Why the U.S. will stay in Iraq

Sent this to Max on December 5, 2006. Not printed yet perhaps because it is anti-corporate or uses the word Nigger. I think Max may believe we will leave in the next two or three years.

Most Americans say leave Iraq. Most Iraqis say the U.S. should leave. But the U.S. will stay for quite a while.

This paragraph will seem as out of place as the arguments from the left and the right, but wait for the connection. When young folks blame the poor for not working as hard as they should, I point out that we should look at the name on the food stamp card and admit that that is who benefits from the program.

Here is the connection. The name on the back of the food stamp card is the same one in charge of the eight largest banks in Iraq. This name was also involved with the set up of the Federal Reserve.

Let the rich steal our money to steal the Iraqi oil. We have important things to debate; like banning the word Nigger, gay marriage, and flag burning.

Didn't Jefferson warn of something more dangerous than standing armies? Didn't Jackson say there will be Jackson and no National Bank or a National Bank and no Jackson?

Americans need to do more than watch the news the week before an election.


In Liberty,

Ed Gluck

P.S.: Morgan Bank is the name.

Perhaps Morgan-Stanley would be more correct or more current.

Lilly, wasn't Gov. Daniels a CEO there?

Sent this to Maxx and Tavel:

Taxing smokers. Next the obese. But where does it come from? Read this.

Ed Gluck, Terre Haute






http://countercurre nts.org/pringle2 31206.htm


Court Allows Eli Lilly To Bury Zyprexa Documents
By Evelyn Pringle

23 December, 2006Countercurrents. org

Alaskan attorney, Jim Gottstein, says that after being served with a mandatory injunction, he has returned the internal Eli Lilly documents that he obtained in litigation and provided to the New York Times to the court.
Information from the documents related to Lilly's antipsychotic drug, Zypexa, was highlighted two days in a row in front-page articles in the Times
The documents reveal the illegal marketing schemes used by Lilly to make Zyprexa its best-seller, which the company has managed to keep hidden for years by entering into out of court settlements in civil lawsuits which included confidentiality clauses and by getting judges to place the documents under protective orders to shield them from public view.
For instance, the documents under seal here are from a case where Lilly entered into an out-of-court settlement in June 2005, and agreed to pay $690 million to cover claims by about 8000 Zyprexa victims. But in order to get paid, the plaintiffs were required to sign a confidentiality clause and basically keep their mouths shut about Zyprexa from then on.
Its really comical the way Lilly keeps acting all indignant over the disclosure of these documents as if they contain brand new charges, when the company has been under federal and state investigations related to its off-label marketing of Zyprexa for several years already. The company is also facing Medicaid fraud charges in lawsuits all over the county.
In 1996, Zyprexa was approved for the treatment of adults with schizophrenia, and a few years later, it was approved for short-term treatment of adults with manic episodes associated with bipolar disorder.
Yet despite these extremely limited approved uses, Zyprexa went on to become the top selling antipsychotic worldwide with an estimated 20 million people having used the drug and Lilly’s best-selling product, with $4.2 billion in sales in 2005, which translates into 30% of its total revenues.
The documents provided to Times, span a decade and clearly show that the company promoted off-label the sale of Zyprexa for uses not approved by the FDA as being safe and effective. They also reveal that Lilly knew about Zyprexa's link to drastic weight gain and diabetes for years but failed to inform prescribing doctors and consumers.
In fact according to the Times, Lilly knowingly distributed false information to doctors about the risks as late as 2001. On December 21, 2006, the Times reported that the information provided to doctors about the blood-sugar risks of Zyprexa did not match data circulated inside the company after a review of Lilly's clinical trials.
The Times quotes a Lilly report from November, 1999, that shows that after examining 70 clinical trials, Lilly found that 16% of patients taking Zyprexa for a year had gained over 66 pounds. But instead of making these findings public, the company used data from a smaller group of trials that showed roughly 30% of Zypexa patients gained 22 pounds. Mr Gottstein is not involved in the case in which the judge issued a protective order In re: Zyprexa Products Liability litigation, MDL No. 1596, United States District Court, Eastern District of New York (MDL 1596), "in any manner whatsoever," he says.
He is the leader of, "The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights (PsychRights) , a public interest law firm devoted to the defense of people facing forced psychiatric drugging against their will.
Currently, Mr Gottstein represents an Alaskan patient and says the injunction will prevent him from using the Lilly documents to show that the side effects of Zyprexa are well-established by the company's own clinical trials and therefore, his client should not be forced to take such drugs against his will.
In Myers v Alaska Psychiatric Institute, 138 P.3d 238 (Alaska 2006), a case argued by Mr Gottstein last summer, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that Alaska's forced drugging procedures were unconstitutional because they did not require the court to find such drugging to be in the person's best interests, and that there were no less restrictivealternatives.
In order to present the evidence in the case he is handling now, Mr Gottstein is looking to the Alaskan courts to issue a ruling that says his client's right to avoid forced drugging outweighs Lilly's right to keep the information about risks hidden.
He says the documents are highly relevant to a court inquiry, now required in Alaska, before a court can make an informed decision about whether to order forced drugging for his client.
In a December 17, 2006, letter to the court in the New York case, Mr Gottstein stated: "In large part, this state of affairs has been created by the lies told by the manufacturers of psychiatric drugs."
"My impression is," he wrote, "that Eli Lilly's lies about Zyprexa form the basis of the plaintiffs' claims in MDL 1596, but that is not PsychRights' focus."
"PsychRights' focus," he explained, "is helping people avoid being forcibly drugged pursuant to court orders, where the courts have been, in my view, duped by Eli Lilly and other pharmaceutical company prevarications. "
"In my view," Mr Gottstein concluded, "the proper disposition of the question would be in favor of my client's right to inform the court of the extreme harm caused by Zyprexa, which Eli Lilly has successfully hidden for so long, while making its billions off the pill."
A court hearing was held in Brooklyn, New York, on a December 18, 2006, on a motion by Lilly, asking the court to order Mr Gottstein to the return the documents to the court, and to bar him from disseminating them any further.
According to the transcript, Lilly also asked the court to require Mr Gottstein to "preserve all emails and all correspondence of any kind, whether it's voice mail, written letters, emails, so that we can pursue a contempt proceeding against both he and Dr Egilman."
Even though the Lilly documents prove that the company knew that Zyprexa was causing diabetes, and kept pushing the drug anyways, potentially harming millions more patients, the judges gave Mr Gottstein hell and threatened to find him in contempt for doing nothing more than warning the public about the side effects of Zyprexa after Lilly concealed the information for a decade.
There is not one single word in the transcripts about Lilly knowingly injuring and killing people with Zyprexa or illegally pushing the drug to unwitting victims for off-label use.
Instead, Judge Brian Cogan, granted Lilly's motion, and told Mr Gottstein's attorney that his client, "deliberately aided and abetted Dr Egilman in getting these documents released from the restriction that they were under, under the protective order. He knew what he was doing, and he did it deliberately. "
Judge Cogan went on to tell the attorney, "your client should be on notice that of this moment, he is under a mandatory injunction to return those documents ... to take them down from any websites that he may have posted them on, and to take any reasonable effort to recover them from any sites or persons to which he has delivered them."
On December 18, 2006, at an earlier telephone conference in Brooklyn, Judge Roane Mann also did not utter one word about Lilly's illegal conduct, but instead admonished Mr Gottstein for not playing fair with poor Eli Lilly in making the information about Zyprexa public, stating:
"I personally am not in a position to order you to return the documents. I can't make you return them but I can make you wish you had because I think this is highly improper not only to have obtained the documents on short notice without Lilly being advised of the amendment but then to disseminate them publicly before it could be litigated. It certainly smacks as bad faith."
These judges apparently believe that an expert, such as Dr David Egilman, who is hired to review documents in a case and subsequently learns that people are being seriously injured and killed, should be forced to keep that knowledge a secret if a judge issues a protective order.
There is something very wrong with this picture. It begs the question of how can an ethical doctor not speak if he knows that patients are being harmed
The reason always cited for the need to keep documents under seal is the claim that the information contains trade secrets. However, just as Lilly has done here, drug companies have for too long been abusing the process by using protective orders to hide illegal conduct by concealing documents that show the company is illegally promoting the off-label use of a drug or that a drug can cause serious injuries or that a drug does not work.
In a case like this, if a court truly does not have a choice and is required to seal documents even when they show blatant illegal conduct on the part of a drug company, then Congress had better get busy and pass a law to stop the use the US court system to protect what could very easily be described as corporate murder.
In response to an earlier article on this issue, reader Larry Bone wrote and asked this author, "Is the corruption on this so widespread that no one would dare prosecute?"
"It is criminal behavior," he points out, "on a huge scale that is being virtually totally ignored by the authorities responsible for the public safety."
"I just feel," Mr Bone wrote, "that there has to be an attorney or someone in a judicial or ethical capacity who would have the guts, and persistence to prosecute Lilly."
"It seems incredibly ridiculous," he states, "let alone obscene, that such blatant wrongdoing seemingly continues to be ignored by the legal authorities with jurisdiction over these sorts of cases."
"If these companies believe they have done nothing wrong," he says, "then let them prove their innocence in court."
Ellen Liversridge also wants a criminal investigation of Lilly. She lost her 30-year-old son, Rob, to the adverse effects of the drug. "He gained almost 100 pounds while taking Zyprexa," Ellen says.
"Rob lapsed into a coma," she recalls, "and died of profound hyperglycemia four days later on October 5, 2002."
"I believe that the people who did this should have a criminal trial," Ellen says. "Enron executives went to prison for wiping out people's life savings," she points out.
"Lilly executives should go to prison," she says, "for knowingly being responsible for people's deaths, shattered families; ruined and grieving families."
Ellen has nothing but praise for the New York Times and its source. "I am grateful to Jim Gottstein for making available this awful truth and hope it results in justice being done."
"If there can ever be justice for a crime as heinous as this," she adds.
Daniel Haszard, of Bangor Maine, feels the same way. In 1996, he was prescribed Zyprexa off-label to supposedly treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and he remained on the drug for 4 years.
Although he paid $250 a month for the drug, Mr Haszard says the drug did not relieve his symptoms of PTSD at all and in early 2000, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
He was shocked to hear the diagnosis, he said, because there was no history of diabetes in his family. Just as thousands of other Zyprexa victims, Mr Haszard did not make the connection between his diabetes and the drug until he saw a commercial for a law firm in December 2005.
Zyprexa causes diabetes, he says, and public health programs are left to pick up the tab for the medial expenses. According to Mr Haszard, "there are now 7 states going after Lilly for fraud and restitution, " related to the promotion of Zyprexa for off-label use and the concealment of its risks.
Dr Stefan Kruszewski, MD, a Harvard trained, certified psychiatrist in adult, adolescent, and geriatric psychiatry, from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, also finds Lilly's conduct appalling.
"Neither health professionals nor consumers," he states, "can accurately provide information about the risk and benefits of a drug like Zyprexa - or any drug for any condition - without a comprehensive awareness of the risks and benefits."
"If the clinical research data regarding effectiveness, efficacy or safety is sequestered or misrepresented from observation studies, randomized drug trials or meta-analyses, " he says, "then it is not possible for any provider to give any patient what he or she needs to make an informed consent."
"At that point," Dr Kruszewski says, "individuals receive drugs that may or may not help them, but always at their own peril."
"Zyprexa causes both a severe metabolic syndrome consisting of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular problems," Dr Kruszewski advises, "at the same time that it continues to cause neurological side-effects like the older antipsychotics. "
"Zyprexa and its antipsychotics cousins," he explains, "were marketed to be safer and easier to tolerate because the pharmaceutical companies said that the newer drugs caused fewer neurological injuries, like restlessness or ‘akathesia,’ and tardive dyskinesia."
Those assertions are false he says, and "what we have now is a drug whose massive revenues and promotion are based upon faulty disclosures by Eli Lilly."
(Evelyn Pringle evelyn-pringle@ sbcglobal. net is a columnist for OpEd News and an investigative journalist focused on exposing corruption in government and corporate America)
"When the government fears the people, there is liberty.
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny...."
Thomas Jefferson
visit: www.lpvc.blogspot. com
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Thomas Paine

I usually refer to reviews by Amazon.com for books but for "Thomas Paine" by Craig Nelson I refer to a review by Edward J. Dodson. It may just be too early for good reviews at other places. I am not familiar with the www.cooperativeindividualism.org/ but it does look interesting. Like the review by Dodson, it looks a little to Anglo for me. (Therefore I do not now recommend his course.)

I do agree with Dodson that Nelson may miss at his interpertation of background. What is good about this book is that it comes close to placing Paine in the "good" camp. Madison, Jefferson, Mason and Paine are the "good" guys. Hamilton, Adams, and Washington are the "bad" guys.

This book has valuable information that can also be found in American Aurora. To understand American beginnings these books should be along side Hogeland's The Whiskey Rebellion and Leonard L. Richards' book, Shays's Rebellion. They represent a change in writers from slamming the "slave holders" to seeing big government mercantilists for the thieves they were. We can only hope freedom loving founders will continue to be portrayed honestly.

Here is an excellent paragraph from page 334. These authors lean left and worship "progressives" at times. But their history beats the lies of the "interested" mercantilists.:

"In at least the United States today, however, that coalition seems to have come to an end, with the Adams-Hamilton style of government triumphant, as even American news anchor Walter Cronkite admitted in 2005: 'the ruling class is the rich, who really command our industry, our commerce, and our finance. And those people are so able to manipulate our democracy that they really control the democracy.' While Franklin, Paine, and Jefferson would be crestfallen that the modern-day American federal government is the reserve of a new aristocracy -- multimillionaire plutocrats and their corporate sponsors -- Adams and Hamilton would be just as shocked to learn that their admired ruling elite no longer even pretends to lives of virtue."

I would call those with a lack of virtue not plutocrats (rule by the rich) but oligarchs (rule by oppressors in favor of a class system).

Lincoln Unmasked

LINCOLN UNMASKED by Thomas J. Di Lorenzo is a scholarly work written at a level for college graduates. Teachers need to read this book and put it into language children can understand.

What makes this a great book is that Di Lorenzo links the damage Lincoln did, with the damage happening today. He correctly links the neocon's references to Lincoln with strange beliefs that his (Lincoln's) misdeeds make today's atrocities forgivable.

An excellent link is his case that Lincoln ended the Independent Treasury System in 1862 with his greenbacks thus bringing back the National Bank in 1863. (in essence) The nonbacked greenbacks caused fantastic inflation. It should not be a surprise that in 1863 coins were issued with "In God We Trust" on them. We certainly could not trust the government to make real money. So much for our pious "conservatives" and their "God is on money."

This book is highly recommended.

Back to School

Heard from the School board candidates - Alpa Patel and Rosemarie Scott.

Ms. Patel is a lawyer and looks like a good candidate.

I talked with Mrs. Scott and will vote for her.
Perhaps of some interest to voters - registered for candidacy:

Patel 8-24
Scott 8-22

(Information thanks to Sandy at the Clerk's office.)

Why War?

Mark Fiore has the answer here:

http://www.markfiore.com/animation/profiteer.html

IN Senate Race

Here's some info:


Vote for Lugar if you like this:

On illegal tuition:
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/677109/posts

On the 2nd Amendment:
http://www.bendomenech.com/blog/archives/000294.html


On Teacher money:
http://www.lugar2006.com/egov/docs/1147900514362.htm


If you can think, vote for Steve Osborn.

John Birch Society Members' books not bad

G. Edward Griffin's book, "The Creature From Jekyll Island" and James Perloff's book, "The Shadows of Power" are very informative. Written by John Birchers they tell a story of the take over of the U.S. government by the wealthy insiders.

The Birchers seem a little obsessed with the Commies. The real enemies are the people in control. This may seem more obvious in today's world. The New York Times and major news outlets refuse to acknowledge Libertarian candidates and mention a Republican who is a write-in candidate. Notice that they will mention "Establishment" candidates like the "Independent" from CONnecticut. (LIEberman the socialist-warmonger) (Many journalists are listed as part of the 'organization' - Council on Foreign Relations -CFR - and this is seen today.)

Birchers seem to love God a little too much. Makes us wonder if the Pope mates with the new Establishment - and popes have been the Establishment - will the Birchers follow that leader.

Still, these are good books for listing the enemies of "The People" and the Constitution. They list the enemy as Globalists. This may be the most correct term for the enemy. George Soros is rich and hasn't figured out exactly who the enemy is, but seems less of a Globalist. This may be an illusion as the Neocons are so big government Hitler and Stalin look like good alternatives. So the liberals don't look so bad, . . . today. And of course the Birchers were ahead of their time and may continue to be ahead of the curve. This they have also found out can be dangerous. (My counter to this is to always be on the front page if you can.)

A good quote from Perloff, "James Madison said: 'The accumulation of all power - legislative, executive, and judiciary - in the same hands . . . may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.'"

A change in the U.S. House (at the least) is welcome from most of us who cherish liberty.

For full disclosure G. Edward Griffin has worked with Aaron Russo on his latest release - "From Freedom to Fascism" and I support Aaron. Still this book "Creature" should be read by every American.

25 considered worst than Lugar

At http://www.beyonddelay.org/ we can see some of the dirtiest U.S. reps.

I asked about our filthy Lugar and eagerly await a reply.

I don't believe there are 25 worst than Lugar. He hasn't been caught. Give me a Constitutionalist who steals, beats his wife, and sometimes kills, and he may get my vote. These globalists should find another country.

Wake up c-span!

Due to a pathetic lack of coverage of one Libertarian candidate, I Posted this at Hammer of Truth:

Sent this letter to journal@c-span.org. Perhaps others can add their opinions.

Ed


Dear producers,

I’ve seen on Washington Journal and in a Cheney rally for a write-in candidate coverage of Delay’s old Congressional seat. Yet no mention of the Libertarian candidate Bob Smither. What’s the problem? I do not see this same noncoverage of all candidates polling second in U.S. Congressional Districts.

I hope you have Mr. Smither as a guest to make up for this terrible mistake.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15313886.htm

Thanks for your prompt attention.

Ed Gluck, Terre Haute, IN

I'll post any reply from C-span.

Vigo School Board Elections

It looks like two good candidates have challenged Tom in the race for school board. The other incumbents are unchallenged.

One challenger worked as a civil rights attorney and the other mentioned she was for the individual.

I would like to question these candidates before I choose between them.

Read more here: http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_240233835.html

BOOK REPORTS

Constitution in Exile: By Judge Andrew Napolitano

This book, by a Fox News guy was surprisingly Libertarian. His first book leaned a little Republican, although I must say I enjoyed his attacks on Reno.

This book must be read by all because he gives an excellent explanation of the difference between Legal Positivism and Natural Law. If nailed down, I would say that all laws are agreements between men which sounds positivist, but I believe that agreement must be on laws that do not disturb individual freedom that does no harm to others. Napolitano captures this thought of our founders. (For Libertarians, Jury Rights Day - September 5, reminds us that the jury rules on not only the facts of a case but also the law itself. If clarification is needed visit Fully Informed Jury Association - FIJA.)

My rating would be similar to the ones you can read at Amazon.com. The weakness I saw was, as in his first book, a belief that the government can demand a license for my traveling. (unless he is parsing words like the bad guys) He also seems to have missed the part in history about the founders having conventions so that the Constitution was approved not by the states but by We the People. It was the People who demanded a Bill of Rights be placed in the Constitution.



Size Matters: By Joel Miller

This book brings up all the Republican "ideas" on what is wrong with the U.S. and goes half-way in giving solutions. I will sound here like the Green guy (reviewer at amazon.com) who gave it one star when I say it points at a Social Security "problem" and the Republican solution of retirement savings accounts. Mr. Miller is young and perhaps influenced by his father Dennis Miller, who may be the "funny" guy/football commentator.

In a chapter on licensing and regulation, he writes this very true paragraph:

"By killing competition in a trade, we also remove a crucial incentive to improve quality. Once your job is safe from competitors who would happily filch your customers, it is easier to let stuff slip now and then, take it easy, stop pushing to improve and please, innovate and anticipate new customer demand. Such a lowering of quality is not inevitable, but the possibility goes up the moment competition goes down."

Four pages before that paragraph Mr. Miller ends a paragraph with this nonsense: "Given the highly specialized and technical knowledge needed to perform in some of these trades, licensing seems reasonable, even smart. License physicians? Of course!"

Mr. Miller does us one favor although by accident. He quotes Jefferson from his first inaugural:

"...[W]hat more is necessary to make us a happy and prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citizens - a wise and frugal government, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities...."

This part: "and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned" means no tax on labor. As income taxes are being raised on labor in cities, counties, and states, we see a transfer from slave labor to giant international corporations. Who pays for tax abatements and incentives to land new business? The workers and small business.

Since I did not see any call for banning homosexual marriages I admit this book could have been worse. Compared to his writing on Lew against the "Drug War" I found this book a let down. It gives a snapshot in time. I have thought about regulating engineers as their calculations have life and death consequences, but now they make less than teachers. (according to Paul Harvey - summer "moonlighting" not included) I give this book two stars out of five for giving Republicans something to hope for. Though we all know Republicans say one thing and do something very different.

My obvious comment: It is time the voters demanded real action. Don't vote for anyone who approved the Patriot Act or Iraq War. Congressional and Presidential candidates must favor Roberts Rules - NO LOG ROLLING! - vote one issue at a time.

Nader makes another good point

Here is an article by Ralph about Dem. LIEberman and a connection with corporate theives.

http://www.countercurrents.org/us-nader040806.htm

Once again the facists have us looking to the socialists.

Watch As Nuts Bolt Away From U.S. Constitution

After reading discourse on Global Warming here, I noticed a similar type of argument put forth by Greenies and Neocons.

Neocon: WMDs are so scary and destructive we must do something. Waiting for facts is deadly. We must act NOW!

Greenie: Global Warming is so scary and destructive we must do something. Waiting for facts is deadly. We must act NOW!

How about this Boogeyman and solution:

Drug Warrior: The "Scourge of Drug Abuse" is so scary and destructive we must do something. Waiting for facts is deadly. We must act NOW!

This last example brings the right (more prisons, more cops, more courts, stricter laws limiting rights) together with the left (more government programs for addicts, more government child welfare bureaucracy, more government workers to investigate spouse and child abuse).

Are we teaching our children to listen to emotionally crippled crackpots?

What do textbooks tell our children?


Are there any School Board candidates out there with a better plan?

Are Conservatives ruining the U.S. faster than Liberals?

Once again we see liberals and libertarians coming closer on more issues. As the Republicans and so-called moderate and conservative Democrats move away from fiscal responsibility and toward stripping Citizens of God given natural rights, maybe the liberals are just looking better.

Libertarians are against NAFTA in that it is not free trade. This "highway for corporations" paid with local and federal money is not something Libertarians support. (See Major Moves at: http://lpin.blogspot.com/)

This is from Count Us at: http://www.i69tour.org/

COUNT US! QUESTIONS: Was building the NAFTA free trade corridor interstate really a 'CORE GOAL' for hoosiers? That is what the tier 1 record of decision allowed INDOT to claim. Is the 'NAFTA Free Trade Interstate' really more important than preserving our farms, forests, drinking water, air parklands, Amish communities and listening to the comments of 94% of hoosiers who bothered to answer the call for our stated opinion? Is it more important than existing Hoosier roads everywhere in the state? Will Martinsville and Bloomington quality of life be improved with a larger than I-465 highway infrastructure dividing their east from west? Does anyone, even Evansville, want a Toll Road? One owned by foreign owners? Does Evansville want Bloomington and Martinville residents to pay a toll every day for the rest of their and their children's and their grand children's lives so that Evansville can get the Interstate that they deserve? Follow this link to learn a little more about our Mexican boarder crossing point at Nuevo Laredo that some in our state are so interested in connecting to our communities! It is now considered the illegal drug capital of the world.http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nuevolaredo

JBS rates Congress

The John Birch Society came out again with ratings of the U.S. Congress.

Ron Paul of Texas scored 100.

Dems scored higher than Republicans.

Senator Lugar scored 0. If you don't understand that how about zero, zilch, nothing.
And this guy runs for President of the U.S.? Hey, if we change the Constitution to let Arnold run for Prez, how about Gorby or Putin.

Hostettler scored 60 or 67. Feingold scored 50 or thirty-something. I would tend to give more weight to the quesitons of Patriot Act and NSA and Feingold would actually score better. The difference between Hostettler and Ron Paul? Ron Paul represents Citizens under the U.S. Constitution. Hostettler thinks he can vote away our rights and Constitution. This blogger will not cast a vote for this sell out. (Sorry John but when your tyrant state comes about you may see me placing my flag in what you might consider an uncomfortable position.)

This is covered a bit more fully by Laurence M. Vance in this article.

My take: "Houston, we have problems." (Although Ron Paul represents Houston and he is not the problem.)

School Board Elections

Filing deadline to run for School Board is August 25 at noon.

If no money is collected (or a low amount) you only have to file your candidate committee and no CFA-4. This pays only $3000 per year but you will see opponents spending thousands. This is a way to get your feet wet in running for office. School board candidates run as independents.


DISTRICT I

One of three seats from Harrison Township is up.

Held by Guille Cox 2002 - 2006


DISTRICT II

One seat from Fayette Township or Sugar Creek Township.

Held by Joseph Minnis, Jr. 2002 -2006


DISTRICT IV

One seat from Lost Creek, Riley, or Pierson Township.

Held by Gene Shike 2002 - 2006


DISTRICT V

One board member from Honey Creek, Linton, Prairieton, or Prairie Creek Township.

Michael H. Tom 2002 -2006


County Clerk can tell you who has filed and has the needed forms.

How about candidates for the voucher system?

Even one candidate wanting to do away with "text" books would seem revolutionary.

New Treasurer/Secretary for Vigo County LP

Latest news from lpvc:

Robert E. Hamiliton has been appointed Treasurer/Secretary of the Vigo County Libertarian Party. Robert is a past Chairman of the Vigo County LP, resurecting it in 1999. He was chairman until the lpvc was affiliated in March 2000.

Welcome back Robert!

Common Sense 2006

Here we see the "traditional" view of single line left/right orientation. Commentators and candidates believe moving to the center of this line will get the most votes. This may be correct to some extent, but this is a bad representation of where people stand. This misrepresentation is moving the United States into dangerous territory.

I suggest we take the left/right one-dimensional representation and curve the ends upward. Drag the people on the ends along with the line. Finally, connect the two ends to form a circle or oval. The result is a two-dimensional representation. If you place a vertical line at the bottom center, you will have a separation of the totalitarian regimes we commonly refer to as communism and facism. Communism and facism, as Walter Williams says, is two sides of the same coin. At the top you have freedom.

You'll notice that people considered on the left, like Feingold, would fall somewhere below Nader on the left side of this oval. The John Birch Society, sometimes called conservative, sometimes reactionary right, falls somewhere between Pat Buchanan and Thomas Jefferson.

Most "leftists" today do not rise above the halfway point because socialism has overtaken not only the U.S. but much of the world. The problem few notice is that corporate welfare and socialism are doing a one-two punch on the freedom of Americans. As a good friend once said about the Presidential candidates, "we are bottom feeding."

Changing attitudes from left/right to top/bottom is the challenge of the near future. A similar representation, as mentioned below, can be found at:

http://theadvocates.org

Randy Scheunemann: Office of The Secretary of Defense – Consultant on Iraq Policy, mentioned the blog below called the 1992 speech of Pat Buchanan facist. These Hitler-like attacks on freedom destroy this country. And the left/right thinking is to blame. Hillary Clinton is a bottom-feeder people consider left. Watch her sink into the totalitarian mud as 2008 approaches.

Think up/down and vote this way. Pat should shake hands with Russ. The voters need good examples, not the evil we see on TV every day.

GOOD

MADISON

JEFFERSON/GOLDWATER

BUCHANAN

NADER-BOB BARR

FEINGOLD

REAGAN

HOWARD DEAN

HILLARY-KERRY

WIDOWMAKER BUSH

STALIN-HITLER

EVIL

PNAC to Government - but corruption stays the same

From this: http://www.reasoned.org/e_pnac.htm
religious site we have this information about PNACers (Project for a New American Century).
My comments on these globalists are in blue.


Known PNAC colleagues joining Dick Cheney were:

- Donald Rumsfeld: Secretary of Defense.
- Paul D. Wolfowitz: Deputy Secretary of Defense, and Assistant to the Vice President.
- John R. Bolton: Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security.
Isn't this the guy Bush put on as ambassador to U.N. during a recess so he didn't have to be confirmed by the Senate? Globalist or Imperialist? Same thing?
- I. Lewis Libby: Assistant to the President, and Chief of Staff to the Vice President.
C.I.A. Leaker?
- Zalmay Khalilzad: Senior Director – National Security Council; now Ambassador to Afghanistan, Special Presidential Envoy to Afghanistan, and Special Presidential Envoy to the Free Iraqis. Always on TV speaking on our relation with Afghanistan - We would do better watching "Rambo III.
- Peter W. Rodman: Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs.
- Christopher A. Williams: member of Pentagon’s Deterrence Concepts Advisory Panel, and member of Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board; now Department of Defense – Special Assistant to Donald Rumsfeld.
- Paula Dobriansky: Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs.
- Aaron Friedberg: Vice President’s Deputy National Security Advisor.
- Abram N. Shulsky: Director – Defence Department’s Office Of Special Plans.
- Barry D. Watts: Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation – Office of The Secretary of Defense.
- Stephen A. Cambone: Special Assistant to Donald Rumsfeld; now Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, Special Assistant to the Secretary and Director for Program Analysis and Evaluation – Department of Defense.
- William Howard Taft IV: Chief Legal Advisor to the Department of State.
I would have hoped for better from a Taft.
- Mark P. Lagon: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.
- William Schneider Jr.: Chairman – Defense Science Board for the Department of Defense.
- Richard L. Armitage: Deputy Secretary of State. idiot
- Vin Weber: member – National Commission on Public Service. gets around
- Richard N. Perle: Pentagon Policy Advisor (resigned February 2004), member – Defense Policy Board. Guilty since Iran/Contra
- Randy Scheunemann: Office of The Secretary of Defense – Consultant on Iraq Policy.
- Gary Schmitt: Consultant to the Department of Defense.
- R. James Woolsey: member – Defense Policy Board, member – Deterrence Concepts Advisory Panel, member – National Commission on Energy Policy. Ex- CIA liar. Promoted war before it was fashionable.
- Elliot Abrams: National Security Council – top advisor on the Middle East.- Henry S. Rowen: member – Department of Defense Policy Board. February 12, 2004: Presidential appointment to the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. Guilty since Iran/contra - and what about those WMDs? Ask Woolsey.
- Devon Gaffney-Cross: member – Defense Policy Board. Is this guy related to Frank Gaffney?
Frank Gaffney - Neocon Superhawk - against port deal though.
- David Epstein: employee at the Office of Secretary of Defense – Net Assessment.
- Richard V. Allen: member – National Security Advisory Board, member – Defense Policy Board.
- Penn Kemble: Department of State – Head, Eminent Persons Group, Sudan Slavery Commission.
- Jeffrey Bergner: study group member – Commission on National Security 21st Century.
- Francis Fukuyama: President’s Council on Bioethics. Now questions Iraq invasion.
- Nicholas Eberstadt: consultant for the State Department, consultant for the Bureau of the Census.
- Hillel Fradkin: member of the Advisory Committee on International Education – Department of Education.
- Seth Cropsey: Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau.
- Dov S. Zakheim: Under Secretary and Chief Financial Officer for the Department of Defense (resigned April 15, 2004).
- Rudy Boschwitz: Presidential appointee to the Holocaust Memorial Council.
- Robert B. Zoellick: U.S. Trade Representative – member of President’s Cabinet. Payola for a "conservative" reporter.
- Charles Krauthammer: member – President’s Council On Bioethics. Born Urugury raised in Montreal always on Fox News.
- Daniel Goure: consultant – Department of State, consultant – Department of Defense, consultant – Department of Energy.
- Victoria Nuland: (wife of Robert Kagan, co-founder and Project Director of the PNAC) Vice President’s Deputy National Security Advisor.

Also AEI has many PNAC members. These things are corrupt.

A website to find out about libertarians

Check out Advocates for Self-Government at: http://www.self-gov.org/

You'll notice a diamond shaped quiz. It still has left and right corners plus top and bottom corners. You'll notice we've been tricked into trolling the bottom between left and right. We need to move up from Authoritarian toward the Freedom this country was based on.

In 2004 Johnnie Sancedio said, "We have a choice of bottom feeders." Which reminds me, these bottom feeders enslave us, stealing the wealth of the poor and working class. We have to move to smaller government, get rid of the federal reserve, and end corporate welfare. (The federal reserve is a way to tax the poor by making their money worth less. Of course it is okay if you get your share of the goodies.)

This is the sort of poster "conservatives" believe should be obeyed. Some self-confessed moderates are rightly outraged.

You can tell this is a serious poster because it lines up the V with Victory and then they hurry along to see how their Halliburton stock is doing.
http://www.outragedmoderates.org/Page3.html

Check out the quote from T.R.

Better Red than Dead

With Widowmaker Bush supporters willing to give up not only their rights but others' rights, it is time to tell a little history. In reponse to the divine rights of kings, Algernon Sidney wrote his Discourses Concerning Government and flipped the world of Natural Slaves into natural freedoms or rights. David Dieteman explains how this was put into our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights and it is the philosophy which defines the United States.

When someone says. "They can tap my phone, I have nothing to hide," they are correct in that their ignorance is showing for all to see. An inalienable right is one which can not be given or sold. That ignorant statement above is like someone saying, "Today I will place the sun in my pocket and you will live in darkness." It cannot be accomplished.

But you answer, the government does tap my phone.

No the government cannot tap your phone.

Your phone may be tapped by criminals who also get paid by the government, but by definition, criminals do illegal things.

All these people who support a better "Red than Dead" philosophy are not American. They are traitors.

Widowmaker must be impeached.

"The Poor and the Working Class"

Just thought I'd post the words at the top of the LP Chairman Blog. If the Indiana LP was at one time elitist, it has now been taken over by Jeffersonians. It IS the opposition party. (See post on Corporate Whores)



State Chairman's Report
A Proud Libertarian State Chairman's Postings on the Exciting Progress and Success of the Libertarian Party of Indiana, Defenders of Small Business, the Poor and the Working Class

Chairman Blog

Will the real nut case please behave?

Although I've heard the Iranian President's letter to President Bush is 18 pages, here is an 8 page translation: TRANSLATION OF LETTER TO BUSH

It doesn't say it, but those familiar with religions would have to conclude that Bush's actions mirror that of one who worships the devil. The letter merely asks if the action of the US is that of a Christian (or monotheistic) nation.

Bush's actions are wrong on many levels (and he should be impeached guilty* on three) so the real question is: Why are Americans so quiet?

*1) FISA violations of the Bill of Rights
2) Patriot Act violations of the Bill of Rights
3) Torture violations of Geneva Convention

All of these are violations of Article 6 of the US Constitution. (Also rejection of ABM Treaty and preemptive war crimes are impeachable and Senators can find guilt on these Article 6 violations.)

USA Today Outs Our Douchebag!

Today the "USA Today" had an article "NSA has massive database of Americans' phone calls" which describes some of what douchebag Hayden has done to our Constitution.

Is anyone proud to be a Republican?

I guess Lee will have to be proud of something other than being American if Americans stand for this shit.

General Hayden is a Douchebag

I actually saw the exchange below on illegal searches. Why these people are selling out the country is a mystery.

(Stolen from "Hammerof truth")


More on General Hayden
May 08 2006 at 10:22 pm · tags: politics
Stephen Gordon — George Bush sure knows how to pick them. Not only does Gen. Michael Hayden not understand the Constitution he’s sworn to uphold, but it now looks like he may have financial ties to Duke Cunningham & Company. From Muckraker:
Hayden, President Bush’s pick to replace Porter Goss as head of the CIA, contracted with MZM Inc. for the services of Lt. Gen. James C. King, then a senior vice president of the company, the sources say. MZM was owned and operated by Mitchell Wade, who has admitted to bribing former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham with $1.4 million in money and gifts. Wade has also reportedly told investigators he helped arrange for prostitutes to entertain the disgraced lawmaker, and he continues to cooperate with a federal inquiry into the matter.
King has not been implicated in the growing scandal around Wade’s illegal activities. However, federal records show he contributed to some of Wade’s favored lawmakers, including $6000 to Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) and $4000 to Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL).
I don’t think we’ve heard the end of controversy about this new nominee for the CIA’s top spot.
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Hayden: Same S***, Different Appointee
May 08 2006 at 1:23 pm · tags: civil liberties, george bush, cia, 4th amendment, michael hayden, appointments, nominations
Stephen Gordon — George Bush has continued to show his disdain for the Constitution with the nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to run the CIA. According to the White House Press Department Fox News, Bush commended Hayden with, “Mike Hayden is supremely qualified for this position.” It seems the entire GOP is issuing similar comments. Let’s take a look at the real qualifications of someone who has repeatedly sworn to uphold the Constitution.
In January, we reported about Hayden’s lack of understanding of the 4th Amendment. With Hayden being the lead story in the news today, perhaps it’s time for a refresher course. Here’s a transcript of the interview Keith Olberman covered:
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My understanding is that the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution specifies that you must have probable cause to be able to do a search that does not violate an American’s right against unlawful searches and seizures. Do you use…
GEN. MICHAEL HAYDEN: Well, actually, the Fourth Amendment actually protects all of us against unreasonable search and seizure. That’s what it says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the measure is probable cause, I believe.
HAYDEN: The amendment says unreasonable search and seizure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But does it not say probable…
HAYDEN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: … the court standard…
HAYDEN: The amendment says…
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: … the legal standard…
HAYDEN: … unreasonable search and seizure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: … the legal standard is probable cause.
HAYDEN: Just to be very clear, and believe me, if there’s any amendment to the Constitution that employees of the National Security Agency are familiar with, it’s the Fourth. And it is a reasonableness standard in the Fourth Amendment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OLBERMANN: To quote the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States in its entirety, the one the general and the NSA folks are so familiar with and know is about reasonableness and not about probable cause, quote, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
Well, maybe they have a different Constitution over there at the NSA.
Here’s the video. Thanks to Jon Airheart for the reminder.
permalink . discussion (17) . trackbacks (2)

Corporate Whores and Libertarians for 2006

In addition to the Corporate Whores (aka Democrats and Republicans) the Libertarians are fielding candidates. Contact me if you are interested in running for office or wish to help on a Libertarian campaign. edgluck2@yahoo.com Remember ballot status is at stake in the Sec. of State race.


This is from the LP state chair's blogsite. You can also add:
Indiana Senate District 41: Kenn Gividen, Columbus


Here's a List of Candidates Selected at the Annual Convention of the Libertarian Party of Indiana
Here are the candidates selected at yesterday's annual convention of the Libertarian Party of Indiana:Secretary of State: Mike Kole, Fishers
Indiana House District 20: Greg Kelver, LaPorte
Indiana House District 25: Jo Coleman, Indianapolis
Indiana House District 34: Carrie Dillard-Trammell, Muncie
Indiana House District 49: Greg Sell, Elkhart
Indiana House District 54: Rex Bell, Hagerstown
Indiana House District 56: Jon Bell
Indiana House District 64: Jeff Thomas, Vincennes
Indiana House District 80: Robert Enders, Ft. Wayne
US Senate: Steve Osborn, LaPorte
US House District 5: Sheri Conover Sharlow, Marion
US House District 9: Dr. Eric Schansberg, New Albany

The state party nominates candidates for all statewide offices, all federal offices, Indiana House, Indiana Senate, all judges and all prosecuting attorneys. All other offices are nominated at the county level.Vacancies may be filled by the various county parties and the state party until the end of June.

CIA - Cover Intel's Ass

This was from a group. The first article at www.globalresearch.ca is very interesting. With bin Laden asking for the replacement of the Pakistani Prez it just keeps getting better and better.


From out of the past,,,,,,,White House Nominee to Head the CIA http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CHO407A.html From out of the present,,,,,,,CIA boss Goss is cooked Tied to contractor's poker parties -http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/415304p-350961c.html

Visit Mike's Blog

Check out Mike Sylvester's blog. It has a very good article on immigration stats. See it at:

http://allencountylp.blogspot.com/

CIA says things go better with Coke

Here's more non-proof that the CIA does not deal in Cocaine. It was the Mexican police that made up this story.

Just Say "No Crime" so say the Police in U.K.

http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=570742006

Source: Edinburgh Evening News (UK)
Contact: lettersen@scotsman.com
Website: http://www.edinburghnews.com/

Address: Barclay House, 108 Holyrood Road, Edinburgh. EH8 8AS Scotland
Fax: +44 (0) 131 620 8696
Copyright: 2006 The Scotsman Publications Ltd
Pubdate: Friday, 14th April 2006

SCOTTISH police officers have sparked anger after calling for the
legalisation of all drugs - including heroin and cocaine.
The Strathclyde Police Federation has called for a dramatic change of
direction in the battle on drugs crime, and the issue will be debated
later this month.
The body, which represents 7000 officers, is set to argue that all drugs
should be licensed in the same way as cigarettes and alcohol. Officers
claim this would cut drug deaths and divert police resources to other
crime-fighting priorities. It is the first time that an organisation
representing officers has made such a demand.
Opponents today said the move would only increase the availability of
drugs. But the federation believes millions of pounds are wasted on
enforcing existing laws, with little impact on the availability of drugs
on the street.
Inspector Jim Duffy, chairman of the federation, said: "We are not
winning the war against drugs and we need to think about different ways
to tackle it."
The Scottish Executive said that drug legislation is reserved to
Westminster.

Mr. Bush = Mr. Kitman Let's All Play

They were screwing around at work yesterday so I read a couple of books. One was The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (AND THE CRUSADES) by Robert Spencer.

Mr. Spencer says he does not opine, but does. Much of it seems anti-Islam but I would call it slanted. He mentions bad things about Islam, for instance primative punishments in the Koran and females only get half the inheritance of the male sibling, but fails to mention the stoning in the Bible (for adultery) or that this country was founded at a time when giving almost all to the first born son was very accepted.

This book did tell the truth. But I believe a word I learned in my reading describes much of it. The word is kitman. He writes, "...Closely related to this is the doctrine of kitman, or mental reservation, which is telling the truth, but not the whole truth, with an intention to mislead...."


Col. Wright may have used kitman saying Saddam's son-in-law said there were no WMDs in Iraq and when he returned Saddam had him killed. Bush, the master of kitman, said Saddam's son-in-law came to the U.S. and said Saddam had WMDs and when he returned to Iraq he was killed. All true. Saddam's son-in-law came to the U.S. said that Saddam at one time had WMDs but no longer did and was killed when he returned to Iraq. Col. Wright says he was killed because he said Saddam had no WMDs and therefore Iraq could be invaded. She doesn't blame Iran for acting strong.

If you saw the Karen interview Sunday she laid the kitman out for you. This is a fun game to play and makes watching Bush and Rumsfeld fun. (They think they are slick like Willie. Also if Slick Willie was as sharp as these guys then he did not commit perjury, he was classifying information as needed by his Presidential duties.)

Oppose TIF at City Council Meeting 4/11/06

Got this from Sarah Dillion our Vigo County Green Chair. I agree we should oppose this TIF if you have the time. I believe this is behind the Court House in the City Court Room.

From Sarah:

The sender says:Regarding this article, I think it's best that as many of us come to this city council meeting...to possibly fight it. (Meeting is this coming Tuesday, April 11 at 7:00p.m. at Terre Haute City Hall). (For those reading, this was the TIF district I mentioned that was tabled at Vigo County Area Planning Commission last month.)

Col. Wright I Salute You

Col. Wright gave a good speech. She explained why she left the diplomat service and said she got 400 emails from other diplomats in agreement. She explained she left because it was an illegal war and she also did not like the way it was planned to be fought. (If you're reading this before Sunday night she should be on channel 10 CBS - probably in tomorrow's paper)

Since the war and since the thing in Afghanistan she did not approve of the torture that was allowed by civilians. According to her the upper military (she named all four sections - Army, Air Force, Marines, and Navy) strongly objected that this put their men in added danger. (I would find the President guilty on this article of impeachment myself in that if the military were needed, he would be placing the soldiers and country in jeopardy. The only other two articles I would impeach on are violations of the Bill of Rights - the overthrow of the country - FISA and the Patriot Act. - So far.)

She had an interesting take on our contractors in Iraq. She mentioned we pay large sums of money to have Pakistanis and Indians feed our troops. (She did not have to say Iraqis would blow us up - but of course with welcoming arms and love!) Most of the money would head back to corporate headquarters. When I thought of this I thought of how very similar this is to the situation in Terre Haute. Perhaps we should change our name to Iraq.

For those who may have missed Karen's talk with Brian Lamb on Cspan, here is a link to the transcript of the interview.

I did notice on my second viewing Karen mentioned politicos and CONTRACTORS were at the Iraq desk in 2002. Since I read the no bid cost plus contracts before the war (in 2003) this sort of slipped by. But in 2002 the only contracting should have been about bombs, not the rebuilding and so-called reconstruction.

Notice also that she mentions taking an oath to the Constitution. Maybe this is just for higher officers as sergeant and below officers tell me they take no such oath. (I ask because it is in the Constitution.) Karen says the Bush administration wants loyalty to people (in the administration) not the Constitution. This is a sickness far worse than TB. We have been afflicted with GWB!

A Person I Respect is Coming to Terre Haute - Col. Ann Wright Will Be Here April 9

(From the April 3, 2006 Tribune-Star)

Special speaker will discuss on going war Our “preemptive” war in Iraq is now three years old and shows no sign of ending. More than 2,300 young Americans and countless thousands of Iraqi citizens are dead and thousands more are wounded. No WMDs were found in Iraq. U.S. sanctioned torture methods in detention camps have shocked the world. First Amendment rights of American citizens are being violated.

In the Bush administration we are confronted with what amounts to an imperial presidency. These are only some of the reasons that I and many in our area and around the nation find it necessary to exercise publicly our right to dissent from current policies.

Many former military and government officials are also voicing their dissent. Wabash Valley residents have an opportunity to hear an Army veteran and retired diplomat, Col (Ret.) Ann Wright, discuss “Dissent in a Democracy: The War on Iraq.”

The day the Iraq War began, Col. Wright resigned as Deputy Chief of Mission of an American Embassy in the Far East because she could not support the administration’s policies on Iraq. She will be speaking April 9 at 1:30 p.m. at the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 1875 S. Fruitridge in Terre Haute.

Col. Wright’s appearance is sponsored by the UU Social Action Committee, Terre Haute Stop War on Iraq and the Indiana Peace and Justice Network. For more information e-mail www.stopwaroniraq@yahoo.com.—

Diane M. Brentlinger, Co-chairStop War on Iraq

Karen Kwiatkowski on cspan Sunday night

This Sunday night Karen Kwiatkowski will be on cspan. For those not familiar with her writings you should visit her archives.

She is a good writer. She is an excellent speaker and I can't talk of her speech without calling her a firecracker.

Once before 3/19/03 and once after the invasion I had written to cspan to have her on. I don't know if the reason she was not on was cpan's fault or her declining. The second time I wrote was after seeing her in May of 2004 at the Libertarian Convention in Atlanta.

Watch this, tape this, and tell your children. I hope this firecracker will be rerun on cspan's 4th of July coverage of the Libertarian Convention. I am sure you will find this woman entertaining.

Please comment here after watching.

A war on the poor and middle class - Women and children first!

Jo Coleman has sent this with opinions I agree with. I have highlighted certain areas but have n0 links in this blog.

To add to her analysis, if you are not an investor you may not be aware that venture capital is capital put at risk by the very wealthy. Here we are stealing from the poor and middle class to ease the risk of the very wealthy.

In the Eminent Domain section I have highlighted in green to emphasize the point that this law is all about the money. I believe it was in 2003 I was at the polls talking to a Democrat woman handing out literature who complained about how she had to get a lawyer to stop a realty company from taking her house for not having a correctly fixed fence. The lawyer was able to stop the proceedings but at the cost of a fence and lawyer. I would hope we can win people one person at a time but I fear they too often see government and "the greater good" as the best alternative. The individual is just considered a fly in the ointment of progress. Perhaps this is why some call themselves "Progress" ives.


House Bill 1380 passed and Mitch signed it...one section

"Authorizes counties, cities, and towns that receive county economic development income taxes (CEDIT) to: (1) establish local venture capital funds; and (2) establish regional venture capital funds by pooling CEDIT revenues and grant proceeds. Provides that a regional venture capital fund shall be administered by a governing board. Authorizes the governing board to make grants or loans from the fund to public or private entities for economic development purposes."

This is the very antithesis of capitalism and a slap in the face to all the real entrepreneurs and investors who risk their own money.

But combine this with the eminent domain bill that doesn't really protect us from anything...House bill 1010, eminent domain does not prevent taking for private development; they just have to declare our property run down or neglected ..."Establishes procedures for using eminent domain to transfer ownership or control of real property between private persons for uses that are not public uses, including: (1) limiting the use of eminent domain only to acquire certain types of property; (2) requiring that the acquisition of the property will accomplish more than only increasing the property tax base of a government entity; (3) requiring mediation under certain circumstances; (4) requiring the payment of more than the fair market value for certain types of property; (5) requiring the condemnor to pay the attorney's fees of certain owners; and (6) requiring the payment of certain other damages, if applicable, including business losses."


The potential for EVIL here is awesome.

Jo

Note from Ed - And these folks will say, "It's the Law, it must be right."

Remonstrance for Staples Improvement Abatement

This is something like the remonstrance I have signed and am sending to people in Vigo County. If you would like me to send an attachment for you to copy send me your email and I will send the attachment. My email is edgluck2@yahoo.com. The abatement is $1,000,000 over ten years according to the Tribune-Star.




REMONSTRANCE AGAINST THE TAX ABATEMENT FOR THE STAPLES WAREHOUSE IMPROVEMENT

MARCH 27, 2006


To the Honorable County Council of the County of Vigo:

We the subscribers, citizens of the said County, have taken into serious consideration the proposed tax abatement for the Staples warehouse in the Vigo County Industrial Park.

1. Because we hold our Indiana Constitution sacred, we refer the Commissioners and County Council to Article I Section 23. Equal privileges and immunities Section 23. The General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens.

2. Because we believe the tax abatement mentioned above discriminates against all non special businesses, the tax abatement violates the spirit of our State of Indiana.

3. Because this tax abatement does not apply equally to all businesses in
Vigo County, it creates a hardship on all places of business required to
pay their fair share.

We the subscribers, oppose this tax abatement for the Staples warehouse. We do this to establish more firmly the liberties, the prosperity and the happiness of our County of Vigo.


----------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------

I Found Some Fine Gold - Feingold!

Here is a letter which may get me kicked out of LPIN. But this guy looks like a closet libertarian.



Dear Russ,

I am a Libertarian and agree with many of your views. I had considered you a diehard irresponsible big government big spender. To my surprise, your state responsible system on health care matches my views fairly closely and when you put it that way, universal health care is a good way to propose it. I appreciated the following at your website on health care and the budget:

Health Care
All Americans deserve adequate health care and it is far past time for Congress to take action on this pressing issue. I support a state-based, American-style approach to health care reform, where each state, with the federal government's help, comes up with a plan to make sure that all of its residents have health care coverage. Such an approach would provide universal health care for all Americans by encouraging the flexibility and creativity that are necessary to ensure nationwide access to high-quality, affordable health care.

Deficit Reduction
One of the main reasons I first ran for the U.S. Senate was to restore fiscal responsibility to the federal budget. Since I was first elected to the Senate in 1992, I have worked to bring Wisconsin's historic tradition of fiscal responsibility to Congress, an environment where wasteful spending too often dominates the budget process.

I was proud to work to reduce and briefly eliminate the federal deficit during the 1990s. But today the federal budget is once again in the red. Unless we return to fiscally responsible budgeting, Congress will saddle our nation's younger generations with an enormous financial burden for years to come. This is why I continue to offer measures to cut wasteful federal spending, and enforce budget discipline.

(end of Feingold pasting)

Mr. Feingold, the jerk in chief needs to be impeached. (but first the V.P.) The more I look at you I can see you have too much sense to disagree. (Although maybe not yet ready to admit in public.)

Almost the entire armed forces that have said anything need to be fired at the general level or above. (Oddly, a general named William Wallace, like the Mel Gibson "Braveheart" character talks like he is not a traitor to the Constitution.)

I don't believe you can win a Democrat primary. I hope you can talk to Ed Thompson in Wisconsin. Their website is http://www.lpwi.org/. If you can get out some of your libertarian credentials (and perhaps more of your state-based solutions moved to education) they will accept you with open arms. Their convention is April 8th. I know it is soon but I am sure they would love to hear your comments on censure (or something better ;>))

I hope to see you shaking hands with Bob Barr at our Indiana LP Convention at the end of April. (If I could see this without paying I would definitely be there.)

I will paste this letter on my blogsite at: www.lpvc.blogspot.com

Thanks for your service.


In Liberty,


Ed Gluck, Terre Haute, Indiana

Impeachable offenses should be discussed early and often

In answer to a pro-government comment (or perhaps more anti-Congress) I posted the following on the the Tribstar board:

Dear Sir or Madam,

We should have been talking impeachment from the time Mr. Bush said we would not abide by the ABM Treaty (Anti-Ballistic Missile) and perhaps if there was healthy debate about a unilateral (though called coalition) illegal invasion of a sovereign state Mr. Bush might not have pursued this impeachable offense.

I kept quiet on these acts myself because I would tend not to impeach on these counts. However the "above the law" actions did not stop there. This guy mocked another international treaty the U.S. signed on to and this time saying the U.S. could torture was too much for me to keep quiet. This act puts U.S. troops already in harm's way in danger of being tortured as retaliation. Not just in Iraq but anywhere by anyone. I would definately impeach our mock monarch on this count.

I would also impeach this clown for violating the fourth amendment. Perhaps originally meant to save us from WMDs, the reason given is the liberation of a foreign land. First, I would impeach if he were trying to save this country because it would be like cutting out a man's heart to ease his high blood pressure. In this case it turns out he expects us to cut out our hearts to ease the blood pressure of another man. In "Deranged, Disconnected, and Dangerous", Paul Craig Roberts points out that these people have lost it. He writes, "Bush gave a delusional speech that shows he is detached from reality." And Joshua Frank writes, on the smearing of Paul Craig Roberts.

In a recent article titled "Bush Signs Bill That Didn't Pass Congress" we see once again that this guy has absolutely no respect for the U.S. Constitution, the men who wrote it, and the people who died and are dying to protect it. The difference between the Bill that passed Congress and the one signed is about $2 billion. Now throw another 2 billion my way an perhaps I'll keep quiet on this.

But where we would all like to give me $2 billion dollars, we should question the $1.2 billion given to foreign nations as their bribe to help us in Afghanistan. Most of my $2 billion would be spent in the U.S. Can we say the same of Pakistan, Jordon, and the others?

It looks like Paul and BuSHITes have a bit of a row going. In his latest article, Paul mentions the massacre by marines in Iraq. (It has a link to the Time story.) I'm the guy that didn't believe in the Nuremberg trials nor the trial for action at My Lai (the taking of Pinkville), but with all the "Guard" over in Iraq I fear they will do something worse than Abu Ghraib. Remember the militia is considered a group of free people and as such has the choice of participating or not in abhorrent actions. With freedom comes responsibility. If a soldier follows orders to kill illegally we should hang our Commander in Chief. Here's a question to ponder, if an order was given rather than just considered, to bomb journalists in Fallujah, should we hang Bush and the pilot if the pilot was Guard? When we see thousands of mistakes by the U.S. military, we have to start wondering if they are not mistakes. At the very least we must consider that the rest of the world has some very serious questions.

Feingold is supposed to be on the Jon Stewart show tonight. Since I can't remember the name you can tell I am not a big fan. I do catch it from time to time and enjoy Jon noticing the corruption of the Ds and Rs.

If you know me, you know I give the facts even if it is often before they happen. This blog I will make a prediction, perhaps based on facts, but still nothing more than an educated guess. Here is my prediction: Jon Stewart will NOT for the most part make fun of Senator Feingold and will instead use Feingold's call for censure to mock the spineless Ds and corrupt Rs.

If I am wrong, you can call me on this and I will admit my error. This worse case scenario will not stop future predictions.

The Origin of Sin City

From the history of Terre Haute we find that Vigo County was cut out of the existing Sullivan County. Thank you Daddy Sullivan County.

It also has an explanation of the name "Sin City" which started in the early twentieth century and unlike the fun times of the middle of the 1900s, the origins look somewhat like today. I'd bet they even had their Bible thumpers. Here it is pasted:

The burgeoning cities of America required extraordinary vigilance by citizens' groups to counteract vice and political corruption. In the 19th century Terre Haute was reputed to be a "sporting" town, the "Paris of Indiana." The public's indulgence of shady activities changed to anger in the early 1900s Civic and business organizations joined hands to expose sinister links between crime, special interests, and city hall. At one point the coalition petitioned for state aid and for federal monitoring of elections. Nationwide experiments in city management often granted elected mayors unprecedented appointive powers, therefore inviting misuse of authority. A Terre Haute mayor indebted to a political machine backed by brewery money could make sure his chief of police and his safety board neglected to enforce closing hours of saloons. Fraudulent election practices included repeat voting, stuffed ballot boxes, counterfeit ballots, padded registration lists, bribed elections officials and police, extortion, and violence. The tenacity of both the guardians of morality and the beneficiaries of lawbreaking is evident in the replays of official misconduct: Mayor Edwin Bidaman was impeached in 1906; Mayor Louis A. Gerhardt was arraigned for contempt of court in 1911; and Mayor Donn Roberts and 20 others convicted of election fraud in 1915 served time in Leavenworth Penitentiary. Despite these and other court victories, the press stamped Terre Haute as Sin City, thereby fostering an image that has haunted the community.

Decker, Scott, and Curley The Three Stooge Makers

Did anyone notice that Darrick Scott and Tim Curley are running unopposed in the Democrat primary for County Council Districts 2 and 1? They, along with David Decker who is running against Bill Bryan for Commissioner District 1, voted in favor of County income taxes, making us who labor for a living more slavish to the state. They are making us stooges. Is anyone willing to stand by the polls on election day and hand out Stooge stickers for anyone who votes for these fellows?

The End of the Dollar Hegemony

Click on Ron Paul on the right and see his pod cast of his house floor speech on "The End of the Dollar Hegemony."

This man needs to be cloned.

From extreme to insane

With Cathy calling for people to rally against the war today, I must agree. I don't know if these infoshop pictures (rated PG) are true, but we better get used to them because this war is coming home. Some think the war is already here. I haven't seen anything yet that hasn't been Bush approved, one way or another.

Reading the stories, it looks like we can call this "Reconstruction" for real. Like the reconstruction in the U.S. south in the decade after the War Between the States we do things like keep the past leaders out of government.

With Buckley calling Iraq a U.S. defeat and al-Sadr damning Rumsfeld for saying he would not get involved in a civil war, I am now preoccupied or perhaps obsessed with America's ostrich-like denial that this thing is lost. Some want to stay there to "help" the people who don't want us there. Others want us there because it will make them money.

This is not extremism. It is now insane!

Feingold is Correct!

Russ Feingold of Wisconsin has called for a resolution to censure President Bush for his NSA wiretapping crimes. I believe Bush should be impeached over this. One section of our Constitution stands above the rest and it is the Bill of Rights. I believe the Bush Boy is violating both the fourth and first amendments.

Think there is no connection? Well these amendments have been connected from the very start. William Penn told his religion to all who would listen. Zenger wrote a paper for people to read. But I am not referring to these guys. I want you to think about Algernon Sidney.

Algernon Sidney wrote something that contained his thoughts that all political power should reside with the parliament or the people. Years after he wrote it, the king's men broke into his house and ransacked it until they found the manuscript. For this writing, Algernon was beheaded. For a half century after the American "Declaration of Independence" writers in support of liberty in the U.S. signed their letters with the name of Algernon Sidney.

Our feckless Congress will fail to take responsible action. Instead I have already heard a person in Feingold's own Party (Senator Joseph Isador LIEberman) denounce Russ for his correct and
brave position. The cowards in Congress will set a fine example for the common folk showing them how to "know your place."

Most papers in this country are socialist much like Mr. Feingold. But will they support him? I would say very few. But as Mr. Sidney's case demonstrates, once the fourth amendment is violated, can the first be far behind. Indeed, the reincarnation of Abe Lincoln stalks this land in the name of W. Bush. How short are the memories of those who run the press?

Algernon Sidney

Iraq Prison Business

Unlike Vigo County, it is easy for Americans to get jobs in Iraq. The prison business is booming. (As are many things in Iraq these days.)

According to an article in Countercurrents, the number of prisoners has gone from 16,000 to possibly "hundreds of thousands" in the last year. U.S. watch torture on prisoners of which probably 90% are innocent. Even if it is due to the other 10%, we still have to feed and house 100%. If the choice is genocide or leave, I would chose leave. But the choice is left to Hitler, er I mean Herr Bush. I certainly hope we don't keep feeding and housing these folks indefinitely. Even Commie Clinton set a 5 year limit on American welfare.

Rock MY World Neal Cavuto

I missed this program but wish I had seen it. Neal questioned if a third party candidate might have a good chance in 2008 given the unpopularity of the Big Two. Libertarian Party Chairman Mike Dixon called the two parties extreme. I agree.

It isn't easy being Green

Still trying to court the broad Nader to Buchanan libertarians, I suggest most Greens can join us when their quest for ballot access fails. If the Greens can admit much of their agenda is unconstitutional, they can move their controlling ways down to local levels. By teaming with Libertarians (at least for the short term) their voices will be heard on civil libertarian issues and diplomacy over war on foreign issues. Indeed, I am in the minority on seeing trouble in Afghanistan and would appreciate the company.

I would like to see the Greens sap Democrat support. Until that happens, I must consider us reluctant allies against corporate government.

BUSH AND HITLER

Jay Bennish, a teacher in a Colorado high school, has made the news for asking his students to compare Bush with Hitler. Some think these young people need protecting from thoughts about evil and comparisons with our god who we call "President" Bush. News programs air this as if proposing a question is so out of the ordinary it is worth coverage. Where were these news organizations when Bush was tricking the country into supporting a war with an innocent country?
(And now is it Iran's turn? I don't think The People will believe the lies this time.)

News has become spin. Spin for big corporations. Spin for the warfare state.
Sometimes they state facts in an emotional manner to put a slant on the truth. The worst example of this was when David Duke was running for office in Louisiana. He stated his positions and showed how they were "Republican" stances. Yet he was called a racist and President H. W. Bush denounced him, even though it was Bush who was a member of the racist organization, NAACP.

A good friend said Bush W. was a "reincarnation of Lincoln." This would be a good comparison. I've always said Lincoln was worse than Hitler because Hitler could destroy all of Europe and Africa and not do the damage to liberty and mankind that Lincoln did. W. has less to destroy, but he still stomps on the embers of our smouldering freedom.

My comparison would be with John Adams and W. W. is like an uneducated Adams. If Adams were stupid enough to go to war I don't know if he would have been reelected. But war would have ended his thoughts about an Adams monoarchy line.

But I ask you not to agree with me on every issue. I do ask you to agree with me that investigating things, comparing things, and seeking truth, are not crimes. I consider ignorance a crime, but a crime for which we are all punished without need for governments.

Andrea "Big Sista" Neal

On the agenda for the County Chair meeting of the LPIN is a talk by an Indiana Policy Review person. Although they have excellent economists, I can't stand Andrea Neal's columns. I don't consider them libertarian. Her latest support for Major Moves legislation is just the latest stupidity coming from an ex-teacher. (Although I should agree with stealing money from the north - I80- I believe on its way to the 8th District almost all ill gotten gains will fall in Indy. This bad law where we are selling out to foreigners - explained at the State LP website - www.lpin.org - may cost Indiana a libertarian leaning State Rep. Bruce Borders who supports this Republican folly. This is not the year to support foreign Major Moves.)

Unrelated to this but also at the County Chair meeting, the Count Us! group has been added to our links. They seem to be "Nader Greens which I am gathering from their open government section. Libertarians from Nader to Pat Buchanan don't bother me but that Andrea Neal will start off in favor of something like free trade and end up supporting NAFTA and CAFTA. She seems to be a statist mole (of Republican stripe) in the liberty movement. Lefty Dems have trouble supporting liberty or Libertarian candidates due to their indoctrination, but this Neal should be shown for what she is. From now on think Andrea "Big Sista" Neal.

"Wisdom of Crowds" Redux

Finished reading this book. The review (also mentioned below) is very good especially the mention that a limited government puts more power in the hands of the democracy. Author Surowiecki does do a good job explaining a sometimes tangled subject. I came away with a good Jefferson quote I believe I heard somewhere before. From the book, "There is no reason to think that experts are better at making those decisions than the average voter. Thomas Jefferson, for one, thought it likely that they might be worse. 'State a moral case to a ploughman and a professor,' he wrote. 'The former will decide it as well and often better than the latter because he has not been led astray by artificial rules.'" Recall if you will how ahead of their times Jefferson and Madison were as they (Republicans) went to the secret meetings of the Democrat societies which were so feared at the time.

The County Chairs of the Libertarian Party are meeting this weekend. State Party Chair is giving instructions on Robert's Rules of Order for productive meetings. At the State Central Committee Meetings I see us too often as being Surowieck's dreaded concensus rather than a group of independents. I may suggest times (at least in these small groups) where it may be advantageous to waive the rules. One problem is that if one (like myself) presents a resolution, five or six people will have their say before the presenter can respond. It would make for a better informed group (less of what some call "groupthink") if the presenter is allowed to answer the questions or opinions as they are presented. Another break in the rules for small groups we should consider is a secret ballot. In most votes it does not matter but I believe it will force others to come to their own conclusions. Too often we don't want to be out of step with the group. (peer pressure?) Top down parties have failed miserably, but for the Libertarian Party (or any other party) to be superior it must not only be bottom up, but must follow the four rules mentioned in the book. Otherwise we can only be as intelligent as our most intelligent person. I'll repeat the four rules explained in the review:

Surowiecki argues that “four conditions characterize wise crowds: diversity of opinion (each person should have some private information, even if it’s just an eccentric interpretation of known facts), independence (people’s opinions are not determined by the opinions of those around them), decentralization (people are able to specialize and draw on local knowledge), and aggregation (some mechanism exists for turning private judgments into a collective decision”

The collective wisdom of Libertarians can be aggregated in Yahoo polls. We are already doing this at county and district levels, but we will become more wise if we can extend our polls to all libertarians. (This should extend to the entire voting population, but the other parties do not encourage free thought. Perhaps their motto should be, "there is no such thing as a free thought!")

We may get tagged with being democrats or republicans, but hey, no other parties are living up to those names.

Two Parties

TWO PARTIES


There are two political parties in the United States. They are the Libertarian Party and the Anti-Libertarian Party.

The Anti-Libertarian Party is the party of war and meddles with the world to preserve the balance of power. The Libertarian Party is the party of peace and follows the advice of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson advocating avoidance of entangling alliances.

The Anti-Libertarian Party is the party of monarchy. Libertarians are enemies of monarchy.

The Anti-Libertarian Party is the party of the affluent, using corporate welfare and manipulation of the money supply to control markets and power not controlled through war. The Libertarian Party will hold these thieves responsible.

Anti-Libertarians have displayed a hatred and distrust of the people by campaigning one way and voting the opposite. Libertarians are appealing to the people through reason and will govern with principle.

Anti-Libertarians have increased the public debt and taxes. Libertarians favor reduction of both taxes and public debt.

Anti-Libertarians are using the "Patriot Act" and a political supreme Court to invade and sometimes take homes in violation of the U.S. Constitution and many State Constitutions. Libertarians support the Constitutions of the United States and the rights of the Citizens of the States.

Anti-Libertarians favor an established church (from Christian Crusader to Secular Humanist). Libertarians favor religious freedom with no government support.

This contrast is not an original idea. The wording is similar to what one paper used for the election of 1800. It can be found in the book "Adams vs. Jefferson The Tumultuous Election of 1800" by John Ferling (2004).

It is time for Citizens to pay attention to what is taking place around them. Like the 1790s, we must soon choose between freedom and oppression.


By Ed Gluck, LPVC Chair