Libertarians and the Occupy Movement

I recently had a conversation on Facebook with someone I had met through our local Occupy Harrisburg group. I posted “We do not forgive, we do not forget, expect us!” as my Facebook status. Many of you will recognize this as the internet meme of the global hacking collective known as Anonymous.  In the comments, he began attacking Ron Paul, and while my status had nothing to do with Ron Paul, I was told me that he believed me to be obsessed with the guy because I had a profile picture of myself with Ron that was taken back in 2007. It’s not the first time I’ve heard this type of rhetoric from people in the occupy movement, and so I wanted to take a moment to talk about why I’m interested in the occupy crowd, and how I believe libertarians stand to gain by defending and even promoting some of occupy’s ideas.

I like most libertarians believe that Government, instead of being a servant of the people, has become a servant to massive corporations, and the global banking system that owns them. I believe I hold this value in common with most people within the occupy movement. I like Jefferson, believe that the banks are much more powerful than even standing armies, and I believe corporations have become such a problem in this country only because Government has aided them and allowed them to grow corrupt. I believe that eliminating the corrupt banking interests, starting with the private Federal Reserve Bank should be the number one priority of a free people.

I like most libertarians believe we need to stop the endless war overseas that is killing so many innocent people, not to mention irreparably harming the name of this great nation, and plaguing our children with hopeless debt. I believe we need to massively cut the budget of the Department of Defense, and I believe we need to bring our troops home and defend this country from those who wish it will. This also is a view I believe I hold in common with the occupy movement.

I believe we need to end this senseless war on drugs. Libertarians and most Occupy members tend to agree with me here. The war on drugs much like any other war has claimed thousands of lives, ruined countless families and, just like our military action overseas, is costing an obscene amount of money. Further the drug wars are motivated by racism, fuels violent criminal cartels, and puts drugs in the hands of kids.

I am a supporter of marriage equality. Who you marry is your business, if you don’t like gay marriage don’t get one. This is yet another thing that I find I have in common with most people who are involved in the occupy movement, and is a cornerstone of libertarian thought in that, if a “crime” has no victim, it shouldn’t be illegal to begin with.

All these common viewpoints are just some of the reasons why I stand in support of the occupy movement. We are however not without our differences. Determining exactly what needs to be done to fix the issues is something I often debate, but I do so with the understanding of the need for solidarity in order to be successful. United we stand and divided we fall. If you’re reading this, and you believe that we’re better off together, and you believe that even though we have our differences, we can work through them and prevail, like this. Let’s show those who would have us argue amongst ourselves that we are better than that.

Why I’m Voting for Ron Paul

No other candidate this election is causing more controversy than Ron Paul, and it’s not surprising, this is after all his 3^rd attempt to achieve the distinguished privilege of being President of the United States. This 3^rd attempt however seems to be his best performance yet. With only 10 days remaining until the Iowa Caucuses, the 76 year old hopeful appears to be leading the GOP in the state which is seen as an indicator of candidates’ momentum heading toward nomination.

I admit, this will not be the first time I’ve voted for Ron Paul. After watching a documentary called “Freedom to Fascism” by the late popular film producer Aaron Russo in 2007, I became awakened to a whole new sense of reality. I began to realize that banking interests had largely bought off politicians and were now controlling our government by manipulating its economics and bribing its leaders. In that film a quirky looking old politician was interviewed whose name happened to be Ron Paul. As my fascination with this film slowly turned to obsession I spent every waking hour learning as much as I could about this unseen system of control. I saw how government and large corporations seem to be working together. I watched as major banks collapsed under the weight of their own corruption, and I continued to watch while the Government of the United States, a government I finance, propped up corrupt banks. I watched as the media smeared Ron Paul as unelectable and downright crazy during the primary only to give him non-stop interviews when his predictions turned to reality with the 2008 housing crisis. I watched a president who promised to end the wars overseas and bring our troops home, instead expanded the existing wars, entered new wars, and prepared for further expansion into states like Syria and Iran. I watched the same man, forget many of the promises of his election in favor of the status quo. I watched as the 99% gathered, and I watched as they were systematically and violently silenced. I watched the media and the government conspired over and over with each other. I’ve watched this horror long enough, at times, I’ve been paralyzed in fear by it.

I believe as Americans many of us know something is very wrong in this country. We sift through the ashes of our once great and prosperous land discussing and debating our findings, but for some reason, at the end of the day, we choose to focus on the things we disagree about, instead of looking at our common beliefs. We focus on our divisions and therefore we stand divided, and soon if we do not act we will be conquered.

Ron Paul has stood against many of the evils I see in the world around me, while all other candidates seem to be a part of it. Ron Paul stands against wars in the middle east, he stands against the international banking interests eroding our sovereignty, and funneling our wealth into the hands of a few. Ron Paul stands against the police state that is taking hold in America. Ron Paul stands for the freedom of the people and the liberation of humanity though leadership and example, instead of guns and bombs.

I’m voting for Ron Paul because the alternative candidate is my AR-15 and quite frankly I’m desperate for peace.

Prominent PA GOP Party Members Sue GOP Delegates

For Immediate Release

Contact: Scott Davis

Tel: (717) 648-9080

Email: scott@ronpaulpa.com

Prominent PA GOP Party Members Sue GOP Delegates

Questionable Lawsuit May Result In Criminal Consequences for Prominent PA GOP Party Members

Philadelphia, PA – April 22, 2008 – Chaos ensued in Philadelphia today as 2 prominent Pennsylvania GOP party members filed suit against 8 other GOP delegates. The case, filed by the lawfirm of McNichol, Byrne & Matlawski, P.C., was brought on behalf of Barbara Harvey of Broomall, PA and Alana Cervino of Springfield, PA, both prominent GOP supporters. The suit was brought against GOP Alternate Delegate Rick Lacey also names several other GOP candidates including David K Walter, Michael P. Boyle, Peter J. Manfra, Ryan Hodinka, John Savastio, John Pedley, Bernie Strain, Mike Noonan, and Marianne Loughran. Though none of the defendants were officially endorsed by the Pennsylvania GOP, all were Republican Party members running for Republican Party seats, and most if not all seem to be supporters of Presidential Candidate Ron Paul.The official complaint alleges that sample ballot cards printed by the candidates violated campaign finance laws since the cards were not paid for by a political action committee. It is however common knowledge that campaign materials distributed for the purpose of securing a party seat are not subject to the campaign finance laws of a candidate seeking public office.Though an injunction was granted to the plaintiff’s, a Delaware county Judge quickly reversed the decision after the error was brought before the court early Tuesday morning. The reversal was not quick enough however as Delaware county sheriffs improperly confiscated ballots from polls where they were being handed out, and promptly destroyed them without authorization.Though the Ron Paul Campaign has not officially responded to the suit, state co-coordinators for the Ron Paul campaign and defendants have said that they are taking the incident seriously and are considering further legal action against the plaintiffs. They further stated that while a course of action had not been determined, they would not rule out filing criminal charges in the case.

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For more information on this release or others please contact ronpaulpa.com

PA GOP Endorses John McCain: Republicans need not vote in primary

On Friday, February 29th, 2008 Pennsylvania GOP Chairman Gleason issues a memo saying “Working together we will be able to expose the Democrats’ spin for what it really is, bringing us one step closer to securing Pennsylvania’s 21 electoral votes for America’s next Republican president John McCain in November.” Today on the PA GOP’s website the following statement: “After months of watching this contested presidential race unfold, our Party came together recently and endorsed the most qualified candidate for President, Senator John McCain.” These statements and others have left hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania voters wondering; is there actually a need to go vote in the PA primary on April 22nd?

It would appear that the PA GOP’s answer to that question has been a resounding “NO”. One outraged voter had this to say: “How dare you insult the thousands of Pennsylvania voters who have yet to go place their votes at the polls! I for one will not be voting for John McCain, and let me assure you, I am not alone.” It would appear that he is indeed not alone as another voter wrote in frustration to the PA GOP: “...fake conservative Juan McAmnesty will get crushed by either Hillary or Obama in the general election.”

While the fight for the GOP nomination continues, it is clear that things aren’t quite a unified as the GOP would like them to be. While they continue to announce their endorsement for John McCain, voters continue to be undecided and generally frustrated by the GOP’s lack of support for a real conservative.

Supreme Court Declares Impotence in Landmark Case

In a landmark decision Monday, the United States Supreme Court declared its impotence and ineffectiveness in upholding its solitary duty in interpreting the Constitution. Like a Viagra patient without their medication, the court once again denied to hear the case of We The People v. United States, and showed that its strongest strength may well lie on the golf green.

The case was first filed in July of 2004, and sought to force the government to address their formal petition for a redress of grievances in regard to income tax, which was filed in November of 2002. In May of 2007 the case was rejected by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and brought before the Supreme Court on January 7th, 2008. We the people sought a definition of the duties of Government to its people under the Constitution's petition clause, which had it been heard, would have been a first impression case (meaning the Supreme Court had never previously ruled on such a case).

Having exhausted all other options, Bob Shultz and The We the People Foundation made one final desperate attempt to obtain justice for their cause. On February 1st, 2008, they filed a petition for rehearing. Shultz publically declared the “… Court would be abdicating its duty and committing treason to the Constitution if it fails to [accept jurisdiction and hear this case]”. He went on to say that he made such accusations according to the courts own precedent.

Foreseeing the outcome of their final appeal, The We the People Foundation announced that upon rejection of their final petition, they would turn their attention and resources to the implementation of large scale, wide-spread acts of “civil disobedience”. Delivering on that promise, Shultz announced yesterday that a series of meetings would be held at various locations around the country to begin planning and implementing such actions. Details of exactly what the foundation has in mind have yet to be released. Of only one thing can we be sure, in rejecting a landmark case such as this one without so much as even a single comment; the Supreme Court has indirectly ruled once and for all that it is an ineffective puppet to a tyrannical government spiraling out of control toward a cataclysmic end.