A note from a soldier

This was sent in from a soldier in the US Army:

I'm a soldier serving in Iraq right now, but I'm stationed in Vilseck, Germany, not far from the Czech border. I just wanted to let you know that the support for Ron Paul that the soldiers have goes beyond the numbers. It kills me that I can't be back home right now fighting to get him elected. I'm proud that others in my area are also supporting Ron Paul. We're serving our country to preserve the same rights he is trying to maintain back home. Keep up the support.

When asked if he wouldn't mind me posting it:

that would be fine, i'm pleased to do anything i can to help your group, after the support you've shown all of us. thank you again.

I ask the readers of this blog to continue the hard work and to continue sharing that with others. The work is being seen and appreciated by people all over the world.

- Allan in Blue Island, IL

Executive Order 11110

A lawyer by the name of Becraft was in Chicago several years ago defending a gentleman in a case that I attended. Mr. Becraft wrote this about JFK's Executive Order 11110, something I stumbled upon after following a link from him. This Executive Order was mentioned to me while I was in Nevada. It takes a few minutes to follow the links to this article, but they all come together and make sense if you do follow those links. Wishing you well. - Allan in Blue Island

Because it deserves to be posted everywhere over and over again

I was surfing and stumbled upon this gem. - Allan

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul's Record
He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.
He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

10 Ways a Ron Paul Presidency would Affect Health Care

Sent in by the author, with the complete text appearing here. - Allan



Op. Editorial by Sarah Andrews

If Republican candidate Ron Paul wins the 2008 presidency, Americans could see a health care system that puts more dollars back into taxpayer wallets and allows for more individual choice in selecting a health care provider.

Paul, a constitutionalist and staunch supporter of a free-market system, opposes HMOs and the managed-care system now in place, saying it is too controlled by the government and is set up to benefit corporations and not individuals. Also an opponent of the universal health care plans touted by some of his Democrat opponents, Paul is calling for several measures that will give individual citizens the power to manage their own health care, limit the federal government’s role in the US health care system, and increase competition among providers in the private market. Continued

To Andrew Jackson

As the results rolled into a ballroom in New Hampshire, to a bunch of disappointed Ron Paul supporters, many of whom had come a long way (from Bratislava for example), Ron Paul spoke. After a long month of volunteering, a tired Frank whispered to me "This better be good" as the Ron Paul introduction came. In the speech that followed (snippets of it here), one thing Ron Paul said to us was something like "You know, the Federal Reserve is our third central bank. It's been gotten rid of before. Thomas Jefferson got rid of the first central bank; after a hard fight Andrew Jackson got rid of the second. Now I just want to be the president who gets to get rid of the third!" The room erupted. Here's to Andrew Jackson, a man, like any other, who had his good and bad sides. Here's to Andrew Jackson, the tough s.o.b. who got rid of the predecessor to the Fed! - Allan in Blue Island, IL

From the Chicago Tribune
(with no mention of the 2nd Central Bank) :



7 | Andrew Jackson

March 15, 1767 - June 8, 1845

State: Tennessee

Religion: Presbyterian

Marriage: Rachel Donelson Robards

Military service: At age 13, Jackson served in the Revolutionary War as a messenger with his older brother. He received saber wounds to his arm and face from a British officer while a prisoner of war at Yorktown in 1781 and is the only president to have been a prisoner of war. During the War of 1812, he was appointed a major general from Tennessee, invaded Florida, captured Pensacola and marched to New Orleans. On Jan. 8, 1815, Jackson led his forces in a stunning victory there, becoming a national hero.

Party: Democrat

Terms: March 4, 1829 - March 3, 1837

Vice president: John C. Calhoun, 1829-1832 (first vice president to resign); vacant 1832; Martin Van Buren, 1833-1837

Highlights of presidency: Jackson was the first president to consult with advisers known as a "Kitchen Cabinet." He had strong disagreements with his first vice president, Calhoun, over federal tariff laws that were voted null and void by South Carolina in 1832. Jackson obtained from Congress the power to use armed force to collect federal import duties. An unsuccessful assassination attempt occurred on Jan. 30, 1835, as he was leaving the Capitol. A mentally disturbed house painter fired two shots within 13 feet of Jackson, but the pistol misfired both times.

Did you know? Jackson was the first president to be nominated by his party at a national convention, the first to ride in a train and the first president to survive an assassination attempt. He was the only president who ever paid off the national debt. His nickname was "Old Hickory," in honor of his toughness. The hot-tempered Jackson killed Charles Dickinson in a duel after Dickinson made insulting remarks about his marriage. Jackson served as U.S. senator from Tennessee, 1797-1798 and 1823-1825; U.S. House member, 1796-1797; and as Justice of the Tennessee Superior Court, 1798-1804. (February 13, 2008)

Rapping Ron Paul Fans

On the radio just now, along with Obama girl, performing fans of all other presidential candidates were mentioned. Hillary's was played. It was pretty lame. While my state's junior senator is a constant disappointment to me in the Senate, I am a fan of Obama girl and the catchy song. Since they are the only candidates now mentioned in the national media, one might think that the mention of some McCain fan and even Huck playing his guitar would have wrapped up the newsbrief. No, not at all. "Rapping Ron Paul fans" were mentioned as well. Ron Paul for the long haul ! Of course, one might wonder what kind of news broadcast would even waste it's time mentioning such nonsense. My thoughts exactly. It was just one of those recorded hourly broadcasts sent all over the country at one time. While nothing of substance is likely to be said about the man at any time in the national media today, at least he'll get his name said for the next few hours. Plus, the song contains Dan's favorite rhythmic lyric in all of rap: "Ron Paul 2008 dot com!" - allan 60406

Latest Shootings - Letter to the Editor

I just sent this letter to the editor to the Chicago Tribune. - Allan

When in 2 weeks there are 4 high profile killings due to people going on rampages, it seems fairly certain that:

1. Something is wrong (What that is, I am unsure of.).

2. Government is doing a poor job of protecting us from this
(and maybe never will be able to protect us from the determined and the able).

3. Gun control keeps guns out of the hands of law-abiding people who'd use those guns to protect themselves (The other folks can obviously still get guns.).

A painting

This painting was created by Caleb the painter (his last name, something I will hopefully add one day) : ) and was unveiled at the Chicago Ron Paul office about two weeks ago. Here is the state coordinator, Joe Cesarone, introducing Caleb.




Followed by Caleb describing the painting a bit.




Here is proof that I was actually at this event : ) This is a picture of two writers talking shop. I met two people who had the same scholarship that I did through college. Lots of interesting Ron Paul supporters came out for the even as well. It was a well needed evening of socializing pre-Super Tuesday. Before the night was over, four of us put in a good 15 minutes of shoveling snow.




A good shot of the painting is here. Caleb combined many actual photos of Ron Paul supporters into one for the painting. He has a careful attention to detail as well. Students from the Art Institute appeared and were impressed by what they saw.
My thanks to Alex for the photos. - Allan in 708

The New Year March in Chicago

A pair of photo's from the New Year's Ron Paul march here in Chicago, organized by Mark, a friend of mine from college, and attended by me and another friend. An exuberant group appeared. The first is us, under "the bean," the second is us three hours into the march, along Michigan Ave. My thanks to Ian for the photos. - Allan in Blue Island

RP March in Ireland

Ron Paul March - March 1 in Dublin.
http://ronpaul.meetup.com/515/calendar/7253198/
- Allan

Excellent - Rothbard on Conspiracy Theories

Rothbard, sought to combine history, politics, and economics into a study of how they play against each other. This brief article is recommended reading for anyone who even dabbles with a conspiracy theory here or there and it makes me want to run out and buy his Conceived in Liberty. I'm reading a book of essays in which Rothbard's writing is prominent - very good stuff. It was recommended to me by two folks from the West Coast fighting the good fight in New Hampshire. - Allan in 708

The fight for those delegates is on

Last week, about 8 people and I got together and had a meeting about how we can win over selected delegates to vote Ron Paul in the second balloting and beyond in St. Paul in September (If any of you, by the way, would like to volunteer there, click here). Many of the delegates are committed only through the first round of balloting. This article, lets us know that there are likely some undecided Romney delegates out there looking for someone to vote for in early September. - Allan in Blue Island

Mike Huckabee

This is a well done post about some of the troubles of Mike Hucakbee by John Keller at Lew Rockwell. It's always good to have stats like this in the back of ones head as a follow up for the question of "Well, how does that candidate address the issues that are important to you." Lot's of folks do not know how to answer those questions, and it's good to be ready with some facts for them, especially when you are well read and no with certainty that your candidate's record is way cleaner than the others. - Allan

The News

A good video that starts and ends with a little John Lennon and Yoko Ono. In the middle is a complaint about the media, in case you were under the impression that US news is just lousy when it is beemed outside of the US. Wishing you well : ) - Allan

Refinancing: Only for the privileged few

An article that I spotted on my favorite monetary policy/macro-econ/geo-political/financial website - www.jsmineset.com. Without mentioning the problem, it speaks to the fact that many Americans are looking ahead to troubled times with their variable interest rate mortgages, people who will essentially have not escape from those mortgages because of this problem mentioned below. -Allan

Refinancing: Only for the privileged few

Sure, now is a great time to refinance - that is, if you can still qualify. Here is what lenders are looking for.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
February 8 2008: 3:00 PM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The good news: mortgage rates are down. The bad news: it's much harder to qualify for a refinanced loan these days.

What's more, the borrowers who need to refinance the most - because their adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are resetting to higher interest rates - are among those having the most trouble winning approvals.

"I'm turning away about 60% to 75% of the clients who come to me for a refi," said Bob Moulton, president of Americana Mortgage Group on Long Island, N.Y. "Some don't have enough equity and others have bad credit scores." Continued

De Beers and the Dollar

An article that I spotted on my favorite monetary policy/macro-econ/geo-political/financial website - www.jsmineset.com. -Allan


Is the greenback's grip slipping?

ROMA LUCIW
February 13, 2008 at 4:08 PM EST

The chief executive of jewellery giant De Beers SA made waves this week when he suggested the global diamond industry consider pricing the shiny gems in a currency other than the U.S. dollar.

That comment, from the head of the world's largest diamond company, is the latest in a string of signs that the greenback's glory days could be fading.

A UBS Investment Research report says that while it would be wrong to write off the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency, its roughly 90-year iron grip on that position is loosening. “The use of the U.S. dollar as an international reserve currency is in decline,” said UBS economist Paul Donovan. continued

68 Senators Violated Their Oaths of Office Yesterday

I got this great email today about a bill passed through the Senate. When such emails come to me, I follow up on how my elected representatives voted. It being in the Senate, I took a look at how Sen. Durbin and Sen. Obama voted. That too was attached at the bottom of the email, and at the bottom of this post. Seeing that one or my senators from Illinois is on the campaign trail as a great freedom fighter, I was infuriated. Page down to see the very interesting results. But, please, guess first how our freedom fighter voted on this important bill to 1. allow the President to spy on Americans without a warrant and 2. retro-actively free accomplice telecom companies from wrongdoing.

I called my Senator at his Washington DC office. (202) 224-2854. I didn't see the transparent government that I'm used to from a Senator's office. At one point the guy I was talking to

1. Essentially hung up on me - when my questions got tough, he started saying "Sir, Sir, are you there, I can't here you, sir, sir, please call me back if you can hear me." (we were both on land-lines) He knew full well that I had to go through others in order to just get connected to his line.

2. He gave me a real run around Him: "The legislative aides who worked on that bill are not here." Me: "Well, what are their names?" Him: "Actually, I don't know."

3. Lied to me. Me: "I would like one of those legislative aides to call me at home before their go home for the night, will that happen?" Him: "Yes, if I can find one here." Of course you kind find "A" legislative aide at some point in the afternoon.

4. Evaded my question: "Listen are you guys preparing for a presidential election or are you working as a representatives of the people of Illinois?" Him: "No, this is the Senate office you have called, this isn't the campaign headquarters." (I guess my question could have been more clear to have helped prevent him from avoiding the question).

I've resolved that my next time in DC, I would like to go visit that office to see what exactly it is that they are doing there and to speak to the legislative aid face to face. Time for a little reading and then off to bed. - Allan in la isla azul


Quote of the Day:

"...The Bill of Rights is a literal and absolute document. The First Amendment doesn't say you have a right to speak out unless the government has a 'compelling interest' in censoring the Internet. The Second Amendment doesn't say you have the right to keep and bear arms until some madman plants a bomb. The Fourth Amendment doesn't say you have the right to be secure from search and seizure unless some FBI agent thinks you fit the profile of a terrorist. The government has no right to interfere with any of these freedoms under any circumstances."
-- Harry Browne (1933-2006) best-selling author, two-time presidential candidate, and co-founder of Downsize DC

Subject: 68 Senators violated their oaths of office yesterday

Do you know the date of the first law ever passed by the United States' Senate? It was May 5, 1789.

Do you know the subject of that law? It was the "Oath Act." It's purpose was to provide specific wording for the oath the Constitution requires Senators to swear upon taking office.

Strangely, the Constitution actually provides the specific wording of the oath the President is supposed to take, but it does not do so for Congress. Instead, the Constitution simply stipulates the following in Article VI, clause 3:

"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States."

The lack of specific wording meant that Congress had to create the wording. The oath they created as their first order of business, was very simple . . .

"I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States."

Of course, later politicians have been increasingly fond of complexity, causing the oath to mutate into this . . .

"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter."

The result remains the same. And please notice that members of Congress do not swear an oath to support or defend the nation, the country, or the government. They swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, specifically. This is very important . . .

The Founders viewed government as a servant of the people. They did not make the mistake that so many supposed "patriots" make, of thinking the government is the same thing as the nation, the country, or the people. Our country is made up of many institutions -- families, churches, businesses, associations -- of which the government is only one. All of these institutions taken together, and all the individuals within the country, independent of any institution, are what make up the country.

The government is meant to serve the nation, not BE the country.

In keeping with the ideas expressed in our Declaration of Independence, our government was instituted with highly limited powers. The instrument that imposed these limitations was the Constitution, and it is this document that members of Congress swear an oath to defend.

One of the consequences of Constitutional limits on government power is that bad people are often permitted to get away with doing bad things. The government is categorically denied many of the powers that might aid it in the apprehension of criminals. For example . . .

There are hundreds of murderers running lose in America, and thousands of murders committed each year, that the government might be able to stop. The Constitution specifically prohibits government from doing all that it could do to save lives by catching murderers.

Were the Founders crazy? Were they stupid? No, they were not. The Founders knew that any government that has all the power it might need to optimize its apprehension of murderers, would also have all the power it needed to become a mass murderer.

The Founders knew, even in their time, that governments were, historically, the greatest killers of all. The history of the last century has only added to the evidence. Tens of millions of people were murdered in the 20th Century by governments that had too much power. Our Constitution protects us from this; so far.

Think about that.

But now, because criminals murdered thousands of people on September 11, 2001, many are eager to abandon their Constitutional protections.

Have we become a nation of sniveling cowards? If not, please explain how it is that Congress has either bowed to or exploited this fear to become a gang of lawbreakers?

Yesterday, 68 Senators violated their oaths of office. They voted to pass S. 2248, a new law designed to replace the so-called "Protect America Act." This bill violates the Bill of Rights . . .

* It permits the President to spy on Americans without a warrant.
* It grants retroactive immunity to tele-communications companies that collaborated with the Bush administration in previous warrantless spying, thereby creating an incentive for other companies to engage in similar crimes in the future (only Qwest Communications insisted on warrants).

Will this new, un-constitutional power, prevent future terrorist attacks? Of course not, nothing can do that, just as there is no law or power that could completely stop murders by domestic criminals.

Does this new law create a tyranny? That would be an exaggeration. But what will happen when the next terrorist attack comes?

The sniveling cowards among us, and the lawbreakers in Congress, will then seek still more powers.

At one point will our children call this tyranny? Will there be any turning back?

Yesterday, 19 Democrats, 48 Republicans, and 1 independent voted to violate the Constitution and their oaths of office. Only 28 Democrats, 1 independent, and ZERO Republicans remained true to their oaths. The Republicans were universally bad.

But please notice that the law could not have passed without the vote of the Democrats!

Let this be clear -- neither political party is going to protect our Constitution, unless WE compel them to do it.

All hope is NOT lost. S. 2248 cannot become law unless the House agrees to its provisions. Fortunately, the House version of this bill, while not perfect, is signficantly better. Our best hope, and we must take it, is to tell the House to stick by their version of the bill.

A list of how the Senate voted is pasted below my signature. Use the personal comments section of your message to Congress to thank your Senator if he or she voted against S. 2248, or to criticize your Senator if he or she voted for it. Ask your House member to reject the provisions of S. 2248.

You can send your message from the DownsizeDC.org website.

Also, please make a contribution to further our work. Your contribution is our budget. You can contribute here.

Jim Babka
President
DownsizeDC.org, Inc.

How the Senate voted . . .

Sen. Daniel Akaka [D, HI] Nay
Sen. Lamar Alexander [R, TN] Aye
Sen. Wayne Allard [R, CO] Aye
Sen. John Barrasso [R, WY] Aye
Sen. Max Baucus [D, MT] Aye
Sen. B. Evan Bayh [D, IN] Aye
Sen. Robert Bennett [R, UT] Aye
Sen. Joseph Biden [D, DE] Nay
Sen. Jeff Bingaman [D, NM] Nay
Sen. Christopher Bond [R, MO] Aye
Sen. Barbara Boxer [D, CA] Nay
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D, OH] Nay
Sen. Samuel Brownback [R, KS] Aye
Sen. Jim Bunning [R, KY] Aye
Sen. Richard Burr [R, NC] Aye
Sen. Robert Byrd [D, WV] Nay
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D, WA] Nay
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D, MD] Nay
Sen. Thomas Carper [D, DE] Aye
Sen. Robert Casey [D, PA] Aye
Sen. C. Saxby Chambliss [R, GA] Aye
Sen. Hillary Clinton [D, NY] Abstain
Sen. Thomas Coburn [R, OK] Aye
Sen. Thad Cochran [R, MS] Aye
Sen. Norm Coleman [R, MN] Aye
Sen. Susan Collins [R, ME] Aye
Sen. Kent Conrad [D, ND] Aye
Sen. Bob Corker [R, TN] Aye
Sen. John Cornyn [R, TX] Aye
Sen. Larry Craig [R, ID] Aye
Sen. Michael Crapo [R, ID] Aye
Sen. Jim DeMint [R, SC] Aye
Sen. Christopher Dodd [D, CT] Nay
Sen. Elizabeth Dole [R, NC] Aye
Sen. Pete Domenici [R, NM] Aye
Sen. Byron Dorgan [D, ND] Nay
Sen. Richard Durbin [D, IL] Nay
Sen. John Ensign [R, NV] Aye
Sen. Michael Enzi [R, WY] Aye
Sen. Russell Feingold [D, WI] Nay
Sen. Dianne Feinstein [D, CA] Nay
Sen. Lindsey Graham [R, SC] Abstain
Sen. Charles Grassley [R, IA] Aye
Sen. Judd Gregg [R, NH] Aye
Sen. Charles Hagel [R, NE] Aye
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D, IA] Nay
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R, UT] Aye
Sen. Kay Hutchison [R, TX] Aye
Sen. James Inhofe [R, OK] Aye
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D, HI] Aye
Sen. John Isakson [R, GA] Aye
Sen. Tim Johnson [D, SD] Aye
Sen. Edward Kennedy [D, MA] Nay
Sen. John Kerry [D, MA] Nay
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D, MN] Nay
Sen. Herbert Kohl [D, WI] Aye
Sen. Jon Kyl [R, AZ] Aye
Sen. Mary Landrieu [D, LA] Aye
Sen. Frank Lautenberg [D, NJ] Nay
Sen. Patrick Leahy [D, VT] Nay
Sen. Carl Levin [D, MI] Nay
Sen. Joseph Lieberman [I, CT] Aye
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D, AR] Aye
Sen. Richard Lugar [R, IN] Aye
Sen. Mel Martinez [R, FL] Aye
Sen. John McCain [R, AZ] Aye
Sen. Claire McCaskill [D, MO] Aye
Sen. Mitch McConnell [R, KY] Aye
Sen. Robert Menendez [D, NJ] Nay
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D, MD] Aye
Sen. Lisa Murkowski [R, AK] Aye
Sen. Patty Murray [D, WA] Nay
Sen. Ben Nelson [D, NE] Aye
Sen. Bill Nelson [D, FL] Aye
Sen. Barack Obama [D, IL] Abstain
Sen. Mark Pryor [D, AR] Aye
Sen. John Reed [D, RI] Nay
Sen. Harry Reid [D, NV] Nay
Sen. Pat Roberts [R, KS] Aye
Sen. John Rockefeller [D, WV] Aye
Sen. Ken Salazar [D, CO] Aye
Sen. Bernard Sanders [I, VT] Nay
Sen. Charles Schumer [D, NY] Nay
Sen. Jefferson Sessions [R, AL] Aye
Sen. Richard Shelby [R, AL] Aye
Sen. Gordon Smith [R, OR] Aye
Sen. Olympia Snowe [R, ME] Aye
Sen. Arlen Specter [R, PA] Aye
Sen. Debbie Ann Stabenow [D, MI] Nay
Sen. Ted Stevens [R, AK] Aye
Sen. John Sununu [R, NH] Aye
Sen. Jon Tester [D, MT] Nay
Sen. John Thune [R, SD] Aye
Sen. David Vitter [R, LA] Aye
Sen. George Voinovich [R, OH] Aye
Sen. John Warner [R, VA] Aye
Sen. Jim Webb [D, VA] Aye
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D, RI] Aye
Rep. Roger Wicker [R, MS-1] Aye
Sen. Ron Wyden [D, OR] Nay

Some Public Servants can be Plain Ignorant

This type of ignorant behavior from our public servants seems to be quite a hot topic in the US these days. I do not know if it is happening more, but it is not difficult at all to find instances of such happenings simply by asking around. In the video below, a paralyzed man get dumped from his wheelchair by a cop because she didn't believe he was paralyzed. Now surely there will be a lawsuit and if the past performance is any indication of future returns, the taxpayers of that town will be forced to pay the bill for this ignorant officer's behavior. Would anyone like to share laws that you've heard about elsewhere that hold public officials and civil servants (instead of taxpayers) responsible for a civil servant's wrongdoing? I appreciate hearing from you on this. Blue Island, IL needs such a policy to help deal with the more than a dozen federal cases pending against the city of 23,000 for the local cops being real jerks to the residents here. - Allan in Blue Island, IL

the 200th post

I want to put this here, just because it's a great video (nearly 60,000 hits) and I want the US readers of this blog to feel a bit of the passion that the European readers of this blog have expressed in their support of Ron Paul, his ideas, and his campaign over this last year. MY best to you all. - Allan in Blue Island, IL

Listening to other folks talk

It's neat seeing all of the folks that showed up to the RP rally in Lake Jackson, TX. Click here for the album. On the train two nights ago, I struck up a conversation with the girl across from me, curious to find out what she was doing downtown so late. She's a dancer, training at Columbia College. She had a neat story. I did the same last night with the guy sitting across from me. He designs a line of clothing, all made in America, all designed by him and his friends. His MySpace is here. Without talking to the people around you, it's so easy to imagine that everyone goes to school and ends up somewhere in the business world, with a few becoming doctors and lawyers, and a smattering of teachers, then some civil servants and a bunch of union folks thrown into the mix. It's so easy to assume that the world around you is simply a reflection of yourself. The Ron Paul pictures make me wonder "What brought these people here? How long have they known about him? What issues are important to them?" and when I have a few Ron Paul folks together, I ask those questions and cherish the HUGE variety of answers. I like to be communicative with strangers, but I really like that Ron Paul has sent that interest of mine into overdrive. I think back on the caucus system that I saw in Nevada and think of how much more community oriented it can be than a simple walk in, walk out primary vote. Such an event almost forces face to face communication and forces the votes to be counted before you even leave the room. All problems with vote counting are ironed out then and there.

I picked up Greg Palast's Armed Madhouse last night. It was the book that Kerry was asked about in the "Don't Taze Me Bro" video. His description of the process of using "provisional ballots" to disenfranchise voters is convincing that widespread malfeasance occurs in our voting system quite successfully. I bought the book only to read Chapter 4 of that book, the section dealing with the elections, but the chapter was so well done, that I will surely read the entire book. For the first time, I feel like part of a discussion about the future of our country, had among regular Americans. I don't know if this discussion happens every year or if the is just the first time I have gotten so involved in it. If I ever get down to Lake Jackson I'll get to meet some of those folks in Ron's congressional district and to find out who exactly those people are who did our nation the favor of sending the champion of the Constitution to Congress for us.

Wishing you all well.

Allan in BI, IL