How I Found Freedom in Iowa

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Dec 1, 2007
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Just before last night's caucus there was a little poll that asked Iowa voters which candidate matches your values? A decent share went to Ben Carson. Nice guy, but I guess "my values" = Lampshade? Houseplant? Unintelligible ramblings?? The guy didn't speak at a caucus site, more than doubled Rand's vote totals, and left for Florida the same afternoon!

The bottom line is that (even if correct) we are telling people what the don't want to hear. Most people (even in the so called Tea Party) don't really want smaller government. They want to keep their Social Security, Medicade, and student loans for their kids. At the same time, they want unlimited resources for the military and a carte blanche mandate to bomb most of the Middle East back to the 11th century - yesterday ... as well as a wall to put up and a task force to round up those Mexicans who moved in down the street, can't speak 'Merican, and are bringing their property values down.

With the excitement of Ron's runs in 2008 and 2012 we were fooled. Ron was the only. lightning rod, option for the angry and disaffected of many stripes at the time ...not a bunch of guys sitting around studying Hayek. Last night, a decent share of those same votes and voters went for Cruz, Trump, and, in part, our millennial, "libertarian", youth vote turned out for Senator Venezuela .

As Harry Browne lamented in his 70's classic How I found Freedom in an Unfree World, politics is a very poor place to find one's freedom.

It is not eloquence. It is not reason. It is force ...and for that all we have to offer is an empty pot.
 
Just before last night's caucus there was a little poll that asked Iowa voters which candidate matches your values? A decent share went to Ben Carson. Nice guy, but I guess "my values" = Lampshade? Houseplant? Unintelligible ramblings?? The guy didn't speak at a caucus site, more than doubled Rand's vote totals, and left for Florida the same afternoon!

The bottom line is that (even if correct) we are telling people what the don't want to hear. Most people (even in the so called Tea Party) don't really want smaller government. They want to keep their Social Security, Medicade, and student loans for their kids. At the same time, they want unlimited resources for the military and a carte blanche mandate to bomb most of the Middle East back to the 11th century - yesterday ... as well as a wall to put up and a task force to round up those Mexicans who moved in down the street, can't speak 'Merican, and are bringing their property values down.

With the excitement of Ron's runs in 2008 and 2012 we were fooled. Ron was the only. lightning rod, option for the angry and disaffected of many stripes at the time ...not a bunch of guys sitting around studying Hayek. Last night, a decent share of those same votes and voters went for Cruz, Trump, and, in part, our millennial, "libertarian", youth vote turned out for Senator Venezuela .

As Harry Browne lamented in his 70's classic How I found Freedom in an Unfree World, politics is a very poor place to find one's freedom.

It is not eloquence. It is not reason. It is force ...and for that all we have to offer is an empty pot.

Hear, hear.

+Rep
 
Just before last night's caucus there was a little poll that asked Iowa voters which candidate matches your values? A decent share went to Ben Carson. Nice guy, but I guess "my values" = Lampshade? Houseplant? Unintelligible ramblings?? The guy didn't speak at a caucus site, more than doubled Rand's vote totals, and left for Florida the same afternoon!

The bottom line is that (even if correct) we are telling people what the don't want to hear. Most people (even in the so called Tea Party) don't really want smaller government. They want to keep their Social Security, Medicade, and student loans for their kids. At the same time, they want unlimited resources for the military and a carte blanche mandate to bomb most of the Middle East back to the 11th century - yesterday ... as well as a wall to put up and a task force to round up those Mexicans who moved in down the street, can't speak 'Merican, and are bringing their property values down.

With the excitement of Ron's runs in 2008 and 2012 we were fooled. Ron was the only. lightning rod, option for the angry and disaffected of many stripes at the time ...not a bunch of guys sitting around studying Hayek. Last night, a decent share of those same votes and voters went for Cruz, Trump, and, in part, our millennial, "libertarian", youth vote turned out for Senator Venezuela .

As Harry Browne lamented in his 70's classic How I found Freedom in an Unfree World, politics is a very poor place to find one's freedom.

It is not eloquence. It is not reason. It is force ...and for that all we have to offer is an empty pot.

Well written, but let's see how New Hampshire pans out. I dont think he is viable without a 4th place finish, in order to stay ahead of what will be a very soon culled pack--the race we always thought we were going to have last year.
 
Just before last night's caucus there was a little poll that asked Iowa voters which candidate matches your values? A decent share went to Ben Carson. Nice guy, but I guess "my values" = Lampshade? Houseplant? Unintelligible ramblings?? The guy didn't speak at a caucus site, more than doubled Rand's vote totals, and left for Florida the same afternoon!

The bottom line is that (even if correct) we are telling people what the don't want to hear. Most people (even in the so called Tea Party) don't really want smaller government. They want to keep their Social Security, Medicade, and student loans for their kids. At the same time, they want unlimited resources for the military and a carte blanche mandate to bomb most of the Middle East back to the 11th century - yesterday ... as well as a wall to put up and a task force to round up those Mexicans who moved in down the street, can't speak 'Merican, and are bringing their property values down.

With the excitement of Ron's runs in 2008 and 2012 we were fooled. Ron was the only. lightning rod, option for the angry and disaffected of many stripes at the time ...not a bunch of guys sitting around studying Hayek. Last night, a decent share of those same votes and voters went for Cruz, Trump, and, in part, our millennial, "libertarian", youth vote turned out for Senator Venezuela .

As Harry Browne lamented in his 70's classic How I found Freedom in an Unfree World, politics is a very poor place to find one's freedom.

It is not eloquence. It is not reason. It is force ...and for that all we have to offer is an empty pot.

+Rep
Politics is a very poor place to find freedom, have you learned about Bitcoins? :)
 
I will partly agree with this. Yes many want government assistance and its ever so warm embrace. But not all are dependent. And there is a significant margin of people left in this country that, if taught or reached, would support the message of personal liberty.

Never be discouraged by the results when the race wasnt even fair footing to begin with. Just look at who youre up against: A mammoth sized Media that rules the air waves almost 24/7, constantly telling you Indirectly who you should support. a media that continues division amongst race and relgion. A media always trying to scare you. And then of course the Fed with the support of its oversized muscle, the government and its resources.

Liberty is not talked about because its not exposed enough. Gauranteed if the Liberty movement controlled at least the air waves the support for a Paul would be much much bigger.

So before we blame the people for being sheep. remember this, a lot of us were sheep before we discovered true liberty and educated ourselves. How do the rest know any better if all they have ever known was what was told to them through their radio or TV?
 
I will partly agree with this. Yes many want government assistance and its ever so warm embrace. But not all are dependent. And there is a significant margin of people left in this country that, if taught or reached, would support the message of personal liberty.

Never be discouraged by the results when the race wasnt even fair footing to begin with. Just look at who youre up against: A mammoth sized Media that rules the air waves almost 24/7, constantly telling you Indirectly who you should support. a media that continues division amongst race and relgion. A media always trying to scare you. And then of course the Fed with the support of its oversized muscle, the government and its resources.

Liberty is not talked about because its not exposed enough. Gauranteed if the Liberty movement controlled at least the air waves the support for a Paul would be much much bigger.

So before we blame the people for being sheep. remember this, a lot of us were sheep before we discovered true liberty and educated ourselves. How do the rest know any better if all they have ever known was what was told to them through their radio or TV?

most Americans today. are nationalists. not patriots.

what makes (made) America special. was the "original intent" of our Constitution. Liberty.
it is necessary to understand the Original intent, before one can understand Liberty.

this is the subject that needs debate. (around here..)
 
I had the very enviable pleasure of having drinks with Harry Browne in 2000 at an event in Manchester NH.

I read that in his voice.

RIP Harry.
 
most Americans today. are nationalists. not patriots.

what makes (made) America special. was the "original intent" of our Constitution. Liberty.
it is necessary to understand the Original intent, before one can understand Liberty.

this is the subject that needs debate. (around here..)

Pffft.

Liberty was around long before "original intent" and a bunch of counter revolutionary scribblers.
 
I will partly agree with this. Yes many want government assistance and its ever so warm embrace. But not all are dependent. And there is a significant margin of people left in this country that, if taught or reached, would support the message of personal liberty.

Never be discouraged by the results when the race wasnt even fair footing to begin with. Just look at who youre up against: A mammoth sized Media that rules the air waves almost 24/7, constantly telling you Indirectly who you should support. a media that continues division amongst race and relgion. A media always trying to scare you. And then of course the Fed with the support of its oversized muscle, the government and its resources.

Liberty is not talked about because its not exposed enough. Gauranteed if the Liberty movement controlled at least the air waves the support for a Paul would be much much bigger.

So before we blame the people for being sheep. remember this, a lot of us were sheep before we discovered true liberty and educated ourselves. How do the rest know any better if all they have ever known was what was told to them through their radio or TV?

People have never wanted freedom, and this was fact long before mass media.

People want what they have always wanted, for over 30000 years:

To be fed.

To be entertained.

To exercise power over their fellow man.
 
Some 225 years ago, the “Founding Father” of the United States, Toothless George – and his golem, Alexander Hamilton – marched on rural Pennsylvania to teach the veterans of the American Revolution a lesson about what they’d actually fought for.

Or rather, for whom.

It wasn’t for freedom from obnoxious taxation. It was for an exchange of auctioneers. They’d been bled for the cause of replacing the British ruling elite with a homegrown elite. Washington and Hamilton and the rest rather than George III and the rest. New boss, same as the old boss.

Worse, actually.

Most Americans do not know this – for very good reason – but the fact is taxes on the average person were less oppressive (effectively nonexistent) under the original Team Red (King George and Parliament) than under the original Team Blue (President George and Congress). The Revolution was fought to benefit the colonial ruling class, crony capitalist finance shysters like Hamilton – not ordinary people like the Pennsylvania farmers – who had previously never been threatened with bayonets to hand over money they didn’t have to pay what amounted to federal income taxes on the whiskey they made and bartered among themselves as a medium of exchange.

It must have been a rude wake-up call.

Since that time, at least, the debate has always been: who shall pay… how much shall they pay… and to what end?

Never whether anyone ought to be forced to pay anything.

http://ericpetersautos.com/2016/01/30/is-it-a-good-idea/
 
Some 225 years ago, the “Founding Father” of the United States, Toothless George – and his golem, Alexander Hamilton – marched on rural Pennsylvania to teach the veterans of the American Revolution a lesson about what they’d actually fought for.

Or rather, for whom.

It wasn’t for freedom from obnoxious taxation. It was for an exchange of auctioneers. They’d been bled for the cause of replacing the British ruling elite with a homegrown elite. Washington and Hamilton and the rest rather than George III and the rest. New boss, same as the old boss.

Worse, actually.

Most Americans do not know this – for very good reason – but the fact is taxes on the average person were less oppressive (effectively nonexistent) under the original Team Red (King George and Parliament) than under the original Team Blue (President George and Congress). The Revolution was fought to benefit the colonial ruling class, crony capitalist finance shysters like Hamilton – not ordinary people like the Pennsylvania farmers – who had previously never been threatened with bayonets to hand over money they didn’t have to pay what amounted to federal income taxes on the whiskey they made and bartered among themselves as a medium of exchange.

It must have been a rude wake-up call.

Since that time, at least, the debate has always been: who shall pay… how much shall they pay… and to what end?

Never whether anyone ought to be forced to pay anything.

http://ericpetersautos.com/2016/01/30/is-it-a-good-idea/

Is it that democracy always devolves into ruling over your fellow man? The ancient city of Athens, from texts I have read, seemed pretty close to democracy. Is there a maximum size? i.e. What is the next evolution of "government"? Protection from ones neighbors, which has always been needed? Genetic engineering...studies show different apes and monkeys show different levels of aggression toward their members?
 
I ask because I have a disdain taking from others. Even through a third party. Nature, nurture, rational thinking(ha).
 
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