A new bill being proposed in the senate will give Obama special powers to “safeguard” public and private networks and entities from a cyber attack.
From The Hill:
A trial has recently concluded in a California Federal Court over the issue of same sex marriage. The plaintiffs in Perry v. Schwarzenegger seek to overturn California’s gay marriage ban (Prop. 8th) Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The case is unique on many counts including the fact that the Judge conducted a full courtroom trial rather than a bare exchange of paper arguments. It is also unique in that the plaintiffs are represented by a well-known conservative attorney who has used the case to shape a fascinating conservative argument for same sex marriage.
Ted Olson is a conservative’s conservative. He was counsel to George W. Bush in Bush v. Gore and served as Bush’s Solicitor General. He defended Reagan in the Iran Contra scandal and assisted in the Paula Jones case against Bill Clinton. He is a founding member of the Federalist Society and a longtime critic of judicial activism. And he believes he has constructed a conservative case for gay marriage that can prevail before the current Supreme Court.
Origins of the Movement
I have been active in libertarian circles for more than a decade, so when Ron Paul’s Presidential campaign raised more than $6 million in one day for our Presidential candidate, I was jumping for joy. That was in December, 2007, 
and was in conjunction with a nationwide “Tea Party” protest of Big Government. At our local event in Georgetown, Ron Paul supporters hosted our own fundraising event in which we wrote “Income Tax”, “Federal Reserve”, and “Invasion of Iraq” on boxes and tossed them out the 2nd story window of the event venue onto the streets of Georgetown.
The “Tea Party” was a nationwide event organized by Ron Paul supporters. Therefore the original concept of the Tea Party was libertarian — in favor of individual liberties (including personal freedoms and the ability to make any choice that does not harm another), limited government, and free markets.
The summer after the MoneyBomb fundraising success, in 2008, I participated in a Revolution March with Ron Paul supporters in DC (that’s me, with the Ron Paul sign at right). The march was quite massive, likely with between 7,500 and 10,000 participants from all across the country. It ended with a concert in front of the nation’s capital which lasted all day.
2009 Resurgence
Things went quiet for a while, until early 2009. That’s when Rick Santelli drew attention for his remarks made regarding the Homeowners Affordability and Stability Plan in February of last year — from the floor of the CME Group during pre-market hours. Santelli accused the gove
rnment of promoting bad behavior and called for a Chicago Tea Party in response. Scattered cheers, whistles and applause could be heard from some of the personnel around the floor.
I participated in my first tea party event when I was asked to speak at the Reston Tea Party (in northern Virginia) on April 15 of last year. My speech focused on an economic issue that I believe important on tax day: repealing the Sixteenth Amendment. In my speech, I discussed how I never was duped into voting for George W. Bush, but that those who did can now redeem themselves by working for liberty in 2009, 2010, and beyond. I was well-received despite the hard rain pouring down on me as I spoke. At the time of my speech, I could tell that a broad coalition of folks were attending the Tea Party, and I surely realized that not all of them would agree with me — especially on social issues. So be it.
Hijacked Tea Party?
But it’s now almost a year later, and the Tea Party seems to be transforming from a libertarian gathering to promote less intrusive government and celebrate our freedoms to a neo-con group promoting War in Iran, criticizing immigrants and diversity, and persecuting those with different religious views. Rachel Maddow has provided excellent coverage of this transformation from the very
get-go, interviewing friends of mine who believe in freedom like Steve Gordon and Dave Weigel repeatedly to gain their perspective on the Tea Party hijack. Maddow was shocked to learn that three so-called Tea Party supporters are now challenging the inspiration behind the Tea Party — U.S. Rep. Ron Paul — for Congress in his rural Lake Jackson/Victoria area district in Texas.
The “far left media” recently crowned Sarah Palin the new mother of the Tea Party movement.
This is problematic for several reasons. First, Palin is employed by FOX News, which has a history of propping up increased foreign intervention — including the War in Iraq. Second, Palin is closely associated with people who support increased interventionism abroad. In her most recent trip to Hong Kong, she brought a prominent media relations strategist/lobbyist named Randy Scheunemann. Third, there is a correct perception that Sarah Palin is scripted — she’s using talking points from people writing speeches for her rather than sharing what she really believes. (I’m sure she has some core beliefs, but what are they?)
Increased foreign interventionism, bigger military budgets, and sending our troops to more countries abroad is the exact opposite of what the original Tea Parties were all about — so libertarians, paleo-cons, and traditional Goldwater conservatives should be rightful skeptics of the strategists who have put into motion the hijacking of the Tea Parties.
There are several national groups claiming to lead the Tea Party. These include:
* The Tea Party Express, which created a campaign called Our Country Deserves Better. Of the $1.3 million raised for their campaign from July to November, $870,000 plus of it went to a single Republican campaign firm in California.
*The Tea Party Nation, run by Judson Phillips, which organized the recent Convention in Tennessee. Libertarian-leaning groups like Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty and Eric Odom’s American Liberty Alliance decided not to participate after dealings with Phillips and his co-organizers.
* The Tea Party Patriots, which is working with FreedomWorks — headed by former U.S. Rep. Dick Armey.
Be wary of any national group trying to control local Tea Party organizations.
How Do We Proceed?
This is not the first time a libertarian concept has been adopted by others. It was libertarian economist Milton Friedman who developed the concept of school vouchers, but most of the credit was never given. The same is true of the Cato Institute, which developed the concept of Social Security privatization but is rarely credited with it. And who was it that was actively calling the War on Drugs a failure from the early 70s onward? Despite that most people recognize the failure of the War on Drugs, the Libertarian Party rarely receives credit for popularizing what is now plainly obvious: that the War on Drugs has not worked.
The original message of the Tea Party — let’s take our government back! — still rings true. It’s up to us to keep fighting to reclaim our personal and economic liberties — and that includes a humble and logical foreign policy.
I would encourage people who share the Republican Liberty Caucus commitment to limited government to attend local Tea Party meetings to get a flavor for what your local branch of the Tea Party is like. Certainly the flavor of the local Tea Party depends on who is leading it. The local Tea Party objectives should determine if it’s a good fit for you. If it isn’t, start your own Tea Party.
If more libertarian-leaning Republicans were leaders in the Tea Party movement, perhaps the Tea Party movement would have a decisively more libertarian flavor.
Overall, the credit for the Tea Party concept goes to the most innovative thinkers in politics today: libertarians and Ron Paul supporters. The current Tea Party is heading in the wrong direction, but whether it can reverse its course is up to us.
There’s never been a better time to get involved in the movement to change our government to one of, by, and for the people. I challenge you to become active in your area. Joining the Republican Liberty Caucus is a great place to start.
I love open carrying my revolver. The wife took these pix tonight at the WalMart here in Casper, Wyoming.
Open carry is legal here, but it is not common. In seven months of living here, the only people we’ve seen carrying are members of the Free State Wyoming project.
The Dallas Voice highlights the race between Dallas Log Cabin Republicans President Rob Schlein and Homer Adams, the husband of former Texas Eagle Forum and current Texas Republican Party Chairwoman Cathie Adams, to chair the North Dallas Precinct 1800.
In some ways, the Schlein-Adams race might seem like an epic battle in the ongoing GOP civil war [...]
In a classic example of what is either near-terminal naivete or a clueless attempt to stir up outrage and make news of a non-story, Politico revealed yesterday that they had documents and comments from the Republican National Committee that suggested that they planned to use "fear tactics" in their fundraising efforts during this year's campaign…. »
“When I hear someone say something along the lines of ‘why do we have to be talking about race? Why can’t we just be people and let that stuff alone’, I hear someone who hasn’t had the occasion to think hard about how the past effects the… »
I hang a United States flag outside my house most days. (When the wind is under 40 MPH in Wyoming, when it’s higher than that it will bend the pole. It’s happened before.)
But most days, it becomes a “burrito flag” within hours:
I go outside several times a day and un-burrito it:
We had a flag up… »
First City ever! in Europe with libertarian governing majorityFrom Eric Dondero:For the first time ever, a libertarian party has secured a working majority in a city of the Netherlands. Dutch media services are reporting that Geert Wilders and his… »
It is nearly as predictable as death and taxes: when a disaster of some sort occurs — e.g., Hurricane Katrina, Missouri River flooding, or earthquakes in China — after the dust settles and the rebuilding effort begins, some economist or pundit… »
MADDOW AND BOW WOWMSNBC Host Questions Republican’s Sanity, Omits Nutty DemsFor “progressive” Democrats who can’t imagine anything standing between them and endless spending opportunities, Senator Jim Bunning’s lone crusade to turn the lights out on… »
(re-post of a blog post I did in June 2008 about George W. Bush. I’m re-posting to quash beliefs that I only dislike liberals and love all Republicans.)
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Is the president being impeached? (I hope so.)
I have been watching a lot of C-SPAN lately. It’s basically the only thing worth watching,… »
I had an hour free this afternoon so I dropped in to visit the Libertarian State Leadership Alliance conference here in Austin to see what was going on and have a little fun.
What was going on was a schedule of meetings and planning sessions and a meeting of the… »
A new bill being proposed in the senate will give Obama special powers to “safeguard” public and private networks and entities from a cyber attack.
From The… »
TS asked on a comment on another thread: “Please explain how people are being ‘forced’ to give away their private assets to help others.” (in regard to progressives/liberals/Democrats).
This really is libertarianism 101, but deserves its own post.
But here ya go:
When you vote in people who want to increase social… »
Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs, a contributor to NewsMax and frequent guest on Fox News, has come out for libertarian-conservative Republican Chuck DeVore in the California primary for US Senate; the Barbara Boxer seat. Republicans Carly Fiorna and… »
By Daryl Luna, Editor of:In Defense of the Constitution
Libertarians are often viewed as pie in the sky idealists, who sit around all day promoting ideas that could never take hold. There is some validity to this if one merely takes the musings of libertarians at face value, but that is… »
Up the independents. I am tired of people trying to put me into a box because they only see other people’s political views in relation to their own. If I am disagreeing with a liberal, that must mean I am a right-wing nutcase. If I am arguing… »
Every once in a while I have opportunity to mention in a conversation that should the government undertake the use of force against the rights of citizens in this country, there would be enough ‘three percenters’ to pose a significant roadblock to the… »
Televangelist Pat Robertson’s psychotic ramblings seem to often catch people off guard, so in the wake of disaster in Chile and warnings of tsunami in Hawaii, I thought I would try a pre-emptive approach. Chile recently elected a center-right leader in the form of Sebastian Pinera. While his right of… »
On the Boulevard in front of the world famous Louvre’From Eric Dondero:Jesse Petrilla an associate of the United American Committee, filmed this while on a trip to Paris. 3 jackbooted NeoNazi skinheads are clearly visible marching in front of the… »
If you missed dynamic speaker, Herman Cain, during CPAC last weekend, take a listen.
Just scroll past the first 4:30 minutes of video to skip the two introductions.
Herman Cain – The Pursuit of Happiness and Healthcare “Deform”
… »
FoxNews Washington Times
