The Dream Presidential Campaign and Barack Obama's Birth Certificate

I've given serious thought to simply quitting. These articles take up my time and I simply am not receiving as much financial support as I was hoping I would by this time. It's tough for me to keep from writing, however, when so much excitement is brewing. Even as things look bleak and the world seems to be heading into the abyss of centralized corporate governance, more people seem to begin to understand the message of liberty and the necessity for my blogging work wanes. Those at the top seem quite worried and are beginning to scramble as the populace begins to become aware of their nature and the illusions they have so carefully weaved begin to fade.

Ron Paul's presidential campaign of 2008 played its role. Though he didn't win, the message of freedom was broadcast to millions who otherwise might not have ever heard it when he took part in the Republican debates. There were problems, however. Ron Paul was a lone voice advocating freedom against a multitude of political statists. Ron Paul was arguing for people to take personal responsibility against a bunch of political Santa Claus's who know what the people want and promise everyone they can a free lunch. It was easy for the establishment to paint Dr. Paul as a nutcase because so many don't wish to give up their favorite federal program, or are afraid to do so. It's easy for those who benefit in some way from the force of the national government to turn away and ignore the basic immorality inherent in the system.

It is possible that this time around, in the presidential campaign of 2012, that could end. Already Gary Johnson, the liberty leaning former governor of Arizona, has announced his presidential candidacy in the Republican Party. Ron Paul has announced an exploratory bid. I have the feeling he'll end up running. If that's the case, there'll be two candidates debating freedom issues on stage. Wouldn't that be an education for Joe Public?

Yet there is a dream I have. Granted, it is just a dream and unlikely to happen, still it's nice to think about. What if more liberty oriented candidates threw their hats into the Republican presidential ring and announced their candidacies? What if men like Judge Andrew Napolitano and Jesse Ventura ran as Republicans? Now there'd be four liberty candidates debating liberty issues. The average tuber (someone who gets their news and views mostly from television and establishment media outlets) would suddenly be exposed to liberty oriented solutions that make sense and empower the individual. They would be exposed to the ideas of individual liberty and responsibility that they may not have otherwise thought of. They would hear a real debate about real issues rather than the fear mongering, irrelevant talking points continuously spouted by the established corporate owned candidates.

Imagine if other liberty minded individuals jumped on board and crowded out all the statist authoritarians in the Republican Party. What would it be like if, in addition to the men mentioned above, people of principle like Adam Kokesh, Peter Schiff and Tom Woods were to also run in the Republican primary. There wouldn't be any debate about the illegal occupations our military finds itself engaged in, just who could get the troops home fastest and how much spending that would cut. The question wouldn't be whether or not the United States was an empire, but how quickly that empire could be disassembled. The question wouldn't be whether or not to get rid of many of the departments at the federal level, but how soon they could be done away with. We wouldn't have to listen to the finger pointing over whose fault the financial mess is, but would hear an interesting debate on how soon the Federal Reserve System could be held to account for their misdealings. We wouldn't hear about who needs to be taxed more, but how much would be saved by the dissolution of the IRS and how quickly the income tax could be abolished.

Wouldn't it be nice to hear politicians actually debating about the best ways to seriously cut federal government spending rather than whether or not to raise the debt ceiling and by how much? Wouldn't it be nice to hear a debate about what government regulations to cut first rather than what other laws and regulations can be passed to further control and stifle our lives? Wouldn't it be nice to hear a debate on which departments to do away with first and how to best whittle down the federal government rather than listening to bull about how bigger government will serve us better? Wouldn't it be nice to have a real choice other than big government Republican versus big government Democrat? Wouldn't it be nice to hear a debate on real issues rather than trivialities like Barack Obama's birth certificate and Donald Trump's hair?

It seems that's what our political debate has been reduced to. No longer do our politicians discuss things that matter. Don't get me wrong, I do understand the importance of the president being a natural born American citizen, but our politicians have been ignoring the Constitution for decades, if not more than a century already. Barack Obama's birth certificate is a major news story suddenly, and perhaps it should be, but even if it is fake, what are they going to do about it? Will they impeach him? Will they put him in prison? Will they reverse all the legislation he signed into law? I somehow doubt it. We've seen how much politicians care about following their rules. We've seen that they simply don't give a damn about the Constitution that is supposed to constrain their power. It seems to me that they don't want to follow the Constitution because they lust for power and control over others.

I don't know whether Barack Obama's birth certificate is real or not. I'm not an expert. I don't know if he was born in the United States or not. I do believe his mom was a US citizen when he was born. If an American woman takes a trip to Kenya, or anywhere else in the world for that matter, and has a baby, does that mean the baby is not an American? I suppose a more pertinent question would be if Mr. Obama gave up his citizenship when he was adopted by an Indonesian father, but that's another tangent. Again, even if he is an illegitimate, what are they going to do about it?

I do know that I don't trust government. I don't trust the corporate establishment. I don't trust their corporate media. They have proved themselves untrustworthy. They have broken their promises. They have lied on many occasion. They continuously attempt to shirk their duties, hide their intentions, cover up their actions, and manipulate their audiences rather than being open and honest. Why would I believe anything they say? Why would I trust any document they put out? Then again, I don't trust Donald Trump either. If he isn't part of the establishment, then no one is. If you wish to put your faith in any of them, that's up to you, but I personally refuse to play their fool.

If the establishment had been serious about pursuing this matter, they should have done so years ago when it first came out, before Mr. Obama became president. Instead, they chose to laugh it off and act as if it was all crazy talk. This shows just how remiss the mainstream corporate media has become. It shows just how lacking they are when it comes to doing any real investigative reporting. It's yet another indication of the disdain the corporate establishment holds for the common folk. They laughed at and shrugged off serious allegations without so much as a cursory look at them. They refused to ask any pertinent questions or turn over any stone. They went so far as accusing people of being racist for questioning the legitimacy of a presidential candidate when he was spending millions in an effort to keep his past secret. Many people predicted this issue was a red herring and that it would be politicized later in an effort to obfuscate. They predicted that documentation would be released in an effort to discredit certain segments of the population. I believe they were right.

As I stated earlier, it doesn't matter about Obama's birth certificate. It doesn't matter about any of his past documentation. At this point, any papers or documents brought forward could easily be faked. What matters instead are his policies. What matters is that he promised change and delivered more of the same. He promised transparency and remains secretive. He promised a more peaceful foreign policy and delivers more war. He promised an end to torture and delivers more tyranny. He has proven to be nothing more than a puppet for the central banking cartels and the global corporate establishment. I have the feeling that if he had ever decided to grow a pair, go against his corporate masters, and actually do something to produce meaningful change and truly help the common folk, that this whole birth certificate debacle would turn out differently for him and the corporate establishment would be demanding his resignation.

This kind of trivia is a distraction. It takes the attention of the people away from the real problems. It takes their focus off the economy and the reasons for the financial decline. Hopefully, a Ron Paul candidacy coupled with Gary Johnson's candidacy will help put the spotlight on real issues. Hopefully, we can get back to talking about ending these occupations and rolling back the military. Hopefully, we can begin focusing on the tough problems of repealing unconstitutional legislation and restoring government respect for individual rights. Hopefully, we can continue to draw attention to the real power structures behind not only our government, but governments around the world. Hopefully one day Obama's administration will be nothing but a bad memory, like George Bush's, and we will all wonder as a nation why we ever put up with such chicanery.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

Want to Blame Someone? Blame the Fed

Are you currently experiencing economic difficulties? It seems like everyone is these days. All kinds of people from all walks of life seem to be having more and deeper financial problems. Normally I would make the claim that a person should blame themselves for their financial woes, but in the real world there are extenuating circumstances and powerful forces working against the best interests of even the most hard working and capable people. The common folk have been kept in the dark. People can't make choices for themselves when they don't know choices exist. People can't be blamed for their behavior when they have been trained from birth that the system they live in is the only system they can operate in.

In today's world, people who have been victimized by the economic downturn are looking for someone to pin the blame on. Just about everyone seems to understand that something is wrong with the current system and most everyone seems to think they know who's to blame. I am no exception. Some people blame Republicans. Others blame Democrats. Some blame unions. There are those who blame the Chinese and those who blame illegal immigrants. Some poorer people may well blame those who are better off financially and some well to do people may blame those who are less fortunate and look to the state for help. There are many people to blame and many excuses that can be used to blame them, all which are very divisive. I think if you're going to blame someone or something for our financial woes, it may as well be the organization that nearly everyone in the world is a victim of. It may as well be the entity that claims control over the world's economy. You may as well blame the Fed.

If you don't know the story behind the Fed, then likely you haven't been paying attention lately. It has become quite the story on many economic blogs and even some corporate media broadcasts with the continuing push to audit it. The Fed likes to operate in secret and has done so from its very conception. The meeting that conceived it in its modern form and determined how to best sell it to the American people, who were historically anti central banking, was held in great secret back in 1910. It came into existence in 1913 more through shady political dealings, payoffs and questionable voting practices than through open and honest debate, popular support or popular consent. Since that time its tentacles have reached into nearly every aspect of our economic lives and its enforcement arm, the IRS, has grown into the fearsome spectacle we see today.

Naturally, the Federal Reserve claims it needs its secrecy. They claim that their business will be harmed if exposed to public scrutiny. They claim that doing so will harm the American people. Just what are they trying to hide? What practices could a central bank be doing that would be harmful if we knew about it? If everything is on the up and up, they should have nothing to fear from a full and complete audit. We all know that secrecy isn't there to protect the American people, it's there to protect wrong doing from being discovered. It's there to protect thieves and liars. It's there to cover up practices that are harmful to the economy. It's there to protect the extremely wealthy and the power elite.

From its inception, the Federal Reserve has worked to get its fingers into everyone's pie. It wasn't hard for them to do since they have a monopoly on the currency we are required to use. Just a few years after it was established, America found itself embroiled in Europe's first world war. That involvement quickly used up America's treasure and forever indebted the nation to the elite few who claim ownership of the Federal Reserve. I don't know how much gold, assets, real money and wealth was transferred at that time, but I don't imagine it was a mere pittance. From that moment forward, the wealth manipulation and monetary chicanery becomes historically obvious as the downward trend of the value of the dollar, and all fiat currencies, is charted.

The Federal Reserve System promised stability. They promised full employment. They lied. They broke their promises. They failed miserably. What had been promoted as a banking system radically different from anything the world had ever seen before became nothing but a mega ponzi scheme, just like any other fractional reserve, fiat driven central bank. It has become a wealth funneling scheme that has taken some very wealthy banking families and made them into modern day royalty.

The Fed has its hands in nearly everything, and certainly in everything worth anything. They are the corporate establishment, more or less. Huge corporations have become dependent on the Fed's ponzi scheme for their survival, after all, currency that is based on nothing but debt is only good so long as people have faith in the system. People stop having faith in the system when they are unemployed, underemployed, their means of employment have been shipped overseas, prices of basic necessities like energy and food keep rising, the gap between rich and poor widens and political policies serve only the very wealthy or the very poor.

The corporate establishment owns the politicians. The Fed owns the corporate establishment. If you're angry about anything political, blame the fed. Mad about the bailouts? Blame the Fed. Mad about the wars and occupations? Blame the Fed. Mad about states and municipalities going broke? Blame the Fed. Mad about the deficit? Blame the Fed. Mad about high taxes and unaccountable government? Blame the Fed. Why even acknowledge the political class anymore? They don't listen to you. They don't answer any redress of grievances. They don't answer to you, they answer to their corporate masters. They answer to the Fed. They answer to the super wealthy, elite central bankers. The Fed pulls the strings. You wouldn't blame the puppets if you didn't like the show. You'd go behind the curtain and express your displeasure to the puppeteers. Politicians are simply the puppets, those behind the Federal Reserve System and central banks worldwide are the puppeteers.

The thought occurs to me that perhaps most protests are aimed in the wrong direction. Maybe the bankers are laughing at us. Maybe the power brokers and influence peddlers are snickering as they watch the angry mobs take to the streets and demand their puppet politicians do something. Million man marches have done no good. Flooding the congress with letters and emails have done little good, although it seems to have made a dent. Still, I think something more can be done. What if protesters started showing up in large numbers in front of Federal Reserve buildings, only they weren't just protesting for the audit of the fed? What if anti war protesters started protesting there? What if union protesters started demanding policy changes in front of Federal Reserve buildings instead of at state houses? What if tax protesters, Tea Partiers, Constitutionalists and other freedom advocates took their causes to the doors of the Fed's buildings? What if the common folk of the world joined in and began to take their protests to the doors of their central banks?

Better yet, what if the protesters started marching outside the private residences of those who own the world's central banks? What if the common folks showed them that they know who holds the real power? What if these people who believe they are untouchable and above all law couldn't walk outside their homes without hearing the jeers and complaints of the common folk? What if people started petitioning the real governments of the world for a redress of grievances? Perhaps then someone would listen. Perhaps then something would get done. At the very least, they would know that we know who to blame. They would know that we know where the real power rests. At the very least, they would know that their cover has been blown and they can no longer hide behind the skirts of their puppet politicians.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

World Wide Revolution, or New World Order Enslavement?

I remember listening to a conversation when I was a child, maybe a little more than ten years old. It occurred between two young men that I held great respect for. These young men were highly intelligent, geniuses even, and I knew it. So did they. The discussion they were having revolved around the nature of a one world government. I don't even know if they realized I was listening and likely they wouldn't remember that conversation today. What they were saying was that a one world government would be great and benevolent to mankind if it was run by the smartest of the smart who would guide humanity on a better path. Even back at that tender age I understood that there was something inherently wrong with such a position, but I didn't speak up back then as I was too young and shy.

I can speak up now. I'm an adult now. I no longer feel the need to hide my thoughts and feelings. I no longer feel the need to hold in such reverence and esteem those who consider themselves highly intelligent. I will listen to what they have to say, I will hear and measure their input and consider their expertise in relevance to the matter at hand, but in the end I will make my own judgment. In some matters, even the most highly reasoned person can be wrong. In some matters, even an argument that sounds quite scientifically sound, reasoned, truthful and for the greater good can hide extreme evil.

A high IQ is not the end all, be all. It does not make a person better than the rest of us. It does not even make a person smarter. It just makes them good at taking certain types of tests. We are all quite intelligent in our own ways. The ability to reason is not the only form or intelligence. There is a certain intelligence in emotion also. There is a certain intelligence in empathy. There is a certain intelligence in feelings that go beyond emotions and physical sensation. There is a certain intelligence in the ability to seek, understand or know spirituality. To be human is to be a mix of all these things and other qualities that are even more difficult to pin down or explain. Those who have an overabundance in some areas may be quite lacking in others.

There is change happening in the world of today, but then there is always change happening. At this particular time, however, there seems to be major upheavals occurring. This seems to be happening both in the natural world, and in mankind's psychological realm. Some have asked if all these events are happening in a natural way or by someone's design. There is a lot of speculation occurring in certain circles that a hidden hand is guiding these events.

I don't know if this is true or not. I think that perhaps the events we see occurring in the world today are a mixture of influences. To try to reason otherwise always seems to be lacking in some way or another. It does seem that people across the globe are seeking positive change. They are tired of the status quo. They are tired of struggling through their lives and having nothing to show for their hard work. People are looking for something different, something they've never been able to have, something they've never been able to achieve.

I don't know if the common folk realize exactly what they're looking for. They simply know they don't like the direction their lives have taken and they seem to think that changing those who rule over them will help. Maybe they are looking for something different. To put it simply, I think that people are looking for freedom. I think they are looking for the ability to determine their own fate in life. I think they are looking for the ability to earn a better life. I think they wish to be able to own private property and not have to worry about it being taken by heartless overlords and bureaucrats who believe that laws and dictates are a higher authority than humanity, common decency, and right versus wrong.

Those at the top of the heap don't wish the rest of mankind to achieve the freedom they long for. This would cut into their power. This would mean an end to the control they wish to have. These elites, as I like to call them, have always led privileged lives. It seems to me that they don't think like common folk. They seem to believe themselves to be superior. They seem to believe that they know best. What they may or may not realize is that often the actions they plan are not in the best interests of mankind or even the natural world, regardless of the stories they might tell themselves, they are almost always in the best interests of the elite privileged class. They fear that if they lose the control they have, if they stop regulating and give the common folk the opportunity to compete with them on an even playing field, that they will lose the wealth they horde.

It may well be that some underlying force has planned many of the revolutions and protests that are occurring in the world. It may be that these popular uprisings happened organically and the elite are scrambling to take control of them as best they can. I doubt very much that the power elite would be able to simply leave things to fate, such is their arrogance. Whatever the case there is one thing I am certain of. People are tired of their enslavement. They are tired of war and poverty and hunger. They want a better life for themselves and their progeny. They want more say in their own destinies. They are tired of the tyranny and don't want to be forced into some centralized new world order that removes accountability from the elite and dictates from the top down to the masses.

My hope is that peace prevails. My hope is that people can recognize the wolf in sheep's clothing when it appears. Should you be involved in peaceful protests, should you get involved in a group looking to voice its dissent and disagreement with establishment policies, reject any and all who would advocate violence as a means of affecting change. Let it be known that it is not the common folk in the streets that resort to violence. Expose the fact that it is government agents who are the violent ones. Let it be known that it is those in positions of power and privilege who resort to violence to maintain their positions. It is the common folk and the man on the street who restrain themselves. It is they who wish to live in peace. It is mostly those who have already obtained power that are advocating violence and willing to use it.

When one looks into the mindset of many of the power elite, when one studies their writings and philosophies, one finds some rather disturbing thought processes. Quite a few still believe they have some kind of divine right to rule. A number of them still defend the validity of eugenics, despite Adolph Hitler's failure to impose that philosophy upon mankind. Some of them even feel that this world would be better off with far fewer humans inhabiting the world. They believe they know best for all mankind. They believe it is their place to determine who lives, who dies, who can and cannot have children, how humanity will survive and what the class divisions should entail.

A look into these dark hearts reveals an outlook of doom and gloom in a world of finite wealth, resources and possibilities. A world of infinite despair. They look upon mankind as a resource for their use, property meant to serve them. They see us as greedy and stupid, livestock meant to be domesticated and whipped into submission. One can only imagine the corruption they see in their own putrid souls. They forget that wealth is a human creation. They forget that humans have innovated throughout history to get to this point. They forget that human beings are marvelous creatures with the capacity for infinite imagination and innovation. We just need the liberty to forge our own lives free from government intrusion and restriction and I have faith that the marvels mankind will create will surpass the most awe inspiring we have accomplished thus far in our history.

We are at a crossroads. We can choose to proceed down the path of centralization, or we can choose to decentralize and create competition for the elite establishment that has so far failed miserably at everything they have ever promised, I believe purposefully. We can choose to maintain the violent status quo which holds mankind in disdain, or we can choose to remain peaceful and obtain freedom and liberty through non cooperation. We can obey the dictates of the power elite and coerce, threaten and commit acts of violence against our friends and neighbors, or we can simply disobey them, live as free people and allow others to do so also. Real revolution, like true enslavement, doesn't happen on the streets and battlefields of the physical world, real revolution, like true enslavement, happens in the hearts and minds of individuals. The choice is yours to make.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

The Fallacy of Peace Loving Democrats

Back in 2008 a candidate named Barack Obama ran for president of the United States of America. He ran on a platform of hope and change. Basically, he was sold to the American people as an agent of change who would reverse the war mongering, Bill of Rights shredding policies of the Bush administration. As a result, not only was he catapulted into office, but both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate held onto and increased their Democrat majority. The message sent by the American people was clear. They were sick of war, they were tired of policies that trampled on their rights, they'd had enough of big government, and they wanted to reestablish transparency and accountability in the federal government. I remained skeptical at the time and felt the Obama administration would bring none of the change he intimated he would and the best we could hope for would be that government would not increase.

The Democrats didn't listen. The Obama administration hasn't listened. They took a clear and obvious call for more freedom and less government and turned it into a power grab to control even more of the economy by concentrating on health care legislation and passing the monstrosity that has come to be known as Obamacare. Health care had hardly been mentioned during the campaign. It had been more or less a dead issue. It was resurrected, in my humble opinion, to take the focus off the unconstitutional wars that are still being waged, the creeping fascism introduced by the Republicans and the policies of the Bush administration, the economic downturn and the tax funded bailouts of the corporate banking establishment and the too big to fail.

The jury is still out on whether or not even those elected who ran Tea Party campaigns will listen. A politician is a politician is a politician. They lie. They break promises. They say things so that they can get into office and then they wave their middle fingers at the common folk whose votes put them in power and do as they please or as their elite corporate masters command. They show their disdain for you by putting themselves above the law and beyond the reach of those who would hold them accountable.

The peace candidate, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, has expanded a war policy. He has expanded the empire building policy. He is bowing to the globalist agenda and working to create an even bigger government than the federal bureaucracy we now have. He has taken us to war in Libya and is trying to convince us that it is not a war. He is trying to convince us that it will not be necessary to bring in U.S. ground troops. He is trying to convince us that operations will end shortly. I will believe that when I see it. If there is one thing I have learned in my life it is to not believe politicians.

Politicians play with the English language. They think of new words for policies and sprinkle them over their actions like a cat in a litter box covering its droppings to try to hide the reality of what they're doing or what they've done. This "kinetic action" they speak of looks like a war, sounds like a war, feels like a war, and chances are it tastes and smells like a war also. Calling it differently does not change that fact. Using flowery words does not make it smell like a rose.

Bombs are falling. Missiles are being fired. Things are going boom. People are dying. Innocent people are dying, women and children included. This is not a "kinetic action," whatever that's supposed to mean. It is not an humanitarian mission. Bombing people back to the stone age does not help them achieve freedom or democracy, it merely helps them achieve death and poverty. It merely destroys their hard built infrastructure, their way of life, and their independence. The militaries of Western powers are now the organizations responsible for this death and destruction, not Kadafi or his forces. The more bombs dropped, the more missiles launched, the more innocents killed in the name of trying to protect them against an evil dictator, the more hatred is borne for the U.S. and her allies, the more likely some poor Libyan will wish to become a "terrorist" or enlist in Allah's army to fight against the great Satan.

This new war launched makes me ask, "Where have all the war protestors gone?" Is war an okay endeavor now that a Democrat is president? Is it okay because a person with more melanin in his skin than past presidents is now in charge? War is something that should be completely shunned by humanity, especially aggressive wars meant to bring political change to another country. Wars should be avoided at all costs and should only be engaged in as a defensive action when another military force physically attacks or invades. Any other excuse is just that, an excuse, and the real reasons are likely going to be something other than the ones presented to the public.

I now understand that the war protestors of 2008 weren't protesting because of some kind of philosophical anti war principle they believed in, they were protesting as part of a political campaign to help the elite put their man, Barack Obama, in office. Under his leadership, our military remains in Iraq and Afghanistan. Under his leadership, no wars have ended. Under his leadership, more wars are starting. Under his leadership, sick minds continue to commit atrocities across the Middle East. Under his leadership, torture and extraordinary renditions continue.

The nation is broke. It has taken on too much debt to handle. We can't afford another war. We can't afford to continue the ongoing occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. We can't afford to maintain an empire. It is time to shut down operations and bring all the troops from all over the world back home. Think of the money that would save. Think of the problems that could be solved here at home with all that money. We have our own problems we should take care of before we go poking around in other people's business and try to take care of their problems. Obama and the Democrats need to be held accountable for the promises they made. We need to insist in no uncertain terms that they need to make the changes the common folk wished to see, not the changes the corporate banking and power elite had in mind.

Do you really believe that suddenly Obama has become concerned about how a tin pot dictator is treating his people? He is simply following the orders of his corporate masters, just like Bush did. They are simply trying to sell us another war in a manner suitable to his perceived public persona, just like they did with Bush. The "conservative" Republican used the "excuse" of "national security." The "liberal" Democrat uses the "excuse" of "humanitarianism." Either way, it benefits the military industrial complex and the central banks that fund and manage it. Either way, it benefits a globalist agenda and the international corporate elite.

It seems to me that the most suspicious thing that has happened in the Libyan saga so far is how quickly a central bank was created by the rebels. The rebels have taken time off their hard fought struggle to form a central bank? The former Libyan central bank was state owned and charged no interest on loans to the Libyan people, unlike the privately owned Federal Reserve system in the United States. I believe this has something to do with Islamic tenets about banking and charging interest as usury, which is akin to fraud. This philosophy has always put the Islamic world at odds with very powerful forces in the Western world. Perhaps we have more in common with the Islamic people than we think. Perhaps Muslims, Christians and other peaceful peoples who long for the freedom to run their own lives have a common enemy in the world central banking elite.

Americans should be enraged. The reputation of the United States military was already in question for all the bullying it had done. It lost the moral high ground it had enjoyed after the world wars long ago. With the revelation of the Afghanistan kill teams and other recent atrocities it can take its place alongside the most brutal and defiled forces the world has ever seen. It might be able to win any conflict and occupy any nation, but it seems the price for such power is the very humanity of many who serve.

The cry for an end to wars and occupations should be reverberating through the streets of our cities. The demand for the return of our troops to our shores should be so loud that no one could possibly ignore it. Instead, we get pointless drivel coming from the mouths of those who would defend wars of aggression because their favorite politician is in power. Instead, we are engaged in devising excuses for killing and destroying rather than minding our own business and staying out of the internal affairs of other nations. The insanity needs to stop.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

Use Your Imagination, Become the Change

Well, I've learned something. I've learned that supporters of unions can be just as bad as supporters of other religious or political violent organizations. Now, I don't mean to imply that they are themselves violent or that they are bad people. They are, in fact, likely good people with very good intentions. However, I believe that many have just decided to blindly support aggressive organizations that use questionable methods to achieve their goals. It seems to me that when the faults of these organizations are pointed out to them even in what should be considered a reasonable and somewhat measured fashion they suddenly become very defensive. It seems to me that perhaps they are refusing to look at the true nature of the organization they are defending and they go into a state of denial. They begin to defend these organizations in a manner I could compare with religious zealousness and will attack the messenger.

As a crafter of opinion articles, I put my thoughts and feelings out there for the world to see. I become a very public figure. Sometimes, many people will agree with my point of view. Sometimes, many people will disagree, even within my own family. Sometimes, I feel that I must have somehow been unable to properly convey the ideas I was trying to get across. Recently, I opined about the events taking place in Wisconsin and other Midwestern states involving union protesters and government attempts to curb their activities. In one publication the article received quite a bit of response that left me scratching my head. I can only assume that there was some sort of communication breakdown between the words I wrote and the processing of those words in the minds of the readers. I suppose it was my fault for not choosing my words carefully enough.

I've learned to get past the vitriol that some people spew when they decide that my point of view is a threat to theirs. I understand and appreciate when someone points out a fact or two that I might not have known in an attempt to change my mind or the minds of others who might have a tendency to agree with my point of view. I don't like it when someone makes assumptions about my life and judges me or my lifestyle unfairly, unjustly and without all the facts, but I have learned to ignore such ignorance. What bothers me most is that I may have failed to adequately convey ideas that are important to the principles of freedom.

I tried to say that I have no problem with unions in and of themselves, but that I have a problem with their coercive practices. I stated that if I wanted to get a job in a union shop I would likely have to join the union regardless of whether I wanted to or not or they would be very displeased and I may have to worry about my safety. I have an even greater problem with the coerciveness of government because government, particularly the federal government, is a much larger and more powerful organization. Yet people seemed to think that I was blaming unions for my personal problems or for the greater economic downturn in general. I did not mean to imply that.

More troubling to me were the number of people who not only seem unable to grasp or accept the idea that taxes are better described as theft or extortion, but they seem unable to imagine a world where government was not in charge of certain services. Because I pointed out that taxes pay the salaries of public "servants" and I felt therefore that these exchanges weren't voluntary, I was challenged to live in a world without fire protection, roads, police and other services currently provided for by monopoly government. Really? Are there people who really believe that without government controlling these services they would cease to exist? I suppose maybe they wouldn't, but I believe that if they didn't it would be only because there would no longer be a demand for such services. We would have evolved beyond the need for such things. If these services are so great than let them compete in the open marketplace and allow people to voluntarily decide to spend their money on them. If people have to be forced to pay at the threat of imprisonment, losing one's home, or even death should one choose to resist, perhaps its time to re-examine the entire system as it has been set up.

This is an example of the seen and the unseen. What is seen are the current institutions we have now as they have evolved. They are so ingrained on our consciousness that it has become very hard to imagine life without them. You can compare how we arrived at this point to a car trip. We started off toward a shining city on a hill following a road that looked promising, albeit a little rough. The scenery was nice at times, at other times perhaps a little distressing. Along the way we took a wrong turn, in my humble opinion, and decided to take what looked like a quicker, easier route called collectivism. We arrived at what we thought was our destination, yet something was not quite right. We drive around now, looking at the pretty facades of institutions we have built, yet refusing to examine the foundations they were built upon.

What we have not seen is where we could have ended up had we taken a route constructed of individualism and true free markets. We have not seen what our society would be like had we upheld the Constitution and adhered to the principles this nation was founded upon. I imagine it would have been a more scenic route than the one we took, but I can't say for certain. What I am more certain of is that we would have ended up in a different place, a better place. We might not have ended up with institutions with such gaudy facades, they might not be so huge and imposing, but I believe we would have more institutions to choose from. I believe they would have fine facades, warm and inviting as opposed to huge and showy, built on solid foundations. I believe we would not have to worry about pouring money into them to keep their foundations from cracking and their walls from collapsing. But these are things that remain unrealized and unseen due to what we have brought into existence instead.

We need to take charge of our own lives. As individuals, we need to stop giving away our personal power to others and then expecting them to do as we would do. Imagine the type of world you wish to live in, accept personal responsibility for obtaining such a world and then take steps to create that world. If one wishes peace, one should not support organizations that use or threaten to use violence against individuals. If one wishes prosperity than one should not support monopolies and institutions that stifle and restrict economic freedoms. If one wishes to be able to live one's life as he or she sees fit, then one should not support institutions that intrude upon the personal lives of others. We need to stop going along to get along and start saying no to the demands of those who claim the legitimacy of authority.

How can we avoid such institutions if they are so pervasive in our society, one might ask. Well, we need to seek out those who have already set up institutions, businesses and/or systems to compete with those that have been established. Support those institutions instead. If such institutions, businesses and/or systems do not exist, then consider starting one up. If you need help, find like minded individuals who might be willing to invest in your idea. Don't ask for permission. Don't wait for government approval. The monopoly certainly has no incentive to give its permission or approval for its competition to exist. Just do it. I'm not saying it will be easy, in fact it will likely be difficult. It will be challenging. That's what makes it so worthwhile. We have already taken the easy road and now we're seeing where that has led us. Remember, if you don't build it, then likely it won't get built.

I feel that most people have lost the ability to think for their selves. They have stopped questioning authority. They listen to talking heads on television and maybe an opposing view and think themselves informed. They pick a side from one of two false choices and repeat the talking points that support that point of view. When other choices are thrown into the mix they seem confused. They seem to have lost their ability to imagine something different. I believe this was done on purpose to help keep the power elite in power.

Imagination is one of the greatest gifts human beings have. It is, in my opinion, a large part of why mankind has been able to accomplish so much and build the civilizations that have been built. It saddens me to think that maybe some people have tried so hard to stifle and subjugate it in the masses for the benefit of a few. I think it's time to rediscover the power of imagination. I think it's time to use it to break out of the paradigms we have been stuck in. I think it's time to use it to push forward human evolution and take the next steps toward a freer, more open society. I think it's time to use it to become the change and restore peace and prosperity to the common folk. Imagine that.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

Confiscating Liberty, Who are the Real Criminals?

On November 18th, 2007 an article I wrote and called "Confiscating Liberty" was published. In it I discussed how the United States federal government had confiscated precious metals that had been paid for by citizens of the United States. I discussed how they were trying to put a chill on the exchange of precious metals for goods and services. On March 18th, 2011, I discovered that Bernard von NotHaus was found guilty in a federal court on four federal charges. This verdict does not bode well for anyone interested in freedom and of being able to freely exchange precious metals between themselves on a voluntary basis.

Bernard von NotHaus did nothing wrong. He harmed no one. He simply created what he hoped would become a form of currency that would compete with the Federal Reserve Note. He created a form of currency with real value backed by precious metals as opposed to the Federal Reserve's currency which is based on debt and backed by nothing save illusion. Perhaps that was his greatest crime, that he tried to compete with the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve is a monopoly and they are sorely afraid of competition. They do not wish for their costumers to be able to hold them accountable for providing an honest product by having the ability to go to another provider of currency. They know if that were to happen that they wouldn't be able to continue to pull the scam they've subjected the American people to for the past 98 years.

The prosecution basically hung their case on fraud. They claimed that the Liberty Dollar was a fraud trying to trick people into believing that their silver rounds were "real" money. I wish their silver was real money. That's how it was supposed to be in this country. In fact, in my opinion, silver is more "real" in terms of money than their pretty printed paper. It's also more constitutional, so I suppose it's more legal. I think it is the Federal Reserve System that should have been put on trial here. I think that men like Ben Bernanke, Alan Greenspan, other high officials of the Federal Reserve, Federal Reserve board members and former board members, and certain political office holders and elite should be charged with continuing a perpetration of fraud that was foisted upon the American people in 1913. These people have caused real harm to real people and have benefited from the deterioration of an economic system they control and manipulate.

There is also the crime perpetrated by the federal government against thousands of people who had bought precious metals from American Liberty Dollar. These metals were "confiscated" by federal "authorities" when the American Liberty Dollar offices and the mint they do business with were raided. These people still have not yet received their product. They have the receipts and the metal really did not belong to Bernard von NotHaus or his company, it belonged to the people who paid for it. They deserve their product. At the very least, they deserve to be compensated for their product at today's value, not at the price they paid for it.

If the government decides to keep the precious metal they "confiscated" that would be pure theft. It would be stealing from common folk, not from the rich and powerful. In fact, it would be stealing by the rich and powerful from the not so rich and powerful. So what else is new? I don't know about you, but I think that thieves are criminals. If they decide to only give back the cost paid for at the time to those costumers in lieu of the metal, that is also stealing for the value of the metal has gone way up since the time of the seizure. They would be stealing that rise in value and using it for their own profit.

They claimed that Bernard von NotHaus was guilty of conspiring against the United States government and plotting the downfall of its economic system. In a statement he was more or less accused of being a terrorist. I just don't see that. If the economic system of the United States can be toppled by someone simply minting solid one ounce silver coins then maybe the United States government ought to do some serious thinking about changing their system to offer more value for their dollar.

I'm more frightened by the Federal Reserve system than by those minting one ounce silver rounds. It was their policies that enabled our representatives to be terrorized into approving the mega bailouts of the banks in 2008. Who are the real terrorists? Who is really conspiring to bring down the economic system of the United States? I think the answer is obvious.

I have some Liberty Dollars as well as other one ounce silver coins. I guess that means I am also a domestic terrorist according to the federal government. When I go to a store and pull out my change, the eyes of cashiers are often drawn to the coins. I show them and allow the cashiers to hold them. They can feel the weight. They can see the quality. They know intuitively that these coins have value. The money printed and coined by the federal government and their Federal Reserve cronies is losing its luster. It is time for the common folk to take back our monetary system and make it work for us. It is time to insist on value in our money, not debt, illusions and false promises that end up dashed upon the ground and leaving us grasping for prosperity that once was.

I don't know what was going on in the minds of those people who were sitting on the jury for the Bernard von NotHaus trial. I don't know if they were fooled, bullied, or simply lacked understanding. I do know that they missed an opportunity to help reestablish financial freedom for the common folk of this nation. I do know that they should be shunned by people who believe in freedom. If you are one of those who lost their silver to the federal government, or if you own silver coins and wish to be able to use them without fear of government retribution, or if you simply believe that humans should be free to use whatever form of money they want in exchange for goods and services, then you should politely let these people know that you don't appreciate them aggressing against you and supporting a coercive system. You should let your representatives and those people seeking the power of government office know that you don't appreciate being told what you can use for trade. These discussions need to take place between people so that the immorality of our current financial system can become obvious to all.

The real criminals when it comes to the financial sector aren't the small entrepreneurs trying to create alternatives. The real criminals are the established financial institutions. The real criminals are those who use the force of law to make us all accept debt paper instead of money backed by something of real value. The real criminals are the politicians who continue to perpetrate these frauds, continue to insist on bailing out the "too big to fail," and continue to block efforts to hold the financial elite accountable for their actions that have brought about this current financial crisis. The establishment is worried that one day the alternatives will dominate the markets because of their value, and that's why the real criminals must continue to indict and try those trying to promote the alternatives, for an honest system will undermine their power. As the economy continues to suffer, I believe it will be harder for them to hide and excuse their crimes.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.

Lest We Forget, the Focus Should Be the Fed

Well, there certainly is a lot going on in the news these days. Like the old Chinese curse said, we are living in exciting times. There are many uprisings in North Africa. People are dying in Libya and Saudi Arabia as they struggle against oppression. It looks like they may be gearing up to send troops in to "keep the peace" and protect foreign interests.

American workers employed in the public sector have come out in force trying to protect their interests. In Wisconsin, they have even gone so far as to make death threats against Republicans holding office and their families. Oil futures are skyrocketing and gasoline prices increasing across the globe, making modern life more and more difficult for the common folk to afford. It's almost enough to make one's head spin. For me, it has become difficult to keep up and determine what I should write about.

This is all very distracting. Before anything, I'd like to offer my prayers to the people of Japan. The devastation brought upon them by the earthquake and tsunami is terrible and my heart goes out to the victims. My deepest sympathies to those who have lost loved ones. The videos of the destruction are terrifying and mesmerizing at the same time. I can only hope and pray that the natural disasters have stopped, the rebuilding can start soon and all goes smoothly from here on.

I'd like to wish the best of luck to the people of North Africa and the Middle East in their struggle to achieve the freedom they deserve. I'd like to express my most sincere hopes that they can peacefully achieve regime change and start working toward a more free and open society where the common folk of those nations have a greater say in their own destinies.

I'd like to tell Michael Moore that my money is mine. It is not his. It is not yours. It is not a national resource. I worked for years in a private, family owned (someone else's family, not mine) business for years. I paid tens of thousands in taxes, local, state and national. I feel that money was stolen or extorted from me by people like Michael Moore who feel my money is theirs and a national resource, but were nice enough to let me keep some of it. If I'd been able to keep all that money and do with it as I saw fit, who knows where I'd be right now? I might be worse off; I might be better off, but at least I'd be free.

It's fine if Mr. Moore wants to give his money away to them. Personally, I think there are better organizations to give money to than government bureaucracies as they have proven to be inefficient and consistent failures. It's easy to give away half your fortune or more when you're worth hundreds of millions of dollars. It's a little more difficult when you're struggling to get by, let alone to get ahead, as I'm doing. Mr. Moore can pay his taxes and even pay extra if he wants. He can be a good, obedient slave all he wants and allow the bureaucrats to decide where to spend his money. I couldn't care less. I don't believe, however, that I should be forced to do so also, even if I was numbered among the very rich.

You see how easy it is to lose focus. This is supposed to be an article about the Federal Reserve System and how corrupt it is. But it's hard to think about that when there are so many important news stories happening all around us. It's difficult to think about all the evil the central banks have done, the Federal Reserve being quite possibly the worst, when such terrible and exciting events are happening across the globe. Or is it?

I have understood for some time now that the Federal Reserve and central banking in general has been the cause of many of the man created disasters that have plagued mankind for centuries. When one looks back through history at the causes of many of the wars, revolutions, booms and busts, monetary manipulation and the impoverishment of indigenous people, one finds the fingerprints of international central banksters. It's a matter of asking "Cui bono?" "Who Benefits?"

It's quite simple, really. Pass a law to make paper money based on nothing legal tender. Get the people to accept it by convincing them it is more convenient and easier to work with than specie. Start wars no one can afford and then finance both sides with debt based money so that future generations will still be paying the interest on the loans with their taxes. Create greater demand by giving easy credit so that many can now buy trinkets they don't really need. Take the paper wealth you've created and the profits made from the interest on money printed from nothing and buy up real wealth and commodities created and labored for by the masses of humanity. Pretty soon, you've got all the marbles. When the system crashes, you've nothing to worry about, only the poor slobs who have grown dependent on the illusory system you created will have to worry.

Perhaps the most important battle of our times, perhaps of all times, is the battle to eliminate such financial systems from existence. Forget about the past transgressions for a moment and consider the present and the future. The people who run these operations continue to manipulate and connive for their own benefit and to the detriment of the rest of society. They continue to use their vast wealth and influence to steer mankind on a course that will increase their profits and power, regardless of the cost to humanity, even if it means war, poverty, hunger and the deaths of billions. They simply have no regard for anything other than their personal gain. I'm certain that honest, full investigations unencumbered by political maneuvering and corruption would prove the above statement to be true. A full, complete, honest audit of the Federal Reserve would not only show where all the money has gone, it will expose the inherent fraud in the system and reveal where all the real, material wealth has gone. It would be a good start.

The system of central banking is based on debt. The Federal Reserve system is based on debt. To be indebted to someone means you owe them. It means they can call in a favor at any moment and you would likely feel obliged to help them. In terms of political power and influence, such indebtedness can quickly turn ugly. It can turn a nation into a serfdom and an entire population into sheeple and the slaves of a few. As long as the slaves are living well and are fat and happy, it doesn't seem to matter much to them. They may even believe they are free and self determined. Take that away, however, remove the trappings and make it difficult to afford the basic necessities of modern life, and people will soon begin to realize that they've been owned, or in the modern vernacular, pwned. We can see what happens next by watching the events in North Africa and the Middle East. We can understand how we as a society will be affected by paying attention to the events in Wisconsin and other states which are trying to deal with budget shortfalls by taking from the working class. These occurrences were inevitable and were predicted by so many highly intelligent economists who no one in power wanted us to listen to. Look into it for yourself. Focus on the Fed.

There isn't much that can be done to keep natural disasters from taking over the news cycle. Even if you believe that these disasters are somehow manmade and used as a distraction to keep us from paying attention to other events, there isn't much of a reason to focus on such things. There is something we can do, however, to prevent further, obvious manmade disasters. It is important to remember what institutions have consistently failed. It is important to remember what institutions have continuously lied to us. It is important to remember what institutions have consistently broken their promises. It is important to remember who the culprits are. Then it is important to remember to no longer listen to these institutions. It is important to remember that they do not deserve more power, but instead deserve to be disempowered. It is important to remain focused upon them for they will do everything they can, everything in their power, to divert attention away from their folly and try to blame others. It is important to hold them accountable for their misdeeds. It is important we figure out how to hold them culpable. It is important to get involved in a solution.

My archived articles are available at szandorblestman.com. Please visit there to help support me and my efforts. I also have an ebook available entitled "The Ouijiers" by Matthew Wayne.