American Liberty - The Voice of the Patriot!

First, because the government is made up of two of history's largest crime families—the Republicans and Democrats, who work for special interests and corporations vs "we the people," no solution to our health care problems will come about, especially when the grand design, according to some conspiracy theorists, is de-population of the planet down to perhaps as low as 300 million. I am told there are some very rich and powerful people with too much time on their hands. We'll, because I don't trust my government, I certainly can't call the conspiracy theorists liars and nut cakes now, can I? Remember, when folks like Senator Ben Nelson, D-Nebraska, uses words like bipartisanship, he really means that both parties will have their hands in your grand kids pockets.

When a spouse lies, especially as often as our government spouse does, when do I start trusting anything they say? Do I trust the government on anything beyond over spending, death and taxes? This is the #1 reason why Americans need to run, fund and elect independents.

Don't assume your "R's and D's" will represent you. Unless you're a CEO or lobbyist, they won't. I know, many of you are too busy gaming or watching TV to lift a finger. We would rather spend 60,000 on an SUV and $5,000 on an entertainment system than take care of long-term care and our health. Of course we want government assistance on health care. Instead, why don't you ask for government assistance on the car and TV so it frees up your money for your own health care choices? I know, you don't trust the government to get you the right TV or car. Also keep in mind you're supporting a foreign government and their military when you buy their products. China, who has been secretly building a colossal deep water navy funded by the American people, is now talking about stopping our support for Taiwan in a very, very threatening way. Of course they are in the back pages of our news. They pay a lot to keep themselves out of our media and political debates. Actually, many of our politicians now represent the Chinese more than the American people. How's your Mandarin?

Economically speaking, if you don't have your health, what difference does the car and TV make? Heck, if you're healthy, you can live under a bridge if you have to, but if you're not, you can't. I know all this talk about free lunches frustrates the few and the brave, the self reliant and the independent. I too, don't hold my breath waiting for the lethargic American people to fix or save their democracy. Instead, I handle my own business and encourage others to "Start with the man in the mirror!" Thank you Michael Jackson! You left something righteous behind you.

As I wrote previously, "As honest and disciplined as the people are, so will go their government (and their bodies)." The fact is that most people here and abroad are not very honest and disciplined. They don't run, fund and elect representatives of themselves and therefore are usually not represented, even locally. There is one exception. Most people have become communists seeking free roads, schools (i.e. public indoctrination centers) and of course, now health care. Free? Of course not. Now we are paying dearly for government waste, bureaucracy and other agenda items designed to get the votes of R's, D's while, by sleight of hand, working on behalf of corporations and special interests that have got us to pay for their needs by charging it to our grand and great grand children. (As a matter of fact, it is entirely possible that since G. W. Bush and Obama, we are now charging to our great, great, great grandchildren.)

Life's not easy, but is it right to leave a mess behind you when you die? What does that do to your chances to enter the pearly gates? Where is your "founding fathers" attitude?

There are so many excuses. I've heard them all from every strata of our society, from kids to grand parents. Man, we are good at making excuses for ourselves. It's everyone and everything else's fault, isn't it? It's drugs, poor education, wars and hurricanes. It's everyone else's bum votes.

I've seen the products of the schools past generations started. Yeah, there are going to be less educated people left to deal with a more complex world. Your communism, i.e. republicanism and democratism, is falling apart around you. I sympathize for your reasons for being a "drop out."

No, "free" medical is not the answer for your sleepy retired, golf playing years. No, senior discounts shouldn't be your reward. You need to get off the couch and pay back all that you borrowed and stole. Don't get me wrong. I'm not anti-senior citizen, just anti-dead beat. If you're a senior and not a dead beat, then I'm with you. Don't give me this, "I worked for it all" attitude, especially if you've been registered a Democrat or Republican all your life. No that means your a "free luncher." Now it's time to have some coffee and get to work.

Before we go gallivanting all over the globe telling everyone else how to live, let's take care of business here at home. Setting an example is the greatest gift we can give to the planet. If you want to enter Heaven's Gate and if you want to restore America, it must start with a little "Declaration of Independence" made by you looking at the man (or woman) in the mirror.

In order for Barack "Goldman Sachs" Obama to do his thing, Ben Bernanke must open the gates on the Federal Printing Press. A responsible Fed Chairman (if there could be such a thing) would not give Obama the money needed for his communist agenda.

Remember, the Federal Reserve was created to enable the government to spend more than it takes in. You could blame the whole mess we're in on the creation of the Fed itself. Like Social Security and Medicare, it was a Ponzi scheme from the start. Ending all three might be painful, but in the end far less painful than letting the three continue. You might as well throw the Republican and Democratic parties out with the garbage, too. Then, we might actually see a cleanlier less hypocritical America in the distance. Don't hold your breath, but don't stick your head in the sand either. Too much has been spent to serve too few. Unless you want to see all of your grand children and great grand children on welfare, you best end these institutions and programs today.

UPDATE: MORE POSSIBLE EVIDENCE OF THE COLLUSION BETWEEN THE MEDIA AND CORPORATIONS: The Sacramento Bee doesn't get back to caller regarding Toyota Prius Hybrid battery failures. Toyota dealers are major advertisers with the paper. 1/31/2010

When Toyotas first came to America, you were promised a cheap car that wouldn't break down. They pretty much fulfilled that promise. So what if you could die in one more easily? They didn't promise you a long life now, did they?

Today, you get more than you bargained for—or should I say a lot less! Chances are that Toyotas are the "Found On Road Dead" car of the next decade; a title who's initials, F-O-R-D, used to represent the Ford Motor Company. AND, as Toyota prices for parts soar, they are also becoming the car of choice for things like catalytic converter thefts in California. Want your car attacked, get a Toyota. Why? The converters contain precious metals like platinum, rhodium or palladium. If you melt it down they can get $1,500 an ounce. Dumb thieves simply sell them to scrap yards for about $30. Toyota dealers then charge around $1,500 to replace them. In my city, 12 thefts were reported over the New Year holiday alone!

Today, like most large corporations in a "government bribable" society like ours, Toyota is the over promising and under delivering car of the century. Some of this could certainly be helped with a better board of directors and more astute CEO and a government who's politicians refuse to take the money.

With recalls up the yin-yang and astronomical repair costs, especially on hybrid battery replacements, one realizes that perhaps it is China's turn to try to be the next cheap sturdy car and that might not be a good thing in the long run. I seem to have enough trouble communicating with corporate America and the government it has bought and paid for. Imagine my dealing with a country who's language I can't speak and who's writing is even harder to decipher. Have you ever tried to return something to a Chinese company? Ever try Chinese technical support? In fact, were I there, I wouldn't be allowed to speak at all! Think of how every time we buy something Chinese we support a communist government and the development of that deep sea navy they are building.

In response to Toyota, Japan and China, I'd love to say, "Buy American," but I can't. American corporations and their government are fast becoming a division of China, Inc. I'd rather tell you to just walk to where you need to go. You might even feel better. Thank God for the advent of the home office and the ability to keep my car in the driveway most of the time. (However, I'm actually writing this from a very local coffee shop where the help goes to college and speaks English. One gal is actually planning on becoming an engineer, a drop in the bucket when compared to the engineers mass produced in China and India.) Anyway, sorry about that. I drifted yet again from my main point.

Toyota motor sales said, in a December 23, 2009 article by Irv Miller, "Toyota has a well-earned reputation for integrity and we will vigorously defend it." I wanted to leave a comment there, too. However, that would be impossible because the link to leave a comment didn't work. Smart for Toyota and yet another strike against their so called integrity, something Toyota has lost over the past few decades.

Toyota gets a lot of money into our political system through American dealership and other 'round about means. For starters, along with the other car companies, they got away with government mandated EPA mileage postings that were absurd. Yes, your mileage will vary! They also wield tremendous power with the press because they are one of the newspapers last big advertisers. What newspaper would dare bite too hard on the hand that feeds it.

I bought a Prius in late 2002. It was very expensive but it was cool. I called it a green, green, green car. Green #1: It promised high mileage, albeit way less than the stated 50 plus miles to the gallon. I only averaged 42 mph the first few years and 39 thereafter based on its own over stating information screen which goes through a mile faster than the government posted roadside markers prove. Furthermore, it didn't seem to do best in the city as promised. It always got better mileage on the highway. Perhaps the battery was never any good? Green #2: It promised low emissions. Well, it passed the smog check in California, but beyond that, only the sky knows for sure. Green #3: The car was painted green.

The first set of recommended tires wore out at about 20,000 miles. Not good; not cheap; and not environmentally positive. Remember that worn-out tire yard smoldering somewhere in Westley, California and now one in Texas? The added expense further diminished fuel savings. I’ve been through many sets of tires. The car now has almost 140,000 miles. That’s about 6 plus sets of tires.

In 2007, the Prius broke down in the fast lane on a Los Angeles freeway due to a malfunctioning computer responding to a malfunctioning part. Fortunately, it just cost a few days stuck in LA as Toyota finally recognized the huge flaw and paid to fix it.

The Prius's built-in GPS navigational system asked me to do numerous “U-turns” on Highway 65 headed to Marysville and of course didn’t even come with the current year’s neighborhoods added. If I obeyed, I would still be on Highway 65 doing u-turns 7 years later. The cost to replace the CD was $200 plus, more than it would cost to install a much better portable unit with hands free blue tooth service. What did I get? A $200 plus CD. Ripped off again!

This year the Prius's main hybrid battery failed. The service gal almost choked when she informed me that it could cost me over $4,000 to replace it and that Toyota wouldn't do a damn thing other than give me a one year / 12,000 mile warranty on a new one. Remember, this expense is at 139,000 miles and year 7.5. Again, not good, not cheap and not environmentally positive.

At about 90,000 miles I began to think about selling the car, I asked a Toyota employee how much it would cost to replace the battery if it went bad. He said about $800 and that he’d never heard of one going bad. Wrong! In fact, a lot of them go bad. And now that the breed is reaching the 7 to 9 year mark and more of them are achieving the 140,000 mark, I think too many of us will learn that buying a hybrid, let alone a Toyota, was a very bad financial move and that we may not have done the environment much good either.

Toyota is hurting from numerous recalls and a declining dollar causing their parts and service prices to skyrocket. They must now pay the price which will ultimately cost them far more than the $4,000 they could have spent to appease this past customer. As more and more folks complain on PriusChat.com and other web sites, Toyota’s antiquated management may one day wake up to the fact that they are the piece of junk car of the next millennium. The chances that the big corporate wheels can respond to my petty complaint are almost nil. However, when we all speak out we have more than a snowball's chance in hell.

What happens in an inflationary depression to corporations, like Toyota that already over promised and under delivered?

Most corporate CEO's are probably pretty out of touch with their bottom line folks and somewhat out of touch with the public in general. Perhaps they are too busy trying to get government bail-outs to protect their bonuses and pensions. One way or another, they are getting Joe Public to pay for their mistakes and misdeeds. Their old fashioned attitude is that they can simply market around all the bad news because most people won't ever hear it. After all, who reads newspapers anymore AND fewer folks pay attention to TV ads. In fact, there are so many silly ads out there that the public is getting more and more numb and angry as they turn to DVD's and the Internet for their entertainment. Let's face it. We're all getting a bit tired of being lied to by governments and large corporations no matter how under educated we've become. Corporate boards like Toyota's fail to realize how many people are seeking information from folks like me that got burned by folks like them. It's all over the Internet and just another reason why we're not listening to what's posted on their own websites. We know it's marketing hype and not to be trusted.

So how does Toyota "vigorously" fight back. They manipulate our government so that it will help them. They manipulate our media so that the bad news sinks to the bottom of our news diet. Don't our tax dollars indirectly go to help Toyota? What town doesn't want to have a Toyota plant employing its unemployed? What would that town do to win Toyota's business? How much of the town's soul is sold-out?

Then there is corporate charity, one of the most deceptive forms of advertising there is. Of course you pay towards that charity every time you buy a car. In other words, Toyota gets all the credit for helping some needy cause while they decide what needy cause your money is going towards. Yes, its another form of socialism that the average American enables. We are after all, the most co-dependent people on the planet. Wouldn't you rather have a cheaper car and then decide what charity deserves your money?

For the record, when I used Honda's chat to ask about the hybrid batteries, my contact told me parts was not available even though it was 10: am. pacific time on Friday??? Someone would call me. I thought that there were too many hoops to go through and that maybe Honda was also hiding the ugly truth about their own hybrids? I finally talked to parts and apparently Honda charges 1/2 to 2/3 what Toyota charges. He was kind enough to also let me know that when something major goes wrong with the hybrids it is usually a bad battery which they replace with a refurbished one. Their warranty is bettter than Toyota's at 3 years and 36,000 miles. Still, a hybrid is probably not an economical and perhaps not even environmentally sound way to go.

"There's no definitive word on replacement costs because they are almost never replaced. According to Toyota, since the Prius first went on sale in 2000, they have not replaced a single battery for wear and tear."

I don't get much credit for the fact that I actually present answers to problems in most of my articles. So there! I touted my horn and gave myself credit.

You are very, very powerful when you choose to use the force Luke! The Internet, until it becomes totally government controlled, is still a powerful mouth piece. Most people are still sheep, lemmings and ostriches, but you don't have to be one of them. You can go to sites and write your comments. When people find their spine and refuse to take the abuse from governments and corporations, a lot of good things can happen. Write your congressman. Call your state attorney general. Notify the Better Business Bureau and Consumer Reports. Tell all your friends or do like I did and paint it on your cars. Foreign governments and companies have figured out how easy it is to buy politicians that take their campaign money directly or indirectly. Clinton wasn't the first. Nor was he the last. Demand politicians that don't take the money. They usually won't be Republican or Democrat.

Most change starts with one person speaking truth to power. Governments and corporations are slow unwieldy arthritic beasts that usually exist because they bribe someone to protect them. If the general public is too entertained to get off the couch, then the price will be a ruthless totalitarian-corporate takeover of the planet and if we were to believe some avid conspiracy theorists, a planet that will be depopulated by the same forces that have eaten away at our freedoms. Basically, if you're too lazy to do anything about anything, the rich and powerful are offering to run it for you. They promise a free lunch, but at a high cost in both our wealth and our freedom. This is really all up to you.

I think there are benefits to not being a sheep lemming or ostrich. Frankly, I love hanging with folks that have opinions and then take action. They are far more interesting and a real turn on. Why hang with boring people that watch TV all day and then spend their hard earned money on that which has been over-promised and then under delivered to them? Most folks I run into are pacified by the modern TV gladiators. Join me and get a life. Let's make the world a better place. Rome and its colliseums do not have to fall a second time.

My generation grew up under the premise that a wise man invests in 401K's and IRA's so that the "Rule of 72" would eventually make him a millionaire. For some reason that few Americans investigated, we saw a really sweet Congress giving us tax deferred investment vehicles. We wouldn't have to pay taxes until after we made most of our money and were retired. This was the greatest American Ponzi scheme in a long line of Ponzi schemes. Today, for many of us, after the recent losses that keep much of America from even considering retirement, an epiphany has occurred. I think that some of us finally get it. Many of these folks, already seeing a bankrupt future, will seek government assistance to enable them to have some sort of dignity in their senior years. All of this will be placed on the backs of the younger generations who are none the wiser and more likely to create some sort of triage system with an age cut off.

How Did This Happen? Read the story

Chase Bank's online website slogan in California is "Welcome to Chase, We're Here for You!" We'll see about that.

The other day, I went to cash a Chase check at Chase in Rocklin California. Inside were various kiosks in the middle of the floor where their young tellers took people from the long line I waited in. Finally, I was greeted by a tall blonde. I told her I wanted to cash a check drawn on her bank. She winced as she began a lengthy explanation of the hoops that I would have to go through to cash their own check at their own bank

As she started, I thought about the checks I'd been cashing at Wells Fargo and how they had required that I offer them my Driver's Licence number, a credit card number and my fingerprint. I know how much I hate the invasiveness of Wells Fargo and wrote off banking with them long ago. Surely she was getting ready to inform me of the same kind of rotten thing at Chase. Read the story

This morning I was listening to Obama and Biden.( I don't like using their titles and I don't consider them to be my president or vice president. I wouldn't call the godfather "don" either). Unlike most Americans, I actually know their political records and where their money came from, When I saw both of their lips moving, I knew I was listening to nothing but two liars, cheaters and traitors, This seems especially true for the middle class they claim to support. The history of these two candidates and their parties has been one action after another attempting to destroy everything offered by the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. They offer ever more government dependence constantly increasing the debt that got us into this mess while switching back and forth from corporate welfare to personal welfare.

Bailout upon bailout, they continue to suggest an increase in the money supply which is actually just another tax on the American people. While money may come out of thin air, wealth does not. Americans have never really understood this, not that these politicians would change an iota of their scheme. After all, these two clowns are representing one of America's largest crime syndicates, the Democratic Party. Before you sense an anti liberal slant here, I will tell you it would have made no difference had McCain and Palin been in their shoes. Since before Abraham Lincoln, we've had a series of horrible presidents and congressmen that reflected the average Americans' ignorance, apathy and laziness. This in turn led to numerous unnecessary wars, intense worldwide brutality and a shaken model that other countries fail to understand as they wonder why we continually insist that they follow our lead. In reality, both the Democrats and Republicans have been overselling freedom to the rest of the world while at home, they have been strangling it.

Some residents that inhabit our land will defend America's prosperity and rationalize the facts above with various platitudes that are passed on by the media and the politicians—all lies and half truths. Yes, it's all about power, money and control freaks looking forward to managing your life for you. This includes the Chris Mathews and Rush Limbaughs, theoretical opposites that in reality, deliver us unto temptation. These un-worthy residents are more than happy to hand over the reigns to these folks no matter how badly they will handle them. This cabal will drive the wagon clear off the planet. America is a train wreck in progress.

Americans didn't listen to me when I went into cash last year. They didn't listen to the evidence about Obama and McCain prior to voting. They probably won't hear this message either. Anyway, here goes!

Ever wonder why CEO's make the big bucks? I've met and listened to more than a few. Most that I've met are no brighter than the rest of us, which translates into "not too bright." So why the big bucks?

First, understand that these boys and girls risk a lot living life in the "Big Bucks Bucket." Some CEO's have allowed their corporations to act as front offices for the Central Intelligence Agency. In other words, they are themselves, agents of the CIA. You could be a little corporation or a big one. It doesn't matter. You will know the skeletons in the agency closet. You can't easily do anything to them and they, in turn, can't easily do anything to you—"quid pro quo." Read the story

The Solution to our National Emergency is my Holiday Gift to the American People. I can lead you to the water, but I can't make you drink.

If you read my recent articles, or better yet, my book "The Government," you might recall that that work was a pricey affair at $49 bucks. It seemed only a few college professors thought it would be worth the money. However, had Americans bought that work, they would have been much more prepared for the current state of the economy and the deterioration of the American Empire. They would have better understood our place in the world and our relationship to China and the European Union. They could have already made plans accordingly. Instead, each new event seems to shock the average American when it should come as no shock at all. And even then, after all the bad news, they again allowed themselves to be conned into voting for what they considered to be the lesser of two evils. After all, what did Americans end up with but a terrible President Elect who cheated to gain office by not allowing other candidates to debate him. Actually, we cheated ourselves and got what we deserved for our almost total lack of honesty and discipline that would have stopped such shenanigans years ago.

Soberly put, it was the American people that happened to America. In the beginning, when the Christian Europeans arrived, America was a harsh place where less than 13% of those that settled could expect to survive two more years. The land and those that were already here gave little room for dishonesty and any lack of discipline. You planted and nurtured the crops and if you didn't do everything right, you died. Ironically, many that came were funded by the welfare of the British Crown, which gave them hundreds of acres just to leave England. The new world would be a harsh awakening for an already toughened crowd. The weak would perish and the strong would set the underpinnings for what would eventually be known as the United States. Read the story

Politicians and Pundits are not being clear when they overuse the word CLEARLY. Remember what it really means when their lips are moving.

clearly |?kli(?)rl?|
adverb
in such a way as to allow easy and accurate perception or interpretation : the ability to write clearly | [as submodifier ] on white paper, the seeds are clearly visible.
• [ sentence adverb ] without doubt; obviously : clearly, there have been disasters and reversals here.

Your President (or somebody's President) spoke last week. While his lips were moving, it was clearly evidence of how he continues to lie and deceive the American people, not that Congress and the Media haven't joined him in the Great American Fish Story.

Yesterday it was Secretary Paulsen, who's use of the 2008 "fad word of the year"clearly, demonstrated how easily we all fall prey to the rules of the box we live in. He too, called for an increase in government intervention in the market place. Amazingly, that word clearly surpasses the use of the next fad word of the year, bail-out.

The word stems from the idea that when your boat is sinking, you bail out the water. However, unless the leak is fixed or land is in sight, your boat will still sink. Read the story

What IS Caesar's?
Clearly, the American People have very little understanding of ownership.
Michael Patrick Murphy, (a registered "Decline to State" Independent voter)
25th of September, 2008, revised October 16, 2008

Sorry for the delay. I've been a little preoccupied with things that make money. I'm sorry for my readers that feel abandoned. However, my procrastination is also due to my wanting to write a very strong and important article that addresses our current long overdue crisis. Some of you will find my thoughts hard to believe. I tend to kid around so much you might think that I'm joking. Just keep in mind that I am deadly serious about most of it. I broke things down to their lowest common denominators. Unless you believe that 2 plus 2 should continue to equal 7 in the political world, I strongly suggest that you read carefully. Imagine what aliens might see as they fly overhead. Open your mind to the possibility that I might actually be right, and if not, am I more right than the Democrats and Republicans? If you're still too biased towards the big corrupt parties, then make sure you read the last few paragraphs. If that doesn't convince you, then I guess I can't win over all the people all the time. C' est la Vie!. Just remember that more people are registering Independent everyday and that's something that the Democrats and Republicans can't say, no matter how impossible the two dying parties make things for third parties and independents. Notice that the media isn't saying a thing about third parties. This is because the rich and powerful are becoming desperate as they realize that a growing number of Americans are no longer as ready to be treated like sheep. Read the story

Bundles of Love
Things could always be better!

Michael Patrick Murphy, (a registered "Decline to State" Independent voter)
24th of May, 2008

I sat there listening to a group of Carlsbad seniors discussing politics and weighing in on whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would become the next Democratic contender to take on John McCain. Thanks to Obama, McCain can stay in people's minds instead of being forgotten until July or August. McCain has a limited amount of fame for having attempted, albeit unsuccessfully, to clean up American politics via the McCain-Feingold Act and others to supplement and enhance it.

The reason that the act failed so miserably is because evil finds its way into the system regardless of its laws. Our dilemma is that we let the devil into the system in the first place. Then we spend billions trying to get the devil to behave. The rich and powerful have always run the political planet through less than ethical means. I think most of my readers would agree or they wouldn't be here in the first place. In the ancient tradition, the Republican and Democratic parties have come up with new creative ways to circumvent the intent of campaign reform laws.

In the end, since in a democracy we are technically the rulers of our destiny, the faults in the system are ours. Revealing who contributes money is convenient and links to opensecrets.org abound on this website. However, this does not clean up the system, partly because few pay attention and mostly because it endangers the essence of our democracy and the secret ballot that protects voters from retribution from employers, landlords and the government itself. Read the story

Tag 'em and Bag 'em

Voter Registration and Outreach Invades America

Michael Patrick Murphy, (a registered "Decline to State" Independent voter)
19th of April, 2008, updated 21st of April 2008

Americans tend to take pride in our Democracy and how we are free to vote for those that run our country. We all know that the process has numerous flaws and is very, very costly. We know that "snowbirds" still vote in Florida, that politicians still pay their families on staff exhorbinant salaries and the politicians that loan themselves money can repay themselves with 33% interest. Right now you have a government that works for lobbyists. Opensecrets shows that 2.8 billion was spent on lobbying congress alone. Yes, there is a lot that doesn't sit well with American digestion.

Still, there is also a lot that Americans don't understand about how their democracy has been compromised and all but eliminated by the election process. There is no doubt in my mind that it is time for a change that goes way beyond Americans re-registering as Decline to State (DTS) or independent voters, partially free from party rhetoric and corruption. Politicians can create all the political reform laws they want and the corruption will still get worse. Right now, many of us must disclose our contributions which can jeopardize our home and work lives. "What if the boss finds out?"

"We the people" must demand clean politicans from the get go, ones that won't take the money from special interests and folks that live outside their districts.. Until "we the people" become responsible, we certainly can't expect responsible politicians to represent us. Read the story

American's Abdicate Their Thrones

We have become great enablers of Evil

Michael Patrick Murphy, (a registered "Decline to State" Independent voter)
17th of April, 2008

Theoretically, in America, we are all Kings and Queens. "We the people" run the show through the world's first constitution. The founding fathers thought that was better than rule by one man or woman or small group of men and women. They thought we could do a better job than the King of England and its Parliament. Today, we find that Americans have abdicated their thrones with a variety of excuses that you can easily imagine. Through our laziness and poor judgment of character, we have allowed the Republican and Democratic parties to represent us. We do not take responsibility for their actions and continue to blame the party representatives while reelecting them to office. There is nothing logical about America. Perhaps there never was. In America, two plus two equals seven. Read the story

Presidents' Day Special

Americans have abdicated their thrones. Where to now James?

Michael Patrick Murphy, (a registered "Decline to State" Independent voter)
18th of February, 2008 (President's Day)

Last night, I saw "Elizabeth - The Golden Age" DVD. This morning I got to the coffee shop by 8 a.m. I am so entertained and well fed.

Liz, who works the counter, told me the names of the commonly accepted first five presidents in order and told me she could name all 50 states from west to east. Cool! At 8 a.m., with my memory, I could not keep up. It was the perfect beginning to my Presidents' Day special.

In George Washington's day, many folks wanted him to be our king. Legend has it that he turned it down because he felt the United States should be different. Instead, "we the people" would be king. As time passed, most Americans gave up their sovereignty anyway. It required too much discipline, honesty and responsibility and would take time away from television. We say the "Pledge of Allegiance" as though it were a part of the Constitution, the document which literally took away all our property and freedom in one fell swoop. Today, people that believe that this was not the case, show their so-called patriotism by buying flag shirts and pasting stickers on the windows of their cars. Meanwhile, Jefferson and Washington's disappointment surely churns the soil beneath their graves! Read the story

NAFTA

The North American Free Trade Agreement is Anything but Free

Michael Patrick Murphy, Registered Independent
mmurphy@americanliberty.org - February 9, 2008

People may wonder why it took me so long to write about this. My reason is that I ought to read the full agreement before commenting. Despite my own propensity to read lengthy books like "Nixon's Memoirs" and Bill Clinton's "My Life", in the end, I reconsidered. After all, if the prolific reader Bill Clinton didn't read it all before signing it into law, then why should I? Therefore, after NOT reading all of the thousands of pages that constitute the NAFTA agreement, I woke up this morning with a not so unusual epiphany that NAFTA is anything but free if not for any other reason than that the benefits are not outweighed by the cost in time it takes to read the ~~damn~~ darn thing! This is especially true when we consider that the title alone portends of a greater fabrication under the covers.

For one thing, none of the countries involved experience free trade on their own or collectively. For another, we don't have anything to trade in the first place and I'm not just talking about our lack of manufacturing in the U.S.

Lastly, we hear a lot of complaining about NAFTA which begs the question that a lot of folks are asking. Do the complaints have merit?

Most names given to things by the government intentionally mislead "we the people." I think the word "Free" in NAFTA is wrong even if it is politically correct. (Statements that are politically correct are seldom scientifically correct). Even the most intelligent among us, that don't specialize in understanding any given issue, are taken in by the governments' "grift." Read the story

The Plague of the Witch Doctors
by Nelson Hultberg

The Keynesian economic paradigm is a grandiose endeavor in sophistry and ideological criminality. This, in a nutshell, is the economic history of the 20th century. A band of collectivist ideologues (with the philosophical prescience of John Law and the moral compass of a pack of wolves) hijacked Western civilization. They have not guided our airplane bravely through the treacherous storms of reality as Washington and its professorial cheerleaders try to tell us. They have created the treacherous storms themselves. This is what human beings get when they attempt to extract more from life than they are willing to put in. Read the story...

LOCK DOWN

CA Two Parties do the Two Step! - Public Policy Institute of California Judges Competition.

Michael Patrick Murphy, Independent
mmurphy@americanliberty.org - January 9, 2008

You have to be pretty dense, or out of touch, or both, if you don't realize the bias in the CA State Assembly or Senate, the two dominant parties, or the press. You probably also realize that Californians are political sheep, lemmings and ostriches–just not you. Yesterday, the Public Policy Institute of California presented a luncheon forum at the Sterling Hotel in Sacramento. Today, Dan Walters presented another mush article talking about the presentation.

The institute's David Lesher moderated the panel, which consisted of Senator Art Torres (Ret.), chairman of the CA Democratic Party, Duf Sundheim, former chairman of the CA Republican Party and Daniel Weintraub, a political columnist for the Sacramento Bee. Obviously missing, and unexplained by the panel, were any representatives of the Green or Libertarian parties. Since the topic was the growth of Decline to State (DTS) voters and third party stagnation, I think those parties would have had a lot to say and added a dimension to the discussion. I can imagine that even if the PPIC invited them, that Torres and Sundheim might have refused to attend, taking the air out of the whole event.

The other thing that was interesting was that the luncheon was "free" and I think many of the attendees came for the delicious spread put on by the hotel. I had additional motives. Read the story

Election 2008

Are Americans Honest and Disciplined Enough for a Democracy?

Michael Patrick Murphy, Independent
mmurphy@americanliberty.org - January 9, 2008

When a candidate runs as a Republican or Democrat, the candidate puts one foot in cement. He or she becomes beholden to their Party. When the candidate takes money from special interests via lobbyists or otherwise, he or she is then expected to perform as the money dictated. The candidate has then put their other foot in cement. Finally, when a candidate wears his religion on his sleeve to sell to religious folks, he or she ends up putting that which is between his or her legs into a third block of cement. This kind of a candidate can no longer fix what is broken in America. They can only stand in place and fill the job opening. They must kow tow and do as they are told. Not doing so becomes politically fatal. Read the story

Human Trafficking

CA Government Assists Human Traffic Trade - Advertises Otherwise!

Michael Patrick Murphy, Independent
mmurphy@americanliberty.org - December 23, 2007

Who can trust a Conservative Union Newspaper owned by the Liberal Sacramento Bee?

"Not I!" says this Independent. This weeks foray into incomplete journalism was a "Special to The Union." According to the article "Task Force Human Trafficking Report in California," the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center (UCBHRC) identified 57 forced labor operations in almost a dozen cities, between 500 individuals from 18 countries.

The intent is to make this sound like this horribly huge problem deserving millions, if not billions, of dollars of public attention. (It is in fact the largest criminal occupation in the world, not even tied for second!)

Let me put this in perspective by rephrasing. The UCBHRC identified 57 forced labor operations (Assuming that each operation is its own business, we're saying that out of 1,265,268 businesses, this industry represents .005% of CA businesses). ...in almost a dozen cities (there are 958 cities in CA, that's means less than 2% of CA cities have forced labor operations). Now all of these stats represent the years 1998 to 2003. Does that mean you can divide the above percents by 5? That makes the former .005% into .001% and the latter 2% into .04%. Read the story

Spending Limit will Force Politicians to Get Deficit Under Control

Ted Gaines, CA District 4 Assemblyman
December, 2007

Recently, the non-partisan Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) issued their annual forecast of California's budget and fiscal situation, and the news was very grim.

In what should be a staggering wake-up call for my colleagues in the Legislature, LAO forecasts that California will face at least an $8 billion budget shortfall next year and multi-billion dollar deficits over the next several years unless lawmakers take action soon to get our financial house in order. Despite efforts this year to enact a state budget with a $3.6 billion reserve, California once again stands at the brink of a fiscal meltdown.

Yet the majority party in Sacramento continues to act as if they have their own printing press to make more money when we get into a budget crunch. On the very day that the report detailing our state's fiscal emergency came out, Democrats on the Assembly Health Committee pushed through billions of dollars in new government health care spending. It is simply unconscionable to even consider such massive new spending when our current financial house is in such disarray. Read the story

For the Record - Legislator pay Raises
California is suffering from an 8 billion dollar budget shortfall. Given our state's financial crisis, it is not prudent for me as a state legislator to accept a pay increase. At a time when we are asking state agencies and fellow Californians to make sacrifices, legislators must also make sacrifices. Therefore, I have rejected a pay increase of $3,110 that would have taken effect today. - Courtesy Gaines Gazette, December 2007

Libertarian Investment
Robert Page
Placer County Libertarian Party Treasurer

Every problem seems to be a government problem and every solution seems to require government spending—a Federal nanny with a club in one hand and a check book in the other!

President Bush has vowed "We'll do whatever it takes"...reminiscent of his terrorist rant, "Bring it on". In contrast to the actions of President Bush and Congress, a nation can't get rich through government spending. The government diminishes our own ability to spend, while incredibly, it also takes from those yet to be born! This, along with the cost of the undeclared War in Iraq (and many other places in the world), the exploding cost of Medicare and Medicaid and the rest of pork including spending $2 million to study a rain forest in Iowa, is adding hundreds of billions to a crippling National Debt. Read the story

How Did This Happen? Read the story

Bundles of Love Things could always be better!

Bundles of Love
Things could always be better!