Starve the System Through Gardening

If you've been paying attention, you probably know that things in our country aren't going so great.  Mega corporations who place profit over human and environmental health are running rampant, destroying the financial, physical, and ecological health of our nation.  Monsanto, by far the largest offender, does everything they can to pump their genetically modified "foods" into our homes while blocking any attempts to so much as label their product as modified.  But what can we do about it?

The single most potent answer: Start gardening.

If you grow your own food, you do something about both greedy mega corporations and genetically damaging foods in one fell swoop.  Growing your own food is like printing your own money, and the money you grow holds actual value by its very nature, rather than because someone in power says it does and forces you to accept it as payment.  Growing your own food purchases the kind of security money cannot afford.

Growing a garden for just yourself and your family can be pretty intimidating, especially if you're short on land, but there are ways around this.  In Switzerland, communities work together so that individual families can specialize in one type of food.  Each member of the community grows one or two specific foods on all the space they have, and community members trade with one another so that everyone can get every type of food needed.  In addition to starving mega corporations and keeping GMOs out of your pantry, gardening with your neighborhood in this manner builds incredibly strong communities.

Another idea that is starting to catch in is the idea of a community garden.  Local city governments can designate otherwise unused plots of land that are repurposed to plant massive gardens.  These gardens can be voluntarily tended to by members of the community, and the food can be freely distributed to those who need it.  Any excess food can be used to barter with neighboring communities.  This fosters the same sense of community and security as coordinated neighborhood gardening, and can also help keep kids out of drug and gang activity by giving them something productive to do.  If you want this idea to catch on in your community, attend the next City Council meeting and bring it up.

Sustainable gardening is enormously beneficial.  Not only is it good for the ecosystem, it also allows people to reconnect with a basic part of the Human experience that has been largely lost to the supermarket.  Most people today have no idea where their food comes from before it is nicely packaged and put on grocery store shelves.  The loss of this connection is terrible; regaining it is fulfilling and inspirational.

Gardening is one of the most revolutionary acts in which you can engage.  A return to gardening is one of the most effective ways we can have a true Return to Liberty.

The Many Lies of the Commander-In-Chief

I have a confession to make: In 2008, I voted for Barack Obama.  At the time, it wasn't a hard choice to make.  He was promising to deliver the "Hope and Change" America truly needed.  He was promising to bring an end to unconstitutional behavior and laws within government.  He was promising to zealously protect our rights.  He was promising an end to the death spiral our economy was in.  He told us exactly what we needed to hear after we were utterly molested by the Bush Jr. Administration.  And if we're being honest, I didn't think McCain's heart could handle the stress of a victory.  And yes - the fact that Obama is half African American also played into it: America needed a drastic change, and he was the very embodiment of this change.  So of course I believed in Obama - he promised to be everything a President was supposed to be and drastically change the direction of our country's path to destruction.

I supported Obama for a while.  After all, he'd inherited what I could only describe as a "train wreck" from Bush, and he deserved the chance to set it right.  Like most Americans, I stopped paying attention to what he was doing and went about the endless cycle of bills and trying to keep my head above water, confident that he would deliver on his promises.  At the next election, I came up for air and examined what he had actually done during his first term.  To put it simply, the Liar-in-Chief has lost every bit of support he once had from me, and my vote went to Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson.  Let us count the promises Obama made and the ways in which he has broken them:

• Guantanamo Bay will be closed, unconstitutional activities like warrantless wiretapping and indefinite detention without a trial will be put to an end
• Obama has decided it is "probably impossible" to close Gitmo due to political barriers, and instead of closing it, its use has been expanded.  In signing the NDAA, Obama has expanded the practice of indefinite detention without trial of anyone (including U.S. citizens) he deems a threat.  Under Obama, use of the drone program has exploded, and drones have been used to murder American citizens without a trial, along with at least 360 innocent children overseas.  Warrantless telephone monitoring has exploded to encompass the entire country under new NSA programs, and under PRISM, all electronic communications are now monitored as well.  Tying into this: Obama has knowingly supported terrorists by sending arms and financial assistance to Syrian "rebels," who have been publicly noted as pleading allegiance to Al-Qaeda.  By Constitutional definition, this is Treason.
• The Bush era tax cuts on the wealthy will be allowed to expire
• While Obama at least appears to have put up a fight for this one, the tax cuts for the wealthy were extended under his watch.  What's worse: Due to the 2% increase in the payroll tax, the "bottom 98%" have seen a tax hike under Obama to the tune of about $1,000 per year, and that's for lower income families.
• There will be a foreclosure prevention fund established to aid people who cannot get a bank loan
• While the fund has been created (using money from the Wall Street TARP bailout fund), it has not delivered as promised.  The program was supposed to help 3 to 4 million families keep their homes, but to date, only about 500,000 mortgages have been adjusted.  Even among those "helped," this program has been a failure.
• Our immigration process will be reformed and the illegal immigrant problem will be addressed
• This one has received only token efforts.  Obama has instead opted to push all his political clout towards jamming healthcare nobody wants down everybody's throat.  The efforts that have been seen have been ridiculous at best, with the sacred "Path to Citizenship" placed far above the actual problem of people crossing our borders illegally.  In short: Obama is pushing amnesty for people who have broken our laws.
• Lobbyists will be restricted from serving in government positions
• There are currently 18 different people from Monsanto alone (let alone any other lobbying group or corporation) serving in government positions.  This helps to explain why Obama has passed legislation that prevents legal action against the GMO-Giant, even if they are proven to be committing crimes against humanity.
• The Iraq War (which was based on lies) will be ended within 16 months
• Troops were not fully withdrawn until December 2011, 35 months after Obama was sworn in. 
• I will not take your guns
• Obama has danced in the blood of the innocent Sandy Hook victims more joyously than even Dianne Feinstein.  He has led an outright assault on the Second Amendment, pushing for as much gun control as he can without crossing the dangerous line (wide-scale confiscation) that would wake the sleeping masses.  His most recent push is the signing of the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, which would grant the "legal" precident to disarm the American populace.
• Everybody will have affordable healthcare; your premiums will go down, and you can keep your current provider/doctor if you like them
• Under Obamacare, it is estimated that 30 million Americans (a full 10% of the nation) will still not be covered.  Families are seeing their premiums jump up to 72%.  We are only seeing reductions in premiums in a select few cities such as New York and Los Angeles due to their preexisting health plans.  Across the country, large insurance providers of small businesses and individuals are pulling out of the market because they cannot comply with new mandates, causing millions to lose their existing coverage.  As if this wasn't bad enough, it was decided in early August of 2013 that Congress and members of the White House will have their Obamacare premiums covered by the government, which means We the Taxpayers get to pay for the increased costs to our "leaders" as well as to ourselves.  I still cannot understand how it is legal for our government to fine us an increasing amount of money each year (starting with at least 1% of your income) for not buying something they think we should have.  I can only hope that multitudes of people do not comply with this totalitarian mandate.

Most of these tie into the biggest broken promise of all: Obama's Oath of Office.  He did not vow to eradicate terrorism.  He did not vow to keep us safe.  He did not vow to provide healthcare for all.  He vowed to protect, defend, and preserve one thing: The Constitution of the United States of America.  This is Obama's charge, and he has failed.

I don't know about you, but I'm done blaming Bush for Obama's shortcomings.  It's time to accept that Obama is not the man he promised us he would be.  No amount of elaborate speeches are going to change that fact.  It's time to hold the right President's feet to the fire.  It's time for We the People to create the Hope and Change our dying nation so desperately needs.

Is Your Representative Representing YOU?

When the Amash amendment to defund unconstitutional activity in the NSA came up in the House of Representatives, I was disappointed to learn that my representative, Luke Messer, voted against it.  I took this as a direct vote against the Constitution, and so, a direct violation of his Oath of Office.  And I informed him as such.  But that got me thinking: If he would willfully violate his Oath in this circumstance, where else might I find unsavory activity?  So I did some digging.


The websites I used for my research were The U.S. House of Representatives Roll Call Votes and Luke Messer on the Issues (can search a different candidate), among others.  Here is what I found:

• 2011-2012 campaign funds: http://www.fec.gov/disclosurehs/HSCandList.do - a total of $745,068 personally contributed, or nearly 75% of his total campaign fund.  This alone demonstrates that Mr. Messer is not just another rank-and-file citizen, and further demonstrates the fact that our government is no longer "Of the People."
• 3/6/2013: Messer voted "Yea" on H.R. 933, which included a provision that has come to be known as the "Monsanto Protection Act."  This act has shielded the GMO-giant Monsanto from any legal action that would prevent them from producing and distributing their genetically modified foods, even if it is found that these "foods" cause harm to humans.
• 4/12/2013: On unanimous consent (Including Messer): S.716 (introduced by harry Reid) was passed.  This legislation removed the barriers to insider trading in Congress, which places all elected representatives above the law in terms of making a profit from the stock market.  They can now freely trade on insider information, and as such, their stock portfolios tend to outperform any in the private sector.
• 7/25/2013: Vote results for Amash Amendment to defund NSA wholesale violation of 4th Amendment: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll412.xml.  Messer voted against this amendment.  This demonstrates a clear lack of reverence for his Oath of Office, in which he swore to protect, defend, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America.  Meanwhile, Mr. Messer says he supports protecting the Constitution (http://www.ontheissues.org/IN/Luke_Messer_Government_Reform.htm).  Which is it, sir?  You cannot have it both ways, and your actions thus far have spoken louder than your words.
• Once again ignoring our Fourth Amendment rights, Luke voted YES on CISPA (http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll117.xml)
• Mr. Messer opposes same-sex marriage as well as pro-choice policies.  As for me, I would not personally choose to get married to a man, nor would I push a woman to get an abortion in the case of an unwanted pregnancy.  In the pregnancy case, I would suggest she give the child up for adoption.  However, it’s none of my business how someone else chooses to live their life – it is not fair of me to deprive another of their right to live as they choose.  For this reason, I am both pro-choice (before the first trimester is over) and pro-same sex marriage.
• As a positive note, Mr. Messer supports gun owners (http://www.ontheissues.org/IN/Luke_Messer_Gun_Control.htm).  While it is great that he supports at least some parts of the Constitution, his Oath does not permit him to choose not to abide by the Fourth Amendment.  His Oath omitted the words “The parts of the Constitution which I deem relevant.”
• He has no declared stance on Social Security, which is an issue of National importance.  As for me: I know SS is completely bankrupt, and it’s because our leaders borrowed every single penny from the Trust Fund that was supposed to last until 2036.  The program is broken and is further bankrupting our country.  This must be addressed, and a neutral stance on the issue is not productive.
• What about his opinion on free trade?  On this, he is also undeclared.  Free trade has led to the mass exportation of jobs from the U.S. overseas, which has been one of the leading causes of the decline of our country.  We must eliminate Free Trade Agreements and once again institute tariffs on imports; this would both incentivize the USA to produce more than it consumes as well as provide an additional revenue stream to fund government.
• Messer is neutral on maintaining US sovereignty from the United Nations.  This is directly contradictory to Messer’s stance on guns when you consider the U.N. small arms treaty.  While he was with the unanimous vote against funding for this treaty, he needs to take an official stance on U.S. sovereignty from the U.N.
• Messer seems to support expansion of the Military Industrial Complex.  He supports this expansion under the name of “giving the military what they need to keep America safe.”  The US military spending dwarfs all other countries’ spending combined.  To keep the U.S. safe, we would only need to bring all our troops home and deploy them to defend our own borders.  We need to get out of undeclared illegal wars in countries where we have no business.
• Messer has not publicly taken a stance on staying out of Iran.  He needs to do this: Remaining complicit in the U.S. involvement in Syria will allow us to be led into World War 3.  Mr. Messer – where do you stand?
• On green energy: While it’s true we should continue to use coal and domestic oil, it is folly not to at least look into alternative energies.  On the surface, Luke seems to completely oppose looking into green energy.
• 8/2/2013: It is agreed that Congress will have 75% of the cost of their Obamacare covered by the federal government.  In other words, We the Taxpayers (including businesses) get to cover the increased cost for Congress in addition to the 72% increased cost to ourselves.  This does not seem like equal application of the law, and I am curious to get Mr. Messer's feelings on the matter.

This is what I found about my representative.  He looks great on the surface, but underneath it, I do not feel he has my best interests at heart, nor can he really connect with his constituents on a personal or financial level.  As such, until he changes his stances or publicly declares stances on the above issues, I would not vote for him.

So what can you find out about your representative?

A Message To My Senators Regarding Egyptian Aid

Dear Senator Coats/Donnelly,

I was very disappointed to learn that you voted to table the Rand Paul amendment that would have stopped the U.S. from sending aid to the Egyptian military.  It is United States Law that we do not send aid to a government that has been removed via military coup, and this is exactly what has happened in Egypt.  The military is still as involved as ever in the process to elect new leadership, and the leadership that is installed will have been heavily influenced by them, just like the last time.  Hence: This was not an overthrow by the People of Egypt, but rather the military stepping in before they completely lost control of the situation.

America has no place in the dealings of Egypt's government: They should be left to live by the system and leaders the People of their nation so choose.  Continuing to send aid to the military further bolsters their ability to control the situation and install the leadership desired, not by the people, but by the military.  I sincerely hope you will reconsider your position on America's place in foreign affairs in the future.

Sincerely,

Jordan Suwinski

On the Edge of World War 3

While the propaganda machine churns out nothing but George Zimmermans, Royal Babies, and desperate cries for attention by Miley Cyrus, there has been a dark and terrible storm brewing.  It is intertwined with the approaching currency collapse.  The only brief whispers that have gotten through have mentioned Syrian rebels rising up against an oppressive dictator, and more recently Obama promising retribution on incomplete information that appears to be based on lies..  "Seems like pretty standard stuff," the average American might say.  "Other countries pretty much suck.  Now how about some more Justice for Trayvon?! 'Murica!"

While many cry out "Skittles!!!" they fail to realize that we are rapidly approaching World War 3.  Unless we stand up and do something, history will remember Syria as Ground Zero, and the American people will not be remembered at all.  "Why?" is the next logical question.  It all comes down to one thing: The Petrodollar.  "Petrodollar" is a term used to describe an oil-backed dollar.  In recent history (since World War 2), the U.S. offered all the major oil producing countries military protection of their oil fields if they would agree to sell oil in nothing but dollars.   It is the Petrodollar that has allowed America to grow so lavishly rich and live so far beyond her means for so long.  It is the Petrodollar which caused the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  It is the Petrodollar that has Obama's attention locked in on escalating aggression in Syria.  And it is the Petrodollar that keeps the Federal Reserve Note plugged into life support, a plug which Iraq once tried to pull and Iran is now tugging on.

The brutality of the man behind the curtain knows no bounds.  You may recall Operation Desert Storm, one of the many illegal wars since World War 2, from 1990.  The United States led a war against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.  Incidentally, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was green-lit by Bush Sr. one week before Saddam made his move.  After crushing Iraq, the U.S. imposed sanctions so severe, Iraq was not able to rebuild or adequately feed its population.  These sanctions went on from the end of the Bush Sr. era through the entire Clinton administration (all the way until about 2003).  During those years, it is estimated that more than 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of the sanctions.  In an interview on 60 minutes, then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright was asked: "We have heard that half a million children have died.  I mean, that's more children than died in Hiroshima.  And, you know, is the price worth it?"  To this, Mrs. Albright responded: "It's a tough choice to make, but the price, we think, is worth it."  The lives of 500,000 children are "worth it?"  For what?  For teaching the country's leadership a lesson?  This is a horrifying statement and appalling position, but at the very least, Operation Desert Storm had a credible motive.

Fast forward to October of 2000.  Iraq made the decision to stop selling their oil in dollars, and switched to only dealing in Euros for the black gold.  Iraq hosts the largest oil deposit in the world, and this action was a direct threat to the Petrodollar.  Immediately, the U.S. propaganda machine spun up and began pushing the narrative of Iraq possessing and preparing to use weapons of mass destruction (which were never found or proven to have ever existed).  Barely a year later, on September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center was attacked, apparently by Al Qaeda extremists out of Iraq, and 3,000 Americans were killed.  If you still believe the official story, please watch this film and do any additional research you need to accept the truth of what happened that day.  The WMD and 9/11 false narratives were used as reasons to invade Iraq in 2003.  Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, it is estimated that over one million Iraqi citizens have been killed as a result of the conflict, and more are killed every day.  Immediately upon taking control of the country, oil sales were quietly switch back into dollars.  From a business perspective, this switch made no sense: It caused an instant 15% loss of profit due to the value of the dollar against the euro.  But it re-solidified the Petrodollar standard.

Fast forward to today.  The stories in the news briefly - and I mean briefly - mention a "rebel" uprising in Syria attempting to overthrow their dictatorial leader.  What the news fails to mention is that 70% of Syria's population actually supports Assad, a claim that makes the United States government green with envy.  Despite this - and despite public facts showing the "rebels" in Syria are actually led by our supposed sworn enemy, Al Qaeda - President Obama is doing everything he can to send military support to the "rebels" to aid in their conquest.  He is doing this to opposition from both parties in the Senate and with full knowledge that he is attempting to arm Al Qaeda terrorists.

But why would Obama do this?  For over a year, Iran (which has the world's 3rd largest oil reserve) has been working towards trading oil in currencies other than the dollar.  When they do this, other countries are likely to follow suit, and the Petrodollar will cease to exist.  The Petrodollar is all that keeps the Federal Reserve Note's status as the world Reserve Currency.  Another important piece of information the news conveniently forgets is that Russia, China, and - surprise - Iran are in a mutual defense agreement with Syria, and any attack on Syria is met with aid from these nations.  Again, Obama is arming Syria's attackers and even considering directly mobilizing U.S. troops against Assad.  Outwardly, there is absolutely no reason for America to get involved in the Syrian conflict.  It will not benefit us in any way Obama would admit to.  One inescapable conclusion can be drawn from these facts: Obama is attempting to draw Iran into a war to give America an excuse to invade and seize control of the region's oil production.  China and Russia are not blind to this.  They know that if America takes control of Iran's oil, they will never be able to escape the (now toxic) dollar.  If Obama continues down this path, it will mean the start of World War 3.  It is almost an absolute certainty that this war will go nuclear.

But why?  Nobody in his own country seems to want this, and Obama's tenure as the "leader of the Free World" is limited, so what does he have to gain?  In short: Obama has nothing to gain.  But his puppet masters have everything to lose.

We have now come full-circle: The man behind the curtain.  The man who stands to lose the most power - the unrestricted ability to create money out of nothing - when the dollar goes under.  The man who pressed our leaders to trick our allies into giving us an excuse to invade their country.  The man who sponsored a false-flag operation that killed 3,000 Americans to justify a war that has killed a million more. The man who will start World War 3 and take as many lives as is necessary to retain his power.  The true owner of the United States of America: The owners of the Federal Reserve Bank.

They will not stop.  They will take this as far as we allow them to.  Start fighting back.  The odds don't matter anymore.

Related Videos:
-The Road to World War 3
-Revolution: An Instruction Manual

Immigration

Author's Note:

My views have evolved since I wrote this.  I'm going to leave the original article, but it no longer fully reflects my perception.  Now, it is clear to me that this is a private property issue.  Human beings should never be restricted from moving freely across this leafy space ship.  Develop some land.  Make it yours.  And then you set the rules about who you want using what you have built.  Who you want building alongside you.  That choice was yours once before, and it should be yours once again.

Immigration is a wonderful thing.  Freeloading on the work of others is not.

America has many problems on her hands, but certainly one of the most pressing is illegal immigration.  While the laws we have on the books would handle the situation about as well as it could be handled, those laws are not being enforced.  Border patrol agents are being threatened by Homeland Security with their jobs for attempting to stop illegal immigration.  The Department of Justice is coming down on states like Texas for trying to keep illegal residents from voting, which is already against the law.  Here's the problem: Doing nothing about the state of illegal immigration is granting de facto amnesty to illegal immigrants.  Ironically, securing our borders is one of the very few powers enumerated to our government by the Constitution, and they have failed miserably in this charge.

Obama wants to pass a new immigration reform bill that would legalize 11 million people who are here illegally.  Doing so would send a clear message to the world: If you break U.S. laws, you will be rewarded.  If you follow U.S. laws, you will be punished.  The system already implement enforces illegal activity with free food, free housing, free healthcare, free education, and a free cell phone.  At the same time, it punishes law-abiding hard work with excessive taxes, fees, and regulations.  Legalizing 11 million immigrants would be a demoralizing slap in the face to those who wait as long as 25 years to enter America legally.

Lets look at the current situation.  To put it into analogy: An intruder breaks into your house.  You find them in your house, and you demand they leave.  "But," they reason, "I've cleaned your floors, scrubbed your toilets, and made your bed!  I deserve to stay here!  I'm a good, honest person...except for when I broke into your house."  You go to your local government to try and get them to evict your new resident, but they reason the same: "They've made your bed, cleaned your floors, folded your laundry, and scrubbed your toilet.  They have a basic human right to stay in your home.  After all, they're a good and honest person...except for when they broke into your house."  But paying for their housing is not all you have to do.  "It's only fair," your government says, "that you also pay for their food, education, healthcare, and ability to communicate with others.  After all, those are basic human rights."  So now, by mandate of your authorities, you are paying for the housing, food, education, clothing, healthcare, and cell phone of someone who contributes only a fraction of the costs of their upkeep.  But this is only right - after all, they're good, honest people, except for...well, you know.

America cannot keep this up.  As a nation, we are bankrupt.  We have a growing national debt that will never be repaid.  Cities across the country are declaring bankruptcy.  Poverty is exploding.  We cannot even afford to pay for our troops to eat properly.  The very last thing we should be doing is rewarding illegal activity, especially when it is to our own detriment. The presence of tens of millions of illegal immigrants drives wages down for existing American citizens.  We are finding it impossible to employ even the people who already live here.  So far, the costs of providing a side "path to citizenship" come to $3.8 trillion, and that number is only going to grow.  The only course of action that makes sense for America is to properly secure her borders and enforce the laws already in existence.  Once we do this, we can start looking into simplifying the current immigration process.

The bottom line is this: Absolutely no amnesty.  Period.

Author's Note: This article assumes the USA continues to exist in its current state.

The "Dangerous" Libertarian

Last week, people in positions of power reached a whole new level of hostility against the American People.  Obama's "phony scandals" line aside, Governor Chris Christie was interviewed saying "This strain of libertarianism that's going through the parties right now and making big headlines I think is a very dangerous thought."  Translation: "Individual Liberty is dangerous."  Mr. Christie has openly declared war on the idea of individual freedom.  He fully believes it is best for We the People to give up our freedoms so that our government can keep us safe.

As is typical of his ilk, Governor Christie uses knee-jerk emotional reaction to justify his views.  He believes We the People are too scared to look the families of the victims of 9/11 in the eyes and tell them our Constitutionally guaranteed rights should be enforced.  Christie: "These esoteric, intellectual debates - I want them to come to New Jersey and sit down across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation.  And they won't, because that's a much tougher conversation to have."  I call his bluff.  Given the opportunity, I would gladly sit down with anyone who was affected by 9/11 and explain to them exactly why their rights are more important than the "safety" offered by our government.  To quote Senator Rand Paul: "Christie worries about the dangers of freedom.  I worry about the dangers of losing that freedom.  Spying without warrants is unconstitutional."

As a side-note: Rand Paul is not quite the white-knight most Liberty-minded individuals believe he is.  In order to win votes, he is against ending the War on Drugs.  He is also not against drone strikes on a U.S. citizen, even within U.S. borders.  However, on most issues, Rand Paul's position is the right one.  Unfortunately, when it comes to Liberty, picking and choosing the issues to stand up for in order to win the popular vote makes you no better than Barack Obama.

Christie went on to praise Obama for continuing the policies of the Bush administration with regard to the war on terror.  "President Obama has done nothing to change the policies of the Bush administration in the war on terrorism.  And I mean practically nothing.  And you know why?  Cause they work."  Maybe this helps to explain why the website that spells out Obama's 2008 campaign promises, such as increased protections for whistleblowers, has been removed.  Obama's handlers don't want you to be able to easily view the string of broken promises he made.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again now: Question everything, particularly the motives behind what people tell you.  What motivates a Libertarian?  What does the Libertarian ideology want for you?  Freedom.  Libertarians want you to have the freedom to do as you please, as long as you don't hurt anybody else.  The only thing a Libertarian does not want you to do is try to take away their freedoms.  What motivates Governor Chris Christie and other Obama supporters?  What do they want from you?  Unquestioning obedience.  They want you to surrender all your freedoms to the government so they can "keep you safe."  The only "dangerous thought" here is that We the People are incapable of seeing to our own safety; that we need to government to handle it for us.  This is the line of thought that will lead to the continued enslavement of our nation.  It is this line of thought that must be brought to an end.

Fear nothing.  Question everything.  Stand up for your rights.

The true dichotomy of today is not Democrat vs Republican.  It is Liberty vs Tyranny.  Truth vs Propaganda.  Freedom vs Slavery.  The sooner we realize this, the sooner We the People can take the fight to our true enemy.

Complacency is Consent

*Author's Note: My views on "begging for mercy" from my "masters" have changed significantly since this article was written.  I will either be updating it or removing it.  Begging for mercy at the hands of a serial killer is not effective, and really only gives said killer what they want.  Do something meaningful: Stop funding mass murder.  The premise remains, however: If you continue to fund mass murder, you are a part of the problem.

Throughout this blog, one major objective has been to get you to stand up and ask questions.  Still, many people sit by and think "Oh, somebody else will handle that for me."  Multitudes feel that if an issue is big enough to complain about, everyone else will do the complaining on their behalf.  Unfortunately, this is the attitude almost everyone seems to take.  As I've mentioned before, the most destructive deception that has been accepted by the masses is that "your one voice does not matter."  I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Yours is the only voice that matters.  If you do not make yourself heard, nothing will ever change.

That's the most important reason to make your voice heard: You can effect real change.  But lets say you just don't care about changing the world.  You're perfectly happy with how things are, and don't want to take the 5 minutes to write or call your representatives in government.  You couldn't be bothered to talk to your friends and family about what's really going on.  Unfortunately, this is another commonly adopted stance.  There has been an ongoing apathy apocalypse in the hearts and minds of people.  Thankfully, this apocalypse is coming to an end, but many are still as apathetic as ever.

Take a look at the poem to the right.  It was written about Nazi Germany and the extermination of 11 million Jews.  Read the words through a few times.  I have an alternative poem for you:

First, they came for the Tea Partiers,

and I did not speak out: I'm not a Tea Partier and I don't do politics.

Then they came for the Christians,

and I did not speak out: I'm not a Christian and I don't do politics.

Then they came for the Gun Owners,

and I did not speak out: I don't own a gun and I don't do politics.

Then they came for the Businessmen,

and I did not speak out: I'm not a Businessman and I don't do politics.

Then they came for the Home Schoolers,

and I did not speak out: I don't home school and I don't do politics.

Then they came for the journalists,

and I did not speak out: I'm not a journalist and I don't do politics.

Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak.

Your government views your silence as consent.  History, too, will view your silence as consent.  If you allow your government to commit atrocities in your name without standing up and saying something, you are just as responsible as they are for any damage they cause.  The future of our entire nation depends on you.  Make your voice heard.

Reclaiming Your Liberty

"America in Distress"

"Reclaiming Your Liberty: Because you shouldn't have to work this hard to be this poor."

America, it's time to come out and say it: We are in trouble.  Continuing on this path can have only one logical outcome, and I think we all know what that is.  Our system is rampant with inefficiency and corruption.  It no longer works.  It's time for a real change.

Our leaders lack even the basic vision required to accept one inescapable fact: America is in distress.  We have some serious problems.  Because they will not accept reality, how can We the People ever hope our leaders will fix the issues we now face?  Rather than accept the facts, Washington bickers back and forth over petty issues and never makes useful agreements on matters of importance.  Instead, they continually kick the can down the road, which is only making the inevitable crash much more devastating.  America is on a bus hurtling towards a solid brick wall at 200 miles an hour, and Washington is squabbling over where they are sitting.  The few voices who try to bring attention to where the bus is headed are lauded as alarmists and ignored.  We need more leaders who see, accept, and rise to the challenges of our time.  We need representatives with enough vision to correct our current path to destruction and restore our once-great nation.

We have far too many lawyers in our leadership.  Somewhere along the line, an unspoken agreement that a law degree is needed to run for office seems to have been enacted.  Where are all the doctors?  The scientists?  The farmers?  The mechanics?  The tech workers?  In short: Where are all the Americans?  All I see are people who, by some stroke of chance, were born into money and power.  In 2010, the average campaign budget for the House of Representatives (the lowest position in high office) was $1,163,231.  While just 1 percent of Americans are millionaires, 66 percent of senators are millionaires, as are 41 percent of House members.  The Constitution ordained a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.  Clearly, we do not have the type of leaders the Framers intended.  Instead, we have droves of wealthy lawyers making our laws.  The laws being made are so chalked full of ambiguous jargon, only people with a law degree can make sense of them. These laws are practically impossible for the average American not to break, and when they inevitably do, the lawyer friends of our "leaders" get to profit from your suffering.  All of this is unacceptable, and it needs to change.

Our system is rank with crony capitalism.  It is designed in such a way that a mega corporation like Monsanto - whose current and former members now occupy 18 positions in our government - can sell its "food" to hundreds of millions of people without adequate testing.  Even with the safety of the product in question, the system does not require any sort of labeling.  At the same time, the "mom and pop" organic farm is burdened with impossible regulations and licensing requirements before they are allowed to sell to even their neighbors.  People who try to grow food in their own front yards are being harassed by city officials.  Many laws on the books are subtly designed to allow large corporations and people in positions of power to do as they please while restricting the average American as much as possible.  This is the exact opposite of what our country needs.  "Leaders" who are more interested in money than your freedoms have complacently allowed our nation to come to this.

The fiat money system has created a situation in which we are being quietly robbed of our wealth every single day.  Each new dollar the Federal Reserve prints (and they print in excess of 85 billion per month) takes away just a little bit more of the purchasing power of the dollars you already have.  Combined with our unconstitutional tax system, this helps to explain why it is already too hard for most families to keep food on the table.  Bills consume most peoples' lives and distract them from the larger picture of the world around them.  Our "leaders" use your distracted state to start unconstitutional wars and pass laws that provide unlimited protections to corporations like Monsanto, and it's all done without any challenge from you.  They take your silence as consent.  This too needs to change.  We need to return to sound, gold-backed currency.  We need to eliminate the Federal Reserve's ability to destroy the dollar.  We need to stop attempting to draw Iran into the next world war.  Most importantly, We the People need to realize what is happening and explicitly withdraw our consent.

Despite President Obama's "eloquent" speeches and what the (borderline fraudulent) unemployment numbers claim, our economy is not recovering.  If we don't change directions, it will never recover.  The jobs that are being added are largely low paying, part time jobs.  Meanwhile, we are losing more full time jobs than we are gaining part time jobs most months.  Misleading free trade agreements have led to a mass exodus of manufacturing jobs.  As a result, we have been importing more than we have been exporting for far too long.  America has been living beyond her means for too many years.  The credit card is maxed out, and the bill collectors are knocking on our door.  This, too, is a major problem our leaders refuse to acknowledge.

The verdict is in and the results are all around us: The policies of our current leadership are failing.  It's time for some fresh ideas and a new direction.  Obama promised us "Hope and Change," but he has broken every promise he ever made.  He has delivered the opposite of "Hope" with the only "Change" being a further reduction of personal Liberty. Our leaders seem to have forgotten what they swore to when they took their Oath of Office.  We need more representatives in government who know and care about what the word "Constitutional" means.  Representatives who hold their Oaths of Office in the highest possible regard, as was intended by the Framers.  Representatives who will swear to and then actually protect, defend, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America.  In short: We need representatives who will protect your individual Liberty instead of a corrupt system.

The time has come for a Return to Liberty.  Whether or not this return is successful will rest on the actions of We the People.

The True Nature of God

Think back to your happiest childhood memory.  Maybe it was building forts with your brother in the back yard.  Or helping your mom harvest vegetables from the family garden.  Perhaps the first time you rode a bicycle successfully.  Live in that memory for a minute.  Recall the little details: The smell of the soil; the sound of the rain; the warmth of the sun on your skin.  A truly beautiful day.

What if I told you you weren't really there that day?  As you may recall from reading "You Are What You Eat," every single cell in your body (with the exception of neurons, which make up about 10% of the brain) is replaced every 7 to 10 years.  In other words: If the memory you were just reliving was from more than 10 years ago, not one bit of your current physical make up was actually present that day.

Stop and think about that for a minute.

This means that whatever it is we as Humans are, it is not the physical stuff of which we are made.  It seems easy to make the argument that we are the values we hold and the thoughts we think, but are we really?  Consider this: Your thoughts and emotions are products of the physical makeup of your brain and body.  Without the brain cells and synapses in your head and physical existence of the rest of your body, you would not be able to think or feel emotion.  As thought-provoking as this is, it's nothing compared to recent scientific discoveries.

Atoms - which are made up of protons, neutrons, and electrons - are the smallest unit of measure for what physically makes up everything in the known Universe.  Modern scientists are able to closely examine the physical structure of the individual atoms that make up all matter, and here's what they see:

• The nucleus which is located at the heart of every atom makes up more than 99.9% of its mass, but only a trillionth of its total volume
• At only 1/1,836th the size of a proton or neutron, electrons contribute almost nothing to an atom's mass, but are the most active component of an atom, responsible for bonding
• More than 99.9% of an atom's volume is empty space.  If an atom's nucleus were the size of a basketball, its electrons would be zipping around several miles away
• When electrons jump between energy levels, they don't move through the space between.  Instead, they disappear from one level and then instantly reappear on another level
• Atomic nuclei are held together by a strong force, which is 1,038 times stronger than gravity, but only operates on the minute scale of a nucleus

What does this mean?  Among other things, all matter in the known Universe - the chair you're sitting on, the screen you're looking at, every part of your very body - is more than 99.9% empty space.  Solidity is an illusion.  At the atomic level, you are made up of innumerable microcosms of the entire Universe.  The very same vastness of the Universe is within you.  On top of this, every atom in your body is made up of charged particles.  Quite literally, you emit energy into and absorb energy from the world around you.  This suggests the old tried-and-true adage "what goes around comes around" is based on scientific truth.  If you put positive energy into the world you will get positive energy back.

Due to the laws of conservation of matter, we know that matter is never created or destroyed.  It only changes form.  In other words, every single atom that makes up your body has been in existence since the beginning of the Universe.  You are literally made up of "star stuff."  In fact, at any given moment, you have approximately 200 billion of the same atoms that once made up William Shakespeare within your own body.

What holds it all together?  What can take more than 99.9% nothing and create the illusion of solidity we experience?  What underlying intelligence could drive everything in the universe that is not controlled by thought?  The beating of your heart, the electrical firing of the synapses in your brain, cellular growth of all living organisms, the structural makeup of a rock, the rotating of the Earth on its axis and within our solar system...all of it is driven by the same underlying intelligence, the same life force that flows through all that exists.  

This is the true nature of God - the underlying intelligence of all that has ever been or will ever be.  Earlier this year, quantum physicists proved the existence of this intelligence with the discovery of the Higgs Boson.   This is the true nature of what you are as well: Everything you are is a part of God, as is everyone you will ever know.  Conversely, God is all that exists, including all of us.  We are all truly one.  This is another fatal flaw of organized religion: It makes God less than it really is by trying to objectify "Him" as a bearded deity.  This puts God into a box in which God clearly does not fit.

Right now, there is a massive and ever-accelerating awakening happening as humans everywhere are stilling the chatter of their brains and reconnecting with God, and so, each other.  But how can you remember this connection?  By quieting your mind and realizing the one basic, irrefutable, immeasurable truth: All we ever have is this moment.  Chronological time is an illusion: Right here and right now are all that ever truly exist.  Everything else is a construct of your brain.  The past happened, but it happened now.  The future will happen, but it will happen now.  When you realize this and take your full attention into the present moment, you find God.  When your full attention is focused on right here and now, the actions you need to take to effect meaningful change become crystal clear, and together, we change the world.

Stilling your mind is the hard part.  The voice in your head is constantly chattering away and distracting you from issues of real importance.  You begin to quiet this voice by listening to it.  Don't judge it or analyze it, just stop and really listen.  When you do this, you become something more than your thoughts - you become the silent watcher.  When you realize you are not the voice in your head, it becomes possible to quiet that voice.  With practice, you can completely master your thoughts.  When your thoughts no longer run rampant, your brain ceases to be the source of your suffering and instead becomes a powerful tool of change.

Eckhart Tolle has written several books on this matter that are becoming a powerful tool in waking up Humanity.  Two are "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth."  Both ring with truth and are worth reading.

Humanity is on the verge of an unprecedented evolutionary leap, but it cannot happen without you.  It's time to awaken.

"You are the Universe expressing itself as a human for a little while." -Eckhart Tolle

Organized Religion

Throughout history, people have sought religion as a way to find purpose and direction in their lives.  On the surface, turning to religion can seem like a much better alternative than a Godless and lonely existence.  For many, this is absolutely true.  And the majority of good people who choose this path are some of the best people you'l ever meet.  But for others, it's a different story.  Does organized religion truly offer the brightest path to follow in this existence?  Should we seek to live our lives according to the belief structures set out in Christianity's Bible or the Islam Quran?  Lets look at what has happened historically as a result of doing just that.

Throughout history, and in the name of religion, Christianity has killed roughly 6 million people:

• 4 million during the French Wars of Religion: 1562-1598
• 1.5 million killed during the Crusades to the Holy Land: 1095-1291
• 17,500 killed during various Christian Inquisitions: 1184-1860

Sound like a lot?  It is, but it doesn't compare to Islam, which accounts for more than 15 million:

• 12 million during the Panthay Rebellion in China: 1855-1877
• 3 million in the Bangladesh atrocities: 1971
• 3,000 in the attacks on the Twin Towers in New York: 2001

The real "winner" is an organized religion that insists there is no God.  Atheists have killed about 67 million:

• 10 million in Holodomor: 1932-1933
• 11 million during the Nazi genocides: 1941-1945
• 43 million in the Great Leap Forward famine: 1959-1962
• 3 million in the Khmer Rogue Repression: 1975-1979

Without even accounting for all historical killings, we already have a total of 88 million people killed in the name of someone's religion or God.  Of course, these stats are completely dwarfed in comparison to Democide (death by government), which has killed about 262 million people in the last century alone, but that is a side point.

If I was going by the numbers alone, I would avoid organized religion as though it were the city of Detroit.  But I know lots of people out there can easily dismiss cold hard numbers, so I decided to break out my Bible.  Here are a few of the hundreds of verses and stories I came across:

"Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.'  And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him [because God liked Abel's animal sacrifice more than Cain's vegetables]." -Genesis 4:8

"Every living substance that I have made will I destroy." -Genesis 7:4

"That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and lay with him.  He was not aware of it when she law down or when she got up.  The next day the older daughter said to the younger, 'Last night I lay with my father.  Let's get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and lie with him so we can preserve our family line through our father.'" Genesis 19:33-34

Because King Abimelech believed Abraham's lie that Sarah was his sister, and before he ever touches her, God comes to Abimelech and threatens to kill him and all his people.  To make penance for the crime he never committed, Abimelech is made to give sheep, oxen, slaves, silver, and land to Abraham. -Genesis 20:3-18

"But among the Israelites not a dog will bark at any man or animal.  Then you will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel." -Exodus 11:7

"You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you." -Leviticus 26 (Reward for Obedience):7-8

"They (men, wives, and children) went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned: the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone from the community [for questioning God]." -Numbers 16:33

"Now kill all the boys.  And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man." Numbers 31:17-18

"And when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.  Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy." Deuteronomy 7:2

"But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them - bring them here and kill them in front of me." Luke 19:27

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight." Ephesians 1:4

Most religious texts teach a lot of the same lessons seen in the above verses.  Looking through these, it makes sense that 88+ million people have been killed in the name of religion.  Christianity alone seems to condone (or at least not condemn) merciless murder, mass genocide, incest, slavery, dishonesty, extortion, division, rape, intolerance, a lack of personal responsibility,  and above all, unquestioning obedience.

Given the above, I would argue that organized religion has been used by those in power as a way to maintain a complacent and obedient population while they commit atrocities.  More recently, it seems religion is no longer adequate to maintain control, which is why the propaganda machine that is the mainstream media has stepped up to the plate.

The biggest mistake in Human history was to take God and Spirituality and build religious belief structures around them.  Hundreds of millions of people have died and killed "in the name of God."  People should be decent human beings because it's the right thing to do, not because they live in constant fear of purgatory if they do not.

It's time to remove the shackles of organized religion and wean yourself from the mainstream propaganda machine.  It's time to start thinking for yourself, accepting personal responsibility, and asking your own questions.

Rufus: "Are you saying you believe?"
Bethany: "No. But I have a good idea." -Dogma

Rings of a Redwood

February 29th, 2012. Leap day. A day I will never forget.

Mother Nature had given us a rainy, cloud-filled sky on the day I asked Kimberly to marry me. We knew before we arrived at the Redwoods that I was going to officially propose while we were there. "I'm giving you the ring back before we get there," she said as we wound our way down the 17. I smiled and squeezed her hand. "I know." As always, we seemed to be sharing the same thought.

We parked at the Visitor's Center and made our way to the main trail entrance to the forest. The day's volunteer, a kind faced man in his fifties with a walking stick, greeted us warmly and showed us two banana slugs that had decided to come out and enjoy the rain. After some idle banter about the forest, he left us with "Feel free to stop in and warm up before you leave today!" We decided to take one of the tourist pamphlets with us to learn more about the points of interest along the trail, and set out into the light drizzle.

We strolled along the trail at a relaxed pace, taking in the majesty of the forest. We both feel a strong connection to nature, and the forest felt particularly alive with the extra nourishment brought on by the rainfall. Everything seemed greener and more vivid, especially the moss that grows on the fallen trees. We stopped at each point of interest and read the entry in the pamphlet about it, sometimes backtracking if we'd missed one.

My heart quickened when the tree I thought I wanted to propose under came into view. Even though I knew the answer I would get, I was still incredibly nervous. As we slowly approached the tree and walked in a circle around it, I realized this wasn't the place. It just...didn't feel right. And although I had my hand around the ring in my jacket pocket, I did not take it out. I didn't know of any other place yet, but I knew we would find it before we left. And, of course, we did.

At one point in the trail, we had the option of deviating from the main tourist path. Naturally, we struck out into less traveled territory. We walked deeper into the forest along a river trail, loving the sound of the flowing water. After another half-hour or so, we came across a scene that looked like it was out of a Robert Frost poem. Trees seemed to frame a spot at the top of a small cliff. Green shrubs grew almost directly under where the trees met above. You could hear the gentle sound of the water flowing in the river below.

I was almost positive this was the spot I wanted to ask Kimber to be my wife. Almost.

We stood under these trees holding each other and enjoying everything about the moment: The feel of the forest, the sound of the river, the smell of the rain.  Each other.  I closed my eyes and pulled her close, breathing her in as I did. In that very moment, for the first time all day, the sun found a break in the clouds above. It bathed us in the full radiance of its warmth, and we both knew. I pulled back and looked into her eyes. "This is it," I whispered. "Yes," she agreed. I took a step back, reached into my pocket, and got down on one knee. "Kimberly, would you do me the honor of being my partner for the rest of this life?"

She smiled. "Yes."

Jordan Suwinski
3/4/2012 - 1:32 AM

A Letter to Rep Luke Messer - Indiana

Dear Mr. Messer, 

I was very disappointed today to learn you voted against Amash's amendment that would have defunded the unconstitutional collection of all Americans' phone records by the NSA. I had hoped you would work to defend Liberty and stick to your oath to defend, protect, and preserve the Constitution of the United States of America. To learn you do not hold this Oath in a high regard is upsetting. I sincerely hope you change your views on your duty to our nation. In the meantime, I will be paying close attention to your actions while you represent me and informing as many of my fellow men as possible. 

Sincerely, 

Jordan Suwinski

Here is a list of the votes: http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll412.xml

Reach out to your own representatives, especially if they did vote for the Amash amendment.  The representatives who are pulling for us need to know we have their back.

The War On Common Sense: Cannabis in America

"D.A.R.E. to stay off drugs!"
"Drug use is life abuse!"
"Mary Jane ruins the brain!"
"Just say no!"

We've all heard the slogans, seen the reasons, and witnessed the propaganda against drug use.  Generally speaking, the reasons are valid.  After all, drugs like methadone, cocaine, and black-tar heroin have been irrefutably proven to be extremely addictive and horrendously damaging.  But have you ever wondered why marijuana seems to be the poster child for most anti-drug ads?  It gets lumped in with black-tar heroin and all the other hard drugs so people can easily dismiss it as "bad," but have you looked into the facts behind cannabis?  What you find there might interest you.

Industrial hemp cannot get you high and has vastly untapped uses: Food, fuel, clothes, paper, building materials...Because almost any product that can be made from wood, cotton, or petroleum can also be made from hemp, there are more than 25,000 known uses for this plant.  One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or 2 acres of cotton.  It could essentially solve our food, energy, deforestation, and trade deficit problems, grows easily, and is much less damaging to the environment than industrial cotton.  In spite of all this, hemp was made illegal along with cannabis.

In 2002, the US Government Accountability Office was forced to admit cannabis use successfully treats AIDS, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, anorexia, cachexia, cancer, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, migraines, multiple sclerosis, nausea, pain, spasticity, and wasting syndrome.  There is strong anecdotal evidence that suggests marijuana can successfully treat far more diseases, but adequate research has not yet been done.  It could replace every expensive pill from Advil to Vicodin and beyond.  Despite these findings, cannabis remains classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic by the DEA, which means it has "no currently accepted medical use in the United States."  Much like hemp, it grows easily with negligent (if not positive) impacts on the environment.

There have been several studies conducted on the addictiveness of cannabis when compared to other commonly used substances.  In order from most to least addictive, the results were: Heroin, cocaine, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and marijuana.  A primary indicator of whether or not a substance is addictive is the withdrawal symptoms suffered after quitting.  While it is not common, alcohol withdrawal has been known to cause death.  The most difficult withdrawal symptom of quitting cannabis is a moderate to severe mental desire to get high.  Interestingly enough, every year in America:

• 443,000 people die as a direct result of smoking cigarettes
• 98,000 people die as a direct result of preventable medical errors
• 75,000 people die as a direct result of drinking alcohol
• 38,000 people die as a direct result of prescription drug overdose
• 0 people die as a direct result of using cannabis: Historically, there has not been a single recorded death that was directly attributed to marijuana

Any time you think of the pitfalls of smoking marijuana, one "fact" inevitably comes to mind: Smoking marijuana kills brain cells and makes you dumb.  What you may not know is there was only ever one study done that "proved" this to be the case.  In this study, they placed a sealed gas mask on monkeys, then filled the mask with nothing but marijuana smoke.  As a result, the monkeys started to suffocate.  As you might imagine, one of the first side effects of a lack of oxygen to the brain is cell death.  Subsequent studies have shown marijuana to stimulate brain cell growth and activity, but these studies are not given the light of media attention.

Despite the mountains of factual evidence demonstrating the benefits and disproving the dangers of cannabis, it remains illegal in America.

Did you know that in America, the prison industry is largely privatized?

Let that sink in for a minute.

This means there are wealthy business owners all across America that stand to make money from your incarceration.  In fact, the average yearly revenue for the industry is $1.7 billion.  This helps to explain why America, which accounts for only 5% of the world population, has 25% of the world's prisoners.  Of these prisoners, about half are in prison on non-violent drug charges.

Here's the icing on the cake: There have recently been cases of police mistakenly invading the wrong home for drugs.  In one case, a 61-year old man in Tennessee attempted to defend himself and his wife against an apparent home invasion and was shot to death by police.  The officers involved have been declared "not at fault" by their supervisors and were placed on paid administrative leave.

As asinine as all this seems, there is an easy explanation: Billionaires want to remain billionaires.  If hemp is allowed to compete in the industry or cannabis is decriminalized, some very rich corporations stand to lose a lot of money.  The top 5 interest groups lobbying to keep hemp and cannabis illegal are as follows: Police unions, private prisons, alcohol and beer companies, pharmaceutical corporations, and prison guard unions.  And of course, dealers don't want cannabis legalized either for the same reasons: Money and power.

Don't get me wrong: Marijuana can absolutely be abused.  But so can cigarettes, alcohol, exercising, pornography, and cheeseburgers.  It's time we started blaming the abuser, not the herb.

The War on Drugs has been waged in the name of profit with unspeakable collateral damage to individual Liberty.  It is insane, it is expensive, and it should be brought to an immediate end.

Want to learn more?  The best documentary I have found on the matter is called The Union: The Business Behind Getting High, and can be viewed in its entirety on Netflix or Youtube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT-UIe7l3-Q

What Should America Become?

If you've read my other articles and are still with me, one thing should be getting pretty clear: Our country cannot go on like this.  Our Founding Fathers would already be horrified to see what this once-great nation has become.  After all, they started a revolution over a breakfast beverage.  And it wasn't even coffee.  If we continue to spiral down this path, the Land of the Free will cease to exist, replaced instead with the land of corporate profits, mass starvation, out-of-control government, and constant police-state oppression.

One thing is certain: There is a storm coming.  This storm has already sparked what can only be described as the next American Revolution.  A government far more corrupt than the one we worked to throw off in 1776 has crept into our lives and is tightening its grip on us.  But what should America become?  It will not be enough to simply remove the current set of leaders and replace them with new puppets.  For as long as the government is able to be controlled by the Federal Reserves and Monsantos of the world, the system itself will be the greatest enemy of the People.

Many people believe it is too dangerous to have any form of central government; it is too vulnerable to corruption and growing out of control, as has happened in our case.  These people believe that nothing less than the total abolition of the central Federal Government is necessary.  From there, local governments (that don't all have to abide by the same principles) could make decisions at the local level, and edicts from a central power would not override the values of the people living under that local system.  This could work, but we would have to unanimously agree on one thing: Nonviolence.  Nobody is to initiate violence against another person for any reason, especially in order to force their beliefs (be they political, religious, ideological, etc.) on them.  Any acts of violence would need to be met with overwhelming response from all nearby communities.  This, coupled with a universally accepted basic bill of human rights (Life, Liberty, Self-Determination, Trial By Jury, etc.) would allow us to choose the type of community we want to live in without having to force everyone in the country into the same mold.  You like socialism?  Great!  Settle in with the people who also like socialism and form a community.  Is a Constitutional Republic for you?  Awesome!  Do the same.  Prefer to live without any form of government?  Join the Anarchists!  But understand that other ideologies exist, and accept that they are allowed to do so.

I would choose to live in a Constitutional Republic, much like the one the Framers intended.  However, I would remove many of the laws now on the books and replace them with a simple idea: You can do anything you want to do, just don't hurt anybody else.  Who determines what constitutes "Hurt?"  A jury.  Everything else would be procedural.  However, I would make some changes to the ideas behind the Constitution and our current situation:

1. We should transition back into a gold and silver-backed currency; fiat money should be permanently outlawed once this transition is complete
2. Term limits should be instituted for all Representatives; this would ensure a steady flow of new people and ideas and phase out the (inevitably corrupt) career politician
3. All corporate campaign contributions should be outlawed; only individual contributions from the constituents themselves should be allowed
4. The process to pass new laws should be drastically simplified and made 100% transparent to the public:
• No new bills should exceed 10 pages in length
• New bills should be written in plainly understandable English and avoid jargon
• All sections of a new bill should be directly related to the title of the bill (For an example of what NOT to do, see The Patriot Act, which was the most unpatriotic piece of law ever written)
• All new bills should be published and freely accessible (on the Internet) for 14 days prior to being brought up for debate in the House or the Senate

Sound like the kind of system you might like to live in?  Well lets link up after and make it happen!

When this storm hits, a lot of people will lose their lives.  What happens next will be up to us.  It's absolutely critical that we are on the same page, working towards the same goal.  If we are not, the American Ideal will truly cease to exist, and the revolution will have been for nothing.  Do you agree?  What kind of community would you choose to live in?

Related Video:
Revolution: An Instruction Manual