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Texas Straight Talk – A weekly column
Rep. Ron Paul (R) – TX 14

Last week politicians in Washington made a few things clear about how they really feel about the state of the union. First, they are beginning to hear the growing discontent with the size and scope of government and the broken promises that keep piling up. Certain events in Massachusetts recently made that statement loud, clear and unavoidable. In the face of those events, the powers that be made the determination that some populist rhetoric was in order, and the idea of a spending freeze in Washington was proposed, albeit with several caveats. These caveats to the proposed spending freeze ensure that we are not at any real risk of actually doing anything about spending.

First of all is timing. It wouldn’t go into effect until 2011, which allows plenty of time to increase spending levels quite a bit before they are frozen. If the administration really understood and cared about our spending problems they would not freeze spending a year from now, but cut spending immediately and significantly. But, spending cuts almost never happen in Washington, and they are not likely now or a year from now – if the politicians have anything to say about it.

The second caveat is the huge areas of the budget that are shielded from this freeze. The entire State Department budget is exempt, as are all entitlements, all military industrial spending and almost all foreign aid. Fully 7/8 of federal spending is excluded from this freeze, and some areas to be frozen were actually set to decrease, which means a freeze actually guarantees a higher level of spending.

Especially insulting is the idea that in spite of our own fiscal problems at home, taxpayer dollars will continue to be sent overseas in the form of foreign aid where it often does more harm than good. When need is demonstrated to Americans and they can afford it, they can be counted on for a tremendous outpouring of private, voluntary charity to worthy aid organizations, as we recently saw in Haiti. By contrast, government-to-government aid is taken from the poor by force and too often enriches the corrupt. It is counterproductive and wasteful. But the idea of eliminating, freezing, or reducing foreign aid is not up for serious debate any time soon.

The third caveat is what is included in the freeze that would make it politically impossible to pass Congress, for example air traffic controllers salaries, education, farm subsidies and national parks.

I do not necessarily want a cut in spending in this country – I just want to change who does the spending. The spending should be done by the people who earn the money, if they choose, and on what they choose, without any government interference. That is what makes the economy work. Politicians should stick to the very limited roles given them by the constitution instead of allocating such a sizeable portion of our capital and intervening through regulations and tax policy. But because politicians have disregarded the constitution, and the people have no idea what rule they will break next, there is already a very real spending freeze underway in this economy, by the people. If government would stick only to what it was authorized to do, and leave the rest to the people, most of these problems would resolve themselves.

HeeHee!

Texas Straight Talk – A weekly column

Rep. Ron Paul (R) – Texas Congressional District 14

Legalize Competing Currencies

Much has been made recently about the supposed economic recovery. A few blips in a few statistics and many believe our troubles are all over. Of course, they have to redefine recovery as “jobless” to account for the lack of improvement on Main Street. But the banks have money, Wall Street is chugging along, and the administration would like to get on with other agendae.

They have even set up a commission to investigate the crisis as if it were all in the past.

The truth is that Americans are still losing jobs, the Fed is still inflating, and more regulations are in the works that will prevent jobs and productivity from coming back. We are on this trajectory for the long haul. The claim has been made many times that this administration has only had a year to clean up the mess of the last administration. I wish they would at least get started! Instead of reversing course, they are maintaining Bush’s policies full speed ahead. They are even keeping the Bush-appointee in charge of the Federal Reserve! They are not even making token efforts at change in economic policy. And for all the talk of transparency, we hear that some powerful senators will do all they can to block a simple audit of the powerful and secretive Federal Reserve.

We have been on a disastrous course for a long time. The money supply has doubled in the last year, our debt is unsustainable, the value of the dollar is going to continue its drop, and those Americans who understand where we are headed feel helpless and held hostage by foolish policy makers in Washington. When the bills finally come due and the dollar stops working we are in for some real social, economic and political chaos. That is, unless we take some major steps now to allow for a peaceful transition in the future. These steps are laid out in my legislation to legalize competing currencies.

First of all, no one should be compelled by law to operate in Federal Reserve notes if they prefer an alternative. We should repeal legal tender laws and allow Americans to conduct transactions in constitutional money. Only gold and silver can constitutionally be legal tender, not paper money. Instead, it is illegal to conduct business using gold and silver instead of Federal Reserve notes. Simply legalizing the Constitution should be a no-brainer to anyone who took an oath of office. Consequently, private mints should be allowed to mint gold and silver coins. They would be subject to fraud and counterfeit laws, of course, and people would be free to use their coins or stay with Federal Reserve notes, as they see fit. Finally, we should abolish taxes on gold and silver, which puts precious metals at a competitive disadvantage to paper money.

The Federal Reserve is a government-sanctioned banking cartel that has held far too much power for far too long and is in the end stages of running the dollar into the ground, and our economy along with it. The very least Congress can do, if they are not willing to abolish the Fed, and perhaps not even conduct a serious audit of it, is to allow citizens the freedom to defend themselves from being completely wiped out by their monopoly power.

Part 2 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhm7UELPsSA

Part 3 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpyJbWlPGfs

This man looks very presidential, in fact sounds more presidential than
ever too.

Jake Towne, independent candidate for US Congress in PA-15, today announced his support of HR 4248, the Free Competition in Currency Act of 2009, and urges the current incumbent to co-sponsor the bill. The short 374-word bill is inline with the campaign’s theme of sound money and would revoke legal tender laws enabling Americans to use other currencies if they so choose to compete with the unbacked script currency issued by the Federal Reserve.

Towne just released his “Sound Money and Jobs” campaign plank (attached in PDF) which explains to all residents the dire importance of sound money, and provides evidence linking the troubles of the American economy to the governments’ actions to devalue the dollar and suppress the gold price. While unknown to most Americans, gold is one of the world’s largest financial markets, trading over $20 billion USD per trading DAY on the London exchange alone.

The campaign’s last “Towne” Hall was well attended by many newcomers, and the next event open to the public at no cost is Monday, February 1, 2010 at the Bethlehem Township Community Center, 2900 Farmersville Road at 7 PM. (Details here.)

Towne is not endorsed by nor affiliated with the sponsor of HR 4248, Pennsylvania-born Dr. Ronald Paul. Paul also recently introduced HR 1207, a bill to audit the Federal Reserve – which has never been thoroughly audited since its founding in 1913. Towne successfully petitioned the incumbent Congressman for several months before he agreed to co-sponsor this no-brainer piece of legislation and hopes the same can be done here. (The incumbent’s fundamental lack of understanding on monetary policy is demonstrated in this question I asked at a town hall.)

January 21, 2010

Contact: Jake Towne

Email: TowneForCongress@gmail.com

Website: TowneForCongress.com

Full Page Article

Dear Friend:

If Scott Brown’s victory in Massachusetts last night shows us one thing, it is that nothing in politics can be taken for granted. In the most liberal of states, the people have spoken, and the tide of reform continues to sweep through the country!

Here in Connecticut, we are facing and uphill battle. Like Scott Brown, we are facing a popular attorney general who has started the campaign with a big lead in the polls. National pundits are writing us off, and even here in Connecticut, people are treating Dick Blumenthal’s victory as a foregone conclusion. They ignore us at their peril. We will prove them wrong, and we will win! There’s a movement building across this country, and I feel it every day when I campaign.

We need solutions to the problems facing our country, not more government bureaucracy and empty promises from career politicians! We need a return to the free-market policies that made this country great, that will get Americans back to work and turn the tide on the failed policies in Washington, DC.

I know that we can shock the establishment, just like Scott Brown did last night. With you on my team, we can accomplish anything! Sunday some of our friends organized a money bomb. We raised just over $30,000 dollars from 377 people who donated an average of $80 each. While I want to thank everyone who participated in that money bomb, I also want to issue a challenge to the rest of you who sat it out.

This email is going out to over 150,000 people. Just imagine if everyone matched the contributions given during the money bomb. Instead of raising $30,000 we would raise 12 million. Combine that war chest, with my message and the current political environment, and we can’t lose.

I can win this race, but I cannot win it alone. I need everyone’s help. Together we will not fail. The stakes are just too high. We can take back our nation from the politicians who hold it hostage. We can restore limited government, embrace capitalism, and unleash the entrepreneurial spirit that made this nation great.

Do not assume that someone else will donate for you. We are in this fight together and we all need to contribute to prevail. Don’t think your contribution will be too small to make a difference. Remember we have strength in numbers. Small contributions add up as long as enough people make them (of course larger donations are welcome too).

So go to my web site www.schiffforsenate.com and make your contribution today. Every contribution counts, and if everyone makes one, the tally will be huge.

Let’s send a message so loud that it will resonate from Hartford to Washington D.C. Let’s show our critics that we mean business. Let’s show them that this campaign is real and that we will not be stopped for lack of funds.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Yours in liberty,

Peter Schiff, US Senate Candidate
schiffforsenate.com

Jake Towne is running for US Congress in Pennsylvania District 15 which includes the Lehigh Valley

Dear Friends of Liberty –
2010 has arrived and the campaign looks forward to election day on November 2nd. On that day, the 15th district will elect its first-ever independent private citizen to Congress. In the past 7 months, I have met enough people in the district to firmly have faith that they will make best decision for their own prosperity, health and future, and vote for me as their public servant if only the message can make it to them. Last Monday, 100,000 households will receive a half-page ad promoting campaign events, see here. In December, campaign volunteers distributed almost 15,000 “Who Is Jake Towne?” flyers, and the number of yard signs out is already in the triple digits – and are the only political signs you will see in the district. Yesterday, I parked my car to pick up a pizza and saw one in Bethlehem and stopped by to say hi.

What I bring is a winning message – open, transparent & accountable government with the Open Office, a shift of power back to the state, local, and individual levels, an unquestionable motivation to serve the people (in December I announced I will only accept the median household income and donate the remainder to local non-profit hospitals), peace instead of endless, costly war, and a return to sound monetary and fiscal policy. Where my opponents in truth offer tyranny, I offer LIBERTY and the rule of law. I will speak, listen, and meet with anyone or any group. I will not tire – I will keep promoting and defending the message – I will keep writing and knocking on doors until my knuckles bleed. You have this level of commitment from me until Election Day.

Read More…

Fox Business, Jan. 14th, 2010 – On Thursday, Texas District 14 Congressman Ron Paul appeared on Fox Business to discuss runaway spending and printing, the Freddie and Fannie Mac mess, the Geithner-AIG affair, and Federal Reserve transparency.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNkNEWc6kJQ

Congressman Ron Paul
January 11, 2010

Dear Friend of Liberty,

Believe it or not, it is election time again. The Texas Republican Primary is only seven short weeks away and already both parties have turned their attack dogs loose on me . . . doing everything they can to make sure I am defeated.

Never mind all the good I have been able to accomplish for freedom and the American taxpayer in Congress, the enemies of freedom and the elites in Washington want me gone.

Together, we have brought to Congress a voice for Liberty, limited government and a sensible foreign policy. I am deeply grateful for all of your support.

Just look at a few of the things we have accomplished!

We have drawn 317 cosponsors and passed through the House Financial Services Committee a bill to audit the Federal Reserve. We have led the fight against bailouts, Obamacare and Cap and Trade. And, thanks to the national attention our efforts have generated, we have broadened the debate on foreign policy and are challenging the status quo idea that America must be the World’s policeman.

It is my desire to return to Congress for another term and have filed for re-election. I am hopeful that I can win, but I urgently need your help.

Seven candidates have filed to run against me. These candidates include three Republicans in my own primary on March 2, and they will stop at nothing to tear down and destroy all we have worked for.

Please read some of the quotes my opponents have been throwing at me:

“(Ron Paul) wants to cut spending on our military industrial complex because he believes in a weaker foreign policy.”

“Ron Paul has become a complete nutcase conspiratorialist quasi-Anti-Semitic leftwing American-hating nutball.”

“Ron Paul is out of touch with this district and it is time for him to move on…Dr. No Must Go!”

These quotes come directly from my opponents’ campaign literature and websites. We cannot let these attacks stand.

I plan to fight back and will mount an aggressive campaign. Carol, my family and my staff are already working very hard, but I need your immediate support.

Please consider making a contribution of $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or even the maximum legal gift of $2,400 to my campaign. Your generous support will allow me to mobilize and ensure we are victorious.

Please logon NOW to my website www.RonPaulforCongress.com and donate as much as you can to help me overcome my opponents and win reelection.

There is a tremendous anti-incumbent, anti-Washington sentiment in America. Politicians across the country face a sea change as outraged Americans threaten to vote them out. While I think this development is a good thing, I am going to have to work hard to ensure I am not caught up in the same wave and swept out of office before our job is done.

If I thought that it would help America, I would gladly step aside and return home to Texas. But the people who want my seat will not work for Liberty. They will instead vote for big spending, eroding our Liberties and policing the world, while ignoring our crooked monetary system.

We stand at a crucial crossroads. Our effort to Audit the Fed and expose the crooked banksters stands tantalizingly close to passage. It is my sincere desire to stay in Congress and press this fight.

But, the road to re-election will be bumpy. My opponents are digging up any and all ammunition they can muster to fire at me.

As many of you know, I represent Galveston, which was hit hard by Hurricane Ike last fall. My office has worked hard to help our constituents, and I am proud of the work we have done.

After the Hurricane, Congress rushed to pass a “relief” bill. Unfortunately, the bill was anything but that. It was loaded with over $6 billion dollars in pork and special interest money that had nothing to do with helping people in need. And, any actual benefits for the people hurt by the natural disaster were run, or should I say hijacked, by the Federal Emergency management Agency (FEMA.) We all remember how well FEMA did helping out in New Orleans.

I knew that voting against this supposed “hurricane relief” would be one of the most difficult political votes I ever cast. But, my vote was never in question. I stood by our principles and stood up for Taxpayers in Texas and across our country and voted against this monstrosity.

You and I may know this vote is a strength, but my opponents see it as an opportunity to attack, and they have been vicious. Forget the billions in pork spending, or the unmanageable big government bureaucracy contained in the legislation. Since I voted against the bill, they scream I must not care about poor people.

They will continue to beat this drum, and if we do not fight back, they may be successful. Think then how few politicians will be willing to take principled votes against big government in the future if they see me defeated because of my stand.

For thirty years, I have run on the belief that Liberty and free markets are the source of American prosperity. I will continue to fight for these principles regardless of the attacks and personal smears. But, I need your help to return to Washington.

Again, I hope you will consider contributing to my re-election campaign. Together, we can restore our freedoms and protect the American Dream.

In Liberty,
Ron Paul

P.S. Early voting in my primary begins on February 15th. Time is of the essence and I have already begun campaigning hard. Your timely support is truly needed. Please contribute to my campaign TODAY at www.RonPaulforCongress.com

Hooray Jack! Where have you been all this time?