Freedomshift

What began with the passage of the USA Patriot Act in October 2001 has snowballed into the eradication of every vital safeguard against government overreach, corruption and abuse . Since then, we have been terrorized, traumatized, and acclimated to life in the American Surveillance State. The bogeyman’s names and faces change over time, but the end result remains the same: our unquestioning acquiescence to anything the government wants to do in exchange for the phantom promise of safety and security has transitioned us to life in a society where government agents routinely practice violence on the citizens while, in conjunction with the Corporate State, spying on the most intimate details of our personal lives. Ironically, the 14 th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks occurs just days before the 228 th anniversary of the ratification of our Constitution . Yet while there is much to mourn about the loss of our freedoms in the years since 9/11, there is virtually nothing to cele...

It has been said that children are our future, and right now the vast majority of our children are being “educated” in public schools that are rapidly being turned into indoctrination centers and prison camps. Our children desperately need to focus on the basics such as reading, writing and math, but instead a whole host of politicians, “education officials” and teachers are constantly injecting as much propaganda as they possibly can into classroom instruction.  Instead of learning how to think, our children are continually being told what to think.  Not only that, our children are also being trained how to live as subservient slaves in a Big Brother police state.  Today, nearly everything that children do in public schools is watched, monitored, recorded and tracked.  Independent thought and free expression are greatly discouraged and are often cracked down upon harshly.  If students get “out of line”, instead of being sent to see the princip...

The Colbert Report Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes , Political Humor & Satire Blog , Video Archive

(Smithtown, N.Y.)   Many contend that Ron Paul, although an honest, plain-talking man, comes to the 2008 presidential campaign podium without a lot of achievement.  While in office, he hasn’t steer-headed proposed legislation into law, or galvanized broad-based support for this national agenda or that, or even been on board with most post-911 bills and actions.  For almost twenty years, he’s been a dedicated representative for his Texas District and has not a potpourri of achievements about which to boast on the presidential campaign trail.  Is this exactly true?  How could someone serve for so long, and have so little to show for it? At this time, I should share a story I heard from two entertainers at my son’s grade school.  The entertainers were turning books from different parts of the world into short, little plays, in order to spark the children’s interest in reading.  The following story took place centuries ago in the Far East. ...

Ann Coulter, that warmongering demagogue of Conservatism, has declared war on Ron Paul. Naturally, she hates Paul because he stands for peace, free markets and the rule of law. Coulter hates of all of these things since she loves war, the police state, and the destruction of the constitution in pursuit of untrammeled political power for Conservative nationalists. In other words, like most Conservatives, she loves socialism, although she prefers to cloak her socialism in words like "national greatness," "secure borders" and "family values." In a recent column , Coulter attacks Paul for a variety of his pro-freedom positions. In this column, however, I’ll focus only on her wildly inaccurate claims about how marriage is a "legal construct" ...

Part II

When I was a kid long, long ago, before time began, or anyone had thought of why time ought to begin, or what it might be good for, I lived in rural King George County, Virginia. The county bordered on the Potomac River and was mostly woods. Dahlgren Naval Proving Ground, on which my family lived, sloped down to Machodoc Creek, perhaps three-quarters of a mile wide. Things were looser then. When I wanted to go shooting, I put my rifle, a nice .22 Marlin with a ten-power Weaver, on my shoulder and walked out the main gate. At the country store outside the gate I’d buy a couple of boxes of long rifles, no questions asked, and away my co-conspirator Rusty and I went to some field or swamp to murder beer cans. Today if a kid of fifteen tried it, six squad cars and a SWAT team (in all ...

6:00 am May 24, 2010, by Bob Barr “Nanny State” laws are popping up with increasing frequency as big-government advocates continue to be elected to offices from the city council to the White House. What many Americans may not realize is the extent to which such invasive and pervasive government actions are spreading around the world, creating a “Nanny World.” As usual, California, with its many ultra-liberal communities, is leading the way here in America. Santa Clara County recently voted to outlaw the sale of McDonald’s “Happy Meal” toys and a host of other novelties (including coupons from which a patron might download a song) provided by restaurants as a bonus for customers who purchase certain drinks or food items. As bizarre as is this most recent ban, if some of that county’s residents have their way, it will be followed by many more. One resident of Sacramento, for example, reportedly voiced support for the recently-passed measure because even McDonald’s “190-calorie s...