Selected Blogs
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
The Department of Homeland Security was created as a government institution to monitor and stop foreign and terrorist threats to the United States Homeland. However, particularly under President Barack Obama, the Department has been literally used as an instrument to label individuals and groups who disagree with his administration’s policies as “threats to the homeland.” This Department has labeled soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan as threats to national security, including gun owners and libertarian and conservative groups.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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On Monday, February 14, the City of New York will be launching a new “Panel Management Program.” This program will work with medical practitioners in the city who use electronic heath records to find needy patients. Afterwards, an outreach specialist hired by the city will work with these medical practices and phone these patients for check ups. Once again, the Nanny State has reared its ugly head.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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Over a period of years or more, the United States has been calling for worldwide economic sanctions against the country of Iran. Economic sanctions are designed to hurt a foreign government on an economic basis, so much so, as to make daily life much difficult for those who run the government or are in charge of it. Often times, it is the average citizens in these foreign lands that become gravely affected and hurt while the rulers continue to remain undisturbed by it all.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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Over the years, I have heard many a politician give, what I considered, a good speech. Their delivery was always upfront and direct and the words that they spoke from their lips would be hypnotic and flowed like water into the ears of an audience very slowly, soothingly and comfortably. Their use of the English language would be captivating, articulate and prophetic. It would attract the imagination of the people. No doubt, the oratory skills of these politicians were very profound. It would be in my later years that I would learn to look behind it all. Behind the words, behind the language, behind the speeches, behind it all, and look for substance backed by action to seek out reality behind a mask.
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- Written by: Adam de Angeli
- Category: Selected Blogs
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Adam de Angeli is the Director of Information Technology and an Interim State Coordinator for the Campaign For Liberty. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. |
I recently read a member post that argued that one must sometimes support the lesser of two evils. The author explained it with a metaphor, by saying that, on the one hand, if offered two unhealthful foods, one could refuse to eat either of them, but if being forced to choose between an unhealthful food and poison, one would have to take the unhealthful food to avoid the poison. Likewise, he argued, having no choice but John McCain or Barack Obama, he should have voted for John McCain rather than the third-party candidate.
It is a popular, understandable belief; an intuitive tactical judgment. But upon close examination, it is principally due to this belief that our politicians get away with betraying us.
Indeed, it is essential for success that we defeat acceptance of the lesser of two evils. Therefore, let us examine what's wrong with supporting the lesser of two evils.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
During the 1980s, I remember a commercial for Honda Scooter Motorcycles. The commercial began with the showing of babies in a maternity ward with a female narrator stating the following: "We all start out the same," and then the camera would move to a picture of singer, Grace Jones on the scooter with her stating, "but where we go from there, it is entirely up to you." When it comes to achieving the American Dream, everyone does start out the same as well. However, those who work hard, bust their humps and put in a great deal of time and effort are the ones that are most rewarded in obtaining a business, a good standard of living, a good home and a good and secure future for themselves and their families. They are rewarded for working hard, playing by the rules and achieving what most Americans would want for themselves.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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“Do you know what is right for you?” One will get this question in his or her lifetime possibly about 50 to 60 times, in my estimation. The response, naturally, will be by an individual “Yes, I do.” When it comes to those who serve in government, in the press, in the universities and in business, however, their reply will always be “No you don’t.” Herein lays the problem.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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May you all have a safe and joyous New Year and may you all find your true happiness. God Bless You All.
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I resolve to fight for the rights of Libertarians to get on the ballot.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
To the elites that reside in the Northeast, in Malibu, California and in Washington, D.C. many consider politics as a career and not at all as an opportunity for service. Even some Libertarians, sadly, believe this as well. To me, this mindset is very wrongheaded when looking at the reasoning on a whole.
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- Written by: Joseph DeNise
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A resolution was passed by the League of Municipalities last month during their annual conference in Atlantic City. This Monday the league began circulating letters to mayors to gain their support in changing the way schools are funded in the state.
The shell game they wish to play with the tax payers is to have school funding shifted from property taxes to income tax. Doing the numbers it would be impossible for income taxes to cover school funding without being raised significantly. There is also no guarantee that the property taxes would not be increased once the school funding is shifted.
You can read more at NJ.com the article by Karen Keller of the Star-Ledger.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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The recent "Jobs Summit" called by President Barack Obama was nothing more than a photo opportunity. While he admitting that the job market looked bleak, and promising to put in place more spending to "get the economy back on track and to create new jobs," I felt that I was looking and listening to failure.
No government can bring about economic prosperity (Not even Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal could do that). The thing that government can do is simply get out of the way. This is something that those on the political left will not do. They still follow the Keynesian model which has proven not only to be futile, but has been proven to fail every time it has been tried (for a recent example, look at Japan).
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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During the 1950s, there were three broadcasting networks that provided for the public news and entertainment. In 1967, the U.S. government added another network that was to be publicly funded. The network was called Public Broadcasting Service and the organization responsible for daily operations was the Center for Public Broadcasting. A radio network was also added and National Public Radio was born. To this day, they still operate and get their funding from taxpayers and little from donations.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
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There is no question that the American people are the most generous people on the face of the earth. Every year, Americans give big to charities and to people who are struggling to make ends meet here and around the globe. As an American, I am proud of this fact. However, there is a great difference when individual Americans donate their time, money and effort to assist those in need and when the government does it. Individual Americans give from the goodness of their hearts whereas government gives monies (taxpayer monies) to create dependency and prop up bad policies. This is especially true when it come to the subject of foreign aid.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Many years ago, there was a gentleman that stated to me one time that members of the Libertarian Party should never dissent from the Libertarian Party platform. I have adhered to the platform as best as I can. However, when it comes to one issue, I followed my heart as well as my conscience. The issue is none other than abortion.
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- Written by: Guest Author
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Health insurance is cheap in some states. In others it costs as much as the lease on a Ferrari. This isn't because of any flaw in the free market. It's because we don't have a free market! What we have instead are laws that reward corporate welfare benefits to special interests and insurance companies.
Please send a letter asking Congress to restore free market health insurance.
Use the Ferrari example in my sample letter to make your case . . .
The average medical plan in New Jersey costs $37,164 per year. The monthly premiums exceed the lease for a Ferrari!
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
In my lifetime, in every presidential, senatorial and congressional contest that I have watched, there have been men and women that have promised that if elected, they would reduce or eliminate this nation’s debt. They would claim that they were deficit hawks. They would claim that they understood the threat the growing deficit represented to this nation. They claimed that this nation’s deficit was unsustainable. They claimed that they would “fix it” if they were put in office. When these men and women have been elected, however, they have done nothing. Nothing, but grow government and spend insanely like drug addicts and alcoholics.
With news yesterday that the national debt has grown to $12 Trillion, and
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
When it comes to same-sex marriage, there is no question that this is, like the abortion issue, very controversial. On the one side, you have supporters that believe that if two people care and love each other, then they should be allowed to "tie the knot," even if they are of the same sex. The supporters also believe that the state should recognize these unions and that these unions should be entitled to the same benefits that married heterosexual couples are entitled to also.
On the other side, the opponents claim that same-sex marriages violates centuries of traditions. That it violates Judeo-Christian philosophy and that it opens up a slippery slope in terms of what will be allowed as marriage in the future. That the original meaning of marriage should stand.
Both in my estimation have valid points. Both can be reconciled. The way that it can be done is in the following: Get the state out of the marriage business altogether.
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- Written by: Julian Heicklen
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Juries were instituted in England to act as protection from arbitrary decisions of the King. Originally, the judges in England instructed the juries that they must uphold the law. However the jury has the authority to vote anything between guilty and not guilty (i.e. guilty in part). The jurors cannot be questioned about their decision or how it was reached. Nor can they be overruled. In criminal cases, only the Defendant can appeal. The state cannot file an appeal.
A funny thing happened on the way to the Forum. Two men in England, William Penn and William Mead, openly practiced their Quaker religion. This was a violation of law in England, where the only allowed religion was the Church of England. (Remember why the Puritans came to America on the Mayflower) They were tried as criminals in an English Court. The judge INSTRUCTED the jurors to find Penn and Mead guilty. However the jury returned with a not guilty verdict. At this point the Judge locked the jurors up for three weeks with orders to change their verdict. The jury refused. Finally a higher court ordered the jurors released.
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- Written by: Alex Pugliese
- Category: Selected Blogs
Over the years, I have heard all kinds of excuses on why government regulation is needed. These excuses are as follows:
Government regulation is needed to protect consumers and other individuals from being taken advantage of by unscrupulous companies and other entities.