Beware ANY Stimulus Package

They're at it again, those damnable politicians promising to stimulate the economy and promising to offer a real shot in the arm' to those of us in need. Bush says what will take care of us is tax breaks of $300 or $600 (which equates to $25 or $50 per month for a year) and Hillary decrying his plan as not nearly enough to help the seniors or African-Americans as the party politics ramp up their message.

Are you scared yet? Do you have enough fear in your economic situation to send you scurrying toward what amounts to a dose of Viagra which is good for a few but the many will be negatively impacted by the side-effects? Stimulus packages are being spewed forth from every campaign (sorry Dr. Paul, you're excluded) that will lift us from our challenges and deliver us from the sins of a recessionary economy!

This warning is for every U.S. citizen, these stimulus packages' are not going to positively help the many. Our dollar is crashing on world markets folks. Look into the Sovereign Wealth Fund and then look further into the 7 year plan to align the U.S. and European economy through the Transatlantic Common Market. We buy into these movements if we accept stimulus plans that equate to a total of $140 billion dollars (Bush proposal) and more!

Hilary Clinton, George Bush and all other candidates and representatives supporting this type of answer' knows full well they are band-aid proposals on a major wound. We need to embrace the idea our monetary policy fails everyday consumers; you, your neighbors, and me. They cannot fix our challenges with some sound-good, feel-good stimulation. The only thing stimulation packages do is creating a further usurpation of our liberty. Every great financial crisis has led to an increase in Federal Government control. Whether it be the Great Depression or our current challenges politicians are not telling us the hard truth!

We are in for a rough economic road ahead. The only way we can overcome these difficulties in the long term is to deal with the challenges and demand real monetary reform. I know this is not the easiest answer to accept. I know most want to embrace some Federal program to save us. It is not reality! Reality is foreign countries are controlling more of our economic future and our politicians are selling us short. Study the economic issues and realize there are tough but correct answers to the problems.

Don't swallow their pill, don't settle for less than your grand children deserve, demand we begin correcting the errors of our ways. It's not going to be easy folks, but in the long run we must accept the potential of a crash today in order to save our future generations. Study each of their stimuli and you will see it is nothing more than a false sense of security and we don't need anymore of their false promises, we need truth! Unlike common political belief, we CAN handle the truth and we stand ready to deal with what it takes to insure long-term improvement.

Reclaim Congress: Demand an End to Oligarchy Rule!

by Gary Wood
© January 10, 2008

With an ever increasing number of Independent voters it is time to address a key challenge to our Constitution that grips the U.S. Congress. Newly elected Senators and Representatives cannot take their oath and begin to represent their constituents. Those elected by the people are subjugated in status based on a vial, derisive system we have allowed to grow within the halls of Congress. The practice of the Democratic and Republican Parties selecting majority and minority leaders, whips, and support staffs has become a tradition whose control equates to no more than an oligarchy rule over this country’s legislative branch.

An oligarchy is defined as “a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few.” At what point did you or your neighbor elect any past majority or minority leader? Why is it those appointed to these roles have a louder, more powerful voice than the Senator or Representative the voters just entrusted their voice to? This ‘clique’ has carefully leveled an extreme amount of power over anyone outside of their inner circle. When the Independent voters begin selecting representation beyond the two major parties this ‘clique’ will be there to silence the voices of voters.

From the United States Senate’s website the definition of party floor leaders (emphasis added) is, “The Majority Leader and Minority Leader are elected by their respective party conferences to serve as the chief Senate spokesmen for their parties and to manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate. By custom, the Presiding Officer gives the floor leaders priority in obtaining recognition to speak on the floor of the Senate.” The following definition for the position of whip is given. “Assistants to the floor leaders who are also elected by their party conferences. The Majority and Minority Whips (and their assistants) are responsible for mobilizing votes within their parties on major issues. In the absence of a party floor leader, the whip often serves as acting floor leader.”

None of these positions were mandated in the Constitution yet began to emerge around the turn of the 19^th and 20^th century. Today they are merely accepted traditional, customary, and extremely powerful positions. Remember, the Senate was to be overseen by the Vice President and the House by a Speaker of the House. We will hear from the Republican and Democrat Parties alike how important it is to have these ‘key’ leadership positions to help the flow of legislation. There will be cries against ending this ‘time-honored tradition’ and we will, no doubt, be warned of the dangers of ending the practice. No matter what arguments these two parties present it is imperative their grip on the U.S. Congress be brought to an end.

Note very clearly who the floor leaders speak for, their parties with priority in speaking. Nevadans may have elected Harry Reid but it is his job to speak for his party. Kentucky counted on being represented by Mitch McConnell but he is busy speaking not for Kentucky but for the Republican Party. At the same time these ‘leaders’ are given priority there are many Senators and Representatives who must struggle for a voice while facing the wrath of their perspective parties if they dare speak out against the stance embraced by that party. Where, in this scenario, is the voice of the people?

This may well be the fruition of the warnings voiced over 200 years ago regarding the dangerous, tyrannical nature of party politics. In his 1796 Farewell Address George Washington sounded a loud and clear warning;

“All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and associations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberation and action of the constituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels and modified by mutual interests.

However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

The leadership of the two major parties in the United States successfully usurped the reins of government, just as Washington warned. This subversion of the power of the people is no more clearly evident than within the structure of the U.S. Congress accepted by the people, until now. Any organized political party, including the Republican and Democrat Party, must not be allowed to control the legislative branch and must be allowed only to influence the campaigns leading up to, not beyond, the swearing in of those we the people elect.

The power is shifted back and forth between only two parties, Republicans and Democrats. In the current structure there is no way any person elected from outside the two majority party powerhouses in the United States could ever hope to land one of these power positions. It would be easier to get elected as a third party Presidential candidate rather than win a seat at the inner circle of Congressional power. Anytime there is a shift in the control of Congress the parties merely switch majority and minority hats.

We the people are currently being bombarded with the word ‘change’ during the current campaign. This word will become a part of each of the 469 Congressional races soon to be under way. By January 2009 those elected as our Senators and Representatives must be allowed to stand on equal ground so the people of Rhode Island are equally represented as the people of California and all 50 States.

Third party candidates or true Independent candidates will attempt to gain a voice yet even if elected their voice and the voice of those voting for them will be silenced and no real change effected unless we demand an end to the power structure within the halls of Congress. The oligarchy rule, the usurped power controlling the reigns of our legislative branch must be severed. We must demand a return to the Constitutional structure within both chambers and the change must be swift and immediate.

Ron Paul Digs Up Roots: Others Prefer You Simply Smell the Roses!

Ω What is prettier to the eye, the roses on a rose bush or the roots? Of course, the roses are prettier to the eye just as the political, feel-good rhetoric is easier to the voter’s ear. We can smell the rose’s fragrance, enjoy its beauty, and romance about the way our lover swooned the last time we shared the flower’s beauty with them. Of course, we must avoid the thorns or they will prick our skin and cause us to bleed. Also, the roses we presented lasted for a short time and, if we failed to empty the water vase soon enough, we learned the stench of dead roses is quite unpleasant. Despite that we still marvel at their beauty and pick or buy them over and over.

Although the rose is pretty to the eye without the plants roots what beauty would we find? The roots provide the life of the bush, the thorns, the limbs, and the beauty of the rose. The planter of the bush must care for the roots for if a single rose is picked it merely dies soon without the roots but if the roots die the entire bush dies with them and no longer are there any roses for us to enjoy. Those ugly on the eye, dirty roots are the key to a beautiful rose or no rose at all.

Whenever any business or organization is attempting to improve productivity or solve complex problems the goal is to identify the root cause of the problem. There are many challenges that spring up around the root cause. If we fail to identify the root cause and only address the surface challenge problems will continue to blossom although they won’t be as pleasing as a rose. New managers and supervisors often are plagued with spending their day putting out fire after fire while failing to extinguish the source of the fire. Management consultants and industrial engineers earn a good living helping organizations identify and solve root causes of problems. Once those are solved the never-ending surface challenges finally end!

One problem with identifying and dealing with the root causes is the fact they are often the most unpleasant to admit to having. Especially if the root cause is found at a high enough level within the organization, specifically if they involve a key employee or a long standing process that has become accepted as necessary. While working as an Air Force Management Engineer I remember Commanding Officers who refused to accept our study’s findings at first. The solutions usually took less time to implement, measure, and verify with positive results than did the initial acceptance the root cause was in fact a policy or process they personally implemented. "That’s the way I’ve always done it," does not mean it has always been done the best way possible.

It is this basic understanding of the importance of identifying root causes prior to attempting to solve problems combined with my knowledge of the other candidates that really made me finally realize they don’t want the voters to understand the real problems, the roots Ron Paul keeps digging up! During the recent ABC debates Ron Paul once again talked directly about root causes to problems facing us and how to begin solving those problems. Once again the other candidates provided merely lip-service, feel good, empty words. The words sounded good to the viewer’s ears while Ron Paul’s message is harder to listen to. If anyone missed reading Nolan Chart columnist John Armstrong’s article, "Ron Paul: A Man Among Boys at ABC Debate" please do. Clearly Ron Paul dug up the roots of the problem surrounding the rising cost of oil in the United States and our ensuing energy crisis.

When Dr. Paul clearly identified the weakening of the dollar and our failed monetary system as a major root cause he was right on target. Yet, the most experienced and skilled business man among the candidates, Mitt Romney, applauded each of his opponents’ answers to the energy crisis EXCEPT our weakening dollar. He knows without a sound financial base a business will fail. So why didn’t he help explain the connection of our monetary system to rising oil prices? Why don’t most of the politicians trying to gain our vote for President talk directly about root causes?

To admit the root cause is a failed policy is unpleasant and difficult for any person in our leadership to share with the voting public. If the root cause is failed policy those in charge of the policy have to then admit there were errors made. The vicious cycle of dealing with surface problems persists but in the end the bush will die if someone does not attack the real problem, if the roots aren’t cared for. In 2008 it is not a rose bush that dies; it is the very prosperity so many promise to deliver and so many of us want change to deliver.

The American roots are rotting; I know how ugly that is to look at directly. Politicians want us to believe our problems in foreign lands are the terrorist’s fault, not ours. Politicians want us to believe our high prices for oil are due to company greed or dastardly Middle Eastern rulers who control the oil production. Politicians want us to believe illegal aliens are invading our country to merely escape their country’s problems. Politicians want us to believe our public education system is failing because our educators simply are not measuring up to the standards they should.

Politicians want us to believe we can solve these problems by having our military kill the terrorists where they live. Politicians want us to believe the government can force the greedy companies or dastardly rulers to treat us fairer. Politicians want us to believe a fence and more border patrol agents can stop the invasion upon our borders. Politicians want us to believe we can force teachers to perform their jobs better by testing them and punishing them if they fail to measure up. Politicians want us to believe it is not our fault and they can take care of us and provide for us solutions to our woes.

Ron Paul wants us to understand our root causes are real and destroying our way of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. He also wants us to understand the root causes are difficult to solve yet together we can solve them. He wants us to understand by solving the real problems, at their roots, can be achieved. By taking the time to understand, by implementing real solutions, measuring the results, and verifying those results not only can we restore prosperity, we can insure our children’s children will be able to enjoy the beauty of the rose.

Here is a little secret all voters need to understand, Ron Paul is not alone in wanting to attack our problems at their roots. There are thousands of economists, business leaders, military leaders, every day citizens, and even some politicians that will join in the fight to restore this nation to the healthy roots we once flourished with. It is up to you to join those thousands; it is up to you to insure future generations enjoy the beauty of the rose. There is Hope for America if we dare only to understand the answers are in our roots.

©2008 by Gary Wood
- Permission to copy with attribution granted.

The Long Haul Revolution!

There is a sense Iowa was somehow a loss for those involved in the Ron Paul Revolution. Let us not forget what this really signifies.

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To Caucus or Not to Caucus

We await the results from Iowa yet should we even be involved in the caucus process if we are a democracy?

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Why Am I a Ron Paul Republican?

Anyone following the candidacy of Ron Paul has heard the question asked and answered many times regarding his party affiliation. Each time he reminds the questioner he is probably the most Republican of any of the Republican candidates in the race. Many articles and discussions are now referring to him as a libertarian Republican; a part of the Republican Liberty Caucus which many Republican voters do not even seem to know exists. Is his claim more spin or is it accurate? Are the roots of the Republican Party set in ideas of liberty?

While visiting my county’s website, to find the location of the precinct caucus for where I live, there was a reminder that the party roots are as Ron Paul claims. What I found can be found on Republican Party websites across the country. It is a listing of beliefs within the party and given as the reasoning behind affiliating with them. Let’s take a look at each one and consider Ron Paul’s ideals. The listing states several beliefs and each one starts with the words ‘I Believe’ starting with;

I am a Republican Because…

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.

Ron Paul: There is no doubt he embraces this. He has discussed the problem with many in the U.S. is we’ve lost confidence in our own ability. He also reminds us if we are to accomplish the goal of ending income taxation and the IRS we must be responsible for ourselves and not rely on the federal government for things we should be doing.

I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.

Ron Paul: Again, he strongly supports equality for all citizens. He differentiates between the equality however when it comes to those illegally living in the U.S. Although some try to claim he is racist due to his ‘no’ votes on some legislation their claims are shallow and unfounded.

I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.

Ron Paul: He strongly supports government getting out of the way. He does not support corporatism or subsidies but clearly is in favor of true free market economics. His stance in this area has been unwavering.

I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.

Ron Paul: Consistently stands in favor of the NEED to reduce government spending and restoring a monetary system that makes sense. He wants to end income taxation and replace it with nothing. Keep in mind, he operates his Congressional office in such a fiscal manner he returns a portion of his budget EVERY year. He knows the lack of fiscal responsibility is a root cause of the problem and is willing to articulate the negative impacts of the inflation tax along with other crippling ripple effects.

I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.

Ron Paul: While the Republican’s controlled both the legislative and executive branches of our federal government we saw massive expansions of many bureaucratic organizations. In researching and picking apart the votes and initiatives leading to this growth Dr. No was the lone voice on too many occasions calling for reduced federal involvement in our lives. The foundational document provides a very good roadmap to what critical functions are. Individuals and private organizations can do much more for citizens, with far greater efficiency and compassion, than the federal government. One candidate advocates the less is best philosophies which use to be a standard the party stood by in earnest.

I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.

Ron Paul: Again, throughout his entire political career his voice rang out for more power and authority at the local and State level. It was through this very concept the founding of this country was initially successful. By the time Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, "It is not the administrative, but the political effectiveness of the local system I most admire," the wisdom of this was being clearly proven. This is a key factor that only Dr. Paul appears to embrace among the current candidates.

I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.

Ron Paul: His voice continually rises, even in front of hostile receptors of the message; we must retain our foundational principles. Also, he understands the importance of building upon and improving the founders concepts and sees hope in that process. There is no abandoning of these principles due to modernization or fear.

I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.

Ron Paul: This is clearly tied to a foreign policy of non-intervention. Jeffersonian Republicans knew it, and many strong Republican leaders ran on and supported it throughout the history of our Grand Old Party. Among all the candidates currently seeking the Presidency his is the only voice who still believes in it and, no matter if it is what the audience may want to hear, is willing to always present it as key and critical to the future prosperity of the United States and hope for a more global peace.

FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Ron Paul: After learning the true challenges of entangling himself with another party nearly 20 years ago he has since championed these very beliefs as a Republican. I too, at one point, briefly ran as a Libertarian and learned this same lesson. He embraces the very foundations of the party and strongly supports the party and the Republican Liberty Caucus within the party.

He understands the history of the Republican Party, he has studied each belief, and he has held strong to those beliefs while many in the party have wandered so far from the path many mistake them for Democrats. We hear the term Republicrats used often and there is a growing perception there is little or no difference between the two parties. There is a difference in the history of the party that once championed the Constitution and stood by the beliefs outlined on the many county websites across the country. I am a Ron Paul Republican for one simple and never changing fact. In 2008 Ron Paul is the only TRUE Republican running on the party’s ticket, the only one we can look to and see our beliefs in consistent, passionate action.

Liberty's Success = 471

by Gary Wood
©December 22, 2007

We’re hearing an ever growing number of voices shouting liberty and freedom. In an election year there are many candidates willing to use these words rhetorically hoping to spark trust or patriotic feelings to garner a vote. A vote tells us a lot about those trying to convince us they will help change the way our government is run and they will restore liberty and freedom. Listen to the soundbites bombarding us from all sides and you will hear the use of such emotional splendor as constitution, founding fathers, our foundation, our heritage, and American values connected with their words of promise. Yet most promise these passionate rhetorical guarantees quite often and once elected quickly forget since it was only rhetoric to be used for persuasion, mental invasion, and then to be tucked away for the next reelection campaign.

This approach has worked well for countless state and federal level representatives as well as many campaigning to become our Commander-in-Chief. Year after election year the magic trick of rhetoric is pulled on an audience too busy attempting to live a life filled with daily time pressures and demands. Falling far too often for the political tricks, simply by being entranced by the candidate’s patter, those not helping restore liberty and freedom find themselves returning to governing and entertaining the lobbying clan. However, a magic trick and rhetoric can only be shown to the same audience just so many times before the mystique and belief in magic gives way to the real nature of the slight of hand movements, or in this case the lack of real change. No longer mesmerized and amazed the audience becomes disappointed that there is no real magic, no real magician, just tricks of the trade, the tricks secret now revealed.

So it is this election year, you can find them everywhere spitting the patter of liberty, freedom, and hope. Yet they finally showed their trick to the same audience too many times and now we know there are no real magicians, except maybe one. Watching this one, who’s been performing his brand of magic for decades, he appears to a growing number to be the only skilled magician among the many would be hopefuls. Perhaps there are others yet his skill is creating a mighty stir, his act is becoming the true main attraction. Watching his vote we catch no deceit, following his actions we sense a real feat. Liberty and freedom are not empty words and the foundation of the nation is his passion, our treat.

Yet change in the way our federal government is run, restoring liberty and freedom, really improving the paths for our children’s children takes more than one, even if he becomes President. Would you agree that’s true? With a wise selection for Vice President that’s still only two so is there anything at all the audience can really do? Real magic, beyond a rhetorical parlor trick, takes focus and steady concentration. This election year, if you are one who internally desires the restoration of liberty, help every registered voter you can focus on 471. Do this and this year the U.S. Constitution will have won. Ahhh, the magic in the trick, the secret you wish revealed is what is the power of 471?

Its simple mathematics as magic often is; President Ron Paul and his Vice President are two, add 34 Senators who’re in need of your vote plus 435 Representatives wanting the same and only cast your vote, your focus, on a candidate that wants liberty and freedom as badly as you! How do you know? Track the votes, follow the actions and if there is no feat beat feet. Only focus, only vote for candidates you are confident are on freedom’s true side and now you have power beyond even a most talented Dr. Paul. Now you have the power to get true change done. Help restore our Federal Republic; we need many voters’ focus if we expect real magic.

If you pick a few wrong no need to panic friend, focus on 469 in 2010!

The Radical Truth About Ron Paul!

He is radical and here's a few truths to prove it!

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