Monday, March 15, 2010

Highlights from the Young Americans for Liberty Rally Mar. 8

I promised last week to give some highlights "when time permits". It took a week for the time to permit, but here are the memorable moments for me:

I was impressed with singer Jordan Page, who sings protest songs in a style somewhat reminiscent of those from the Vietnam era, but with a harder edge to the music. I particularly liked "The Pendulum Swings" and "The War Machine". I also noticed that he was wearing an "End the Fed" T-shirt. The young people are remarkably sophisticated about their understanding of the Federal Reserve Bank, a subject on which the vast majority of their elders are completely ignorant.

Judge Andrew Napolitano hosts an Internet-radio show each evening at 7 pm on foxnews.com. His style of interviewing is not journalistic, but asks loaded questions as a softball lead-in to the respondent's answers. Sometimes, the questions turn into speeches; but it's good for rousing the troops.

Here are quotations from Judge Napolitano's guests:

Sheriff Richard Mack (founder of OathKeepers):
"Nothing is more important than for an official to uphold his oath to defend the Constitution."
(Quoting Judge Antonin Scalia:) "The Constitution protects us from our own best intentions."
"The sheriff is the last line of defense against federal tyranny… Sheriffs have no duty to obey unconstitutional laws."

Candidate Ron Hood, former state representative running for the Republican nomination in the 7th Congressional District:
"State legislators are not interested in the Tenth Amendment – they're interested in federal bribe money."

State House candidate Alicia Healy:
"People have been deceived as to what government can do for them."

Judge Napolitano:
"The greatest right, after right to life, is the right to be left alone."

Dave Grabaskas, president of the Young Americans for Liberty at Ohio State University:
"There is a two-party system: the Establisment vs. us."
(Question from Judge Napolitano: What made young people realize the need to change?")
"[The federal government] abandoning everything we hold dear, and seeing [President] Obama elected and doing the same things the Republicans did."
(Reaction from Judge Napolitano: Tell the neoconservatives and social conservatives, "Go back to the Democratic Party from where you came!")

From Ron Paul's speech:

"'Preventive war' means that we initiate the war… We just marched in, why don't we just march home?"
"The Constitution is supposed to hold the government in check, not hold the people in check!"
"When the government is bankrupt, the federal government will become irrelevant because it will be unable to bribe us."
"The Second Amendment wasn't put there for rabbit hunting."
"We've had too much bipartisanship. [It is] overwhelming when it endorses Keynesian economics." He observed that both parties support the Federal Reserve Bank and continuing the wars abroad.

On U.S. foreign policy:
"Principled non-intervention is not isolationism."
"Bring all the troops home – not just from the Middle East, but from Germany, Japan [and everywhere else]."
"The United States Government has a policy of assassinating U.S. citizens if they are deemed a threat by unknown people in the Administration – without trial or due process of law."
"Instead of giving other nations money or bombs, why don't we just give them friendship and trade? … Look at what we achieved with peace in Vietnam, compared to what we lost with war in Vietnam."

"The solution to economic problems is very simple: just get government out of the way. We don't need bailouts, just get rid of the income tax!"
"It's your life and your responsibility. You have the right to keep the fruits of your labor."
The principle of income tax: "The government owns you and lets you keep a certain percentage of your income." Rep. Paul cited Selective Service (registration for the military draft) as another example of the same principle.

"The real purpose of life is to work for virtue and excellence."

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