Super Ron Paul Victory on Super Tuesday

On this the eve of Super Tuesday, 2012, I'm going to make a prediction. I predict that Ron Paul will not officially win any state on March 6th, 2012. I'll predict that, despite all the enthusiastic supporters and loud, cheering rallies, those who wish to see honest, citizen statesmen in office rather than the corrupt, bought and paid for career politicians will somehow forget to go to the polls and vote. I predict that, despite all the sign waving, billboards, grass roots donations, political organizing, and other complicated, time consuming activism that they spend hours engaging in, Ron Paul supporters will somehow be unable to find the fifteen minutes needed on election day to get to their polling place and cast their vote. Somehow, this extremely popular man expressing ideas most Americans are very familiar with - after all we brag so much about how great this nation is because of our freedom - is not as popular on election day as wealthy globalists who endorse freedom killing policies.

Why is that? Why hasn't Ron Paul won one primary election or caucus yet? Why is it that such a lauded, popular personality loved by so many hasn't been able to garner one first place finish even in some of the smallest states by Super Tuesday? I sit here stroking my chin pondering such things the day before perhaps one of the most important days in years when it comes to pointing the direction in which this world will head in the years to come. Do so called conservatives really want to vote for someone who takes credit for the Obamacare before Obamacare? Do they really want to vote for someone with a record of voting for big government programs that any dyed in the wool Democrat would be proud of? Do they really want another lying, hypocritical, promise breaking politician that will serve the power elite? Really? If not, then why is Ron Paul not winning these contests by landslides?

I'd really like to believe that people are intelligent. I'd really like to believe that they can see past the BS and understand how the controllers try to manipulate them. I'd really like to think that they could look past the rhetoric and talking points spewed out by the candidates and pundits and dig deeper into voting records and past words and actions to discover who is honest and who is corrupted and corruptible. I'd like to think that people who believe there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats would vote for someone with a proven record that he is different from the common politician. I'd like to think a lot of things, but the evidence does not bear it out.

This all makes me wonder. Take a look at this Ron Paul rally at Michigan State University. Can you show me any other Republican candidate who garners so much support? Did any of you see this on any corporate media news? I didn't think so. There they are, all these intelligent, enthusiastic kids ready to vote for Ron Paul, but keep an eye on the polls. I bet he doesn't win Michigan.

I suppose now I should get into the conspiracy of all this. The powers that be simply don't want Ron Paul winning. They don't like this idea of freedom. They don't like the idea that common folk would be making decisions for themselves. They don't like that people will be making decisions on where to best spend their own money. They don't like that they might lose their monopoly privileges, that someone might actually have the opportunity to compete with them and make them offer excellent costumer service should freedom break out. The powers that be are lazy. They don't want to actually have to work and produce and make quality products. They've hired their political puppets to occupy the seats of power. They'll be damned if they're going to let some true populist old man like Ron Paul get in and upset their well laid plans.

So what do they do about it if more people actually vote for Ron Paul than vote for any of their guys that they've paid so much for? What do they do if the people actually start to figure things out and vote for someone who will reduce the power of the elite? They do what they do best. They steal.

The powers that be will steal the election if it suits them, if they feel their interests are threatened, and if they feel they can get away with it. There is already evidence that this may have happened. This is an interesting article about the Nevada caucus. Watch the video. Listen to what the people speaking have to say. Remember that this is a caucus of people who, according to most political pundits paid by the corporate establishment, should be voting against Ron Paul due to his foreign policy stances. How is it he can get so many votes at a caucus where the votes are counted by hand on live tv and so few when it comes to the rest of the state? Are these people so different from the rest of the inhabitants of Nevada? I doubt it. We are all more alike than different. They just understand freedom. The principles of freedom apply to all people regardless of religion, race, sex or creed.

Here's another interesting voting anomaly coming out of Maine. The results from this county is once again contrary to the rest of the state. Strange how the results from these late caucuses are so divergent. I'm not sure if the votes here were on paper ballots and hand counted under the watchful eyes of every campaign or not, but it wouldn't surprise me. That seems to be the only way Ron Paul wins. As the old Led Zepplin song goes, "oooo, it really makes me wonder."

There are those who I'm sure are snickering at me right now. "You're just a crazy conspiracy theorist." Or, "You're just crying sour grapes because your candidate isn't winning." Or, "You can't prove a thing." Maybe so. But I think I'm just looking at the facts and pointing them out, for the most part. I'm just pointing out the circumstantial evidence, which is quite convincing to me. You can deny it all you wish. Maybe I can't prove I'm right, but unless there's a place where paper ballot votes are counted by hand with someone from each campaign watching, no one can prove I'm wrong either. With the current voting situation where machines handle the vote count, you can only prove to me that we live in a country where people are far too trusting of authorities.

Then there are those who will claim I'm being negative. How can we win if the system is so against us? Why should we even vote if the powers that be have already made up their minds? Who can we turn to if even a "fair and unbiased" press has been bought and paid for by anti Ron Paul forces? They are just too powerful, why should we even try? That's not the case. I'm as positive a thinker as anyone. I just think that the reality of the situation needs to be pointed out if we are to deal with it. Don't give up. Don't turn over the power you have just because things seem hopeless. They are not.

Go to your caucuses. Vote in the primaries. Let the world know you support Dr. Paul and all he stands for. Numbers are what is needed, numbers so great that they can't be denied. Watch for any irregularities you might see and report them to some watchdog group. I wouldn't trust government or party reporting agencies. Blackboxvoting.org is a non profit, non partisan group that actually looks into such allegations.

One last thing I'd like to mention. Perhaps the Ron Paul campaign isn't as lame as you might think. Maybe he is very electable. It could be that you're just not hearing that if your main source of news is the corporate run media. Here's a widely unreported story reported by Rachel Maddow. Take heart Ron Paul Supporters, he might be doing better than you think despite the best efforts of the powers that be, the GOP and the mainstream media to bury him. Keep the faith because in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, "It's not over until it's over" and in politics, it's never over.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Ron Paul will win every state tomorrow, or even at least one or two. In this case, I'd love to be proven wrong. Go out and vote tomorrow, if your state is one of the Super Tuesday states. Watch for Mitt Romney to win most of the states, not necessarily because he's the most popular and gets the most votes, but because he's the choice of the wealthy elite who own the system. Keep an eye out for anyplace where votes are on paper and counted by hand with all concerned watching. I predict Ron Paul will handily win any such vote. But keep in mind that even if the results are not favorable for Dr. Paul, things aren't always as they seem. There are things going on behind the scenes most of us are unaware of. As dark as it might seem now, there is always hope, and sooner or later the dawn will come.

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of my novel entitled "The Edge of Sanity."by Matthew Wayne. It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. The download is $2.99, but you can get the first 20% free.

I am working on a book. The working title is "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century." I am going to offer this work as a serial for those who are interested and can't wait for the book to come out. I hope to publish a chapter every couple of weeks or so. I will offer the chapters for sale exclusively at smashwords.com as I finish them. The price is $0.99 for each chapter as it comes out. Here is the link to Chapter 1: "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century" Chapter 1. There is a bonus as the Introduction to the book is included with this download. Keep an eye out as further chapters will be announced as they come out. I wish to thank everyone in advance for their support in this endeavor.

Paypal, Credit Cards and Government Censorship by Proxy?

As you all know, I am an independent author. It is my way of trying to make a living in a slow jobs market that shows no sign of ever getting any better as the powers that be continue to exercise the policies that brought about the financial disaster in the first place. I work hard to produce written content that people will want to read. I work hard to produce value in the story telling field, as well as working to express my feelings of how a free society should act. I work hard on my own even though I am most days not paid a penny, even though there is no guarantee I will ever see one dime from my hard work. If nothing else, I do try. Something has happened recently that threatens even this most modest means of trying to earn a living.

Paypal has decided to threaten the platform I use to publish my works. They have threatened to close the account held by smashwords.com if smashwords does not pull all book titles dealing with bestiality, rape or incest. While I understand that these topics can be disturbing to some, I also understand that nobody is forced to read such topics. While I understand that this is meant to target erotica books written specifically about these topics, I also understand that sometimes these topics come up in the context of different types of books not about those specific topics.

While I know that authors like myself are not yet targeted, I support free speech and abhor censorship of any type. I also understand that this is a foot in the door. Once these people are censored, it won't be long before political ideas such as freedom become targets by the power elite. While I support the free market and a company's right to not do business with certain people for certain reasons, I don't think we have a free market. According to paypal, they are censoring due to pressures from credit card companies. Credit card companies are heavily regulated by government. Indeed, if you ask me, credit card companies are sleeping with government, they are an integral part of the elite corporate structure that rules our lives. This to me seems to be government censorship by proxy.

I don't think it's appropriate for me to say more. My opinion on this mess is very biased, as you can imagine. My anger is seething. Instead of saying anything more, I thought it best to reproduce in part Mark Coker's latest email. He explains the situation much better than I can and offers some very good ideas on how to deal with this situation at the end. These ideas adhere to my stance on remaining peaceful and help to relay to the powers that be that censorship should not tolerated. In my opinion, censorship is more obscene than any sexual deviancy that could ever be described in a work of fiction. Below is Mark Coker's email that deals with paypal:

PAYPAL CENSORSHIP UPDATE
________________________________________

In case you haven't heard, about two weeks ago, PayPal contacted Smashwords and
gave us a surprise ultimatum: Remove all titles containing bestiality, rape
or incest, otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal account. We engaged
them in discussions and on Monday they gave us a temporary reprieve as we continue
to work in good faith to find a suitable solution.

PayPal tells us that their crackdown is necessary so that they can remain in
compliance with the requirements of the banks and credit card associations (likely
Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, though they didn't mention them
by name).

Last Friday, I sent the following email to our erotica authors and publishers:
https://www.smashwords.com/press/release/27 Then on Monday, I issued an update,
and announced we would delay enforcement of PayPal's guidelines so we and PayPal
could continue our discussions: https://www.smashwords.com/press/release/28

THE PROBLEM:

PayPal is asking us to censor legal fiction. Regardless of how one views topics
of rape, bestiality and incest, these topics are pervasive in mainstream fiction.
We believe this crackdown is really targeting erotica writers. This is unfair,
and it marks a slippery slope. We don't want credit card companies or financial
institutions telling our authors what they can write and what readers can read.
Fiction is fantasy. It's not real. It's legal.


THE SOLUTION:

There's no easy solution. Legally, PayPal and the credit card companies probably
have the right to decide how their services are used. Unfortunately, since they're
the moneyrunners, they control the oxygen that feeds digital commerce.

Many Smashwords authors have suggested we find a different payment processor.
That's not a good long term solution, because if credit card companies are behind
this, they'll eventually force crackdowns elsewhere. PayPal works well for us.
In addition to running all credit card processing at the Smashwords.com store,
PayPal is how we pay all our authors outside the U.S. My conversations with
PayPal are ongoing and have been productive, yet I have no illusion that the
road ahead will be simple, or that the outcome will be favorable.


BUILDING A COALITION OF SUPPORT:

Independent advocacy groups are considering taking on the PayPal censorship case.
I'm supporting the development of this loose-knit coalition of like-minded groups
who believe that censorship of legal fiction should not be allowed. We will grow
the coalition. Each group will have its own voice and tactics I'm working with
them because we share a common cause to protect books from censorship. Earlier
today I had conversations with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National
Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). I briefed them on the Smashwords/PayPal
situation, explained the adverse affect this crackdown will have on some of our
authors and customers, and shared my intention to continue working with PayPal
in a positive manner to move the discussion forward.

The EFF blogged about the issue a few days ago: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/legal-censorship-paypal-makes-habit-deciding-what-users-can-read
Today, ABFFE and NCAC issued a press release: http://www.scribd.com/doc/83549049/NCAC-ABFFE-Letter-To-PayPal-eBay-re-Ebook-Refusal-2012

I will not be on the streets with torch in hand calling for PayPal's head, but
I will encourage interested parties to get involved and speak their piece. This
is where you come in...


HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Although erotica authors are being targeted, this is an issue that should concern
all indie authors. It affects indies disproportionately because indies are the
ones pushing the boundaries of fiction. Indies are the ones out there publishing
without the (fading) protective patina of a "traditional publisher" to lend them
legitimacy. We indies only have each other.

Several Smashwords authors have contacted me to stress that this censorship affects
women disproportionately. Women write a lot of the erotica, and they're also
the primary consumers of erotica. They're also the primary consumers of mainstream
romance, which could also come under threat if PayPal and the credit card companies
were to overly enforce their too-broad and too-nebulous obsenity clauses (I think
this is unlikely, but at the same time, why would dubious consent be okay in
mainstream romance but not okay in erotica? If your write paranormal, can your
were-creatures not get it on with one another, or is that bestiality? The insanity
needs to stop here. These are not questions an author, publisher or distributor
of legal fiction should have to answer.).

All writers and their readers should stand up and voice their opposition to financial
services companies censoring books. Authors should have the freedom to publish
legal fiction, and readers should have the freedom to read what they want.

These corporations need to hear from you. Pick up the phone and call them.
Email them. Start petitions. Sign petitions. Blog your opposition to censorship.
Encourage your readers to do the same. Pass the word among your social networks.
Contact your favorite bloggers and encourage them to follow this story. Contact
your local newspaper and offer to let them interview you so they can hear a local
author's perspective on this story of international significance. If you have
connections to mainstream media, encourage them to pick up on the story. Encourage
them to call the credit card companies and pose this simple question, "PayPal
says they're trying to enforce the policies of credit card companies. Why are
you censoring legal fiction?"

Below are links to the companies waiting to hear from you. Click the link and
you'll find their phone numbers, executive names and postal mailing addresses.
Be polite, respectful and professional, and encourage your friends and followers
to do the same. Let them know you want them out of the business of censoring
legal fiction.

Tell the credit card companies you want them to give PayPal permission to sell
your ebooks without censorship or discrimination. Let them know that PayPal's
policies are out of step with the major online ebook retailers who already accept
your books as they are. Address your calls, emails (if you can find the email)
and paper letters (yes paper!) to the executives. Post open letters to them
on your blog, then tweet and Facebook hyperlinks to your letters. Force the
credit card companies to join the discussion about censorship. And yes, express
your feelings and opinions to PayPal as well. Don't scream at them. Ask them
to work on your behalf to protect you and your readers from censorship. Tell
them how their proposed censorship will harm you and your fellow writers.

Visa:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=V+Profile

American Express:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AXP+Profile

MasterCard:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MA+Profile

Discover:
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=DFS+Profile

Ebay (owns PayPal):
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ebay+Profile

I applaud the efforts of smashwords and the coalition they have built to combat this attempt at censorship. I applaud their efforts to allow everyone the freedom to choose the type of entertainment they wish to engage in. I applaud their efforts to nip this in the bud. I hope that my readers will also take a minute or two to let these powerful financial corporations know that their efforts to censor are not appreciated by a free people.

Drugs, Medicines, Vaccines and the Freedoms to Discover and Believe

There are several important principles I prescribe to and I try my best to adhere to them in my life. These principles form the basic tenets to building a free society. The most basic of these beliefs is the idea that you own yourself. Any person is the owner of their own body. No one should be able to force a person to do something with their own body that they do not want to do. No one should be able to force another person to eat a certain food, or take a certain medication, or ingest anything of any kind if that person does not want to, even if it's supposedly for the benefit of that person, even if it's for the benefit of all humankind. Only non coercive methods of convincing someone to partake in any kind of ingestion, injection, or procedure, invasive or non invasive, is acceptable, or we are not free.

Another basic principle is that if you want to live as a free individual you need to allow others to live as free individuals. That seems to be an obvious practice, but so often in this life many try to force their way of life onto others. Many people will do so without even knowing that they're doing so. They believe they know what is best for all and want to apply a one size fits all solution to all sorts of problems. They may even genuinely believe they are acting for the best interests of everyone involved. They aren't. Forcing people to act in one way or another and taking away all other choices is wrong. It ends up, in the long run, working to everyone's detriment.

There are those who think the proper way to go about wiping out disease is to force everyone to be vaccinated. They want to shoot you up with not only the disease, but all kinds of other stuff that might not be so good for you. For instance, there've been warnings in the past that if you have an allergy to eggs you were not to take the flu shot. This is because some flu shots use an egg medium to grow the virus. There are often other things in the shot like mercury (in thimerosal, a preservative) and squalene (an adjuvant) that can possibly do harm. There are risks involved with taking vaccines and the benefits and risks to the individual should be considered before that individual makes a decision.

There are those who do not want to give the individual the ability to make that decision. in fact, they want to take nearly all decision making abilities away from the individual. They may very well believe they own you, and just about everybody else. They may be right, if we all let them be right. Many of the most vocal advocates of taking such decision making rights away from the individual have a vested interest in mandating vaccinations. Can you say "Conflict of interest?" Have you noticed how often those in places of power have put the profit of multi national corporations in front of the best interests of the common folk? If not, you might want to pull your head out of the sand and start taking a look at what's really going on rather than thinking the status quo or any powerful industry has your best interests at heart.

One woman, an attorney named Patricia Finn, believes everyone should have the right to make their own decisions about vaccinations. She believes so much in this right that she has become an advocate for vaccination rights. She shows people how to legally and ethically keep from exposing their children to the risks inherent in vaccinations. Because of this, she is being threatened with criminal charges. The state of New York is trying to intimidate her into giving over he list of clients so they can intimidate them. The unaccountable judicial system is trying to force people to purchase or obtain medical products and procedures that they don't want and no one is arresting the judges doing so. This is wrong. Personally, I no longer trust or believe much of what the medical establishment tells me. I believe that system is more worried about profit than the health of individuals.

The state has charged that attorney Patricia Finn's advocacy is "threatening the public interest." I would argue that the public interest should be maintaining the sanctity of individual natural rights and therefore she is upholding the public interest. It is the court that is threatening the public interest. Indeed, the court system seems to rule in favor of big government and big corporations more often than not. The individual who wishes to make up his own mind seems to be prodded down a path without choices by monstrous bureaucracies he has little to no chance of escaping, like a slave continuously surrounded by masters with superior armor and weaponry. It has gotten to the point where there seems to be no place to turn, no one to listen to grievances, and the bullies have taken over all the powerful places where you are supposed to be represented.

Do not give in to despair. Millions upon millions are beginning to realize that they do have power. If we all get together and stand up for our rights, they will be forced to listen. We are many, they are few. It is just a matter of us no longer allowing them to be the bullies they want to be.

One of the ways people have been able to exercise their power is in the so called drug war. For decades the federal government has waged a propaganda campaign against the use of marijuana for medical purposes. It has been illegal to conduct tests. They have presented doctors and scientists who have claimed there was no known medical uses for marijuana. People who have been caught possessing marijuana, for whatever purpose, have been marginalized and stigmatized. Despite this fact, 16 states and Washington, DC have all passed provisions for individuals to be able to use medical marijuana without having to worry about legal ramifications. 17 more are considering such measures. This despite the best efforts of the feds to prevent knowledge from spreading.

For most people, nobody knows their body better than they do. They know what helps when they ail. They know what stops their pain. They know what makes them less nauseous. Sure, medical professionals can make suggestions. They know the science behind medications and can make recommendations, but sometimes something that works for one person simply does not work for others. There are even occasions when harm can be done. More people now die yearly from prescription drugs than from illegal drugs. As far as I know, nobody has ever overdosed on marijuana. So why is it still illegal? Especially, why are people living with disease still denied access to such medication in most states? Why are the feds still raiding legal marijuana dispensaries in states where medical marijuana laws have been passed?

Medical marijuana also gives rise to business opportunities. Before the advent of laws legalizing medical marijuana, the trade in pot was limited to the black market. Several companies have popped up, from producers to distributors to dispensaries, to fill the new demand for this product. Entrepreneurs are stepping to the forefront and taking this business out of the hands of shadowy figures in the black market. Honest, competitive businesses are striving to provide the best products and build a reputation so that new customers will come to them when they need product or advice. Providing medical marijuana is a growing industry which provides much needed jobs to a populace that has been devastated by the off shoring of many industries over the past couple of decades. This is how business should be done, in the light of day from an open storefront rather than in the dark of night in a shadowy alley.

You own your own body. I own my own body. No one should be able to tell us what we can and cannot put into them. We should all be free to discover for ourselves what treatments work and which don't. We should all be free to determine for ourselves which sources to believe and which to disbelieve. No one should be able to force us to partake in any medical procedure. No one should be allowed to threaten us with imprisonment or fines or any other kind of punishment for using a natural herb if we feel it is medicinal. We should all be allowed to do business with one another on a voluntary basis. We don't need a third party such as government horning in where they're not wanted. I would not try to stop you from consuming whatever you wish to consume. I would allow you the freedom to make your own decisions when it comes to your body. Would you allow me the same?

I want the government to leave me alone. I want them to stay out of my medical decisions. I want them to stay out of my decisions on what to eat. I want them to quit trying to decide for me what products I wish to purchase. I am an adult and perfectly capable of looking into the risks and rewards, the advantages and disadvantages of the products and services I wish to buy. The established products and services promoted by government, the medical establishment, the pharmaceuticals, and many other multi national corporations, have proven to be inferior and even harmful and no one is held accountable. I trust my own judgment over theirs. I support the freedom to choose. I support the end to personal mandates.

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of Matthew Wayne's (my pen name) novel entitled "The Edge of Sanity." It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. The special pricing has ended so the book can be distributed to other venues. The download is $2.99, but you can still get the first 20% free. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the books that is offered for free it will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales.

I am working on a book. The working title is "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century." I am going to offer this work as a serial for those who are interested and can't wait for the book to come out. I hope to publish a chapter every week or so. I will offer the chapters for sale exclusively at smashwords.com as I finish them. The price is $0.99 for each chapter as it comes out. Here is the link to Chapter 1: "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century" Chapter 1. There is a bonus as the Introduction to the book is included with this download. Keep an eye out as further chapters will be announced as they come out. I wish to thank everyone in advance for their support in this endeavor.

Stop Showing Up For the War

Can you hear them? The dogs of war are barking. They're getting very loud. These guys want to fight. They want to fight bad. They're growling, snarling and salivating as they think about all the glorious death and destruction they can cause. These animals can't wait to see the people melt. They hunger for the human misery they can cause,. They long to feast upon the mangled and dismembered bodies of their victims and wallow in the radioactive glow of rubble where fabulous cities once stood. This is the mentality of the sub-human leadership in a couple of well known nations. These vicious animals plan on being safe in their hardened bunkers while the peoples of their nations suffer from their arrogance and inept statesmanship.

It's sad to think that so many may suffer because the supposed leaders of nations can't act like adults. They're more like two punk bullies on the playground pushing each other back and forth. The other kids on the playground circle around and start to cheer and egg them on. The problem with these two kids is that they're going to drag others into this fight. They're grabbing the bigger kids and asking for back up. They're screaming at each other that their big brother can beat up the other's big brother.

If these two punks were to beat on each other until they were both just bloody pulps of quivering flesh it wouldn't be such a big deal. The kids could all watch a good fight and then go home shaking their heads and talking about how stupid the other two kids were to beat on each other so. But once those big brothers get involved, all hell breaks loose. Those guys got weapons that can do serious damage. The playground becomes a battlefield where no one is safe. Even the kids on the periphery could be pulled into the fray and severely injured.

This shows why the United States needs to seriously change its foreign policy. Getting involved in the internal affairs of so many nations can easily drag us into World War III. For all we know, and with the constant shifting of loyalties we always see, the United States of America might end with the entire world lining up against it. It certainly seems that's what's shaping up with the world's economic system. The federal government has squandered the goodwill and friendships the rest of the world's nations may have at one time felt for it by overextending its credit and devaluing its dollar through inflation. Much or the rest of the world is faulting the United States of America for the worldwide financial crisis, and for good reason. With the dollar as the reserve currency of the world many nations have their economies tied directly to the Federal Reserve and when the value of the dollar is decreased, whether through inflation or wasteful war, others suffer around the globe.

If two punk bullies on the playground are arguing and trying to draw their bigger, tougher siblings and friends into it, the best thing for those others to do is walk away. Let the two just have it out. Let them work out things for themselves. That way, no one else gets hurt. Besides, you just might be surprised how quickly those two decide that maybe they don't want to fight after all. Maybe they decide they have more in common than they thought. Maybe they find they can actually get along after all. The best possible outcome is that they actually become friends. Stranger things have happened. Even if the best possible outcome doesn't happen, at least by walking away no one else is dragged down into the depravity of the two who wish to fight.

The difference between real war and the analogy of kids fighting on the playground is that in real war we know that innocent people are going to die. Anyone with any kind of compassion is going to find war abhorrent. Anyone who cares at all about the masses of humanity is going to find war an abomination. The only just war is the war fought to defend, and everyone claims to be defending even as they attack and invade. Only angry, pouting, childlike personalities who can't get what they want through peaceful means resort to violence. Perhaps it's time that adult human beings replace the kids who have somehow managed to obtain positions of political power and are leading their nations and their peoples down a destructive path.

What's really frightening about this situation are the saber rattlers in our own nation. Our nation's reputation as a just nation has been destroyed due to these war crazed authoritarians. Our nation's coffers have been emptied and the US has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy due to its policies of war and occupation. Lives have been lost and shattered on both sides. The human suffering is terrible, and the blood is on our hands. We only had to stick to a wise foreign policy of trade with all, alliances with none, as our founding fathers advised, to avoid all that misery. We only had to practice a bit of forgiveness and perhaps some out of the box thinking and we would have had justice. Instead, we let our anger and dismay shut down our reasoning. We allowed the powers that be to lead us around by the proverbial nose to further their agenda. The American populace let their emotions of anger, fear and hatred get the best of them and responded as anyone who knows how to manipulate emotion would have expected.

Now, that same pot is boiling. The same war drums are beating. The same people are behind the scenes trying to rally the American populace to get their blessings to go to war with Iran. How will this play out? Are we going to see another 9/11? Will we see another Gulf of Tonkin? Another USS Maine? Is there another Operation Northwoods plan on the table? It's difficult to say, but the possibilities are frightening. I wouldn't put anything past these power mad psychos. They'd do anything to keep and grow their power.

What about those suitcase nukes and dirty bombs we hear about? What if one of those was to go off? Would the populace of America believe the government when they tell us Iran did it? How many times can they be lied to before they open their eyes? How would this go over in the United States? How would it look for Homeland Security if, after billions has been spent on setting up the monstrous bureaucracy, such a monumental failure takes place? What excuses would they use for their total ineptitude? Negligence? Miscommunication? Stupidity? Whatever the case, I'll bet no one gets fired.

I'll also bet that they'll ask for more money. I'll bet they'll ask for more control. While they were stripping grandma and grabbing Jr.'s privates at the airports, I bet the terrorists would have snuck across the southern border, or maybe the northern one. Or perhaps they would have stowed away on a Chinese merchant ship. Whatever the case, they'll ask us to give away the few precious freedoms we have left so that they can clamp down on every movement we make. How long will Americans continue to fall for this scam? Will we this time scream a resounding "No!" to their requests? Will we finally learn and tell them they've proven they're nothing but totally inept failures and they don't deserve more money or power, they deserve none? Or will the American people once again cower in a corner and beg them to do as they please, just make the boogeyman go away?

War is the ultimate policy failure. It means you have failed at diplomacy. It means you have failed at other coercive policies. It means you have failed humanity. Those who howl for war do so because they benefit from it, or at least they think they will benefit from it. They are the military industrial complex we were warned about. They are the power hungry politicians who want to control everybody's life from cradle to grave. They are the collectivists who think that their group is somehow superior to all other groups and that they can prove it through death and destruction. They are the dregs of humanity and they need to be opposed at every turn and stopped by people of compassion.

What if they have a war and no one shows up? What if the order is given to fire and no one pulls the trigger? What if the all the soldiers on a field of battle throw down their guns, turn their backs and just walk home? What if the CIA drone pilots all put down their joysticks and refuse to bomb any more weddings, funeral processions, or innocents of any kind? What if bomber pilots refuse to fly? What if enlisted men refuse to push the buttons that launch the missiles? What if they decide that obeying just isn't worth the possible collateral damage that occurs in war? What if the fog of war is lifted and everyone sees the truth and the horror of it, not just those caught in the fighting? What if the common folk simply stop obeying the sick psychopaths that long to kill their fellow human beings? What if peace broke out?

Humanity has a choice to make. I hope it makes the right one. You are part of humanity. You have a choice to make. I hope you make the right one.

I am working on a book. The working title is "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century." I am going to offer this work as a serial for those who are interested and can't wait for the book to come out. I hope to publish a chapter every week or so. I will offer the chapters for sale exclusively at smashwords.com as I finish them. The price is $0.99 for each chapter as it comes out. Here is the link to Chapter 1: "The Blessings of Freedom: Creating Prosperity in the 21st Century" Chapter 1. There is a bonus as the Introduction to the book is included with this download. Keep an eye out as further chapters will be announced as they come out. I wish to thank everyone in advance for their support in this endeavor.

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of my novel entitled "The Edge of Sanity"by Matthew Wayne. It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. The special pricing has ended so the book can be distributed to other venues. The download is $2.99, but you can still get the first 20% free. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the books that is offered for free it will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales.

What if the GOP is Pulling the Wool Over the Eyes of Republican Voters?

Fox News has seen it fit to fire Judge Andrew Napolitano. His show "Freedom Watch" was, in my opinion, the only news program on Fox, perhaps on television, worth watching. He delivered the freedom message with great eloquence, consistency and integrity. He is certainly, again in my opinion, a much more watchable and likeable host than Bill O'Liely or Sean Scammity. He simply makes a lot of sense to me when he speaks.

When I looked into the ratings issue, I found conflicting reports. There were those who claim his numbers were falling and that's why he was fired, and others who say his ratings were good and were not an issue. Personally, I don't know what any of the numbers I saw meant, so it's hard for me to say. I do know that I saw a chart that put his numbers higher than the numbers for the other shows in his time slot. I have no idea what that means, but I would think it was good. In any case, the numbers could always be manipulated. Anything of importance can always be manipulated, and I believe we've been manipulated for a long, long time now, so much so that I think many people are blissfully unaware or willfully ignorant of the manipulation.

I think "Freedom Watch" was cancelled because Judge Napolitano speaks truth to power, and he does it in an ingenious way. He doesn't make accusations or spout off opinion, he simply asks the question "what if?" and expects you to think for yourself. Of course when he asks the question it becomes obvious to everyone that what he is saying is very likely the reality of the situation. The powers that be are not stupid. They are arrogant, but not stupid. They knew what he was doing. They seem to believe that you're stupid, but apparently they don't believe you're that stupid. They certainly don't want you to start thinking for yourself.

In honor of the judge, I thought I'd use the rhetorical question myself, as I have been known to do in the past. I don't believe Fox can fire me for doing so.

What if the GOP is pulling the wool over your eyes? What if the voting machines they use are easily hacked so the winner can be determined before the vote is taken? What if they have already decided who they want to run for president and it doesn't matter who you vote for? What if the candidates are all selected rather than elected? What if the choices presented to you are all globalists with the same collectivist agenda? What if all these primary elections are just for show?

What if Ron Paul has really been winning all the Republican primaries and caucuses? What if the establishment doesn't want us to know this? What if the powers that be would cheat and lie simply to hang onto power? What if most people don't care if this is happening or not? What if those that do care have no way to prove it? What if those who do care are trying to prove it but are prevented from doing so by the powers that be? What if some whistleblowers announced they'd seen something and were saying something? What if whistleblowers were largely ignored by most media outlets? What if whistleblower protection laws didn't really protect whistleblowers? What if whistleblowers actually put themselves in real danger when they talked? What if people of conscious who wished to act as watchdogs to government agencies were ineffective because they were uniformed?

What if our so called republic was no longer a functional representative democracy? What if most politicians at the federal level are bought off by special interests that don't have the best interests of humankind at heart? What if most people are against many policies implemented by various administrations through the decades? What if most people are against wars of aggression? What if most people are against nation building? What if most people are against empire building? What if most people are against the drug war? What if most people want to live in an era of peace?

What if most people are against rights shredding legislation? What if most people would like to see the Patriot Act repealed? What if most people would like to see the National Defense Authorization Act repealed? What if most people would like to see the Military Commissions Act repealed? What if most people would like to see Obamacare repealed? What if federal elected representatives didn't give a damn about what most people want? What if they only cared about their own wealth and power?

What if nobody dissented? What if nobody ever pointed out the corruption? What if everyone simply hung their heads and silently went along to get along? What if they simply let federal officials get away with any crime they wanted to commit? What if no one cared about trying to enforce the Constitution of the United States of America? What if disobeying its mandates and violating oaths were not crimes, but mere roadblocks easily avoided because of an apathetic public?

What if most people really wanted a smaller federal government? What if they wanted to see an end to certain cabinet level bureaucracies? What if the powers that be didn't care and instead wanted bigger government and more power? What if most people didn't want to finance such a huge bureaucracy? What if they understood that the national debt was too high and spending needed to be cut? What if they understood that indebtedness meant that what you have is really owned by banks? What if the political class didn't care because they really work for the banking class who would end up owning everything?

What if most people didn't want to pay an income tax? What if most people wanted to audit the Federal Reserve? What if most congressmen sponsored a bill to audit the Fed? What if they didn't do a complete audit, but only a partial one? What if that was done only to placate a growing movement and to try to make the audit a non issue? What if it's really worse than we think? What if the people are tired of the super wealthy living off the backs of the middle class? What if nothing was done to stop this abuse and restore an economic system based on productive output rather than debt?

What if freedom was important to most people? What if they simply weren't told what the true meaning of freedom was? What if all their lives they had been given false choices and misinformation? What if they didn't understand what a free market truly was and how they'd been deceived into believing free markets were the cause of their economic woes? What if they'd been taught that freedom would lead to chaos, lawlessness and the collapse of society? What if they'd been told that if they didn't give up their freedoms their security was threatened? What if these were false and deceptive claims meant to give more power and control to the already powerful? What if one man who could eloquently and succinctly explain this to the masses had his platform removed?

What if many of my articles are correct and there is a conspiracy to create a new world order? What if that conspiracy includes violating the individual's right to express his opinions? What if it includes violating the right to freedom of the press? What if laws are being put in place to justify imprisoning and disappearing those who would dissent? What if there was a danger of all nations losing national sovereignty to an authoritarian plutocratic world government? What if we were in danger of devolving back into a society like 12th century Europe rather than evolving into the 21st century?

What if you could do something about it? What if all you had to do was speak out against the political leadership in the world? What if all you had to do was dissent? What if all you had to do was stop obeying? What if all you had to do was let them know that you are aware of what they're up to? What if all you had to do was stop living in fear and start living like a free individual?

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of Matthew Wayne's (my pen name) novel entitled "The Edge of Sanity." It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. The special pricing has ended so the book can be distributed to other venues. The download is $2.99, but you can still get the first 20% free. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the books that is offered for free it will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales.

Sun Tzu and Mankind's Destiny of Freedom

The Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu is best known for writing "The Art of War." He is recognized by many as the quintessential expert on that subject and one of the top war strategists of all time. Many people like to use his quotes. He simplified his strategies into wise maxims that many have extrapolated into other aspects of life. What does it say when one considers strategies of war to be appropriate to use in life's other endeavors? I thought maybe I'd take a closer look at some of his saws and see how they can apply to some situations I see cropping up in the politics of the times.

One saying that is attributed to Sun Tzu is that every battle is won before it is ever fought. I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, or even if he ever really said it. The closest I could find is a quote from the movie "Wall Street" where Gordon Gekko says, "Read Sun Tzu, "The Art of War." Every battle is won before it is ever fought." Anyway, many others have gone with it, so I shall also. I don't know exactly what Sun Tzu meant by this, but two schools of thought that have been brought out are he was either a fatalist, or he felt that a great deal of planning before battle guarantees victory. I have problems with both schools of thought, but I would agree that believing victory is achievable before engaging in battle will certainly improve your chances.

If we are to look at the two major philosophies in modern politics, individualism versus collectivism, and apply Sun Tzu's point of view, I would suggest that individualism has already won. There are many reasons for this, in my opinion. First off, there is persistence. It seems to me that mankind has been striving to achieve a state of freedom since the dawn of civilization. This is due at least partially, in my opinion, to the tendency for any form of government to devolve into tyranny. Yet I think there's more to it than that. It's something that I believe is bred into each and every one of us, with perhaps a few exceptions, the desire to strike out on one's own and make a mark in the world. Once one truly understands the principles of freedom, it is likely that person will settle for nothing less and will continuously strive in his own way to achieve freedom.

Second, freedom is morally correct and humans have a tendency to strive toward moral correctness so long as they are not being subjected to extreme conditions, and sometimes even in the face of tribulations. We have a tendency to spot unfairness and to battle against it. Collectivism, while it sells itself as bringing fairness to humanity, is often the most unfair system as it punishes hard work by taking away rewards the hard worker should expect and rewards laziness by giving to those who do nothing what should rightly go to the hard workers. While collectivism often sounds fair in theory, in practice it does not work and it becomes inherently unfair.

Third, freedom is part of the human spirit and the human spirit is indomitable. Throughout history tyrants have tried to crush the human spirit through imprisonment, force and torture. They have tried to use fear to keep silent those who would dissent and speak truth to power. They have cowed whole populations using police state tactics. Such societies have almost always eventually failed. Some of these tyrants have met gruesome ends. It's a tricky balancing act the collectivists engage in when they try to subjugate a people to their mandates. It seems to me that a people will, unfortunately, always allow for a bit of tyranny if they think they will benefit, but that almost always inevitably leads to more tyranny. Eventually there comes a tipping point where the people just won't take any more, where the kids on the playground decide to confront the bully. Often in history, again unfortunately, this results in violent, bloody, terrible revolution. It's cyclical. When enough people realize this, the cycle can be broken.

Sun Tzu also said "For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill." It seems that perhaps the general didn't so much want to engage in battle after all. I happen to agree with him. We used to be a nation of statesmen. In fact, we were supposed to be a nation of citizen statesmen. We have ended up being a nation bowing to the will of the international corporatists. We go to war too easily and occupy other nations to protect the interests of corporations that have no loyalty to any nation. Yet we also claim to be a peaceful nation which values the friendship of others. I believe the people of this nation do, indeed, wish to practice such principles, but those who control the federal government most certainly do not. You cannot be peaceful while engaging in warfare.

As government in this nation continues to turn on its own civilians and push them to do something rash and violent, it is important to keep Sun Tzu's words in mind. The people are peaceful and need to remain so, the government is violent. This is proven by the actions of the police. As they mindlessly engage in violent behavior because their superiors tell them to, it is important to remain steadfastly non violent and show to the world who the bullies truly are. After a time, the police will begin to see their mistake. They will begin to realize they are in the wrong. They will begin to side with the people, and when that happens then victory is at hand, and it should be a lasting victory. If you wish to see peace in the world, then you must be peace, you must remain peaceful, and soon enough even those who engage in the violence of the legal monopoly of government force will become peaceful. That is how the world changes.

Another notable Sun Tzu quote is "What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations." Collectivism has been slowly creeping upon us for decades, if not centuries. I would suggest that it started in earnest back in the great depression when desperate people turned to the federal government for aid rather than insisting that government remain limited in its powers that the Constitution spells out. While I realize that many will point to the "good" that came out of this, I would ask what "good" would have come out of it if the federal government hadn't interfered? We will never know. Anyway, what did happen happened and over the decades it has morphed into the system we see today where so many are so dependent on the federal government that it will be nearly impossible to extricate them from their lives without serious repercussions. Still, extricate them we must sooner or later, for their prolonged operations has resulted in bankruptcy and something has to give or we'll see a financial collapse.

Finally, Sun Tzu said "Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win." We have won. Mankind will win. It is our destiny to find freedom. It is our destiny to live in a society where the individual is honored above the collective, where it is understood that when the violation of any individual's natural rights is allowed, violating everyone's natural rights is allowed. Remain peaceful even to the point of being beaten or worse by the authoritarian thugs, and you shall be victorious as were the followers of King and Gandhi. When the world sees who the bullies truly are, the bullies go home with their heads hung in shame.

I believe that most individuals know what freedom is and would prefer to live in a society that honors liberty rather than in a utopian socialist one, unless that individual is one of the control freaks that believes they know what's best for all people and strive to inflict their rule over others. I believe most people would prefer to be left alone to make their own decisions for what's best in their lives rather than having a nosy Nancy intruding at all levels and micromanaging every detail of their lives. You can raise to your feet and do something about intrusive government, voice opposition about their collectivist policies, and/or just simply refuse to obey their draconian mandates, or you can remain on your knees and grovel, allowing them to do with you as they please.

You win by simply resisting. You win by dissenting. You win by simply claiming your rights and insisting that they be honored. Even if they beat you, you have won. Even if they throw you in prison, you have won. No matter how they treat you, you have won, for you have stuck by your principles and acted like a free human being rather than some domesticated animal, and they have proven themselves to be no better than snarling, out of control beasts.

I am not a fatalist, but I do believe that some things are pre-destined. I do believe that every battle is won before it's fought, but it has to be fought anyway to see who wins it. Even the best laid plans can be foiled. Even the most ragged force can beat the best armed army. Even the most peaceful can defeat the most brutal. Even if there are no soldiers meeting each other on a field of bloodshed, the battle can be won in a different way. It's time we relearned the art of not only talking, but listening to each other. Only when we learn to respect each other's point of view and realize that we all need each other and one group should not rule over another will we realize a society where each individual can become the best human possible.

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of the latest book by Matthew Wayne entitled "The Edge of Sanity." It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the book offered for free that will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales. I have also released "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne at smashwords.com. The special pricing has ended so the book can be distributed to other venues. The download is $2.99, but you can still get the first 20% free.

Corporate Mass Media and the Secret Empire

Not too long ago I read a story about a court case in Georgia involving the current president of the United States of America and whether or not he is legally eligible to hold that office. I'm not big into the whole Barack Obama birth certificate thing because I think that nearly all politicians at that level are going to be puppets of the elite, but isn't it interesting to observe the reactions from different quadrants? Personally, I was surprised to hear that a court in this country would even hear this case, but I think it's great that one finally did. That in and of itself should have been big news, but the fact that Barack Obama himself was subpoenaed and neither he nor his lawyer showed up to refute the evidence presented makes the story even bigger. Think for a moment what would happen to you and your life if you deliberately ignored a court's subpoena. Now, Barack Obama decided to ignore the court even after his lawyer's argument that a sitting president is too busy to deal with such constitutional matters was rejected, yet nothing of any consequence happened to him. Is that equal protection under the law? I think not. Perhaps that's the real story. It seems the president in this country is above the law, even the supreme law of the land that is supposed to be implemented to restrict his power.

I am reminded of a story I was extremely interested in and wrote a couple of articles about a few years back. A couple in New Hampshire, Ed and Elaine Brown, were summoned to court to answer charges of tax evasion. They didn't believe there was a law requiring them to pay income taxes and as much as said so. The court refused to allow them to present over thirty different defenses for their actions to a jury. At that point, the couple figured the court system to be unjust and corrupt and so refused to take part in their own railroading. At that point their house came under siege by federal agents. I wonder if the same thing will happen to Barack Obama. Wouldn't that be something, to see the White House surrounded by federal agents as Mr. Obama refuses to surrender? I very much doubt that will ever happen. Perhaps if he decides to become a tax protester? Maybe not.

This isn't the only time that what should be a major news story is all but completely ignored by the corporate mainstream media. An interesting example is the Ron Paul phenomenon that's been going on for quite awhile now. It seems that when people wake up to the message of freedom they feel empowered and many will do what they personally can to help spread the message. That's why one sees so many Ron Paul supporters actually becoming involved while supporters of other candidates simply sit in their chairs, watch the tube and huff and puff about how "crazy" those Ron Paul people are. They prefer to sit in denial and vote for politicians that have proven themselves corrupt rather than look into a candidate who has a verifiable record of honesty, or they'd just as soon vote for a continuation of the criminal status quo for fear of what real change might bring to their personal lives.

Here's something that made me go "hmm." There was a special late night caucus in Nevada involving orthodox Jews and other religious folks who couldn't vote on the Sabbath and had to wait until past midnight. These are folks you would figure would be voting for anyone other than Ron Paul because they would disagree with his stances on foreign policy. Somehow he managed to capture 58% of their votes. I wonder if that had anything to do with the fact that they counted the votes, on paper ballots, right there in front of everyone so all could see. Complete transparency makes it very difficult to rig an election. Just saying.

Well, I guess that election fixing isn't really all that important to Americans, at least not if you ask the corporate mainstream media. If it was, maybe they'd pay more attention to Bev Harris at Black Box Voting who's been investigating such accusations for years. Seems that maybe our elections aren't so fair and honest as the corporate media would have you believe. But, hey, the people of the United States aren't raising that much of a stink about it and most people line up on election day every four years to cast their vote for president and slink away for another four years believing they've done their bit to maintain a free society. Why get any more involved than that?

One might ask the questions, "Why would the press not want to report such important stories? Wouldn't breaking such news stories help increase their circulation or viewers? Wouldn't that lead to more earning potential for them?" These are valid questions and the answers would be "I don't know" and "yes" if we had a truly free press in this nation. The problem is we haven't had a free press in a very long time, if we ever truly had one at all. The most watched networks and the most read newspapers are owned by a very exclusive group of but a few people. These people are very wealthy and very powerful, and they certainly do not want to easily surrender that power. If you think any of these corporate news entities are going to honestly inform you, think again. Sure, they might report honestly on some stories of no real consequence, but anything that has to do with issues that will be truly important to the way the world works and how that affects your life, forget it. They are going to either ignore such issues and hope you do too, or "spin" (a code word for lying or disinforming) them in such a way to help their friends and colleagues benefit.

Controlling the dissemination of information and keeping knowledge hidden in order to obtain more power and wealth is nothing new. It goes far back into the ethers of history, perhaps to the very beginnings of organized society. We can certainly trace it back to the beginnings of the Christian church and the council of Nicaea where certain books were included or excluded from the official version of The Bible. It took over a thousand years and the advent of the Guttenberg press before Martin Luther could begin to spread a viewpoint alternative to that of the church to the masses of humanity. Since that time the powers that be have been trying to put the genie back in the bottle and limit the freedom of the press through fear, force and coercion.

For a time it looked like this tyranny would end with the creation of the United States of America. It's constitution guaranteed that government would not violate the freedom of the press, nor the natural individual right to speak one's mind. This did not guarantee, however, that influential media outlets would not be purchased by very wealthy and influential men and then cartelized to the benefit of other wealthy and influential men and institutions. Certainly at one time these powerful media outlets may have somewhat served as a watchdog to government corruption and a disseminator of honest, factual information, but those services were slowly eroded over the decades as editorial liberties were slowly tightened due to financial considerations from advertising clients. The mass media slowly bent to the will of corporate interests to the detriment of the interests of the common folk.

Today's corporate media is not there to inform or investigate or even care about the truth or principles. They are there to entertain. They are there to sell product. They are there to market the agendas of those who pay them the most money. It seems to me that is how they operate. They've sold out to the corporate elite long ago and now their job is to keep the masses mesmerized to the extent that they don't even know which issues are important to them and which are not. This is why they ignore Ron Paul and politicians like him, they don't want to bring the freedom debate to the fore and they certainly don't want to talk about the criminal reality of the Federal Reserve and central banking in general. That is information you simply don't need to know, and it's only the tip of the iceberg.

There is a secret empire in this world. It has been growing since the end of the dark ages. It's roots may even go further back. This empire knows how to manipulate masses of humans. They know which strings to pull, which buttons to push. They know how to use this knowledge to their advantage. This secret empire has discovered that the best way to stay in control is to remain hidden from view. They set up a curtain of politicians to help accomplish this. You cannot vote them out of office, for they buy the office, not the person holding it. They cartelize the important products and services to give the impression of a free market with plenty of choices when behind the scenes they are friendly toward each other and work together to prevent competition from materializing, let alone getting a foothold in the market.

I believe that thought is possibly the most powerful force on Earth. The secret empire of international corporations realized long ago that they could harness this power through the power of mass media. They realized they could market their soft tyranny through such mechanisms. They realized they could make people believe that war is peace, ignorance is strength, truth is false, and reality is what they say it is. I think they underestimated the human mind. I think they underestimated the human desire to determine one's own destiny. I think they underestimated the human capacity to understand what's really going on when presented in the correct manner.

It took a thousand years before the Guttenberg press was able to break the Church's chokehold on information. It has taken less than half that from the time the Guttenberg press was invented until the time the Internet was started. I wonder if the powers that be foresaw the power it would have in terms of disseminating information. I wonder if they underestimated what it could do. I know that now the powers that be are trying to put the Internet genie back in the bottle by attempting to regulate its content. I know they have passed laws that can disappear people indefinitely and without trial simply for using it for political dissent. They simply have to make the accusation that such people are terrorists. This is chilling. These are interesting times we are living in. Will freedom win, or will tyranny? Only time will tell.

If you like my writings, I am asking for your help. Please visit my website szandorblestman.com to see my archived articles and help support me by making a donation. I am also pleased to announce the release of the latest book by Matthew Wayne entitled "The Edge of Sanity." It is also available for the Kobo Vox, at Barnes and Noble and at Diesel. The download for this book is only $2.99. Even if you simply take a moment of your time to download the 20% of the book offered for free that will be of tremendous help to me in gaining exposure for my work which will help create sales. I have also released "The Ouijiers" at smashwords.com. For a limited time "The Ouijiers" is available at a cost you set. I ask that if you read it and find it entertaining you pay an amount you consider a fair price for it. You may have to register (for free) with smashwords and turn off the adult filter to see the books.