The reason Reagan was so popular is not what he did, but what he said:
Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.
Man is not free unless government is limited.
Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.
They say the world has become too complex for simple answers. They are wrong.
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism. I think conservatism is really a misnomer just as liberalism is a misnomer for the liberals–if we were back in the days of the Revolution, so-called conservatives today would be the Liberals and the liberals would be the Tories. The basis of conservatism is a desire for less government interference or less centralized authority or more individual freedom and this is a pretty general description also of what libertarianism is.
Unfortunately, most conservatives think Ronald Reagan was a great president for what he did: increasing the budget and the deficit, undeclared wars, raising taxes, amnesty, and inane compromises. And because Reagan is considered to be the best we can do, we keep drifting MORE to the left!
It must be our goal to surpass the legacy of Ronald Reagan, by actually doing what we say we stand for: limited government, balanced budgets, paying off the deficit, no entitlements, individual responsibility, no big brother, and getting the heck out of the U.N.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
New State Project
I like the idea behind the free state project. Have a bunch of libertarian-minded individuals move into an area, and turn it into a liberty stronghold and start the revolution at a local level.
Absolutely great idea. But its not working fast enough. Plus New Hampshire is way too cold (I'm from Arizona) and with over a million people, there's huge amounts of political inertia to fight.
Why don't we just make a new state from the ground up?
Think about it, we could write our own constitution based upon the principals of liberty!
I propose that we focus on one of the territories. Specifically the Northern Marianas Islands. They have less than 90,000 people, meaning that far fewer of us need to move compared to NH. And they reportedly have the most equable temperature in the world and a large immigrant population already.
But any of the territories, aside from Puerto Rico, would work exceptionally well. If several thousand of us move into one of these regions, we can take over in no time, with less sacrifice and far more gain.
Just think of all the fun we can have with 2 Senators and a couple of Representatives!
Thoughts?
Absolutely great idea. But its not working fast enough. Plus New Hampshire is way too cold (I'm from Arizona) and with over a million people, there's huge amounts of political inertia to fight.
Why don't we just make a new state from the ground up?
Think about it, we could write our own constitution based upon the principals of liberty!
I propose that we focus on one of the territories. Specifically the Northern Marianas Islands. They have less than 90,000 people, meaning that far fewer of us need to move compared to NH. And they reportedly have the most equable temperature in the world and a large immigrant population already.
But any of the territories, aside from Puerto Rico, would work exceptionally well. If several thousand of us move into one of these regions, we can take over in no time, with less sacrifice and far more gain.
Just think of all the fun we can have with 2 Senators and a couple of Representatives!
Thoughts?
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Non-winner-take-all electoral college
As some of you may know, I can't stand the winner-take-all system for the electoral college. Whoever wins the most votes (be it 87% or a mere 34% in a three way race) wins ALL votes for the state during the presidential race. Not only is this horrendously unfair (particularly in mega-states like California and Florida) but it all but eliminates any chance of having third-parties gain any support, because you have to 'win' first place.
Now don't get me wrong, I LIKE the main aspect of the electoral college: it gives smaller states more of a voice in who becomes president. However, what I can't stand is the fact that a few 'swing states' are the only ones who really determine the outcome of the election. The presidency is the only national elected office we have (well, that and the VP, more on that later). EVERY state should be a swing state.
Okay, here's my plan. Bear in mind, the president is not (and shouldn't be) elected directly by public. He/she is elected by electors from the electoral college. All I want to do is tweak how the electors are chosen.
First off, this idea builds off my proposed congressional reforms from way back in September 2006 (go check it out). Very basically, congressional representatives are chosen statewide (i.e. no districts). If the state has 6 seats, then the top 6 win. My tweak would be that for each person who gets (re)elected to congress, then their party gets one elector.
Since the electoral college is based purely on the number of seats in Congress, we have to look at the Senate as well. In order to do the same thing as above, senators would have to be elected every 2 years. To do this we could add a third senator to every state, ensuring an election every cycle and increasing the power of smaller states (Yay!).
In any case, we should still have the Presidential candidates name on the ballot. But whoever gets the most direct votes for President would only get 2 electors, not the whole shebang. The rest would be determined by the # of incoming congressmen.
Many more states would be in play this way, as people would be voting more for parties than people. Presidents are much more likely to have their party in power in congress, and there would be more new people voted into (and out of) congress on a regular basis. Not only that, but third parties can actually start picking up votes in the electoral college. Every state comes into play, congressional elections soar in importance, and become harder to hold on to.
The main effect of this is that party branding and party loyalty become paramount. Coattails become insanely important, in both directions. To maximize your vote for the president, you have to vote for their party in congress, even if that means voting against your popular and powerful representative from the other party in favor of a new guy.
Best of all, this kind of reform can be started at the state level. State legislators can abolish congressional districts, and make congressional seats state-wide elections. They can change how their electoral college votes are distributed. This sort of change can be spread slowly, reforming the system from the bottom up. And it is designed to force new blood into Congress, which can facilitate other revolutionary ideas along the way...
Lurker
Now don't get me wrong, I LIKE the main aspect of the electoral college: it gives smaller states more of a voice in who becomes president. However, what I can't stand is the fact that a few 'swing states' are the only ones who really determine the outcome of the election. The presidency is the only national elected office we have (well, that and the VP, more on that later). EVERY state should be a swing state.
Okay, here's my plan. Bear in mind, the president is not (and shouldn't be) elected directly by public. He/she is elected by electors from the electoral college. All I want to do is tweak how the electors are chosen.
First off, this idea builds off my proposed congressional reforms from way back in September 2006 (go check it out). Very basically, congressional representatives are chosen statewide (i.e. no districts). If the state has 6 seats, then the top 6 win. My tweak would be that for each person who gets (re)elected to congress, then their party gets one elector.
Since the electoral college is based purely on the number of seats in Congress, we have to look at the Senate as well. In order to do the same thing as above, senators would have to be elected every 2 years. To do this we could add a third senator to every state, ensuring an election every cycle and increasing the power of smaller states (Yay!).
In any case, we should still have the Presidential candidates name on the ballot. But whoever gets the most direct votes for President would only get 2 electors, not the whole shebang. The rest would be determined by the # of incoming congressmen.
Many more states would be in play this way, as people would be voting more for parties than people. Presidents are much more likely to have their party in power in congress, and there would be more new people voted into (and out of) congress on a regular basis. Not only that, but third parties can actually start picking up votes in the electoral college. Every state comes into play, congressional elections soar in importance, and become harder to hold on to.
The main effect of this is that party branding and party loyalty become paramount. Coattails become insanely important, in both directions. To maximize your vote for the president, you have to vote for their party in congress, even if that means voting against your popular and powerful representative from the other party in favor of a new guy.
Best of all, this kind of reform can be started at the state level. State legislators can abolish congressional districts, and make congressional seats state-wide elections. They can change how their electoral college votes are distributed. This sort of change can be spread slowly, reforming the system from the bottom up. And it is designed to force new blood into Congress, which can facilitate other revolutionary ideas along the way...
Lurker
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Ron Paul wins the electoral college?
Okay, Ron Paul didn't get the Republican Presidential Nomination. His name isn't going to be on the ballots this fall.
But there is one, final, hail mary tactic we can use to our advantage, something created by the founding fathers for just this very situation:
The Electoral College.
The President of the United States is NOT voted into office by the people. He (and the vice-president) are elected by delegates in the Electoral College. And they can vote for whoever the heck they want!
This is our last chance. If Barr and Baldwin are on board, any delegates they win can vote for Ron Paul instead! With Texas out of play for the main parties, we can get 34 delegates uncontested.
Not only that, we can expand the DVDs4DELEGATES program to convert the electors for McCain AND Obama!
Think about it. Republicans want to hold onto the White House at almost any cost: McCain proves that. But if we can reach those electors, we can make them understand that the founders empowered them to make the best choice for the country, and that they have the last voice in the process. Disgruntled Hillary supporters are probably very well represented in the electoral college. We can get them on board too.
"Winning" on election night does not mean you win the presidential vote. To quote Wikipedia:
"Electors chosen on Election Day meet in their respective state capitals (or in the case of Washington, D.C., within the District) on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, at which time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for President and Vice President."
WE CAN STILL WIN! Even better, we can win using the very mechanisms designed by the founding fathers!
But there is one, final, hail mary tactic we can use to our advantage, something created by the founding fathers for just this very situation:
The Electoral College.
The President of the United States is NOT voted into office by the people. He (and the vice-president) are elected by delegates in the Electoral College. And they can vote for whoever the heck they want!
This is our last chance. If Barr and Baldwin are on board, any delegates they win can vote for Ron Paul instead! With Texas out of play for the main parties, we can get 34 delegates uncontested.
Not only that, we can expand the DVDs4DELEGATES program to convert the electors for McCain AND Obama!
Think about it. Republicans want to hold onto the White House at almost any cost: McCain proves that. But if we can reach those electors, we can make them understand that the founders empowered them to make the best choice for the country, and that they have the last voice in the process. Disgruntled Hillary supporters are probably very well represented in the electoral college. We can get them on board too.
"Winning" on election night does not mean you win the presidential vote. To quote Wikipedia:
"Electors chosen on Election Day meet in their respective state capitals (or in the case of Washington, D.C., within the District) on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December, at which time they cast their electoral votes on separate ballots for President and Vice President."
WE CAN STILL WIN! Even better, we can win using the very mechanisms designed by the founding fathers!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
I'm going to Comicon!
The March on Washington was awesome. There were tens of thousands of people there. I got to protest at the Federal Reserve, boo at the IRS building, and finally see Ron Paul in person! Tons of speakers talking about the NAU, imminent marshal law, the Fed, and even some allies from the progressive movement.
Anyway, this weekend I'm going to be in San Diego for the Comicon! I've never been before, but some of my friends are going so thought that it'd be the perfect ending for my month long tour of the US. I'll be the only guy there wearing a blue cap with the presidential seal. My friends have no idea the levels of geekdom I will subject them to. MWHAHAHAHA!
Next post should be about the impending EXODUS...
Lurker
Anyway, this weekend I'm going to be in San Diego for the Comicon! I've never been before, but some of my friends are going so thought that it'd be the perfect ending for my month long tour of the US. I'll be the only guy there wearing a blue cap with the presidential seal. My friends have no idea the levels of geekdom I will subject them to. MWHAHAHAHA!
Next post should be about the impending EXODUS...
Lurker
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Next
I've been meaning to do this for a while: updating everybody on where I'm going for the Peace Corps. Sorry for the delay, I myself have waited for what seems like forever to find out what country I'm going to and exactly when I leave.
So here's the scoop: I'm not going.
Why? What happened, you say? Well, the truth is, I really wanted to go last summer, fresh out of college, and see the world before kids and mortgages and get paid doing it. But that didn't happen, due to lack of communication and missing the window of opportunity.
*sigh*
Basically the same thing happened this time around. I'm just so frustrated by the endless hoops and impenetrable nature of the agency I'm calling the whole thing off.
So have I given up on my dreams of "Saving The World" and making it a better place? No, in fact, I have been refining them. During the last year I have been working as a teacher's aide for a charter school, tutoring at-risk junior high students in math, science, and social studies and hopefully making a difference. I have also been heavily involved in the Ron Paul presidential campaign, at long last finding like minded libertarians conspiring to take over the Republican party and save this country from the excesses of neo-conservatives and big government and the coming North American Union. I even went to the New Hampshire primaries last January to volunteer. It was cold.
So my current plans are thus: I will be going to Washington DC for a Ron Paul freedom march culminating on the 12th of July. I hereby invite any freedom-loving (or anti-bush or whatever) people to come along. I've never been to DC before, and I plan to make the most of it.
The very next day (the 13th) I will be flying to Washington state for the week-long family reunion.
Then, from September 1st thru the 4th in will be in St. Paul, Minnesota protesting the Republican National Convention. It should be quite an event, and hopefully the last straw for McCain.
Other than that... my future is pretty flexible and uncertain. I am exploring job opportunities across the world. My friend Matt is studying Judo in Japan, and I'm considering joining him there as well. I have some wildly ambitious political ideas I'd like to try out in a few different countries... however with the current direction the country is heading in (massive inflation and two big spending senators running for prez) I think I'll probibly stay in the states and do whatever I can to save my country from a looming financial meltdown.
Thats pretty much everything. If you have any advice, job offerings, or even a couch I can sleep on for a few days... drop me a line!
So here's the scoop: I'm not going.
Why? What happened, you say? Well, the truth is, I really wanted to go last summer, fresh out of college, and see the world before kids and mortgages and get paid doing it. But that didn't happen, due to lack of communication and missing the window of opportunity.
*sigh*
Basically the same thing happened this time around. I'm just so frustrated by the endless hoops and impenetrable nature of the agency I'm calling the whole thing off.
So have I given up on my dreams of "Saving The World" and making it a better place? No, in fact, I have been refining them. During the last year I have been working as a teacher's aide for a charter school, tutoring at-risk junior high students in math, science, and social studies and hopefully making a difference. I have also been heavily involved in the Ron Paul presidential campaign, at long last finding like minded libertarians conspiring to take over the Republican party and save this country from the excesses of neo-conservatives and big government and the coming North American Union. I even went to the New Hampshire primaries last January to volunteer. It was cold.
So my current plans are thus: I will be going to Washington DC for a Ron Paul freedom march culminating on the 12th of July. I hereby invite any freedom-loving (or anti-bush or whatever) people to come along. I've never been to DC before, and I plan to make the most of it.
The very next day (the 13th) I will be flying to Washington state for the week-long family reunion.
Then, from September 1st thru the 4th in will be in St. Paul, Minnesota protesting the Republican National Convention. It should be quite an event, and hopefully the last straw for McCain.
Other than that... my future is pretty flexible and uncertain. I am exploring job opportunities across the world. My friend Matt is studying Judo in Japan, and I'm considering joining him there as well. I have some wildly ambitious political ideas I'd like to try out in a few different countries... however with the current direction the country is heading in (massive inflation and two big spending senators running for prez) I think I'll probibly stay in the states and do whatever I can to save my country from a looming financial meltdown.
Thats pretty much everything. If you have any advice, job offerings, or even a couch I can sleep on for a few days... drop me a line!
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