Free Will and the Will of a Free Society

 

 If a society should will it, then it shall be free. If a society should take leave of their will for another’s, or if it should seek to impose their will, on the individual, then it shall forever remain bound into the slavery created by their will.

 Aside from God, Jesus, Yeshuah, Allah, Providence, Buddha or any other form of deity that we believe in, the will of society is not so great as to be infallible or just in all cases. However, the will of a society as a collective majority, can also be just if it is justly imposed.

 But what if then, a collective will, is unjust or unjustly imposed upon society as a whole? Does indeed might make right? I would persuade you against that theory in that it is as much a threat to the free will of man as the deprivation of oxygen is to his life. Might can only perpetuate might in that it is often born of a desire to repress the will of another. Right will always be right until it is used in the endeavors of wrong. Thus, just because it is your right, does not make it right.

 Let us then, for the sake of this article, agree, Theologians and Atheists alike that there is indeed a higher power that seeks to provide instruction for a just and moral life. That there is indeed a deity that granted life and free will and that he continues to watch this world and its inhabitants. Let us address him in the most general of terms as God.

 The founders of this country and the framers of her Constitution were stalwart in their belief in a higher, guiding force. They agreed that such a force has endowed upon his creation of man, certain rights that are natural, inherent and therefore inalienable.

 “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

  Declaration of Independence

  “The highest manifestation of life consists in this: that a being governs its own actions. A thing which is always subject to the direction of another is somewhat of a dead thing.”

 Saint Thomas Aquinas

“The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.”

 Marcus Aurelius

“The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite.”

 Thomas Jefferson

 So then, our forefathers and many a man and ruler in ancient history not only believed in a creator, but believed that that same creator had granted the right of self determination, self governorship or free will to the individual man. They believed that mankind had the right to rule his body and actions and to seek and fulfill whatever desires he may in his pursuit of, not only knowledge and fortune, but of happiness.

 How then does it come to pass that we have found ourselves being ruled yet again? How then have we come to give up this right of self determination? Why is it that a collective society can assume they may impose their will, just or unjust, upon any other man, woman or child?

 The individual, aside from God, is the single most powerful force on this planet. The individual alone has the right to determine which way he should go in life and what actions he may take. The individual is capable of a great many things, for the individual is capable of thought and reason.

 I propose that it is completely deplorable and laden with rebuke for a collective to seek to repress any just or moral action of the individual. The mass is only capable of group thought and speak; it has no capability of reason or thought in that it must, for its very existence, abhor these things. It must denounce the very idea of individualism and self determination.

 Though in doing so, it is also renouncing and repressing the greatest gift that our creator has bestowed-Life.

 For what is a life lived in its entirety in chains and bondage, servitude and serfdom? Nothing I dare say, but merely an object of existence. A rock may exist, but it has no life.

 If we do accept that God has given us to life and free will, then we must also accept that these gifts have come with a price. In every powerful being there exists such a desire as to see its subject live under their will. Such I believe is the desire of God. He in fact, does wish for us to live in his honor and after his image and teachings, but he also has granted us leave if we should so choose another path.

 Therefore is it entirely acceptable for a child of God, his creation, which among all other man is equal, to decide what another man shall do with his life? Is it therefore then acceptable that a Catholic should decide that all mankind should not eat meat when the custom of lint should come about? Or the Christian to partake of no wine or drug, or the Muslim to partake of no pork? I remain staunch in my belief that this is near chief among the greatest transgressions man can inflict upon his brethren.

The forceful or coercive application of the ideas of one or many, upon a single individual, is second in tragedy only to the actual physical taking of his life. An individuals mind and intellect is among the chief of those most precious gifts entailed in life. Is it not in the mind where happiness is perceived? Is it not our minds and intellect that allow us to define our happiness by counting it against our sufferings?

 To make a man espouse the ideas of another, forcefully, is an evil, tyrannical thing. In all cases this act should be met with the utmost and vehement force of rebellion. The retention of all things singular and precious to this individual should be retained, and it is his will alone that can determine what will or will not be cast aside.

 It is a derelict society that would seek to impose its own ideas and will upon the individual. It is an immoral and corrupt society that would seek to ridicule, persecute or excommunicate the individual that would challenge these same things. It is also a cowardly individual that would allow this same treatment to persuade his ideology.

 There can be a time however, that an imposition can and should be tolerated. The father that teaches his children about morality and integrity should, in all cases, not be hindered. The pastor that teaches his congregation after the teachings of God and his book should not be abhorred. The student that seeks knowledge from his teacher should not be abridged in any way. But, there will and must come a time when each of these will, in the course of responsibility, throw off these harnesses and seek for themselves the truth of the questions.

 This time must come in the course of natural events. It must be allowed to expand as a result of the individual’s own desire and it must come freely. A society is in no way just, nor does it have the authority, to bring about these changes or inflict upon the individual a reprieve from these things.

  A society must stand aside and let man, for himself, determine when he shall stand and when he shall lay. When he shall read and when he shall speak. It is a fearful and dastardly thing indeed for a society to seek or obtain the power to direct the individuals mind and mouth to its own ends. This act should be repelled in every instance.

 The ideas of an individual are the very foundation of a free society. They are the fruit born of labored intellect and they should be well received in all cases. Is every man not entitled by way of life to his own thoughts and opinions? Whether they be perceived rightly or wrongly is of no consequence. If a just and moral idea should give way to actions of the same, then how should a society succeed in putting them down? If an unjust and immoral idea should lead to actions of the same, but not be put down, how then should this society be regarded?

 I should say that the individual is the very thing upon which a society is formed and the very thing which gives it power. Therefore is it not conceivable to assume that every idea and individual is indeed of the collective? For an idea may inspire one or many to the same cause. Those same individuals may take shelter in their own collective to insure their merits are well received and debated. Is this not the way it has always been?

 I should upon reflection and reference state yes. Men have always been drawn to those of like mind and conscious. Whether they be moral or immoral is not the basis of this argument, merely a by product. If endowed with the ability and desire to seek and espouse our own ideas, but having those same rejected by the majority of society, is it not our way to form a group of individuals wherein the same reasoning and logic can be found?

 If so, why is it then allowed, for one collective to be deemed just, while another, created by the same desire of company, should be vilified? I know not and can fathom no logical or sane reasoning as to justify this behavior.

 If a free society is to at all, remain free, or a bound society is to ever, become free, it then must accept the individual and the respective ideas as an integral part of the same.

“Reaching consensus in a group is often confused with finding the right answer.”

 Norman Mailer

 “The unity of freedom has never relied on uniformity of opinion.”

 John F. Kennedy

In Liberty,

 Richard Camacho

Ron Paul 2012

To The Generation of; As a Collective

“Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”

  “A Republic, if you can keep it.”

Benjamin Franklin – After the Constitutional Convention of 1787

At present there are four generations this article will touch on:

• The Great Generation
• The Baby Boomers
• Generation X
• Generation Y

Yesterday we watched the “First-in-the-Nation” Republican Caucuses in Iowa unfold, and Indeed we did see the labor of our, Ron Paul R3VOLution, bear fruit. We have worked long and hard to win this first, of many, battles and we will continue to work and fight for the future we were promised; the future that is our birthright.

As I anxiously awaited the first counts to filter in, I asked myself, how did we come to this point? Why is it that we need a statesman such as Congressman Paul to aid us in the return to our founding principles? When exactly did we lose our way? How is it that America became stricken in such a manner as to require a good doctor?

 Allow me, if you will, to take some liberty with history, and to generalize in a way that will help us all understand.

 To the Great Generation, I express my deepest gratitude for your sacrifices and your honor. You gave so many men and women over to the Great Wars and gave up so much of your lives in defense of Democracy, I applaud you. You built houses, bridges and buildings on a grand scale. You pioneered the luxury car and the Television, the Microwave and Refrigerator. You landed on the moon! You laid the foundation for the technological revolution and you tried to preserve the moral integrity of the family unit.

 To the Baby Boomers I also express some gratitude. You gave us the first pictures of the outer solar system. You built and sent robots to Mars. You gave us the Micro processor and personal computer. Had it not been for you, this laptop, on which I now type, would most surely be the size of the SUV I drive. Were it not for your generation, we would never have such things as Nintendo, Sega, Gameboy, Playstation and the Xbox. You refined the luxury car, the Television, Microwave and Refrigerator. You have made our buildings and bridges safer and grander.

 To the Generation of X, I would extend a certain level of familiarity. We have seen a great many things in our short time. Russia fell, the Berlin Wall came crashing down, and the cell phone was introduced to us. In our insatiable appetite for things, we forced the technological revolution into a more efficient state of being. We developed the Smart phone, Smart car, Plasma and LCD Television. We, in our ever increasing desire to be independent, required that our laptops and computers become smaller and more powerful. We cannot remember a world without WiFi and Ethernet cables. We know almost nothing of lead Gasoline and we abhor the thought of anything other than environmental responsibility.

 To the Generation of Y, I pledge my undying and unconditional love and affection. I pledge my loyalty to You my sons, in what way that I may be able to insure a better world in which to grow. I stand forever in belief that it is my responsibility to You, that I should seek any and all manners of freedom, that You may also grow and prosper as we have all been promised. I remain stalwart in my integrity that I should not be derelict in my duties to You or that I should so feverishly persuade or prevent, any that would seek to bind your spirits and bodies unwillingly.

 To the Generation of Greatness, I lament. For though you have defended America’s honor, you have also shamed her in ways that will take the better part, if not the whole, of my generation to remedy. You allowed scores of your Countrymen to be detained unlawfully, their houses and possessions confiscated and redistributed, all in the name of national security and Patriotism. You have allowed this great nation to be led into war after countless war for lack of your due diligence. You have been derelict in your duties to protect and preserve America and her Constitution.

 You have allowed the Military-Industrial Complex, the same that your beloved Eisenhower warned you against, to gain and power in this country. You have allowed your elected representatives to author and pass into law, legislation and treaties that began the usurpation and dejection of America’s sovereignty. You have allowed your children to run wild in the streets; through your failure to communicate, or the fear thereof, you have failed to teach them what it truly means to be honest, moral and to count and measure everything against their integrity.

 Through your unwillingness to accept anything other than “your way” as right, you began the now failed War on Drugs. You created the “Hippies” and you created the cycle of drunken abuse. You have laid the framework for the Prison-Industrial system and through your lack of instruction, communication and plethora of improper properness, given your children over to it.

 To the Generation of Babies and Booms, I do hold you in certain contempt’s. You have allowed millions of your men and women to be slaughtered in unjust wars. You disgraced the American soldiers who, upon their most happiest return from an unhappy war, soiled them with red paints, harassed their parents and called the murderers and baby killers. You have given yourself over to heathenism's, debauchery and idleness. You have wallowed in the excesses of the sixties, seventies and eighties and filled your lives and noses with powders and smokes that should be reserved for occasional recreation.

  You have fed the Prison-Industrial system. You have abandoned your children to it and the world. You have refined the cycle of inebriated abuse and have forsaken your responsibilities for the temporary pleasures of the flesh. You have mortgaged your lives to the establishment you so vehemently railed against in your youth. You seek to turn a blind eye, closed mouth and covered ear to the voices of reason today.

 Blinded by your vices, you have allowed your wealth to be stolen, squandered. You have allowed the granite foundation of your monetary base to be replaced with sand and air. You have allowed the worth of your dollar to be reduced by almost all. You have amplified and compounded the welfare state of America and have granted accord with your big brother in managing your lives. You traded the freedoms of tomorrow for a satisfied appetite of the day.

 You allow yourselves to be utterly guided, led by the eyes, nose and by ear anyone under bright lights and polish. You disregard and disrespect anyone that would seek to voice the truth of your infidelity to the Constitution and your irresponsibility of diligence. The ideas of your youth are now espoused as “radical”, “crazy” and “dangerous” though they were not such in your time.

 You marginalize and mock any who question or rebel against the notion that life “has to be a certain way”, because you have accepted your fate. You have laid your dreams down, sown their seeds in fallow ground and failed to nurture them. In your excess, you forgot that the tree of life and liberty must be watered, and that for freedom to be retained, constant vigilance is required.

 Both generations allowed the greatest threat to the liberty and prosperity of America and her people to establish itself. You found yourself too busy with the petty contrivances of life; too busy to defend your freedom and future. You were too trusting of government; too trusting of your elected representatives. You allowed a nice suit and a smile assure you that it was all for your benefit.

 You allowed gold to be removed as a backing to our money supply. You allowed the government and media to lie to you, to convince that their agenda was indeed your agenda. You have allowed traitors to the Constitution into the white house and senate. You have branded traitors as heroes and great men. You continue to believe the lie because you refuse to seek the truth. You refuse to accept the truth, when presented, because the truth is too great, too powerful, too fantastic, and too terrible. You would rather have the comfort of lies than the pain of honesty!

 As a collective, I hold you in contempt.

To the Great Generation, in love and respect I admonish you. Your time is all but gone in this world. The dawn of your prime has now given way to the dusk of eternity and soon you will call this place home no more. Would you continue to plague us with memories of far better days while you yet remain? Will you seek our delight yet again for those days filled with freedom and prosperity, those days that are now gone by; faded from time, as you too shall fade? Can you ever consciously pose the question, “Where did we go wrong as a country” without first looking inward?

 To the Generation that boomed with babies, the afternoon of your prime is upon you, though the hour is late indeed. Your posterity would seek answers to questions on which you have none. Your grandchildren will come one day and ask certain things of you, perhaps in astonishment; perhaps with contempt or anger. I pray that you would provide answers to those same questions with the utmost honesty, humility and sincerity. I hope that you may find some reprieve upon repentance for the honor and vigilance that you have so readily shirked.

 We do therefore understand how, that this has happened to come about during the watch of these generations. We do not, however, understand how you could have let this come about. You have traded a little temporary comfort and security for your liberty, I would profess that you deserve neither.

 The Generation of X has indeed enabled its own transgression. We are not blind to it now, though we may have been in the past. We were children for a time and as such are we all not granted leave for a little foolishness and untroubled perspective? I do agree, but the time for such nonsensical living must be put away in due time so that our duties, responsibilities and integrity can be met with unwavering support. A child can be exempt from liberty’s defense for he is a child and knows not of what is expected of him in that rite, but a full-grown man or woman, should be shamed to think it otherwise for him or herself.

 “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things”.

               1 Corinthians 13:11(KJV)

 My generation, the Generation of X is awakening as all generations before us had awoke. We, however, will not succumb to the sleep that is purported to be inevitable. We will not go quietly into the night, resigned to a counterfeit fate, created by those that would seek to thrust it upon us unwillingly. Our voice will not be silenced and our minds not swayed for we do not, rely on one source of information and as all young minds, we do indeed crave the truth. We do not think, speak, or act as we are told we ought. We are indeed a collective of great minds, free minds, and we refuse to believe the lie that has fooled so many before us.

 Though we may, at times falter in step, we must not fail in our course. Surely, with failure, comes the absolute slavery of every man, woman and child upon this earth. Our success will be again, a beacon of hope to that same body, and will succeed in preserving the hopes, dreams, lives and fortunes of this land for our posterity.

 "There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time as come."

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."

          Victor Hugo

To the Great Generation:

 Stop voting! You will not have to live with the consequences of your ill-advised, ignorant actions, we will. You have done more than enough for this world already.

To the Baby Boomers:

 Due your due diligence and hold true to your integrity. Vote your conscious, not the lesser of two evils. Remember who it is that will care for you in the evening of your life, we will not forget.

To the Generation of X:

 It is our time.

To the Generation of Y:

 Don’t trip, we got this.

In Liberty,

 Richard Camacho

Ron Paul 2012

I am Me and You are Naked

 As I have stated in a previous article, there are issues that continue to plague our current political system. As Americans certain things or ideas resonate with us on an individual level, more so than others. Do Americans really vote with their bellies? Yes, yes I am sure they do.

 Ronald Reagan once asked the question, “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” Politically that was a brilliant question to pose to the American people, not just because of the apparent blow it struck to President Carter, bolstering claims of his purported incompetence, but because it was a question that all Americans had to take notice of. For the first time in probably a long time, there was a question that each member had to ask and ultimately answer, in honesty, to themselves and no other.

 Obviously, the resounding answer was “No!” as Reagan won the office from Carter.

 Over the last century we have witnessed our political arenas and office seekers switch from a platform of addressing the issues, presenting ideas or solutions and debating the offerings solely on their merit, to a platform of obfuscating the issues, ignoring the facts, presenting no solutions or denigrating viable solutions and dishonoring any debate on the merits of solutions.

 Enter the issues:

• The Economy
• Jobs
• Cost of Living
• Government Reform

• Taxes
• War

• Education

• Abortion

  Obviously this is an abridged list of issues that continually plagued our nation, but I felt these are chief among the long line, in that they are continually being “addressed” in every political cycle.

 My hope and intention here is not to dissuade or persuade you to any candidate for this election cycle, but I wish merely to restart that engine of critical thinking that we all, as humans, posses the capacity to engage in. I don’t think it is merely a question of problem, I think it is a problem of question. We are not asking the right questions and ultimately, we are not answering those correct questions truthfully. In the empire of lies, truth truly is treason. Yet when we begin to be truthful, not only with ourselves, but those family, friends and neighbors with whom we seek such company, we can, in the end, begin to understand what measures and sacrifices may be necessary as to overcome any obstacle, real or imagined.

 “It’s the Economy Stupid!” (Oh and Jobs too!)

 Could it really be that simple? Yes, and yes again, it absolutely can. There are more than a few questions surrounding this issue, but some of the most common ones are also the most incorrect. In a business world, private sector that is, most often you can get to the root of any problem when you ask the “five why’s”.

We didn’t bonus this year.

 Why?

Because we lost some sales.

 Why?

Because we missed some deadlines.

 Why?

Because production had a lot of issues.

 Why?

Because they don’t know how to run as efficiently as they should.

 Why?

Because they are not properly trained.

 Finding the root of a problem is achieved by asking the right questions. Until you ask the right questions, you can never begin to answer them honestly and correctly. Therefore you can never truly understand the underlying reasons of failure in any given problem.

 This applies to all things, not just the economy.

How can we fix the economy?

·        “We” do not fix the economy; it fixes itself after necessary corrections have been made.

What are the necessary corrections?

·        The debt, good and bad, that is not sustainable must be liquidated.

How do we liquidate the debt?

·        By allowing corporations that are leverage too deeply to fail, become insolvent and declare bankruptcy.

How did they become over extended?

·        Through the practice of “fractional reserve lending”, 0% interest loans and the moral hazard created by government backed loan guarantees.

What do we need to do to stop these practices?

·        Remove all forms of government loan backing, audit the Federal Reserve, return to a GOLD or similar commodity standard that backs our currency, prohibit the Federal government from interfering, interacting or influencing the economy in any way. Simply put, by getting the government intervention out of the economy and returning to free market principles.

Questions and statements of the following nature are constantly being vomited from the mouths of uneducated, ignorant and intellectually challenged TV personalities to the point of being totally laughable in their fallacy. 

“What can the government do to create jobs and stimulate the economy?”  “Why isn’t the government fixing the economy?” “The government passed a bill to stimulate the economy.” “A bill passed the house today and signed by the president is slated to ease credit requirements for lending in the hopes that the economy will be stimulated.”

 The government cannot stimulate the economy, because the government has nothing with which to administer any stimulation. The government (problem) first has to take from us (economy), and then give to the banks (problem) who then loans our money back to us (credit) with interest rates as high as 27% (debt).

 The government cannot “create” jobs because again, it has nothing with which to create them. Government jobs are not true jobs in the sense of a contribution to the economy and society. This is an argument that I love to have with state workers. A common defense is that state workers do pay taxes and therefore are contributing. Again, another fallacy.

 While there may be the allusion or cursory notion of paying taxes, it is, in reality an allusion. For the government to pay you, as a state worker, it must first confiscate money from the people (taxes, fines, fees, etc.) or “borrow” it from the Federal Reserve (debt) before it can issue you a check. So, as a state worker you are either paying taxes with someone else’s money, or you are paying taxes on money that was created for the sole purpose of paying taxes and therefore, that money does not even exist. (Taxing the taxes for taxes!)

 I’m sorry if that offends you, but it is the truth. 96% of your money does not exist, it is debt of credit. Have you ever asked why a luxury car cost $3500.00 dollars in the seventies but today costs ten times that amount? It is because credit was created, based on nothing real, in exorbitant amounts, lent to Americans and the world with a debt percentage attached, then repaid with more created money (credit/debt).

 To understand this you only have to look at the price of a Troy ounce of gold in 1912, which was one year before the Federal Reserve act and the 16^th amendment.

$18.93 – 1912

$1565.90 – 2011 (12/30/11)

 The cost of living increases every time the Federal Reserve creates money. It increases the monetary base yet dilutes the value which decreases the purchasing power of the dollar. A dollar buys a donut today because there are only 30 trillion of those dollars competing against whatever “backing” they have. A dollar and eighteen cents buys a donut tomorrow because there are now 35 trillion of those dollars competing against this same fractional backing.

  The easiest explanation I can give as to what plagues our economy is this:

Our economy is plagued by boom and bust cycles that are propagated and perpetuated by the flow of easy credit, or debt, issued by banks, funded by the Federal Reserve and authorized by the federal government.

 So if the problem is credit and debt, is it logical to assume that the addition of more credit and debt can solve the problem?

 

I’ll have The Income Taxes with SS and Medicare Taxes and a Side of War Funding Please.

 Now I won’t start this section off by saying that I do not believe in any taxes. I think we need some taxes, because we need roads and certain basic government services, but I do think that most taxes are nothing more than an elaborate scheme to steal money from the American people to fund government expansion, war and corporate interests.

 I have already covered how are taxes are used to “pay off” debt and create more money to stimulate the economy in the hopes that more taxes can be generated to pay off more debt in the previous section. This section will cover government departments, services and other uses of taxes.

 Let’s first look at the government services that we should have or need as a necessity:

We need some form of representation.

We need some venue to address our representatives.

We need some place to record documents pertaining to sales and contracts within each county.

We need some form of law enforcement to protect those who cannot protect themselves.

We need some place for our civil grievances to be heard.

We need some form of detention for lawful criminals.

We need some form of oversight and development of infrastructure.

And possibly one or two more things.

 Now think about what we have, or what we are paying, for and compare it to this list.

 Now think about the high taxes you pay.

 Now think about how good of a job these government agencies are doing.

 Now ask yourself what you really could do without. Ask yourself if you really, really must have this department or service.

 Now ask yourself if you want to continue to pay taxes to support these things that you do not need.

If there is any reasonable or logical capability left within your brain, I am sure there are one or fifteen things you decided you can do without. I know that there are several things I can do without and I will even go so far as to name them for a comparison.

The Department of Commerce (all)

The Department of the Interior

The Department of Education (all)

The Department of Social Security

The Department of Transportation (all)

The Department of Immigration (all)

The Department of Homeland Security

The Department of Corrections (all)

The Department of Health and Human Services (all)

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (all)

The Department of Defense

The Department of Justice

The Environmental Protection Agency (all)

The Department of Labor Relations

The Transportation Safety Administration

Medicare and Medicaid ­

The Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Subsidies (all)

Foreign Aid (all)

The Internal Revenue Service (all)

And one or two more I am sure.

 Let’s just look at these departments and services that we pay for, and then let’s think about what we can either do for ourselves individually, handle at the local level or leave at the state level.

 If we act more responsibly not only as persons, but as a city or state we can eliminate these departments by establishing our own trade partners (1,2,9,13), enforcing private property laws/rights (2,7,5,9,13), drastically reducing our welfare system (3,4,5,6,9,11,13), reducing regulations (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13), utilizing our natural resources (1,2,5,7,9,13), maintaining and improving our infrastructure (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, 10,13) and in general just being smart and responsible (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13).

1. The Department of Commerce (all)
2. The Department of the Interior
3. The Department of Immigration (all)
4. The Department of Health and Human Services (all)
5. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (all)
6. The Department of Justice
7. The Environmental Protection Agency (all)
8. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
9. The Internal Revenue Service (all)
10. The Department of Transportation (all)
11. The Department of Corrections (all)
12. The Transportation Safety Administration
13. The Department of Labor Relations

 If we were to promote self reliance and personal responsibility we could then eliminate these departments and services entirely after some time.

1. The Department of Education (all)
2. The Department of Social Security
3. Federal Subsidies (all)
4. The Internal Revenue Service (all)
5. Medicare and Medicaid
6. The Department of Labor Relations

  If we stopped running around the world punching people in the face, kicking them in the knee-caps, destroying their cities and stealing their stuff we could eliminate these departments and services entirely and immediately. We would also be able to secure our borders, decrease our debt, decrease our tax burden, reduce our enemies and in general go back to being the good and awesome nation that we were meant to be.

1. The Department of Homeland Security
2. The Department of Defense
3. The Department of Justice
4. The Transportation Safety Administration
5. The Federal Emergency Management Agency
6. Foreign Aid (all)
7. The Internal Revenue Service (all)

Now, personally, I think this is a great start to reforming our government.

 The Proliferation of Education

 Let me start by saying that your perceived right to education is a fallacy and laughable at best. You have a right to educate yourself, but you do not have a right to force someone to pay for that education. If you think that you do, I am shocked that you were able to make it this far into the article without your head exploding.

 No one has the right to stop your pursuit of happiness so long as that pursuit in no way infringes on the rights of another. You are free to read all the books you want, free to go to all the classes that you want, free to take, fail or pass any course in education you wish, so long as you or an agreeable benefactor pays for it. Neither you, nor the government has any right to confiscate the fruits of labor (money) from another individual to pay for that education.

 Money earned is the fruit of labor of a person. It is half of one agreement for labor, skill, or advice between two or more parties. As such it is the property of the individual that has bargained for it and to confiscate by force or the threat thereof, coercion or to redirect that property without the freely expressed consent of the owner is theft.

 When I hear of “raising taxes for education”, what I really hear is “steal more money from me to pay for someone else’s education”. I’m not a bad guy, but honestly, I don’t want to be forced to pay for Tom’s kids to be able to go to school. They’re his kids, not mine and if Tom wants his kids to have an education then he needs to be responsible, make sacrifices and do whatever he must to insure they receive the education he desires for them. It’s his responsibility, not mine.

 I have my own personal responsibilities and they extend so far as to my wife and two sons. If their education is really that important to me, then I will make the necessary sacrifices to provide it for them. If that means I have to patch some holes in my jeans instead of buying a new pair, buying used tires instead of new ones or eating top ramen for lunch everyday for the next five years then guess what, I will make it happen.

 The public school system absolutely disgusts me and personally I think it should be abolished or completely dismantled and rebuilt. It is clearly dysfunctional, inefficient, biased, incompetent, unreliable and a complete and utter failure to the children. I might be more inclined to tolerate the “redistribution of my wealth” if the system actually worked!

 But it doesn’t, and instead of having our money put to good use, we are stuck with multitudes of kids that can barely read, kids that can’t dissect a sentence let alone compose one. Students that have a ridiculously shallow perception of history, a complete lack of understanding of the Constitution, Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, the Civil War and who posses no ability for critical thinking beyond that of the next MP3 download or cup of triple mocha non-fat bullshit!

 I apologize for the language, but some things really, really get under my skin.

 To be completely honest, I don’t want you to think that I am a well educated man or that I think that I am smarter, better educated or better period than any other person. I have no education higher than grade 12 and I have no desire to return to any university in my life. Though I may be better off materially than others, I am in no way better than any of my fellow man.

 I understand that our system does produce some exceptional individuals, but these individuals, I believe already possessed a decent amount of intellect. They possessed great potential before they entered the university and they gleaned a far greater amount than the average student because of their inherent intellect. The school system does not make a dumb person smart, or a smart person smarter, it merely provides them with more tools to cultivate their intellect. At least, that is what it was intended to do.

 Understanding this core function and failure, it pains me to hear a politician talk about the “issue” of education or “fixing” it. It seems the only solution they have is to throw more money at it. I can assure you, money is not the issue…with the issue.

 In 2009 I did some research as to the expenditures of the state of California on public education. The scope reviewed only those expenses related to the grades K-12. I had, for some time, been at odds with the school system as each basic class, year after year seemed a monotonous redundancy of the prior year, with few new challenges. The infamous budget stalemate between the “Governator” and the assembly begged that I look into it…if only for fun.

 I cannot remember the exact details and I don’t really feel like looking into it again. Basically I took the total dollar amount of grade K-12 expenses for the budget year 08/09 (not fiscal year) and divided it by the total number of registered school aged children in that category. The total expense per student ended up right about $9000.00.

 Nine-thousand dollars! This includes: administration, facilities, transportation, meals and nurses, everything that goes into the education of these kids. I was astonished, mortified and disgusted. For nine thousand dollars per year I could provide an excellent education for both of my kids and afford a week long stay at Disneyland. A few months after that, I was informed by my state senator that of that approximate nine thousand, only $0.41 of every dollar went to the actual classroom instruction. This coupled with the other information leaves me with a one word conclusion-pathetic.

 The problem is not more money, it never has been and it never will be. The problem is the same with any state or government run agency-incompetence-willful or otherwise. Now, ask yourself this question, do you really want to keep paying into a system that remains broken such as this?

 Choice and Life

  As you might have guessed this next section is about abortion. I of all people know how sensitive this issue is and I have a personal take on it. Nevertheless, I will endeavor to keep it brief.

 Since Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton there have been approximately 50 million abortions performed in the United States. In 2008 there were 1.21 million.

 My battle is personal and at times I find myself torn between choice and life, Liberty and death. I think that is an eternal struggle that we must all face, in our own way. My religious beliefs do have a standard to bear as well as convictions to hold to, but I know that in time of doubt, those faiths may not hold me steadfast enough. I know, because they have already failed me once. In the end, it was my desire to see a new face, one that I could call my own. A desire to see a life that was indeed a part of me, inseparable in blood, that overcame.

 My girlfriend and I had been dating for a few months and I had yet to confess or profess my love for her. I did indeed love her and knew that I would marry her in time, but I was not yet ready to let her in on the secret. A hopeless romantic was I in that I wanted it to be special and most memorable. I was to have my way for indeed it was a most memorable day.

 We found that she was pregnant near to my birthday and though I was secretly excited, she was terrified. In her paraphrased words, “I didn’t know if you loved me or if it would last and I was scared to raise a baby on my own.” Her fears were entirely understandable, even to this day.

 I remember having the conversation about what to do about “it”. I remember thinking, “No, you can’t even be talking about this!” I also remember thinking that if it didn’t work what then would we do? It was, for a brief moment “on the table” and yes, my faith based beliefs had failed me and given way to thoughts of remedy. I think the first conversation ended with me saying something as uncouth and insensitive as, “It’s not up to me, it’s your decision.”

Though I was for a moment given to entertain the idea, it was only brief. I can remember sitting on the couch with tears running down my face; the agony and torment I felt in my heart and soul for even thinking it a possibility were almost too great to bear. In that second conversation I retracted my first statement stating that, “I didn’t know if I could go through with it. I didn’t know if I could kill my child.”

 The tears still come when I think about that day.

Thankfully, all she needed was my love and support in the open to make her decision. We have now been married for 5 years, four months and we have two awesome sons, Benjamin Matthew and Liam Andrew.

 The Constitutionalist in me says that liberty is due us all and that we all have the right to decide for ourselves what choices we make and ultimately have to live with. It also battles with the unequivocal right to life and the need to protect life.

 Life and freedom are not synonymous. They are at times, at odds with each other. I know not what binds a man can place on his self, but I do know the framers saw fit to scribe “Life” before “Liberty” and the “Pursuit of Happiness” in their declaration of independence.

 I think they understood that to have liberty, you must first have life. I think they understood that you must protect life if you are to ever have liberty, even if it means you must surrender your own of either in doing so.

 I can’t make up your mind on this issue, but I can say that as a society I think eventually, with or without abortion being legal, we will outgrow it. I think in time we will come to understand life before liberty in truth and marvel at how our mothers and fathers could have ever saw it differently.

 The decision is ultimately yours and I would not attempt to persuade you otherwise except to say this; in seeing that great and wonderful Life that Love can produce, I am free to Pursue my Happiness.

 In Liberty,
 Richard Camacho

Blowback and an American Father

Blowback and an American Father

Blowback:

 : Blowback is the espionage term for unintended consequences of a covert operation that are suffered by the civil population of the aggressor government.”

Consequence:

 “The relation between a result and its cause”, “something that follows as a result”

  MSword – Encarta

Reaction:

 “A reaction or effect resulting from an action or cause, usually a negative reaction”

  MSword – Encarta

 Regardless of what you may believe, blowback is real and it does have severe consequences for our country. I will do my best to explain it in a way that I can understand it; because if I can understand it, then anyone can.

 Listed below are a summary of events that I have looked into over the years and their consequences. I have only listed those that have a clear and direct intervention with a US hand. There are many theories about wars and attacks over the last two hundred years, but I will not go into those here. I challenge you to check these facts and seek the truth for yourself. All I can do is plant the seed, it is up to you to water and nurture the tree. Once you do, I know you will agree that our foreign policy needs to change.

1)      We invaded a land and began to consume its resources, develop the land and kill and displace the indigenous people. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Death to thousands of American people at the hands of the Native Americans.

2)      We infringed on the rights of the several states to determine the morality and legality of slavery. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Secession of several states from the union.

·        A Civil war with close to one million deaths.

·        The assassination of President Lincoln.

3)      We directed the CIA to support an insurgency of rebels to overthrow the Iranian regime in 1953/54. We set up the Shah Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi who later, was overthrown by the people in an effort to regain their democracy and freedom. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Iranian nationals attacking the U.S. Embassy holding 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. The matter was resolved when the U.S. and Iran signed the Algerian Accord.

4)      In 1958 the U.S. installed medium range ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads in Russia’s backyard, Turkey. In 1961 we installed similar missiles in the UK. All of these missiles had the capability of delivering their payload to Moscow. In 1961/62 the U.S. launched a covert attack against Cuba in an attempt to over throw the regime of Fidel Castro; this is known as the Bay of Pigs/Operation mongoose. The operation failed and was an embarrassment to JFK and his administration. Blowback came in the form of:

·  The Cuban Missile Crisis. I am sure everyone has heard of this at least once, but it is basically where the U.S. & Russia and perhaps the world, barely avoided destruction by nuclear war. This problem was solved when Kennedy and Khrushchev picked up the phone and talked to each other. What a concept!

·  In 1963 President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. It is known that Oswald was a communist sympathizer having lived in Russia for some time. It is believed the assassination was orchestrated by Communist Russia and Cuba in retaliation for the Cuban missile crisis and other events.

5)      In the mid 1950’s the U.S. refused to sign the Geneva Accords which would have prevented them from engaging in any political activity with respect to Vietnam. It also created a ceasefire between France and Vietnam. The U.S. could not do this because they were supporting the Vietnamese Prime minister Diem (who later installed himself as President) with intelligence and foreign aid (Operation Plan 34-Alpha,). When they grew tired of Deim’s regime and found they could no longer adequately control him, they refused to provide intelligence or stop a coup by various generals and political rivals on Deim’s regime (1963). The U.S. had already been covertly attacking NV from the sea and was complicit in the aid of the SV in military actions (1961). Blowback came in the form of:

·        The USS Maddox Incident

·        The Vietnam war

6)      The Iran-Contra Affair took place in the mid eighties. A terrorist group captured six American citizens and held them hostage. They wanted the complete withdrawal of Israel from the Golan Heights and probably one or two other things. The U.S. said no and things deteriorated. We ended up selling arms through Israel to some terrorists, military persons and the Iranian government (they were not an enemy at this time, but they were not exactly friendly to us either) and sending some of the proceeds to fund the Contras in Central America. We wanted to overthrow the communist government of Nicaragua, but we couldn’t just march in and do it. We also could not directly fund the Contras due to the Boland Amendment. So we gave millions of dollars to a cruel military force and in exchange we were able to entrench ourselves even deeper into the drug trade of Central and South America. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Arming terrorist nations and persons that would later use those arms against our allies and soldiers.

·        Expanding the drug trade and increasing trafficking to the U.S.

·        Creating the crack cocaine epidemic in America that ultimately led to a renewed commitment in the war on drugs, by incarcerating blacks, Hispanics and other minorities including poor white people, at a disproportionately high rate.

·        Establishing a dialogue with terrorist organizations that we would later cultivate into a partnership against communism.

7)      Afghanistan vs. Communist Russia. Over the course of the ten year war the U.S.S.R. waged in Afghanistan (1979-1989) the U.S.’s involvement in the war remained covert and clandestine. We could not allow communist Russia to gain a foot hold in a land so rich with natural resources and we could not allow the region to become “destabilized”. We not only funded the start up Al-Qaeda network, but we established training camps for their fighters and provided them with arms, most notably, the stinger missiles. We were helping them under the guise of freedom for there land, but we had other reasons as well. We needed to make sure that Russia did not gain control of this area as we had designs on it ourselves. We also needed to make sure that the war lasted as long as it could, as we were undermining Russia’s economy during this time. When the Russians finally retreated the Mujahadeen celebrated a great victory and praised their new friends and allies, the Americans. The victory was short lived though as we started to establish embassies in their holy land. We effectively cut them off from funding and arms and for all intents and purposes deemed them a threat. Having no need for the Mujahadeen any longer we left them to hang in the wind on one or two occasions. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Thousands of new enemy combatants and terrorists were now trained in the art of war by the U.S. military and CIA.

·        Terrorists were now supplied with modern weapons and bomb making technologies.

·        In 1992 a hotel was bombed in an attempt to kill U.S. soldiers en-route to Somalia. Two persons were killed, none of them Americans.

·        In 1993 the World Trade Center towers were attacked with a car bomb, killing six people and injuring over a thousand.

·        In 1998 the U.S. embassy in East Africa was bombed killing over 300 persons.

·        In 2000 the USS COLE was bombed killing 17 U.S. soldiers.

·        In 2001 the Twin Towers were again attacked and destroyed killing around 3000 people and destroying three buildings.

8)      After the war in Afghanistan Russia could barely afford to keep its government running. The U.S. interests had been undermining its economy for sometime and the prolonged war in Afghanistan all but ensured the downfall of communist Russia. The Gorbachev-Reagan “Tear down this wall” speech was nothing if not show. Russia by this time had become largely insolvent and there was no way for it to maintain its empire (Hmm, sounds familiar). The fall had to be carefully orchestrated so as not to create a panic in the mother land as well as in the rest of the world. The next few years in Russia were extremely difficult for the average citizen as the economy all but ground to a halt. Blowback from the fall of the U.S.S.R came in the form of:

·        Thousands of arms sold on the black market, many going to terrorist organizations.

·        Thousands of troops and scientists now “for hire” to anyone who could pay.

·        Complete destabilization of the region and states resulting in far more “terrorist” organizations and activities than before.

·        Our “enemies” had now multiplied and were better armed than they had previously been.

·        Genocide and ethnic cleansings took place in more than one Slavic nation formerly in the U.S.S.R.

9)      Saddam Hussein and Iraq: In the early sixties, the U.S. was covertly undermining the regime of General Abdul Karim Qassim. The General has successfully deposed a regime that was loyal to the west. After asserting the country’s sovereignty and threatening American interests in Iraq, The Kennedy administration sought to have him removed. The CIA recruited various persons in the Ba’athist party, Hussein being one, and sought to instigate a regime change. Several years after the initial coup, Hussein came to power. The U.S. had not been in communication with the new regime for some time, but now sought new relations with the new president of Iraq. The U.S. sold him weapons including, guns, ammo, viruses, chemical agents fro use in civilian and military applications, nuclear technologies and a host of other items. I am sure we also provided funding to his regime. The U.S. allowed the Attack on Iran and was complicit in the deaths of over 5000 kurds through chemical and biological agents. When the U.S. found it could no longer control Saddam in a satisfactory manner, they sought to tie him to the terrorists believed responsible for 9/11 and WMD’s in that region. The U.S. Invaded Iraq in 2003 with the ultimate goal of deposing Saddam and gaining control over the region. Blowback came in the form of:

·        Terrorist persons now actively engaged in Iraq where none had been previously.

·        The Iraq war

·        The loss of thousands of American soldiers in this war.

·        Increased agitation of Iran and various other Arab/Muslim nations as to our presence in the region.

10)  Due to the U.S.’s overwhelming and insidious interventions across the globe, lots and lots of people are pissed off at us. They now hate our government and therefore hate America. They cannot kill our leaders so they kill us. This is blowback. This is the consequence of our military campaign, of our meddling in the affairs of other nations and our constant nation building and “peace keeping”. The reaction of an attacked nation or people is to attack the aggressor and in case you did not notice, the U.S. has long since stopped merely defending this country; they have been actively attacking other nations. What we now see at home in the from of blowback is:

·        The Patriot Act

·        The National Defense Authorization Act (2011)

·        SOPA

·        The beginning of a Police State:

I have heard many people talk of the “terrorists” and the reasons why they hate us and want to kill us. I can’t help but laugh when I hear people say that they hate us because we are free. They hate us because we are rich. They hate us because we are infidels and we do not follow Islamic law. It sounds good to the average American that gets his or her news from Fox News, but the reality is actually much darker. They hate us, because we are bombing their countries, killing their men, women and children, poisoning their lands and stealing their resources. It’s just that simple.

 These “terrorist” organizations have stated many times, they want all U.S. military presence out of the holy land. They do not want our western democracy and they certainly do not want or need us to tell them how to live. They don’t want a Starbucks or Rite Aid on every corner. They don’t want our western religion corrupting their children. They don’t want our western music and films corrupting their society.

 I can see that and I can understand that. While I agree with what they are saying, I don’t agree with the murder of innocent people-by either side.

 Whenever I am faced with a person who parrots words from the tele-prompted-AP-wire-fed-news that is spoken as if it were indeed the truth, I use this layman’s argument. When I am done I ask two simple questions, I always get the same responses.

 “My family has owned a piece of land for over a hundred years. I have a modest sized house on it, but mostly the land is open and wild. The boys and I love to walk the land and explore. My wife and I love to sit on the back porch and watch the sunsets in the summer.

 One day a wealthy man decides that it is not right that I should have all this land, yet it is going to waste so he decides to start building a house on it. I try talking to him, but he either ignores me or becomes increasingly violent and threatening towards me. He calls me names and says that I am just being greedy, selfish and close-minded.

 So I go to the police, who in turn refuse to stop him. After arguing with the police for several weeks they threaten me with arrest for harassment and falsifying police reports.

 Again I try to talk to the man and reason with him, but he doesn’t listen, nor does he care. The construction crew the man hired to build the house calls my wife names and is constantly saying vulgar and indecent things to her.

 Then I file suit in court. The man has the best lawyers and he plays golf with the judge so naturally, my case is tossed out after I am ridiculed by the judge for being calloused and selfish.

 After the house is built I get a letter from the county assessor stating that due to recent improvements the taxes on the land have gone up. Arguing with the department does no good, because just as the judge, the assessor and the man are good friends. The assessor states that he will take my land if I am even one day late on a payment.

 After months of battling with the county, state, police and courts, the days grow long and start to heat up. So the man decides he wants to have a pool put in.

 At this point I am almost ready to throw in the towel.

 The man decides that having the pool right next to his house is not an option, so he tears down the fence I just had built and puts the pool in my backyard.

 We argued, but of course, he won again.

 So I pleaded with the man to build a small fence around the pool, for the sake of my sons.

He declines and says it would detract from the aesthetics of the waterfall.

 I relent again and tell my wife that the boys can’t go outside unless she or I are with them.

 Over the next few weeks with put up with the man and his loud pool parties that last well into the night. Bleary eyed we roll out of bed only to have to clean up the mess his guest leave, and we pay to have the extra trash hauled away.

 Then one day, my son Ben, sneaks out of the house while I am at work. He knows to stay away form the pool, but he is running around and playing. He is not paying attention to what he is doing and he falls into the pool. My wife is in the house, she doesn’t hear his cries for help.

 My four year old son, Benjamin, drowned in a pool put on my land by a man that thought he could do whatever he wanted just because he felt like it.”

 A man stole my land. Destroyed my property, belittled and insulted my family; caused the death of my son, and all the while he was protected by his money and friends.

 What do you think I am going to do to that man and his family? What do you think I am going to do to all of his friends and their families?

What would you do?

In Liberty,

 Richard Camacho

Ron Paul 2012