Remember to Eat Responsibly

While my mother, my father, and I were in their old '95 Ford Explorer heading out to my brother's house for dinner on Thanksgiving Day, my mother mentioned to me and my dad that she had seen on the news on TV about the experts on the networks (Clinton News Network, False News, etc.) who were "asking" the American people to "be sure to eat responsibly." I rolled my eyes, thinking that this is nothing more than Nanny State talking coming from the establishment talking heads who have nothing better to do than to nag people about their eating habits on Turkey Day.

When we got to my brother's house, my mother mentioned it to my brother, who (he's sort of a libertarian Republican) responded, "That's the government telling you that they know what's best for you." Then he said that they first started doing it to people by passing these drinking laws, then these seat belt laws in the state, etc. Now, he said, they want to tell you what you can and cannot eat.

My brother is right. The government has gotten out of control. My mother, who is a big defender of the state, will support anything the state does. However, imagine her change in attitude if the state came after her. Then she'll realize that I was right about the state all along.

Remember, these are the same knuckleheads who have, many times in the past, told us to "drink responsibly." What's next? "Breathe responsibly"? "Walk responsibly"? "Sit responsibly"?

Black Friday Swings into Full Speed Today

Tons of Black Friday shoppers flocked to the stores and malls for Christmas gifts today.

I'm not much of a Black Friday fan, and I'm not into buying a lot of Christmas gifts, but I don't have anything personal against it. The only thing that turns me off about it is the infantile fighting that occurs between customers at the shopping aisles.

If I were to do any Christmas shopping, I'd prefer to do it online, where you don't have to put up with the hassle of finding the latest products that are either in low supply or out of stock. I realize it's not the best way of securing your Christmas gifts for the Yuletide season, but it certainly does beat going to a store and purchasing lots of gifts that can cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Moreover, the deals at the stores may not be the best deals at all. That's a hard-hitting reality to most people, considering the fact that most Americans as of today are in serious debt one way or another. Imagine the interest rates accrued to your credit cards if you owe money to your creditors. Most Americans are buying items that may be overpriced, and the quality may not be worth the money spent on them. Additionally, most people don't take into account that, once you charge your credit card and the fixed APR rate (unless it's variable) is, say, 12 percent, you will end up paying interest on that card and will take you a long while to pay them off. People don't plan their shopping in advance anyway, so they end up maxing out their cards and not use cash at all. In a nutshell, there's no spending controls on their part.

If Americans are going to shop for items for Christmas, that's why they need to junk their charge cards and use cash instead. That way, you won't be in debt and you won't be paying high interest rates that can eat up your savings in the long term.

Federal Judges OK Cell Phone Tracking

Federal judges approve requests for federal officials to harass cell phone companies to help them engage in cell phone tracking, especially by securing secret search warrants without probable cause.

A cell phone search warrant may be coming to your home sooner than you may think.

Zogby Poll Shows Ron Paul at 5 Percent

Zogby's latest GOP poll, released on November 21, shows Ron Paul at five percent. McLame and Slime-ney are tied at 9 percent. The Huckster is at 11 percent, Chumpson is at 15 percent, and Ghouliani is at 29 percent. Ron, of course, is ahead of both Spinner and Bland-credo who are both tied at 1 percent.

As I have said before, and I'll say it again: these polls are rigged in favor of the pro-Big Government establishment. These polls are all in favor of the Neo-Cons who have a monopoly on the polls, considering the respondents who answer the questions (which you don't know at all anyway) are Neo-Con-supporting Republicans. The claim that these polls are indicative of how the average American feels about this boring crop of contenders is just plain ludicrous. Everyone knows that these polls are just biased. One should not take these polls seriously, as they are not scientific, of course, and are therefore meaningless.

Belgians for Ron Paul

Belgium looks to America for liberation. And guess to which presidential candidate they're looking? It's Ron Paul.

We're talking liberation by example, not by a barrel of a gun.

(Thanks to Lew for first blogging this.)

Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich: They Are No Ron and Carol Paul

Dennis and Elizabeth Kucinich are nothing like Ron and Carol Paul. Not even by a long shot.

But, nevertheless, this video of the two is a favorable one. Watch it, and you'll see.

Would You Paint Your Car for Ron Paul?

A couple of Ron Paulites on why they did it.

(Hat tip to LRC blogger Tex MacRae for putting up the video on the LRC blog.)

State to Possibly Hike Bridge Tolls

The social-engineering-worshiping collectivists in Michigan's state regime are pondering a boost in the bridge tolls, according to the Detroit Free Press.

While they're at it, they might as well rename Michigan to Taxigan. Considering my governor Jenny Granholm is, in effect, transforming the state to a Canadianesque province, it might as well be known as that.

Michigan Presidential Primary Scheduled for January 15

The Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan's presidential primary is all set for January 15, 2008.

Michiganders should vote for and support Ron Paul when that day comes. Go Ron Paul!

Michigan House Democrats to Crack Down on Employers Hiring Illegal Immigrants

The House Democrats in my home state of Michigan are looking to penalize the state's private employers who hire illegal immigrants. Their aim is to make it a felony for private sector employers who knowingly hire "undocumented workers" (a politically correct term for illegal aliens) in the state.

Today's online edition of the Detroit Free Press reports:

LANSING – House Democrats want to make it a felony for employers to knowingly hire illegal or undocumented immigrants in Michigan.

A four-bill package would require employers to verify documents for new hires under federal rules, such as driver's licenses, passports or Social Security cards.

Businesses that knowingly hire illegal immigrants could be jailed and fined – up to five years and $250,000 for repeat offenders.

Also, legitimate state residents who lose their jobs to illegal workers could sue their employers for restitution, under one of the bills.

'Every job that goes to an illegal worker is one more job that is stolen from our own hard workers here in Michigan,' said Rep. Mike Simpson, D-Jackson, a sponsor of one of the bills.

Simpson said he’s heard many complaints from many construction companies that they are underbid for jobs by others who use cheaper illegal laborers, some of them from out of state.

Excuse me, but by what right does the state have to dictate to private employers who they can and cannot hire? Private employers have every moral and ethical right to hire whoever is qualified for the jobs in the state. It's called freedom of association, and private property rights also have a hand in this as well. Their call for "tough sanctions" or even "criminal penalties" for employers, whether they "knowingly" hire "illegal" immigrants (I prefer to call them "independent migrants," a term coined by prominent libertarian commentator Sheldon Richman) or not, is an assault on free enterprise. Moreover, the Democrats, who are just as imperalist and statist as the Republicans, are employing Republicanese on the illegal immigration issue, simply to buy special interest votes. This pretty much showcases the fact that immigration policy reveals much about who we are.

Considering the fact that independent migrants have rights as much as nativist Americans do, the sad fact is that government operation and control of the borders have proved to be nothing less than disastrous. When the Democrats decided to adopt the xenophobic rhetoric of the Republicans, they became, by default, very much like the Republicans, and in most cases, even worse than the GOP on the issue.

The fact of the matter is this: this is a country, not a country club. The attitude that independent migrants have "broken the law" by coming into the country, especially when they weren't even aware of our laws beforehand, is just plain ridiculous. As convoluted and vague as our immigration controls are, how any migrant would be expected to know every provision of U.S. immigration law is perplexing. When you hear xenophobic conservatives make arguments against immigration (legal and/or illegal), their chief complaints are that such migrants are here in the U.S. for the cardinal purpose of sucking the welfare teat. Other objections to their presence here are that they are taking away jobs, filling up our schools at taxpayers' expense, and receiving free medical care and getting drivers licenses at taxpayers' expense as well.

The fact of the matter is that hardly any immigrants that do come into the U.S. (whether legal or illegal) are going on the dole (anyone who claims otherwise is being intellectually dishonest and disingenuous). Migrants actually subsidize the U.S. economy more so than we subsidize them, a fact that is often obscured by the xenophobes in both major parties (although the xenophobes have dominant control of the GOP). They even pay taxes into the system (sales taxes, property taxes, rent taxes, and even Social Security), a fact that is also concealed from the public by the xenophobes and their Neo-Con allies. In a nutshell, the "employers-are-hiring-illegals" racket is a red herring that's served to ignore the real issue, which is government control of immigration.

The second part of the nonsense -- that the migrants are taking away their jobs -- is just putrid to the core. Migrants are mostly taking agricultural jobs, jobs that most Americans will not take, considering they pay way below minimum wage. Plus, the working conditions are a big factor as to why most Americans will not accept them. How many Americans (show of hands, please!) are more than willing and excited to take those very low-paying jobs, when it's cheaper to offer them to the migrants, thus lowering their labor costs?

Finally, the third part of their arguments -- the migrants putting their kids into our public "government" school system and seeking medical treatment at our hospitals -- is just another red herring. Those issues are government school and government health care issues. They must be separated from each other and from the "illegal" immigration issue, even though xenophobes like to smear migrants by implying that so-called "illegals" are at fault for causing the implosion of the welfare state, when it's actually the xenophobic conservatives and their statist allies on both the Left and the Right who are responsible for this, considering they refuse to abolish the welfare state and eliminate government management, central planning, and operation of immigration.

One more thing: the reason that most immigrants come into the country "illegally" is that it's too expensive for them to arrive here in the U.S. via the legal channels. It costs hundred, if not thousands, of dollars just to apply for a green card or a work VISA. Plus, waiting in line at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly the Immigration and Naturalization Service) is a nightmare, considering you can be standing there for hours. Moreover, if you lose your legal paperwork to come into the country legally, the bureaucrats wouldn't give a hoot about it; in fact, they would tell you to fill out the forms again and possibly pay thousands of more in application fees (something that most poor immigrants can't afford to do). Those who do pay those fees are either wealthy immigrants or immigrants who have loved ones living in the U.S. and willing to sponsor them. All others are either unlucky or fair game.

I suspect that most of the anti-immigration arguments are mostly racist and xenophobic in origin. I realize that some conservative commentators object to the migrants being here, but I suspect that a lot of their thinking is rooted in inherent bigotry.

The solution is to get the government out of the immigration business and allow individuals cross freely, while establishing real free trade. While we're at it, let's abolish the state, legalize freedom, and restore a true free market domestically and abroad.

Ron Paul: More Than $12 Million For Fourth Quarter?

Ron Paul is expected to raise more than $12 million at the end of the fourth quarter. Unsurprisingly, this is making the Neo-Con talking heads very nervous, as they see him as more of a threat now than they ever did months ago.

According to Bloomberg.com:

Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Presidential candidate Ron Paul said he has raised more than $9 million in the past two months and he predicted his campaign will exceed its $12 million fourth-quarter goal.

'It looks like we can't stay under it,' Paul, a long-shot candidate for the Republican nomination, said in an interview on Bloomberg Television's 'Political Capital with Al Hunt,' scheduled to air today. Paul said organizers expect a Dec. 16 fundraising blitz to bring in more than the $4.2 million a similar event raised on Nov. 5, an 'astounding' amount.

Paul said he has begun 'spending generously' in key early- primary states. He is competing in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, and said he expects to have money to campaign through Super Tuesday, Feb. 5, when at least 22 states may hold primaries and decide the nomination.

Paul called his Republican presidential rivals, including frontrunner Rudy Giuliani, 'neo-conservatives' whom he couldn't support in the general election should his own bid fail.

'They think we're supposed to spread our goodness through force,' Paul said. For example, none will pledge not to wage war on Iran, he said. 'How could I support something like that?'

The Facts on Congressman Ron Paul

The Facts, a newspaper in Ron Paul's congressional district, has, since Paul's first foray into congressional politics, been -- if not terribly hostile -- very unfriendly to him.

The paper, as of recent late, has done an about-face for the most part by showcasing its support for him, considering it has been keeping a close eye on him for years.

It's an honorable thing for the paper to change its mind on the good Dr. Paul. After all, Ron speaks the truth about the issues. He sticks to his guns and has always and consistently voted in favor of principle over politics. The paper and its allies know that he can't be bought, not even by special interest groups who want to expand the size, cost, and scope of government.

It also shows that Ron means what he says. After all, given his clearly-consistent voting record, he is FOR constitutional government, unlike the other lame presidential contenders who pay lip service to freedom and consistently vote to kill it.

Ron Paul Supporters to Pack the Iowa Caucuses

Ron Paul is #4 in the polls behind Ghouliani (#3), the Huckster (#2), and Slime-ney (#1). However, he is ahead of McLame (#6) and Chumpson (#5).

According to the Iowa Independent regarding Paul:

Paul's support comes from the least likely corners of Iowa, making it very difficult to measure with "likely voter" polls. Cynics expect his unlikely coalition to stay home on caucus night, and they might; but if the depth of a candidate's support is one measure of his likely success in the caucuses, Paul has the rest of the field beat. While Huckabee, Romney, Giuliani, former Sen. Fred Thompson, and Sen. John McCain appear to swap supporters every few weeks, Paul's fans remain squarely in his corner. And there is the oft-ignored fact that polls show that a majority of likely GOP caucus-goers favor withdrawal from Iraq within six months, which many analysts are hard-pressed to explain.

(Hat tip to Lew for mentioning this.)

'Ron Paul Baffles His Pundits'

"With His Maverick GOP Bid." And frankly, it terrifies them.

The Detroit Free Press piece further notes:

STRAFFORD, N.H. -- There's no mistaking which house on Lake Shore Drive, about 45 minutes northeast of Manchester, is the one full of Paulites -- the almost fanatical supporters of Rep. Ron Paul. Signs are everywhere. On the back window of a brand new black Toyota, on the bumper of a green Geo: 'Ron Paul 2008.'

'We can run the whole New Hampshire campaign right here,' says Jim Forsythe, 39, from his driveway. "We're the hard-core supporters."

Like Paul himself, the Paulites are against the war in Iraq, against the growing federal bureaucracy, against the Department of Homeland Security, the income tax, against, as Forsythe says, 'politics as we've known it.'

(Thanks to Lew for his blog posting on this.)

The End of Billary

Murray Sabrin believes it's the end of Hillary as we know her.

(A nod to Lew for informing us freedom lovers.)