution. Nice. Also the headline is yet another example of Raw Story crap. I like their converage, but the editing sucks.

Just the guy for the job. Read the comments, too. They're usually interesting to read, if not educational.

In case you're wondering, the US trade deficit continues to widen.

AND FOR THE GOOD NEWS!!!!
Rhode Island backs medical marijuana retailers. About damn time. Another example of garbage legislation. It is obvious at this point to any right-thinking individual that actually knows what they're talking about that mj should be legalized. Period.

Oh oh oh, I just noticed. Lots of interesting stuff today on RS. Peter Schiff considering senate run He's on the daily show, and manages to keep Stewart from throwing him off with the constant joking. (not that that is ever Stewart's intention)

Later

Who just types random stuff in search bars? (esp. when they're drunk) I mean, come on.

2009-06-03T00:39:00.003-04:00

So I was typing in search topics in Google Trends, which by the way is a really cool tool/game, and came upon an interesting one.

I personally thought this was funny. And I like the spike towards the end of '05. What could have caused that? Any ideas?
(It doesn't come up with anything if you use the punctuation.)

They need to actually show some numbers on those graphs. A lot less interesting this way, but it's still amazing that you can access this type of info.

Cash for Clunkers, bad idea!

2009-05-20T17:40:00.005-04:00

Cash for clunkers
We are freakin' incentivizing unnecessary consumption and putting people into MORE DEBT! That is the problem here!

Obama meets up with financial leaders, surprise.
We are here again distracting from the real issue, which is a fundamentally flawed economy. I posted on RawStory in the comments, saying,"
The article quotes the president talking about building "green jobs" and new forms of energy. Do these two things, as important as they are, (I am a sustainability expert after all) have the impact on the economy as a whole to make the changes we need to make in our money system? If this is so, prove it, please. Because I argue that no, it doesn't. I grant that we need to work HARD for environmental sustainability if we want a rosy future for the world as a whole, but unless a sustainable economic system is not the foundation for it, it will not be enough.

Why did Obama's meeting concentrate mostly on energy policy in a meeting with his top financial advisors? Weren't they supposed to be talking about the broader economic problem? Seems like a little publicity stunt trying to get people behind a New Deal-like big gov't "solution" that will "end our problems once and for all." It is a distraction from the real problem at hand, which our government is perfectly happy to gloss over, because it is to their political benefit to perpetuate the problem, which I think they sometimes don't even really understand. If BO really saw the folly in this spending spree, would he really be doing it? Yea yea, we all know, a politician has gotta spend money on "helping people," "helping the country" if they want to get reelected, which is to their benefit because it keeps their job stable and gives them the opportunity to throw bones to their contributors and possible future employers.
And this idea of America leading into the new green economy is silliness. I agree that we should lead by example in this regard, but again, can we export renewable energy installation? Can we export our infrastructure that is always talked about? Nope.
And isn't the problem today that we have a massive trade deficit that is leading us over a cliff on our mountain of debt? Yes, at its root, that is the case. The more the gov't must borrow to finance the renewable energy or other green jobs sector, the more they exacerbate the real problem this country faces, which is that it doesn't contribute anything of value to the world economy anymore, and must borrow borrow borrow and spend spend spend to maintain the standard of living we so enjoy today. It's fake. This is not partisan politics, it is straight up common sense mixed with a good understanding of reality. And sadly, these unflinching supporters of Obama are behind him again and fervently avoid educated, logical, and relevant discourse.

SuperFed!

2009-05-09T09:18:00.003-04:00

Just another piece ofevidence that the US gov't is not listening to it's people. We say "audit the Fed!" they say "empower the Fed!" Who wins?

Theory of Moral Sentiments on EconTalk

2009-05-04T12:03:00.005-04:00

I've mentioned EconTalk in the past as being a really good podcast available for free discussing various topics in economics and beyond. I listen to several a week, and always hear things that are very interesting. The guests and the host are smart, insightful, and I feel like I learn a lot listening to these folks. And they are typically proponents of a realfree market, to boot.
Right now, the host and a common guest are doing a reading of Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments, a lesser known work by the author of Wealth of Nations. (The book itself is available on the linked site, too, if you want to read along.)

I listened to this first installment, linked to above, more than 2 times. There is a lot to get, and I found this concept of the different sources or dimensions of moral approval to be worth consideration. It's interesting to think about the different people or groups that tend to focus more on one source than another, and how these things tie into larger economic/political ideas. They actually give a disclaimer in the beginning, saying that they're going to be giving this mostly unpolitical book a political reading, which you should bear in mind when listening. I think it's a very legitimate lens to look at the concepts with, though. I am about to turn on part II right now and clean my apartment. You guys should check it out. I know, not everyone wants to sit around and listen to economics lectures when they have free time, haha
I'd like to continue dialog here about this if anyone else finds those discussions interesting.

Nassim Taleb: His website links to a lot of his writings, speeches, etc. Check it out

Keep it real.

This is bound to go viral...

2009-04-29T15:45:00.003-04:00

People in North Carolina need to read the story here

Dr. Jeffrey Engel said Monday evening that officials are involuntarily isolating patients who may have the virus. He declined to specifically say how many suspected cases were in the state, noting that the number is always changing, and he declined to say where they were located.

read the story here

Great Job ASU C4L

2009-04-29T14:37:00.002-04:00

Just wanted to congratulate you guys on a great first year for our club. I think we made a definite impact on this campus and I hope that we can continue this movement for many years to come. I'll be posting info on here throughout the summer about the YAL progress as it comes. Hope you guys have a great summer and hope to see many of you next year! :-)

Another interview

2009-04-27T23:35:00.003-04:00

If anyone is paying attention to this blog anymore, check out this interview with Richard Dawkins that I found today. It's not all about what he says, but what the other folks say is cool, too.

Cool
I hope everyone is well. I am (except for the poison ivy! AH! when does the itching stop?!)
Take care

Looks Like Me and Matt are Internet Stars. :)

2009-04-25T18:32:00.000-04:00

Haha.

US-China sign trade deals

2009-04-24T18:31:00.006-04:00

Cool, now we're set to FedEx our Dells and Lenovos to China, and their company will take care of the phone calls. Sweet.
I foresee more of these types of meetings...
BTW brew day coming up soon if you want to get involved. Let me know and you can come by and learn a little something. Beer is great, and you can make it, cheap.
Check out this label I made for the APA I'm bottling soon. (cheap, I know, but I take every chance I get to pump my political views)

Hope you guys are all well, I sure am.

Edit:
Noam Chomsky interviewed by citizen radio. You might want to skip through to the interview, there is a bunch of banter in there, some good, some unnecessary. This one is shorter than the others that I've posted. Peace!

Also interview with Tariq Ali. Mucho coolo

Movie "Tickets"

2009-04-24T11:41:00.003-04:00

Hope

2009-04-24T02:00:00.003-04:00

There is hope yet for the Republic! H.R. 1207 now has 88 cosponsors. There is a very real chance that this bill will be heard by the Congress of the People assembled. There is a very real chance that it will be voted on and passed. Perhaps the Congress will due its Constitutional duty to legislate for We the People once again. Perhaps the Creature from Jekyll Island will at last meet the eyes of the public.

This is our chance. One of the greatest frauds in history stands on the brink of exposure. Let us hope that the people awaken and destroy it. Let us hope that they replace it with liberty and not further tyranny. Let us work to that end.

NY Gov. Paterson gives a good speech

2009-04-16T22:20:00.002-04:00

I agree with this decision, but really I just thought it was a good speech. Starts off shaky and fake-o sounding, but gets on track.

Paz

Ah, Irony...

2009-04-15T20:21:00.001-04:00

Sorry guys, you just don't have the correct permits to protest...

This guy is onto something...

2009-04-11T16:56:00.003-04:00

Money and the Crisis of Civilization (Part 1)

Money: A New beginning (part 2)

You might not agree with everything there, of course, but there's a lot of food for thought and definitely some parts of a workable solution.

This concept of necessarily replacing personal savings with investment through demurrage-based money is really interesting in the way that it would reshape the fundamental ways in which we interact with one another and how society would be moved forward. Demurrage is a situation in which there is a cost associated with holding money for a period of time (as is the case with using many commodities, such as tobacco as was the case for ~200 years in the Americas. This is of course because these items tend to decline in quality, hence value, over time). It contrasts with the current system of inflationary money in that in a properly exercised demurrage-based system there is no benefactor to the decrease in value, which in the inflationary case is the initial user of the money before its value declines, often corporations or government contractors. The benefit coming out of this understanding about demurrage-based loot, though, is that money is constantly circulating and there is a disincentive to hold any for long periods of time, meaning it will always be going towards some sort of investment either in the form of direct investment in a company or in the consumption of a good or service. I have been thinking about this idea lately in the context of hoarding and how even the hoarding of commodities is very unproductive as it leaves capital that could otherwise be invested and productively used dormant, which is not advantageous to society as a whole. The redefinition of money from a store of value also used for trading towards one that is primarily for the use as a trading tool is one that would be hard for people to get used to, that's for sure.

Nonetheless, I have a hard time buying into forgetting about personal, as opposed to societal (so to speak), savings... But if I can use some demurrage-based loot to buy gold and use as a store of value in the event that I believe it's necessary, I'll be doin' that, thank-you-very-much. Buuuut.... My verdict on demurrage, which I will expand on later, is that it is an unnecessary mechanism that was created in order to counteract the interest growth caused by lending. With other fundamental changes, demurrage is just irrelevant. Later...

Discuss amongst yerselves? Anybody been looking at the silly versions of local currencies people have been throwing around? Now I know this is nothing too new, but the incidence of it has been exploding lately. I was immediately for it when I heard about the idea a while back; it promotes local economies, "disconnects the folks that use it from the Fed," and lessens the risk of fluctuation of value. Right?

Upon further study, most of the major alternative currencies I have looked at don't stack up (money: you must define this before going on. "The main uses of money are..."). Where is the guaranteed 100% reserve backing? (this distinction alone reduces all of the versions I have seen to distractions, wastes of time) Often these things are just mirrors of the dollar that just look different and are localized. And as far as the localization goes, I would argue that none of the local businesses participating are doing any better because of this. I haven't looked at the numbers, if there are any, but theoretically what would happen if say Boone, NC traded $100,000/day on average locally, then some amount close to, but probably not quite that amount would over time be changed over to the new notes and would be traded within the city to compensate for work or to trade items of value. The rest would remain traded in dollars, but the total $100,000 would remain the same. It would not necessarily have any impact on the Wal-Marts and McDonalds' in the neighborhood due to its peg to the dollar and the fact that that many dollars are still being held (or maybe not, it seems like the founders of some of these currencies have profit motives) in town as reserve for the new notes.

If however, there is a backing to the notes, like in some cases a bundle of food varieties (read the comments on this page to get some good insights, skepticism reigns supreme), these systems tend to become nothing more than "gift cards" usable only at the particular general store or farmer's market where they originate, and dollars still have to be transacted to get the notes out and get the goods bought in the first place. (On a separate note, currencies that are tied to a fixed amount of multiple goods have a strong tendency to fail. This is due to the unequal and varying valuation of the individual goods in the basket and the inevitable crushing hand of Gresham's Law. Gresham's Law states that bad money crowds out good money in a market, meaning that if two things are mandated as having equal face-values, but the market knows that one is more valuable than the other, the lower valued one will be traded while the higher valued one will be held.)

to be continued...

Pentagon Economic War Games

2009-04-09T18:29:00.002-04:00

Interesting turnout in the economic war game the Pentagon just ran with UBS bankers and others.

Article in the Appalachian

2009-04-07T23:52:00.000-04:00

Here's the article from the Appalachian. This is good overall, but we will definitely have to work hard to separate ourselves from the Campus Republicans...

Students throw modern day tea party on Tax Day
Tuesday, 07 April 2009

by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
News Reporter

State representatives may receive an unwelcome gift in the mail April 15, or tax day.

Students from the Campaign for Liberty and the College Republicans plan to participate in an event on tax day, to voice their concerns about the bailouts and the Federal Reserve System.

The tax day event includes taking a day off work, skipping school, withdrawing money from the bank for a few days, wearing a white wristband and mailing a tea bag to state representatives.

The tea bag is a throwback to the Boston Tea Party; students hope their representatives will get the idea.

“We want to instruct President Barack Obama on policies he should pursue and express outrage at people in the government,” Tim B. Reaves, senior journalism major and member of the Campaign for Liberty said. “Our group goes beyond economics to assert what we believe is the right direction we should go in.”

Participants are encouraged to wear white wristbands to increase visibility.

According to slaveuprising.com, 2,000 years ago a Roman Senator suggested all slaves wear white wristbands to better identify them.

Another Senator responded that it would cause the slaves to revolt if they saw how many of them there were.

“We want to shock the system and makes people realize that we are the true holders of power in the country,” Reaves said.

Reaves encourages students of all political spectrums to participate in the event.

“I want there to be opposing viewpoints at this assembly,” Reaves said. “Political activist organizations are welcome to show up.”

Reaves stresses the assembly is not so much about republicans or conservatives, and the Campaign for Liberty will be focusing on the Federal Reserve System.

They want to raise awareness for the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, which would reform the ways the Federal Reserve is audited.
“The Federal Reserve is a private bank, Congress has no oversight. It has power over the economy, but we have no power,” Reaves said. “If they have to fully audit, we could prove without a shadow of doubt how its actions led to our problems.”

Tomorrow

2009-04-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

Is anybody going to the Taxpayer Tea Party tomorrow? I can't get a response from anyone, so I'm wondering if anyone is planning on going.

Economic podcast series: EconTalk

2009-04-03T14:17:00.004-04:00

If you have iTunes, you should check out the podcast series called EconTalk.
They are available at EconTalk. Put your mouse over the Recent Archives selections, whichever one you want. I would suggest going under the "By Featured Guest" and finding Mike Munger from Duke, to start with. "Giving Away Money: An Economist's Guide to Political Life" is a good'un Munger tempered the interviewer's cynicism and some irrational statements, and they had good balanced discussions on certain topics.
The one I put up there is related to government's nature of giving away "free money". In reality, there is fierce competition, otherwise called lobbying, that occurs over who receives government assistance and how much of what type they receive. The comparatively large amounts of wasted money spent in this process of lobbying for the subsidies, tax considerations, land availability, and legislative favors adds to the inherent inefficiency of government planning. In addition, this configuration often crowds out those who have little initial funding to lobby for causes or plan and coordinate public works projects.
A basic conclusion is come to which is essentially that whenever government is made to plan an economy by its selective doling out of capital, there is inherent wastefulness and misdirection created in the game itself (read: don't hate the lobbyist playas, hate the big government game), and that a viable solution might be scaling back on governments role in these regards.
Surely those aren't ideas that baffle you folks, but these guys have some other interesting insights.
"Grab Bag: Munger and Roberts on Recycling, Peak Oil and Steroids" is a good one, too.

EDIT:
Something Russ from EconTalk is involved in and that he mentions a lot is Library of Economics and Liberty
You should check it out...
Fill your braaaaaiiiiins!

Taxpayer Tea Party

2009-03-19T15:34:00.005-04:00

UPDATE 2: There is a group putting on a Taxpayer Tea Party in Boone on the 15th. We could combine that with the Slave Revolt idea to make them both even stronger. Here is the link to the facebook groups for both:
Slave Revolt: http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=71682520571

Boone Area/ASU Taxpayer Tea Party: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=55274866106&ref=ts

UPDATE: We are go for the table. I think as many of us as possible should go down there. If anyone wants to do it again on the 15th in Asheville, I can't do it because of the SLAVE protest going on here, but work on it anyway.

Hey everybody. I got an email from an organization called Freedom Works. They are organizing rallies across the nation to protest the bailouts and government waste of the taxpayer dollars. One of the "parties" is in Asheville on April 15th. Another is in Charlotte on April 4th. I would personally prefer the 4th, since it's a Saturday. Anyway, I emailed the guy in charge of that one and asked if the Campaign for Liberty could set up a table or have a speaker there. I'm still waiting to hear back.

here's the website: http://www.freedomworks.org/petition/iamwithrick/index.html

here's the info I have:

We have a busy few weeks ahead of us here in North Carolina. The politicians are in for a rude awakening as we send them a message loud and clear that we are tired of the wasteful spending, the bailouts and the increase in taxes on the average working family. Enough is enough!

Please join us for the event that is closest to you. We will be holding taxpayer "tea parties" around the state in the next few weeks, and we need YOU to be there to make your voice heard!

April 4th
Charlotte, NC
11:00am - 1:00pm
Marshall Park
rsvp: Allen Page, a.page@mindspring.com, 336-213-1167

April 15th
Raleigh, NC
11:00am - 2:00pm
State Capitol
rsvp: Allen Page, a.page@mindspring.com, 336-213-1167

April 15th
Asheville
4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Buncombe County Courthouse
rsvp: Bill Lack, bill_e_lack@yahoo.com, (828) 253-5709

Garden Symposium

2009-03-18T21:07:00.002-04:00

Hey, my brother-in-law and sister, Lucas and Sarah Smith, are hosting an open forum about gardens/related topics, and any and all among you who are interested are more than welcome to come. The format will be question and answer among the attendees, so brainstorm in advance if you have specific queries! There will be a large crowd of people with varied experience, and while the focus will be traditional vegetable gardens, there will be sources with knowledge about other farm skills (from bees to mushroom logs to pigs, etc).

The night is intended for anyone who is interested (or just wants to find out if they are interested) in gardening and self-sufficiency, irregardless of previous experience. You can come with a laundry list of questions, or just come and observe, it's your pleasure...and here are the details:

When: Friday, March 27th 7:00p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Where: The Agricultural Center (the exact room is not confirmed, but there will be signs or people to point you in the right direction).

If you know for sure that you are coming, you can let Sarah know (lucasnsarah@yahoo.com) and that will give her a general idea of how many chairs to set up, but an RSVP is not necessary.

I hope you all can come. Oh, and if you have any other questions, feel free to e-mail them at that address.

Domestic Terrorists

2009-03-18T04:44:00.001-04:00

Here's a link to an article about the Missouri State Police Report.

http://www.kansascity.com/116/story/1086524.html

It's definitely some scary stuff..

Liberty Maniacs

2009-03-17T22:06:00.004-04:00

If you have not checked out www.libertymaniacs.com yet, then you are missing out on alot of fun. The products and designs are dynamite, albeit pricey. You can customize nearly everything. What are you waiting for??? Go!

Rebel on tax day.

2009-03-17T19:38:00.003-04:00

I don't know if anyone else wants to do this, but here is a poster I made for something that I want to do on April 15th. Whether or not the club officially sponsors it is of no consequence to me, but I think other members might be interested.

Liberty Bell Sponsorships and Distribution

2009-03-05T11:59:00.002-05:00

I am trying to get some feedback on how everyone is doing with the distribution of our first issue. I've been running around town the last few days to a lot of businesses asking about having a stack of Liberty Bell's and I've been getting shot down left and right. The predominant message I've been getting is that it's too politically bias and many of them said that if they are going to considering sponsoring it in the future we need to provide a more diverse collection of opinions. With that, I was thinking for the second issue that we get a decent amount of reader responses and publish ones that don't share ours. It appears that is the only way we will be able to keep the Liberty Bell going, at least from a financial standpoint. I also spoke with the university about getting some money from them for our club and it's currently under review, I'm pretty sure a couple of us will have to appear before a panel of administrators at some point to get final confirmation on that.

Andrew B

And the 'Tin Foil Hat' award goes to...

2009-03-04T15:03:00.007-05:00

"Educate-Yourself.org"
Oh, the name sounds nice. You will be surprised.
Suggested Reading:
Succor Punch (haha... ha.. haahaha or maybe I'm ignorant)
Insights on Aliens
Zeitgeist, Illuminati Critique or Psy-Op?
Peak-Oil (they think it's a joke, yea, oil will last forever)
Global Warming

Actually, if they trimmed some fat from the site, there would probably be some good information there. In its current state, I can't bring myself to scan through the muck to get to the good stuff, honestly.

Common Market is a pretty cool hiphop band out of Seattle. I'm going to see them out there on the 15th. A buddy just introduced me to them, and I've only sampled, but it sounds good.
The song I dig most maybe is thissun' here.

Buy some silver today. Cheaps

Edit:
My President - Young Jeezy
I'm sure Obama appreciates his support.
"My president is black, my Lambo's blue, and I'll be god-damned if my rims ain't, too!"

If you get this, I salute you.

2009-03-04T13:32:00.001-05:00

The Liberty Bell

2009-03-03T18:22:00.002-05:00

Ok, so after trying to print the publications ourselves, we realized that it takes a very long time to do so. I think we should try to print them with the Appalachian Print Shop. Andrew M., I've been trying to contact you. Will you call or go over there tomorrow to see what kind of price you can get. Andrew B., when we have the prices, we can rework the math. Also, start writing/sending in any submissions for the second edition, as it will be released a week to two weeks after the big release of ed. 1

Peace.

Henny, Caffeine, Green, Nicotine?

2009-02-28T16:48:00.001-05:00

So just how are we going to pay back our massive debts to China? I figure we can just sell them some weapons, we're good at making those. Wouldn't it be funny if, once again, we were selling (or giving) weapons to the very groups that intend to use them against us/our interests?
No, it wouldn't be funny.

National Geographic - 21st-Century Slaves

Saw this a bit ago and forgot to post it. There was something on RawStory about the topic yesterday I think.

I, uh, yea.

Illegal immigrants sue Arizona rancher for $32M for "civil rights violations" centered around him holding them at gunpoint when he found them TRESpassing through his ranch. You guys and gals should read this article. This is pretty sad, but I have to assume there's no way they'll get a thing. The guy has turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants over the last 10 years. Wow...

Dallas folks turn in guns for $50 grocery cards. Justification from sheriff's dept? Now those guns won't be in houses for kids to make mistakes with and, "they might have been used in a crime in the future." Who here blames the pen for bad grammar? There are better ways to avoid those things that don't result in a loss of people's ability to defend themselves from harm. Great.

AH WTF!

Dinner and the Documentary

2009-02-18T13:38:00.003-05:00

Hey guys, the details for Sunday are as follows: we'll start the first half of the movie right at 2:30 (so you may want to arrive a bit before), break for dinner, then watch the second half. Let me know by Saturday morning if you can come, just so I make enough food for everyone. If you happen to eat an unusually large amount, then rsvp for two people. :)

If you missed the recent C4L meetings and you don't know what this is about, my family has invited you all over for dinner and to watch a stellar documentary called "The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs". It's a crash course history of the area since 1948, and includes interviews with many of the important figures of the conflict: Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Yasir Arafat, Ben-Gurion, King Hussein (of Jordan), Ariel Sharon, etc. It's a very intriguing historical context, and especially so in light of the current conflict.

If you've never been to our house, please don't let that hinder you. You are more than welcome, and it would be great if you would make this your first time. Email me at ixthus01@yahoo.com and I'll send you directions.

See you then!
Hannah

Hope Libertarians Can Believe In

2009-02-18T13:16:00.002-05:00

As a believer in libertarianism, I understand that it can be difficult. That people sometimes just don’t care. That some perhaps choose not to see the world as I believe it is. But I see absolutely no reason, whatsoever, to be pessimistic. None. I look at history. I look at what’s happened.

Imagine five hundred years ago, it was not thought people could rule themselves. Self-government? Hah! We need the divine right of Kings. Yet we know this didn’t last. Starting with the Magna Carta, leading to the Declaration of Independence, we established the idea of natural law, of “unalienable rights.” Among them “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Just imagine this: an entire nation founded on principles – the principles of liberty. A nation that I believe has been, and still is, the greatest on earth. Coincidence?

And how could we forget, that at the same time economist Adam Smith was laying the foundations for not only the most prosperous, but the most liberating set of economic philosophy ever devised by man.

Of course these things don’t come easy. Less than a century later Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels laid the foundation of a promise. Alas, this promise resulted in perhaps two world wars and the death of millions through mass deprevation and genocide. Yet these ideas failed. And they failed because they were not on the right side of history: that of liberty, and that of justice.

I look at the last half century, and see the steps we have taken as a people towards ending the ignorance and immorality that is codified segregation. I see the gains the criminally accused have made from the right every man, woman, and child has to an attorney to the growing uneasiness with capital punishment. I see places like Denver, CO ending the prohibition on marijuana. I see the right of a woman to have control of her body protected by the highest authority in the land, the Supreme Court. I have seen this same court rule that individual possession of fire arms is a constitutional right, and I expect soon we will see this same court rule it unconstitutional to deny homosexual couples the right to marry, as has already been done in states like Massachusetts.

Human history can be viewed as nothing but a process of liberalization. I am thankful for the timeless works of von Mises, Rothbard, Hayek and countless others, several of whose works are available in our school library. I’m thankful there is a place where I can go and talk with like-minded individuals about liberty, and I’m thankful this place is just one small chapter of a nation-wide movement.

While every step we take may not be one forward, the marathon our forefathers have run is. Libertarianism is the future because it offers the consistency that people are looking for. It is a flame that burns in us. It burns so strongly that our ancestors fought for it. They died for it. And most of all they simply believed in it. This is why libertarianism cannot, and will not, die. Never again will that spirit of liberty be lost, never will it die. That is why I am optimistic for our future.

Is this real life?

2009-02-17T00:13:00.003-05:00

Backs:
Whoever controls the loot, controls the fruit
John Adams, I never trust a guy with two first names...
Why?

Front:
Scary Face

Ha, ok well so I print em by putting the images in ms word, doesn't matter which comes first, edit the margins to 0.18" which is the minimum, then print double-sided, don't forget to select that in the printer options. Andrew might know of a better/easier way so go for it. The slicers in there work well, I'm blabbing.
I'll see you folks tomorrow, and yea, Adam, I'm gonna just bring a crock pot/ask for others' crock pots. You should do the same, otherwise, minimal soup will be cool anyway. Burner=bad idea, I'm not trying to get my brewing equipment confiscated. The rules are clear, and surely enforced.
Later folks.

Really Kellogs? Really?

2009-02-11T23:58:00.002-05:00

Submit you articles

2009-02-11T16:22:00.001-05:00

You can post them as a comment to this post, or send them to appliberty@gmail.com.

Remember, I really need them by tomorrow.

A strange time in our history...

2009-02-11T12:55:00.004-05:00

I found myself digging through the Annals of Congress last night (haha), and just basically search through what seemed like interesting topics... One, linked to above, was the slave trade. You should definitely go to that link and read through it a few pages. The way they described the "negro property" and its possibly "increasing or decreasing value" due to government action is, well, I don't know what it is. Just check it out, and look through for mint/currency/banking stuff as well. There's a rich historical background to find there...

Also, anyone interested in taking some stake in a Belgian Golden Strong Ale recipe that I've conjured up? I put it together using three other good-looking recipes as loose guidelines, but the total cost of ingredients will be something like $60, which I'd like to avoid having to spend. So, we can split it between a few folks and of course split the ensuing beerage! A 5-gallon batch like we'd be brewing equals about (50) 12-ounce brewskis (actually more like 48 once you use some of it for gravity testing,etc.), so maybe 3 can get a stake in it? That means $15 a piece for 12 AWESOME homebrews! And you can of course help with the brew and all other related processes and get some knowledge/experience. It's really a pretty easy thing to do, which you'll see... So yea, let me know you're committed with a reply comment or something and I'll place the ingredient order...

Edit:
By the way this Belgian Golden Strongs will achieve approximately 8-10% ABV (a good thing) and will not have the strong alcohol burn as some "high gravs" do. We use straight Belgian candi sugar to achieve the portion of that alcohol above say 6%, so it's a little more dry and light than if we had used grains to get there. If you want to try something of the style, shoot for a Duvel or Hoegaarden Grand Cru, which are NOT quite the same, but similar to the taste we should be achieving... Another crucial note here is that if you wanted to get the same beer at the store, you'll doubtlessly pay between 4 and 5 times more than the $1.25ish per beer when homebrewing this style. (which you'll definitely find out if you go and get something at the grosh.)
Ok that's it for me, I'm gonna crack open one of the last bottles from my first brew ever, a pilsner that has now been aging for about 5 months, it should be damn fine...

Wheelbarrow Duty?

2009-02-11T08:52:00.003-05:00

I cannot remember who claimed responsibility for decorating the wheelbarrow, but I think it may be best if I get it to you before I leave town. Otherwise, you won't have much time to fix it before the rally. We're leaving Friday morning, so let me know who you are and we can work something out.

Keepin' it real.

2009-02-05T15:50:00.003-05:00

I love Peter Schiff. He is one of very few actual educated individuals talking about the economy in our media. The preceding link is just him talking about our issues here and using an informed historical perspective to propose what's about to happen. Every time you see him speaking with a panel on the news or whatever, it's hysterical to listen to the other idiots around the table with the "US economy can't possibly collapse" attitude that is leading us over the cliff.

All you have to do with anyone that thinks they know what's going on with the economy and saying the stimulus will work is to ask them if they've ever read an economic history book, or if they understand how our monetary system works even at a basic level. They'll say, "no, that's boring," or "I listen to the news and understand finance" and they, too, will not have food to eat when the time comes.
I hope I have enough time to get out and become less reliant on the system, because if not, that will be sad. So here I go to find cheap land. And with that...

---------------------------------------

Good luck to you all. I'm about to get out, at least in terms of my current involvement and methodology, of the education campaign that I've been trying so hard to further. I have mostly lost hope with people's current ability and willingness to learn and change anything without a massive catalyst for change, and it ain't Barack Obama's Change You Can Deceive In™, that's for sure. They will understand, eventually, and I think we all know this with our varying but nonetheless functional knowledge of this doomed system. I'm going to do what is right for myself and the people that I love which is to insulate myself from what is coming (which I believe is what is right anyway in this unsustainable world), ride it out with relative ease with some planning and execution beforehand, and to rebuild and reeducate when the time comes.

I do not intend on entirely giving up on the masses right now, because after all, I'm still deeply in the system and have the ability to get ideas out there, which is all that is really important anyway. There are folks out there who are listening to us! (although most just hear us, which is altogether different) On the other hand, I will no longer waste my time preaching to the choir or to people who are too blinded to pay any attention whatsoever. I intend on narrowing my target audience, blocking out those who I deem not to be listening, and focusing on those who are at least swayable. (defining these folks is something I'm thinking about lately)

So, my time will be spent reading history, economic theory, basic governmental structure, and mostly... sustainability and self-sufficiency measures that I began studying and got my degree in here at ASU. Honestly, an economy is no economy, a government is no government, and life on earth will not be life on earth for long without environmental sustainability. We have the ability to get there as a society, but the barriers currently hindering it are too great and must be allowed to fail before the rebuilding can really begin. So I will accept that real change must start with the individual and take action in my own life to make things happen. People will not, as a whole, open up their minds to real change through education and lifestyle readjustment until their existence is threatened. We are on our way to that, but are not quite at a point where critical mass can be achieved.

A question that I often struggle with in my mission to spread the word is "Why has the general public not woken up to the situation that they face? I came from the same or a similar background, and I changed my mindset. I realized our problems as a world, and gradually and through honest examination and a willingness to accept what is wrong I have become determined to change it because of a moral imperative to make the world a better (or at least livable) place from my children. The answers are there, staring us in our faces, yet collectively, we turn the other cheek."

My answer that I have arrived at over time is one that makes me very upset. And beware of some big-time generalities that I must use in an effort to describe my take on the situation. It is apparent to me that it is not simply a lack of information or education that we (C4L, Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, etc.) face, it is the prevalence of an apathetic, willfully ignorant mindset, coupled with people's overarching inability to believe that economic collapse and hardship can exist. And our method for achieving our goals of creating a better, sustainable and free world, so far, has been to try to educate people, when indeed we should have started by changing the mindset itself to even first open the door through which we can educate and inform. (And I'd argue that the methodology of our movement as yet, not just in Boone, has been too limp to make an impact, another reason I am distancing myself and attempting other approaches to this issue. Again, I believe the immediate issue that we face is not education but awakening. The latter must lead to the former, and that requires highly educated loud voices, widely reaching techniques, and sometimes startling tactics to achieve - of course all while not scaring people away. But remember, the whole point is to awaken them from a dream that does not represent reality, and this means opening them up to things that are sometimes scary or hard to swallow. You cannot be weak and yielding when raising children, and it is the same with educating those who are blind to the truth.)

Changing the mentality of the populace is a goal that is much harder to achieve than education, for a person's outlook or philosophy in life is created over a long period of time experiencing life in a certain way. And we face an audience with a very cushy idea of the way the world works and how easy it is to get by. Indeed it has been easy for us. Our generation (really baby boomers on up) was raised, in large part, in a "strong" economy and by parents that were financially capable. And financial capability even now is the most important aspiration for most people, even though it often means nothing about what the person actually contributes to the survival of society or themselves. (eg. farmers, manufacturing personnel, construction workers, and programmers actually contribute whereas accountants, day traders, fractional reserve bankers, and speculators only leech off of the rest of us, skimming from the top and making society as a whole worse off) It is even worse that this financial capability of our countrymen (even the productive ones) is inflated by both a banking system that creates artificial prosperity through a false currency and through the theft of resources from the rest of the world. Of course as we all know, it must stop. But anyway, if you look at it hard enough, you'll see that it will stop, and not necessarily (probably not) from the intervention of the enlightened minority, but based on inherent flaws in the system making life very difficult for the sheepish majority. Among these flaws are the aforementioned false economy, people's eventual acknowledgment of TRUTH that has been kept from them all along, and HOPEFULLY NOT resource and environmental degredation.

So we face the task of educating a generation of people that have no understanding of how hard the world really is without our fake economy, and who through this basic ignorance have adopted an expectation of given success without true enlightenment of the world's workings (eg. science, economics). Of course this problem is not created only by the life that has been given to us, as I mentioned earlier, but from a system of primary education and other ineffective or often irrelevant institutions which conveniently leaves out or poorly covers a few important things (basic economics, science, math, technology, critical thinking, reason, logic, a real and not biased overview of history) and that doesn't do enough to really nurture education and psychological growth. (Why is it that kids going through school simply don't seem to enjoy it? No one wants to go to school, do homework, or even read books for cryin' out loud! It's not some inherent quality of human beings, it is created in the system in various ways. And here's a funny clip saying the same thing. RIP George Carlin. You were a prophet and made terrible things seem at least funny in some sick way. Thank you)

These folks simply don't know how important it is for them to be educated on those things, and so they must first be reminded of this. And how do we do that?
That's a toughie, and one for which I am beginning to think the answer is, "just let the SHTF, they'll then learn."

And that's why I'm slowing down my involvement in the liberty propaganda machine to get ready for what is surely to come. This is no "the sky is falling" madness. This is history staring us in the face and saying, "learn from me or you'll be sorry." And our elected leaders are either absolutely ignorant of said history and economic fact (this is not opinion) or think that they stand to gain in some way from the ensuing chaos. And I'd argue that they're probably right in the latter attitude. The Obama administration's big gov't policies, for instance, will surely have more backing from the populace when they are scared and hungry. (and actually I'd say this is already true in our current economic state, I only fear for what it might mean when things get worse) And it is my belief, and I think this is shared by others, that even if all government officials were switched out for those with the people's interests in mind TOMORROW, we would still be heading down a dark road, the exit for which is miles away.

So off I go to use the machine for as long as it still stands to get prepared, so that I can live beyond the chaos and emerge as an educated, morally sound, and inspirational leader so we can get back on our feet again and actually move forward as a civilization. We have the ability to succeed as a species, to maintain this earth for future generations of individuals to enjoy, if we only apply the knowledge and technology we have gained though the past. We cannot allow our past mistakes to be repeated once again in the future. It has already happened in monetary policy; we have had many chances to get to a real gold standard, for instance, (a good monetary system is the foundation for the responsible growth of society) and move forward, but we have allowed contrary interests to take hold each time we have had a good chance to get on track. Never again.

This system will fall, without question. What is important now is that we nurture within ourselves a very, extremely, immensely thorough understanding of why it is failing and how to best tackle the issues in our future efforts to build a new society with the goals of equality of opportunity, liberty, strong education, and sustainability guiding every single decision. As I always say, the answers are there, whether it be economy, technology, or government; the groundwork is laid for us to build upon. This is right now the most frustrating part of it all, but later it will be the most uplifting force humanity has ever seen... if we promote it effectively.

Let us continue to educate ourselves, as I know we have all been doing, and focus hard on determining the most effective use of our energy, time, and intelligence on fixing these problems. We all have different ways of doing this, for sure, and that is what makes things so interesting.

Keep it real, and I'll see you guys at the next meeting to talk about this rally. I'll be in town for a bit longer, for sure.

Ever questioning reality,
Cory

Just In Case

2009-02-05T02:48:00.001-05:00

I believe this was mentioned during the meeting on Monday?

Obama, what happened to the "green energy stimulus"

2009-02-04T15:59:00.002-05:00

This is a good blog post, and has a lot of links to broaden your perspective on the issues.
Those being "clean coal" madness, economic downturn leading to less initiatives in green energy, etc.
Check it out

2009-02-03T16:22:00.001-05:00

I thought these were on the nose...

http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/gm/
and
http://wpcomics.washingtonpost.com/client/wpc/bs/

Media

2009-02-03T15:43:00.001-05:00

Hey its Russell. First time post! I was thinking about doing a short piece on the media ban on photo's of coffins coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan.

I don't want to offend anybody, so I won't say

2009-02-03T10:27:00.001-05:00

This guy is a psychopath

The economic downturn is a test from god onto his people.
("I am against religion because it teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world."
— Richard Dawkins
"Finding that no religion is based on facts and cannot therefore be true, I began to reflect what must be the condition of mankind trained from infancy to believe in errors."
— Robert Owen, reformer and philanthropist)

Bad economy: bad for you pocketbook, bad for your tummy, bad for your ego, good for your soul.
("Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."
— Napoleon Bonaparte)

Don't be anxious for what you should eat, what you should drink, what you should put on. Believe in god and he'll give it all to you. What?
("Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able?
Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing?
Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing?
Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing?
Then why call him God?"
— Epicurus (ca. 341-270 BCE), Greek philosopher)

He says if you're not Christian, this is a good time to come to Christ. Why is it that people are maybe most often roped into Christianity when they're down and out?

"Philippians 4: My god will supply all your needs, according to his riches and glory in christ jesus." (Are we not talking about nature here but putting the glory falsely into a god?)

Real need v. Perceived Need? Tell me that my need for food is a perceived need...

Please remember:
"If somebody votes for a party that you don't agree with, you're free to argue about it as much as you like. … But on the other hand, if somebody says, 'I mustn't move a light switch on a Saturday,' you say, 'Fine, I respect that.'"
— Douglas Adams, author of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."
— Thomas Paine

Just a little fun with quotes, etc. Religion never ceases to give people who use their power of reason something fun to laugh at. I guess there comes a point when it's just not funny anymore.

Hey Shimco, you want to get in the tunnels this week? Hit me up.

I'm gonna go get the mail through Flying Spaghetti Monster who strengthens me.

Meeting Tonight

2009-02-02T17:04:00.001-05:00

In case anyone didn't know, the meeting is in Walker Hall 309 again (if the weather cooperates).

Possible Article

2009-01-31T22:37:00.005-05:00

So, this is an attempt to actualize Cory's good suggestion that we post our article ideas to avoid repetition. I'm thinking of writing something about Obama's inaugural address/rhetoric in general...perhaps compared to the Gorgias. Hopefully no one had a similar idea, but let me know if you did.

Also, I was curious to know if anyone sees Dr. Ryan on a regular basis? I remember that he mentioned at the panel about the significance of the Middle East envoy appointments. Does anyone know what he thinks of Mitchell and Holbrooke? I'd be really interested.

...and on a lighter note: check out the image of Bush/Obama on the Young Americans for Liberty blog from last week, I think it's posted under January 24th. It'll make you look twice. :)

Media Council and other stuff

2009-01-29T15:23:00.003-05:00

All who are interested in being on the Media Council: let's meet between now and the regular club meeting. I'm just going to throw this out: Media Council meeting tomorrow night (Friday) at 7 in the Library somewhere. Anyone who can't do that just let me know, and I'll change it.

EVERYONE START WRITING/DESIGNING YOUR PIECES. Our print deadline is FEBRUARY 16, so let's make the SUBMISSION DEADLINE FEB. 13.

Flier for the Publication Sponsorship

2009-01-26T21:16:00.002-05:00

I am unable to post the flier that i was talking about at the meeting tonight. This blog does not allow the post of any files other than pictures and videos and I don't to ruin the format of the flier by changing the format. I'll send the document to our gmail account and if you can e- mail it to everyone on the mailing list.

Andrew B

2 U.S. Airstrikes Offer a Concrete Sign of Obama'S Pakistan Policy

2009-01-25T21:24:00.004-05:00

I hope this changes...

Link

US Money Supply

2009-01-22T13:49:00.002-05:00

Glenn Beck said in an interview with Ron Paul that he talked to Steve Moore at the Wall Street Journal who reported that the US Money Supply had increased 70 percent since October. This is staggering, astounding, horrific (can anyone think of more adjectives?). Do they (the government) know what this will do to the dollar? My God!

Sartre on history and responsibility...

2009-01-21T02:06:00.004-05:00

Came across this reading a collection of essays and interviews by Jean-Paul Sartre (Jean-Paul Sartre: Between Existentialism and Marxism). This specific quote comes from an interview given by Sartre to Madeline Chapsal in 1959 published under the title The Purposes of Writing.

I quote this passage - at least - out of motivation from observation. Though the respective epochs in comparison differ, our relationship with history remains unchanging:

Do you believe that one fashions one's epoch?

When you reach the age of 54, you can be excused from speaking in the past tense. But it doesn't matter how old you are, it always remains true that History makes man and man makes History.

Would you say that we are responsible for it?

Yes, both responsible and complicit. The whole of French society is responsible for the Algerian War, and for the way it is being conducted (torture, internment camps, etc.) - the whole of the society, including the men and women who have never stopped protesting against it. We are inextricably involved: the slightest discussion between the left-wing groups who were gradually assassinating each other had the effect of encouraging torture, or a putsch. All these soft and well-meaning gentlemen we have become - we have all had to interiorize the war. The result is that we are solidary with it, plunged ever more deeply in violence. This, among other things, is what I was trying to convey in Les Sequestres. The dying Frantz, the executioner, he is us, he is myself.

My point is not to entice discussion over the specific nature of differences of each epoch, rather point out a theme of similarity.

This is for both Andrews

2009-01-16T15:27:00.001-05:00

We need to meet and talk about how we're going to get this publication off the ground. We should meet sometime before the meeting on Monday, so that we have something to present the group with.

Activist groups raided

2009-01-15T13:38:00.003-05:00

hey maybe one day the app state campaign for liberty will be important enough for the state to raid and seize all of our documents without a warrant, or even any accusations of guilt!!!

Here's to wishful thinking

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Activist_organizations_file_suit_against_FBI_0114.html

The History of Money

2009-01-14T16:49:00.001-05:00

I saw this interview last night after the movie and I thought it was really good and appropriate. Hope you all enjoy as well.

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Niall Ferguson

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

Cheers All Around!

2009-01-13T23:43:00.002-05:00

What an incredible evening. Is anyone else still coming off the adrenaline? I'm so happy...I'm intoxicated with pleasure. With such an astonishing response I feel like we could tear down the walls this very night. :)

Another slide down the rabbit hole

2009-01-13T17:02:00.003-05:00

This article almost made my head explode. Everyone should read this. It's a long article, but it's worth it.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7529

Ron Paul

2009-01-13T16:43:00.002-05:00

Viva, Viva Palestina

2009-01-13T15:07:00.003-05:00

So I am getting more and more upset as this conflict goes on. I'm not sure that this is going to end any time soon either. Check out what the expected winner of next month's election in Israel, Binyamin Netanyahu, said about this issue. He is more radical than Olmert, which is a scary thought. At least Olmert has been holding talks with Syria about returning the Golan heights, which were taken by Israel in the 1973 October war.

I was working all day to organize a panel discussion on the conflict, but it looks like that just isn't happening. Most professors seemed reluctant to speak, some said that they were just too busy despite their vested interest in the subject. One guy said that he spoke at a similar event at his old school and said some things against Israel. He was fired because the President of the university was a zionist, so he doesn't do public lectures anymore. The person that really irked me was a Jewish professor that told me that she didn't want to participate because the panel might be anti-Israel. I said that if she acted like that then the panel was bound to be pro-Palestinian, and she practically kicked me out of her office.

In other news, Bernake is actually asking for more money. Somebody needs to shut that fool up before he steals ALL of the money in the treasury (or not in the treasury). Also, Obama is working to get approval for his $700 billion bailout, which in all fairness is going to be more geared toward tax breaks than anything else, but still isn't going to fix the situation. The fed cut the interest rate to 0-.25% which is astounding. "In a speech in London Tuesday morning, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke defended the Fed's series of rate cuts since September 2007, saying that inflation was no longer a major concern." No longer a maor concern?! Maybe to his rich ass.

I don't know what to say, you all know the situation. This fed cut is a huge indicator that they are out of options to stall the collapse.

AFTF Handout for tomorrow

2009-01-12T17:34:00.001-05:00

Here's the flyer. Print, Cut, Pass Out, Repeat.

As usual click on the image above for a larger version. Try to get the word out big time.
See you at the meeting, hopefully.

Dragonfly Theatre event on facebook

2009-01-11T14:08:00.002-05:00

I posted the movie as an event on facebook, so everybody rsvp and invite your friends.

I also started a facebook group for our club. Join that as well and use it as a tool to reach more people.

Free, Free Palestine

2009-01-11T14:00:00.000-05:00

These are some pictures and videos that I took at the Let Gaza Live march on Washington yesterday. And yes, that is Ralph Nader in the first picture.

Let's talk about the Israeli conflict

2009-01-07T13:35:00.000-05:00

Rockets fired in self defense become construed as aggression? First
remember that this all began when Israel fired upon supposed Hamas
members as they attempted to dig a tunnel allegedly for the purpose of
moving humanitarian aid across the border with Israel. But whether or
not you accept the story as it's documented, this assumes that Hamas
actually thought their puny rockets could be used to wage war on a
country with the world's largest air force, a very strong and willing
military in general, and that is largely self-supporting. All this when
Gaza cannot even supply itself with enough of life's basic necessities.
I can't imagine they might have thought that for even a second. (Since
the time of the last ceasefire, Israeli death toll = ~15 mostly
soldiers Palestinian death toll = 500+ of which one quarter or more are
civilians and these numbers leave out the injured) In fact, though, they
have been provoked to their wits end, and decided to do anything they
possibly can to make an impact. (Of course, I do not condone the
actions of Hamas, indeed they are guilty of crimes as well. I am simply
making the distinction that Israel is killing and injuring on a much
larger and unneccessary scale.) Now the largely peaceful inhabitants of
this prison-state created by Israel are being systematically destroyed,
and not just "militants." Why is it that Israel is free to proliferate
nuclear weapons with no UN inspections or even honesty about what
they're doing (a priviledge they share with the US, of course), block
humanitarian aid efforts (a violation of international laws of war),
and attack an utterly defenseless "country" as they are and not receive
any international backlash?

My support for Israel (if I had any)
stops at this barbaric violence. If they had engaged in some reasonable
talks long ago, this entire situation might have been avoided. There is
no reason to blindly and unflinchingly support a country that is
committing atrocities even if, ESPECIALLY IF, their people have been
the victims (Holocaust) in the past.

Put away your typically
pro-Israel mindset for a minute to digest the facts. It's not fair to
assume that anyone's opinion is unfounded or blind, and I am not
assuming anything, but this personal attribute has been showing up
lately with an alarming frequency. It's just like GWB's ignorant
"patriot" tool (the average US citizen who doesn't realize his REAL
responsibility to his COUNTRY) that allows him to run our nation into
the ground.

Check out this link, and otherwise pursue the
evidence, and make a decision for yourself.

http://www.ronpaul.com/2009-01-04/israel-invades-gaza-ron-paul-responds/

Thanks
for reading, if you have. No matter what you do or what decisions you
make, the important thing is that you QUESTION. The enabling factors of
atrocities are the willful ignorance or blind acceptance of the actions
of the aggressors.

Yo Attereves, if you want to put an edited version of that in the paper, let me know and I'll work on it.
I'm going to send it in to the Democrat, as well.

That's it for me. I'm going to do something not depressing.

AFTF Flyer for Dissemination

2009-01-04T14:26:00.005-05:00

So far I've posted mostly in restaurants and coffee shops, and a few random businesses. I'm going to try and hit campus buildings at the beginning of this week, and I've also shrunk the flyer to a handout size...I think people are more like to attend if they are engaged and invited personally...just thinking about where and when is opportune for a "handout campaign". Also, does anyone know if it's against Appalcart policy to hang flyers in the bus stops? I did a few, but I think they may have been taken down.
Any other ideas?

Haha

2009-01-03T20:12:00.000-05:00

Just thought it was funny.

From Freedom to Fascism Poster?

2009-01-02T12:31:00.003-05:00

So I was in mountain bagel this morning getting some breakfast, and I noticed a poster under the register for our showing of America: From Freedom to Fascism. I was wondering if whoever has taken the initiative to post these up around town would put the file up on the blog so we all can help. This is the first thing we are doing this year as a group, and I really want to see the theater filled, so don't forget to start getting word out about this. Also I figured that we can go ahead and set Monday the 12th as our first meeting of the new year. Sound good?

"Happy New Year" from Kathy Griffin

2009-01-01T16:08:00.001-05:00

Watch this video. Every once in a while, something funny and not frightening is newsworthy.

Also read this 1941 speech from Texas Democrat, Wright Patman. It's probably nothing new to you, but motivational and inspirational, nonetheless.

The EPA has decided not to force coal plants to use pollution-abetting technology. Why? I think it's ridiculous that the EPA won't recognize that these people's business is to profit from destroying and polluting the communities surrounding their mining and generation projects. Among the intentional destructive behaviors such as mountaintop removal coal mining and the amounts of air pollution that are always produced by coal combustion, unanticipated consequences are also faced when something likea billion gallons of a byproduct of coal combustion are dumped into a city in TN's water supply when an earthen retaining wall gives way)
It's astounding that practices like this are used to produce 50% of the electricity that we consume in the US. Please remember who you are supporting when you use electricity, because the fact that you don't typically see or hear and therefore think about the consequences is the reason this is allowed to continue. Consider contributing to NC GreenPower for as little as $4 a month to support the producers of renewable energy. Anyway...

Here's a cool page with PDF downloads of MANY military field manuals, etc. Take a gander at those, especially the well done survival manuals, but be mindful that viewing some of the material on that site could be construed from outside in, well, interesting ways.

Also since many of you expressed interest, Xcolony is an informative if cheesily designed forum catering to the survivalist mindset.
SurvivalTopics.com is also a great place for information.
Both of those have sections dealing with food, water, shelter, health, morale/psychology, fire, first aid, and other important survival skills. Learn what you can, pick up supplies, and let's get out and use that.
I'll be doing a fair bit of camping, hiking, backpacking over the next few months to prepare for the trip I'm planning to hike the John Muir Trail in California this summer. So, if you're ever interested in doing something outside, let me know cuz I want to get out there.

Damn, I lost a link to a sweet article. Hopefully I'll find that soon

Peace

General Update

2008-12-31T17:14:00.001-05:00

First of all, I apologize that I have lost touch with everyone. My brother and I are in Charlotte where we have VERY limited access to the internet. Therefore, I have not been able to do much at all for the club. With that said, I am working on a deal with the print shop at App. It may or may not work out. Anyway, I hope everyone will have a little extra time to work on some essays for the publication. If we cannot make a deal but still have content, then we will just print it ourselves so that we have something to give students at the club expo.

Peace,
Tim

Peace and Love to the C4L Group

2008-12-25T11:08:00.001-05:00

I hope that everybody is having a Merry Christmas and a happy holidays!

Bongs for science

2008-12-23T12:31:00.003-05:00

This is your brain on drugs
Some Harvard potheads made a bong to be used with individuals in an MRI machine, complete with erlenmeyer flask chamber, everyday headshop parts, a mask to inhale it through, and even an exhaust system to keep the stink outside.
They intend on doing some imaging to figure out what effects that nicotine and mj have on your brain, specifically looking at addiction.
Pretty cool, maybe they'll once and for all prove that mj doesn't get one addicted in any significant physical way, and we'll have some more infoammunition to get some reasonable legislation through.
Anyway, that's it

Edit:
Hell yea, I just made the blog wider. Now pictures will post a little more easily. Let me know if what I did causes any glitches or anything. Peace

Yippee

2008-12-16T17:55:00.002-05:00

Congrats to everyone on another completed semester, or graduation if that applies to you! WOOOOOOO! I'M DONE!

Use this time you have now over break to get your brain working on creative ways to educate people or directly affect change in our system. I'm getting back into the graphics/web design game now that I'm graduated, and hopefully will be able to use some of my time to create more promotional material. If you guys have any ideas for things like shirts, fliers, stickers, magnets, billboards, magazine ads, whatever, let me know. I'd like to roll ideas over with y'all. All the time, I'm realizing that one of our big problems is just getting through to people in the first place.

We've got to create a campaign of sorts using a marketing scheme like Obama's Change™ (but with substance) because that's all people have the attention span for nowadays (or that's what they think, anyway, they just ignore anything political or intellectual for the most part). Just a word or phrase that's simple, actually catches people attention, and very succinctly states our purpose/ideals in some way. But at least upon first glance, looks like it comes from the consumerist bullshit mindset.

I've gotten frustrated a lot lately with people that just aren't very receptive to the situation because they're just not open to the idea that things aren't OK. There's a little barrier there that's been created through lifetimes of social indoctrination, probably by conventional mass media (advertising) for the greater part, and that barrier requires our attention. It comes back to the, "why are people not interested in politics, the news, economy, etc.?" question. I think about that all the time, but I can remember a time when I had that mindset, as well. It wasn't based on much of anything but apathy and lack of understanding of the importance of staying educated on world events. After all, I think we all know that there are people out there preying on the willful ignorance of our people, as sad as it is to say.
Anyway, we can't change the way people are, because their training has been going on for a long time, but we can learn to circumvent the barrier by playing by the same rules as those who have done so much to indoctrinate the average citizen with the nationalism and false belief in the system simply as the way it is.

What will be our marketing campaign? We all know: Melts in your mouth, not in your hands (bullshit, by the way), Just Do It, You're in Good Hands, We Love to See You Smile, So easy a caveman can do it, Can you hear me now?, and Be All That You Can Be.
Let's be all the we can be (not in the aaaaaarmy) and get the people justifiably pissed about the admitted war crimes, false monetary system, outright lies from our elected officials and lack of transparency in so many important areas, socialization of losses and privatization of gains, inequality, lack of liberty, destruction of the constitution, blatant misuse of power and so many other things that are plaguing us and importantly, CAN BE FIXED.

We've just got to get their attention. We definitely don't have that. It seems like American Idol, The Office, Batman, Gucci, and fast food have that pretty much locked down. What's the difference? Advertising.

Anyway, we're giving the Afghans guns again. Didn't we learn from last time we trained and armed the Taliban?

Just something random:
I wish I knew about Humanism before. It's a mentality or worldview that just makes tons of sense to me, and is compatible with many other beliefs.

ah!

2008-12-15T13:02:00.004-05:00

Bush admin creates loophole in $750Bil bailout that protects executive salaries
I shouldn't even be reading the news, let alone spending my time here posting, so I won't say anything, but you guys have to look at that article.
Also, this is Absolutely insane

Just added:
More socialization of losses for the rich. Of course

Somebody is Sleeping in Gitmo Tonight

2008-12-14T19:13:00.005-05:00

G.W. gets a pair of shoes chucked at his head.

Edit:
Now the whole Arab world is rallying behind this man.
"Saddam Hussein's former lawyer Khalil al-Dulaimi said he was forming a team to defend Zaidi and that around 200 lawyers, including Americans, had offered their services for free."

Oh boy

2008-12-12T20:30:00.001-05:00

You fuck with us, you go down

2008-12-09T14:16:00.004-05:00

First, read this

Then, read this

BofA is saying,
"I care not what puppet is placed on
the throne of England to rule the Empire, ...
The man that controls Britain's money
supply controls the British Empire.
And I control the money supply."
Baron Nathan Mayer Rothschild

Check the video out, this guy is not very articulate, but some of the things he says are interesting.

Edit: This is interesting, too, I found it while reading about the Rothschild family.

"If these International Jewish Financiers should once again succeed in plunging the nations into a world war, the result will not be the bolshevisation of the world, and therefore a victory of jewry. But the destruction of the jewish race in europe"
---Adolf Hitler in a speech to the Reichstag after the Ewige Jude Jan 30, 1939

Hitler was a bigger threat to the banking establishment or NWO as we see it now than maybe anything else has been yet. Not that we should be taking lessons from his tactics. He kinda had the wrong idea, didn't he? Just like the White Nationalists, he allowed fear and sweeping, senseless hate to drive his actions.

I don't have time for any original material...

2008-12-09T02:14:00.001-05:00

...so I'll just post a bunch of links to news I read today. There was a bunch of stuff to read. I know some of you may have seen this already, b/c it's mostly from RawStory, but, my bad.
The Fed approves Chinese bank CCB to open office in US--- one of the comments at the end of that article was something like "here come our overlords," and what's funny is that I had read an article earlier today about wealthy Chinese coming to the US to purchase high end homes that have dropped in price due to the housing scheme. They have always done trips to the US and purchased real estate, but the incidence has gone up significantly. Right now, trips are being organized by groups of wealthy Chinese as often as every two weeks. These developments are rather... intriguing.
Watchdogs demand bailout transparency--- We should write letters like this to congress and to our other reps. Maybe Patrick or Andrew M would know more about this. I am less educated on our governmental system than some of you folks might be, fo sho.
Illinois Governor suspends business with BofA--- Now state gov't is getting on the bailout bonanza, forcing BofA to do business with, or give loans to, a unionized company. This is getting interesting
Blackwater guards in Iraq launch grenade into girls school, killing several, and are now charged with manslaughter--- Now this is nuts, in what circumstances would it seem prudent to launch a GRENADE into a GIRL'S SCHOOL? Is anyone else afraid that there were actually no "bad guys" near the building? These guys are a bunch of trigger happy, racist assholes getting paid to smoke some Ay-rabs. More not-cool stuff from Blackwater. Shower electrocutions from faulty wiring in barracks, countless noncombatant kills. These maniacs need to either go home, and a lot of them to prison, or face the fate of these clowns. (That is the kind of random article for which I love Harper's magazine)
What? The? Fuck? GM apologizes for "disappointing," "betraying" us then goes on to explain that this is because of "lackluster design" and that jobs are at risk. Wow. I think we need to remember that if GM closes, these semi-skilled workers that used to construct GM's car will be highly sought after in the inception of the new and improved auto manufacturing industry in our country. This is what we call the free market. It doesn't seem like anyone knows what that really means anymore. Boo Hoo, and this from one of the auto execs that just a week ago said he'd be willing to take a buck a year as salary.
Thanks, a lot Rick. It's interesting when you use your FUCKING BRAIN and discover that this guy makes only just more than 10% of his money through simple salary. The other $13 million dollars a year he takes in through stock awards, option awards, increases in pension value, and all other compensation.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally, of company number 2 of the big three, is also oh so humbly offering his services as Chaotic Economy Orchestrator for only a dollar. He, however, makes off even better that Wagoner of GM. Last year, Mulally raked in a cool $39.1 million in compensation in '07.
You can't get a hold of Chrysler's CEO compensation numbers because the company is privately held. However, I think you can assume with a level of certainty that his compensation is similar to our other two generous friends.
It really does piss me off when these arrogant punks treat me like I'm stupid. I'm not stupid, fellas. The media is saying we'll have an answer about this whole auto bailout thing soon, so I guess we'll see.

I can't wait until the tazer episode.

2008-12-07T17:55:00.003-05:00

Kop-busters.

Just a follow up...

2008-12-05T19:31:00.004-05:00

Thinking along the lines described a few posts down, I want to quote a passage from Ron Paul's book The Revolution: A Manifesto that I feel describes in his terms a certain point I was trying to shed some light on.

I'm inspired by all these political conversations that I have (or don't have) that just serve to alienate myself from the individual or individuals I'm speaking with based on the assumptions that there are just certain aspects of government, along with personally established viewpoints about them, that cannot be changed. The passage is as follows:

"Once government does become involved in something, intellectual and institutional inertia tends to keep it there for good. People lose their political imagination. It becomes impossible to conceive of dealing with the matter in any other way. Repealing the new bureaucracy becomes unthinkable. Mythology about how terrible things were in the old days becomes the conventional wisdom. Meanwhile, the bureaucracy itself, with a vested interest in maintaining itself and increasing its funding, employs all the resources it can to ensuring that it gets a bigger budgest next year, regardless of its performance. In fact, the worse it does, the more funding it is likely to get--exactly the opposite of what happens in the private sector, in which those who successfully meet the needs of their fellow men are rewarded with profits, and those who poorly anticipate consumer demand are punished with losses" (74).

2008-12-03T20:33:00.002-05:00

http://darkdownhere.com/?p=255 ....this site is pretty cool and this clip is very interesting...possible libertarian media representative???

2008-12-03T19:43:00.002-05:00

Peter Schiff is censored by the CNN at the end of this interview...and no wonder, listen to what he is about to say. http://www.breakthematrix.com/Economy/Peter-Schiff-gets-cut-off-on-CNN
Unbelievable, the media and the government are desperately trying to cover the truth about our failed economy with media blackouts and endless propaganda.

2008-12-03T19:42:00.001-05:00

http://www.breakthematrix.com/2008-Elections/Ron-Paul-if-we-only-had-listened

Accepting Responsibility

2008-12-03T07:29:00.014-05:00

[ This post was originally intended to be nothing more than a reply to post "It Has Begun," but ultimately I felt that these ideas deserved some objective attention; a chance in the infinitely populated world of thought. The action of the poster in posting the post that this argument was originally a response to is precisely proof of the argument itself, and it is because it is proof of this argument that the argument I attempt to make is, I believe, relevant.

It is my hope here that the ideas that I present, those that I am accountable for foster in the very least an uncertain but positive purpose for others. In some sense this particular mode of sharing thought enables full, unrestricted participation and response-ability (for obvious reasons, here we should not focus our explicit attention on the sense that doesn't. However, I do not wish to do any injustice to any and all individuals by disregarding a sense of interaction and response-ability that is arguably necessary to the (non)being of each and every individual, which is apparently lacking in this particular form of communication).

In the light that this form of "discussion" enables a certain sense of an unrestricted ability to respond, I invite you to respond with your own account not necessarily of the accounts described and borne within this text specifically, but of any other account as it relates to liberty and freedom for both the individual and the group. I believe that through discussion (as positive interaction) we can, as ourselves, as individuals, and as a whole, formulate a working ideology of progressive, and positive change for ourselves, for individuals, and for a whole. In this instance I do not mean to presuppose change as necessary, but rather hope to invite and encourage the possibility of active and engaging definition of change itself.

Please excuse (and therefore be forewarned) any aspect of my writing that serves to mystify rather than clarify. In some sense, my analytical tendency always poses the threat of presenting seemingly pointless digressions. But as long as one can establish from these “thoughts-as-they-are” some meaningful relation of ideas, then a positive purpose is served (even if the relation that is made is itself perceived as negative).

If anything, respond. The very heart of this particular smattering of thought beats through the processed breath of an atmosphere that is formed by the ability to respond. I am that which breathes. There is no issue without response. Responsibility – conscious recognition and interpretation of response-ability – determines the issue, not the opposite.

Without further digression, my response to the article posted is as follows: ]

Shit. Soon we'll be housing the (our) oppressors - a modern-day Quartering Act - as if we hadn't been already.

Currently, as victims of the search for unattainable satisfaction, as objects of the distancing of (un)satisfaction so as to avoid its acknowledgment, at least 130 nations have come to bear an imposed military presence that is manifest of this unattainable satisfaction. At present, billions of dollars (and most importantly life and freedom) are being spent by a government, obviously disconnected from those it governs, towards a [personally defined] means to an end that has proved itself, what appears to be, so far unattainable.

The common conception of government held by the “general public” is no doubt comfortably resting somewhere in the realms of magical, removed. Almost an enigma, government is perceived as necessary in some certain sense, but without the need or room for the habitual, natural analysis and consideration of its end and function by those that are supposedly meant to give it meaning and purpose.

In some sense it is understandable how the citizens of a governing "body" that legislates militaristic command and action at its own discretion, in a nation that supposedly stands for and represents the very opposite, would not be aware of, and therefore, not feel responsible for this annihilation of liberty of those "others" who inhabit a nation with borders that exist outside the realm of their own, the others whose borders come to signify and mark the location of the unapproved, and in an important sense unacknowledged, action of individuals under the guise of “government” as being a fact to all others as illusory. In some way its okay to say here that there’s no permission without asking and that the government did not, in fact, ask. But the government shouldn’t have to ask. There should be no question of asking. Not in the sense that “government” dominates individuals and is the arbiter in all matters, but on the contrary, in the sense that government (albeit possibly only ideally) is the product that, because it works both for, and on behalf of the citizens which define it, is directly representative of each and all those individuals that are affected by its definition.

This of course draws a discussion about the role and purpose of the citizen in interaction with his government (ultimately himself in a sense). In remembering the structure of the constitutional republic after which we have originally intended our country to be modeled, the interaction described above necessitates a sense in which the individual citizen is responsible for himself, his fellow citizens, and his government.

Naturally, the citizens who posit and understand what is their government as some uninterpretable but necessary fact concede that they have no effect on their government, but only that government has an effect on them. Government becomes representation alienated. In this case it is the citizen that does give government its power, but it is not through manipulation (in a positive sense that it denotes an understanding of, for the protection of freedom and liberty and progress towards those ends) that the power is given, but rather through submission.

This inescapable individual responsibility of the citizen who is a necessary part of a nation that is in its foundation the supposition that it was directly modeled on (and still is accountable for) aspects of a representative government that exists and functions under the interpretation of representation, not as an alienation, but a unification, certainly implies also in all citizens (thus, in each citizen) a type of responsibility for the mode of his government’s action.

What I mean is that, simply and ultimately, this responsibility on the subjective level requires active participation. Through interaction a “temporary ethics” can be derived, generally agreed upon, usually unique to a particular epoch (do the ethics define the epoch, or does the epoch define the ethics?), but never a concrete, determinate (if you will) ethics that is either always or instantly universally applicable. Again, here I do not wish to digress into, or instigate a discussion on the nature of ethics beyond which the term directly (and admittedly, vaguely) applies to this particular discussion.

The individual who experiences a wanting, a longing even, for participation without responsibility in a system that in itself depends on both is sure to achieve at best a false sense of participation. This false participation cannot ever satisfy simply because it is false. It never serves to demystify that which it is participant of. Rather, it is a crucial part of the mystification itself. It serves only to ensure the inevitable presence of the mystical. False participation will not cease to haunt the individual who lives it. He is reminded of it in his every day actions. Even those aspects of life that are least influenced by this mystified government always remind him of it. It is necessary in one sense to his particular mode of “participation” in that it defines the ways in which he can participate but constantly reminding him through this participation that he really cannot participate. Any possible upsurge of questioning is stifled in false participation. For questioning requires a sturdy foundation on which to question: responsibility. This foundation of questioning in responsibility requires that before the questioning of any empirical knowledge can begin, one must accept the pretences on which empirical knowledge can be questioned.

The acceptance of responsibility is the crux of an individual who exists amongst a world of social interaction (which is what makes “government” is necessary). This is simply because that individual becomes accountable. His views, his choices, they define him. He recognizes this fact in others. The responsible individual, or citizen, does not experience government as mystification the way that one who lives under the premise of false participation inevitably does. The individual who accepts responsibility feels a sense in which his participation means everything precisely because he is consciously participating. Participating in the sense that he attempts to consider all aspects of an act, posited or factual, past, present, or future and its relationships to freedom. All actions ultimately have inexhaustible implications. What is significant of responsibility is not the quantity of effects considered, but the facticity of consideration above all else.

False participation is not distinguished from genuine participation based simply on a certain level of empirical knowledge of government. In fact, as has been established above, empirical knowledge cannot be considered in absence of some type of participation. Government knowledge and socio-political awareness are ultimately notions derived from subjective interpretation of empirical knowledge. As there must occur an instance in everyone’s life where at least some (if not all) objects of consciousness are at some point “mystified,” or made “unclear,” in ways not by any means unfamiliar to the apparent “mystification” of government in public conception. That is, generally speaking, the majority of the population has a conception and perception of “government” that is more mystified than solidified. In a sense, everything needs solid ground upon which to build; a point of evolution, an end towards which one can project action. From conceptualizing government as mystical, all thought of or about that government is also in some sense mystical. It possess a mystical quality simply because it never fails to remind of the mystery. As established above, any act of false participation is consumed by the mystery, thus can never elude it. But that is not entirely true. One can choose how they will participate. False participation does not deny all forms of reflection.

Falling closer back to Earth, this mystification of government by the false participant - the constant recognition through daily action and interaction of alienation from a necessary “structure” that contains and enforces “law” that governs, and also that the structure necessarily alienates; a realization of irrelevance for government that results in irrelevance for self – are precisely the terms in which the individual can find motivation and accept responsibility, become a participant, become accountable. It is precisely from this standpoint that one can recognize a situation in which one is, in terms of freedom, importantly related to government. This realized situation forever gives birth to choice. Through scrutinizing the positing of this alternative situation the individual is sometimes given a glimpse responsibility – not meaning that one is irresponsible for failing to reach that particular end, rather that one at all times has a choice to act in accordance with that particular goal as an end. At any given instant the possibility of facticity of that particular goal’s achievement at some point in the future is in a way meaningless. It is the choice of action in the present that reflects the particular end, regardless of the achievement of that end. This does not intend to ignore the undeniable positivities that result from achievement, especially, and certainly, when that achievement is reached by a responsible project. But achievement, no matter what kind is ultimately always unsatisfactory. However, taking responsibility for the approach to (un)satisfaction can be arguably stated as achieving the closest state to “true” satisfaction.

Assuming responsibility can be considered a task that is both “easy” and “hard” depending on the perspective of which it is assumed. However, it is certainly clear how false participation can be observed as the “easier” approach of the two. This is because the false participant can still exist alongside the responsible, must exist alongside the responsible by virtue of participation – that is the common denominator here – so in an external sense does not feel, at least in terms of government, any more limited than the responsible individual in the ability to respond. However, from the perspective of the responsible individual there exists an apparent limit to the ability in which the false participant truly responds. But the responsible one can never impose that trait on another individual. That would be against its very nature. An individual has to choose, in this case, and if not in all cases, responsibility. And with responsibility comes realization of choice, or responsible choice. But again freedom, participation, and accountability are not qualities that once adopted or represented in action are established indefinitely, they must constantly be reaffirmed. And that is ultimate responsibility.

So to reiterate, in some way it is understandable the instance of “self-governed government” springing forth from the very same identity that was originally supposed as an example for freedom and liberty and representative government in its purest sense. It is these particular values – freedom, liberty, and government by the people, for the people – on which this country was founded almost 300 years ago. We seem to forget that this association can be made only with the conception of our country as it was in its infancy. To describe the country as it is today in the same light and manner one does when conceptualizing it as it originally were is a distinct act of false participation. It’s evidently quite arguable based on empirical fact that our country has deviated significantly in ideology and practice from that of our country’s founders. We’ve trained ourselves, just as much as we have been trained, to not genuinely participate. To become both temporarily and permanently satisfied with pseudo-participation within a matrix. We must accept responsibility. We are human beings. Likewise, so are all those who keep government “alive” through thinking it, being it, participating in it. We make it. Why do we as human beings seem disposed in some way to thickening the fogs of mystery for ourselves?

The negative presence of our military is lived directly by millions of individuals each day. Still one rarely, it seems, ever attempts to see from the perspective of those other civilians, other citizens. They pose no threat to us, the way our government wants us to believe, those citizens of other nations but of our same status as human. But false participation accounts for their lack of consideration by the very community they are a part of. It’s of no direct concern to any one of us.

Not until we’ve got those who are determined to enforce a certain concept freedom, distinguishable as such simply because it was in the past, enforcing on those of its own country who are supposed to be free! We can and must acknowledge, without also bearing a shame that is discouraging to action, the inherent selfishness implied in not recognizing the freedoms of others become jeopardized by an entity that we are associated with until that entity (that is in some sense ours) poses the very same threat to our own freedom. We can realize now a situation in which freedom is equivalent in its meaning for all humans. We can as a people reconcile the necessity of this freedom and the eternal importance of establishing it as fact for all individuals.

We must act now. If at this moment we recognize such limitations on responsibility, one can also imagine the limits a total military state could impose. Though, what if it takes a scenario such as the one forewarned in the news article? Are we consumed by materialism, 21st century distractions, or by mystification, alienation, and fear? Materialism is in effect an excuse for false participation. Involvement and consideration don’t imply abandoning a convenience, even in a material sense. In fact, involvement ultimately creates a sense of convenience. There is absolutely no reason to have faith in the individual who acts under the pretenses of false participation, just as there is no reason to have faith in one who is at this moment responsible. That is the nature of the definition of responsibility.

It’s not a question of teaching responsibility directly, of being able to change the outlook or perspective of the individual. Only the individual can change himself. Those responsible can adopt the task of creating situations for those who participate falsely that serve to demystify concepts such as government and freedom through enabling the ability of response. The effort must necessarily be grassroots, all the way down to the single root that is the individual. Humans must encourage responsibility in every, and all other human.

Without adoption of responsibility we will continue as people, as humans, to be stomped on, crushed, annihilated, by those other humans who live falsely in power with the guise of language and its resulting concepts, such as “government.” We will be denied all forms of response. We will be denied. Our individual cessation is of no concern to its cause, for that cause in its very nature denies responsibility for any of its ends.

Please respond.

On our Treasury Secretary Designate

2008-12-02T15:02:00.002-05:00

Timothy Geithner, Barack Obama's Treasury Secretary designate, drew my attention at first with his current position as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. That's scary from the starting line, because this guy has headed up for about 5 years what is possibly the most important branch of the Fed cartel. Not cool, Tim.
This fellow, living in CNN/Money's 11th best place to live in the US started his life in finance with Kissinger and Associates, then moved on to the Treasury Dept. From there he joined the Council on Foreign Relations economics division and then worked with the IMF on a policy reforming committee. He is also a trustee of the Economics Club of New York,a private club of international top executives and government officials that hosts events regarding policy and issues relating to economics. Check out the website above to see a list of recent speakers. It's a fascinating list, I'd say. You can watch videos of select sections of these people talks on YouTube. He also worked to push through the rescue and sale of Bear Stearns and has played a role in decisions regarding the bail outs and other issues related to our current "financial crisis."
He also serves on the board of directors of the Bank of International Settlements, which is basically the bank for the world's central banks. This group's culture of secrecy has caused many to doubt their intentions. We should be looking at them, too.
Timothy Geithner does not seem to be on our side, here.

Help end the fractional reserve banking system, which shifts wealth from the deserving masses to a few bankers at the top. This is the single greatest barrier to peace that our world faces. We can defeat it, and the snowballing of vast reform for liberty that will follow will be the next step towards a truly advanced human race. I think we too often consider ourselves mature and civilized, failing to realize the fact that technological and intellectual growth will never cease, and has only truly begun taking flight in the last few hundred years. We have solved some problems, but have created others that stand in the way to total freedom and prosperity.

Astounding

2008-12-02T11:14:00.005-05:00

Citigroup buys a tollroad operation in SPAIN for $10 Billion.
This is the money WE PROVIDED THEM WITH! OUR TAX DOLLARS!

Cheney indictments dropped. That took all of, what, a few days. Politicians have lots of bargaining power with one another. You drop the charges here, I'll drop the charges there.

Silly Palin, you were supposed to give those to charity.

Yes, $1 a year, salary, but what about all those stocks, sir?

The news is full of stuff to piss you off today.
These are all RawStory from today... If you don't get some of your news there, you should be.

Bernanke Bucks for Tomorrow

2008-12-02T00:22:00.005-05:00

Click on the image below for a larger image that will look better when printed!

Front:

Backs:
“The inability of the Colonists to get power to issue their own money permanently out of the hands of George III and the international bankers was the prime reason for the revolutionary war.”

-Benjamin Franklin

“One thing to realize about our fractional reserve banking system is that, like a child’s game of musical chairs, as long as the music is playing, there are no losers.”

-Andrew Gause, Monetary Historian

Why does the US government choose to borrow money from private banks at interest when congress has the constitutional authority to create all the interest-free money it needs, itself?
Why create money as debt?
How can a money system dependent on perpetually accelerating growth be used to build a sustainable economy?

“All of the perplexities, confusion, and distress in America arises, not from the defects of the Constitution or Confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, so much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.”

-John Adams, founding father of the American Constitution

“Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce… and when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.”
-James A. Garfield, assassinated POTUS

I might make some more later...
Any quotes that you like in particular?

STAMP! STAMP! STAMP!

2008-12-01T17:52:00.005-05:00

On the CampaignForLiberty site there's some video of Dr. Paul speaking at the Fed protest in Houston, TX, and a Texas Straight Talk he did regarding monetary policy.

Wikiquote: Federal Reserve
Wikiquote: Banking

These are good lists of quotes that you might want to read over. Sometimes it's easy to see and have an understanding of the details of a situation while being somewhat unable to phrase the big picture.

Here's an idea I had...

"§ 333. Mutilation of national bank obligations.

Whoever mutilates, cuts, defaces, disfigures, or perforates, or unites or cements together, or does any other thing to any bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt issued by any national banking association, or Federal Reserve bank, or the Federal Reserve System, with intent to render such bank bill, draft, note, or other evidence of debt unfit to be reissued, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than six months, or both."

It's all about intent. This is why Where's George works. (it's pretty cool, too, by the way) However, for them it's a lot more easy to prove that they are not intending on making the bill unfit for issue because the whole point is to keep them circulating and track it. In the case of my idea, well, it gets a little interesting. My intention is not to make the bill itself unfit for issuance but to reform the entire monetary system. I think this puts me on the right side of the cell bars, right? Let me know if anyone disagrees, don't want to be breaking the rules.

I'm thinking either just a simple stamp with a cfl.org link or something similar. Maybe a quote, if one is short, and good enough.
I'll put a couple designs together, and get a couple dozen made, and we can all stamp through our wallets whenever we get new bills. Woo!

See you at the meeting later, folks!

It has begun

2008-12-01T15:03:00.002-05:00

Read this: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/30/AR2008113002217.html?hpid=topnews

What kind of monstrous scenario are they preparing for?

Beware of false-flag terror. Beware of standing armies. This might not end well.

Transcript for political speech

2008-11-25T15:15:00.002-05:00

This is my idea for what to say in the speech I'll (hopefully) be giving next week:

I am just a man, ruled by tyrant-kings who’ve taken everything. Money is taken from my paycheck to fund the corrupt and incompetent government in Washington, D.C. I pay for their waste and greed, their corporate hand-outs, and their wars. I pay for the bombs and bullets that take the lives of men, women, and children in distant lands. I pay for that corrupt government to imprison its own citizens for choosing how to live their own lives, for exercising their sacred right to liberty. I pay for all of this, and so do you. No more, I tell you.

I could not believe the form of tyranny, what it could take from me. I live in fear. I fear that I will not be able to afford to sustain myself. My standard of living has declined dramatically and continues to do so. I fear that I will be forced into government service, whether that be a draft or “community service” slavery. I fear the spies, the agents provocateurs, and the machines. I fear the police state that even now tightens its grip around a once free people. I fear that “change” will blind the people to their chains and allow the government to strip them of their last remaining rights. I fear the economic collapse¬¬--that it will create political instability on a scale never seen in this country. I fear that lives will be lost as the empire comes home. I fear this, and so do you. No more, I tell you.

I dream of falling lights and burning books. I dream of fighting wars with myself and with you and with all of us. I dream of slaving slaves and dying in chains. They want our souls. There is hope. There is life beyond this. You must find it. I must find it. I let myself forget what it means to be an American. So did you. No more, I tell you.

I spit in the face of tyranny. What can it take from me? For I believe in liberty; let freedom ring. Even if the bell must toll for me, let it be. I am free. While I live I will always be free. I stand here today, an activist, an insurgent, a revolutionary patriot. I am American not because I was born in America. I am American because I claim the blessings of liberty and the rule of law. It is time for all of us to resist the government in Washington. It is time for us to tell them that they have overstepped their bounds. It is time for us to defend the Constitution from the vultures that pick away at it. It is time for us to tell them: no more wars of aggression, no more corporate bailouts at the people’s expense, no more executive orders, no more lies, no more meddling in the affairs of the world, no more worthless paper money, no more spending without restraint, no more debt for us and our children, no more market manipulations, no more of this, no more I tell you.

It is time for us to tell the government that any law that is repugnant to the Constitution is null and void. It is time to remind them that “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.” It is time to let the government know that we retain our right to alter or abolish this government for the people and by the people.

“This is a continuation of a revolution. It is a peaceful revolution. It’s up to you to spread this message around this country. This is an American cause. It’s the cause of freedom. There’s something going on in this country, and it’s big. Spread the message. Thank You.”

Hey New People

2008-11-25T14:40:00.004-05:00

Welcome to the blog. Sorry I didn't send the invites out last night, I got caught up after the meeting. Lets get consolidate some sources for people that don't know much about the subject matter. I'll just put two obvious ones down and the rest can come from comments.

Teach Peace database of documentaries! There are lots of them here!
From Freedom to Fascism -- This is the movie we're showing in the dragonfly. If you haven't seen it yet check it out.
IOUSA
Zeitgeist: Addendum
Money Masters
Money as Debt
Story of Stuff
Who Killed the Electric Car?

Anyone reading anything lately?

2008-11-24T13:01:00.004-05:00

Here are a couple collections of videos on survivalist topics that I'd think y'all would be interested in.

These guys are perfect models of disaster preparedness, and I think that regardless of your financial situation, everyone should follow these guidelines to some degree or another, because I think we all fear that the proverbial excrement is headed quickly towards the fan. Man, that's a weird statement, when has anyone ever seen someone throw poop at a fan? I doubt that it has ever happened, and definitely don't want to be around when/if it does. I'd probably prefer total economic collapse to someone throwing poop at my fan, honestly.

YouChooseASide's collection of videos, who is a bit of a ranter and tries to get people to understand the situation we're presented with, but also locks down a few important topics.
Ryan has exhaustive videos on many different survival/camping topics (fire starting, knots, bug out bags) and does reviews on several products, including the Glock handgun and M15 gas mask. I haven't seen the majority of the videos yet, but I'll probably watch them all.

I'm serious, fellas, get on the ball with this stuff. The "I don't have enough money" argument is the one I hear the most, but let's be honest, would you rather drink beer (or other intoxicating hobbies, ahem), go to concerts, buy video games and cable tv, or would you rather be able to eat and survive when times get tough? Just whittle away some of that truly unproductive spending or earn some more money in a creative way (please stay legal, you don't want to be in prison when things get bad, you'll be screwed, and we need you intelligent folks out here!). I'm not saying don't enjoy your life, just don't be wasteful in a trying time.
You can buy these long-lasting, easy to prepare (low energy & resource inputs) foods little by little every time you go to the grocery store. Honestly, what is $25 a week? You can achieve this, and absolutely can't rely on anyone else to help you, your friends will be more interested in self preservation than helping you. They will feel bad for you, but they will turn you away, possibly at gun point.

Learn about caching, both food and other items, and do it!
The food is on the shelves now, but it won't always be, you can bet on that. Comfort and availability of goods has lulled people into believing that life is easy and will be forever, but our economy and government are incredibly unstable and heading towards massive decline. Martin of the videos above believes christmas-time or the period immediately following it will be when we really see it all go down. Who knows, but it is undoubtedly a responsible decision right now to prepare yourself mentally and physically for what is likely to come.

I've felt redundant a lot here, but what I'm saying is important. More to come

Wake Up! Educate Yourself! Take Action!,

Some alarmist guy

Fed Notes for Protest

2008-11-21T19:20:00.002-05:00

This is last minute, so I won't waste time talkin. Hopefully someone of ya can print a bunch of these and prepare them before we leave. After all, protest isn't till tomorrow morning.

Ideas for alternate backs??

Boom Shakalaka!

2008-11-20T11:36:00.002-05:00

Marijuana good for memory, sort of.

That is all

Edit:
Actually, no, that's not all.
This video is scary. I haven't finished it, though.

New Poster

2008-11-19T15:28:00.001-05:00

Let me know if this one goes to far/needs changes.

This one is also in LANDSCAPE.

Dick Cheney Indicted

2008-11-19T14:56:00.001-05:00