Copenhagen, Carbon Emissions and World Government

I was contacted earlier by some readers of my articles and asked for my view on the events scheduled to take place in December in Copenhagen. This was something I had only recently heard about and therefore had little knowledge of. I quickly discovered a speech on climate change given by Lord Monckton which he ends by giving a stern warning to Americans that the United States will lose its national sovereignty should Mr. Obama sign this treaty in Copenhagen in December. It seems there are some who fear such an occurrence. They truly worry that Mr. Obama will turn our country over to a world government. Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we lost our national sovereignty long ago. If Mr. Obama were to sign a treaty creating a world government that would supersede the government of the United States it would be doing nothing except finally bring out in the open what's been happening under the table for decades.

The United States government more or less gave up its sovereignty when the Federal Reserve act was signed into law. Sovereignty was reduced to a great extent when legal tender laws were put into place that forced businesses and private citizens, by the coercive nature of federal law, to accept as money a paper note that some perhaps would not have otherwise accepted. At that time, whether it was realized or not, the United States was usurped by a cartel of private international banks whose objective was to rule the world, corral all the wealth for themselves and make the vast majority of humanity into debt slaves. We as a nation lost sovereignty when it was decided corporations have the same rights as individuals and were granted even greater immunity in the eyes of the law, which took responsibility for criminal actions and bad decisions away from individuals running said businesses. We as a people gave up even more of our sovereignty when we allowed multi-national corporations and foreign lobbyists to solicit our congressmen and senators and contribute to their campaigns. Do you think these entities care what is best for the American people? Do you think that perhaps they are more interested in looking out for their own best interests? It has been a long, long time since the federal government has actually been a sovereign entity.

That said, the Copenhagen conference scheduled for this December should prove to be an interesting event. I've only taken a glance at the document the meeting is about, but I can certainly see why many people would be concerned. It does seem as if a world government is being set up. Still, this does not seem to be a treaty. It is a “Framework Convention on Climate Change.” This is, as near as I can tell, just a lot of suggestions about how to go about accomplishing their agenda and implementing taxes and restrictions on people and businesses so that they can maintain control. That's not to say that it couldn't easily be replaced by an actual treaty by this December, I don't know that much about how international treaties come about, but for now perhaps one should not be overly worried. I don't believe this is going to be the “official” treaty that brings about one world government.

That being said, the concept of man made climate change remains a dangerous one to those of us worried about human liberty. The fear mongering that has gone on with this issue is unlike any I've seen in the past. It has been going on for decades now, at least as far back as the seventies when some were insisting that we were heading into a massive global cooling cycle and perhaps another ice age. The insistence by some that global warming is an unarguable “fact” so overwhelmingly supported by scientists as to make debate on the subject intolerable is frightening.

Scientific debate should never be stymied by such dogma as has been put out by these man made climate change zealots who have much to gain by regulating human activity. In my opinion those who continue to insist that climate change is caused by human activity instead of being a natural cycle inherent in the nature of this earth, and indeed the solar system, are either completely fooled, extremely misinformed, deliberately refusing to look at or ignoring evidence that shows otherwise, or propagating what they know to be a lie for their own gain. Those of the latter group would include certain politicians, scientists and businessmen who will benefit financially and politically from levying taxes upon all of mankind and making it difficult to innovate or even exist as a business entity without going through their strict regulatory approval process. Needless to say, anything an entrepreneur might come up with that could seriously compete with their established monopolies would likely be crushed by their system and never allowed to enter the marketplace.

Climate change conferences of the political kind are not about controlling climate change. The politicians couldn't care less about the climate. They couldn't care less about the environment. They couldn't care less about the science. That is why we are hearing stories now about scientists who have been shunned by government entities for remaining honest and principled in their assessments while their brethren who go along with the government line, particularly the UN version, have been given sweetheart deals and continue to prosper. The only thing politicians care about is the best way to rip you off through taxes, especially through hidden taxation, and control. They live privileged lives and they want to make sure it stays that way.

It seems to me that politicians worldwide act very similar to those in the United States of America. They not only don't care about the environment, the climate, or the common man, they don't even care about the citizens of their own countries as long as they can milk them for taxes and keep getting reelected. They most likely couldn't care less about their nation's sovereignty. They only care about their own power, their own wealth and increasing their own status in life. Politicians in the United States in no way have a patent on corruption. Likely it is as easy for the super rich to buy a politician in France or Italy or even China or Russia as it is in the United States. These people, the rich elite pulling the strings of politicians worldwide, have their own agenda and it's quite likely that they don't think or care much about the common folk. They are the ones that populations around the world should pay attention to, and they have put politicians between themselves and the “lower” classes.

I would suggest that people in the United States of America aren't the only ones who need to worry about losing their sovereignty. There are freedom lovers in every nation who worry that the creation of a one world government would further restrict their already overly regulated activities. Do you really think that someone in Poland wants to be governed by someone from Mexico? Or that someone in China wants to be dictated to by someone from Serbia? It's difficult enough to deal with the tyranny coming from your own government, let alone what it would be like having to deal with an overblown centralized world government as I'm sure any global government would become. Such an organization would and should run into massive resistance across the globe. No one wants to be ruled over by someone living half a world away, they didn't like it in Caesar's time and they wouldn't like it now. Perhaps we should be more worried about losing individual sovereignty, which is violated by arrogance at all levels of government when these groups of people threaten violence and imprisonment against those who produce if they don't pay a portion of the money they've earned to the extortionists.

Perhaps that is one reason (of many) why people in other nations are so disappointed and even angry at the American people. Perhaps they expect us, with our history of freedom oriented principles, to once again show the way and become the beacon of liberty they expect us to be. Since I live in the United States and don't trust mainstream media outlets to be anything other than propaganda arms of political factions, it is difficult to gauge the mood of people elsewhere in the world. It seems that in this nation, however, there are some encouraging stirrings. Recent “tea party” protests have proven to be more than just Republican cheer leading sessions (despite the efforts by some to hijack these events) as common folk from around the nation managed to get out the message that individual freedom is popular and smaller government in demand. The recent phenomenon of so many refusing to take government mandated and recommended flu shots shows that many no longer trust a government that has lied to them so often and are finally willing to just say no to dictates coming down from on high. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the growing popularity and the demand by the masses that a complete audit of the Federal Reserve be conducted shows that the people finally wish to hold those responsible for the financial crisis we continue to experience accountable for their actions.

Perhaps America is once again leading the way. Perhaps it is time for peoples of other nations to demand audits be conducted on their central banks. It would be interesting to see how hard the ruling elite would fight such proposals. I can see how hard they're fighting it here. They really don't want it done and they're pulling out all stops, employing all political tricks and using the most powerful bought and paid for politicians at their disposal to make sure it doesn't happen. It makes one wonder what, exactly, they're trying to hide. Chances are if the Federal Reserve is that worried about an audit, the other central banks around the world would be just as worried and have just as much to hide.

Bringing world government out to the forefront of consciousness and getting people to worry about national sovereignty may be just a rouse to get people to take their eye off the ball, so to speak. Certainly it is something we should be concerned with, but it is not something that can be easily implemented by any entity. As individuals, we should be more concerned with our own personal sovereignty. It is up to us to refuse to simply go along with what the elite want should they decide to try to establish a world government. Furthermore, it is up to us to pull back the curtain and take a close look at the men pulling the levers behind the effort to create such an incredible power structure. It is time to see where all the wealth we common folk have created has gone. The fraud and dirty dealings that are likely to be uncovered may well surprise even the most ardent world government advocate. When this happens, then those who would “save” the world from the scourge of carbon dioxide by taxing it will likely be too worried about saving their own butts to impose a world government or a carbon tax.

A Fair Warning to the Establishment Upper Echelon

It seems the political establishment in this country continues to ignore their constitutional roots. They decided long ago to do away with this document and head down their own path regardless of the consequences to the American people and the ideals upon which this nation was built. By doing this they have, in essence, decided to disregard the law of the land. They have made themselves criminals. Now, if they were confronted with this accusation, one would expect them to hem and haw and try to deny, excuse, justify, equivocate or otherwise rationalize their behavior in an attempt to dismiss the accuser and seek support of others who might wish to see the state continue to abuse its monopoly use of force. They look to the general populace to get permission to continue their criminal behavior, but enablers from those ranks are becoming harder for them to find.

The last couple of years, in my opinion, have seen a great awakening in the people. The left/right paradigm has crumbled in the minds of most as first the Republicans and then the Democrats have shown that they are not interested in principle or in any way helping the common folk, but are just worried about their own power and stabilizing and increasing their control. Both parties have shown that they are filled with warmongers who care nothing about ending conflict. Both parties have shown that they are filled with anti-freedom, spy mongering advocates of the nanny state, tattletale society. Anyone with the most rudimentary knowledge of history understands that these types of societies have failed time and time again. Perhaps that is why the politicians taking their orders from the special interests, lobbyists and elites have suddenly come up against such a wall of opposition. The people they are supposed to serve can see what's coming and they don't like the path we're on.

This comes down to a struggle of ideology. I have referred to it on several occasions as individualism versus collectivism. I can still think of it in those terms, yet I think it goes much deeper than that. This is a struggle that has likely been going on since perhaps before mankind even walked the Earth. It is a struggle of moral practices versus immoral practices. In many ways, it is a struggle of good versus evil, for the outcome may determine whether mankind will be ruled over by a class of super rich elites for some undetermined amount of time, or whether the common man will be able to determine his own fate and either reach his fullest potential or fail from his own foibles without interference from those who would consider themselves his betters. It is a struggle to determine whether we will achieve a truly free society, or whether we are perhaps destined to forever be subjected to the whims of a ruling class who apparently seek to not only run our lives for us, but to make certain we are kept as poor and destitute as possible so that they may enjoy all the wealth we have created and keep it for themselves.

Personally, I would not underestimate humanity. Certainly, as a group we have our weaknesses and can at times be manipulated, yet we are also quite clever and can figure things out better than some might think. As a species, we may perhaps have our moments where we are awed by dazzling lights and spectacle, but we will easily turn away from such diversion when we discover our wallets have been lifted. We can at times perhaps become lazy and complacent in our creature comforts, but most will work hard and even exhaust themselves when critical situations arise. As I have personally discovered in my own experiences, many people will come to your aid in times of great need even if you are a perfect stranger to them. Certainly most will come to the aid of their neighbor. It seems to me that human capacity to do good and be constructive outweighs their capacity to do evil and be destructive, and even when evil is done, it is usually accomplished by convincing individuals that some sort of good will come from it.

I've heard a sort of conspiracy theory that the ruling elitists employ a super computer, probably owned by the US military and housed in the Pentagon or some deep, dark, secret facility, to run through different catastrophic scenarios in order to determine the likelihood of people reacting in certain ways so that they know how to control such situations and keep the populace in line. I have no reason to believe or disbelieve such accusations, but the truth wouldn't surprise me either way. I wouldn't be surprised to find that our tax dollars were wasted in such a manner nor would I be surprised to find that such reports are just propaganda meant to frighten a certain segment of the population. Either truth doesn't matter, for there is a variable it seems they have forgotten when constructing their equations. It is, in my opinion, a variable that is unquantifiable and unqualifiable anyway, so even if they do manage to include it in such a counter productive project it couldn't possibly help their efforts. I am talking about the human spirit.

The human spirit is a remarkable thing. The human animal can be studied, somewhat trained, and physically controlled, but the spirit inside the animal is incredibly resilient and has the ability to carry the individual through extremely difficult situations, conditions and times. It has the ability to change the animal into something amazing, unpredictable, and completely unexpected. This is the variable that is uncontrollable. This is the variable that anyone would be a fool to ignore or to try to predict, contain, or control. The spirit is the spark that ignites the unstoppable fire. It is not something to be toyed with.

You don't need to believe in a super computer to realize the ruling elite is trying to control the masses, you just need to look at the unconstitutional legislation their politicians have passed in the last few years and the legislative proposals they continue to try to pass today. You can see their bullies cracking down on dissidents when they come into a town to conduct their meetings as they did recently in Pittsburgh. The police needn't beat the heads of innocents and disperse peaceful crowds when a few in those crowds decide to cause trouble. They should first try to arrest the individuals making trouble. At least give those who are peacefully protesting a chance to allow the authorities the opportunity to remove obviously undesirable and destructive elements from their ranks. One can only speculate as to why in these modern times the police would use such heavy handed tactics. Even more concerning are the reports and evidence of agent provocateurs in the ranks of peaceful protesters. Are these agents of the state being ordered to behave so poorly in an effort to determine how the masses will react to such situations and unjustified crackdowns? Perhaps they're just trying to see how far and how hard they can push us common folk.

It's been said by some that these elites believe the world is way overpopulated and that they'd like to depopulate it to some extent. Indeed, the overpopulation fear mongering has been going on for centuries. One is reminded of Scrooge's famous quip (in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol) about letting the poor die and ridding the world of the surplus population. I don't know if it's true that they're trying to implement a plan to cause a population reduction, but it seems to me that some very powerful people have an attitude that humanity is like a disease upon the face of the earth and that a depopulation event would not be a bad thing. Apparently, there are some who seem to think that nature would benefit from mankind's demise.

There are some in this world who evidently need to be reminded that humanity is part of nature. In fact, in my humble opinion, humanity is the pinnacle of nature's creation. Just look at what mankind has accomplished. Look at the arts, the architecture, the science and the good things we've created. We have combined our brains and our hands to create some of the most magnificent marvels this world has ever seen. Should one decide to meddle with such a creation, should one decide to somehow try to alter its evolution and stifle its potential, well let's just say I'd hate to be the one standing in front of nature's creator and trying to explain why I did such a thing.

But that's all just speculation. In the physical world we live in there appears to be an awakening of the masses. There are many more people now who are taking a peek behind the curtain and getting a glimpse of the powers that try to remain hidden than there were just a few years ago. Those of us who are paying attention realize those powers are trying to grab all the cookies, that the ruling elite are trying to wipe out the last vestiges of freedom so that they can achieve total control over all humanity. This simply will not work. It is important to remember that all that is built on illusion and fraud is destined to collapse sooner or later.

A revolution is occurring. It may not be large now, but it is larger than before and growing fast. It is peaceful so far, and hopefully it will stay that way. There is a growing demand for freedom in this world, and and it seems to me that as the elite in control tighten their grip on power more of the populace slip through their fingers. Humanity deserves to be free. Free human beings deserve the opportunities that come with the ability to vote with their dollar, control their own monetary system and determine their own destiny. They deserve to be able to make their own mistakes, learn life's hard lessons, and develop to their full potential. I believe history will show that this is the time mankind began to truly evolve into what nature intended him to be. It will show that individuals either tried to help this evolution, or tried to hinder it. One may need to consider carefully which side he wishes to be on. I almost pity those who choose to try to stymie the inevitable. I don't think I'd like to suffer the fate of those who choose the wrong side.

Ron Paul's Principles Should Hijack Both Parties

I used to consider myself a Republican. That was long ago and far away. It began with the presidential candidacy of a man named Ronald Reagan. He said some pretty profound things like “Government isn't the solution to the problem, government is the problem” and “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'” Unfortunately, only a few months into his presidency he was shot in an assassination attempt. I don't know what went on in the time he was in the hospital recovering nor what was going through his mind, but when he reasserted his control of the federal government he grew it rather than shrinking and limiting it as his rhetoric suggested would happen. He, like our current president, talked a good game but when it came down to brass tacks did not deliver. He did not stick to his principles nor the principles of liberty upon which our nation was founded. As a result, I felt the Republican party had left me.

In the years following, I explored many different avenues in an attempt to find political sanity in an insane system of big government worship. I felt like so many Americans that neither political party reflected my world view or espoused the principles I grew up believing in. I felt that the Democrats and Republicans liked to bicker over little, insignificant issues, but they were in agreement on the truly important, larger issues of growing federal government control. The only difference seemed to be the pace at which to grow government. Third parties seemed too small to be effective and the laws regulating and restricting their growth and access to the public too draconian and entrenched to overcome. They had effectively isolated me, shut me down, shut me up and shut me out of the political process. In the country famous for its freedom I felt I had no voice. I felt impotent and resigned to insignificance. So I, like so many others, became apathetic and simply watched as the ship of state drifted in a sea of socialism under the guidance of collectivist captains and crews.

Ron Paul's presidential campaign changed all that. After years of voting for third party candidates with excellent ideas relegated to the back pages of newspapers and shut out like myself by the political and media establishment, there came to the fore someone who spoke the truth, understood the principles of liberty and was in one of the two parties controlling the nation's political duopoly. Despite the fact that the mainstream media and the establishment politicos tried to minimize his significance by labeling him and his followers kooky, unelectable, quaint, out of touch, etc., he developed quite a following. Thanks to modern developments a core of passionate, vocal, active, ordinary people were able to disseminate his message to the masses. Finally the message of freedom was being exposed to large numbers of people. I was pleasantly surprised that it was so well received by so many.

Now one Senator Lindsey Graham wants to complain about Ron Paul supporters? Now he wants to make the claim that the Republican party is being hijacked? Now he claims that the Republicans are not going to be the Ron Paul party? Now he's worried because he has to answer to constituents in his own party who understand the principles honored by free society and wish for him to adhere to such principles? Now he insinuates that only angry white men want a free society? Maybe he should more closely examine the message he so readily rails against.

Is Mr. Graham against peace? Is he so in love with perpetual war that he will continue to sacrifice the principles we supposedly hold so dear? Ron Paul does not support interventionist policies. While some would claim that his is an isolationist position, he has often cited the wisdom of Washington and Jefferson when advocating commerce with all nations and alliances with none. It is not an isolationist policy to want to trade instead of fight with other nations. It is more a policy of minding our own business and not putting our nose into the internal affairs of other nations. There's nothing wrong with that. It certainly would mean we would no longer be spilling the blood of innocents. It certainly would mean we would no longer be spending our treasure and the lives of our children for the sake of the international bankers and multi-national corporations.

Is Mr. Graham against following the Constitution? Dr. Paul supports the constitution. He is practically the only congress person that follows it. While other lawmakers treat our founding documents as if they don't exist, Dr. Paul continuously points out the unconstitutional nature of most laws as a reason to vote against them. While many power grabbing control freaks try to convince everyone that the Constitution is an antiquated, “living” document open to interpretation and not applicable in the modern world, Dr. Paul is quick to point out that there are prescribed methods and remedies provided in that very document for cases when some point of contention may arise. Most lawmakers like Mr. Graham seem to prefer to try to circumvent the Constitution in order to achieve more control rather than go about the arduous task of changing it as should be done so that they remain within the bounds of what is supposed to be the supreme law of the land. If one is not willing to abide by such a document, one should not swear an oath to uphold it.

Is Mr. Graham opposed to freedom and liberty for individuals trying to apply their own solutions and assume personal responsibility for their own lives? Such concepts are at least partially what the individualist philosophy is about and what some of the founding fathers were expressing in their writings as they struggled with the notions of what a freedom loving society should be. By enshrining these concepts in the first ten amendments of the Constitution, also known as the Bill of Rights, our founding fathers thought they had guaranteed that powerful individuals in government would be unable to trample the rights of the not so powerfully connected common man working hard and doing his best to improve his lot in life. It is Dr. Paul who supports the principles which would allow individuals to once again determine what is best for their selves and how to best control their destinies without government interference or taxation. Looking at Mr. Graham's voting record makes one wonder just how much he feels government should be involved in the individual's life.

These are just a few of the principles Dr. Paul espouses. They are the bulwarks upon which American society was designed and helped create perhaps the most prosperous society the world has ever seen. American politicians should not be shunning these principles, no matter their party. They shouldn't be chastising those who are frustrated with watching them and their collectivist philosophies drag us into economic destruction. They should instead be listening to their concerns and ideas on how to best get out nation and everyone in it back on the road to prosperity. It is their big government intervention that has led us down the path we find ourselves on, not free market philosophies or constitutional obedience as they would have you believe. We have not had a true free market or seen the Constitution obeyed in well over a hundred years, and perhaps never.

The Democrats and Republicans should not be arguing over which big government program to enact or what's the best way to enact it, they should be arguing over the best way to make certain our individual freedoms are preserved so that we the people can best determine amongst ourselves how to best solve our problems rather than having a one size fits all solution being handed down from some elite group who in many cases may be thousands of miles away. The politicians in charge have had their chance. Most of them have been involved with government for far too long. They failed time and time again. In my opinion it is time to try something different. The principles espoused by Ron Paul and other freedom advocates have been shown to work in the past and deserve another chance.

Ron Paul supporters may or may not outnumber Lindsey Graham supporters, but that should not matter. The principles that are supposed to guide this nation protect the rights of every individual, not just those in the majority. Everyone is supposed to have a voice. Dr. Paul helped me to find mine. I refuse to ever again be silent, sit back and watch while big government advocates, be they collectivist Democrats or collectivist Republicans, take our society down a path leading to an authoritarian police state, fiscal and moral bankruptcy, and perhaps an even darker and more nefarious agenda. It is time to once again let freedom ring across this great land. Mr. Graham should welcome those who espouse such American ideals into his party and be proud to be associated with such American values instead of denying their voices and embracing the same big government, collectivist ideals tried by systems that have failed. Unfortunately, Senator Graham is unlikely to change. He is unlikely to listen to me or anyone else speaking out about the virtues of freedom unless he feels it is necessary in order to get re-elected and that probably won't happen until it's too late for him.

The Ignoble Nobel Peace Prize

I have lost all respect for the Nobel Peace Prize. Not that they've had that great of a track record when it comes to who gets this award, but by giving it to Barack Obama they have done away with all pretense of actually caring about peace in the world. Perhaps a better name for this award would be the Nobel Rest in Peace Prize. Certainly there are only millions of others who are more deserving of a peace prize than Mr. Obama, myself included. Anyone who hasn't actively participated in the effort to continue the maintenance of a statist empire, especially by means of military occupation, deserves this prize more than Mr. Obama.

One would think that the Nobel Peace Prize committee would be interested in giving such a prize to someone who has worked against the establishment that fosters the conditions that cause war, violence and conflict in the world. One would think that they'd be interested in giving the award to a worthy, little known or under rated figure who could use the money, notoriety and prestige to further the cause of peace. Instead, this lazy, elitist group insult the intelligence of the common man by giving the award to someone who has shown the world that he can only read eloquently from a teleprompter and he is willing to promise everything and deliver nothing for the support and accolades of the few devotees who refuse to see through his deception. Mr. Obama continues to dangle promises in front of the needy while advancing the agenda of the rich and powerful elite. More and more people are beginning to realize just what a scam artist this man really is. The attempt by the Nobel Peace Prize committee to legitimize him should only serve to anger those of us who pay attention to actions instead of words.

But perhaps I'm being too harsh. Perhaps I should try to be a little more understanding. I suppose there is a possibility that the Nobel Peace Prize committee, being of Norwegian origin, simply do not understand the intricacies of the English language and American politics. Perhaps they take politicians at their word and believe they never misrepresent themselves. Maybe that's what politicians are like in Norway. I very much doubt it, but I'm willing to give the committee the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps there is no real planned attempt to propagandize the prize and they just need to be a little better informed. If that's the case, I have a few suggestions.

My first suggestion at who should have won the prize would be Ron Paul. He did, of course, make an even more complete promise than Barack Obama did when he said about the Iraq conflict “We just marched in, we can just march out.” His Campaign for Liberty endorses peaceful change to help rid us of intrusive government laws and their use of force that is the source of so much violence in this world. Using the same criteria as used by the Nobel Peace Prize committee, I personally would have more hope for a nuclear free world with Ron Paul as president than I do with Barack “Iran has a secret nuclear program” Obama. In fact, where they see hope, I fear for lack of sanity.

Some who read this may write me off as nothing but a sycophant for Dr. Paul. Perhaps they're right and I do carry too much admiration for him, but if the members of the Nobel Peace Prize committee can be sycophants for Mr. Obama, why shouldn't I do the same for Dr. Paul? My admiration for Dr. Paul may not be as profitable for him as the committee's admiration of Mr. Obama is to the president, but you can rest assured that it is likely quite a bit more sincere.

Aside from the words of peace Ron Paul has uttered, he has actually taken real action to effect a transition to a more peaceful world. He has gone right to the source of violence and is taking on those who enable war and create the incentives to kill and destroy. His audit the Fed initiative would delve into the dealings of the very people who finance these inhumane ventures. The very system of fiat money and the central banks with their monopolies on its creation makes it possible to finance military adventurism and pass on the costs to the progeny of the populace. How much more peaceful would this world be if we had to directly pay for our wars by the taxing and taking of our own treasure? It wouldn't surprise me to find that war would quickly become unaffordable in such a case, as well it should be. Of course the mere fact that Dr. Paul is taking on the establishment likely precludes him from receiving any award given out by the establishment which both Mr. Obama and the Nobel Prize Peace committee are part of.

There are so many others more deserving of the peace prize it would be impossible to name them all. I'd like to point out a few. Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury risks his life by publishing his newspaper The Weekly Blitz in Bangladesh, regularly shining a light on the violence and injustices taking place in central Asia and advocating for peaceful conflict resolution. Punita Lohani and others at the Women News Network have been struggling to expose the violence against women prevalent in Nepal and bring about peaceful co-existence and understanding in that part of the world. Buddhist monks in Thailand put their lives on the line to try to bring about a peaceful change and a freer society to that country. Certainly any of those named above would are far more deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize than Mr. Obama who sits confidently upon his presidential throne and risks absolutely nothing of consequence as he talks a good game but delivers no goods, and I'm sure there are many, many others more deserving that I don't know about.

I was thinking about using this space to toot my own horn, to write about how my own writings advocating peace qualify me for such an award, but I've changed my mind. I'm just a lowly blogger who can do nothing more than express my opinions for others to read. As much as I'd like to be lighthearted about this subject, it's too serious to take it so lightly. There are far too many people around this world dying, being tortured, and being oppressed by governments, agents of the state, or groups with ties to those with governmental powers. These people are not laughing about such matters, nor are they interested in such foolishness as they suffer. My heart goes out to them.

The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize should be taken seriously. Such an award could be well used by agencies that would apply it in a much more positive and appropriate way than any sitting president ever could. It's a shame that others who can do little more than write about it have to put so much more thought into who should receive such an award than did those who were entrusted with the task.

Why I Won't Be Taking Any Flu Shot This Year (Even if it's Free)

I took the flu shot one year. It was offered at work and paid for by my employer. Most of us employees lined up happily, filled out the forms, answered the questions the nurses asked, rolled up our sleeves and took the shot. A few days later, I was sick as a dog. I'd never been so sick in my life. I was a young, healthy man and felt like I had aged fifty years and been run over by a truck all on the same day. I don't say that the shot gave me the flu, but I did find it odd that I'd never had much of a problem with the flu and when I take the shot I get it so bad that I'm bedridden for three days. I haven't taken a flu shot since and have not had a flu give me more than a low level fever, stuffy nose and some aches and pains in the years following.

So, I had a bad experience and now I don't trust the shots. I'm older, but I'm still quite healthy and really not worried about the flu. I do worry a bit, however, on some of the things I've been hearing and reading about these so called vaccines. The implications that these shots contain ingredients such as thermisol (mercury), squalene and other dangerous additives is a little disturbing. I was around in 1976 and still remember the hubbub and the questionable events surrounding the flu vaccines that were given out back then. Is it worth the risk if one of the side effects is the possibility of contracting Gillian-Barre? Why should I take a chance with these shots now? It seems that the lessons of the past have not been learned. It seems to me that perhaps in this case the cure is worse than the disease.

Another very disturbing development is the talk of mandatory vaccinations and in the case of Massachusetts laws being passed to forcefully vaccinate citizens that refuse to take the shots. If these shots are so great, why should you have to force people to take them? If there was a true pandemic sweeping across the world, wouldn't we be seeing deaths by the thousands of those who hadn't been vaccinated? Wouldn't these illnesses and deaths be occurring before the vaccinations and not after they've started? Wouldn't it, in fact, be more prudent to isolate one's self in the case of a pandemic and avoid contact with such an illness rather than exposing one's self to it?

Although it may not sound like it, I'm actually a great believer in immunization and have used the process to relieve the allergies I used to suffer. Yet there's something amiss with trying to immunize against the flu, more so this year than in the past. First off, the timing seems to be questionable. It seems to me that more and more often I hear about increasing deaths and flu cases after the shots are made available. This makes one wonder about cause and effect. Yet the medical establishment and the mainstream media insist on hyping the vaccines, insist that they are necessary and healthy. I find it harder and harder to believe these people the longer I pay attention to what they say versus the reality I perceive.

Fear mongering has become more of an epidemic than the disease. The establishment makes horrifying claims as to the possible number of deaths from the swine flu and compare the number to a flu that happened at the beginning of last century and should be extinct, and yet they somehow have a vaccine for it despite that flues are constantly mutating and vaccines should take months to make after the fact if they are to be effective. In fact, I've read reports where flu vaccines for last year's flu are given and doctors say it will not be effective against this year's mutated variety. So a flu will break out, the establishment drug dealers will hype it to scare the populace, people will flock to get an ineffective immunization and the makers of these vaccines will go to the bank. We as a population need to stop being driven by fear and start thinking through our actions.

It comes down to a matter of trust. Unfortunately, I believe, most Americans still trust people they should not. The establishment medical community, the AMA et al., the establishment politicians and the establishment media are all proven liars. I know there are many people who disagree with me on this point, I know there are many people who refuse to admit that they've been lied to, that they've been fooled, but these apologists will not convince me that this establishment is even a little bit well intentioned, at least not at the very top. I simply don't trust these establishment people anymore. If you want to keep trusting them, if you want to remain in denial and believe they only want what's best for you, far be it from me to try to convince you otherwise. I don't like being lied to. I don't like this establishment treating me like I'm stupid. There was a time I trusted them, but I can only be fooled for so long and I cannot trust them any longer. I can see with my own eyes, I can think with my own mind, I have a long memory and I don't appreciate those who wish to lead constantly lying and trying to pull the wool over our collective proverbial eyes for their own profit and secretive agenda. I don't need them telling me what to think, what to believe or what's good for me. I can figure it out for myself, thank you.

Despite all that, there is an even more powerful reason to refuse flu vaccinations. It is a reason that goes to the heart of so much of the corruption that is prevalent in so much of our society. There is no accountability. If I were to decide to get vaccinated and something were to go wrong, if I were to die, or come down with Gillian-Barre syndrome, or my body reacted in some other nasty way, I could hold no one else accountable even if they knew of the possibility or the probability of such a reaction. No one is held accountable if these vaccinations are failures, or if they cause disease. As in politics or government or any other public sector endeavor, all one has to do is claim good intentions and any bad consequences, whether intended or not, will be forgiven without those responsible being held accountable. Until this changes, I can't understand how anyone can trust the establishment.

Personally, I'd rather take my chances with nature than with man made promises, particularly when those promises involve potentially millions in profits for uncaring drug companies enjoying government monopoly privileges. I once again assert that my body is mine and I should be able to decide what to do with it, what to put in it and what not to put in it. If I don't want to take a shot, for whatever reason, I should not be forced to take one even if someone else feels it's for my own good. Neither should anyone else. If I take my chances with the flu and catch it, and die from it, then at least I know it was a natural occurrence and the will of a higher power and not because of some other human being's negligence or nefarious agenda.

I won't be taking a flu shot this year, not one for the regular flu, not one for the swine flu. I urge all my loved ones to refrain from taking any flu shots. I urge everyone reading this to refrain from taking any flu vaccinations, though I would not dream of forcing anyone from taking such a shot if that is their wish. I urge everyone to look into natural preventions and healthy habits that can not only help your immune system fight off the flu and other infections, but can also help your all around general health. I won't be taking any vaccinations until the establishment has once again earned my trust by being honest and proving beyond any doubt that their science is more beneficial than what nature provides to help us avoid and overcome such ailments. I have the feeling that will be a long time coming.

Time Now For a New Enlightenment

“Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.”

Ronald Reagan

The Age of Enlightenment, in my opinion, started even before the mid seventeenth century as some historians would argue. This is because I believe that the undercurrents that brought about the Enlightenment have persisted in the human spirit from time immemorial. The Enlightenment culminated in the creation of The United States of America, a system of government that was supposed to put individuals and their rights above all else. This was brought about through reason and a certain disdain for the politics of the times. The American colonists were looking for a better system then the monarchies and even the so called representative democracies (which were heavily influenced by a royal presence) they had left behind on the European continent.

When we look at the thought processes that drove the Enlightenment and the writings of the founding fathers, we get a better understanding at the type of system they wanted to set up for their progeny. They understood that if humans were to live as freemen they had to act like they were freemen. They refused to just bow down to the dictates of the British government. They refused to simply accept “the law” that the British elite wanted enforced upon them. They refused to give the British their extortion money and told them they no longer needed their protection services. Perhaps most importantly, they refused to give up their interest free money and accept the debt notes that the Bank of England wanted them to use as legal tender.

To the founders, being free meant they owned themselves. It meant they owned their labor. It meant they owned the property they purchased with the money they earned with their labor. At least it seems that way to me. In order to try to preserve these ideals they fought a revolution, wrote papers of explanation of their beliefs for posterity, and codified them as best they could into the law of the land in the form of the US Constitution. They were enlightened as to the faults of government and the tyranny into which all systems have fallen throughout history. They sought to bind and limit the scope of future government with words and checks and balances so that their progeny could know the blessings of freedom and self determination. That was the spirit of the Constitution and more specifically the Bill of Rights.

Lysander Spooner pointed out over a hundred years ago that the Constitution either condoned tyranny or was powerless to stop it. Unfortunately, I have to agree with that assessment. Yet I believe that the Constitution is not where the power lies. It is but a road map along the path to freedom. If one gets lost on that path, he can either take out the map and try to find a way back or he can wander about aimlessly and hope to stumble upon his destination.

It is not the Constitution that has failed, it is the people that have failed to abide by it, or to give it teeth. Why should power hungry politicians obey the constitution when they know they will not be held accountable for disobeying it? Why should they worry about the constitutionality of the laws they pass when they or their friends can profit from them during the years it takes for a challenge to the law to make it through the court system? Why should they care when it is as likely as not that their friends and colleagues on the Supreme Court will find their laws constitutional as they interpret the Constitution as if it was written in a language other than English? Better yet, why should they care when there is no legal price to pay for voting for an unconstitutional law? Why would they let its chains constrain them when they know they are quite likely to be re-elected (as most incumbents are) regardless of their actions? Why wouldn’t they break the chains that are supposed to bind them when they know that most states use easily hackable electronic voting machines run by corruptible humans? Why wouldn’t they do everything they could to increase their power and prestige when the political risk is so historically low? Do we think that because they are politicians they are angels and they are simply going to do the right thing? Right. We the people have let our power wane, allowed the Constitution to become irrelevant and become slaves to the politically elite masters that were supposed to serve us.

The first step in many cases on the road to recovery is admitting that there is a problem. I think most Americans have come to this realization, no matter their political affiliation. Once it has been identified that there is a problem, it becomes necessary to find a way to solve the problem. As expressed in the quote above attributed to Ronald Reagan, government is the problem. It has become too large and intrusive. Its power has overshadowed this great land and now we are witnessing certain overzealous politicians salivating as they try to pass laws and programs that will increase its size and their power over our everyday lives. Perhaps it would help to slow down, pull over, take a look at the road map we are provided with, and follow its directions in order to help whittle down the size of government, restore our freedoms and take back our lives, our money and our power to make our own decisions.

If we as a people can find our collective backbone and create enough political pressure to make our congress critters realize we are serious about reclaiming our heritage than perhaps this can be accomplished in a peaceful manner. This has already started to happen as evidenced by the tea parties, town hall meetings, and the huge protest in DC. Yet one still has to wonder if this is going to be enough. The mainstream media, with a few notable exceptions, continues to downplay the awakening of the American people and portray everyday middle class citizens as extreme right wingers, lost souls who don’t know what’s best for them, or just plain stupid instead of as freedom loving individuals who just want the government out of their lives.

Perhaps a little reasoning will help accomplish these goals as it helped our founding fathers craft the nation’s founding documents. First it needs to be made clear that individual rights are not something that is granted to you by government. We are born with individual, natural rights. These rights stem from the very nature of being human. One has the right to express one’s self, the right to defend one’s self, the right to determine for one’s self the best way to better one’s circumstances (i.e. the right to pursue happiness), the right to not incriminate himself, the right to freely associate with whom we chose, the right to not associate with someone or some group if we don’t want to (i.e. the right to be left alone as Judge Andrew Napolitano would say), the right to freely assemble, etc., not because those in Washington DC who consider themselves our leaders say so, but because we say so. As long as we exercise these rights and act upon our nature without causing physical harm to another individual, damaging or stealing another's property, or treading upon the rights of another individual, then we should be left in peace to do so.

Individual, natural rights also cannot be taken away by government. We can only surrender them. The individuals working for government can only refuse to respect them. This is why we need to say no. This is why we need to say enough is enough. Those who laud power over the masses promise us security against wispy monstrosities that are difficult to spot, pin down or clearly identify if we will just allow them to violate our rights. The more who stand up to and disobey the bullies that would exercise physical force, threats, intimidation or coercion to make us submit and allow our rights to be violated the better off we will all be and the sooner we will once again live as freemen.

Let me enlighten those who still believe we live in the freest nation on earth. Wrong. We already live in a police state. We are all slaves to the state. The time has come to face these truths and do something about it. While the protests, the emails to our would be representatives, the raucous town hall meetings, the tea parties, etc., are a good start, they are not necessarily going to be enough. Unfortunately, those who currently hold power are not going to easily give it back and they have shown that they can be very violent. It is time we realized just how corrupt these politicians are and that they simply do not care what the people think or want. Still, we can not let fear stop us. As long as we keep up the pressure and remain peaceful, we will prevail.

We, the masses of the people, must remember that we are the economy. We are the ones who create the wealth in this world and we should be the ones keeping and distributing the wealth among ourselves as we see fit. Those in government, the bureaucrats who deign to rule over us and the privileged, elite, moneyed interests who pull their strings, are nothing more than parasites who depend on our life's blood, our labor, our industriousness, our innovation and our cooperation in order to survive. They will make demands upon us, and yet it is we who should be making demands upon them. We don't have to bow down to their demands. We don't have to simply obey the dictates they decide to rain down upon us from on high. We can chose to say no to their mandates. We can chose to not pay.

It is important to remember that in this world there are wrongs as well as rights. It is wrong to force someone else to pay for your entitlements. It is wrong to expect others, particularly those who aren't even born yet, to support a system that is unsustainable. It is wrong to demand rights for ourselves if it means treading upon the rights of other individuals. Groups don't have rights above or beyond the rights of the individual. The rights of the individual are what keep groups strong, for if the rights of the individual is subject to violation, then the rights of all individuals in the group are subject to that same violation.

There will be a price to pay for our freedom. If we are to be free, we must allow others to be free. We must stop depending on government entitlements, particularly centralized, federal government entitlements that seem to suffer from a lack of accountability. We must learn to trust in ourselves and our fellow man for support rather than counting on the support of those who are forced to pay into the system. In this way we become truly independent.

It seems to me that we now suffer under a government that is far more tyrannical, far more despotic, far more intrusive and far more demanding than King George's England could ever hope to be. The colonies revolted against King George and England because they felt they were being unfairly taxed and their interest free money based on commodities was made illegal. As time goes on and we hear more and more often of the crimes and treasons committed by those who have been elected and politically appointed to protect individual rights, we begin to recognize that these people care not for the American ideals expressed by this nation's forefathers but care only to maintain and increase their profit, their power and their ability to control. We see this regardless of the party these men and women affiliate themselves with. Since neither men nor women of principle seem to be in great supply these days, it is prudent for us to demand an end to the abhorrent secrecy practiced at the highest levels of government and their agencies and to reinstate total transparency so that the population can better assess the job these people are doing and see to whom they give their loyalties.

This nation is awakening. I believe people across the planet are discovering their desire for individual freedom and working to get corrupt governments out of their lives. The United States of America was at one time a beacon to the rest of the world and a place where all who were oppressed dreamed they could one day come for self determination and to realize their full potential . This is no longer so. In fact, many of our richest citizens are leaving for greener pastures. Yet I believe that this nation can once again become that beacon as it used to be. As we all become more and more enlightened as to the benefits of individual freedom and independence each one of us needs to determine how we can best strive to peacefully bring about the change which will reestablish our place in the world as the land of the free. There is a message out there that I hear more and more often from more and more sources. That message is a message of love and peace. It's a message that people want peaceful change, smaller government, fewer intrusions on their personal lives, and more power to determine their own destinies. One can only hope that those who have the power to prevent these dreams from becoming reality can hear the shouting in the streets and will pay attention to the message instead of trying to fight the inevitable and forcing their agenda upon a populace that's had enough.

Making Chartarum

“Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.”
Verse from a famous childhood song

I’ve always wanted to be an actor. I was able to pursue that dream for a while when I was younger, when I was in high school and had no real financial worries. I sort of had to give up on that dream when I became an adult and the realities of life slapped me in the face. Acting simply wasn’t in the cards and I needed to get a real job in order to raise a family. In fact, I had to get several real jobs just to make ends meet. I guess that’s just the way things are. You do what you got to do and sometimes dreams must be sacrificed in order to survive.

I had really never been very good at fixing things, but found that with the right training I was able to learn how. When I got started down this path, I discovered that I really had quite a proclivity for repairing things, particularly electronics and electromechanical devices. When it comes down to it, most things in life are not all that complicated. It only takes a little know how and some common sense to figure out how most things work, and sometimes just a bit of instruction to get one started. In the beginning, I really surprised myself how easy it was to learn to fix things that seemed so complicated at first glance.

So I became very good at fixing electronic equipment. I became specialized and developed exceptional skills in repairing certain electromechanical devices. After many years, I became so skilled as to find the day to day work boring. I could fix the units I worked on in my sleep. On the rare occasion that I did run across a problem I was unfamiliar with and needed to troubleshoot, I began to look at this more as a chore than a challenge. How dare a unit have a problem that was difficult for me, the great fixer of things, to diagnose and repair? I became comfortable in my routine and wore a rut in my life deeper than the Grand Canyon.

I was forced to climb out of that rut in January of this year when I was laid off from a job I’d thought I would never lose. I was, after all, the best at what I did. It was and is a long climb up when emerging from a rut. Yet it seems with life that as one door closes another opens. It seems that if you look for opportunities sometimes you will find them when and where you least expect them. I figured I’d take the time granted me by the loss of my job to hone my writing skills and try to find a job copy editing or some such thing. As luck would have it, however, an opportunity I never expected came out of the blue, one that I likely wouldn’t have been able to take advantage of if I had still been walking the rut that was my life. I was given the opportunity to participate in the making of a movie.

My participation in this venture was on a completely voluntary basis. Even though I knew I would not be paid, I jumped at the chance to help with this movie. I was excited to get the experience and thrilled that I’d be able to add it to my resume. That was all that mattered to me.

The title of the movie is “Chartarum” and you will be able to see me in it when it comes out later this year. It is a horror movie about a parasitic mold that enhances some of the more aggressive characteristics of the humans it infects. In addition to being an extra, I helped a little with some technical aspects to the film. It was a real learning experience that I quite enjoyed. I very much hope I am able to do something similar again soon, perhaps as a living. I would love to be more involved in media production of this type. This would not only be the type of work I enjoy, it is the type of work I believe would take advantage of my greatest natural talents.

I was able to discover a few things in the week I helped out on this production. Helping to make a movie is like helping to make someone’s dream a reality. It’s a shared dream in which all participants contribute. Although it may have a message embedded in it, its main purpose is to entertain. Creating it takes a lot of time, thought and effort, and it doesn’t always turn out the way one might have imagined. The important thing is that the finished product is something people will pay to see and will want to become fans of.

As with many endeavors in life, it takes many different types of people to make a movie. It can be quite interesting to observe how these personalities interact. Most of the time things run smoothly with everyone doing their best and working hard at their assigned tasks to create the best product possible, but sometimes there is a clash. There are the inevitable disagreements and sometimes one’s emotions may get the best of one’s self and cause behavior one may later regret.

It is important, in my opinion, to remember that humans are not perfect. We are beings that are endowed with a great many faults and frailties as well as a great deal of intelligence, reasoning power and potential. It is for this reason that forgiveness is also important. If we let our emotions get the best of us and remain angry at each other, it becomes very difficult to achieve anything positive. When working together to try to create a product, it helps when those in charge listen to and respect the ideas of those who are working on it.

When such events and conflicts occur it may become necessary to take into account the motives and sincerity of those involved. If one is truly sorry, sees the errors of his ways and admits he was wrong then it is easier to forgive him, resolve the situation and for everyone to carry on with their jobs and bring the project to fruition. If, however, those in charge are so arrogant as to never admit they are wrong and continue to insist on doing things their way regardless of the feelings of others, or if they degrade and chastise those who are working hard and trying to do their best, then disaster will likely result and the finished product will likely not be as good as it could have been. Fortunately, all those working on this production were reasonable people and were able to resolve conflict in a productive manner.

With what little experience I’ve had in movie making, it seems to me that it is just a little microcosm of life, as are many other things. The purpose is to create or help create something that others will enjoy, perhaps something that will last and that future generations can also enjoy. When we all strive to better ourselves and in the process make for a better product, great things can happen. I hope you will all see the movie “Chartarum” when it comes out.