tagged w/ Justin Amash
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Is this really the reason why markets are rallying today? (or is it front-running the potential 'cone of silence' from a long-weekend in DC) We suspect neither, but Mike Krieger, having written extensively on the two-party political sham, notes the issue is that both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are at their core the same on the big issues most affect these United States at this time. This past election should have been a wakeup call to the Republican establishment, but based on John Boehner’s recent actions, they have learned absolutely nothing. The Republican Party is imploding from within since its leaders don’t actually stand for anything. Here is how Mr. Boehner treats those within his party that do stand for something.
Via Mike Krieger of Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,
I have written about the two-party political sham for many years now. At its root, the issue is that both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party are at their core the same on the big issues most affect these United States at this time. These issues are:
The Federal Reserve scam and Wall Street theft.
Civil liberties and the destruction of the Constitution.
Our aggressive foreign policy and imperial wars abroad that help only the oligarchs and impoverish the masses.
Then they divide and conquer the masses using relatively irrelevant social issues like gay marriage, which are highly charged emotionally but will not affect your ability to put food on the table.
This past election should have been a wakeup call to the Republican establishment, but based on John Boehner’s recent actions, they have learned absolutely nothing. The Republican Party is imploding from within since its leaders don’t actually stand for anything. Here is how Mr. Boehner treats those within his party that do stand for something.
From the Huffington Post:
On Monday, the Republican Steering Committee, which is chaired by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), voted to remove Reps. Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) from the House Budget Commtitee. Reps. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) and Walter Jones (R-N.C.) lost their positions on the Financial Services Committee.
The four members are known for occasionally bucking leadership and voting against Boehner’s wishes. Amash, Huelskamp and Schweikert are popular with the conservative movement, while Jones has made a name for himself by speaking out against U.S. involvement in Afghanistan....
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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-12-05/night-long-knives-fake-conservative-john-boehner-purges-gopIs this really the reason why markets are rallying today? (or is it front-running the... more
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Dagum
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5 months ago
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Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will only serve the US Congress for a few more weeks, but victories for the congressman’s allies this Election Day suggest the libertarian lawmaker’s revolution might not end just yet.
A White House victory for the former Republican Party candidate was never considered likely by the mainstream media, but Rep. Paul focused his efforts throughout the election season on a bid for the Oval Office that inevitably came to an end this week.
Earlier in the year, Rep. Paul said he wouldn’t be pursuing another term on the Hill, essentially meaning the long-time congressman would put his career in Washington behind him once his current role expires. Even with Capitol Hill soon to be in his past, though, the ideals Rep. Paul touted will likely be heard in the House of Representatives next session nonetheless thanks to a slew of wins this week for like-minded politicians.
President Barack Obama wasn’t the only incumbent who lucked out this week: 32-year-old Rep. Justin Amash, a freshman lawmaker from Michigan, was re-elected to Congress for a second term following a well-received stint that drew several comparisons to Rep. Paul during the last two years. Rep. Amash was among Paul’s biggest backers on the campaign trail during his ill-fated bid for the White House, and regularly went public with ideas that were voiced by few others in Washington, including opposition to both the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the Federal Reserve. According to the District of Columbia Republican Committee, Rep. Amash is among the top 35 most influential members of the GOP under the age of 35.
"We are going back to D.C. and it looks like we are going to have a very similar makeup to what we have now," Amash told the Detroit Free Press early Wednesday. "We've got to work together to deal with our most pressing issue: the debt."
Speaking earlier this year to a crowd at the University of Florida, Rep. Amash said that his colleague’s actions in Congress were instrumental for the future of advancing personal liberty. “This movement is Ron Paul’s legacy,” he said, adding, “Now it is our duty to grow it into the majority it can be.”
Thomas Massie, another disciple of Rep. Paul, took nearly two-thirds of the vote in a face for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District on Tuesday, thanks largely to support from the congressman’s son and fellow Republican, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. Additionally, Massie — a scientist with a background at MIT — received backing from the Liberty For All SuperPAC, a political action committee formed with the goal of electing candidates “who understand that limited government is the basis of security, prosperity and peace.” The Federal Election Commission reveals that Massie managed to raise nearly 10 times as much as his opponent this race, Democrat attorney Bill Adkins.
Kerry Bentivolio, a retired high school teacher campaigning for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District race, also won on Tuesday. Like Massie and Amash, the Liberty For All SuperPAC offered their support to his campaign as well.
Congressman Walter Jones, an incumbent up for re-election in North Carolina's 3rd District, was also victorious this week. As with Rep. Paul, Rep. Jones was adamant about halting the quick-paced erosion of American’s civil liberties and ending foreign wars. Jones has served his state since 1995.
Even after losing the GOP nomination to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Rep. Paul resisted endorsing the Republican Party pick, nor did he support Pres. Obama’s bid for re-election. Speaking to CNN earlier on Tuesday, Paul said, "I don't think there's enough difference between the two candidates, and I assume the victor today will be the status quo.”
"We're going to continue with basically the same policies that we've had for a long time, so I don't see the election, as the way it's turning out, to be very crucial at all."
As far as the Executive Branch is concerned, Rep. Paul may very well be right. Given the success his allies in Congress are seeing though, at least the legislative branch might make some strides for liberty during the next few years.
http://rt.com/usa/news/paul-congress-election-amash-189/Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) will only serve the US Congress for a few more weeks, but... more
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When it comes to war and veterans, politicians can't seem to get enough of either. In the United States, there is a long, rich tradition of going to war in instances where national security is not at risk. Of course, this hardly prevents our leaders from portraying the fate of Vietnam or Iraq as vital to the national security of the U.S. to a fearful public. Then after they've successfully hoodwinked Americans into believing in the necessity and righteousness of marching off to war once again, they constantly remind us how we all owe our soldiers a debt of gratitude. And pity the poor citizen who dares to question the legitimacy or worthiness of the cause, lest he be accused of not supporting the troops, even though were it up to him, the troops would be far from harm's way.
Ron Paul will no doubt receive criticism for his vote Thursday against the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a federal crime to lie about having served in the U.S. military in order to "obtain something of value." A previous version enacted into law was struck down by the Supreme Court in June, after justices deemed the law too vague and all-encompassing. So in response, Congress has recalibrated the legislation to address the court's concerns, and the new Stolen Valor Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 410 to 3. Voting with Paul against the bill were Democrat George Miller of California and Republican Justin Amash of Michigan.
It is truly astounding that a vast majority of our federal lawmakers believe it's the province of the federal government to act as a regulator of truth and lies. However, no provision in the Constitution gives Congress the power to punish the utterance of lies or have oversight authority over the speech of private citizens in general. Even more crucially, the First Amendment explicitly guarantees the right to every citizen the freedom of speech. It does not say that only speech that is true is protected, and indeed, the long, illustrious history of American jurisprudence has affirmed this basic principle time and again, even in cases where the speech in question is incendiary.
Full Story: http://www.policymic.com/articles/14755/ron-paul-stands-up-for-free-speech-in-410-to-3-vote-as-cowardly-house-passes-stolen-valor-actWhen it comes to war and veterans, politicians can't seem to get enough of... more
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Thirty-six hours might not seem like much time. But we are hoping it will be just enough time for all Americans to convince our members of Congress that no president should have the authority to order the military to detain civilians without charge or trial in the United States, or put anyone in our country on trial in front of military commissions.
Using indefinite military detention of civilians here at home in the United States is unconstitutional and illegal and we do not believe it is permitted by last year's National Defense Authorization Act — but incredibly, some top members of Congress seem to think it is perfectly ok and allowed by the NDAA. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has kept himself busy in the Senate arguing that there is a war going on in your backyard and using the military to lock people up without charge or trial is a good idea. He has been more recently joined by House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), who believes in indefinite military detention without charge or trial here at home.
But now is your chance to fight back. No one should be picked up far from a battlefield and locked away without charge or trial by the military, and certainly not here in the United States itself.
Some key members of the House of Representatives are putting party differences aside and are trying to make clear that last year's law doesn't permit indefinite military detention within the United States. They can't fix the problem for the whole world right now, but they are committed to making clear that the United States is off-limits to indefinite military detention. They also want to make clear that military commissions cannot be used for civilians in the United States.
On Thursday afternoon or Friday, a bipartisan group of congressmen will offer the Smith-Amash amendment to this year's NDAA. They range from Tea Party-endorsed Republicans to senior Democrats, including Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Justin Amash (R-Mich.), Ron Paul (R-Texas), Paul Garamendi (D-Calif.), John Duncan (R-Tenn.), and many others from both parties. And a broad range of groups, from the ACLU to the Gun Owners of America to the United Methodist Church have endorsed it.
By working across party lines, the Smith-Amash amendment could pass the House of Representatives this week. But supporters of indefinite military detention are playing lots of tricks to try to defeat it. They even stuck a so-called habeas protection amendment into the NDAA, even though the habeas provision does absolutely nothing. They are so hell-bent on putting people into indefinite military detention without charge or trial that they will try to deceive even their own constituents.
But don't be fooled. You can use the next 36 hours to push the Smith-Amash amendment across the finish line to a winning vote.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress realized that the only way to fight back against indefinite military detention would be to work together on the Smith-Amash amendment. But the only way this amendment will actually pass this week is if everyone, regardless of party, emails or calls their member of Congress, and says it is time to start fixing the NDAA. It is time to pass the Smith-Amash amendment and make clear that civilians in the United States can only be imprisoned after charge and trial in our civilian courts, and not for anyone who the government decides should be locked away by the military without even being charged. Let's make the most of these 36 hours.
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/36-hours-left-tell-congress-pass-smith-amash-amendment-ndaaThirty-six hours might not seem like much time. But we are hoping it will be just... more
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The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act or CISPA is but another example of outrageous and unconstitutional government intrusion.
http://youtu.be/R-dlr0k5DoMThe Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act or CISPA is but another example of... more
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