How Not To Support Liberty

Supporting, and fighting, for liberty is a very easy concept. All one needs to do is understand that basic fundamental points that true liberty provides for, and speak out in favor of them. These fundamentals have been stated and discussed by thousands of individuals throughout the lifespan of this nation, and within many before it. These fundamentals include the right to life, freedom, and property, but also respect for the individual. One cannot say they truly believe in liberty if they refuse to look at each individual person as an individual, and not based solely on their race, religion, or appearance.

Life, freedom, and property are the extreme basics that everyone strives for. Everyone wants to be free. Few people ever want to be the slaves owned by another person. Everyone wants their right to live their lives to the fullest, and never be stopped doing what they feel is their right. Property is the basic right of ownership. A person has a right to own the fruits of their labor, and what they purchased with the earnings from their labors. No one has a right to take them away.

The one thing many people overlook in supporting liberty is the individual. Even if you personally do not like those of certain races, or religions, you have no right to try to eliminate the rights of the individual people within those races and religions. You have the right to speak out against them, but advocating a collectivist block of rights for individuals based on your beliefs is wrong. If you are a true advocate of liberty, you need to be able to bite the bullet, and fight for the rights of everyone. If you do not, or are unwilling to fight for the individual rights and liberties of everyone, you are not truly fighting for liberty, you are advocating you should be the ruling class and anyone you disagree with should be placed below you within society.

It does not matter if a person is white, black, purple, or green. It does not matter if the person is an atheist like myself. It does not matter if the person is Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian. When we advocate liberty, we expand liberty to everyone, every individual.

By Matthew Schnackenberg

_____________________

Note by the writer: As chair of the Libertarian Party of Hernando County, if a Muslim, Hindu, whatever came to me sharing the ideals of liberty with the intention of wanting to run for office, I would support him. I would help his campaign, and I would expect everyone else who supports liberty to do the same. If not, you do not truly support liberty, and the Libertarian Party of Hernando, as well as myself, do not want anything to do with you.

The Cycle of Government

The Cycle of Government

By Matt Schnackenberg

The cycle of government has been studied and philosophized by many ancient philosophers. Also called “Kyklos” in Plato’s Republic, he believes there are four states within the cycle. Starting with Timocracy, ruled by the honorable or honored hierarchy, it evolves into an oligarchy as people push for more freedoms followed by democracy, then it regresses back to Timocracy through the Tyranny stage of the cycle.

Plato’s student Aristotle expanded on this idea and simplified the cycle to a process that is easier to see throughout the world, which states the rise of liberty begins through the evolution from a monarchy to a republic ending in a state of anarchy. Aristotle viewed constitutional republics the most virtuous due to the freedoms individuals enjoy.

As most of you readers know, the United States of America is a constitutional republic. We started as a part of the British monarchy and fought for our freedom and for a form of democracy. Yes, a republic is a form of democracy. The difference being we elect representatives and majority should not have a strong control of the government. There are also rights that should not be infringed by the government protected by the constitution.

“The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public
welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.”
Charles de Montesquieu

Lately, it seems the this young country has started its trend towards tyranny, and could very well collapse into anarchy restarted the cycle back to Plato’s Timocracy, a Monarchy, or Totalitarian Dictatorship of some form.

Most of the problem is that the United States has fallen to become just another empire state in history. How can I say that? Simple, here is a short breakdown of what an empire does.
Control various other nations through means of fiscal or political “assistance.”
Gain control of other nations political systems and use those nations as puppets to benefit the mainland in some way. (Note: This has failed with US puppet nations like Japan and South Korea as they have been fiscal strains on our economy.)
War with other nations to protect “our resources.” Or “national security” as pundits and politicians say.

Where did this quest from empire start though? To quote Thomas Jefferson, our founding foreign policy is “Peace, commerce and honest friendship with all nations; entangling alliances with none.” So we have pretty much fallen completely away from our founder’s ideals in terms of no alliances, but that is far from the problem.

“Our 'neoconservatives' are neither new nor conservative,
but old as Babylon and evil as Hell.”
Edward Abbey

Within the last 100 years there has been a driving force within our legislative halls. That force is called Neo-Conservatism. While generally we consider various republicans to be neoconservatives, but frankly, it is obvious we have neoconservatives on “both sides of the aisle.” Bringing together the two parties into an oligarchy.

Neo-conservatism’s roots comes from a man named Niccolò Machiavelli. Machiavelli was a very interesting man for the 15th century. He specialized in military theory and politics. His overall belief was that government should is morally responsible to inspire people. The way to inspire was of course through military force for “the benefit” of the country attacked. In order to move public support all efforts are taken under the guise of religious, humanitarian intent, false flag attacks, or using events such as 9/11.

"If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land,
it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy."
James Madison

Fast forward to the 20th century, author Michael Ledeen who can be considered one of the strongest supporters of the neoconservative movement. Ledeen worked as a consultant for the State Department, Dept of Defense, and National Security Council. During which he has personally handed out his book, Machiavelli on Modern Leadership, to members of both legislative houses.

In 2002, He has also spoke out staunchly in support for a massive war in the middle east and criticized National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft stating:

“He fears that if we attack Iraq "I think we could have an explosion in the Middle East. It could turn the whole region into a cauldron and destroy the War on Terror." One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please. If ever there were a region that richly deserved being cauldronized, it is the Middle East today. If we wage the war effectively, we will bring down the terror regimes in Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and either bring down the Saudi monarchy or force it to abandon its global assembly line to indoctrinate young terrorists. That's our mission in the war against terror.”

Ledeen during his political career he successfully assisted in spreading and defining the modernized variation on of his hero Niccolò Machiavelli’s beliefs.

“Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security”
Benjamin Franklin

Of course, throughout USA history there were those of similar logic and understanding as neocons today. Those individuals include Abraham Lincoln, Alexander Hamilton, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. These national leaders believed in centralized government power, weak state power, and most importantly increased power of the executive branch. They attempted, and some succeeded, in removing checks and balances that stood in their way.

Outside influences do have interesting effects on government cycles as well. Outside influences like foreign aid can slow down the collapse of a tyrannical regime.

One thing that shocks people is that fact that foreign aid is a form of economic warfare. Reason being, the country that starts receiving out funds start making them dependent on our aid money, and less on their own currency or financial system, to finance large projects or their military. The reason most tyrannical regimes that receive our money stay in post longer than they should is because they use the funds received to buy more arms and finance employment more soldiers.

The tyranny in this country has been slow growing, but starting to show its ugly head. Insane debt, tax-based slavery through the 17th amendment, imperialism abroad, and rights encroaching executives orders and legislation at home is there any surprised?

“He who controls the present, controls the past.”
George Orwell

Is it really that shocking? Back in 1980, CIA Director nominee John Brennan stated with his graduate thesis from UT Austin that “Since the press can play such an influential role in determining the perceptions of the masses, I am in favor of some degree of government censorship.” Meaning that the government has full knowledge that control of the media is key to control the populace that things are going smoothly. That government is good, and will not censor or remove fundamental rights. Just like in Roman, it will also use sports to pull the attention away from what is really happening in the world, dumbing down the masses through useless government education systems, and in some cases use drugs to reduce overall IQ.

"... we are frequently criticized both on economic policy and
foreign policy and we're going back to the old days of isolationism
and the old days of the gold standard. But let me tell you,
big government is very very old, and big government and inflation
and destruction of currency - that is ancient
and based on ideas that are wrong. Those who criticize us
who want a lot less government - they are the past, and
we are the future!"
Ron Paul

History repeats itself because human nature allows it. This is why the cycle has been allowed to continue unimpeded since humanity was first able to collectively think as a community and an individual. It should absolutely be possible to change the course of human events, reverse the cycle to liberty, and freeze the motor of the world at that point. Return this country to a Jeffersonian, now Libertarian, philosophy of limited government and leave it there. We would benefit from it economically and internationally.


Sources:
Cornford, Francis Macdonald. The Republic of Plato. London: Oxford University Press, 1945. Print.

DiLorenzo, Thomas J.. The real Lincoln: a new look at Abraham Lincoln, his agenda, and an unnecessary war. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003. Print.

Ledeen, Michael Arthur. Machiavelli on modern leadership: why Machiavelli's iron rules are as timely and important today as five centuries ago. New York: Truman Talley Books, 1999. Print.

Machiavelli, Niccolò, W. K. Marriott, Nelle Fuller, and Thomas Hobbes. The prince,. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 19551952. Print.

Napolitano, Andrew P.. Theodore and Woodrow: how two American presidents destroyed constitutional freedom. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 2012. Print.

Paul, Ron. A foreign policy of freedom: "peace, commerce, and honest friendship". Lake Jackson, TX: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, 2007. Print.

End Gun Free Zones

Note: This is an editorial for a local newspaper. They limit submissions to 250 words.

Another horrific tragedy has started the blaming the inanimate object game instead of the laws, or rules at certain establishments, that prevented anyone from stopping psychopaths doing these deeds. The laws I blame for these tragedies are the ones that create gun free zones. These types of laws make it so law-abiding citizens are disarmed; therefore, preventing them from defending themselves or others in situations which with a gun they could have prevented the deaths of my innocent individuals.

Let us take a look at the most recent school shooting. It claimed the lives of 20 children and 6 adults. Schools are, obviously, gun free zones due to laws and regulations that prevent teachers and faculty from carrying firearms for defense. While this recent shooting had an unexpected variable (the perpetrator being a student’s father) if teachers were allowed to carry firearms for the defense of themselves and their students, there would have been less innocent lives lost. This is true for all school shootings.

The infamous Colorado theater shooting, and all shootings in general, could have easily been prevented if firearms were allowed. Theater guests (overzealous law-abiding citizens) voluntarily disarmed themselves to follow the theater’s posted rule. This rule unfortunately prevented the ability for disarmed citizens to defend against the attack. If someone had a concealed weapon few would have been killed by the shooter.

These are just two examples of why Gun free Zones should be abolished. Blame these laws for the loss of innocent lives.

Border Fences?

I spoke without writing a script this time. So here is the outline I used.


Border Fences?
I. Introduction


With the insane unemployment numbers (real unemployment numbers being 22.9% nationwide, with adjusted and mostly fictional numbers being reported at 7.9%) people have started to blame immigration and to a vast extent illegal immigration as the leading cause. This being said, the solution many have called for is a border fence between the USA and Mexico. A border fence that stretches the 2000+ miles between the stretch of land California to Texas, and Mexico. The bad part about a border fence is that this is not the middle ages. A border fence would be extremely costly, and generally inefficient.
II. Insane costs and time


a. It would cost billions.

b. Rick Perry stated cost to be 15 - 30 billion dollars, and 10 - 15 years to complete.

c. This does not include cost of security.

d. Repair costs have not been estimated or considered a factor.
III. Other variations that cost more


a. Michele Bachmann wants a double fence! The insanity. b. Debate of electrifying the entire thing.


c. There are other additions like unclimbable brick, increased height, and razor wire wrapped fences.
IV. - Ineffective


a. Explain why a border fence is completely useless in the fight against illegal immigration. According to Donna Keene (Reagan/Bush administrations) and Randie Rosen (Lawyer, MBA).

b. Intricate tunnels made by Drug Cartels can be used to smuggle immigrants as well as the use of vehicles.

c. Most illegal immigrants are those on expired work and student visas.

V. Conclusion


The idea of a border fence is ludicrous.The costs for every variation is to high. And in general it would be ineffective in preventing illegal immigration. In today’s modern age building a 2000+ mile fence is pointless,and won’t solve the problems of today.


Thank you.

References:

Rick Perry. 2012 Republican Primary Debate. Various dates; 2011/12. Television.

Keene, Donna. Rosen, Randie. The Conservative Case Against a Border Fence.


U.S. News. 12 October 2011. Web. 4 November 2012. <http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2011/10/12/the-conservative-case-against-a-border-fence-trying-to-stop-illegal-immigration-with-a-really-big-fence-would-be-a-futile-waste-of-money>
Michele Bachmann. 2012 Republican Primary Debate. Various dates; 2011/12. Television.

Williams, Walter. "John Williams’ Shadow Government Statistics" Shadow Stats. Economics


Website, 2 November 2012. Web. 5 November 2012.

Speech 3 - US Foreign Policy and Blowback

US Foreign Policy and Blowback


Throughout the last few decades there have been a large number of attacks both on US citizens, bases, embassies, and the US's allies. But what caused these attacks? Was it because we are to free? Not at all. It is the United States’ foreign policy, which caused what the CIA calls Blowback; the unintended consequences of actions taken by the US government that the American people have no idea what has or is happening. Since there is a ton of history to cover, I want to focus on three events. The first being who stopped following our founding principles, the Iranian coup in ‘53, and recent events in Pakistan with our drone attacks that is building future blowback.

Now, before I delve into America’s history of foreign policy and total war. I would like to state that the US’s actions abroad is not “our” burden to bare, but rather it is the US government’s. The United States has fallen from its original graces and no longer ran by We the People. This country is now split down the middle, where politicians are bought off and controlled by the most powerful banks in the world. Banks, which control this nation’s currency under the heading of the Federal Reserve, that have the power in one pen stroke can cripple the military industrial complex President Eisenhower originally warned would bring this nation to its knees with its need for imperialism. We the People now have less freedom, our constitution means squat, and this country’s name has been tarnished by constant abridgement of our foreign and domestic policies. This is the blowback from not following our founding principles.

While We the People can make a difference and change history, this is the wrong speech for me to discuss solutions. To even begin talking solutions, there must be a better understanding of this country’s history, why blowback, like the 9/11 attacks and recent embassy attacks are happening today.

Foreign policy in this country should be very simple to state and understand. Thomas Jefferson said it in its simplest form, “Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship. No entangling alliances.” These words can easily be used to summarize most of the first 90 years of this nation’s history. What happened then though, is where things went awry.

Elected March 4, 1861 was the beginning of the US’s decline. Who was elected 1861? Historian Thomas DiLorenzo in his book “The Real Lincoln” as well as I, would state the worst president in US history was elected that day, Abraham Lincoln. To quickly summarize the disaster he caused. He abridged the 10th amendment right to secession for states. He started the Civil War. That’s right, he was warned that if he sent his ship to the south to resupply his bases, instead of pulling his troops out of the newly seceded states, Fort Sumter would attack. The civil war was entirely avoidable.

The Civil War was the worst example of tyranny by any president. During which, Lincoln enacted the basic war ideology of total war, meaning, civilians could and would be targeted, not just the enemy armies. This lead to the burning of the majority of all cities, towns, and farms. This lead to starvation of many women and children. Women were also raped by Northern soldiers. During the entire campaign, Lincoln visited general Ulysses S. Grant on the front lines to relish in stories of the latest escapades of his soldiers in the south.

Due to Lincoln’s actions, it allowed future imperialistic actions to flourish.

The cold war was the beginning of the USA’s fight for puppet control over many nations. The blowback has come in small doses so far, but it is building. During the cold war, we were in a constant battle with the USSR. We took control of many nations through different means. Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Nicaragua, to name a few. We took these nations over through various methods. Placement of US bases, economic benefits and control, funded coup d'etats, or just bolstering a dictator with arms and money.

The CIA is involved in the majority of the coups and funding of dictators and questionable organizations. Some of the best known organizations the CIA helped, and is still helping maintain power, is Al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Contras and the Mujahedin-e. Individuals who gained the most power thanks to our interventions include Mubarak, the former Egyptian leader; Osama bin Laden, former leader of Al-Qaeda; and Saddam Hussein former leader of Iraq.

While there have been at least 30 CIA coups, I want to focus on is the Iranian coup in 1953. During that year a man named Mohammad Mosaddegh was democratically elected as prime minister of Iran. Mosaddegh wanted to nationalize the oil fields controlled by the company now known as BP. After tensions between Britain and Iran increased, the US intervened telling Iran to denationalize their oil fields. After negotiations failed, the US had the CIA fund a coup that reinstated the US and Britain favoring Shah. Mosaddegh was places in house arrest for the rest of his life. An interactive telling of it can be viewed by playing the free game Cat and Coup.

In 1979, the Iranian people overthrew the Shah, and placed the current Iranian government that is likely to be this country's next war.

Within the recent decade, the USA has been conducting drone strikes against “targeted” individuals. Sadly, the accuracy is just as poor as the smart bombs used in WW2. Many civilians are killed in each attack. Our most heavily targeted country is Pakistan. Due to the attacks President Obama and Bush issued, the Pakistani people are demanding their government to take action, and end all alliances. As more attacks happen, the stronger their hatred, the more frequent attacks on embassies, tourists, and soldiers on their soil. This is true everywhere we bomb, occupy, or manipulate.

America’s History of Foreign Policy is an interesting one. Its history is deep within this nation’s roots. If there was more time, I would have loved to go over it in way more detail. Still understanding the point where things went awry, a nice midpoint since that is rearing its head, and our most recent actions in countries like Pakistan allows for understanding of the blowback taken against us. Blowback is brewing, greater every day. They do not hate us because we are free, they hate us because we are there destroying their lives.







Outline:




US Foreign Policy and Blowback
I. Introduction


Throughout the last few decades there have been a large number of attacks both on US citizens, bases, embassies, and the US's allies. But what caused these attacks? Was it because we are to free? Not at all. It is the United States’ foreign policy, which caused what the CIA calls Blowback; the unintended consequences of actions taken by the US government that the American people have no idea what has or is happening. Since there is a ton of history to cover, I want to focus on three events. The first being who stopped following our founding principles, the Iranian coup in ‘53, and recent events in Pakistan with our drone attacks that is building future blowback.
II. National Breakdown


a. Discuss our national breakdown that has lead to many issues and problems around the world.

b. Dwight Eisenhower’s warning about the Military Industrial Complex did not scratch the surface of what was really controlling the strings of our fall.

c. We the People’s loss of liberties grave form of domestic blowback of bad policy.
III. Purpose and Understanding


a. Explain that knowing this country’s history allows a better understanding of how things happened. b. Discuss how this all benefits everyone.


c. Explain basics of proper foreign policy using Thomas Jefferson’s quote “Peace, commerce, and honest friendship. No entangling alliances.”
IV. - Lincoln
a. His use of total war.
b. Attacks on the civilians and those who spoke against his policies.


V. CIA
a. Funding of terrorism; Bin Laden; Al-Qaeda; etc.
b. Mention their involvement in numerous coups; Iraq, Sudan, etc.
c. Discuss in some detail the coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh.

VI. Pakistan
a. Point out inaccuracy of the drone bomb; similar to “smart bombs.”
b. Citizens are rising up against USA due to civilian death toll.
c. Constantly increases in blowback due to the US government’s actions.

VII. Conclusion


America’s History of Foreign Policy is an interesting one. Its history is deep within this nation’s roots. If there was more time, I would have loved to go over it in way more detail. Still understanding the point where things went awry, a nice midpoint since that is rearing its head, and our most recent actions in countries like Pakistan allows for understanding of the blowback taken against us. Blowback is brewing, greater every day. They do not hate us because we are free, they hate us because we are there destroying their lives.

References:

Jefferson, Thomas. "First Inaugural Address In the Washington, D.C." Bartleby Bookstore. Web. October 21, 2012. <http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres16.html>.

DiLorenzo, Thomas. The Real Lincoln. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2002. Print

The Cat and the Coup. Version 1.0. Peter Brinson and Kurosh ValaNejad. Digital: Steam. October 21, 2012.

Speech 2 - Informative - Libertarian Party

The Libertarian Party

Many of you here are a part of the Republican or Democrat parties. Many of you know about their platforms. But how how many of you know about Libertarian party and its platform? A way to think of the libertarian platform is true fiscal conservatism, the promotion of individualism, and strict adherence to the non-aggression principle. The party itself is a viable option past the typical two-party dichotomy we are used to.

The Libertarian Party was founded in 1971. It is currently the third largest and fastest growing party in this country. We believe in state rights, and the ability for states to nullify federal legislation.

Currently there are a large number of candidates running for election. The Libertarian presidential candidate is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson, and VP candidate is current California Supreme Court Judge Jim Gray. Here in Florida the LP has Calen Fretts running for congress; as well as, Peter Richter and Jonathan Loesche running for state house. Calen and Peter are both highly likely to win their seats, making history in this state by being the first Libertarians to hold those seats in Florida. All these candidates strongly stand for the party’s platform.

The first major plank of the libertarian platform is Fiscal conservatism. The overall belief is that everyone should own the entirety of the fruits of their labor. Direct taxation like income tax is immoral and there are other ways to raise funding for government. Also, we believe the government has grown way too big, therefore needs to be reduced to reasonable, constitutionally mandated, and fiscally responsible levels. We also want to end the Federal Reserve, and reduce spending; not just simply balance the budget while secretly raising spending.

Lew Rockwell, an austrian economist and founder of the Ludwig von Mises Institute stated that:

“The larger the government, the more our livings standards are reduced. We are fortunate as a civilization that the progress of free enterprise generally outpaces the regress of government growth, for, if that were not the case, we would be poorer each year - not just in relative terms, but absolutely poorer too. The market is smart and the government is dumb, and to these attributes do we owe the whole of our economic well-being.”

This is a perfect quote quantifying the libertarian belief in austrian economics and limited government.

The second plank of the platform is the belief in individualism and the non-aggression principle. The text book of individualism is the belief in the importance of individual civil rights, in the virtues of self-reliance, and personal independence from the state. The not-textbook definition is, I am an individual, and no one has the right to stop me from doing what I or what any other individual wants to do. If I want to smoke pot, no one should tell me I cannot smoke. If I want to own a dozen guns, its not any governance’s right to know what they are. As long as what I am doing does not interfere with another person’s life or rights, except if by mutual contract, then its fair game.

Acts of violence is a violation of a person’s individual rights, and goes against the non-aggression principle. Former Republican presidential candidate in 2008 & 2012, who also ran as Libertarian candidate in 1988, Ron Paul stated in his book Freedom Under Siege:

"All initiation of force is a violation of someone else's rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state, for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals, even if it's supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals."

This quote pretty much completely states exactly what the non-aggression principle advocates, except individuals do have the right to defend themselves.

So, How many of you now know about Libertarian party and it platform? Excellent, now you all have a better understanding of the Libertarian Party and its platform. A party that has become a viable option in local, state, and federal elections versus just those two-party system we know today. A party with a strong platform of fiscal conservatism and individual understanding, that promotes peace and, non-aggressive.

Thank you.


References:

Rockwell, Llewellyn. “Seeing the Unseen.” LewRockwell.com. January 1st, 2008. Web.
September 26th, 2012.

Paul, Ron. Freedom Under Siege. Lake Jackson: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, Inc., 1987.

 

Outline:

I. Introduction

Many of you here are a part of the Republican or Democrat parties. Many of you know about their platforms. But how how many of you know about Libertarian party and its platform? A way to think of the libertarian platform is true fiscal conservatism and social individualism; as well, as strict adherence to the non-aggression principle. The party itself is a viable option past the typical two-party dichotomy we are used to.

II. The Party

a. Give a variety of information on the LP ranging from current presidential
candidates, one or two state candidates, party size, and growth information.

III. Fiscal conservatism.

 a. Explain all key points.
i. small government
ii. debt reduction
iii. reduced taxation
b. Discuss how this all benefits everyone.
c. Use the following quotation from Llewellyn “Lew” Rockwell, founder of the


Ludwig von Mises Institute -

The larger the government, the more our livings standards are reduced. We are fortunate as a civilization that the progress of free enterprise generally outpaces the regress of government growth, for, if that were not the case, we would be poorer each year - not just in relative terms, but absolutely poorer too. The market is smart and the government is dumb, and to these attributes do we owe the whole of our economic well-being.

IV. Individualism and the Non-Aggression Principle.

a. Give the basic definition of individualism ie the everyone is an individual
therefore should be respected as an individual.
b. Use this quote from former republican and libertarian presidential candidate Dr. Ron Paul. -

"All initiation of force is a violation of someone else's rights, whether initiated by an individual or the state, for the benefit of an individual or group of individuals, even if it's supposed to be for the benefit of another individual or group of individuals."

V. Conclusion

So, How many of you now know about Libertarian party and it platform? Excellent, now you all have a better understanding of the Libertarian Party and its platform. A party that has become a viable option in local, state, and federal elections versus just those two-party system we know today. A party with a strong platform of fiscal conservatism and individual understanding, that promotes peace and, non-aggressive.


References:

Rockwell, Llewellyn. “Seeing the Unseen.” LewRockwell.com. January 1st, 2008. Web.
September 26th, 2012.

Paul, Ron. Freedom Under Siege. Lake Jackson: Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, Inc., 1987.

One Algorithm Made Up 4% Of All Trading Last Week

No one knows where it came from, or what it was meant to do, but 4 percent of all trading in the U.S. stock market last week was executed by one algorithm, CNBC reports.

  Nanex, a market data firm, told CNBC that the algorithm was placing orders once every 25 milliseconds and then canceling them. The orders went out in bursts of 200, then 400, and then 1,000 orders.

Then suddenly, around 10:30 AM on Friday, the algorithm stopped entirely.

Nanex has the animation that helped them zoom in to the mysterious algorithm posted here.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/mystery-algorithm-4-of-trading-last-week-2012-10#ixzz28sDtZyZY

______________________________________________________________

This type of trading needs to be banned.

Biologists Replay 500 Million Years Of E Coli Evolution In The Lab

Biology is changing so rapidly and fundamentally that it's hard to keep track of the revolutionary transformations that are afoot.

Here's one of them. Synthetic biology is the design and construction of biological systems not found in nature. This is engineering-- using molecular building blocks to create new biomolecules, such as genes.

Here's another technique. By comparing the DNA of related species, biologists can work out the DNA structure of their common ancestors.

Then, using synthetic biology, they can reconstruct these sequences in the lab. In this way, biologists have begun to resurrect all kinds of ancient biomolecules, including hormone receptors and even ancient molecular machines.

Today, Betül Kaçar and Eric Gaucher at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta reveal that they have combined these techniques to perform a remarkable experiment.

These guys have reconstructed an ancient gene from an ancestor of the bacterial organism E coli that lived some 500 million years ago. They've then replaced the modern version of this gene with the ancient one in a population of E coli.

Continued Here

________________________________________________________


This is an interesting piece of news that truly makes you think about what scientists can study and possibly prove with new technologies.

Things are moving along

Yesterday was a great day for Hernando County Florida. The members of the Libertarian Party had our vote and elected our incumbent chairman, vice-chair, secretary, and treasure.

With this, we are starting to build a new chapter in Hernando County. One that will lead to a new, powerful voice that will influence politics in the county.

I was nominated to become the chairman of the party in Hernando. I welcome to responsibility and will do everything in my power to support our activism and growth.

Speech 1 - Introduction: Journalism

Speech Outline:

I. Introduction

Journalism has been one of my main passions for the last decade. I enjoyed the work and process needed to create a great articles. My drive to create great, entertaining pieces have lead me to work for one of the most exciting industries write for; the video game industry. It has allowed me to meet many amazing people, and achieve quite a bit of notoriety as a writer. Let me tell you about my experience.

II. Journalism I

a. Mention short term under PlayStation 3 Portal banner before merger.

b. Detail work done at PlayStation Universe

III. Journalism II

a. Start discussing my beginning at VGChartz.com.

b. Discuss Corporate Relations work and mention how high in corporate ladders I have worked with before.

c. Detail other written work done at VGChartz.

IV.. Conclusion

The last decade has been a very enjoyable experience for me as a journalist. Being a journalist in the video game industry was great fun. It allowed me create a vast number of articles, game reviews, and meet some amazing people. The pinnacle of my work forever immortalized on various game box arts, and in my readers minds.

Speech:

Journalism has been one of my main passions for the last decade. I enjoyed the work and process needed to create a great articles. My drive to create great, entertaining pieces have lead me to work for one of the most exciting industries write for; the video game industry. It has allowed me to meet many amazing people, and achieve quite a bit of notoriety as a writer. Let me tell you about my experience.

In 2006, I started writing for a website called PlayStation 3 Portal. It was a small website with ambitious owners looking to grow the site. After a few short months of writing, the website merge with another PlayStation website to become what is now known as PlayStation Universe. With the merger we obtained a much larger reader base, and more call for game reviews, as well as editorials. After assisting with corporate relations work, we started to receive games from publishers to review. I was not with PSU for very long, maybe a year at best. During which I reviewed around 30 titles, wrote 4 editorials, and a few hundred news articles.

Mid 2007, I started to work for VGChartz.com. A very controversial site due to the independent nature of sales tracking the website has become known for. I worked for the site till May 2011. During my four year stay, I worked corporate relations and had earned the direct numbers to CEOs in companies like Sony World Studios, Epic Games, and Electronic Arts. I wrote press releases, news articles and game reviews. I’ve reviewed acclaimed titles like Battlefield Bad Company 2, Rift, and the Sam & Max franchise. A number of the games I reviewed have featured my scores their retail game box arts.

The last decade has been a very enjoyable experience for me as a journalist. Being a journalist in the video game industry was great fun. It allowed me create a vast number of articles, game reviews, and meet some amazing people. The pinnacle of my work forever immortalized on various game box arts, and in my readers minds.

Thank You.

Update 9/15/2012 - School and Liberty

Hello readers!

 Sorry for the slight inactivity. I will continue to post news pieces and give opinions on them as I can. College classes and homework has taken up a good percentage of my time, and I have been asked to take an even greater role in creating an official local charter of the Libertarian Party.

Since I am in a speech class, I think I will post the speeches here. Kind of as a helpful example for those taking Public Speaking, those looking for speech samples, or generally just interested in a reading a random speech. The first speech will probably be posted Tuesday. It is just a basic introduction speech, but it does have my political, journalistic history, and some self-education discussion within,

Thanks for reading my blog and your continued support!

With Liberty,
- Matt Schnackenberg

Fed will do whatever it takes to get hiring going

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Fed up with the anemic pace of hiring, the Federal Reserve promised Thursday that it would do whatever it takes to reduce unemployment. 

The Fed stepped up its efforts to boost economic growth, opting for a round of quantitative easing, in a meaningful change in its tactics. 

The Federal Open Market Committee said it would buy an additional $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed bonds, above and beyond the bonds it is now buying as a part of Operation Twist. 

This is the QE3 that’s been talked about so much. 

 

Significantly, the new bond-buying plan is open-ended, meaning that the Fed will keep buying long-term bonds until it sees a substantial improvement in the job market. If hiring doesn’t pick up, the Fed could step up the pace of bond-buying until it does. 

The key phrase in the Fed’s statement was this: “If the outlook for the labor market does not improve substantially, the Committee will continue its purchases of agency mortgage-backed securities, undertake additional asset purchases, and employ its other policy tools as appropriate until such improvement is achieved in a context of price stability.”

Continued Here

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The Federal Reserve has basically declared that QE3 will happen. While Bernanke stated he will only do it if the labor market doesn't improve, there is no way it can while interest rates are artificially low. The economy is in shambled because of his/their actions and therefore needs to be ended, not encouraged. Sadly, there is no way to stop this from happening at this current moment. Expect another depression much deeper than the one the Fed originally created in the 30s.

Dime Cards to Replace U.S. Currency?

I just wanted to share this video. Dime cards are such an interesting idea and a great alternative currency.

Some Of The Really Bad Things That Could Happen If You Do Not Prepare For The Coming Economic Collapse

Most people just assume that since things have always been a certain way that they will always be that way in the future.  Most people just have blind faith that the people running our government and our financial system know exactly what they are doing and that they are doing their best to take care of us.  In fact, once upon a time I was fully convinced of that.  When I was a kid I quickly realized that my elementary school teachers really didn't have the answers, but I had total faith that those running society at the highest levels were "experts" that were looking out for our best interests.  As time went on I kept progressing in my education, and by the time I was finished with law school I came to understand that none of our "experts" really know what they are doing, and they are definitely not looking out for our best interests.  The blind are leading the blind and we all need to finally admit that the emperor is not wearing any clothes.  Unfortunately, most Americans will repeat the mantra of "if that was true I would have heard about it on the news" until it is way too late.  Most people are waiting for the "authorities" to tell them what to do instead of thinking for themselves.  Sadly, time is rapidly running out and a lot of people are going to end up getting totally blindsided by what is coming.

The man in charge of our financial system, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, is not going to save our economy.  He didn't see the last financial crisis coming, and even after things started falling apart he continued to insist that housing prices would not go down and that we would not have a recession.

Well, it turned out that we had the worst housing crash and the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But still millions of Americans are trusting him to save us this time around.
It isn't going to happen.

The truth is that the design of the Federal Reserve system itself is fundamentally flawed.
The biggest reason why the U.S. government is 16 trillion dollars in debt is because the system is designed to create gigantic amounts of government debt.

Yes, without a doubt the vast majority of our politicians are corrupt and/or incompetent, but even if we replaced every single one of them our economic problems would still persist until the underlying structural problems were addressed.

Continued here

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All I have to say to this is that I agree completely. Those who are unprepared for the crash that will happen needs to get moving and set themselves up for the hard times ahead.

RNC Day 3 - Titanic Act 3

Yesterday was a very interesting day at the final day at the RNC. The speeches were extremely statist. If the Republican Party actually thinks the liberty movement would be attracted to the cold reception and statism on show, they are insane.

Condoleezza Rice basically gave a giant war propaganda speech. She hailed how we are doing good around the world, and that we should be at war with even more nations to farther promote democracy. Because democracy and bombs go so well together. Guess she wants it all to blowback in our face with an incredible force.

Marco Rubio's speech was also interesting. He actually straight-up stated America chose more government versus more freedom. I don't think they chose, but rather were brainwashed into accepting it, but whatever helps him sleep at night.

After these two, and a number of other, clowns, it was was the ringleader Mitt Romney's turn to speak. His speech just cemented his idiocy on so many levels. He cheered empire abroad, and imagined unity at home. He attacked Obama on things that he himself supports. He believe not changing anything but the letter of behind the president's name will so how allow economic stability. Of course as one of the walls stated: US Debt 16~ trillion, We Built That. And it was built and grown by both parties.

Overall these three days have displayed why neither Romney or Obama should be president. Neither are qualified for the job. The corruption of the GOP, and Obama's failures during his first term, display this country is heading towards dark times before we accomplish re-achieving liberty in this country.

RNC Day 2 - Titanic Act 2

To the life boats!

That is what basically happened today at the Republican National Convention. With staged walk-outs, a very pathetic tribute to Dr. Ron Paul, and Rand Paul's speech, you would think the Republican Party doesn't have a clue yet their ship hit an iceberg. Guess that is the benefit of being in "first class."

Today was in general a very boring day at the RNC. There were a number of protests and attempts to re-amend party rules, which ended in failure, but nothing worth going into detail about.

The majority of Goldwater conservatives and Ron Paul libertarian-conservative have pretty much been shunned. The party is digging its centralist roots deeper into the ground and saying no to those who stand against it. Therefore it is time for those who fought against tyranny will leave the oldest tyrannical party in the USA.

The boat is basically sunk for the Republican party. Those that want to be saved are fleeing to the lifeboats, and the rest will soon feel the cold existence that awaits them in those dark waters.

All I have to say is congrats to all delegates who staged the walk-out this evening, and may you leave the republican party very, very soon.

RNC Day 1 - Titanic Act 1

The smoke has cleared on the first full day of the Republican National Convention. So what have we learned? What actually happened? And why did I name this post Titanic Act 1? All these are easily answered.

What happened today was frankly appalling. The amount of fraud and corruption was spewing from neo-con's ears on stage was sickening. All rule changes, done by a "voice vote" were railroaded through even though the nays against the changes were definitely louder than the ayes. Romney and establishment delegates were told to chant U-S-A every time anyone tried to question or showed "dissent" against what was happening. Many Ron Paul delegates were illegally detained on buses throughout the votes. Even delegates from Florida who were pro-Romney were forgotten at their hotels as an act of revenge against Florida for changing its primary date.

So what exactly did we learn from all this? Never trust the GOP. The Republican Party is as corrupt and should never be placed any higher than the Democrat Party. They lie, cheat, and steal votes, silence dissenters, and frankly do not care what the average person thinks about their actions.

After today's events, it is obvious the Republican party is reenacting Titanic. They held their big convention, the "pretty boy" was found out to be a street rat, and the boat collided with the giant iceberg. The party is now sinking into oblivion due to their treachery against its own loyal members, forget about the flogging those who support Ron Paul got. It seems the GOP saw the Democrat Party's house of cards starting to fall over and wanted to win the race to the bottom first.

Today we learned a very important lesson. Political parties like the GOP are scum. They enjoy destroying dissent even if it ends up destroying themselves in the process. There are two more days and two more acts till the end of the GOP's Titanic. Let us see who is left holding onto those planks in the end.

Sources:
http://www.thenewamerican.com/usnews/politics/item/12636-rep-amash-calls-for-audit-of-rnc-over-treatment-of-paul-delegates

http://theunconventionalconservative.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/gop-destroys-integrity-of-national-convention-flagrantly-cheats-ron-paul-out-of-nomination/

http://www.businessinsider.com/ron-paul-gop-2012-rules-fight-grassroots-conservatives-freedom-works-2012-8

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-ron-paul-supporters-walk-out-of-gop-convention-20120828,0,3246451.story

Ron Paul's Rally - Short Impression

This event made me extremely proud to be in the liberty movement. There were so many great speakers and ideas being discussed it makes me smile just thinking about it.

The main focus was the Republican party and co-opting it with the liberty movement's agenda, sweat, and blood. As a libertarian, I walked away with a smile because no matter what, we will be pushing to inject base libertarian ideology into the Rep party. It also instilled that libertarians themselves will be a great help in the coming years.

The message was perfectly clear, as well. This was Dr. Paul last rodeo and it's time for the torchbearers to become leaders. Everyone from all parties that believe in liberty need to take a stand and fight. We need to win this ideological war for future generations.

While I already do a number if things for Florida's liberty movement, plan on running for Congress in '14, and have various other things on my plate from college to finding employment, I want to push myself harder and find other ways to enhance liberty here.

Thank you Dr. Paul for inspiring me, again.

A few inspirational videos by We Are Change.

Each video has its own message, but they are messages worth sharing.

Feds Are Cutting Social Security Benefits From Retirees Who Can't Pay Back Student Loans

While most attention in the ongoing student debt crisis narrative has focused on new graduates, it turns out the federal government has been quietly targeting a different group of debtors: retirees.

The Treasury Department has been withholding as much as 15 percent of Social Security benefits from "a rapidly growing number of Social Security recipients who have fallen behind on federal student loans," Smart Money's Annamaria Andriotis reports:

"From January through August 6, the government reduced the size of roughly 115,000 retirees' Social Security checks on those grounds. That's nearly double the pace of the department's enforcement in 2011; it's up from around 60,000 cases in all of 2007 and just 6 cases in 2000...

The amount that the government withholds varies widely, though it runs up to 15%. Assuming the average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker of $1,234, that could mean a monthly haircut of almost $190."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-feds-are-garnishing-social-security-benefits-from-retirees-who-cant-pay-back-student-loans-2012-8#ixzz2494XYFaB

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This is far from unexpected, many financial experts have warned of government roll backs of pensions, social security, etc to pay back debts. Gerald Celente especially warned of this. This is how government enslaves its people, making them more needy to government financial assistance. Eventually they will start cutting off aid to the older "useless" tax slaves when they people get accustom to government ending people's support after a certain age due to debt accumulation, so they'll say.

Human tax farming at its best.