The truth is non-partisan

Registering trees

2009-07-07T11:17:00.001-05:00

Many places require permits to cut down trees on government land. Do
you know of any places that require permits for cutting trees on
personal property? When we get to that point is the next step going
to be registering trees so the government controls when and how many
trees we can cut down? If you know anything about either of these
possibilities, please comment.

Phone state

2009-05-17T00:11:00.002-05:00

I'm in Greece for a few days before going to Macedonia. I spoke to a Greek man who described the differences between the United States and Greece. He said when he was in Washington DC, a friend started to wash his car. Within minutes the police arrived. A neighbor had called the police. He said that is the same thing in Albania. Neighbors reporting on neighbors. That doesn't happen in Greece. Greek's make less money, but they enjoy life more.

Pull out of Washington

2009-05-07T12:07:00.001-05:00

An interesting letter in the Australian Shooter Magazine this week:
"If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in
the Iraq theater of operations during the past 22 months, and a total
of 2112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000
soldiers.

The firearm death rate in Washington, DC is 80.6 per 100,000 for the
same period. That means you are about 25 per cent more likely to be
shot and killed in the US capital, which has some of the strictest gun
control laws in the US, than you are in Iraq.

Conclusion: The US should pull out of Washington."

The Oprah Winfrey Show/Kentucky Grilled Chicken Two-Piece Meal Coupon

2009-05-06T13:23:00.002-05:00

Dear Oprah, My wife sent me your webpage with an offer for a KFC meal.
She couldn't get it to print from her computer. Not only would the
coupon not print on my computer, but it required me to download a
garbage software before making my attempt. Now I have to uninstall
the software. How many other people had a similar experience? I
wonder.
Ah, finally my wife got the coupon to print. She went to a KFC and they had posted a sign saying "no more coupons accepted." A customer who came in at the same time said he had been to three KFCs and none were honoring the coupons. This is a PR nightmare. Sometimes too much promotion doesn't work.

Support CCW on campuses

2009-04-16T22:58:00.001-05:00

The faculty senate where I work opposes a state bill that would allow
the carrying of concealed weapons (CCW) by permit holders on campus.

I support the legislation. Even the awareness that responsible
citizens may be carrying a weapon serves as a deterrent. Otherwise we
are left unprotected from the "weirdoes and wackos" of the world.
Experience has shown that it is not possible for our security forces
to protect universities and other public facilities from attack. The
examples are legion where citizens have been able to protect
themselves and their property when they are armed. "States with the
largest increases in gun ownership also have the largest drops in
violent crimes," according to John R. Lott who has studied the
relationship between crime and gun control laws.
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/493636.html

Although I do not have a concealed weapons permit, I know many people
who do. The process of obtaining one requires training and a security
check, similar to the requirements for police to be permitted to carry
a weapon. I wouldn't think of asking the police to give up their
firearms, because of the possibility of an accident or of one
irresponsible officer in thousands. Campus safety could know who has
concealed weapons permits so a "tactical nightmare" becomes a safety
net that the police can call upon. What we should be looking at is
strengthening the requirements for obtaining a permit, if there are
legitimate concerns.

I taught for three years in a maximum security prison. I say that,
not because I draw parallels from the experience, but rather because
it shows I have been in some very dangerous situations. I understand
what it is like to be concerned about one's safety and I appreciate
the work and protection of our police forces.

Group successful in protecting family language at CSW

2009-03-19T13:55:00.001-05:00

We were successful!!! Two weeks of concentrated negotiating,
conjoling, writing, lobbying, and supporting have come to an end. At
the conclusion of the 53rd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW),
many in the pro-family coalition had slept less than four hours during
the final 48 hours. But, it was worth it! We were able to remove the
six references to "reproductive health services" (abortion) and insert
six references to "family"!! This was a significant success! At one
point there were no references to the family at all!

The final three days were blurred into one long day as the delegates
worked until 2 a.m. on Wednesday and until 7:30 a.m. on Thursday. The
delegates, and those of us who had stayed up all night with them, had
only two hours to prepare for the final round of negotiations on
Friday. Negotiations became so intense on Thursday night that
delegates from pro-family nations would need to leave the room to get
rejuvenated by the support and nourishment brought by our small
coalition of pro-family organizations. The large International
Planned Parenthood Federation had employed a large, imposing man to
represent them. Several times United Families International
representatives had to block the door to the negotiating room so he
would not enter to influence the proceedings.

It was amazing to watch the intimidation tactics that were used in an
attempt to force small countries, who want to protect families and the
unborn child, to change their votes. It was apparent that the
European Union and the United States were attempting to use various
persuasive means to convince smaller, pro-family countries to join
them in supporting abortion language. One delegate from a small
country told us that he finally yelled at the other delegates, "I
cannot join you! It would go against the instructions from my
capital! It would go against ideals of the people in my country!
And, it would go against my own personal beliefs! I will not change
my vote!" This brave delegate continued to stand strong despite the
agonizing, tortuous attacks he was getting. At times, he came out of
the room to talk to us and to vent his feelings before going back in
to face the opposition again.

During the two weeks of CSW, we saw many delegates abandon the
principles of their country and their citizens. We saw delegates
fawning over the EU and the US in an attempt to gain favor and money
from them by supporting their ideas. We also saw delegates who came
from small countries stand up against the tidal wave of pressure that
was exerted against them.

The Commission on the Status of Women lasts for two weeks. It is hard
to believe that in two weeks so much can happen that affects families.
There were many tears shed at the conclusion. It is wonderful to know
that because a small group of pro-family organizations teamed up with
a small group of pro-family delegates, the family was protected one
more time.

Thank you for your support. It was for your family that we worked so
hard and slept so little.

Thank You,
beverlyssignature.jpg
Beverly Rice
President
United Families International

Juval Aviv correctly predicted upcoming terrorist attacks on the U.S.

2009-03-19T08:13:00.001-05:00

Someone sent me predictions about terrorists attacks in the U.S.
(http://www.snopes.com/rumors/soapbox/juvalaviv.asp) The person said
she was afraid to take a trip because she might be in the midst of a
terrorist attack that has been predicted for the next few months.
Terrorists, government, sales people all use the fear factor to get
what they want.

I agree with Aviv (see Snopes) that airport security is a farce.
However, will there be large scale terrorist attacks in crowded places
in the U.S.? I don't think so. Maybe one or two as happened in
England and Spain. Why don't more terrorist attacks happen in England
and Spain? Terrorists don't need to do more. One attack is enough to
make the population afraid.

Sales people and advertisers learned a long time ago that fear is a
major motivator in making a sale. Alex Jones thinks governments were
complicit in the attacks in England and Spain. Governments use fear
to get what they want. Fear brought the Patriot Act. Fear has
brought government bailouts amounting to trillions of dollars.
Environmentalists and government are using fear of global warming to
push another agenda.

An informed public is best able to deal with crises. However, this
kind of misinformation doesn't help. Neither does government
disinformation.

This is what Snopes wrote about Mr. Aviv's predictions:

"More important, though, the above-quoted predictions Aviv made about
terrorists hitting the U.S. in "six, seven, or eight cities
simultaneously" sometime "within the next 90 days" are outdated, as he
issued them back in July 2005. It seems safe to say from this vantage
point that those predictions were not correct, as no such attacks
occurred."

Eagles feeding on geese

2009-03-03T06:47:00.001-06:00

Eagles feed on geese at the National Wildlife Refuge near Mound City,
Missouri. Conservationists reported about 150 eagles among the 1.6
migratinng geese at the refuge this past weekend. Photo by John
Fisher.

The importance of being honest

2009-03-01T18:23:00.001-06:00

Integrity is fundamental to being.... Integrity means being truthful,
but it also means accepting responsibility and honoring commitments
and covenants. President N. Eldon Tanner, a former counselor in the
First Presidency [of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]
and a man of integrity, told of someone who sought his advice:
"A young man came to me not long ago and said, 'I made an agreement
with a man that requires me to make certain payments each year. I am
in arrears, and I can't make those payments, for if I do, it is going
to cause me to lose my home. What shall I do?'
"I looked at him and said, 'Keep your agreement.'
"'Even if it costs me my home?'
"I said, 'I am not talking about your home. I am talking about your
agreement; and I think your wife would rather have a husband who would
keep his word, meet his obligations, … and have to rent a home than to
have a home with a husband who will not keep his covenants and his
pledges.'"
D. Todd Christofferson, "Let Us Be Men," Ensign, Nov 2006, 46–48

President Tanner said: "Just imagine the reversal that would take
place if full integrity were to rule in family life. There would be
complete fidelity. Husbands would be faithful to wives, and wives to
husbands. There would be no living in adulterous relationships in lieu
of marriage. Homes would abound in love, children and parents would
have respect for one another. … [How else will our children come to]
value honesty and integrity?" (Ensign, May 1977, p. 16.)

He suggests, "The choice to serve God, worthily made, does not
necessarily preclude a home or sufficient money or income, or the
things of this world which bring joy and happiness, but it does
require that we must not turn away from God and the teachings of Jesus
Christ while in the pursuit of our temporal needs." (Ensign, June
1971, p. 14.)

Mitt Romney on the economy

2009-01-31T10:16:00.001-06:00

In a speech yesterday to the House Republic Conference, Mitt Romney
outlined six proposals to get the economy moving. Here is a summary
with my comments:

"First, there are two ways you can put money into the economy, by
spending more or by taxing less. But if it's stimulus you want, taxing
less works best. That's why permanent tax cuts should be the
centerpiece of the economic stimulus."

"Second, any new spending must be strictly limited to projects that
are essential. How do we define essential? Well, a good rule is that
the projects we fund in a stimulus should be legitimate government
priorities that would have been carried out in the future anyway, and
are simply being moved up to create those jobs now.... As we take out
non-essential projects, we should focus on funding the real needs of
government that will have immediate impact" He mentions replacing and
repairing military equipment, as an example.

"Third, sending out rebate checks to citizens and businesses is not a
tax cut. The media bought this line so far, but they've got it wrong.
Checks in the mail are refunds, not tax cuts. We tried rebate checks
last year and they did virtually nothing to jump-start the economy.
Disposable income went up, but consumption hardly moved. Businesses
aren't stupid. They're not going to invest in equipment and new hires
for a one time, short term blip."

"Fourth, ... as soon as this economy recovers, we have to regain
control over the federal budget, and above all, over entitlement
spending."

"Fifth, we must begin to recover from the enormous losses in the
capital investment pool. And the surest, most obvious way to get that
done is to send a clear signal that there will be no tax increases on
investment and capital gains."

"And finally, let's exercise restraint in the size of the stimulus
package." He had proposed $233 billion last year. He really doesn't
define what he means by a stimulus package. Is that the new spending
he is talking about in number 2? He doesn't talk about bailouts. Is
that what he means by a stimulus package? Where does he stand on
bailouts to his Wall Street and banker friends?

Here is some analysis that makes sense. He says, "Predictions that we
are almost out of the woods, based on the length of prior recessions,
are wishful thinking. Americans have lost some 11 trillion dollars in
net worth. That translates into about 400 billion dollars less annual
consumer spending in the economy.

"There's something else people don't talk much about: The pool of
investment capital—all the money available for new investments,
business start-ups, business expansions, capital expenditures, and new
hiring. The size of that pool has shrunk by trillions of dollars. This
was a huge loss in value, and the effect could be felt for years—in
businesses that don't start up or grow, in jobs that don't get
created."

I agree with much of what Romney says, but I still have some lingering
questions. Mostly I'm concerned that he still believes in a federal
government that takes care of people, rather than one that let's
people take care of themselves.

Romney says, "The difference between us and the Democrats is this:
they want to stimulate the government, and we want to stimulate the
economy." However, Romney still wants to preside over big government -
and he still proposes government that is unconstitutional.

Read his whole speech at
http://www.freestrongamerica.com/blog/item/2009/01/30/overnoromneysemarktotheouseepublicanonferenceetreat

Day of Faith at Harvard

2009-01-29T17:15:00.000-06:00

Day of Faith: Personal Quests for a Purpose - 3. Rachel Esplin from Harvard Hillel on Vimeo.

World government is closer than we think

2009-01-24T09:18:00.001-06:00

Barack Obama is one reason Gideon Rachman, Financial Times columnist,
is optimistic that the world is close to having world government. He
writes that "Barack Obama ... does not share the Bush administration's
disdain for international agreements and treaties." Rather, Obama
would abide by "internationally agreed-upon standards of conduct."

Rachman points to two signs that suggest the Obama administration
might move toward world government. One is the appointment of Susan
Rice (of the Brookings Institute and Council on Foreign Relations) as
UN ambassador. The other is that Obama's transition team was led by
John Podesta who wrote a recent report for the Managing Global
Insecurity (MGI) project.

The MGI report argues for the creation of a UN high commissioner for
counter-terrorist activity, a legally binding climate-change agreement
negotiated under the auspices of the UN and the creation of a
50,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Once countries had pledged troops
to this reserve army, the UN would have first call upon them, writes
Rachman.

The new world government would look much like the European Union gone
global. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of
law, a large civil service and ability to deploy a military force.
(Many of these things already exist in the UN.)

So, asks Rachman, could the European model go global? He gives three
reasons for thinking that it might.

First, the most difficult issues facing national governments are
international in nature: global warming, a global financial crisis and
a "global war on terror."

Second, because the transport and communications revolutions have
shrunk the world, world government "could be done."

Finally, a change in the political atmosphere suggests that "global
governance" could come soon. The financial crisis and climate change
are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in
China and the US that are "traditionally fierce guardians of national
sovereignty."

Read Rachman's column at
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a03e5b6-c541-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html

BJ Lawson's reading list

2009-01-23T17:26:00.001-06:00

Here are some of the books from BJ Lawson's reading list:

* The Bible, by God. Whether you just read it as allegory, or
appreciate it as the revealed Word of God, it is full of timeless
lessons that provide inspiration and guidance in a challenging world.

* Constitution & Declaration of Independence, with introduction by
Roger Pilon. I'm ashamed it took me as long as it did to read these as
a thinking adult, but once one reads our founding documents, the
realization of how far we've strayed from our Founders' vision is
clear.

* The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Constitution, by Kevin
R.C. Gutzman. Pound for pound, one of the best books on American
political and judicial history I've ever read.

* Web of Debt, by Ellen Brown. Extensive history of our money and
banking system that illustrates the conflicts regarding money
throughout our nation's history, and the unsustainability of our
current situation.

* The American Health Care Crisis Solved: Money Saving Solutions,
Coverage for Everyone, by J. Patrick Rooney and Dan Perrin. A
comprehensive book that "follows the money" in our current system of
"corporatecare," identifies the barriers to providing universal access
to quality healthcare driven by patients and providers, and provides
practical solutions to move towards health care that serves the people
instead of corporate interests.

* Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, by John Perkins.
Autobiographical account of the often counterproductive world of
international development through the World Bank and International
Monetary Fund.

* The Chastening, by Paul Blustein. Historical account of the
1990s Asian Financial Crisis the the role of international development
through the International Monetary Fund.

* Free to Choose, by Milton & Rose Friedman. Their faith in free
markets and freedom is eloquently articulated in this classic.

* The Next Great Bubble Boom, by Harry S. Dent, Jr. While I
wouldn't use this book to time the markets, he does a good job at
identifying some demographic mega-trends that you can ignore at your
own peril.

* Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment, by
George Leonard. Life-changing book that focuses on the importance of
the journey, as opposed to the destination, and the need to seek
continuous, iterative improvement along the way. It's not the
position, it's the direction.

* Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt. Great book that
illustrates the fallacies of economic interventionism and the "law of
unintended consequences".

* Hooked: Pirates, Poaching, and the Perfect Fish, by G. Bruce
Knecht. Entertaining but disturbing novel about the unsustainable way
we are treating our oceans through commercial fishing. Illustrates the
economic principle of the Tragedy of the Commons — if no one owns the
ocean, no one protects the ocean. Visit www.perc.org to learn how
respect for private property and market-based solutions can protect
the environment.

* The Way to Wealth, by Benjamin Franklin. My favorite quote: "It
would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one
tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service." Dear God,
please let me find such a hard government!

* Hug Your Customers, by Jack Mitchell. If you are in business for
yourself, read this book.

* Beating the Business Cycle, by Lakshman Achuthan and Anirvan
Banerji. If you're living in an inflationary environment with
monopolistically-managed liquidity and fractional reserve banking, you
really should read this book. (Hint: that would be you.)

* Boomernomics, by William Sterling and Stephen Waite. Why's
everybody always talking about the Baby Boomers? Read this
well-documented book to learn how the Boomers and demographic trends
in general affect our economy.

* The Fed, by Martin Mayer. Another great "Inside the Fed" book
that looks at the Fed's role in our modern economy.

* Money, by Lawrence Ritter and William Silber. Classic book on
the nature of money and its role in economic growth. Does a good job
contrasting different economic schools of thought, and asks prescient
questions about the future.

* What has Government Done to our Money?, by Murray N. Rothbard.
Available at www.mises.org , the classic text on free-market monetary
systems.

* Maestro, by Bob Woodward. A non-so-critical assessment of
Greenspan's management of the Federal Reserve (written before the
2001-2003 recession). Great historical and political insight into
major events during Greenspan's tenure.

* The Seven Sisters, by Anthony Sampson. History of the birth and
maturation of the oil industry, and how we started down the slippery
(no pun intended) slope of defending national security, to national
interests, to corporate interests.

* The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, by John Bogle. Great book
that cautions and challenges us to live up to our responsibilities as
the owners of the nation's public corporations.

* The Richest Man in Babylon, by George S. Clason. Common sense
personal finance.

* And finally, Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey . Debt free == Freedom.

Source: http://www.lawsonforcongress.com/reading-list/

What can Americans do about government insanity?

2008-12-04T10:08:00.002-06:00

By Bliss Tew, JBS Field Director

And now there's talk of the Federal Government loaning out another $7.4 Trillion beyond the $700 bailout, beyond our present $11-Trillion of federal debt! Where will our Federal Government get that $7.4 Trillon on top of all the trillions mentioned in the e-mail below in bailouts?

There's only four choices for the government to obtain the money since the Federal Government doesn't have it sitting in a savings account somewhere:

1) have the U.S. Treasury create the money (print it) as U.S. Treasury Notes (without any debt to bankers attached;

2) have the Federal Reserve Banking cartel create the money out of thin air (print it or electronically create it) and lend it to the federal government at interest so the Federal government can loan it out; or

3) borrow the money from foreign lenders like Communist China, Saudi Arabia, etc. This would put us even more heavilly in debt to these potential enemies who have never loved America or our people. What collarteral would these foreign power demand as security for such enormous loans? Maybe our national parks? How about our American oil and coal reserves that we haven't allowed our small oil and coal producers to develop as Congress has heaped prohibitions and costly regulations preventing such development?

4) Sell off federal government assets such as all public lands.

What can Americans do to stop this insanity?

1) Citizens should be learning about how this terrible borrowing and unconstitutional spending by Congress and President George W. Bush is creating a hyperinflation and destroying our national independence and freedom as we become enslaved to new foreign lenders and banking cartels. American's ought to view the 40-minute DVD "Dollars and Sense" by John F. McManus to get educated on the principles surrounding hard money, sound money vs fiat money. I'm trying to raise $2,000 for a mailing to six hundred local businessmen of this DVD and then an invitation to attend John F. McManus speeches in Salt Lake City and Provo that I'm setting up this spring. Citizens have to join together to pull off this kind of information distribution. The DVD is available for $1.00 from www.shopjbs.org .

2) Citizens should be contacting their Congressmen to tell them they will be voted out if they support the $7.4 Trillion worth of loans from the federal government and the borrowing and inflation that such insanity would necessitate. They should phone Congress, phone the White House, and send e-mails telling these leaders that there is no constitutional justification for such lending or bailouts coming from government coffers to private entities. Reach Congress at: http://capwiz.com/jbs/home

3) Citizens should seek to abolish the Federal Reserve System banking cartel by supporting H.R. 2755. Alan Greenspan virtually created the expansion (boom) and the Fed created the contraction (bust) that we're now experiencing. No private banking cartel should have ever been granted the monopoly powers that the Federal Reserves System was granted by Congress in 1913 and since. Don't let the Congress grant the bankers even more powers!

4) Citizens should seek to establish sound money by demanding their Congressman supports:

H.R. 2756 Honest Money Act httP://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

H.R. 4683 Free Competiton in Currency act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

H.R. 5427 Tax-Free Gold Act of 2008 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

Can we convince our friends to take these 4 actions to save their own financial lives and the future of their children and America? Not if we don't pass along this information and ask them to.

Attacks on Mormons are a form of terrorism

2008-12-03T21:02:00.001-06:00

Jonah Goldberg in his LA Times op-ed piece "An ugly attack on Mormons" is right. The kinds of attacks on Mormons would not be tolerated if they were directed toward Jews or Muslims.

Mormons (not the Mormon Church) contributed to the campaign to get passage of Proposition 8 in California. It's Mormons (not the Mormon Church) that are being attacked for taking a stand against same sex marriage.

Goldberg writes: "At a pro-gay-marriage rally in Los Angeles after the vote, chants of 'Mormon scum!' were reported. Envelopes containing white powder have been sent to Mormon temples in California and Utah; vandals hit other temples. Lists of businesses to boycott -- essentially Mormon blacklists -- have sprung up on the Internet."

I read a sampling of the current 1289 comments and most see nothing wrong with the attacks. Although these attacks are mostly verbal, they also have damaged property and hurt people financially. Most harmful is the fear that they create. Fear leads to terror (as in terrorism). In other countries such actions would be prosecuted as hate crimes.

These attacks remind me of the abuse that Mormons have suffered during most of the church's 180 year history. For example, when Mormons were driven from Illinois, they found refuge at Winter Quarters along the Missouri River in Nebraska Territory. That first winter almost 600 died out of a population of about 3000. Two relatives of mine, Mary Peirce and Caleb Neff, were buried at Winter Quarters and have their names written on a monument at the present-day Florence, Nebraska. When the Mormons have taken a stand against abuse, it hasn't ended well. At the Battle of Crooked River, three died and eighteen were massacred at Haun's Mill.

Mormons may disagree with gay and lesbian lifestyles, but they are not likely to attack the people nor even verbally abuse them. Why then are Mormons attacked economically and personally and threatened for their beliefs? I take these attacks very personally. They are not attacks on an institution, but on individual Mormons.

All my life I have been a defender of others' civil rights. However, I don't see this as a matter only of civil rights. (I think all people, including gays and lesbians, should have the benefits of a civil union.) This is a matter of safeguarding my children and grandchildren from a lifestyle that in many cases leads to unhappiness. Because marital infidelity also leads to unhappiness and divorce, I warn my children against that lifestyle as well.

As I write this, I'm aware of the risk I take in expressing my viewpoint. I'm afraid because by writing this defense I may also be subject to personal attack and abuse. I could also be placed on the "Mormon blacklist." I could lose my job, my livelihood, and my security. No one should suffer because they express an opinion or choose a certain way of life, including Mormons and gays and lesbians.

Replace government foreign aid with charitable giving

2008-12-03T08:40:00.001-06:00

Congress, aid agencies, and NGOs are looking to the Obama
administration to make changes in how foreign aid is administered.
Much is wrong with the current way the U.S. does foreign aid and the
Foreign Assistance Act came into being during the Kennedy
Administration, some 45 years ago.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97646244

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (D-MN) says that with pressure to deal
with domestic problems, it would be a mistake to ignore foreign aid.
"Because the challenges and the threats that are facing the American
people from every corner of the world will not go away if we ignore
them."

"We desperately need to reform our system," she says. "We need to
re-engage in development in a whole new way, because it not only is,
in my opinion, the morally right thing to do, but it is what will
bring much more security to our country in the long run."

McCollum proposes a cabinet level official devoted to development.

Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute has doubts
about such an appointment. He says it's better that administration of
foreign aid stay under the State Department.

Part of the problem with foreign aid, says McCollum, is that too many
government agencies are involved in administering foreign aid. Foreign
aid is micromanaged.

Another problem is that most of the aid dollars stay in the United
States. This "services our universities very well; it services our
beltway bandit corporations very well; the only thing that doesn't get
serviced terribly well is development in this current situation,"
Eberstadt says.

U.S. foreign aid also has the reputation for supporting corrupt
infrastructure abroad, rather than getting the help to where it is
needed.

Earlier this year when Congress was considering the president's
emergency bill to support AIDS treatment in Africa, Congressman Ron
Paul warned that government programs decrease the amount of aid that
private groups put into areas of need. "Much of this aid will run
through government-to-government channels and will be vulnerable to
corruption. Some of the aid will be sent to faith-based organizations
who, along with accepting government largess, will now be subject to
governmental controls and will soon become more dependent on taxpayer
funding than private funds."

In referring to the AIDS bill, Paul said: "Africans should decide what
is best for Africa. American taxpayers should decide what charities
deserve their money. Forcibly taking money from the United States and
sending it overseas is unconstitutional and immoral."

He pointed out that when asked what their main developmental concerns
were, Africans said they are much more concerned about jobs,
agriculture and basic infrastructure than they are about health issues
like AIDS.

http://www.house.gov/htbin/blog_inc?BLOG,tx14_paul,blog,999,All,Item%20not%20found,ID=080327_1781,TEMPLATE=postingdetail.shtml

In 2006 Americans gave $295 billion to charitable organizations, both
foreign and domestic. Americans are a generous people. They also
tend to be a lot more careful with their own money than government is.
If government got out of the business of foreign aid entirely,
reducingtaxes and barriers to giving, Americas contribution overseas
would likely be much more significant. Foreign aid doesn't help our
image abroad. Caring Americans could make a great difference.

What would happen if gold were plentiful - a lesson for fiat money

2008-12-03T00:03:00.002-06:00

Ron Paul made the following comparison between gold and fiat money
like that produced by the Federal Reserve:

"Throughout the ages, gold has stood the test of time as a
consistently reliable medium of exchange, and has frequently been
referred to as "God's money", as only God can make more of it.
Seeking superhuman power over money in the way alchemists did in
ancient times caused society to shun them as charlatans. In much the
same way, free people today should be sending the message that this
power and control over our money is no longer acceptable."

"The irony is that even had the ancient practice of alchemy been
successful, and gold was suddenly, magically made abundant, alchemists
still would have failed to create real wealth. Creating gold from
lead would have cheapened its status to that of rhinestones or cubic
zirconia. It is unnatural and dangerous for paper to be considered as
precious as a precious metal. Our fiat currency system is crumbling
and coming to an end, as all fiat currencies eventually do."

Kevin Hamilton's Letter on Proposition 8 and the Mormon Church

2008-11-19T06:46:00.001-06:00

Dear Friends,

In the aftermath of the recent election, we may find ourselves oddly
on the defensive regarding our support for the Yes on Proposition 8
cause. Our young people have been especially subject to mean-spirited
comments by high school friends and teachers. We have nothing to be
ashamed of. We did nothing wrong. In fact, we did everything that a
civic-minded American can and should do. I have put together a few
facts that help me to appreciate our position better. For example:

1. Mormons make up less than 2 percent of the population of
California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total total
population of approximately 34 million.Mormon voters were less than 5
percent of the yes vote.

2. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest
being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6 percent of the yes vote
and 2.4 percent of the total Proposition 8 vote.

3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated
no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the church
were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their
constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like
donating.

4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign.
Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32
million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the
country.

5. Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case
law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted
that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is
supported.

6. The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los
Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in
favor of Yes on 8.

7. African-Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls
show that 70 percent of black voters chose Yes on 8. This was
interesting because the majority of these voters voted for
President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama
voters would vote No on 8.

8. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that
the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs
(assumed to be primarily Catholic).

9. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious
organizations. Catholics, evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews,
Muslims -- all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10
million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons
were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8
coalition members.

10. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords
that each person be allowed to choose for him or herself. Church
leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility,
respect and love," despite their differing views.

11. The church did not violate the principle of separation of church
and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the
United States' Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof?" The phrase "separation of church and state", which
does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an
1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in
several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in
recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from
participating in the political process to the extent permitted by law.
U.S. election law is very clear that churches may not endorse
candidates, but may support issues. The church has always been very
careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support
causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.

12. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution
provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights
to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a
cause that they support and then vote in the regular electoral
process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open,
fair and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being
bigots, liars and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do
-- we spoke up, we campaigned and we voted....

These are my personal opinions and thoughts; any errors are mine and
in no way reflect official church policy or doctrine.

Thanks,
Kevin Hamilton

MormonTimes.com is produced by the Deseret News in Salt Lake City, Utah.
It is not an official publication of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

What can Missouri do?

2008-11-15T07:17:00.001-06:00

In Missouri each time someone buys a a fishing license the state gets
back $11 in federal aid. If a person buys a hunting license, it's
$17. Apparently the federal aid comes from federal excise taxes on
firearms, ammunition, archery equipment, fishing gear, and motorboat
fuel.

Firstly, why do we pay federal excise taxes on these things? Control
of these items is not within the Constitutional powers of the federal
government. (See Amendment 9 and 10 at
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rights1.asp#9)

And then secondly, why is the state on the federal dole? The lesson I
have learned from working for government and government agencies is
that whenever government gives something they want something in
return. For now it may only be reporting the number of licenses
purchased. Tomorrow it will be something else. We lose our
self-determination and independence whenever we take from government.

So what can Missouri do (and other states as well)? Opt out of
receiving federal aid and stop sending the federal government
information or being involved in federal programs. I'm sure this like
No Child Left Behind is just the tip of the federal ice berg.

This section from the Missouri Department of Conservation website is
very interesting. Read more at
http://www.mdc.mo.gov/regs/permitfaq.htm

3. Q. What can Missouri do to maximize the amount of federal aid we receive?

A. Every time anyone purchases (anywhere in the U.S.) a firearm,
ammunition, archery equipment, fishing gear, or motorboat fuel that
person pays a federal excise tax on that purchase.

An elaborate formula—based in part on hunting and fishing permit
sales—is used to determine how much each state gets back. When hunters
or anglers are exempt from purchasing permits, they are not counted in
the formula.

These funds accumulate in two programs: the Wildlife Restoration
Program (Pittman-Robertson Act) and the Sport Fish Restoration Program
(Dingell-Johnson / Wallop-Breau Act).

Every person who purchases a Missouri hunting or fishing permit is
counted as a paid permit holder, and we report the total number to the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The FWS then calculates how much of the
federal tax can be returned to Missouri, which is then used for
habitat restoration, wildlife management, boat ramp construction, and
other good works. In 2007, for each person who purchased a fishing
permit, Missouri received $11 in federal aid. For each person who
purchased a hunting permit, $17 in federal aid was returned to
Missouri.

Consequently, the more paid license holders Missouri can report, the
greater our potential return of federal funds. Landowners, lessees,
people over age 65 and others who receive no-cost permits or are
exempt cannot be counted.

In Flanders Fields

2008-11-11T07:44:00.001-06:00

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army

IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most
memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the
terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915. Here is
the story of the making of that poem as described by an author at
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm:

Although he had been a doctor for years and had served in the South
African War, it was impossible to get used to the suffering, the
screams, and the blood here, and Major John McCrae had seen and heard
enough in his dressing station to last him a lifetime.

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major
McCrae, who had joined the McGill faculty in 1900 after graduating
from the University of Toronto, had spent seventeen days treating
injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans -- in
the Ypres salient.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae
later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that
seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day
if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would
have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former
student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell
burst on 2 May 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in
the little cemetery outside McCrae's dressing station, and McCrae had
performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the
dressing station beside the Canal de l'Yser, just a few hundred yards
north of Ypres, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. The
major was no stranger to writing, having authored several medical
texts besides dabbling in poetry.

In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang
up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes
of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook.

A young soldier watched him write it. Cyril Allinson, a twenty-two
year old sergeant-major, was delivering mail that day when he spotted
McCrae. The major looked up as Allinson approached, then went on
writing while the sergeant-major stood there quietly. "His face was
very tired but calm as we wrote," Allinson recalled. "He looked around
from time to time, his eyes straying to Helmer's grave."

When McCrae finished five minutes later, he took his mail from
Allinson and, without saying a word, handed his pad to the young NCO.
Allinson was moved by what he read:

"The poem was exactly an exact description of the scene in front of us
both. He used the word blow in that line because the poppies actually
were being blown that morning by a gentle east wind. It never occurred
to me at that time that it would ever be published. It seemed to me
just an exact description of the scene."

In fact, it was very nearly not published. Dissatisfied with it,
McCrae tossed the poem away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and
sent it to newspapers in England. The Spectator, in London, rejected
it, but Punch published it on 8 December 1915.

Free market versus centrally planned economy

2008-11-03T22:27:00.002-06:00

"The free market works so much better than a centrally planned
economy," writes Congressman Ron Paul. "With central planning,
everything shifts from one's own judgment about safety, wisdom and
relative benefits of a behavior, to the discretion of government
bureaucrats. The question then becomes 'what can I get away with,'
and there will always be advantages for those who can afford lawyers
to find the loopholes. The result then is that bad behavior, that
would quickly fail under the free market, is propped up, protected and
perpetuated, and sometimes good behavior is actually discouraged."

Joe and the Media

2008-11-02T20:39:00.002-06:00

Let's See-----

A Guy named Joe, who happens to be a plumber with ambitions for a
bigger business, questioned and challenged a Guy named Barack, who
happens to be running for President of the US/Leader of the Free
World.

And within 24 hours the Media has given us more information about
Joe's life than they've give n us about Barack's life in the past 18
months.

Thanks to a diligent press corps, we now know about Joe's professional
licensing status, his income tax situation, his employment history,
his domestic squabbles, his voting record, everything associated with
his personal identity; his education. It's probably been reported
somewhere whether he wears boxers or briefs.

Thanks to a lazy press corps. We still don't know what grades Obama
made in college; how he got into Harvard; when he met Bill the bomber
Ayers; when he stopped doing illegal drugs; his medical history ;
whether he still smokes cigarettes; the extent of his affiliation with
socialist/communist organizations; why he's no longer a licensed
attorney; whether he lied on his Bar application;

Whether he qualify for a security clearance if he were just an average
Joe; what passport he used to travel to Pakistan in 1981; who his
ex-girlfriends are; whether he was or still is an Indonesian citizen;
why his Kenyan grandmother insists he was born there; whether he was
ever legally named Barry Soetoro or anything else besides Barack
Hussein Obama;

Why he needed the help of a crook to purchase his family home; where
he was on Nov. 6 and 7, 1 999; what the long-version of his birth
certificate says; why he helped an anti-American, pro-Islamic
candidate for Kenyan President against US interests; why he listened
to Rev. Wright's sermons for 20 years; how many times he took his kids
to a Rev. Wright sermon; what he actually did as chair of the
Annenberg Challenge; the depth of his relationship with ACORN.

Well, you get the idea.

But, really, I am SO relieved that the Mainstream Media has done its
job vetting Joe The Plumber, who is NOT running for public office, but
who had the AUDACITY to challenge Barack Hussein Obama, who wants my
vote for President of the United States of America."

-- author unknown

And now this from the Washington Post:

Joe the Plumber is not exactly a plumber, he's "not even close" to making the kind of money that would result in higher taxes from Democrat Barack Obama's proposals and has such an aversion to taxes that a lien was filed against him by the state of Ohio.

Such is the whirlwind of information that has come out about Joe Wurzelbacher of Holland, Ohio, since Republican John McCain made him famous in last night's debate. McCain mentioned him more than 20 times to use him as a symbol of hard-working Americans who would be hurt by Obama's tax policies. Obama and Wurzelbacher met earlier in the week in Toledo, where Wurzelbacher said Obama's plans to raise taxes on those making $250,000 a year or more would penalize him in his plans to buy the plumbing business for which he works.

Wurzelbacher since then has been on Fox News, interviewed by CBS's Katie Couric and appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Warren Buffett's buying American

2008-10-27T10:39:00.002-05:00

Warren Buffett is buying American and so should we. Buffett is putting
all his stock in American equities. However, for those of us who
can't afford today's good buys in stocks, we can still invest in
American goods and services. Each time we buy foreign goods at
WalMart or wherever we tip the balance of trade scale just a little
further in the direction of foreign countries and increase our debt to
them. We owe China and Saudi Arabia because we can't kick the habit
of cheap goods and foreign petroleum. Buying American would give our
economy a boost and save American jobs.

From Independent Weekly: B.J. Lawson, the hybrid candidate

2008-10-16T08:18:00.001-05:00

This article from the Independent Weekly web site was sent to you by fisherhouse.nonpartisan@blogger.com.

Comment from fisherhouse.nonpartisan@blogger.com:

B.J.Lawson supports the Constitution, small government, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. His homepage is http://www.lawsonforcongress.com/

http://localhost/gyrobase/Content?oid=266929

Posted on OCTOBER 15, 2008:

B.J. LAWSON, THE HYBRID CANDIDATE
Republican newcomer aims for disenfranchised David Price voters

By Lisa Sorg

[image-2]Ray McKinnon is the type of voter assumed to be a solid North Carolina Democrat: African-American, a youth pastor, Hillary Clinton-turned-Barack Obama supporter and lifelong party member. He lives in Orange County, which, with Durham and parts of Wake and Chatham counties, forms the Fourth Congressional District, the most progressive political jurisdiction in the state, and maybe south of the Mason-Dixon line.

In 2006, McKinnon voted for U.S. Rep. David Price, the longtime Democratic incumbent, and likely would have again this fall had he not met B.J. Lawson.

McKinnon was campaigning for Clinton earlier this year in Hillsborough when he met Lawson. The Republican challenger handed McKinnon a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution and shortly afterward, Lawson had a convert.

"I probably would not have considered a Republican, because I don't think Republicans are friends to civil liberties," said McKinnon, who now runs the blog demsforlawson.com and is a Lawson campaign field organizer.

In 2001, Price, like most of Congress, voted for the USA PATRIOT Act, which gave the Bush administration the green light to mow over fundamental constitutional protections, including those prohibiting illegal search and seizure and guaranteeing freedom of speech and assembly. Although four years later Price opposed reauthorizing existing provisions in the act, for McKinnon, Price's original vote was a deal-breaker.

Press play to begin Listen to the complete Lawson-Price debate (1:04, recorded at UNC-CH Oct. 14) "B.J. and I don't agree on everything, but I agree with him more than Price," said McKinnon, who until recently was unaware of Price's stance on the legislation. "I'm going to vote my principles. And B.J. is the only Republican I'm voting for."

In an election year largely unfavorable to Republicans, Lawson is running an ambitious campaign to unseat an entrenched veteran congressman who, despite voting for many progressive causes in his 20 years on Capitol Hill, has been criticized by some Democrats for representing Washington over his constituents.

An odd amalgam of progressive stances and Libertarianism, Lawson has hammered his opponent on his support for controversial anti-civil liberties legislation, his tacit approval of Homeland Security's proposed National Agro and Bio-Defense Facility and, by extension, his campaign largesse partially padded by defense contractors.

Among Republicans, Lawson is somewhat of an outlier. He opposes the death penalty, a constitutional amendment on same-sex marriage and the "unrelenting globalism driven by corporate interests." His viewpoints may appeal to disillusioned Republicans, but they risk alienating the old guard, so much so that in the primary, many party insiders actively supported Lawson's opponent, the far-right candidate Augustus Cho.

Yet Lawson has raised nearly a half-million dollars in campaign contributions, even without major support from the party establishment. Last week, Ron Paul gave him props in an e-mail to his supporters, generating $170,000 in online contributions for Lawson in one day—and in total, $230,000.

Money, charisma and a resonating message: The 34-year-old Lawson is the first GOP candidate to run a viable campaign against Price since Fred Heineman narrowly defeated the Democrat during the Republican Revolution of 1994. (Price reclaimed his seat two years later.)

With less than three weeks until the election, Lawson may not have enough time to get his message across to win. Jack Sanders, chairman of the Orange County Democratic Party, said that while sometimes Price is "more centrist than some Democrats may prefer," the party faithful will vote for the congressman.

But by peeling off disenfranchised members of both parties, plus courting a few protest votes, Lawson could receive more than 37 percent of the vote, the most ballots cast for a GOP candidate since 2000. With those numbers, even a loss would be an enormous achievement for a Republican in the Fourth District.

"B.J.'s on the right side of history," said McKinnon. "I think people are underestimating him."

At the Cary VFW Hall last month, Lawson hosted a Freedom Barbecue and fundraiser. In the parking lot, cars were emblazoned with Ron Paul bumper stickers—and a few McCains—while inside, Lawson supporters wore T-shirts that read "Every Day is Constitution Day."

After a prayer and group sing of "God Bless America," Lawson took the stage. Dressed neatly in a pine-green polo shirt and khaki pants, his hair cut short above the ears, he outlined what he sees as America's greatest challenges—while criticizing mainstream political discourse. "We've been at war since my kids were born. We're $9.6 trillion in debt. We're bailing out Freddie and Fannie and Lehman [Brothers]. And all we can think about is dresses and shoes and lipstick on pigs."

"We have a document," he went on, pulling a copy of the U.S. Constitution out of his pocket, "that tells Congress how to behave. We need to hold our representatives accountable. It's not about putting partisan labels on folks."

The Republican label, especially this year, can be detrimental in the Fourth District. Lawson, while a lifelong member of the GOP, has distanced himself from the party mainstream.

"The biggest problem is the R next to his name," said Marc Conaghan, a Lawson campaign volunteer (a Scottish citizen, he can't vote). "People are judging by party affiliation instead of looking at his principles."

In one breath, his principles echo the free-market right: the elimination of federal income tax and "onerous" regulations, and the establishment of health care savings accounts instead of universal health insurance. Yet, at times, Lawson sounds like a true blue progressive, opposing the war in Iraq—and the war on drugs—and calling for local, sustainable communities.

Former Democrat Donald Van Beveren of Chapel Hill is supporting Lawson and attended his fundraiser. "He has strong stands on the war, the monetary system, civil liberties," said Van Beveren, who is registered as unaffiliated.

[image-3]

Several elected Republicans attended Lawson's shindig—Cary Town Councilman Don Franz, Holly Springs Mayor Dick Sears and state Rep. Marilyn Avila—but it's well known that many traditional party operatives have withheld their support.

Martha Jenkins, Fourth District Congressional chairwoman for the Republican Party, declined to be interviewed for this story. According to Lawson, she told him not to run for office. In Durham, Melodie Parrish resigned as GOP chair after Cho lost the primary.

"I have a lot of hostility toward the misguided ideas and people who are pushing the Republican party off the cliff," Lawson said. "But I look at this pragmatically. I'm a Republican. I want to make a difference, and we're in a two-party system. I want to reform from within. "

Some Republicans are taking note. Wake County GOP Chairman David Robinson said his group endorsed Lawson unanimously. "B.J. has new ideas and his message has matured over time. His focus is very much on limiting the federal government. He's energized a younger crowd, and that's good for us."

David Smudski, who replaced Parrish as Durham County GOP chair, offered guarded praise. "He's not traditional, but he is different than what a Democrat would offer."

Lawson grew up in Lakeland, Fla., one of two children. His family is solid Republican, and Lawson phone-banked for the elder George Bush in the late 1980s. In 1992, Lawson enrolled at Duke University, in part to be closer to his high school sweetheart, JoLynn—now his wife—who was attending Furman in South Carolina. After receiving his bachelor's degree in biomedical and electrical engineering, he was accepted into Duke medical school. During his training, Lawson became frustrated with the difficulty of getting timely and accurate patient data, and six months into his neurosurgery residency, he left. On New Year's Eve 2000, Lawson handed over his patient cards to the chief resident at Durham Regional Hospital and went on to co-found a hospital software company, MercuryMD. The software delivers patient information to a doctor's or nurse's PDA or other handheld device.

"He left the security of residency for the freedom of what he wanted to do," said Galen Wagner, an associate professor of medicine at Duke. "He went from engineering to medicine to politics. It takes courage to say, 'I'm going to take the risk for the freedom to follow my own interests.'"

Lawson and fellow ex-resident Alan Ying sold MercuryMD to Thomson, a Canadian company, in 2006. The next summer, Lawson and his wife traveled to China, where he re-read the U.S. Constitution on the Internet from his Shanghai hotel.

Lawson had already experienced a political epiphany by watching a YouTube video of Ron Paul in the South Carolina debate, but in rereading the Constitution "in the context of being in China and as a thinking adult," Lawson said, he realized how far America had strayed from its founding documents.

Back in Raleigh, he joined other Paul supporters in compiling "Liberty Packs"—copies of the Constitution, Paul DVDs and printouts of position statements—and distributing them at the state fair. "It was so amazing to see how easy it was to give someone a copy of the Constitution. People are hungry for an honest discussion."

Last fall, Lawson decided to run for office and chose Price as his target. "He gets 65 percent of the vote without trying, and the Republicans never mount a challenge," he said. "But I began to realize Price is not serving the people."

Mark Granville, who left SAS to join MercuryMD and still works for the parent company, said Lawson "isn't a typical politician, and that's frightening to people if it's not their style." A lifelong Republican, Granville is disillusioned with the GOP, and this year, his votes will show it: "B.J.'s the only Republican I'll vote for this time."

A line tailed outside the room at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, where Price was hosting a Town Hall meeting with his constituents. But on this summer evening, the crowd was angry. They called for Price to lead the legislative charge to end the war in Iraq—he had voted against it—and to impeach Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. They wanted an explanation of Price's stance on the NBAF and his vote on civil liberties legislation, including HR 1955, the cumbersomely named Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007.

Its intent is ostensibly to establish both a 10-member commission to "examine and report upon the facts of ... homegrown terrorism" and a Center for Excellence at a U.S. university to study the roots of terrorism and to "conduct a survey" of foreign countries' methods of terrorism prevention. However, the bill's language is nebulous, leaving open what qualifies as an extremist belief system, and implying that the Internet is a dangerous pipeline for terrorist-related propaganda, raising concerns about censorship and surveillance. U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, also known to carry the Constitution in his pocket, calls it the "thought crimes bill" because it focuses on what people might do, rather than what they have done.

Lawson approached the mic. "I'm your Republican opponent. Do you read these pieces of legislation before signing them?"

"This is not a political event," Price replied sharply. "Of course I've read the bills. And I've voted for amendments on some and against others."

[image-4]

Civil liberties have become a litmus test issue for voters. Margaret Misch, a member of the Orange County Bill of Rights Defense Committee and a prominent civil liberties watchdog, has met several times with Price about such legislation. And most of the time she's been disappointed. "I'm holding my nose and voting for David Price," she said. "He's not the worst one, but he's not always been where we needed him to be."

After voting for the PATRIOT Act, in 2005, Price opposed extending several of its provisions, which were due to expire. He opposed retroactive immunity for telecom companies that, with Bush's blessing, helped spy on Americans.

However, Price voted for HR 1955, which would cost an estimated $24 million through 2012 to implement. Civil liberties protections are included in the bill, but are subject to internal review, not independent oversight.

Campaign spokesman Phil Feagan said the bill merely sets up a commission and "is not setting forth law."

Misch is unconvinced. "He defended his vote and dismissed our concerns about the First and Fourth Amendments." She read from a letter Price wrote her. "He justified it as simply attempting to 'foster our understanding of the process by which individuals in the U.S. are or might be led down the terrorist path.'"

Price's centrist stances may stem from his need to cater to conservative and moderate Democrats in western Wake County, where Lawson lives.

"Price is extremely cautious," Misch added. "He will not be out front where it's conspicuous to take a stand."

Yet even in Wake County, many people oppose the bio lab proposed in Butner—including U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, who reversed himself after public outcry about the project. Dozens of people turned out at Price's town hall meeting to complain about his support for Homeland Security's proposal. A month earlier, the department had issued a 1,000-page environmental analysis of the proposed sites, a document rife with missing data. NBAF opponents pummeled Price with questions, and in return, he gave mushy answers: "I'm going to ask very tough questions about NBAF. But I'm not going to develop a firm opinion about it until the facts are in."

David Krabbe, who lives near Rougemont, has fought the NBAF for more than a year. "I'm furious with David Price over his support for this facility. He's clueless," Krabbe said, adding that last month Price erroneously stated in a town hall meeting the number and type of diseases that would be studied at the facility. "Homeland Security doesn't have a monopoly on information. I will vote for B.J."

Price has a powerful position holding the purse strings as the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcomittee on Homeland Security. He's used his leverage to lure a $15 million Homeland Security grant to UNC to study natural disasters in coastal areas, but his coziness with the department and at least $59,000 in campaign contributions this election cycle (as of June 30) from the defense industry have prompted some constituents to wonder about insiders' influence.

Feagan justified Price's stance by saying he "has to walk a fine line and reserve judgment" as the subcommittee chairman. "He takes his role as chairman very seriously, and it's not for him to advocate or oppose any specific site."

Price's conflict only feeds criticism that he favors Washington—in this case, the subcommittee and its interests—over those who elected him.

"He's taken honorable positions in the past, but he's siding with big business," Krabbe said. "He has taken his base and district for granted."

Krabbe is so disgruntled with Price that he is voting for Lawson despite their differences on abortion; Krabbe is pro-choice. Lawson is not and, like many Republicans, supports overturning Roe v. Wade. He has said abortion rights should be a state issue, not a federal one.

"I disagree with B.J. about abortion," said Krabbe. "I'm disappointed with that. But he's really intelligent and I have a lot of respect for him."

"Abortion is the most effective splinter issue we have," Lawson said. "Because I might believe life begins at conception, that doesn't mean I want helpless women dying from back-alley abortions.

"What I object to is that the Supreme Court exceeded its constitutional authority to set a blanket ruling over a very personal issue. But as a physician, my goal is not to have the government in every exam room."

However, critics point out not only that the court's decision has held for 35 years, but there are logistical and civil rights issues facing women living in states where abortion would be illegal.

It is on a few key progressive issues on which Price has been strong—abortion, health care and federal funding of social services—where Lawson risks losing voters he would need to beat him.

"I disagree with B.J. in that I believe it's very important not to think that the free market can handle anything," said McKinnon, the Orange County Democrat and Obama supporter.

But as a pro-life Democrat, he often votes for candidates who hold opposite views on abortion; he's not a single-issue voter. "I'm not going to give my vote just to pro-life candidates. I'm for a candidate who is going to represent me, who is accessible. I think David Price is a great guy, but it's time to move on."

Editor's Note: A debate between B.J. Lawson and David Price was happening at press time. Check our Elections section for debate coverage, candidate questionnaires and updates on campaign finance reports.

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