The latest DownsizeDC.org dispatch contains scathing commentary on the traitors in Congress. (NOTE: the word “traitor” is my word — I consider anyone who takes an oath to defend the Constitution and then does the opposite is a traitor to this country). Please take the time to read what’s been going on, and then contact your representatives to tell them how you feel.
Do you know the date of the first law ever passed by the United States’ Senate? It was May 5, 1789.
Do you know the subject of that law? It was the “Oath Act.” It’s purpose was to provide specific wording for the oath the Constitution requires Senators to swear upon taking office.
Strangely, the Constitution actually provides the specific wording of the oath the President is supposed to take, but it does not do so for Congress. Instead, the Constitution simply stipulates the following in Article VI, clause 3:
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
The lack of specific wording meant that Congress had to create the wording. The oath they created as their first order of business, was very simple . . .
“I do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States.”
Of course, later politicians have been increasingly fond of complexity, causing the oath to mutate into this . . .
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter.”
The result remains the same. And please notice that members of Congress do not swear an oath to support or defend the nation, the country, or the government. They swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, specifically. This is very important . . . Read More »
Ron Paul is interviewed by Mike Maloney of GoldSilver.com. If it hasn’t become obvious already the subject matter in this interview is Ron Paul’s life’s passion. I’ve said before that Harry Browne made me a Libertarian, but Ron Paul made me an economist. This interview exemplifies that statement. Of course, I’m not truly an economist. I’m merely an amateur trying to learn as much as I can about economics. The interview is about 38 minutes long. Everyone should watch this.
Here is a video recently posted on Google Video containing 5 commercials and the infomercial he had produced during his Presidential campaign in 2000. Harry Browne is responsible for my political views today. Outside of Ron Paul he is one of my true heroes.
The phrase “leader of the free world” is often used to describe the President of the United States. It has become a generally accepted phrase. This is troublesome to me because of the implication. It says that America is the policeman of the world. It says we are a spreading empire.
Before Ron Paul I never really considered this phrase. I assumed its truth. Now that Ron Paul speaks of non-interventionism I find the phrase offensive as an American. Simply put we should spread liberty by example, never force and only attack when we are attacked. As Harry Browne used to say, “They call it the national defense, not the national offense.”
This is yet another layer of false group think that Ron Paul must overcome in his effort to sway voters minds back to the principles upon which this country was founded.
On this day 3 years ago the late and great Harry Browne was asked, on his radio show, to look into the possibility that the U.S. government was a participant in the 9/11 attacks. Here is the audio of the caller and his response.
For those that do not know Harry Browne was the Libertarian candidate for president in 1996 and 2000. He passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 2006. He is the man responsible for me becoming a libertarian minded individual.
In the first clip the caller builds up to and then asks his question. Harry begins to reply that he thinks there are bigger issues to spend his time on. The clip ends with Harry going to commercial and the caller saying “shame on you” repeatedly.
In the second clip, back from the break, Harry Browne goes into an eloquent talk on the subject for about 8 minutes. I couldn’t agree with him more. Logic and calm always seems to be at his side when making his argument.
He even suggests the possibility of a candidate running in 2008 or 2012 to champion a non-interventionist foreign policy. He believes this is the real issue. He must be smiling from beyond because his wish was granted with the candidacy of Ron Paul.
Penn Jillette spent an hour being interviewed by Glenn Beck. He makes the case for libertarian ideas. I was going to just post one clip, but the majority of the interview ended up being compelling enough to include most of the interview separated into clips. Read the full article to watch the clips interspersed with commentary.
It’s obvious there’s a connection between Ron Paul and Harry Browne but how did Johnny Rotten get in here? On the advocates of self-government site there is a story about Harry Browne and it displays a picture of Harry Browne and Johnny Rotten shaking hands with the following text:
One of the journalists covering the event was Johnny Rotten, the malignantly charismatic former lead singer of the British punk band, the Sex Pistols. Rotten was hosting an internet radio program based in Los Angeles, and he decided to tape a show from the convention. In the interest of reaching every possible demographic — and I mean every possible demographic! — we scheduled an interview that we later called “When Harry Met Johnny.”
Ron Paul enters the picture during last night’s appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Johnny Rotten’s Sex Pistols were the musical guest and following their performance Rotten shook Ron Paul’s hand and asked him “When are we getting out of Iraq?” We live in interesting times, indeed.
Liberty Maven
