"Sick"

I agree with Andy Myers, who posted this graphic with that comment on his Facebook page yesterday. We have an economy about to collapse, a government that already taxes way too much, and our military spending is almost as large as everyone else put together. When we invest so much in our military, it is no wonder that we have "pro-war, any war" politicians, from globalissues.org.

Here's another sick statistic from the same source, same page. In constant 2008 dollars, world military expenditures have increased 60% since 1998, from $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion dollars.

Prince William is one of us (well, a little bit anyway)

Franklin H. Work

Totally off-topic, but in celebration of Wills and Kate tying the knot today, here's a bit of trivia for you. William's great-great-great grandfather was born in Chillicothe, Ohio. Here's the lineage, from the I Dream of Genealogy website and RootsWeb.

PRINCE WILLIAM OF WALES, b. June 4, 1982, married April 29, 2011 to Catherine MIDDLETON, b. January 9, 1982.

Mother: Diana Frances SPENCER (1961-1997), married 1981 to CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES (1948--), divorced 1996.

Grandmother: Frances Ruth BURKE-ROCHE, married 1954 to Edward John Spencer.

Great-Grandfather: Edmund Maurice BURKE-ROCHE, b. 1885 Chelsea, England, d. 1955 King's Lynn, England

Great-Great-Grandmother: Frances B. WORK, b. 1857 New York, d. 1947 New York; married James Boothby BURKE-ROCHE

Great-Great-Great-Grandfather: Franklin H. WORK, b. February 10, 1819 Chillicothe, Ohio, d. March 16, 1911 New York.

Will the real Governor Kasich please stand up?

David Boaz at the Cato Institute thinks that our governor has become inhabited by an alien life form.

As Dennis Cauchon reports in USA Today, Ohio is spending $1.4 billion on economic development and consuming the work of 400 employees. Most other states are spending a few million. Our largest state, California, has only 25 employees working on it...

A USA TODAY review of two dozen of Ohio’s state-funded projects found many behind schedule or failing to deliver the jobs or investment returns promised.

Mr. Boaz then asks:

And what of Governor Kasich, once a budget-cutting House Budget Committee chairman and opponent of corporate welfare, who was once pictured on 60 Minutes with the Cato Handbook for Congress sitting on his desk? Kasich would stop this nonsense, right? Well, not quite:

Kasich, the new governor, has moved some programs into a quasi-private operation called JobsOhio that he hopes will be faster and more effective.

This new approach positions the government to act more like a risk-taking investor, [Kasich's economic development director Mark] Kvamme says….  [More here.]

Kasich is expanding Ohio’s tradition of large-scale, government-directed development programs. His new budget proposes spending an extra $100 million a year in liquor profits on economic development. That amount alone dwarfs economic development spending in almost every other state.

What have you done with John Kasich, Ohio? Is this like the movie Dave, where you’ve found an actor to stand in for the actual governor? If not, then I hope Governor Kasich will decide to add government-directed economic development to his list of needed budget cuts.

Such massive governmental handouts to private corporations at a time of fiscal duress violates the spirit, if not technically the letter, of the Ohio Constitution (Article VIII, Section 4):

The credit of the state shall not, in any manner, be given or loaned to, or in aid of, any individual association or corporation whatever; nor shall the state ever hereafter become a joint owner, or stockholder, in any company or association in this state, or elsewhere, formed for any purpose whatever. (1851)

I think most Ohioans voted for the old budget-cutting Kasich, not the new corporation-building one. Please, let's have the old one back.

Hollywood baffled by success of "Atlas Shrugged"

According to the film moguls (as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times), the film had an "awful" marketing plan. However, it is expanding its showings from the original 299 theatres to more than 1,000 by the end of April. The $5,640 per theatre take on opening weekend is described by the Sun-Times as "hefty."

It seems that what the producers did was to look for people that would like the movie, so they targeted their marketing to people like us -- Tea Partiers, Libertarians, and Ayn Rand enthusiasts. Outside of Hollywood, I believe this is known as "niche" marketing.

I suspect that what baffles them even more is how a movie can succeed that is so contrary to their basic values. John 8:32 all over again.

And those "Rearden metal bracelets" are selling so well at $159 a pop -- worldwide -- that they are back-ordered until May 9.

Christianity is not a "tucked in tight" religion

By which Marvin Olasky means that Christianity does not provide neat and easy answers to our questions of faith, unlike Islam. And we should thank God for that. Read his article in townhall.com.

Have a blessed Easter.

Is there hope for liberty in our time?

Jacob Huebert, a resident of Columbus, presents a realistic view of the liberty movement today. He disproves the notion, widely held by the Left, that there is a lack of intellectuals either among libertarians, or in Ohio.

The irony is almost too much

A few days ago, Texas Governor Rick Perry called for the people of his state to take this weekend to pray for rain.

Andrew Leonard, writing for Salon.com, finds this quite amusing. After all, we know for a fact that we are in global warming, don’t we?  And Texans in particular are such rubes, if one is to believe this paragraph:

[The proclamation] bring[s] us to an ironic crossroads, particularly insofar as God might be concerned. As befits the national headquarters of the energy industry, Texas has long been a flag bearer for climate skepticism, from the halls of Congress to the pages of public school textbooks. And just across the border in Oklahoma we have Sen. James Inhofe, perhaps the single most dedicated critic of climate science in the entire U. S. Congress. It's almost too classic -- let's ignore all the science that might help prepare us to confront the challenges of the future, and then, when disaster hits, we'll just do a rain dance! It's not like we're, uh, civilized or anything.

So I ask the good citizens of Texas to consider whether, as they bow their heads in prayer, they might not have it all backward. God isn't going to alleviate their misery. On the contrary, God is punishing them for their flagrant disregard of the human impact on his (or her) beauteous creation!

Mr. Leonard presents us with a stupendous display of intellectual arrogance: first, by asserting that “global warming” is a fact, not a theory; secondly, that he has some kind of inside knowledge of the nature of a God that he comes perilously close to making fun of; and thirdly, in thinking that people so unlike him could not possibly have an intellect. He laughs at religion, while he has the same kind of childlike faith in global warming that the Left charges the faithful of having in God – and very much like others on the Left have in evolution which, again, is only a theory, not a fact. **

Yes, I am taking offense – but beyond that, on Good Friday, it is deliciously ironic that he sounds so much like the crowds assembled in front of the Cross who jeered to Jesus, “He trusts in God, let God rescue him” (Matthew 27:43).

A God who has created the universe, given it life, and established it with the physical laws we have discovered through science is far too complex for human understanding – at least  for those humans who are wise enough to understand the limitations of intellect. The faithful speak of God in human terms, because it is the only way most of us have to communicate God’s nature. *

I respect the right of anyone to be an atheist, and certainly, that decision can be made in good conscience; but I have to ask: What makes you so certain? What if you’re wrong, and you finally find yourself face to face with the God you denied? Is it worth the risk? What does your common sense tell you?

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalm 1).

One more thing. For fifteen years, I was pulled down by depression, and there were times that I would have committed suicide, but for indecision as to how to do it. Only by accepting God’s grace could I recover; and only by continuing to accept His grace can I write this blog and speak boldly in defense of human freedom.  I find this Biblical truth to be literal: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Jesus was speaking about his teaching; but experience has shown me that the one who does not seek truth will be enslaved to those who would take advantage of their ignorance.

Make fun of such a power at your peril.

* “Most of us” because Buddhism and some other religions believe in a pure spiritual force which is not a God in the anthropomorphic sense that we envision Him in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam).

** I define theory as an explanation for scientific observations. It cannot itself be a fact, because further observation may disprove it.

Don't waste your time, Ken

Roll Call (via Hannah News Service) reports that Ken Blackwell is considering a run for the U.S. Senate next year. He is supposedly leading the polls right now, but that is probably because he is the only Republican who has run a statewide campaign who has announced so far.

Do us all a favor, Ken. Don't waste your time or our money. We've had enough of you.

Quotation of the day

From Charlie Earl (who calls himself a "professional curmudgeon"), reacting to a headline "Fed on the Ropes? Bernanke to Hold Press Conferences," by Thomas Eddlem in lewrockwell.com:

"They should be hanging from the ropes....not on them."

New links

I am continuing to add and edit my Links page (on the menu under the masthead). Here are my latest additions:

• A listing of Ohio Tea Parties (also in the sidebar under "Join the Ohio Liberty Movement")
• Bill Yarbrough's Yarblog, a Libertarian perspective on Ohio politics
• Townhall.com, a conservative publication that contains many articles of interest to libertarians.
• TheTeaParty.net, a national clearinghouse of information for Tea Parties.

There is a right way and a wrong way to protest...

... and this definitely is the wrong way:




Since I am a secessionist who has no problem with singing a foreign national anthem, I have no problem with singing the Star-Spangled Banner, either (but I have it in my head that I _am_ singing a foreign national anthem). However, I do refuse to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The way I express that is to remain seated and pray silently. If enough people would just remain seated and let everyone else sing or pledge, the growing numbers would get the message through much more effectively and much less offensively.

Community values

There was a time in the dim past, before many of today's adults were born, that people lived in communities. Not just the physical community of one house next to another; but a community in which people knew and cared about each other; and in which people volunteered time and materials to make improvements for the general good. Alexis de Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, documents how this spirit of community was one of the great strengths of the young American republic. Community existed, not only in rural areas and small towns, but in the ethnic and traditional neighborhoods of large cities.

Charlie Earl, in two posts of his littlestuff-minoosha, contrasts between the community spirit he remembers as a child, that built a high school football stadium; and how government very nearly destroyed the spirit of another community when a women's group was trying to build a toilet facility along a hiking trail.

With a few exceptions, this spirit of community no longer exists. The automobile has helped to isolate the family from its neighbors. Trust between neighbors no longer exists. This isolation has been encouraged by years of governmental policies; especially those well-intentioned policies of doling out money to people in need, so that people now depend on the government instead of on each other.

The only way to maintain a sustainable society is to rebuild the kind of community we used to have. I am not saying this out of nostalgia; but because I see that it will soon become very necessary to our survival.

Atlas Shrugged - A review

I went to see Atlas Shrugged - Part I this morning (day after opening and only $5.00, woo-hoo!). I have read the book, but it was several years ago.

The movie has been panned by several critics, including at least one libertarian. I will go into my thoughts on that in a minute. The story is based on Ayn Rand's novel, published in 1957. The movie dates the action in the year 2016, but because of an extended recession, the period curiously has a look and feel like that of the 1950s. To be sure, we still had cell phones and computers, but the persistent oil shortage has made railroads the most feasible way to move people and materials.

The story begins with the takeover of the Taggart Transcontinental Railroad by Dagny Taggart, who finds her brother incompetent and a bit weasely toward Washington, which has become a full-blown fascist state with heavy-handed controls over industry. She finds the way to save her railroad is through innovation, so she forms a strategic alliance with Hank Reardon, of Reardon Steel. Using new technology, they plan to upgrade old railroad tracks in Colorado. However, at the same time, something odd is going on. Several major corporate executives have vanished suddenly. The only hint is the question, "Who is John Galt?"

The film has been panned by many critics, because the actors appear to lack emotional range. The film is not badly written, nor is it badly acted. The problem is with Ayn Rand (1905-1982). She wrote Atlas Shrugged to convey a definite point of view, and she chained her characters to her philosophy. Not that the actors could not have done a little better, particularly during a beautifully filmed and very tasteful sex scene involving Dagny and Hank. But the film, done in the style of a 1930s film noir, is a heavy drama, like the book itself. Miss Rand wanted to convey the idea that prosperity for the masses is only possible when individuals are free to carry out their dreams, without any hindrance either from government or from social pressure.

While I am a libertarian, I have some disagreements with Ayn Rand's philosophy. For one thing, Miss Rand was an atheist; which explains why her characters lack spiritual depth. She elevates selfishness into a moral virtue; rather than saying, for example, that building enterprises and acquiring wealth can provide the successful entrepreneur with the financial and personal freedom to give to those causes they find most beneficial. When Hank Reardon's brother asks for a $100,000 donation to a favored charity, Hank acts as though he were flushing money down the commode.

On the other hand, she correctly portrays government as an incompetent interloper that can only gum up the economy in ways that are corrupt and unfair. In Atlas Shrugged, the government is used to favor some business interests over others. Also on the positive side, she stresses the importance of personal integrity to success. She almost overdoes the comparison between the rock-solid integrity of a Hank Reardon, with the conniving corruption of Congressmen and federal bureaucrats.

This is the first film in a series of three. The answer to the question, "who is John Galt?" is reserved for a later segment. It is a good, but not great, movie. It will introduce younger viewers to the kind of world the libertarians want to build (with the caveat that most libertarians have more heart than the characters), and will suggest the values that will help build it. It is entertaining and instructive; but the film would have helped itself if it were a bit more entertaining, and less heavy-handed with the instruction.

With all those caveats, it is still well worth seeing, and I encourage you to do so.

The party's over

In the next two weeks, I will be posting a series, called "Finding Our Way Out," to suggest what the liberty movement should be doing right now. We begin with a short story.

It's 4 am Sunday morning. The party was a blast, but, frankly, I overdid it. I can make my way home, but, man, I'm tired! I tried a few nips of "the dog that bit me," but all I've got is a bad sick headache. I just want to drink a bottle of Maalox, go to bed, and sleep until Tuesday.

Last night (was it last night? It feels like fifty years ago), we sang those great songs, we drank to a world full of peace, joy, and plenty. We're going to abolish poverty and hunger and clean up the earth. The lion will lie down with the lamb, we'll beat our swords into plowshares, and the polar bear and spotted owl will thrive in their native habitats. And the women were awesome! You should have seen them dance! And they're going to be right in it with us! And we had people from all races. Like, you know, if we can all party together, so can the rest of the world! Yeah, maybe we were drinking too much, but we were, like, having sooooo much fun!

A couple of the guys, Barry and Ron, got into a fight. Ron's a real dimwit who says the world doesn't work that way. He's like, people want to live their own lives. He said some people don't want to drink our punch – he's like, we can try so hard to protect the environment that we can't make a living and that some countries don't want our stinkin' democracy. We ought to be, like, minding our own business. Man, did he get whupped! Barry's our hero! Now, he's progressive! He knows that our hope is in change! After all, who wouldn't want what we've got!

And you know what? Ron's lying there on the floor with a black eye, his nose out of joint, and blood in his mouth. You'd think he had learned his lesson, but, you know, he had the stinkin' audacity to say that this party's going to end. He said tomorrow, we're going to be sick. Me and my friends got together and spent several thou' with my CapitalOne® MasterCard®! And when we ran out of punch and food, you know, we went out and bought some more! This is going to be a party for the ages!  I hope Ron falls into a manhole on the way home. It'll serve him right.

[Two weeks later]

I just got my CapitalOne® MasterCard® bill. Seventeen thousand dollars for that stinkin' party! Hell's bells, people buy stinkin' weddings for that kind of money! Like, I only make seven hundred a week – it'll take me years to pay that off – at 23 percent interest, it'll take me the rest of my stinkin' life!  I mean, you know, it'll take half my paycheck just to pay the stinkin' finance charge! I called Barry and some other friends to tell them about it. I told them, like, you know, I really need help, man. They all felt bad for me. Barry gave me a twenty; but all the rest of them would do was give me some stinkin' IOUs. Put 'em all together, you know, and I might get fifty-five hundred in a couple years. I even called Ron. He was, like, "I told you so," and hung up. What a dimwit! Hey, I gotta eat, man. I went to the bank and you know what they said? You're maxed out on your credit card. You gotta pay it off before we'll give you more. I even called Dad. I shoulda known what he'd say. He's like, you're grown up now, son. You got yourself into it, you're going to have to get yourself out of it. I mean, that was an awesome party! I got the right to have fun! But right now, I gotta eat and pay the rent!

Discussion questions

1. Which is more likely in the next two years, that the Earth gets pounded by an asteroid, or that our dude will get part of his IOUs paid back?
2. What do you think will happen if our dude keeps hanging out with Barry?
3. Assuming that our dude is ineligible for any form of governmental assistance, and that deus ex machina* is not a legitimate technique in storytelling, what can he do?
4. Why do you think that I am telling this story?

* Literally, "god from a machine," a theatrical technique used to resolve the conflict in a story in a miraculous and improbable way.

Poster of the day

From Andy Myers:

Support the troops: End the wars.
If we can't end the wars, demand that Gov. Kasich keep the Ohio National Guard out of them.

Atlas Shrugged opens Friday

... at 18 theatres in Ohio (click on link in the sidebar at right for locations).

I understand that the unions want to boycott the movie, which is based on Ayn Rand's libertarian novel. I strongly encourage anyone who wants to support libertarianism to go to the opening night and make a statement for freedom!

Strong weekend sales will speak volumes about what Americans want and what we believe.

Prophecy of the day

From 1948:

The essential act of war is destruction, not necessarily of human lives, but of the products of human labor. War is a way of shattering to pieces, or pouring into the stratosphere, or sinking of the depths of the sea, materials which might otherwise be used to make the masses too comfortable, and hence, in the long run, too intelligent. Even when weapons of war are not actually destroyed, their manufacture is still a convenient way of expending labor power without producing anything that can be consumed. A Flying Fortress, for example, has locked up in it the labor that would build several hundred cargo ships. Ultimately, it is scrapped as obsolete, never having brought any material benefit to anybody, and with further enormous labors another Flying Fortress is built. In principle, the war effort is always so planned as to eat up any surplus that might exist after meeting the bare needs of the population...

It does not matter whether the war is actually happening, and, since no decisive victory is possible, it does not matter whether the war is going well or badly. All that is needed is that a state of war should exist.

-- George Orwell, 1984

This is the most rational explanation I have seen for, let's see... Vietnam, Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Libya, and wherever else our handlers are trying to get us into.

In this environment, doublethink is a useful survival skill.

The limitations of speed limits

Ohio, of course, has a national reputation for being a police state when it comes to speed limits -- while every surrounding state except Pennsylvania sets a 70 limit, we insist on 65. That reputation was enshrined in American popular culture in the opening to the madcap cross-country race in the film Cannonball Run (1981), in which the announcer said:

Of course you know certain skeptics note that perhaps 10,000 of the nation's most elite highway patrolmen are out there waiting for us after we start, but let's stay positive: Think of the fact that there's not one state in the 50 that has the death penalty for speeding... although I'm not so sure about Ohio.

As Eric Peters points out at LewRockwell.com, what are legally "speed limits" represent no such thing logically:

A legitimate speed limit (not a speed that amounts to the de facto normal cruising speed or average traffic flow of most cars on the road, as current “speed limits” are) ought to be about 85-90 mph on most roads. It’s ridiculous that the “limit” – as we Americans define it – amounts to the speed most cars are cruising along at. A speed limit ought to be just that – the absolute maximum safe speed for that road under ideal conditions.

Highlighting that absurdity is the fact that most interstate highways prior to 1974 had a speed limit of 70, but following an Act of Congress that year, the maximum "safe" speed suddenly went down to 55. (The act was repealed in 1994, with little observable change in the accident rate).

Even in our "police state," there are many stretches of highway where the car going 65 (which I do to save gas) becomes the slowest car on the road.

All of this leads up to another stroke for liberty in the making in the soon-to-be Republic of Texas -- a bill to increase its speed limit to 85 mph -- which makes perfect sense on the vast stretches of lightly-traveled rural highway in that and other Western states; but is mind-boggling to most of us in Ohio. (Please, I am not suggesting an 85 limit in Ohio -- but perhaps we could justify 70 or 75 on some open stretches of I-70, I-71, and I-75).

Makes you wonder, are higher limits as much a threat to safety as they are to revenue?

The rule in a libertarian society would be no speed limits, but if you cause an accident as the result of reckless driving, you or your insurance company will be sued, and the damages will hurt a lot more than the fines.

Virtual buckeye to Andy Myers. 

Quotation of the day

"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." — Claire Wolf, 101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution (1996)"

Virtual buckeye to Charlie Earl.

Why I am a Libertarian

... with a capital L. News release from the Libertarian Party Apr. 5 about Paul Ryan's alternative federal budget:

Libertarians say Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton

WASHINGTON - In response to House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's new budget proposal, Libertarian Party Chair Mark Hinkle issued the following statement today:

"Americans hoping to get real about our national debt just got sucker-punched by Republican Paul Ryan.

"Republicans want to spend $40 trillion over ten years. That averages a staggering $4 trillion per year. As recently as 2000, federal spending was only about $1.8 trillion.

"They also want to increase the federal debt from $15.0 trillion to $23.1 trillion. I hope our children and grandchildren enjoy paying interest on that extra $8.1 trillion.

"People should not judge the quality of this Republican plan by the standard President Obama has set. Everyone knows Obama is a big spender. Democrats rarely campaign on cutting government. What this budget shows is, Republicans are hypocrites. They have no intention of cutting the federal government down to size. In 2021, Paul Ryan still wants the feds to be spending 19.9% of GDP. That's a higher percentage than during Democrat Bill Clinton's second term. In 1997, federal spending was 19.5% of GDP, and it dropped to 18.2% by 2000. Paul Ryan is worse than Bill Clinton.

"Another unfortunate but predictable thing about Paul Ryan's budget is that it continues to mollycoddle the Pentagon. Paul Ryan is the Military-Industrial Complex's best friend. He apparently can't find one penny to cut from Obama's bloated levels of military spending. Only a big-government Republican could come up with language like 'reinvesting $100 billion in higher military priorities.'

"It's interesting that when the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the White House from 2001-2006, they did nothing to shrink government, or even slow down government growth. On the contrary, back then, Paul Ryan was busy voting for expensive foreign wars, No Child Left Behind, and the huge 2003 Medicare expansion. More recently he's voted for the TARP bailouts and even ethanol subsidies.

"We Libertarians propose eliminating federal functions that are not authorized in the Constitution. Furthermore, Libertarians propose ending foreign wars and foreign troop deployments, allowing huge cuts in military spending. Libertarians would cut the federal government down to less than 10% of GDP, and we'd keep cutting once we got there."

Remember what I wrote last fall about Republicans and their "Pledge to the Gullible."


 

News from the secessionist front

Well, here is the gerbil in the wheel, spitting out another post about secession-is-just-around-the-corner. (Whether or not it is "worthless," I shall leave to your judgment). In this post are two states that may be in contention for "most likely to secede first." One state has the strongest movement, the other may be the most prepared.

Texas Nationalists launch billboard campaign

The Texas Nationalist Movement has purchased billboard space along heavily-traveled I-10 to proclaim that yes, Texas can secede. Through the campaign, the movement hopes to attract new visitors to its website and raise donations, as well as consciousness.

"We hope our billboards will get the message across to our fellow Texans: we don't have to take it. There IS another option," said movement president Daniel Miller.

North Dakota bank positions state for independence

Recently, I reminded readers how the Bank of North Dakota has positioned its state to issue an alternative currency as the dollar spins into hyperinflation. Russell Longcore at DumpDC explains in an article widely reproduced in the secessionist blogosphere how that fact actually makes that state of 700,000 one of the most prepared to assume independence. One reason is that the existence of a state bank makes it relatively immune to retaliation from the Federal Reserve:

If Washington balks at state secessions, their first retaliation will be to cut off the flow of cash to the Federal Reserve System member banks in that naughty state. In the event of secession, all the North Dakota State Bank would have to do is (a) establish its money, which is the underlying precious metals or underlying minerals to provide value to their money…then (b) issue their new state currency. 

Other seceding states will lose precious months setting up a state banking system before they can issue their own currencies.  Mr. Longcore explains why the idea of secession isn't as crazy as it may sound:

Many other states are giving serious consideration to the State Bank concept in an effort to wrest control away from an insane Federal Reserve System and an equally crazy Washington. We here at DumpDC encourage the states to cease all this anguish and simply secede. In one magnificent act, all your problems with Washington vanish. Don’t be misled by what I am saying. No one knows how Washingon will react to an Ordinance of Secession. But taking a page from the history books from 1989 shows me that after an economic meltdown, Washington will likely be just as powerless to prevent secession as the Kremlin was to prevent the breakup of the former Soviet Union.

It's time for Ohio to set up a state bank and prepare to institute a silver-based state currency. The days of the strong dollar are numbered -- we just don't know the last two digits.

Maybe there IS still hope...

PR Newswire reports that movie theater chains have been overwhelmed by the initial response to the April 15 release of Atlas Shrugged - Part I, based on Ayn Rand's libertarian novel.

I can easily imagine how controversial Atlas Shrugged must be in Hollywood. It is a direct challenge to the prevailing liberal values there. But in Middle America, it reflects our desire to return to an entrepreneurial (not bureaucratic) society.

No showings are yet scheduled anywhere near Ohio - the closest locations are in the Philadelphia area, Chicago, and Nashville, but you can demand that it be shown near you by going to the Atlas Shrugged Theaters page and pressing the "Bring Atlas to my town" button. At this writing the site shows 3,015 requests to show in Columbus (third highest on the list) and 935 in Dayton.

Virtual buckeye to Charlie Earl.

Don't believe dis information

NewsBusters has a video of a speech made by Democratic National Chairman Howard Dean, in which he asserts to a student audience at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh that FoxNews habitually lies to the American people, and is not really a news organization, but a "a very expensive, incredibly well-funded, right-wing propaganda organization." (Comment by FoxNews's Greta Van Susteren)

Standard liberal rhetoric. But then he compounds his error by telling four obvious lies of his own:

1. "The top one percent of Americans owns twice as much as the percentage of America than they did 20 years ago, and that of course has to come from somebody else, and it comes from the people who aren't in the top one percent." Liberals see the economy as a zero-sum game. To them, wealth cannot be created, only taken from those who are less wealthy. Ever hear of investments, Howard? I'd even bet that he has some himself.
2. Mr. Dean claims that the Republicans controlled Congress for six years while George W. Bush was President. In fact, the Republicans controlled both houses of Congress less than 4½ years, in part because a Senator from Mr. Dean's home state of Vermont, Jim Jeffords, switched from Republican to an independent usually voting with the Democrats.
3. He then claims that more people under 35 voted in the 2008 Presidential election, than people over 35. The truth? According to CNN exit polls, 64% of voters in that election were 40 or older.
4. Finally, he claims that charter schools were invented by Southern whites to perpetuate segregation. The truth is, charter schools originated in Massachusetts in 1988, when Prof. Ray Budde suggested that small groups of teachers be given contracts or "charters" by their local school boards to explore new approaches. Even the not-so-ultra-right-wing New York Times agrees with this.

We are locked in a war for the very souls of the American people, and as we all know, "in war, truth is the first casualty" (Aeschuylus). We also know that only "the truth will make us free" (John 8:32). We must all have the knowledge to identify the lies when we hear them, and the courage to publicly resist them.

Hillary Clinton: Obama administration will ignore Congress on Libya war

Now, the Obama Administration is in open defiance of the Constitution. As reported by Politico, New American and most of the right-wing and libertarian blogosphere: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a classified congressional hearing that the Obama regime would ignore Congress if it tried to rein in the unconstitutional war in Libya, but that the administration would send press releases to lawmakers, according to news reports.

Please raise he!! with your Congressmen and U.S. Senators. If we do not draw a line in the sand now, the Constitution will be a dead letter. We can also use this to demand that Gov. Kasich refuse to send Ohio National Guardsmen to Libya, or any war for which Congressional authorization has not been received.

I may be on a list as a domestic terrorist

... according to the way law enforcement officials are trained by Homeland Security. I personally am not much into survivalism, but this particular post from SurvivalBlog.com contains useful information that every liberty activist should know. The author, James Wesley Rawles, is a law enforcement officer who has been a part of many of these training sessions over 18 years. Here is what he says of DHS training and those of us who are defending the Constitution:

Another training session I attended two years ago discussed the [dangers] of people who have strong views of the U.S. Constitution.  One trainer made the statement that “these people actually believe the Second Amendment gives them the personal right to own a gun.”  Of course, the trainer failed to mention that our Founding Fathers, as well as recent Supreme Court rulings, verify this view as being completely accurate.  The obvious attempt here was to suggest to officers that the Second Amendment does not apply to individual gun ownership and to be suspicious of anyone who holds such a view.  It was also stressed to be cautious of anyone who quotes the Constitution and even worse, actually possesses a copy of this radical document.  Incredibly, in the United States of America today belief in our founding legal principles is now grounds for being labeled a domestic terrorism.  Imagine how they would respond to some of the known statements of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry or George Mason concerning the issue of individual liberty and limited government.  It is true that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

Pay particular attention to their logic: If you believe in the Constitution and buy ammunition, therefore, you celebrate Hitler's birthday.

One rule I underline -- Never be rude to the police. Stand your ground, but politely. If the misinformed run into enough of us who follow this one rule, they may begin to question their indoctrinators trainers. Two other strong recommendations from the author: Make sure your candidates for county sheriff understand the Constitution, and cultivate friendships with law enforcement officers.

Domestic abuse

I have written before about the Stockholm syndrome, but Daniel Miller of the Texas National Movement has an even more apt comparison. Our relationship with the federal government is like that of an abused wife and mother. Here is his reasoning (reproduced in full):

This is the “question of the day” today. Actually, for me, this has been the question of the day, every day, for 14 years. You see, I get it. Sort of. Well, not really.

See my problem here?

I seem to experience waves of frustration watching the people of Texas dealing with the Federal Government. Personally, I made my conclusion a long time ago that Texas needed to secede and become an independent nation. I also know that many others have arrived at that conclusion as well.
For the 14 years since I arrived at that conclusion I have watched the people of Texas shoved around by a Federal Government drunk on power. They go through a succession of governmental functionaries from one of the two major parties only to wind up with more government, less freedom and more abuse.
Unfortunately for me, although I know the truth and what the solution is, the rest of the people of Texas have not reached the mental and emotional place of safety where I reside.

This leaves me to watch the abuses pile up without the proper response. To get an idea of my daily anguish, let’s paint a mental picture together. Imagine for a moment that you are part of a large family.

You and your siblings are sitting in the living room of the house and your Mother’s current husband, someone who is not your Father, comes in and begins to beat the crap out of your Mother. Your sister starts to cry so he turns his attention to her and starts beating her. Your brother tries to shield your sister and he gets smacked a few times. You speak up and try to shield them all and get

pummeled more than all of them put together. After he beats you, thankfully, he takes the money that you all have been saving from the cookie jar, jumps in his car and heads off to the local watering hole to blow all of the money on booze and other women. Imagine that this happens every day.
I want you to really burn that image in your mind.
Now, imagine that after all of this repeated abuse you go to your Mother and ask her to leave this bastard who is destroying your family. You want her to leave this scum that is slowly killing her, the rest of your siblings and you, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. You want to be saved. You want her to be saved. You want your brothers and sisters to be saved. You want this abuse to end. And it can all end by one decision made by her. You’ve had this conversation with her every time this happens. And each time she and most of your siblings, to your horror, cry or get angry and advocate for HIM.

“He’s just having a hard time right now.”

“He only does it because we don’t act right.”

“He makes all the money. We would be broke if we left.”

“I promised until death do us part.”

“He’s starting to make the changes that I’ve asked.”

Days go by. Weeks go by. Years go by. It occasionally will get better for a short time. But he always returns back to the same old thing and no one leaves.
Let all of that sink in and burn into your brain.

Now you know how I feel.

I recognized the abuse a long time ago. It wasn’t until 14 years ago that I realized that I had the power to stop it. But I am still frustrated. My head tells me that I should have some peace since I know the answer.

However, my heart is screaming because I watch my Mother, my brothers and my sisters abused daily.

Their indecision causes me to wind up on the receiving end of that abuse because I am morally obligated to stand up for them.

I want to know when they are going to stand up for me. When? When I’m dead? When we’re all dead? Then no one will need to stand up for anyone else.

Call me a tortured soul if you wish. At least I’ve been trying to put my finger on what in the hell is wrong with most of you. And I think I may have found my answer.

I started to research what causes people to repeatedly suffer at the hands of abusers and refuse to leave the situation. I found that it is called “Battered Women Syndrome” and it fits more than any explanation I have ever seen.

Abused spouses go through four phases while in an abusive relationship. They are: denial, guilt, enlightenment and responsibility.

Denial is marked by the refusal to admit that there is even a problem. Abusive incidents will be explained to others as “accidents”. Excuses are made for each incident and each time the abused firmly believes it will never happen again.

Guilt is the one that puzzles me the most. The abused takes responsibility for the abuse. The abused feels that they deserve to be beaten because they have defects in their own character and they aren’t living up to the abusers expectations.

Enlightenment is the revelation that the abuse is not an accident or aberration and that it is not the fault of the abused. But the newly enlightened abused believes that the abuser can somehow be “fixed”. The abused is still committed to the relationship and stays with the abuser hoping they can work things out.
Responsibility is when the abused decides that the abuser will not stop, they can’t be fixed, it’s the abusers fault and the abused decided to start a new life free of abuse.

I recognized that I am in the “responsibility” phase. At this moment I knew why I was so frustrated. I knew that until Texas and most of my brothers and sisters got to this phase then I would continue in my frustration.

Frustrating as it may be, I now do only what I know to do.

I plead one more time with my Mother, my brothers and sister. We are abused. It is not our fault. The Federal Government will not change. It will make promises that it will not keep. If it ever stops abusing us, the break will be brief and it will not last. While we have been faithful to the Constitutional marriage of which we are part, it has not. Mother, your children in the Texas Nationalist Movement have stood up for you. Brothers and sisters of Texas, the Texas Nationalist Movement, your blood, your siblings have stood up for you. We have told you that it is time to make a new life. We will survive this but only if we leave.

Mother, brothers, sisters, let us start this new life now. One free of abuse. We can make it together but first we have to make the decision. If not, then I will continue to ask you “what in the hell is wrong with you?”

Virtual buckeyes to DumpDC and Third Palmetto Republic (for the graphic)

Ohio needs a State Bank

I have written before about the Bank of North Dakota, and how that bank has protected the state from the wild gyrations of the U.S. economy in recent years. Here, from DumpDC, is a clearly written article about the advantages and pitfalls of running a state bank, and provides a good argument why Ohio and other states should consider one. For one thing, maintaining an alternative currency may well be impossible without one.

Congress passes major cuts to federal budget

From the Libertarian Party website.

I really couldn't end this day on the downer I posted earlier.

Those who think this is an April Fool's joke are themselves fools

The time is very short. If we cannot rally our fellow Americans in the next two or three months, the only thing left that we can do is ... prepare.

From the blog Reditus.