Once again, a close study of American History offers clues into avoiding repeated errors in the darker aspects of American government. Matthew Lyon was "an unlikely hero", sacrificing himself for the cause of anti-censorship. In the twisted history of the American Conservative movement, John Adam's Alien and Sedition Act was a gross detraction from core ideology.
Click title link for another terrific article from Vermont's Bennington Banner contributor, Audrey Pietrucha.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Ron Paul Commentary on Mosque in Manhattan
Ron Paul, thinks the mosque is a good idea. The more I hear him talk, the more I comprehend. I am grateful that I am in good company and that there are others out there who share our feelings about bringing people together in a conciliatory manner and upholding private property rights and rights to worship. End of story.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Book Review: The Conscience of a Libertarian by Wayne Allyn Root
This is an unexpected endorsement of The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the citizen revolution with God, guns, gambling & tax cuts by Wayne Allyn Root. Root was the 2008 Vice Presidential nominee for the Libertarian party on the ticket with Bob Barr.
I picked this book up on a trip to Utah last year, and I could not bring myself to read beyond chapter one. I experienced Root, at that time, to be out of touch with the economic reality for many Americans and I did not have faith that I would find myself anywhere in the pages of his book. I like books that help me find pieces of myself, which are undoubtedly scattered throughout a wide range of spiritual, political and fictional works from Austin's Pride and Prejudice to John Adams by McCullough. So Root's work collected dust on my nightstand for a year.
A friend posted something on Facebook about Ayn Rand, Russian writer and philosopher who wrote Atlas Shrugged and other contemporary works with cult followings. Rand was raised in socialism in the early 1900s, defected to America in the 1930's and despite exposure to America during the Great Depression, was a quick convert to capitalism and a champion of individual freedoms. A superficial study of Rand exposed her atheism (which repelled me to due my own struggles linking morality with freedom reclamation and preservation) yet implicated her in championing personal responsibility and the founding Mother of Libertarianism. I was intrigued, so rather than buy Atlas Shrugged, I visited my own nightstand and reopened Root's The Conscience of a Libertarian and began again.
Root is a scholar of Barry Goldwater, whose conservative principles I have yet to read, but if you are reading this, you might study them as well. Root is a self-described Bob Barr on steroids and this is reflected in his simple ideas of dismantling the federal government as we know it and encouraging toleration of state and local regulations.
Root brilliantly compares the American voter to an abusive housewife and is almost as relentless in his attack of the Obama administration as he is on his own former GOP party. He states a compelling case on why the two-party system is a failure in this nation and how the historical executive branch GOPs have expanded the federal government worse than many democrats. Regarding Obama's execution of promises made on the campaign trail, Root describes Obama as doing an adequate job of "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic".
Root deftly explains how one can be a champion of personal freedom (which I interpret as the ultimate toleration and compassion) such as gays in the military, prostitution, pornography, gambling and STILL locally and personally reject any or all of these if that is local or personal moral obligation and will. We are reminded that these activities, (i.e. Prohibition) are going to occur anyway, and the state governments ought to generate revenue off of these activities rather than pillage the small business owner, middle income earner and property holder. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have".
How religion and morality became interwoven with the GOP deserves further study and another post. I encourage anyone currently or formerly drawn to the GOP but feeling like an abuse victim whose spouse only seems to love them during voting season, to take a closer look at the Libertarian movement and Root's book. I am certain it will earn more accolades from me as I read further.
...It cannot be repeated too often that the Constitution is a limitation on government, not on private individuals-that it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government-that it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizens' protection against the government. ~ Ayn Rand
I picked this book up on a trip to Utah last year, and I could not bring myself to read beyond chapter one. I experienced Root, at that time, to be out of touch with the economic reality for many Americans and I did not have faith that I would find myself anywhere in the pages of his book. I like books that help me find pieces of myself, which are undoubtedly scattered throughout a wide range of spiritual, political and fictional works from Austin's Pride and Prejudice to John Adams by McCullough. So Root's work collected dust on my nightstand for a year.
A friend posted something on Facebook about Ayn Rand, Russian writer and philosopher who wrote Atlas Shrugged and other contemporary works with cult followings. Rand was raised in socialism in the early 1900s, defected to America in the 1930's and despite exposure to America during the Great Depression, was a quick convert to capitalism and a champion of individual freedoms. A superficial study of Rand exposed her atheism (which repelled me to due my own struggles linking morality with freedom reclamation and preservation) yet implicated her in championing personal responsibility and the founding Mother of Libertarianism. I was intrigued, so rather than buy Atlas Shrugged, I visited my own nightstand and reopened Root's The Conscience of a Libertarian and began again.
Root is a scholar of Barry Goldwater, whose conservative principles I have yet to read, but if you are reading this, you might study them as well. Root is a self-described Bob Barr on steroids and this is reflected in his simple ideas of dismantling the federal government as we know it and encouraging toleration of state and local regulations.
Root brilliantly compares the American voter to an abusive housewife and is almost as relentless in his attack of the Obama administration as he is on his own former GOP party. He states a compelling case on why the two-party system is a failure in this nation and how the historical executive branch GOPs have expanded the federal government worse than many democrats. Regarding Obama's execution of promises made on the campaign trail, Root describes Obama as doing an adequate job of "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic".
Root deftly explains how one can be a champion of personal freedom (which I interpret as the ultimate toleration and compassion) such as gays in the military, prostitution, pornography, gambling and STILL locally and personally reject any or all of these if that is local or personal moral obligation and will. We are reminded that these activities, (i.e. Prohibition) are going to occur anyway, and the state governments ought to generate revenue off of these activities rather than pillage the small business owner, middle income earner and property holder. As Thomas Jefferson once said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is strong enough to take everything you have".
How religion and morality became interwoven with the GOP deserves further study and another post. I encourage anyone currently or formerly drawn to the GOP but feeling like an abuse victim whose spouse only seems to love them during voting season, to take a closer look at the Libertarian movement and Root's book. I am certain it will earn more accolades from me as I read further.
...It cannot be repeated too often that the Constitution is a limitation on government, not on private individuals-that it does not prescribe the conduct of private individuals, only the conduct of the government-that it is not a charter for government power, but a charter of the citizens' protection against the government. ~ Ayn Rand
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
LDS Church issues statement on immigration
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a rare political statement on the topic of immigration. The statement was viewed by many to offer compassionate direction regarding reforms in the immigration system. Click link for full text article from ksl.com.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Mormon Helping Hands Sends Thousands into California Parks
Click link for full story. An excellent example of helping build and restore community when budgets are being squeezed at all levels of government. Gardening, litter pickup, stocking food shelves - things we can do to build community.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
What does Avatar have to do with God and TARP?
I read a blog post by an independent bookseller in my community today that took jabs at the simple plot of Avatar and mocked the masses who were captivated with the film. The writer, assuming the smug tone that all intelligent people share his thoughts, called the movie a “grade-school primer” and accused Avatar creator James Cameron of remaking his older movies like Titanic and Terminator rather than creating new ones.
Now I don’t pretend to know the political ideals of this blogger, but I bet if I guessed left-of-center, My odds would be more than 50% correct. His post represents the complications of yielding to the misguided principle that the world has no black and white, just gray. Things are.. well…complicated.
James Cameron has tapped into something primal with us, so primal that his films have grossed $5.75 billion worldwide. Avatar was nominated for nine and won three Academy Awards. Avatar was credited for Cameron’s advanced cinematography and technological breakthroughs. Despite the long anticipation of new 3D cameras, we are a people so accustomed to communicating and organizing our lives with invisible signals that travel to outer space and back, that I just don’t buy that we spent our money to see the technology of Avatar.
If Hollywood executives can be credited with anything culturally significant, it is that they know how to place their corporate finger on the pulse of America, or humanity. So what does Avatar’s success tell us about the pulse of America? What are we collectively thinking and feeling to find such common ground with a film?
The world has turned so gray, and well....complicated, that for many of us, Avatar represents a return to black and white (under the guise of beauty and blue); a simple moral struggle and of course, a honorable love story complete with a Pandora-style temple marriage. Avatar represents a return to a time when things were simpler. I believe Avatar triggered a complex nostalgia by mass proportions; some truth resonating in our souls that we are all familiar with and find comfort in.
We are a people longing for a reason to find God. On Avatar’s Pandora, she is called Eywa. We are a people longing for a pure connection to each other and the world around us. We long to hear and believe the truth that God/Eywa hears prayers and protects the balance of life.
Progressive messaging that liberals promote and subscribe to negates the good/evil notions that humans have held for thousands of years. This new messaging tells us things are complicated, there is no such thing as good and evil, just webs and webs of complicated structures and decisions. This is where TARP is rooted. This sweeping action that extended mercy while removing justice, appears tender and heart-felt and those who question are labeled cold-hearted right-winged monsters. Perhaps winged “Last-Shadows” is a better metaphor.
Deep down, each of us is born with the intuitive understanding that mercy cannot rob justice. Avatar reminds us of this fact, even if many of us are not yet in touch with it. If we would leave our Avatars to apply the principles we are so fond of in Avatar into our earthly lives, we may restore the beauty lost by liberal bulldozers over the faith in our Republic.
~ H.L. Whitley
Now I don’t pretend to know the political ideals of this blogger, but I bet if I guessed left-of-center, My odds would be more than 50% correct. His post represents the complications of yielding to the misguided principle that the world has no black and white, just gray. Things are.. well…complicated.
James Cameron has tapped into something primal with us, so primal that his films have grossed $5.75 billion worldwide. Avatar was nominated for nine and won three Academy Awards. Avatar was credited for Cameron’s advanced cinematography and technological breakthroughs. Despite the long anticipation of new 3D cameras, we are a people so accustomed to communicating and organizing our lives with invisible signals that travel to outer space and back, that I just don’t buy that we spent our money to see the technology of Avatar.
If Hollywood executives can be credited with anything culturally significant, it is that they know how to place their corporate finger on the pulse of America, or humanity. So what does Avatar’s success tell us about the pulse of America? What are we collectively thinking and feeling to find such common ground with a film?
The world has turned so gray, and well....complicated, that for many of us, Avatar represents a return to black and white (under the guise of beauty and blue); a simple moral struggle and of course, a honorable love story complete with a Pandora-style temple marriage. Avatar represents a return to a time when things were simpler. I believe Avatar triggered a complex nostalgia by mass proportions; some truth resonating in our souls that we are all familiar with and find comfort in.
We are a people longing for a reason to find God. On Avatar’s Pandora, she is called Eywa. We are a people longing for a pure connection to each other and the world around us. We long to hear and believe the truth that God/Eywa hears prayers and protects the balance of life.
Progressive messaging that liberals promote and subscribe to negates the good/evil notions that humans have held for thousands of years. This new messaging tells us things are complicated, there is no such thing as good and evil, just webs and webs of complicated structures and decisions. This is where TARP is rooted. This sweeping action that extended mercy while removing justice, appears tender and heart-felt and those who question are labeled cold-hearted right-winged monsters. Perhaps winged “Last-Shadows” is a better metaphor.
Deep down, each of us is born with the intuitive understanding that mercy cannot rob justice. Avatar reminds us of this fact, even if many of us are not yet in touch with it. If we would leave our Avatars to apply the principles we are so fond of in Avatar into our earthly lives, we may restore the beauty lost by liberal bulldozers over the faith in our Republic.
~ H.L. Whitley
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