Northern Illinois Campaign for Liberty

By Ron Paul

Last week we were reminded that ours is not the only country suffering from severe economic turmoil. The Greek government is the latest to come close to default on their massive public debt. Greece has insufficient funds in their treasury to make even the minimum payments that are now coming due. Their debt level is about 120 percent of their gross domestic product and their public sector absorbs what amounts to 40 percent of GDP. Any talk of cutting costs and spending is met with violent protests from the many Greeks heavily dependent on government payments. Mounting fears of default have sent shockwaves through their creditors and all of the eurozone countries.

But there have been statements made by the European Central Bank to calm fears and give assurances that Greece will get the aid it needs. Details of agreements are not forthcoming.

Is it possible that our Federal Reserve has had some hand in bailing out Greece? The fact is, we don’t know, and current laws exempt agreements between the Fed and foreign central banks from disclosure or audit.

Click here to read the complete article.

By Ron Paul

We have been on a disastrous course for a long time. The money supply has doubled in the last year, our debt is unsustainable, the value of the dollar is going to continue its drop, and those Americans who understand where we are headed feel helpless and held hostage by foolish policy makers in Washington. When the bills finally come due and the dollar stops working we are in for some real social, economic and political chaos. That is, unless we take some major steps now to allow for a peaceful transition in the future. These steps are laid out in my legislation to legalize competing currencies.

Click here to read the complete article

As most people should know by now, Sen. Joe Lieberman has declared that the U.S. must plan a preemptive attack Yemen, to find the dangerous terrorist cells that threaten the existence of America. Sen. Lieberman claims that a U.S. official he spoke with while visiting Yemen said, “The war in Iraq was yesterday’s war. The war in Afghanistan is today’s war. The war in Yemen is tomorrow’s war.”  And I suppose that means we must embrace the future?

I am not sure how many people are familiar with Emmanuel Goldstein. You probably have never met him, I am fairly confident of that. Emmanuel Goldstein was a key character in Orwell’s novel, “1984.” Goldstein, however, was unique because he never actually appeared in the book. He was “heard of”  but never heard. He did, however, serve a very important purpose for the Ministry of Truth, and Love, and Peace, and all the other lovely virtues that the totalitarian government claimed to stand for.  Goldstein’s existence, or supposed existence, drew all the people together. Every day those who served in the government were united by the “2 Minutes Hate”…where everyone gathered around the telescreen (TV and surveillance tool) to see an alleged picture of Goldstein and stand screaming at the screen. “As usual, the face of Emmanuel Goldstein, the Enemy of the People, had flashed onto the screen. There were hisses here and there among the audience. The little sandy-haired woman gave a squeak of mingled fear and disgust. Goldstein was the renegade and backslider who once, long ago (how long ago, nobody quite remembered), had been one of the leading figures of the Party, almost on level with Big Brother himself, and then had engaged in counterrevolutionary activities…” Suffice to say, Goldstein was used to unite the people, so they were constantly engaged fighting this unseen enemy and didn’t think about committing acts of treason against Big Brother. And the reader is left at the end of 1984 suspecting, but not knowing for certain, that Goldstein wasn’t real, and was created by the Ministry of Truth to be used for their purposes. Of course you never find out, but after reading the book, there’s a certain “gut feeling” that Goldstein wasn’t real.

So you’re asking…why did you bring up Goldstein? A fictional character who probably didn’t even exist in fiction?

I would like to know why Goldstein comes to mind every time I hear anything about Osama bin Laden, or “The War on Terror.” Maybe there is a real danger to America. In which case, it would be good for us to step back, look at our actions in the Mideast, look at our mistakes and imperialist acts of aggression, and show the world we’re reading to be a beacon of liberty to world–without shoving the beacon down the throats of every other country in the world. Or maybe there is no real threat to America from terrorists. Maybe most of this is made up and fabricated by the government to unite America. Look at how after 9-11 Americans mutely swallowed The Patriot Act “to protect our country.”

You don’t have to believe me, I am just saying…

From Campaign for Liberty, by Deb Wells

Four more House Reps co-sponsored HR1207 on December 1:

Rep Reyes, Silvestre [TX-16]
Rep Rodriguez, Ciro D. [TX-23]
Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13]
Rep Boren, Dan [OK-2]

The state of Oklahoma is now a premier member of what we call the “HR 1207 100 Club”, where all House Reps have co-sponsored Ron Paul’s Audit the Fed bill.

Other HR 1207 100 Club member states:  Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississipi, Montana, Nevada, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

Now, the real test will be whether these 317 co-sponsors will support HR1207 as a stand-alone bill rather than as added language to the woefully inaccurately named “”Financial Stability Improvement Act” (wherein the Fed would be given even more power and thus give us even greater instability).

Every HR 1207 co-sponsor needs a phone call from you to remind them that HR1207 has everything required to stand very well on its own, thank you very much.

Find the full list of co-sponsors here.  Then, click here to find your U.S. House Representative’s phone number.

If you see that your House Rep hasn’t co-sponsored yet, you might want to ask them why….

After all, isn’t transparency exactly what we were promised last fall?

I had the great privilege recently of attending an economics class at a local college with some of my friends.  Very fascinating, a different way to do school, that’s for sure. Reminds me of Einstein, “The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.” But I’ll try to keep myself confined to only speaking about Keynesian economics, at least for now.

I met the teacher before the class, so we spoke for a few minutes. I had a chance to look around his office a bit. Didn’t see any Mises or Rothbard, but I glimpsed, “Macro Economics” by Ben Bernanke sitting on his desk.  I was wearing my C4L hat, so he asked me, “What is this Campaign for Liberty?” Well! That the first time anyone had directly asked me about C4L because of my hat. Very thrilling. So I explained what the group was, and mentioned Ron Paul. He said the Ron Paul was an interesting person.  I prodded him a bit, I wanted to know what he actually thought of Ron Paul, and why he wasn’t a Ron Paul fan. Turns out he thinks Dr. Paul is crazy for trying to go back to the gold standard, “and he has some problem with the Federal Reserve.” I pointed out that very few people know what the Fed is. He challenged that, and I said, “hey, I stood on a street corner in Chicago, a few blocks from the Fed, and asked people if they knew anything about the Fed, and most people didn’t have a clue.” I pointed out that we (C4L) believed that the Fed is responsible for the boom-and-bust cycle by their manipulation of the economy. He was impressed, I think, by my knowledge of economics, but not convinced. He mentioned that Milton Friedman is his hero, because of his stand for liberty. I don’t know that much about Friedman, but it seems that he had some major problems in fundamental ideas, and it also seems that Von Mises stood up for liberty far more staunchly than Friedman did, Mises enduring some miserable years at the university in Vienna, and then coming to the US where no one appreciated his work or studies.  I mentioned Von Mises to this teacher, and he said that there was a nice Von Mises website, so I laughed and said I visit it every day.  He said he would look into the Campaign for Liberty, so that is a good thing!

About the actual class. It was far more visually interesting than the classes I take, because usually my classes are audio recording, and there is nothing to look at but the blank computer screen. In this class there was a teacher walking back and forth, drawing on the board, and so forth. With that kind of action, 50 minutes is not long at all. He was talking about labor and labor value.  The Value of the Marginal Product of Labor (VMP) is equal to the Marginal Product of Labor multiplied by the net price. Mostly review, quite familiar with the words and abbreviations, happily, as I was a bit concerned that the Austrians were so marginalized, they used a different set of symbols and abbreviations.  But to my relief, there were the same demand/price/supply graphs and so forth as I’ve used before. I was a little confused at one point because he implied the Law of Diminishing Returns, but didn’t talk about it, or why it is true, so I wasn’t sure if he was going to cover it or not, but turns out they had already talked about it in a previous lecture. I would have liked to hear his explanation of the Law of Diminishing Returns, I suspect it is a bit different than our’s, but oh well. At least it is there. The most amusing part of the class? When the teacher confessed, “recessions just occur in our economy for unknown reasons and they cannot be avoided.”  I think I was the only one who questioned the ability of this teacher to teach economics without being able to explain such a common recurrence in our economy, and I only questioned in my head. Doesn’t anyone else wonder why these teachers can’t understand why recessions happen? I mean, they might as well said, with Keynes, “it is caused by the animal spirits of the investors in the market.” I mean, talk about unscientific!

Okay, one more observation about their economics. There is far more math than I generally do in my economics; maybe that’s why I enjoy Austrian econ so much.  These algebraic equations and so forth make no sense in the real world. How can you apply it in a meaningful and relevant way? The economy cannot be explained by algebraic phrases. I think this was a joke one of the Mises professors used: There was a drunk man searching the ground around a lamp pole. Someone came up and asked him what he was looking for. “My keys,” he said. “I dropped them.” And the person said, “but your car is way down the street, why are you looking here for your keys?” And the drunk replied, “because this is where the light is.”  Suffice to say, I had to do a bit of explaining with this one to apply it to economics. The application is, Keynesians generally use more math in economics because that is what can be understand. They know how to deal with algebraic equations, because they follow a set of rules.  But people are unique, and so the actions that they make are unique. They follow their own set of preferences and principles. Obviously, this makes it a bit more difficult to understand. And don’t misunderstand me, I am not comparing Keynesians to drunkards, I am sure there are some very nice people who are, sadly, Keynesians. And this teacher I met at this college was a very friendly and nice person, it is just we have a little different idea of economics. I don’t mean to insult or offend anyone, and this is not meant to be a personal diatribe against Keynesian teachers. Just a comparison of philosophies.

Another thing that struck me about this class is, I realized the enormous power a teacher has over the students. I’ve always generally known this, but as I teach myself, I’ve never really experienced it. Very disturbing idea. These kids, for the most part, are not free thinkers, they are not prepared to stand up to their teacher, or even to question the validity of the teacher’s statement. Now I understand why some of my friends are so messed up in their economics. This teacher “explains ” and “proves” an argument, and that is the end of it. It must be true, because 1) my teacher is saying it, 2) it is in the official textbook, 3) my teacher said there aren’t any strong arguments for another opinion.  Their opinion makes sense because they’ve never heard anything else in a fair and balanced way. So, I must conclude that the college is a great drone factory, to turn out kids who follow the rules and think just like everyone else.

And people ask me why I don’t, and won’t, go to college. Gee, I wonder.

This has been my first Veterans Day as an outspoken and staunch non-interventionist. I would conclude that this is not our favorite holiday. Non-interventionists are just not popular on Veterans Day, for obvious reasons.  We are different, we stick out, we look just a bit crazy, maybe a little selfish, unpatriotic, oh well, I won’t go on.  So what exactly is it about us? Why are we so dogmatic, and almost Scrooge-ish about Veterans Day?

I could say a lot to answer that, but I won’t. I just had a few thoughts on the subject, and thought I’d write it down.

All over the news day they are talking about the men and women who have given up their lives for America.

That sounds very good, sounds almost like something the Ministry of Peace might put out…okay, I’ll refrain from going there. I always end up quoting 1984, wonder why.

We are gravely told that these men and women have sacrificed their lives for our freedom, for our country.

Well, theoretically, if we wanted to be logically consistent,we should have a Jihadist Day too.  I mean, there are men and women around the world who have given up their lives for their country, for their religion.  What is the difference?

Yes, the Jihadists come over here and bomb our buildings and kill our citizens.

But do you think we don’t do that over in Iraq and Afghanistan? Let’s not be naive, of course we do.

Pardon me, if I am missing some crucial detail, but um…what is the difference between our troops over there, and the Muslims radicals over here?

And um, I hate to bring this up, but what happened to being a city on the hill? Setting an example for the world? As one author aptly put it, instead of being a city on a hill, we’re trying to “hillify” the world.

One more tiny objection…am I the only one in America with qualms about the current wars being unconstitutional? Does that not concern anyone else? The Constitution says that Congress must declare war, but in these cases, the president just did it.

So that’s why I am a non-interventionist, and while I admire those who give their lives, I admire the American military as much as any other group of people through out history who sacrificed their lives for something that they believed in.

That’s why I think we should go back to celebrating Armistice Day, and celebrate the end of war and the renewal of peace.

Click here to read the Bloomberg article.

Northern Illinois Campaign for Liberty

Reclaim the Republic

Restore the Constitution

October 20, 2009

Wecome to the Northern Illinois Email Newsletter!

Upcoming Events:

Details for these events can be found under the “Calendar” at www.northernillinoisliberty.com

Gubernatorial Candidates Forum, November 14^th (see note below)
Join us for a discussion with some of the candidates running for the governor’s seat. If you want to make an educated decision at the polls in February, this is a great way to meet the candidates and ask questions about issues that are important to you. Very important: We may be moving the date to November 14^th, so please watch for more details.

Local News:

We now have 60 members and 5 coordinators in Winnebago County. In Illinois there are 7,357 members, and 99 coordinators.  If you have not yet joined the Campaign for Liberty, you can do so at www.campaignforliberty.com. Please consider becoming a local coordinator in your area. The training that Campaign for Liberty provides for coordinators is some of the best of any similar grassroots organizations, and, the more coordinators we have, the easier it will be for each one. All it takes is a passion for liberty…will you do it?

We need volunteers to help promote our upcoming candidates forum. It can be as difficult as creating and sending out press releases to all local media…or as easy as putting a flier on a restaurant bulletin board. To make this event successful, we need to let everybody in the Rockford area know about it. Email me if you’d like to help out.

We are also interested in holding Constitutional Classes this winter, using Michael Badnarik’s 8-hour DVD lectures, meeting perhaps every other week for about an hour and a half. I recently went through this course, and it changed the way I look at government, history, and individual rights. If you are at all interested in this, please let me know because we need to know how many people would like to attend this in order to find a location and time that works for most people.

Featured News:

Urgent Healthcare Action!

Today, October 20^th, the continuation of Obama’s presidential campaign, the organization Organizing for America is asking government healthcare supporters to call their senators and representatives. They are hoping for over 100,000 calls today that will bombard the phone lines. We need to counter this plan and call our senators urging them to oppose a government takeover of healthcare. We need to make our voices heard as well. Please call our senators and tell them that you do not want the government interfering in the healthcare system. That is all it takes. You don’t have to explain why, just say you oppose it.

Sen. Durbin, 202-224-2152

Sen. Burris, 202-224-2854

Audit the Fed

Neither of our senators, Sen. Durbin and Sen. Burris, have cosponsored S. 604, the Senate bill to audit the Federal Reserve. Please continue to call their offices and tell them how important transparency is to America.

H.R. 1207, the House bill to audit the Federal Reserve, now has 303 cosponsors, and S. 604 has 30 cosponsors.

Illinois Corruption and the “Put-Back Amendment”
As anyone who lives in Illinois knows, Springfield is corrupted by Chicago politics. Well, one man is trying to solve this problem and would like to propose the “Put-Back Amendment” that would do just that—put government back in its place and end the “back room dealings of the General Assembly.” The author of this bill, John Bambenek, needs help collecting the 500,000 signatures required to put this amendment on the ballot in 2010. Please visit www.putbackamendment.com to find out more about this amendment. Let me know if you are interested in helping with with this effort.

Featured Blog Posts:

Ignorance is Bliss

Campaign for Liberty October 13^th Newsletter

U.S. Congressman Ron Paul to make Iowa visit

Go to www.northernillinoisliberty.com/blog to read these posts and more.

Featured Resources:

Money, Banking and the Federal Reserve, a movie distributed by the Mises Institute about how the Fed controls the American economy. This film is available for free viewing online.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, this book provides information about the founding of our country that cannot be found anywhere else. It is available through the Mises Institute.

If you are not a member of the Campaign for Liberty, please consider joining. Click here to become part of this movement dedicated to prosperity, free markets, the Constitution, and liberty.

Savannah Liston, Winnebago County Coordinator

“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.”

– John Adams

Find Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter: @northernILC4L

www.campaignforliberty.com

www.northernillinoisliberty.com

For questions, email savannah@northernillinoisliberty.com

For technical assistance, email webmaster@northernillinoisliberty.com

Northern Illinois Campaign for Liberty

Reclaim the Republic

Restore the Constitution

October 13, 2009

Wecome to the Northern Illinois Email Newsletter!

Upcoming Events:

Details for these events can be found under the “Calendar” at www.northernillinoisliberty.com

● Gubernatorial Candidates Forum, November 7^th
Join us for a discussion with some of the candidates running for the governor’s seat. If you want to make an educated decision at the polls in February, this is a great way to meet the candidates and ask questions about issues that are important to you. The location and time have not yet been determined, watch for more details.

Local News:

We now have 60 members and 5 coordinators in Winnebago County. In Illinois there are 7,327 members, and 99 coordinators.  If you have not yet joined the Campaign for Liberty, you can do so at www.campaignforliberty.com. As one of our state coordinators said,  “Members with user accounts have the benefit of receiving breaking news as it happens, access to all upcoming events, a personal blog, and the invaluable ability to network with other liberty minded individuals. Dues-paying members receive a 20% discount at our Campaign for Liberty store as well as discounts at Campaign for Liberty National events, and the ability to lead in your area by becoming a Local Coordinator,” …so what you are waiting for?

We need volunteers to help promote our upcoming candidates forum. It can be as difficult as creating and sending out press releases to all local media…or as easy as putting a flier on a restaurant bulletin board. Any help you are willing to give is appreciated.

We are also interested in holding Constitutional Classes this winter, using Michael Badnarik’s 8-hour DVD lectures, meeting perhaps every other week for about an hour and a half. I recently went through this course, and it changed the way I look at government, history, and individual rights. If you are at all interested in this, please let me know because we need to know how many people would like to attend this in order to find a location and time that works for most people.

Featured News:

Audit the Fed

Neither of our senators, Sen. Durbin and Sen. Burris, have cosponsored S. 604, the Senate bill to audit the Federal Reserve. Please continue to call their offices and tell them how important transparency is to America.

H.R. 1207, the House bill to audit the Federal Reserve, now has 301 cosponsors, and S. 604 has 30 cosponsors.

Nobel Peace Prize
Click here (YouTube video) to hear Ron Paul’s response to Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize, or here is a link to the press release from Campaign for Liberty if you have a slow internet connection.

Hate Crimes Legislation
Congress is still working on a bill that would “protect” homosexuals, and as Rep. Alcee Hastings said about this bill, “alternative sexual lifestyles should be protected.” However, that protection means that our right to speak our opinion will be ignored. And the American Family Association pointed out, since “sexual orientation” nowhere is defined in the law, “this law will give pedophiles, voyeurs, and exhibitionists special protections, which is why the bill has correctly been called ‘The Pedophile Protection Act.’” Read the complete story here.

Illinois Corruption and the “Put-Back Amendment”
As anyone who lives in Illinois knows, Springfield is corrupted by Chicago politics. Well, one man is trying to solve this problem and would like to propose the “Put-Back Amendment” that would do just that—put government back in its place and end the “back room dealings of the General Assembly.” The author of this bill, John Bambenek, needs help collecting the 500,000 signatures required to put this amendment on the ballot in 2010. Please visit www.putbackamendment.com to find out more about this amendment. Let me know if you are interested in helping with this effort.

Featured Blog Posts:

Obamacare Invades Your Wallet
C4L Mass Action Day Winners
Illinois September C4L Wrap-Up
Regarding the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child

Go to www.northernillinoisliberty.com/blog to read these posts and more.

Featured Resources:

Introduction to Austrian Economics Analysis, a free 10 lecture course by Joeseph Salerno of the Mises Institute. If you are interested in getting a solid grasp on the fundamental principles of economics, this is a very helpful course.

The Case for Gold, by Ron Paul and Lewis Lehrman, this book “covers the history of gold in the United States, explains that its breakdown was caused by governments, and explains the merit of having sound money: prices reflect market realities, government stays in check, and the people retain their freedom.” Available through the Mises Institute

If you are not a member of the Campaign for Liberty, please consider joining. Click here to become part of this movement dedicated to prosperity, free markets, the Constitution, and liberty.

Savannah Liston, Winnebago County Coordinator

“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt.”

– John Adams

Find Us on Facebook

Follow Us on Twitter: @northernILC4L

www.campaignforliberty.com

www.northernillinoisliberty.com

For questions, email savannah@northernillinoisliberty.com

For technical assistance, email webmaster@northernillinoisliberty.com

October 16, 2009

DES MOINES, IOWA

Iowa Campaign For Liberty is pleased to announce that U.S. Congressman and former presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul will make a visit to Iowa this November 13^th and 14^th.

Congressman Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign ignited a grassroots movement that culminated in the formation of Campaign For Liberty, a political and educational organization focused on the principles Dr. Paul championed during his presidential campaign and in his eleven terms in

congress.

Details of Dr. Paul’s visit are forthcoming and will be announced as soon as the schedule is determined.

For more information contact David.Fischer@CampaignForLiberty.com.

Iowa Campaign For Liberty, a partner with the national Campaign For Liberty organization, is an all-volunteer organization of over 2,300 Iowans dedicated to promoting more freedom, more prosperity, and less government.

UPDATE:

At 7:00 p.m. on Friday November 13th Congressman Paul will speak in Benton Auditorium in the Scheman Building at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.  This event will be free and open to the public.