Success Warrior: Alan B. Rowley II - Beachbody.com, P90X, Voluntaryism, Voluntarism

Recipe for Violence

Is it me or do these cops look like Stormtroopers, except in black?

I read Jim Kunstler's "Clusterfuck Nation" each week.  A habit that I started when I learned about peak oil.  His blog used to be solely about peak oil until the economy was destroyed.  Now he focuses there, I think mostly because the current economy really hides what's happening in the oil world.  If the American people were aware that Peak Oil was hiding behind the corner, waiting to jump out and pummel any real economic recovery, they would pull their SUV into the garage of their McMansion, shut the garage door, leave the engine running, and wait for the scary future to fade into oblivion.  Kunstler's final paragraph this week, where he's continuing a thought on the possibility of all this erupting into violence goes like this: 

"I raise this possibility [the possibility of violence] because no one else has, and I think we ought to be aware that all kinds of strange outcomes are possible in a society under severe stress. History is a harsh mistress. For all his 'star quality' and likable personality, President Obama is increasingly perceived as impotent where the real ongoing disasters of public life are concerned, and he has made the tragic choice to appear to be hostage to the bankers who are systematically draining the life-blood from the middle class. Whatever we are seeing on the S & P ticker these days does not register the agony of ordinary people losing everything they worked for and even believed in.  In a leadership vacuum, centers don't hold, things come apart, and rough beasts slouch toward Wall Street."

When he says "no one else has," I think he must mean anyone with a wide audience because I've telling people for the last couple of years (even before the Ron Paul Revolution - based on economic factors) that this country is headed in that direction.  If you've read Ron Paul Revolution blogs, then you've read plenty of people talk about the fact that violence is a very real possibility.  I haven't read about anyone advocating violence but I know they are out there.

At this point, it seems like a no-brainer, if the government continues on its current path.  How long can you kick people out of their homes while giving Wall Street CEOs billion dollar bonuses before people start to get a little bit miffed?

Each day, it seems we move closer to that reality.

One of the commenters on Jim's blog said that it won't happen.  I don't remember the exact quote but the idea was that Americans have gotten too lazy to bother with violence.  They'll just keep on taking it.  They'll probably whine a lot thought (okay, I added that last bit).

My hope of course is for a peaceful and deliberate revolution but I think the government will fight change hard enough that people will get impatient or angry and violence is going to be the natural consequence.  When voting doesn't change anything, what's left for people in a Democracy to do?  When voting has been taught as the only answer to get your way, where are people going to look when that's taken away from them?

They are going to look to the example.  The example of their personal world.  Living in a country of violence both internally and externally.  What is the record for the United States not being involved in violence over seas?  I have no idea but it can't be long.  Since we got the atomic bomb, it's probably been zero when you consider all the meddling we've done in Central America, South America, and the Middle East.  Movies, TV shows, and video games center on violence.  War is glorified.  Violence is the answer.  When something isn't "right", by gawd, we can set it "right" with some violence.  Not to mention that who ever has the most guns gets to pick the definition of what "right" is.  How handy is that?  Maybe the American People will want a little piece of that.  Maybe they'll want it enough to fight for it.

Ruling over people with violence will end up in a karmic return.  Live by the sword, die by the sword.  Violence begets violence.  The system stays in place as long as you can convince the people that they have a say in how they are ruled.  The graft, corruption, and skulduggery needs to remain unseen by the people.  Greed needs to be capped at some point so that the parasite doesn't start killing off the host. 

We have passed that point. 

How long will the American People put up with it?

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Vindicated (part 2)

While I don't buy into the vindication of Nevada's Ron Paul Revolutionists just because they proved they were right, their victory is still incredibly important.  Especially for the politicians in the Democratic and Republican party.  And a lot for the emotional energy of the Libertarians.

Even though the world won't be told about the corruption, Libertarians will be told about the victory.  The Republican party lost in Nevada.  They had to resort to cheating in order to rubber stamp McCain, who was going to win anyway.  Libertarians haven't been sitting still just because they were cheated and with this revelation, they will very likely increase their efforts.

Libertarian involvement is affecting the Republican party, as seen in New York.  Republicans are trying to put in business-as-usual people and they are finding it to be harder to do now.  Republicans would love to tap all this energy but they can't.  At least, they can't while putting forth the same ole, same ole.  That's the rub.  Republicans can't beat Democrats without everyone but the people in power aren't willing to give up their control (and all the perks that come with it).  Even if Obama and the Democrats continue on as they have been, the Democrats can win votes just by saying that they aren't Republicans.  Republicans on the other hand can't do that because if the old GOP somehow wins the truculent infighting, the disaffected will probably just vote for a Libertarian candidate instead.  The article comes to the same conclusion:

"Tom Davis, former head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said this rage against the GOP machine might feel good for disgruntled conservatives, but it could also land Republicans deep in the minority for years to come."

If Republicans try to continue in their current path, they aren't going to have what it takes to unseat Democrats.  I mentioned this a while back in a comment about backlash.  There has been some talk that Obama's blatant support of Wall Street and anyone else willing to give him a kickback (except of course the American People) is going to come back to haunt him and other Democrats in the next couple of elections.  I think this is wishful thinking.  Obama still has a strong cult, still has the "give him time" people, and still isn't a Republican.

Side-note - I think I've discovered the difference between Republicans and Democrats.  Republicans say they are helping corporations so that corporations can help people.  Democrats say they are helping people by helping corporations.  People first is a good policy.  =)

Despite what Obama and his corrupted bed-fellows do, the Republican party is not going to solidify enough to pose a serious threat.

People like Glenn Beck, a NeoCon to the core, who are preaching about Libertarian values just to get ratings are actually helping to weaken the Republican Party.  The more people who learn about Freedom, the worse it is for the old Republicans.  If the party won't bend to the people, and the Nevada caucus gives us a good idea of how far they will go to keep the people out of deciding, the party will lose strength.  These new Republicans aren't going to vote Republican just because it's not Democrat.  There is a long range plan in place to take over the party and steer it on a new course.  The people working on the take over are willing to let the Republicans lose elections. 

After all, what's the difference?  In their eyes, Democrats and old Republicans are the same.  They say different things and their followers certainly have very different beliefs but in term of politics, it's always business as usual.  Votes sold to corporations, endless wars, restricted rights, and the list goes on and on and it doesn't matter which group is in power.  It's the same story.  As a matter of fact, the Republican that dropped out of the race in New York endorsed a Democrat ("samey-same" as Rabies used to say).

So, I'm not buying into the backlash thing.  I think it fails to take into account how much energy is going to be put into changing the Republican Party and how much damage that is going to do to the party in the mean time.  There is only one way to get into power in this country.  You have to be a Republican or a Democrat so this new group is going to be "Republican" and they don't care if the old Republicans lose election after election so that they can take over the name.

This, of course, means good things for the Democrats.  With any luck, they can actually increase their numbers by a few seats in the next couple of elections. 

The Democrats would be a great asset in my irenic endeavor.

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Vindicated?

Hope dangles on a string
Like slow spinning redemption
Winding in, winding out
The shine of it has caught my eye

And roped me in
So mesmerizing
So hypnotizing
I am captivated
I am . . .

Vindicated

- Dashboard Confessional

So, longtime readers and Ron Paul Revolutionists, may remember the the Nevada presidential caucus debacle of last year.  In case you don't remember, here's the short rundown.  After counting the ballots for the first Congressional District, it became clear that Ron Paul was going to win the state of Nevada.  The ballots for CD 2 were collected but not counted and the caucus was canceled.  McCain supporters were handpicked to go to the national convention.

For me, it was a huge eye opener.  We don't get to vote for anyone that isn't going to not change anything.  This has been huge for me but that's not what today's post is about.

Last Friday, they counted the ballotsfrom CD 2 under a lot of watchful eyes.  The ballots have been locked away in the Peppermill Casinos vault for a year.  I don't know what prompted finally letting people to see them but it was done and here are the results.

 Robert Terhune had 288 votes.  Marla Criss and Pat Kerby each had 283 votes.  All three were Ron Paul supporters.

What about the 3 that were sent to the national convention for CD2?

Fely Quitevis: 19 votes.
Michelle Beard: 12 votes.
Barbara Scoville: 0 votes.  That's not a typo.  Zero votes.  No votes.  Not a single vote but she was a McCain supporter so she got to go.  Ahhhhh, democracy in action.  Gotta love it!

The Ron Paul Republicans say they feel vindicated because they have their proof.  You know what would feel even more vindicating?  If the corporate media reported on this obvious voting corruption.  I mean, of all the garbage they put out, this really is news.  It wouldn't have changed the end results for McCain with Nevada's 34 delegates going to Ron Paul.  It does show how scared they are that the message will get out.

As it is, I'm not sure just how vindicating it is.  They were cheated and they lost.  No one knows except them.

Not that it's all bad news but I'll have to go into that tomorrow.

***

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Fox Isn't News

Have you seen these stories about the White House whining that Fox is being mean? 

Now, don't get me wrong, Fox isn't news.  Everyone knows that.  But neither is CNN.

Hell, I had to quit watching CNN during the election because they were doing the same thing for Hillary Clinton that the White House is accusing Fox of doing now.  CNN has probably switched over to doing the same thing for Obama.  I don't know though because I don't watch them.  I don't watch any news, in fact.

This line was great:

"You know, I'm not concerned. Mr. Murdoch has a talent for making money, and I understand that their programming is geared toward making money," Axelrod said.

Yes, because CNN and the rest are completely unbiased and don't care in the least about ratings.  It's not about money for the companies that support Obama.  They are just trying to get the truth out there.

What a load of crap.

Allow me to segue into something different while I'm waiting for a program to download that I need for my homework.  The battle between the Republicans and Democrats (again, the people, not the politicians) is going to be raging hard for the next year as we get ready for the next election.

I've read that some people think there will be a backlash vote for Republicans based on Obama's poor policies.  I'm going to have to disagree.  Not that Obama has poor policies but with the backlash.  I think that the Libertarian movement is going to undermine a lot of the votes on the Republican side and Obama's cult of personality doesn't show any signs of letting up yet.  That could change in a year, obviously, but I doubt it.  He is the Messiah after all.  In the meantime, the Libertarian party is not only working on getting stronger but it is also working on taking control of the Republican party.  You can't win an election unless you fall into one of the two big teams so they are trying to take it over.  They won't succeed in time for the next election but they will create a lot of chaos, I'm sure.  If they fail, they will probably end up voting for Libertarian candidates, stealing votes from the Republicans, handing more victories to the Democrats.

And this is a good thing.

And I'm going to leave this as a half-thought because I have so much homework to do and my download is complete.  I won't make any promises about continuing the thought because the next few days are going to be hectic.  So, as my son says, "you get what you get, and don't throw a fit."

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Watching the Game

So, I was reading Mrs. Chili's blog because, you know, that's what I do and she mentioned that Obama had gotten the peace prize.  I thought it was some joke that I wasn't getting so I clicked to another tab and did some reading.  Turns out it was a joke played on the whole world.  One of the most violent and dangerous men in the world had gotten the Nobel Peace Prize.

I shook my head and chuckled.  Crazy.

Here's a guy that is overseeing the illegal occupation of Iraq, an occupation that will go on until the fall of the American Empire.  If he "withdraws the troops," the plan is to leave 50,000 soldiers in place (and who knows how many mercs) to make sure that whatever puppet government is put in place does what they're told.

He's going to surge in Afghanistan because we just aren't killing brown people fast enough. 

He's on the verge of imposing sanctions on Iran that will end up killing thousands of innocent people in the high risk categories (youth and elderly) and make even more people want to sign up for terrorists groups.

But he talks a good game about nuclear disarmament so give him the award.

I wasn't even going to bring this up but it fits in beautifully with what I've been talking about.  Some people are probably truly upset (I'm not talking about the ones that are being told to be upset) about Obama getting a peace prize.  If you live in the middle east and you don't have a school or hospital anymore to take your children too, I can fully understand why you would be upset.

For me, at this point in my life, it's just part of the game.

My wife has an uncle, Matthew Taylor, who has done more for nuclear disarmament that Obama will ever do or even promise to do or even talk about doing or even think about writing up into rah-rah speeches about maybe someday doing so that maybe someday in the future our kids can live in a world of peace (ruled by the United States).  Taylor is out there actually getting people to dismantle nukes.  Taylor has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his WORK in nuclear disarmament.  Visit the Global Nuclear Disarmament Fund if this is something that you're interested in and donate to someone who is actually working toward peace (he's in a couple of the pics on the front page).

Thanks in advance.  I thought this was a high school chat thing but that's pretty much what the Nobel committee said.  "You know, he talks real pretty and he said some great things and we're not going to wait for 3 years to see if he follows through so this is thanks in advance for all the great things he'll do."

Really?  They haven't seen the SNL clip yet, have they? =)

So, I chuckle and shake my head.  I shake my head because it's obvious that this was done for reasons other than peace and I chuckle because it's gotten so transparent.  No one believes that his words are going to create peace more than all the other candidates who are actually working toward peace.  Time even surprised me by pointing out this common sense position in their article.  And please, I'm not saying that we shouldn't talk about peace and create better relationships but the prize should go to someone with integrity, someone who is saying those things and DOING those things.

I haven't read what the response of the American people is to this whole thing.  Probably more polarization but I suspect that even some of His followers are scratching their heads on this one.

My reaction?  Promote violence as peace.  Business as usual.  <shrug>  Time to get back to homework.

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The Pay Off for Me: Voluntary Zen (Part 1)

What I have noticed in myself from working toward Vountaryism is peace of mind when it comes to politics.  Politics can drive you absolutely bonkers if you let it.  It could from a Voluntaryist stance too, I suppose.

One of the best analogies I've heard about politics goes like this:  The government is a dagger thrust int he body of the American people.  Republicans and Democrats (the people, not the politicians) are fighting over whether the blade should be twisted to the left or the right.  Libertarians argue that it's probably better if we pull the dagger out a little bit (or a lot).  Voluntaryists think it's probably best to pull the dagger all the way out and put it away where no one will be cut by it again and then work on healing the body.

Watching people fight about twisting the dagger *could* make you crazy but for me, it hasn't worked out that way.  After the Neo hyperventilating, puking, passing out stage (see yesterday's post), things have become very calm for me.  I watch the struggle between the left and right and the libertarians and know that things are the way that they have to be.

People have to keep trying everything in their power to influence politicians.  They need to give it everything they have.  Politicians will keep doing what they do (keeping themselves rich and powerful) as their part of the charade.  Corporations will continue to use legislature to force money from the people and into their bottom line.  This is the way that it has to be.

The other part of the equation is that Voluntaryism needs to grow slowly.  People have to come to this view of life one by one, of their own accord.  The concept is too foreign for too many people.  It needs time to percolate.  The current government can't be overthrow.  It must slowly dissolve.

If it's overthrown, the people will demand that a new government be put in place, probably with the leader of the resistance army as the new president.  That doesn't help anything.  Setting up people as elite rulers over the masses is always going to lead to corruption.  People who could be trusted to not be corrupt have no desire to be in control of everyone's lives.

I understand that this may not come to pass in my lifetime.  I'm okay with that.  The people with all the guns aren't just going to turn over control of the people to, uh, themselves.  To try to stop them without using force is going to take time.  There will likely be a turning point.  It won't even take a majority for it to happen.  Some estimate that great changes will happen when 20% of the people believe in peace.  The current percentage is probably less than 1% so we have a ways to go even to get to 20%.

It will happen though.  It will just take time.  It will take people throwing all their effort into the current system in order to see that it can't work.  It will take people showing that there is an option to violence.  It will take a change in mindset, a belief that people can live in peaceful cooperation without someone pointing a gun at them.

Until then, I can breathe a deep sigh as I watch the world.  Where I once would have been upset, I no longer am.  Things are happening that are beyond my control but my thoughts and my beliefs and my actions are in my control and I find it all very comforting despite the chaos. 

Voluntaryism Explored

Mrs. Chili requested that a bunch of us submit an article or blog post that might challenge the belief system of her Freshman college students.  The subject matter should create intellectual controversy and stay away from obvious contrived controversary like Holocaust denial or the sacredness of marriage garbage.  I didn't find one that suited my purpose so with Chili's permission, I wrote up my own for submission.

Voluntaryism, which is sometimes shortened to Voluntarism, is the belief that people have a right to their own mind, body, and possessions and do not have a right to infringe (or delegate others to infringe) on that same right possessed by all other people.  This idea is nothing new for most people, having been taught the basics before entering the school system (and this is a very important key to Voluntaryism).

Most of us, as children, were taught lessons such as: don’t hit, don’t bite, don’t pull hair, don’t take things that don’t belong to you, and other rules that belong in the domain of cooperatively getting along with others.  These lessons on not forcing your will onto others are so universally taught to young children that they were lumped together and commonly referred to as the Kindergarten Principle.  This was unfortunately too easy to confuse with the kindergarten princiPAL and the name was changed to the Non-Aggression Principle or now, gaining more popularity, the Zero Aggression Principle.  Regardless of the name, most people still believe in the lessons that they learned as young children.  Unfortunately, these same people who live by this principle in their daily lives have been trained with a huge blind spot or have been taught that there are exceptions to the rule.

The government of the United States (and all other governments) is based on aggression.  The government claims to have the right to initiate force on people to achieve its ends.  What we would call robbery, kidnapping, and murder, the government euphuistically calls taxes, incarceration, and war.  What we know is evil and would not do, the government calls good and does on a daily basis.  Those who practice Voluntaryism (as much as they are *allowed* to) see that these acts are not good and cannot be called good.  If they could be called good by one set of people, then they could also be called good by another set of people.  I will explore this concept in further detail later in this article.  Voluntaryists understand that in regards to theft, assault, and murder, there is only one set of rules.  Thou shalt not.

In my short time studying Voluntaryism, I have found that people who do not accept this principle fall into two categories.  The first and largest group is those that have been taught not to see the force.  They are taught that the government just *is*, that the American government is the best on the planet, that taxes are paid for services, and on and on.  Anything and everything except the fact that “government = force” and is a violation of our inalienable rights.  The second, and a much smaller group in my experience, is those that understand that all the government’s action are done by force and they further believe that the end justifies the means.  As long as the government says that it will do good things for people, it’s allowed to do bad things to people.

The first group, those that were not taught the basic idea that government is aggression, cannot be faulted for their position.  Most of these people attended public education, which is based on the Prussian system where schooling is mandatory and a great emphasis is placed on blind obedience and the completion of tasks.  Some argue that the Prussian education system, which was also adopted by Germany, helped Adolph Hitler convince so many people to go along with genocide.  In this system, obedience becomes the over-riding virtue, rather than the lessons of respect and kindness that children learned before entering the system.  Doing what you’re told, conforming, and most definitely, not questioning the validity of the government system, are taught to children for 12 years.  In any question of the government, they are taught that the best thing they can do if they don’t like it, is to participate and change the system from the inside.  For this group, it is very understandable that the idea of Voluntaryism is foreign but there is a silver lining for these people.

Don’t hit and don’t steal are such universal concepts that once these people see the truth, they may voluntarily adopt Voluntaryism.  That is, of course, the only way that Voluntaryism can spread.  Whereas, our current government uses force to indoctrinate people into its system, Voluntaryism cannot do that and maintain the integrity of the Zero Aggression Policy.  Not that accepting the ethical standpoint is easy for all of them.  Like Neo in the Matrix after his first visit back to the Matrix, it can be rough.  When Neo came back out of the Matrix and realized that everything he had been taught was a lie, he hyperventilated, puked, and passed out.  People may not have as dramatic of a response when they learn the truth about government but it can certainly be emotionally difficult on them.  In the end though, they find that there is a certain peace of mind that comes along with living an ethical life (as much as they are *allowed* to).

The second group, the group that believes that the end justifies the means, is best left to its own devices.  Their view of the world is different enough that there is probably very little that could be said to change their values.  Remember, persuasion, the illumination of the truth, is the only tool of the Voluntaryist.  No one can be forced to accept Voluntaryism.

Again, from my brief experience, I have seen two major dilemmas with the “end justifies the means” people.  The first is that of arrogance.  That not only do they have the best answer for every complex social issue facing mankind but that their answer should be the *only* answer and should be forced on everyone else.  The second is that I don’t believe that the end justifies the means.  There is no end, there are only means.  Or stated another way, every means is also an end in itself.  The two cannot be separated.

How many different types of ketchup are there?  50?  100?  I have no idea.  A lot.  Way more than we need, in my opinion.  I’d be happy with plain ole basic Heinz on every table in America.  Ketchup is ketchup.  Seriously.  Other people do not see it that way.  300 million Americans have their own thoughts on ketchup and ketchup will continue to evolve into new flavors of ketchup over time.  People would not accept it if I declared that Heinz ketchup was a good average ketchup that will suit everyone’s needs and so all other ketchups were going to be outlawed because it was a waste of time and resources to make 100 different kinds of ketchup.

If 300 million people can’t agree on something as simple (at least it’s simple in my mind) as ketchup, how can anyone possibly say that they have the “right” answer on such complex social matters such as education or health care?  How can anyone be so convinced that they have a “one size fits all” good average answer that it should be the *only* answer?  (And should we be aiming for *average* anyway?)  Further, how can anyone be so convinced that their average answer should be thrust onto 300 million people with all the coercive force available to the government?  Arrogance is the only answer that I have been able to come up with to answer these questions.

As far as the end justifying the means, Mahatma Ghandi put it this way: “They say the means are after all just means.  I would say means are after all everything.  As the means, so the end.”  Each action is based on its own merits and is an end in itself.  If you do evil, you have done evil.  If you later do good with the proceeds of the evil, it doesn’t erase the fact that you did evil.  Further, if you do good, good will come of it and many believe that if you do evil, despite your intentions later, evil will come of it.

Voluntaryism is simple.  Good is good.  Evil is evil.  However, it’s not easy.  People are going to have to take a much more active role in playing out the destiny of their lives.  The first step is understanding, is seeing the truth, and pointing it out to others.  Stealing is bad.  Kidnapping is bad.  Murder is bad.  No matter what politically correct names you attach to them, these are universal truths.  No good can come from violating these natural laws.  We, as humans, have evolved to the point where we must live our lives with kindness and cooperation and all the good things that we teach our kids.

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Massachusetts Senate sets up for police state

Just a quick note of something that I read today, of immediate importance to the people of Massachusetts and utmost importance to everyone else because the law is going to be copied in many of the other states.

A law passed the Senate unanimously and is on its way to the House that will turn Massachusetts into a police state in the event of some kind of health concern, like the flu.  The government will be able to stop anyone, enter houses to inspect them, quarantine people (in their houses or elsewhere), force vaccinations, disallow people to congregrate in groups, and pretty much anything else they want as long as they say they are doing it for health concerns.  Medical personnel that go along with the plan will be exempt from lawsuits.  Those that don't go along will lose their licenses.

The state of emergency will end when the government thinks it's "safe".

Scary stuff. 

If you live in Mass, you might want to give your rep a call to voice your opinion.

The video on this site is the most balanced of what I found while googling this.  That said, try not to spew Diet Coke through your nose when the lawmaker says that the bill is designed "to protect the rights of the individual."

Parting Ways with Ron Paul

It's time for me to bid a fond farewell to Ron Paul.  He has served his purpose in my life and I must move on.  No fault of his own, I have changed since the primaries of last year.  The Ron Paul Revolution was a wonderful, truly hopeful, stepping stone into my current political reality.  I wouldn't be where I'm at or have the peace of mind politically that I currently enjoy without his Quixotic run for the Republican nomination.

So, we are breaking up with a "it's not you, it's me," and I still wish him all the best of luck in his endeavors.  He is gaining support every day.  The government no longer tries to hide the fact that it's corrupt and self-serving and Wall Street serving and unfortunately Ron Paul is part of that government so I have to say good-bye and good luck to him as I move on.

It was an interesting time.

This last go 'round, I decided to get involved in the primaries to see if I could make a difference.  Kucinich seemed to mirror my thoughts the best but the media had already picked Obama and Hillary as the only two acceptable candidates.  Even before getting involved at this level, I understood that the media picked, or at the very least, heavily steered the vote.  Kucinich had no chance.

The other side of our wonderful one-party system was being touted as up for grabs because they couldn't find anyone with even a smidge of charisma so I ended up with Ron Paul.  At the time, I was still under the hypnosis of the media where you had to vote for a Republican or a Democrat or you were "wasting your vote."  Now, of course, I understand that in a one party system, the ones that vote for a Republican or a Democrat have truly wasted their chance at making any kind of change to the system.

Ron Paul knows what's happening in our world.  He's just not very entertaining in presenting it.  He didn't have any slogans that could compete with Obama's dozen or so that were changed up with every speech.  In our world of bread and circuses, it just wasn't that appealing.  The message was great.  He spoke what he thought to be the truth (and much of it was).  He just couldn't sell it, especially with a media blackout that was placed upon him when his second money-bomb broke all records.  The American people who were able to hear his message loved him so it was time to shut down that message.  We can't have people thinking that Freedom is attainable.  The tax-livestock must be placated with words, not actual action.

As luck would have it, I happened to move to Nevada a couple years before the primary.  I don't believe in coincidence.  This is something that was meant to happen for me.  I was not affiliated with either side of our one-party system but in order to join the Revolution, I registered as a Republican (and I still get their phone calls and surveys, not that they like my answers at all) so that I could take part in the scam. 

For those of you that are unaware because Nevada means absolutely nothing when it comes to the primaries, Mitt Romney won the popular vote but within voting for a couple of districts at the caucus it became clear that Ron Paul was going to win the caucus and 90% of electoral votes would go to the Libertarian masquerading as a Republican.

I should point out at this point that any system that requires people to pretend to be Republican or Democrat in order to have any chance at office is lopsided and that anyone that pretends to be a Republican or Democrat just to get into office has a moral problem.

The Nevada Republican caucus was canceled and the Republican party hand picked McCain supporters to go to the national convention.  The National Republican Party did a symbolic hand-slap on the Nevada Republican party for not following the rules and then picked McCain supporters to be Nevada's delegates.

Before this, I had said without any proof that voting really doesn't matter.  The choice is made by the media and through the programming of voting machines.  Voting tries to keep the tax-livestock playing the game.  It gives them a sense that they are taking part in the system that is actually rigged.  The Nevada caucus changed my vague sense that something was up into a sincere belief that the whole thing is just a charade.

With Ron Paul out, I was pretty much done.  I still went and voted but no one that I voted for got into office.  They can't.  It just doesn't work that way.

All of this sounds bad but really, it's only bad if you're still pretending that taking part in the system makes a difference.  I've taken part in the caucus, been a precinct delegate, written my Rep and Senators, only to watch the government continue to make decisions to help Wall Street and hurt me. 

In the end, what made sense to me was to stop taking part in the system.  I won't ever vote again because that is giving my permission for these corrupt individuals to make decisions on my behalf.  I won't do that.  They don't know me and don't care about me.  Only *I* can make decisions on my behalf.  I'm the only one that has my best interest and the well-being of my family at heart.  Politicians don't care.  They never have.  They never will.  I will not ever give them voluntary consent to make a decision for me ever again.  Everything they do to me will be done by force, which is the only thing the government can do that the private sector can't do. 

You can't give 536 people unlimited weapons and expanding authority to *initiate* force against people and think that it's going to turn out well.  Corruption is inevitable in a situation like that.  I'm not even blaming the Congress or the President for this.  It's just how things work out.  They do what they do naturally.  It's just that everything they do is in their best interest and not mine.  And they have all the guns and laws on their side so I have to take it up the ass on every decision they make.

Times are changing though.  People are starting to realize that the Empire is in its last stages.  I would love to see a peaceful transition to a world with no government but I don't believe that it will happen.  I think that there will be violence on both sides.  People are going to rise up and demand freedom and when they do the government is going to try to smack them down.  It may work for a while but all empires crumble and this one will be no different.

What I'm hoping is different is what comes out on the other side.  Will we get rid of this violent, corrupt government only to put another one in its place?  Or have we evolved as a race through education and technology where we can solve our problems without some authority figure?  Do we need some god to pay tribute to in order to solve our problems or can we do it ourselves?

My hope, of course, is that enough of us have evolved to the point where we can help ourselves and our neighbors live better lives.

And I have Ron Paul to thank for pointing me in the right direction.  He has done his job where I am concerned.  I hope he keeps up the good fight so that more people see the truth.

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Obama is doing better than even I expected

Long time readers will remember a post that I wrote a couple of years ago where I stated that since my candidate was suffering from a media induced blackout, I hoped that Obama would win.  Not because I bought his "hope and change" bullshit for even a second.  A quick look at his voting record, campaign contributions, and support of W's programs was evidence that he had been bought off like all the rest. 

No, my hope was that people would believe in all his marketing mantras and that he would get into office and then show people that he was the same as the rest.  Washington D.C. business as usual.  Votes sold to the highest bidder.

And he has done a much better job than I could have imagined.  I thought he would string the American People along for a couple of years.  200 days into the job and he's out of the closet already.  His approval rating is plummeting and his push to give Big Insurance trillions of dollars at the expense of the American People (expense in both wealth and health) is going to really be his undoing.

He has promised that this deal is going to go through, no matter what opposition there is to it.  It appears that's true even if the opposition is from the American People. 

Not only has he gone above and beyond in showing how corrupt our government is, he has shown that our "democracy" is a complete con game.  We don't have a democracy.  Our representatives don't represent us.  They haven't for a long time.  I've been saying this for quite some time but now, because of Mr. Hope and Change, people are starting to realize that their votes for Republicans and Democrats are wasted. 

You don't get change by voting in the same ole, same ole.

Another great thing about Obama as president is that spin is losing its power.  People are turning to the Internets more now in search of the truth.  Democrats have tried to say that all the opposition at these health care town halls were organized by the Republicans.  People aren't buying it.  Too many people oppose this plan and not all of them are Republicans.  In fact, I haven't seen many articles about Republicans this go 'round.  On some of the issues, they have watched the public outrage and then jumped on board and then tried to pretend like they had been leading all the time.  This time, it's fairly quiet.

The fact that Obama used so many of sweet spots to get elected is actually working against him now.  People are watching more closely.  He made so many promises that the people wanted and now they are watching those key points to see if he'll deliver.

Had McCain been chosen to be president, people probably would have mumbled and grumbled about all these things (he would have been doing the exact same thing) but people would have expected that.  In Obama, we have this huge build up of HOPE for a change, for a government responsive to the will of the people, for transparency, for a government that cares about the people.  The build up was so huge that there is now a matching let down (let down is too soft of a word).  The dichotomy between what was promised and what is being delivered makes the whole situation more outrageous.

Instead of ending wars, he's looking to start more.  Instead of helping people, he's helping Wall Street.  Instead of transparency, there's more secrecy because if we knew what the government was doing with the bail out money, there would be instant riots.  What kinds of cars are being bought with the Cash for Clunkers money?  Don't ask the government, they aren't saying.  You know why?  People are buying Cadillacs and H3s that get 19 mpg.  So much for green.  We only know this because sales people have come forward to let us know.  This paragraph could go on and on with all the broken promises and I'm sure that somewhere on the net, there's a list of all of them (which at this point has to be just about everything Obama ever said - are there any promises left to break?).

Obama is doing his part and doing it beyond my expectations.

Now, we need the American People to do their part.  There's too much talk of the Pavlovian response to all this about voting Republicans back into office because the Democrats are screwing everything up.  How many times do we have to switch back and forth between the two sides of our single party system before people realize that they are exactly the same? 

When will people quit letting CNN, MSNBC, and FOX tell them who is a "viable" candidate?  When will people stop trying to vote for the one that is supposedly going to win (like there's a freakin' prize for guessing right!) and start actually voting for the one that they want?

How much pain is it going to take before people unplug from the system?

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Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

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