14 November 2012: A belated post-election re-cap, Rand Paul, Ron Paul and the road ahead

Howdy! I hope this write-up finds everyone well. It's been a week since the election and after stewing things over in the various back burners of my mind, I decided it was time to try to get some thoughts out there. Not that my thoughts really mean that much, but hey, a few people do check this blog out, so Imma gonna just go with it...

"Awww yeah! Y'all know I love me some drones!" 

"Keep Obama in President," so said the rather enthused lady talking about her Obama phone. Well, that lady got her wish; Obama will be our president for four more wars...er, make that years. I got sidetracked thinking about Libya, Yemen, and a few other countries. Sorry about that. So yeah - four more years...

Looking back on it, it should have been obvious. The GOP had a death wish. It seemed as if they were, at every, single turn, making all of the WRONG decisions. On everything! Flipping the middle finger to all of the Ron Paul supporters wasn't one of their finer moments, for sure! With the polarized electorate we now have, you've got to be as inclusive as possible, not completely exclusive. Throw in the fact that Mitt was an incredibly weak candidate who ran an incredibly weak campaign, and there just wasn't any way around it - the Nobel-winning, drone-loving, American citizen-killing, corporatist, big-government statist was almost assured victory.

No, the surprise, to some, was the fact that the GOP didn't even come close to taking the senate and they lost seats in the house. This, contrary to much popular belief, is a very good thing. It finally hammered home the point that this awful way of doing things that the GOP had settled in on is No. Longer. Working! Now, even older, long-time rank-and-filers are starting to see the light (I'm seeing it happen where I'm at). More and more people are realizing that big government, social conservatism is what cost the GOP in this last election cycle. It's a non-starter, stuff like abortion. Roe v. Wade! It happened, and we're not going back. In re marriage equality, the tide is turning. People are realizing that this is a civil rights issue. Hell, two states, Colorado and Washington, legalized recreational marijuana. Not medicinal marijuana. Full legalization. Freedom is in the air. Literally.

The other problem with the GOP is the "establishment." The folks who, for lack of better words, are supposedly running the show. They're a freaking joke. And what's with this continuous attempt to "maintain the narrative?" It's as if they think they can magically change reality by hoping (and probably praying) for something bad enough. Take the convention as an example. Rather than playing by the rules and letting Ron Paul be nominated from the floor, they decided they'd start changing the rules anytime it suited them and that they would go to war with the one wing of the party that could actually GOTV (get out the vote), create some excitement, and make things happen.


Anyways, in the end, the GOP got exactly what they deserved. But things are changing. Look at Jeff Flake, the libertarian-leaning Senator-elect in AZ; or TEA party fave Ted Cruz in TX; or the numerous "Ron Paul Republicans" that got elected to the House. Things are looking good for Liberty candidates in this country. That's the memo that the GOP needs to get. Will they? That's the question...


Rand Paul, for the Win (and for Hemp)! 

Rand Paul 2016!!!

The good doctor's son turned some heads this week. Industrial Hemp is truly one the greatest cash crops America has ever known (it was legal until 1937). It doesn't get you high, so why is it now illegal? As is always the case, just follow the money - there are multiple special interests who have a vested interest in keeping this stuff illegal such as Big Paper, Big Pharma, Big Oil, and others. This is a must read for more info: http://www.hemphasis.net/Politics/politics.htm

No truer words have been spoken than those of Carl Sagan: "One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we've been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We're no longer interested in finding out the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It's simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we've been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back. So the old bamboozles tend to persist as new ones arise."

Kudos to Sen. Rand Paul for standing up for this all-too-important issue. Freedom is in the air. The time is now. We must act!Write your congressman and all that jazz...

"Yes, actually, I am aware that I'm a Badass!"

Ron Paul. A Real American Hero. 

So Dr. Paul gave his farewell address today. It was EPIC!

Thank you Dr. Ron Paul. Thank you so very much. God Bless you, always!

For a great write-up of this epic address, check out Reason's take here (includes a link for a transcript): http://reason.com/blog/2012/11/14/ron-pauls-farewell-speech-to-congress-we

  



The Road Ahead

As a few people in the blogosphere have mentioned, perhaps we are right at the threshold of a great Liberty awakening. As as the old saying goes - it's always darkest right before dawn - maybe we are getting very close to the dawn. That's personally what I believe. As others have mentioned, there seem to be reasons for optimism. And that maybe, just maybe, the GOP is starting to "get it." 

But what about you? Are you someone who is very discouraged about Obama getting reelected and also not feeling good about what's been happening about the GOP? If so, then the answer is quite simple: Get Involved! Change, real change, always starts at the bottom...at the grassroots. Find the webpage of your local county GOP and join. Here in Georgia, the mass precinct meetings (the beginning of the delegate process) occur on February 9th. This is the first step. Go. Engage. Get Involved! Also, there are so many other groups that you can get involved with that can help make a difference: Campaign For Liberty, FreedomWorks, Institute for Justice, etc. Anything and everything to "light the flames of freedom and liberty, one heart and mind at a time." 

As a final aside, all of the talk about secession is absolute crap. No! This is our country, and it's worth fighting for. It took us years generations to get to this point and it's going to take some time to get us out of it. We have to remain patient, yet vigilant, and we just have to keep up the good fight. We can do it. We must do it. 

In Peace and Liberty, 

-M

What my ballot will look like on Tuesday

Yeah, I know that the title of this column may lead some people to certain reactions: How pretentious, right? Who cares who you're voting for? Well, I know for a fact that at least a few people do. They've come to my place of work to ask me. I even had one gentleman ask me to fill in a sample ballot he had printed out. Which, by the way, I did, but I put asterisks next to two of the races and told him some info, but not who to vote for because, as I told him, I wasn't sure yet.

No, I guess that I've become somewhat of a political...whatever.  Regardless, I am blogging about politics again, and as some of you may know, I am a political activist of sorts. So I've decided to put this out there.

These are the races I'm voting for in Newton County, Georgia and these are the people I'm voting for:

President and Vice-President of the United States of America

Gary Johnson (L) & Jim Gray (L)

I've never voted for a Republican or Democrat for President in my life, and I'm not starting now. Why? Romney will win GA by double-digits, so it's not like I'm going to be changing anything. The reasons for casting a principled vote of conscience? How about NDAA, drones, and the FED to start? Having respect for the 4th amendment and maybe questioning the war on drugs or the merits of NOT having an interventionist foreign policy are more examples of why I think Romney and Obama are two sides of the same coin. This goddam 2-party duopoly is precisely why we're in the mess that we're in and frankly, I'm damn sick and tired of it.

Public Service Commission 

PSC 5: David Staples (L)
PSC 3: Brad Ploger (L)

There are two PSC Libertarian candidates on the ballot, and I'll be voting for both; however, there is one in particular that I'd really like to mention. David Staples is in a 2-man race with Stan Wise for the PSC 5 race. I've known David for years and I can say this - he's a good man, and he's smart as hell. Also, as evidenced by his debate performance on GPTV, he knows his stuff. He would do a hell of a job. But, Stan Wise is absolutely awful. He is the poster boy for crony capitalism. He gets over 90% of his campaign contributions from the executives, lobbyists, and lawyers of the utilities that he is charged with regulating. He, singularly, is responsible for you having to pay some of the highest utility rates in America. If you vote for him simply because he has a "R" next to his name, then you suck!

Newton County Commission Chair

Keith Ellis (R) 

I've known Keith for years. I've worked with him in the real estate business (me as an agent, him as a builder) and have gotten to know him pretty well over the years. He's a good man, and he's honest. I think he would do Newton Co. proud...especially with people like me reminding him that he needs to always be mindful of the concepts of freedom and liberty and placing taxpayer dollars in the most sacred regard. I think he'd be willing to do that.

Newton Board of Commissioners, Dist. 5

Levie Maddox (R) 

I like Marcello Banes. He's smart and likeable, but I'm going to have to go with Levie on this one. We don't need 4 Democrats on the BOC. I'm definitely a "divided-government" fan.

Newton Co. Sheriff 

UNDECIDED

I've been grappling with this one for months....I just don't know. I think we would be OK with either, but I will say this: awhile back I was positive that I would be voting for Ezell Brown (D), but in the last couple of months, I've had several folks, including people I think very highly of, sing the praises of Philip Bradford (R). I think I'll decide this one when I actually touch the computer screen in the ballot box.

Newton Co. Coroner

Tommy Davis (R)

I've known Tommy for some time having worked with him in the death business (Tommy as a funeral home director, me as a cemetery salesman). He seems like a heck of a guy and a super, hard worker. For a job like this, I think we definitely need someone who knows what they're doing.



U.S. Congress, 4th District 

I'll be writing in "GREG PALLEN" 

And let it be known that Greg is not a certified write-in, so my vote won't count. Greg ran in the GOP primary as a Republican "Liberty Candidate." He lost with 45% of the vote which surprised most insiders and establishment types. He would have been the much better candidate to get slaughtered by Mr. Guam, Hank Johnson. Whereas J. Chris Vaughn will likely lose 70/30, Pallen may have been able to push 40%. I've met Greg a few times. I like him; he's a little kooky on some things, but aren't we all?

GA Senate Dist. 17

Nelva Lee (D) 

Simply a protest vote. As I said earlier, I'm a divided-government guy. It seems like more and more as the GA Republicans take over the Gold Dome, the worse things get. At this point, I think the Libertarian Party of Georgia is about as organized as the Democratic Party of Georgia. The Dems in GA are in shambles - they're broke and and in disarray. There are county parties that are in good shape, but statewide, the Dems are in a bad way. We need a real and viable 2nd party in Georgia. Thanks to Georgia's archaic and draconian ballot access laws, it's damn hard for the Libertarians to get on the ballot for non-statewide races.

Constitutional Amendments 

NO on both. 

For amendment 1, I'll just direct you to Better Schools Georgia As their sign says, "I love Charter Schools. I Love Local Control." Therefore, you just have to say NO. 

Special Elections 

YES  on all three.

I'm all about freedom, and we need all the tax revenue we can get!

Everything Else 

I'm skipping!

I haven't voted for someone running unopposed in about 6 or 7 years, and I never will again. 

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So that's it...

Please vote if you haven't already. Seriously, VOTE!!!