By Andrew Ward
Be sure to check out Ron Paul LIVE at CPAC on C-SPAN at 4:30pm eastern time.
For those interested, C-SPAN.org is currently streaming CPAC morning events on their website and on C-SPAN 2.
Update: CPAC is running a bit behind, so Dr. Paul’s speech could be delayed by 30 minutes. Watch it online here.
By Andrew Ward
Day one was simply a blast. Ron Paul, Judge Napolitano, Tom Woods, and Thomas DiLorenzo brought the house down. Here’s the schedule of free C4L events taking place at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington D.C. today:
12:00pm “Saving Freedom: Defending the Constitution” CPAC Panel w/ Steve Bierfeldt of Campaign for Liberty, Maryland Ballroom
1:00-2:00pm Blogger and New Media Meet & Greet w/ Gary Howard of Campaign for Liberty, Room 8226
3:00-3:30pm Tim Carney Book Signing, C4L Booth
4:30-5:00pm Ron Paul Formal Speech Hear Ron Paul Speak to the Main CPAC Ballroom! You MUST be registered at CPAC to hear this speech.
5:00-6:00pm Ron Paul Book Signing, C4L Booth
8:30-10:00pm “Our American Dream” featuring Gary Johnson! With Tim Carney and Mike Church. Thurgood Marshall South/West
For more information, check out our Operation: CPAC page!
By Matt Hawes
Today kicks off our three days of packed activities at CPAC 2010!
If you’re in the D.C. area, be sure to stop by the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, as almost all of our events (minus private briefings and sponsor receptions) are free and open to the public (most of the rest of the regular CPAC activities require registration).
Here’s what’s on our free events agenda for today:
1:00-2:00pm “Abraham Lincoln on Liberty: Friend or Foe?” Thomas DiLorenzo, Delaware Room
2:00-3:00pm “When All Else Fails: Nullification & State Resistence to Federal Tyranny” Tom Woods Delaware Room
3:00-3:30pm Book Signing Thomas DiLorenzo, CPAC Exhibition Hall
3:30-4:00pm Book Signing Tom Woods, CPAC Exhibition Hall
4:00-5:00pm Book Signing Judge Andrew Napolitano, CPAC Exhibition Hall
8:30-10:00pm Liberty Forum w/ Question & Answer Ron Paul & Judge Napolitano, w/ Tom Woods
Find out more about our CPAC activities here. Hope to see you there!
By Matt Hawes
Via CNN:
The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers’ hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives….
Under the new protocols, tests will be conducted at various locations — including in checkpoint lines, during the screening process and at gates. Newer, more portable machines make it easier to conduct tests away from fixed locations such as the checkpoint….
So once you’re through the checkpoint, you’re possibly still not done anymore. Score another one for the land of the free.
By Matt Holdridge
It appears that President Obama and crew are sticking to their story. “We have rescued this economy from the worst of this crisis…”
Their claim is that the $862 billion package is an unequivocal success that has created or saved millions of jobs.
Read more here.
Of course saying, “it would have been worse without it” is a clever rhetorical tactic that cannot be proven. It’s near impossible to prove a negative.
Fortunately, the American people are not as optimistic about the expenditure.
Gateway Pundit’s Jim Hoft and The Hill’s Walter Alarkon have found an interesting statistic in a week-old CBS/NYT poll: “just 6 percent of Americans believe that [Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package]created jobs, even though independent economists estimate that it has saved or created more than 1 million jobs.”
Read more about the poll here.
By dljholt
Dear Friends of Liberty,
Congratulations Patriots! You clearly made your voices heard in the Virginia House of Delegates when you asked that they support HB69, the Virginia Firearms Freedom Act.
Moments ago, HB69 passed on the floor with a bi-partisan vote of 70 – 29.
Here is how the vote went:
YEAS–Abbitt, Alexander, Anderson, Armstrong, Athey, Barlow, Bell, Richard P., Bell, Robert B., Byron, Carrico, Cleaveland, Cline, Cole, Comstock, Cosgrove, Cox, J.A., Cox, M.K., Crockett-Stark, Dance, Edmunds, Garrett, Gear, Gilbert, Griffith, Hugo, Iaquinto, Ingram, James, Janis, Joannou, Johnson, Jones, Kilgore, Knight, Landes, Lewis, Lingamfelter, Lohr, Loupassi, Marshall, D.W., Marshall, R.G., Massie, May, Merricks, Miller, J.H., Miller, P.J., Morefield, Morgan, Nixon, Nutter, O’Bannon, Oder, Peace, Phillips, Pogge, Poindexter, Pollard, Purkey, Putney, Scott, E.T., Sherwood, Shuler, Stolle, Tata, Tyler, Villanueva, Ware, O., Ware, R.L., Wright, Mr. Speaker–70.
NAYS–Abbott, Albo, BaCote, Brink, Bulova, Carr, Ebbin, Englin, Greason, Herring, Hope, Howell, A.T., Keam, Kory, LeMunyon, McClellan, McQuinn, Morrissey, Orrock, Plum, Rust, Scott, J.M., Sickles, Spruill, Surovell, Torian, Toscano, Ward, Watts–29.
ABSTENTIONS–0.
NOT VOTING–0.
The bill will now move to the Senate.
Stay tuned for Committee or Subcommittee assignment.
Yours in liberty,
Donna Holt
By Matt Hawes
Reporter John Stossel recently took a look at how certificate of need laws stifle competition and help contribute to higher health care costs.
By Gary Howard
According to a Rasmussen poll, 59% of likely voters favor allowing states to opt out of federal programs they disagree with.
Voters strongly believe that a state should have the right to avoid federal programs it doesn’t like, but they draw the line at states seceding from the union.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 59% of likely voters say states should have the right to opt out of federal government programs they don’t agree with. Just 25% disagree, while another 15% are not sure. Read more…
The growing popularity of ideas like state nullification (i.e. opting out) is a good thing. However, some folks aren’t ready to make the next leap.
From the same poll:
But despite the rise of so-called “Tea Party” anti-federal government sentiment around the country, there’s no second Civil War at hand. Only 14% of voters think individual states have the right to leave the United States and form an independent country. Seventy-two percent (72%) do not believe states have this right, and 13% more are undecided.
One can probably attribute this anti-secession sentiment to inferior public education, and the lack of serious civic and constitutional study that entails.
Whatever the case, lets hope more people come over to the side of freedom, and more state legislatures start exercising their power against the feds.
By Matt Holdridge
From Fox News:
A group of more than 80 leaders are looking to solidify the direction of the conservative movement by putting their ideas into an official statement of belief this week.
The story goes on to say,
The group describes the document as “defining the movement’s principles, beliefs and values in light of the challenges facing the country and the need for Constitutional Conservatism since the Obama administration came to power.”…
Those involved with the signing compare the new manifesto to “The Sharon Statement” signed at the home of William F. Buckley, Jr. in Sharon, Connecticut in 1960. The “Sharon Statement” was signed and formed by the Young Americans for Freedom.
It looks like participants in the official signing will include Edwin Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation; Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, Brent Bozell, president of the Media Research Center, and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
This makes one wonder, if the traditional conservative movement’s principles where fixed and have been since 1960, why would they need “defining” again in light of Obama? Shouldn’t they transcend administrations?
I’m personally curious whether the statement addresses foreign policy and if it does, whether it is a continuation of the Bush Doctrine.
Campaign for Liberty has had a Statement of Principles listed on our website and printed in our brochures since we were formed in June of 2008.
We simply reiterate the glorious tradition of freedom and resistance to oppression we’ve inherited from our ancestors which has and will transcended time or leadership.
By Matt Hawes
Liberty can rest safe once more. According to CBS News:
4-year-old Ryan Thomas is developmentally disabled as a result of being 16 weeks premature and has to wear corrective braces. His ankles are malformed and his legs have little or no muscle tone. He only just learned how to walk, briefly, on his own, Philadelphia Inquirer….
The screener replied that the boy would have to take the braces off and walk through the detector again. When Leona Thomas attempted to walk with Ryan she was told he would have to do it alone….
By Anthony Gregory
Like so many other pressing issues, the state-corporatist takeover of medicine transcends the traditional political spectrum.
By Andre
Wow, what a day! A fantastic day of, quite frankly, world class training on being a more effective grass roots activist.
More than 50 activists received training on tactics, tactical skills, and effective political activism from Campaign For Liberty’s Senior Consultant for State Operations, Kirk Shelley.
For some this class increased their knowledge, while for others it was crash course in the realities of effective political activism.
In addition, to the training by Mr. Shelley, the activists were treated to presentations by Jeff Greenspan on Prop 13 Arizona (a citizen’s initiative to reform Arizona’s convoluted, unfair, and quite probably illegal property tax scheme-if it wasn’t being done by the government of course); Shawn Dow of CameraFraud (a citizen’s initiative to remove the unconstitutional photo cameras surveillance cameras for our roads); and Tim Cox of GOOH (Get Out Of Our House).
Other items covered were the roles, importance, and process of becoming a Precinct Committeeman in your political party (R, D, L).
Back to the training, the “Tactical Skills” training module covered not only tactics that are useful to a grass activist, but, quite possibly even more important, those tactics that are used by politicians against us. “The Complete Activist School” modules taught the “Real Nature of Politics”: from what politics is and is not; how to evaluate not only politicians but their legislation; how to fight effectively for you cause; and possibly most important, “when” to fight.
Feeling you missed out? Don’t worry, this was the just our first training school and due to the overwhelming response and success, we will be offering another class in Phoenix in April and hopefully, classes in Flag, Tucson, Payson, Kingman and more. No promises, but we will make every effort to see you in these areas.
Also, between now and then, probably March, we will be holding Precinct Committeeman/Canvassing Training in numerous parts of the valley and state.
REMEMBER, IF YOU ARE A CURRENTLY A PRECINCT COMMITTEEMAN, WHETHER ELECTED OR APPOINTED YOU MUST RUN FOR RE-ELECTION AT THIS PRIMARY ELECTION IN SEPT. More to follow on this VITAL subject in the coming days. Stay tuned, watch for the emails, and check the website.
At the end of the day, I know that 50 grassroots activists left the class able to advance our cause more effectively than they could have that morning.
No more feeling like they are speaking to a brick wall for this crowd.
Thanks,
Andre Campos
By Matt Hawes
On Friday, constitutional scholar and author of C4L’s forthcoming publication The American Empire: Before the Fall, Bruce Fein, joined former CIA official Jack Rice on Chris Matthews’ Hardball to discuss whether terrorists should be tried in civilian courts or before military tribunals.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
By Matt Holdridge
Privately on Friday night, President Obama signed a bill to increase the national debt limit from $12.4 trillion to $14.3 trillion.
The administration is projecting a $1.56 trillion deficit for the budget year ending Sept. 30.
So much for the new fiscally responsible Obama.
The so-called “PAYGO” provision was included in the bill. The provision requires future spending increases or tax cuts to be paid for with tax increases or other spending cuts elsewhere.
In reality, PAYGO is designed to make it easier for Congress to raise taxes faster while making it more difficult to cut spending on welfare and warfare.
Read more here.
By dljholt
Dear Friends of Liberty,
Bob Marshall’s HB10 has been assigned to the Senate Commerce and Trade Committee and is likely to be on the docket to be heard on Monday, February 22, 1/2 hour after session adjourns. This is the same committee that reported the Senate version of the bill, SB417, with a vote of 17 – 5. While we expect that HB10 will get the same support, we don’t want to take anything for granted.
Please contact the members of this committee asking them to support HB10. You will find the list of members of that committee here along with their contact information here.
Here is a suggested script:
Dear Senator ___________,
On January 18, 2010 I was one of approximately 2400 citizens who came to the state capitol to lobby and rally for support of Delegate Bob Marshall’s HB10, the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act.
I believe that the federal government is stepping outside its authority to mandate that each citizen of this nation purchase a federally approved health care plan. No court has ever ruled in favor of a contract entered into under duress. But if the proposed federal mandate passes, every citizen will be forced to comply or be taxed $1900 and if they don’t pay, could even be sentenced to a year in jail under IRS laws.
These 2400 citizens asked Delegate Bob Marshall to provide us with a bill to protect the citizens of Virginia against this federal mandate and he answered to our call with HB10, the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act.
Now I ask you, will you protect the rights of the citizens of our great Commonwealth by voting “yes” to HB10 when it comes up in your committee for a vote?
Sincerely,
(Your name)
A win for HB10 is a win for the Virginia Campaign for Liberty.
The VA 10th Amendment Revolution marches on!!!
Yours in liberty,
Donna Holt
By Doug Bandow
It’s gotten so bad politically that even the Democrats now are joining with Republicans to demand information on the administration’s back-room dealings with industry in promoting health care “reform.” Despite the president’s claim to be representing the people, his preferred legislation should have been called the No Lobbyist Left Behind Act. The big health insurance, physician, and pharmaceutical trade associations all backed a federal takeover of American medicine.
But the public was less than impressed, and now the politicians are back-peddling. Reports Politico:
A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups.
Hours before President Barack Obama delivered his State of the Union address, Republicans and Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee agreed to pursue a revised GOP request for additional documentation about the talks that led to a series of controversial administration agreements with doctors, hospitals and drug makers at the outset of the health care debate.
The rising tide of anger against those industry-endorsed pacts – coupled with voters’ frustration about other last-minute concessions party leaders made to wavering Democrats – helped propel Republican Scott Brown to the Senate in Massachusetts in a shocking result that has imperiled health care reform on Capitol Hill.
Under the agreement Chairman Henry Waxman brokered with Texas Republican Rep. Michael Burgess, the California Democrat has offered to help Republicans get a comprehensive list of meetings the White House held with industry representatives, as well as records documenting calls and e-mails between outside groups and the Department of Health and Human Services.
“I have long been an advocate for transparency in government,” Waxman said. “At the same time, I believe Congress should wield its oversight power judiciously.”
By all means, let’s find how who cut what deals when. After all, it’s supposed to be government of the people, by the people, and for the people, right!?
There’s nothing quite like watching a herd of politicians in full panic.
Doug Bandow, American Conservative Defense Alliance
By Doug Bandow
Telling the truth can be embarrassing. Like when Defense Minister and former prime minister Ehud Barak admitted that the Palestinian conflict was a greater problem than Iran for Israel.
ISRAELI Defence Minister Ehud Barak says the conflict with Palestinians poses a greater threat to Israel than Iran’s nuclear program – a significant departure from the view of his Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Barak warned yesterday that unless Israel helped create a Palestinian state, it would end up losing its Jewish character or becoming undemocratic “and we will turn into an apartheid state”.
His comments came as Mr Netanyahu visited Poland to attend an International Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony at Auschwitz death camp, where he was expected to describe Iran’s nuclear program as a modern threat equivalent to the Holocaust.
The major theme of Mr Netanyahu’s speeches since becoming Prime Minister last March has been to list Iran’s nuclear ambitions as the top threat to Israel.
Yet another reason for caution in dealing with Iran. There really are bigger threats in the world today.
Doug Bandow, American Conservative Defense Alliance
By Matt Hawes
From Politico:
Three-quarters of the nation’s voters are “angry” at the federal government’s policies, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey out Monday.
Of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed Feb. 5-6, 75 percent said they were either “very” or “somewhat” angry with the “current policies of the federal government.” Forty-five percent said they were “very” angry….
And via the Washington Post:
Two-thirds of Americans are “dissatisfied” or downright “angry” about the way the federal government is working, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. On average, the public estimates that 53 cents of every tax dollar they send to Washington is “wasted.”…
The opening is clear: Public dissatisfaction with how Washington operates is at its highest level in Post-ABC polling in more than a decade — since the months after the Republican-led government shutdown in 1996 — and negative ratings of the two major parties hover near record highs….
While I’ll freely concede that a lot of this dissatisfaction comes from those on the left who don’t think Obama is doing enough to ram health care down our throats and from those on the right who doubt his civil liberties-violating/world policeman credentials, it’s good to see that the American peoples’ ire is at least being focused in the right direction, as Dr. Paul has frequently mentioned. The gridlock resulting from the populace’s outrage has helped to guard our freedoms and buy us more time to organize opposition to both parties’ invasive plans.
Ultimately, regardless of the underlying factors, the current unrest has presented us with an excellent gateway into conversations on what’s truly wrong in this country and what must be done to fix it. Consider the impact of the growing distrust on movements such as Audit the Fed, which has in turn led to open discussions about our monetary policy for the first time in decades. Or look below at the blog posts dealing with Virginia passing Tenth Amendment legislation, due in large part to constituents pushing their local legislators to stand up to an out of control federal government. The climate is perfect for these kind of bills, which continue to spring up all across the country.
Rahm Emanuel stated that you never want to let a serious crisis go to waste. Seems to me that the government has a significant crisis of faith on its hands, and I don’t think we should let it pass by without taking advantage of the sentiments to create true, legitimate change.
Keep spreading the message and signing up your neighbors to your local C4L groups. The time for action is now, and our chances of taking back our country have never been greater.
By Matt Holdridge
The TSA has struck again. This time, they detained a 22 year old college student at the Philadelphia International Airport and questioned him about his religion, his views of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and a foreign policy book he was reading.
What was it that prompted the TSA to lead this young man, Nicholas George, around the airport in handcuffs and keep him in a holding cell for hours? He had Arabic language flash cards in his possession. Clearly, something that could cause a disaster on a plane or harm to other passengers.
Mr. George has filed a lawsuit in regard to his treatment by the TSA and police.
Read more here.
The TSA is rapidly becoming everyday people’s most direct encounter with the federal government. Lucky for us, most don’t enjoy the experience.
Unlike your friendly neighborhood postmaster, a TSA agent may greet you or your grandmother with accusations, or if you’re not so lucky, a more intimate and embarrassing search.
It’s often useful to draw analogies between newly proposed government programs and current failing efforts to make abstract ideas relevant to people. For instance, long lines at the DMV with health care rationing under a nationalized plan.
What current proposed government programs could we make analogous to the TSA to paint a picture in people’s mind of the cold, intrusive nature of one-size-fits-all policy?
By dljholt
Dear Friends of Liberty,
Twenty-four hundred citizen grassroots activists made their voices heard at the state capitol bell tower on January 18th and the Virginia legislature listened.
Even before Obamacare is made federal law, the Virginia House and Senate has voted to stand up to the powers of Congress to mandate that every citizen purchase federally approved health care coverage.
Senator Jill Vogel’s SB417 passed on the House floor moments ago with a vote of 66 – 29. We expect Governor McDonnell will sign the Virginia Healthcare Freedom Act into law the moment it crosses his desk.
The House version, HB10, was passed by the full House yesterday by a vote of 72 – 26. The bill is on it’s way to the Senate where it is expected to pass with bi-partisan support. But regardless, Virginia will not have to comply with federal mandates to purchase health care insurance once Governor McDonnell signs SB417, and likely HB10, into law.
Under Obamacare, if you file your tax return and fail to offer proof that you have a policy that puts you in compliance with the law, the IRS will try to penalize you, possibly by garnishing your state tax refund. If you live in Virginia, you will have the Commonwealth in your corner. Virginia’s Attorney General has vowed to challenge the feds in court should any citizen of Virginia be penalized for not purchasing federally approved health care insurance. This legislation also opens up a test case that could get ObamaCare thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court.
We have effectively reaffirmed our position that it is “we the people” that set the course for this nation. Governments are instituted by the governed and will not be usurped on our watch.
The Virginia 10th Amendment Revolution is victorious in winning back our state’s rights!!!
Yours in liberty,
Donna Holt