Author Archive for Joseph

The Revolution Released

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Joseph
on April 29, 2008
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Ron Paul’s new book The Revolution: A Manifesto was officially released this week. I received my copy from Amazon about a week ago and highly recommend it. With chapters on foreign policy, the constitution, economic freedom, personal freedom, and money this book covers many of the problems in our country today.

The book is a quick summary of the main areas that gave national prominence to the Ron Paul campaign. I am excited that Ron Paul has also includes a four page reading list at the back of the book telling other sources to read on the important issues of the day. The price for the book on Amazon is currently 45% off the regular price. Buy this book and gain a more clear understanding of the many issues that need addressed in our country.

Update: It’s #1 on Amazon Wednesday afternoon.

The Betrayal of the American Right

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Joseph
on February 4, 2008
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Murray Rothbard in his Betrayal of the American Right gives the history of the “right” side of the political spectrum and how it changed in the twentieth century. The “extremists” of the Old Right were Isolationist Libertarians who opposed the economics of the New Deal and the foreign policy that sought to involve us in wars to save the British, French, and Spanish empires. These men included Howard Buffett, Frank Chodorov, Garet Garrett, Robert McCormick, and Robert A. Taft.

Rothbard was an undergraduate at Columbia University during World War II while his libertarian and non-interventionist views continued to solidify. This work is extremely helpful to any who may not know that there is another side to the story during those years. Rothbard gives a very first hand account during many of the events covered in the book as he speaks about the groups he was with and the reasons he was with them. It is refreshing as he continues to give admissions of where he feels his and his friends were wrong and the reasons they were wrong.

Anyone that doesn’t have a complete familiarity with the political spectrum of ideas from the 1930s to the 1960s will be motivated to expand upon this book and become familiar with the many sides of the debates mentioned. Rothbard’s extreme peace position can be shocking at first but does bring to mind many questions. Why does the establishment and all of its surrogates never question any of the many wars that we have been involved in? Was going to war really the only answer or was it the best option for the military-industrial complex and an economy that is largely dependent on this? In addition to the peace question is the economics questions and the very clear understanding that our economy is not even close to a true laissez-faire capitalism.

The Revolution: A Manifesto

Published
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Joseph
on February 1, 2008
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Ron Paul has written a new book, The Revolution: A Manifesto. According to Amazon it will be available at the end of April. As I write this article the book is the #4 bestseller in all books on Amazon right now. According to Ron Paul’s Revolutionary Manifesto at LewRockwell.com the book “covers everything establishment politicians lie about or ignore: war, sound money, terrorism, the economy, the IRS, civil liberties.” That article also points to the grassroots effort to keep the book at the top of bestsellers lists by getting all interested parties to pre-order it now.

A book like this needs to be in the hands of every Ron Paul supporter that wants to have a complete understanding of his ideas for our country. Then getting books like this into the hands of the rest of America will show many who lean toward a position of liberty and small government that Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate that has a complete and sensible position that will return our country to better paths.

Update: Now at #3 on Amazon and #8 on Barnes and Noble. (6:29 p.m.)

The Dangerous Stimulus

Published
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Joseph
on February 1, 2008
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Ron Paul spoke to the House on Tuesday, January 29, concerning the economic stimulus package that is being debated in Congress. He points out that:

. . . instead of taking the fiscally responsible course and pairing the tax cuts with spending cuts, this bill simply adds to the national deficit. Madame Speaker, unless Congress acts soon to reign in its excessive spending, the American people will face confiscatory tax rates or skyrocketing inflation.

The full text of The Dangerous Stimulus is available by following the link.

A Voluntary Tax

Published
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Joseph
on January 28, 2008
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Two separate money bombs are coming up on February 1. The first, Liberty Tax 08, seeks to bring attention to the 16th Amendment which was ratified on February 3, 1913. In seeking $500 donations from those who sign up they ask, “If you could pay $500 to never pay taxes again, would you?”

The second fundraising drive for that day is FiftyOneYears.com and seeks for 100,000 people to give $51 each to celebrate the 51st anniversary of Ron and Carol Paul.

Donate to Ron Paul and spread the word of Freedom and Prosperity. The campaign has already had 3 days generate more than $1 Million on December 16, November 5, and January 21. Please help put February 1st on that list!

Comprehensive Economic Revitalization Plan

Published
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Joseph
on January 24, 2008
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Ron Paul released his Comprehensive Economic Revitalization Plan today as a real world example of what he would do to help our economy and our nation. The President and Congress are working on a “bandage” that may appear to affect some of the symptoms but they aren’t attempting to fix the many real causes (the Fed, high taxes on everyone, too much government spending). Ron Paul’s four point plan calls for Tax Reform, Spending Reform, Monetary Policy Reform, and Regulatory Reform. Check it out to see a real solution and a list of some of the many problems with current policy in Washington.

Ron Paul’s latest book covers his economic policies over the years from his many speeches on the subject. Pillars of Prosperity, according to the Mises Institute website, “provides documentary evidence that he is not only a master of the topic; he has provided a coherent explanation of nearly everything the government has done wrong in this area since he first entered public office.” Study the policies of the one consistent presidential candidate who has been fighting for the same economic policies for decades (and prophetically pointing out the problems with what we are doing).

The Case Against the Fed

Published
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Joseph
on January 21, 2008
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I finished reading The Case Against the Fed by Murray N. Rothbard. It is a very interesting book that presents and expands upon the same ideas against the Federal Reserve that I’ve also read from Gary North. I hope to eventually write a detailed review but for now I want to point out reasons to be more familiar with many aspects of our government and how these types of institutions are not there to protect the people but instead promote the private interests of powerful individuals. Rothbard starts with the following accusation:

By far the most secret and least accountable operation of the federal government is not, as one might expect, the CIA, DIA, or some other super-secret intelligence agency . . . The Federal Reserve System is accountable to no one; it has no budget; it is subject to no audit; and no Congressional committee knows of, or can truly supervise, its operations.

To people who may desire to trust all branches of government or private banks that are backed by the power of government this may not be a bad thing by itself. If the Fed is doing good many would not be concerned by its secretive nature. One would then have to ask why it has to be so secretive, but the answer probably arises from the fact that it isn’t doing much good. While the Fed claims to fight inflation, it is the only consistent cause of inflation in our nation.

Rothbard has the following to say about printing money and then goes on to show how our government is involved in this very cause of inflation:

If the government falls prey to the temptation of printing a great deal of new money, not only will prices go up, but the “quality” of money will become suspect in that society.

We can currently in today’s world tell that something is a little different with the dollar. Whereas for years it was worth almost twice as much as the Canadian dollar, today they are approximately equal. The price of gold is more than $850 an ounce (it was pegged at $35 an ounce before we totally left the gold standard in 1971).

When thinking of inflation and the Inflation Tax as repeatedly mentioned by Ron Paul I am reminded of the many passages throughout the Bible that demand the use of just weights and measures (Lev. 19:35, Deut. 25:13-15, Prov. 11:1, Prov. 20:10, Prov. 20:23, Ezekiel 45:10, Amos 8:5, Hosea 12:7, Micah 6:11). Our monetary system does not in any way seem to be composed of just or righteous weights and measures. The values fluctuate as the Fed increases and decreases the money supply.

I haven’t developed a thoroughly thought out and researched position but it is an area of concern. It is encouraging that there is still in the running one presidential candidate that understands and talks about these issues. Ron Paul took second place in Nevada on Saturday and still has a chance to win. $1.6 million has been raised for the campaign today with a few hours to go. There still is hope, but only if the American people are willing to ask questions about our government and the traditions we have all come to accept as truth.