The Patriot Act 2: This Time It’s Your Money

Over the past few days, I’ve been talking everyone’s ear off about how I feel like we’re reliving 9/11. Except this time it’s not a terrorist attack; it’s a financial crisis. But, as was the case seven years ago, America is panicking and lawmakers are willing to do anything just to do something.

I’m afraid that the desire for national security—in this case, national financial security—is once again going to drive our lawmakers to pass another piece of ill-conceived, unconstitutional power-grab legislation that we will all shortly regret. Does the Patriot Act ring a bell, anyone? In our haste to expel terrorism, we “gutted” (as Jesse Ventura so eloquently put it) the Fourth Amendment. Wire tapping. Reading private email. Cell-phone record surveillance. These were not acts becoming of a free country. But the bill still breezed through the House and Senate. And at the end of the day, the extreme measures they authorized did more to terrorize liberty than they did to defend liberty from terror. In a vain attempt to establish security, we actually forfeited it; not to a terrorist or foreign power, but to the Federal Government and Homeland Security (such an ironic name).

Now, less than a decade later, we’re once again facing a seismic dilemma. Will we pass the Patriot Act 2? Will we forfeit economic liberty for so-called financial security? I answer emphatically, NO! As Benjamin Franklin would say: ”He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.”

Apparently, I’m not the only one with déjà vu. My brother Neal found this telling article in the International Herald Tribune.

Bottom line: bailing out giant corporations with tax dollars is immoral. I wrote this post on Karmel Larson’s blog back when the Fannie-Freddie bailout went down:

Although the government takeover of the two mortgage giants no doubt spells opportunity for some investors, I think it’s still worth mentioning that this deal needs to be recognized for what it is at its core: socialism—an unconstitutional bailout of two giant corporations at the expense of you and I, the taxpayers. Now I understand the arguments for attempting to stabilize the housing market and stem the recent tide of economic downturn. But it’s all for short term gain, long-term loss.

I think our politicians have good intentions for our country in taking this drastic measure. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the principle at work here is still redistribution of the wealth. Except, in this case, it’s the whole Robin-Hood-and-his-Merry-Men thing flipped on its head: stealing from the poor to give to the rich.

A few articles that help clarify this:

“Bailout cure worse than disease”
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/JG29Dj07.html

“Senator Bunning Says Paulson Acts Like Socialist, Should Resign”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=alpUsTv3.upI

“Government as the Big Lender”
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/washington/14guarantee.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

Please click here to contact your local representatives and tell them to vote “no” on the bailout.

Nissan Altima Print Ad: Chickens Crossing (Digging under) the Road

This is oldest joke in the book. But when done right, it’s still one of the best.

The copy reads: “The 280-hp Nissan Altima SE-R. Make way.” A similar ad with completely different art direction (it was illustrated) was featured in Communication Arts a year or two ago for some kind of chicken meat (the idea was “smart chicken”). But I think Nissan’s twist on the concept works better.

By the way, have you ever tried to corral a chicken on the loose? Now just imagine that volatile animal wielding a razor-sharp spade. Scary.

BJ Lawson at the Rally for the Republic

While at the Rally for the Republic, I got the chance to meet BJ Lawson, the republican nominee for North Carolina’s 4th District. I’ve followed his campaign online for sometime now. I’ve written about him previously here, here and here. Face to face, BJ is just like he is cyberspace: down to earth, bright and personable. But more importantly, he understands the challenges our country is facing, and bases his political principles on the Constitution. I admire his unflinching verve in taking on the 22-year democratic incumbent, David Price, in a mostly democratic state. However, BJ isn’t running a partisan campaign, which is drawing him significant support from both sides. In fact, I think he actually has a pretty good shot at winning. David Price represents the status quo, while BJ challenges it at its core—something the majority of Americans are hungry for during these unsettling times.

His supporters are organizing a money bomb for BJ on Sep 17th at LawsonLibertyFund.com. They’re asking for patriotically inspired pledges of $17.76. So for the price of a DVD, you can make a stand for liberty (and forgo having to peel off those annoying, impossible-to-remove, sticky, plastic security seals that hold the dang DVD case shut).

The Rally for the Republic: A Mixed Bag of Patriots

On Tuesday, I schlepped to Minneapolis to attend Ron Paul’s Rally for the Republic. Wow! What a shindig! The Target Center was bursting with the energy of over 10,000 passionate patriots. And these people weren’t straight-down-the-line republicans. Anything but, in fact. I’ve never seen such an eclectic mix of politically active people gathered under one roof to support a common cause. You literally had everybody: down-to-earth farmers and spiffy, self-made entrepreneurs; the hardcore religious right and liberal, anti-war hippies; craggy, old seniors and young, counter-culture students; well-educated intellectuals and no-nonsense rural folk; bearded, tattoo-covered bikers and body-pierced bohemians; hunters, homemakers, republicans, democrats, independents, libertarians, whites, blacks, Asians, Arabs, Indians, Latinos—and everything in between. If I hadn’t already been familiar with the “revolution” culture, I would’ve never guessed that everyone was there to support the same guy, a simple doctor and congressman that embodies a singular principle: liberty. For me, seeing the diversity of supporters reinforced Paul’s oft-repeated explanation of his following: freedom is popular and it brings people together.

Of course, everyone subscribes to Paul’s strict constitutional philosophy in varying degrees. But he doesn’t care that you don’t believe 100% in some 30-point program. He just says it as he sees it and lets you buy into whatever you want. And precisely because of that, these people see him as a principled political leader, a maverick fighting for the freedom that America now largely takes for granted.

Now, I have to mention one little experience that I think says a lot about the phenomenon of the revolution movement. During Paul’s speech, a young college girl, sporting a stud the size of a small marble pierced in between her chin and bottom lip, came and stood in the row in front of me. As Paul, a 73-year-old, baggy-eyed, white-haired man, humbly elaborated on things like the vices of the Patriot Act and the virtues of sound money, this slightly rebellious-looking girl was screaming at the top of her lungs “I love you, Ron Paul!” Crazy, eh? Just one more sign that this movement is for real. It’s not going away. The appeal of liberty is too broad and its momentum is too great. And this is just the beginning.