Reality Check

We've Moved!

2010-04-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Reality Check has graduated and moved on to it's own domain!

Check out the new blog at: http://www.rchk.net!

Words to Think About

2010-04-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this quote today and I feel it is a good way to describe the liberty movement and Republicans who still haven't learned anything:

"There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root."
- Henry David Thoreau

Food for Thought: It's Everybody's Business

2010-04-05T03:51:00.000-07:00

I find this video to be a really powerful reminder why we must fight so fiercely against government attempts to undermine the free market, one of the most essential components of freedom in the United States and around the world.

Perhaps more than anything is the beautiful way in which they it approaches the importance of capitalism in a free society - a level of genuine enthusiasm and eloquence all too often missing in more modern films.

However, wars, or the threat of wars, interrupt the normal operations of our competitive business system, and may result in government controls which crack essential blocks in our foundation of freedom.

If the youth become galvanized with such government interventions and controls as the Bailouts and Health Care Reform, the future of freedom in this country may well begin to look bleak.

If you dont do it for yourself, do it for your children, your grandchildren, and the generations of Americans and immigrants to come that are going to want the same opportunities youve had in your lifetime during their lifetime!

-Andy

Great Contradictions

2010-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

By Steve H.

Is it possible, in the greater sense of things, to be conservative or liberal without great contradictions? Is there a way to make sense of conservatives who preach small government, who then just expand it in order to fulfill our role as World Police? Does it make sense that liberals, who criticize and despise the power of big businesses, are willing to raise inflation and national debt by giving trillions of every working American’s own dollars to save the failing business giants?

If anyone can make sense of the liberal or conservative ideologies without great contradictions and/or hypocrisies, I’d like to hear it.

Liberals usually deny an absolute morality, claiming morals to be relative, and tend to deny the power of authority. All right, but then why did liberal senators and congressmen (like Obama) vote for the Patriot Act? They continually deny individual, local, and states’ rights, while forever pushing towards national and international Leviathans which can manage the economy and people against their will.

The same secularists who preach reason and tolerance manage to tolerate little and show lacking reason in their political beliefs, often preaching for socialized economies despite their being no historical nor modern examples of a successful socialized economy. Maybe one day a bailout will work as expected, perhaps affirmative action will help minorities instead of setting low standards for them, and maybe one day welfare really will help the poor, but it’s more than reasonably obvious that government handouts have never helped anyone. But as long as sexual rights are preserved and gays can marry, the government can do whatever it likes?

Conservatives don’t make any more sense than liberals do. The conservative ideology is supposed to be about local, individual independence and self-determination. Smaller government, and so lower taxes as well. It makes sense to me, but then conservatives in office generally don’t follow these principles.

Instead they increase funding for the particular programs they like (farm subsidies) and give a tiny tax refund to keep the voters happy, all the while doing their very best to expand the government and military’s presence overseas. Christianity is defined by Jesus’ principles of making peace, moving past materialism, and loving your enemies. Yet Christians on the Right are often the ones pushing for America to break peace and persecute countries that aren’t friendly to us.

It seems self-determination and individual freedom is only important when it comes to money and guns rights. As long as farmers get their welfare and gays can’t marry, everything is just dandy, right? There are only two consistent macro ideologies: Statism and Libertarianism. Either you think a great collective government should control the individual in general, or you think individual freedom trumps state tyranny and government should be as local and minimal as possible. To fight for only certain rights, while oppressing the others, as both conservatives and liberals tend to do, is as contradicting as it is unreasonable. Either you think that someone can do whatever they like, as long as they’re not hurting someone else, or you think that everyone should be controlled by someone that knows better(Bush or Obama?). Rather than promote only the rights you care about, and oppressing those you don’t exercise, support the human rights given to us by the Constitution and defend freedom everywhere.

The Beautiful Nature of Lberty

2010-01-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

By Thomas C.

Creativity is the foster child of liberty. It is something that is always there in potential like the seed of a flower but must be planted and nurtured to grow. Rigidly
enforced mediocrity is the mark of tyranny and sweeps across all it can like a river of concrete covering good soil leaving a bleak standardized landscape.

The desire to be God and control all aspects of nature includes human nature - what C.S. Lewis referred to as “That Hideous Strength” and Ludwig Von Mises called “spiritual socialism.” So often it manifests itself in “public” education as a way for the masters of the state’s bureaucracy to both brainwash and level young minds – common book program anyone?

In a few though, reverence for God, or perhaps the simple preference for variety and beauty coupled with respect for man’s capabilities – both good and evil, combines to oppose tyranny. Like flowers they break the pavement. Are you one of them?

Legalization: A Politically Savvy Solution

2010-01-22T17:13:00.000-08:00

By: George E.

According to the New York Times, over 13,600 drug-related killings have occurred in Mexico since Felipe Calderon, Mexico's current president, took office just over three years ago. As the problem threatens to spread into the United States, it is becoming clear that more effective measures must be taken. One of the more obvious solutions is to legalize drugs.

While politicians typically do not care enough about liberty to consider the principle that governments should not protect people from themselves, they might recognize the more practical effects of legalizing drugs. It would drastically reduce the violence associated with the drug trade. In an illegal business, no one can seek legal recourse if he or she is robbed or cheated. Recourse must be sought through illegal means: violence. Legalizing drugs would bring the business into the open and discourage violence.

Furthermore, keeping drugs illegal protects cartels. According to Milton Friedman, strict drug laws raise the opportunity costs for smaller parties to enter the business, thus protecting the large entrenched drug cartels. While legalization would not immediately resolve all of Mexico's drug issues, politicians should at least consider its benefits, however unpopular it might be.

A Truer Political Spectrum

2010-01-22T17:01:00.000-08:00

By Mikayla

As a political science major, I have been exposed to a wide array of views on government, ranging from peace, love and marijuana to bombing any country that does not believe America is the greatest. Beyond opinions, one of the most interesting albeit troubling aspects of this major is seeing how both instructors and students alike have come to misunderstand the very basics of American history and government systems in general. There are many examples of this, but for now we will focus on two.

Misunderstanding #1: The Political Spectrum
Even as far back as elementary school I can recall teachers referring to communism as far left and fascism as far right. The political spectrum, despite popular belief, actually has big government on the left and no government on the right.

Thus, Democrats and Republicans who nowadays critique the other as fascist or communist are misguided at best. Stalin, Hitler, Bush and, yes, even Obama, are all at some point on the left side of the spectrum. It is all big and intrusive government, regardless of the party name. The American government--at least as it is outlined in the Constitution--should fall center rigt, where there is government, but only enough to protect liberty.

Misunderstanding #2: A Republic or a Democracy?
Last quarter one of my professors said in lecture that the founding fathers instituted a form of democracy and the definition of democracy has merely changed over time.

Nice try, professor who shall remain unnamed. The founding fathers made it quite clear they did not want democracy for the United States. The word "democracy" does not even appear in the Declaration of Independence, US Constitution or any of the fifty states' constitutions.

So why the ongoing confusion? Who knows. But it is important to remember
that a republic and a democracy are not one in the same so that Americans do not have unrealistic expectations of how the government works. A democracy is rule by the people and a republic is rule by law. A democracy is unrestrained and the whims of 51% can, at an extreme, destroy the lives of the other 49%, whereas a republic has institutions and laws in place--like the right to a trial by jury of your peers--that restrain the masses and protect liberty for everyone.

YAL-UW's Version of Constitution Day

2009-10-17T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we asked students, faculty and staff, "How well do you know your rights?" Each participant was given a ten-question quiz about general constitutional principles. They received a pocket constitution for participating, a YAR if they scored a 5 out of 10 or higher, and a book of their choice if they answered all the questions correctly.

Some observations:

-The average score was 7 out of 10 correct; No one outside of YAL-UW received a perfect score
-None of the guys knew about women's suffrage, but all the girls did
-Everyone knew what is/is not in the Preamble, but not Article I

Think you can do better? Test yourself here.

LaRouche isn't the real problem here...

2009-10-14T13:19:00.001-07:00

Today as I was walking through campus and dodging raindrops in between classes, I passed by the LaRouche PAC table. For those of you who have never heard of this group, LaRouche is a student organization that...you know, I still have no idea what they stand for...

Anyway, they were continuing their tradition of taking giant pictures of Obama's face and drawing Hitler-esque mustaches on them. Cliche? Yes. Crossing the line? Maybe. But right as I was walking by, a guy from my lecture walked up to the table, reached underneath and flipped it over, scattering their posters and fliers into the surrounding puddles. Laughter from passerby soon followed.

It seems odd to me that such a liberal campus that practically rioted from happiness after Obama, the "king of bipartisanism" won the 2008 election would reacte so strongly to such a small fringe group. Surely LaRouche is not going to be the downfall of the Obama Administration. It appears that the liberal proclamation of "free speech for everyone" only applies to those sympathetic to their goals. LaRouche is not the only instance. Within hours of YAL-UW and the UW College Republicans putting up posters (anti-imperialism for the former, 2nd Amendment shootout for the latter) they were either covered with Obama pictures of ripped down entirely.

If anything, flipping the table was a dumb move on my immature classmate's part. As with 2 weeks ago, this is only going to result in more media attention for the group, which in turn gives them an ample opportunity to grow in numbers and continue doing what they're doing. People now want to learn about them to see why people are so angry. Hell, I even went up to see what they were talking about. I couldn't make sense of any of it, but I heard them out.

My message to the faculty and students of UW-Seattle: get over yourelves. If a conservative group or even LaRouche tried to do this to an Obama-supporting group, there would be complaints and whining up at the administration's offices. Some of us are working hard to protect the First Amendment. So do us a favor and let EVERYONE enjoy that right. Even LaRouche? Yes, you hypocrits. Even LaRouche.

Just Ordered T-Shirts!

2009-10-08T14:41:00.000-07:00

That's right! YAL-UW will soon have some sexy new purple t-shirts. We'll be selling them for $15 so you should get one and wear it with pride! Ch-ch-check 'em out:

Want to Volunteer at CPAC?

2009-10-04T01:31:00.001-07:00

By: Mikayla

Allow me to answer that for you: yes, yes you do.

From February 18-February 20, the Conservative Political Action Conference will be happening in Washington, DC at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel.

Last year 148 volunteers came out to support Young Americans for Liberty and Campaign for Liberty. We overwhelmed the other conservative groups and were told we were "too effective." Many of us met Ron Paul, attended the Liberty Forum (with Dr. Paul, Tom Woods and Judge Napolitano) and got to enjoy DC with some of the greatest grassroots liberty lovers in the country. (Personal story: I passed out a copy of Young American Revolution to one of the Baldwin brothers)

Now, the only downside was that only TWO out of those 148 volunteers came from Washington State, one of them being me.

This year the goal is to have at least 300 volunteers and have more of them be from the great Northwest.

Cost: 3 day pass is $150 if you register early ($175 if you register late) and only $25 for students!
http://cpac.org/

Some of the Leadership Institute dorms are being rented out $35 a night for older volunteers and the Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) will be renting a house.

Feel free to contact me with any questions: mikayla.hall@yaliberty.org

If you are interested, please send me the following information:
-Full Name
-Phone
-Email
-Address
-Shirt Size

More information to come about the best event of the year!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: What is CPAC?
A: The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is THE premiere event for conservative activists. Each year, the power players in the conservative movement gather in D.C. for a three-day conference.

Q: What is Campaign for Liberty’s goal at CPAC?
A: Campaign for Liberty represents the traditional conservative viewpoints of Robert Taft and Barry Goldwater. Our goal is to change hearts and minds at this conference not through confrontation or arguments, but rather spreading our message in a friendly, respectful manner.

Q: Why should I volunteer?
A: Volunteering at CPAC is an extremely rewarding experience. This event helps to create leaders in the movement as people develop and show their full potential. It is a great opportunity to work beside and meet with the Campaign for Liberty National Staff, as well as make numerous new contacts from across the country (and even some great friends)!

Q: What are my duties as a volunteer?
A: Volunteers are asked to help out approximately 4 hours each day they are at the conference. We will do our best to make schedules that allow each volunteer to attend whatever events or activities they have planned for their time in D.C. (i.e. – sightseeing time for those of you who have never been to the city before).

Notes from the state chair

2009-10-01T18:09:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to inform everyone who reads this blog that there are new YAL chapters forming around the state. Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, Washington State University and Western Washington University are all showing signs of rebellion among the disgruntled students. It is a welcome sight and I hope you will consider joining and/or supporting their chapters as they continue to grow and spread the message of liberty across the Northwest. It is also my sincere hope that Reality Check can expand to be a state-wide effort.

The schools aren't teaching political common sense, so it's up to us. Keep up the good fight, for as Thomas Jefferson once said, "Every generation needs a revolution."

In liberty,
Mikayla Hall

Just because it's funny

2009-09-14T22:27:00.000-07:00

YAL-UW is on Campus Reform

2009-09-09T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Leadership Institute's latest project is Campus Reform, an interactive website where users can find out information about conservative/libertarian clubs on campus, reveal biased professors and critique biased textbooks. Young Americans for Liberty-UW Chapter has a page on it. Please consider joining and letting loose on the biases on our campus.

UW-Seattle Page: Click Here

YAL-UW Page: Click Here

Oh, give me a break

2009-09-04T19:23:00.000-07:00

Time for a Reality Check for the 9/11 truthers.

Why is it that conspiracy theorists, as libertarians or conservatives, believe that the government has become so inefficient and full of bureaucracy that nothing gets done...but they believe that the government has the ability to plan this ridiculously huge event without any media, pundit or average citizen finding out... ?

Something doesn't add up.

In a past article in the magazine Scientific America, it was noted that people who believe in conspiracy theories end up able to "see" things in everything, connections that don't really exist. Hence why they fail to see that THOUSANDS of people would have to be involved in order to make 9/11 an inside job.

How on earth could the government keep it a secret? SOMEONE would want their 10 minutes of fame. SOMEONE would leak the story. Hell, we couldn't even keep the nuclear bomb away from the Soviet Union!

Double Yikes.

2009-09-01T10:31:00.000-07:00

2010 is just around the corner.

Yikes.

2009-09-01T10:23:00.000-07:00

This is a bit old, but remember that secret townhall Rep. Baird tried to hold with Murray and Cantwell? Well, 3,000+ people showed up at his legit and public townhall and David Hedrick let him have it. Not the biggest fan of Fox News, but the others seem less willing to share this inspiring story.

Doctor? No!

2009-08-20T20:58:00.001-07:00

Napolitano on Glenn Beck 8/18

2009-08-20T20:21:00.000-07:00

The Fed is Under Fire

2009-08-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

2009-08-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

Secret Health Care Townhall

2009-08-16T19:33:00.000-07:00

Scheduled to take place on Thursday, August 13, Senators Murray and Cantwell and Rep. Baird were to have a townhall regarding the future of healthcare in the United States. Sounds like the others, right? Wrong. Posted on Barack Obama's website, this townhall was meant soley for supporters of socialized medicine as a means to block out protestors. Washington members of the Campaign for Liberty and other like-minded organizations uncovered their plans and the townhall was cancelled. Sneaky, sneaky.

SWAT Team vs. YAL

2009-08-03T06:21:00.000-07:00

During a protest, attendees of the YAL National Convention were approached by police. While the drama surrounding this was slightly overblown, it does highlight an important issue. Is requiring a permit to protest a negation of the First Amendment? Are we becoming a police state? Here is a video from the protest:

Obama "Cuts" Spending

2009-06-06T00:40:00.000-07:00

Seattle C4L Conference a Success

2009-05-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

It was standing room only at Friday's Freedom Celebration. Ron Paul and Thomas Woods both spoke to a crowd of roughly 800 people.

"How a Bill Becomes a Law"

We Could Learn a Lot From Pennsylvania

2009-05-04T00:29:00.000-07:00

By: Mikayla

Timothy Shoemaker, Director of New Media for a new liberty group called Pennsylvania Revolution, is only one person in a state-wide campaign to raise awareness of local issues that few hear about but affect everyone.

“Our thought process,” Shoemaker says, “is that most people couldn’t tell you the slightest about their county officials, [but] these people are vested with all sorts of authority.”

By attacking policies by county and working its way down to school boards, Pennsylvania Revolution currently has an email list of over 25,000 individuals (compared to only 6,000 in their state's Campaign for Liberty group). They can be considered the epitome of talking the talk and walking the walk.

We could learn a lot from them.

To read more about these awesome activists and their strategy for success, check out their website at: http://www.pennsylvaniarevolution.com/pa/

Campaign for Liberty Regional Conference-Seattle

2009-05-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

From May 22-24, the Campaign for Liberty will be having a regional conference at the Doubletree Hotel at Seatac. Use this as an opportunity to network, learn, and build their local organizations as our grassroots Revolution to reclaim our Republic and restore our Constitution continues.

On Friday, May 22 at 8:00pm, C4L will team with Young Americans for Liberty to bring Ron Paul and Tom Woods for the "Freedom Celebration."This event is completely FREE and open to the public. Both Congressman Paul and Tom Woods will deliver speeches to the audience.

Click on the photo for more information.

Great Contradictions

2009-05-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

By: Steve

Is it possible, in the greater sense of things, to be conservative or liberal without great contradictions? Is there a way to make sense of conservatives who preach small government, who then just expand it in order to fulfill our role as World Police? Does it make sense that liberals, who criticize and despise the power of big businesses, are willing to raise inflation and national debt by giving trillions of every working American’s own dollars to save the failing business giants? If anyone can make sense of the liberal or conservative ideologies without great contradictions and/or hypocrisies, I’d like to hear it.

Liberals usually deny an absolute morality, claiming morals to be relative, and tend to deny the power of authority. All right, but then why did liberal senators and congressmen (like Obama) vote for the Patriot Act? They continually deny individual, local, and states’ rights, while forever pushing towards national and international Leviathons which can manage the economy and people against their will. The same secularists who preach reason and tolerance manage to tolerate little and show lacking reason in their political beliefs, often preaching for socialized economies despite their being no historical nor modern examples of a successful socialized economy. Maybe one day a bailout will work as expected, perhaps affirmative action will help minorities instead of setting low standards for them, and maybe one day welfare really will help the poor, but it’s more than reasonably obvious that government handouts have never helped anyone. But as long as sexual rights are preserved and gays can marry, the government can do whatever it likes?

Conservatives don’t make any more sense than liberals do. The conservative ideology is supposed to be about local, individual independence and self-determination. Smaller government, and so lower taxes as well. It makes sense to me, but then conservatives in office generally don’t follow these principles. Instead they increase funding for the particular programs they like (farm subsidies) and give a tiny tax refund to keep the voters happy, all the while doing their very best to expand the government and military’s presence overseas. Christianity is defined by Jesus’ principles of making peace, moving past materialism, and loving your enemies. Yet Christians on the Right are often the ones pushing for America to break peace and persecute countries that aren’t friendly to us. It seems self-determination and individual freedom is only important when it comes to money and guns rights. As long as farmers get their welfare and gays can’t marry, everything is just dandy, right?

There are only two consistent macro ideologies: Statism and Libertarianism. Either you think a great collective government should control the individual in general, or you think individual freedom trumps state tyranny and government should be as local and minimal as possible. To fight for only certain rights, while oppressing the others, as both conservatives and liberals tend to do, is as contradicting as it is unreasonable. Either you think that someone can do whatever they like, as long as they’re not hurting someone else, or you think that everyone should be controlled by someone that knows better (Bush or Obama?). Rather than promote only the rights you care about, and oppressing those you don’t exercise, support the human rights given to us by the Constitution and defend freedom everywhere.

"Sorry about him, ma'am. Please take one of our flyers."

2009-04-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

By: Mikayla

True story: I was studying in one of the dorm lounges last night and this guy walks into the vending area with his friend. The milk machine is always breaking because people steal from it frequently. He puts $1.50 in it and presses a button. The milk comes halfway out and jams. So he puts another $1.50 in it and presses the same button thinking the second milk will knock the first one out. The second milk comes partially out and jams as well. He then throws a tantrum and says no one understands his frustration. His friend is annoyed and says “Okay…well, you owe me $3 now.” The guy turns around and yells “Bitch! Why must you punish me for things I can't control?!” He called customer service to rant about the failure of the system with no response and thus left milk-less.

While one would hope that Ron Paul supporters posses more emotional maturity than this milk-loving college drama queen, I couldn’t help but see an interesting comparison between the reaction of those of us in the lounge and the reaction that many Americans have towards the liberty movement. For the past few years, Ron Paul supporters have been deemed as “crazy” and “radical”. What with the 9/11 conspiracies and the overwhelming obsession with winning the hearts and minds of every individual through debates, it sometimes astounds me that the Campaign for Liberty and Young Americans for Liberty have been so effective.

What does this have to do with the milk-lover? Well, I must confess that those of us in the lounge were anything but sympathetic to his cause. As witnesses to him screaming and throwing a tantrum, we rolled our eyes, laughed and tried our hardest to just ignore what was going on. Did we deny that the milk machine was broken? Of course not. But none of us were jumping up to call customer service to back him up.

Now, being a resident in this dorm he should have known that if he really wanted to get his milk, he did not need to waste $3. He should have known that by simply shaking the machine you can get upwards of six free milks—it’s called “going on a milk run.” The crazy guy never did get his milk because he refused to work through the system. He knew it was in place. He knew he could steal the milk like most other students or find another machine, but instead he carried on alone in his anger, hoping for change (literal and figurative) from a broken machine.

I say this not to undermine all the fantastic work Ron Paul grassroots volunteers did. All I am saying is that there are lessons to be learned from this vending fiasco. Most people our chapter has spoken with, both on campus and in the greater Seattle area, say that their one reason for not liking Ron Paul has very little if anything to do with his stance on the issues. In fact, they love where he stands.

Their apprehension toward the Ron Paul campaign had to do with the R3volutionaries’ passion for liberty being viewed as lunacy.

How can this be? Well, it appears that average Americans, and frankly many of the youth as well, are turned off by the conspiracies and the depiction of Obama, Clinton, Bush, etc. as the anti-Christ and "evil." We don't want to hear that we need to go plant victory gardens, fill our basements with canned foods and learn to defend ourselves in the apocalyptic situation of homeless people everywhere trying to steal our livelihood. We don't want to hear that Republicans turned Ron Paul into a Jew or that the Amero is just around the corner. Don't bother responding and arguing for this all to be true, because of ALL the things to focus on in order to make significant changes in this country, why focus on that which makes us look--to steal Tom Woods' term--like blockheads?

Are all people in the movement like this? Thankfully no!! But as liberty-lovers we should take note that in order to change the system, we must work with it and not allow ourselves to be marginalized. If that means talking about legitimate policy with people other than those ALREADY IN THE MOVEMENT, then let's go for it. If that means working with groups we disagree with 80% of the time, then let's get on that mutual 20% and make this country a better place.

Instead of arguing with everyone, we should focus our efforts on getting people to vote. Instead of bombarding people, let’s heed others’ cries of “too much, too soon and too fast” and focus on key issues to which most Americans regardless of self or formal education can relate. And, most important of all, we should avoid giving anyone reason to question our sanity. We won’t make any friends through conspiracies and arguing, and honestly it doesn’t help the cause.

I don't know about you, but I hope we are capable of not being the crazy milk guy and ending this long fight with nothing to show for it. The political machine may be broken. We can carry on. We can yell. Heck, we can continue to preach to the choir, but only through the political process will we see any results.

Post-Tax Day Reflections

2009-04-16T19:12:00.000-07:00

By: Mikayla

One late-night poster/chalk blitz and three hour flyer frenzy later, the day could be considered a success on campus. Of course, there was the occasional grouch demanding higher taxes (*cough, cough* the professors) but the overall reaction to our presence on Red Square was generally amusement, curiosity and excitement. It was particularly interesting to see a campus full of Obama supporters so angry about how much they are paying in taxes and willing to join a group of conservatives, independents and libertarians at the local tea party.

Now, as members of YAL, we are naturally quite interested in politics. Okay, that is a bit of an understatement--we are for the most part consumed by politics. But what is common knowledge to individuals in the liberty movement may be completely foreign to the average student. MIAC? The gold standard? The Federal Reserve? Yeah...probably not. In an effort to get a grasp on where the UW student body stands on the economy and where our group can go from here, we interviewed students at random around the campus, asking them three key questions:

1. If you could say anything to the IRS, what would you say?
2. Do you think Obama is handling the economy well?
3. Would you be willing to pay higher taxes to fund the bailouts?

How would you answer these questions?

The Future of American Foreign Policy

2009-03-29T16:10:00.000-07:00

By: Josh

While Domestic Policy is the driving force behind the current administration’s actions, a significant amount of time, money and energy are being spent on Foreign Policy. Unfortunately, the message being sent to the rest of the world is one of a mixed nature.

President Obama and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton came into power claiming they were going to do everything they could to change America’s image abroad. And the rest of the world welcomed the news. However, on the first day of his administration, President Obama signed a presidential order calling for the bombing of northern Pakistan. This clear violation of an allied state’s sovereignty is not only unconstitutional, but is also counter to the administrations attempt at “change.”

If the administration were so committed to change, they should—and would—start with the Bush doctrine, which allows for pre-emptive strikes on foreign powers. Instead, President Obama has used that doctrine as a guide since the first day of his presidency.

The rest of the world, for their part, has slowly been disillusioned with President Obama. This past week, the Czech Republic blasted Obama for his international economic policy, and a crisis is brewing along the Mexican border, as the President Obama has done nothing but aggravate the Mexican government by closing the border even further than his predecessor.

The administration needs a clear and committed message. Either we stick to his predecessor’s doctrine and violate sovereignty and the Constitution in the name of our safety, or we allow real change to occur and go back to a time when diplomacy was our first line of defense. The world has stood on the brink of annihilation before, and it was diplomacy not military intervention that saved the day. There are two roads for our future, and currently the President is trying to unsuccessfully straddle both.

Teleprompter Madness

2009-03-29T16:08:00.000-07:00

By: Dillon

Change...What's Left after Taxes?

2009-03-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

By: Mikayla

On March 25, President Obama went to Capitol Hill to rally support among Democratic Senators for his $3.6 trillion spending plan, on top of the already passed bailouts and porkulus package. In policies that cost more than the Marshall Plan, the Louisiana Purchase, the race to the moon, the S&L crisis, the Korean War, the New Deal, the Vietnam War and NASA combined, Obama has guaranteed debt for generations to come ($184,000 per person at the moment) and what is likely to be tax increases unlike any we’ve seen in our nation’s history, all under the banner of “saving” the economy.

Government is spending to save the economy. Sound familiar? Of course! It was what Franklin Roosevelt championed as the only logical solution for the Great Depression. Now, let’s keep in mind what Henry Morgenthau, FDR’s Secretary of the Treasury had to say about government spending:

“We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work…. I say after eight years of the Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started…And an enormous debt to boot!”

Words to think about.

Self-Government and Freedom

2009-03-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

By: Steve

"The best government is self-government" is an oft-repeated phrase, and one that many claim to agree with. People from all walks of life can identify with the phrase, and the idea that people should be able to decide how they live their lives is one of the few ideas the majority of Americans can truly agree on. Yet while we claim to support people's rights to run their own lives (within certain limits), we consistently elect politicians and governments who do anything but let the people do as they please. Sure, we've made progress in certain cases (like gay marriage), but we took far many more steps backwards as we tightened gun control further, put terminal patients in jail for smoking medicinal marijuana, unfairly impounded 'suspects' in Guantanamo, and tightened government regulations on how people and businesses can spend and make their own money. It's not just one party here either, it's both: The Republicans often benefit from homophobia, xenophobia and big government power while Democrats consistently dismantle economic freedom, the 2nd Amendment and demonize rural America.

America, land of the free, is still one of the freest countries in the world. Our Constitution continues to inspire countries around the world, and many have modeled their own constitutions or governments after our own original system. However, as the last 100 years have worn on our freedoms have been whittled away piece by piece, and we continue to elect those who will catalyze the process further.

Clinton and Bush were no friends of freedom, despite their claims, and Obama is taking our nation even further from the course given to us by the profoundly libertarian Founding Fathers. Next time you consider freedom, realize it's a lot more than a word; it's what this nation was founded upon and is why it's been so vastly successful. To be free to make your own choices, and to be the only person in charge of your life, isn't a luxury. Freedom is a necessity, and it's something both the Republicans and the Democrats have largely forgotten.