April 6, 2009
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Dear Friend of Liberty,
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Campaign for Liberty’s very own Steve Bierfeldt has become an unexpected Internet sensation -- and the latest target of over-reaching federal government agents.
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You see, Steve was detained by Airport Police and TSA officials shortly after the Campaign for Liberty regional conference in St. Louis.
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The officials rudely berated and harassed Steve for 30 minutes in a secluded room at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport. Fortunately, Steve was able to record nearly all of the interrogation with his cell phone.
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Steve’s alleged “crime”? Carrying $4,700 in checks and cash from Campaign for Liberty, along with various other materials from our conference.
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The local and Federal agents harassed Steve. They were belligerent, cursing and using insulting language. They threatened to turn Steve over to the DEA and the FBI, all the while refusing to inform him of his legal rights or explain how cash and checks threatened airplane or airport security.
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Throughout the interrogation, Steve remained polite but resolute and declined to answer the invasive questions without an adequate explanation from these federal and local agents as to why they needed to be answered. Without telling Steve what law he was accused of breaking, they continued their harassment.
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Although they grew increasingly frustrated that he remained committed to exercising his rights, intervention from another officer eventually led the police to reluctantly release Steve.
Last Wednesday, Steve appeared on Judge Napolitano’s Freedom Watch to discuss the flagrant violation of his rights and to promote the importance of each of us defending our civil liberties.
Now, Steve’s appearance on Freedom Watch – which features several minutes of the audio tape – has gone viral.
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Click here to watch the segment [links below], which has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube.
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Steve’s ordeal is a reminder to all patriots that liberty is constantly under fire, and we must remain vigilant and prepared to stand up for our rights.
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In Liberty,
John Tate
President, Campaign for Liberty
Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Is a computer the modern equivalent of your "papers"? You can't be searched and your effects seized unless there is a warrant with probable cause. Do I understand this right?
I really liked this following entry from the Donklephant Blog:
http://donklephant.com/2009/04/03/tsa-responds-to-ron-paul-supporter-cash-incident/
Definitely worth a read.
I, for one, do not like my possessions being rifled through at the airport. I have considered not flying any more.
Frankly, I am far more worried about drunk drivers than I am about terrorists. It seems that communal effort (ie tax money) would be better spent on solving more egregious problems first. Last I checked at least 15,000 people are killed annually by drunk driving. The fact that other problems are not more publicized is a clue as to how it really works.
Comment
In regards to the most recent liberty post: I don't think this is a systematic attempt to take away the rights of Americans. I think this is the people in the TSA being poorly trained, ignorant of the law, and a broad and unreasonable mandate from the dept. of homeland security. While how these two officials acted is terrible and they should be reprimanded, retrained, or suspended for their harrassment when a well trained federal official (FBI) showed up the man was released and allowed to get on his plane.
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What further complicates the issue is that the people one would least like to be in the security industry are the ones most drawn to it. How many of us have interacted with jerk cops or security guards who beleive thier badges give them the right to trample others rights? Sadly, these people are not weeded out and trianing is sorely lacking at the federal, state, county, and city level. This isn't an attack on our freedoms, rather it is a sad testimony to the poor training and ignorance of our peace officers/security services.
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-- Jonathon Howard
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Shawn,
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I really appreciated your most recent series of articles on freedom and the most dangerous man in the world. Those statistics not withstanding, it should be pointed out that it is very easy to prove that no terrorist attacks have happened, it is much more difficult to prove whether or not the huge budget we push into counter terrorism is the cause.
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In affect, the very same numbers used to point out what people die from might in fact be proof that the dollars spent are working. Simply a second opinion if you will.
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I would frankly like to see a collective review of drug laws and antidrug/the war on drugs in the united states. We spend millions, possibly billions depending on how you want to calculate the numbers, fighting a battle against drug use which stems from the 1980s. This while drug usage in the U.S. is up, not down, and while we legally allow our citizens to use tabacho and alcohol every day (and die from both in many cases.)
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To the man who says he doesn't want his stuff searched while going on the plane, I have to say that a small inconvenience to make sure I don't crash into a building mid flight is an entirely reasonable price to pay in my view. Sadly, I am in full agreement with those who feel that the search and seizure laws have been trampled lately. One of the few things that I fully support our president having done lately is the disbanding of the Cuban prison we used to get around social and legal pitfalls to do morally reprehencable things.My two cents;)
--MN
MN: Thank you. What I hope to do here is to point things out and hopefully have some readers re-think things taken for granted. The first fact is that at an airport checkpoint you are being searched, and your bags may be searched. The second fact is that this is done without probable cause (there is no reason to suspect you particularly of criminal activity) and without a warrant.
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So I ask you noble reader: are the airport searches against the fourth amendment? Is there a way to get security without giving up rights?
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How about forbidding air travel all together? That would make things 100% secure. Ridiculous? Just putting it out there. Where are your limits? Where would you draw the line?
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You put forth an interesting argument, and possibly very persuasive. Since there have been no terrorist attacks in the last X years, then the efforts must be working. Why then do we never hear about foiled attacks? We hear about the coast guard intercepting ten tons of cocaine.
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Of course it's a moot point since once government expands in any area it rarely ever contracts. Even if a program is not working it still gets funded.
Campaign for Liberty Worker Detained and Questioned: recording made public
Specials for the Month
Adepticon Saturday Morning
This is the fourth video posted. There will be seven or eight all told at the end.
Recovery Ward
Well, it's Monday morning. I thought I would give a quick update. I took a TON of video and I'm working hard to get that processed. It's good stuff.
Sunday around noon we were in a huge line at airport security. We missed our plane by 20 seconds. Or rather, 20 seconds earlier they booked on four standbys in our seats. The plane didn't take off for another 15 minutes. Then three hours of waiting for the next flight. We drew straws, and I drew last on board. And indeed, three seats opened and so Renn, Sarah and Joseph boarded.
I was left alone. Sniff.
Details: we had burgers and fries. My last meal before boarding in the evening was a greek Gyro pita. I love those things. I pulled a back muscle on Saturday. It's way worse than I thought, but I'm on the mend. Renn and I were playing Magic again at the restaurant.
(Janene took another flight earlier, thus only four remaining).
After missing the first flight I said some things that I really didn't mean. How we were never coming back to Adepticon-- too expensive, travel is a pain-in-the-patella. Oh, Adepticon, I can't stay mad at you.
All told, I was eleven hours at the airport. But at long last, and thankfully I got on an evening flight. The weather had by then turned south, so it was an hour on the tarmac getting de-iced. But around midnight on Sunday I finally got home, and thankfully, to the loving and warm arms of my snuggly family.
My wife tended to my back while we watched some General Conference. Then to the warm and dark abyss of unconsciousness.
Monday.
It's go time! I am plowing through. I am currently setting up projects for late April (best to get started now) and for May.
Would you like something done? I am at your service!
Four Lost Souls
We missed our flight in Chicago. Four of us are at O'Hare right now hoping to get on standby. Hopefully we don't have to stay overnight.
Adepticon- Friday
Day two out of four. Friday is one of the two meatiest days of Adepticon.
The main hall is a frenzy, many hundreds of games going on at the same time. I think there were in excess of 800 attendees this year.
The day began at the break of dawn. I had expected to sleep in, but even the luxurious hotel beds were not the match of my beloved couch at home, and so with sledg-hammered back I arose to prepare myself. I had a breakfast of instant oatmeal, made with hot water from the coffee maker.
I found that both Joseph and Renn had arisen early as well. And Sarah had been up even earlier, and to the pool to boot! We got a few figures out on our modest table , including the Oceanic Eldar.
The Adepticon main hall was packed to the gills for the Gladiator, which is the main tournament played in teams of four. As usual, about 80% 40K and 20% Fantasy. If you look at the armies a much higher percent of the Warhammer Fantasy armies are painted to the highest standard. We took a TON of pictures, but I forgot to bring a USB cord so I can’t download them, I’m going to try and find one Saturday.
We spent the bulk of the day just looking at armies and shooting the bull with the various people coming by for a visit.
Numerous other various items forthcoming on video.
In the evening, we went for a swim, hot tub, sauna. Ah, and a movie. We watched Push. The reviews were terrible, but I think it’s definitely worth watching.
Adepticon: Day 1
Day one out of four.
First off, keep the emails and inquiries coming. I still need to keep everything rolling even though we're out here. So, don't hold off. Call me. Email me. You will make this time LESS stressful if you set up a project.
I have a ton of footage, but it is nearing midnight and I don't have time to edit it.
We met at Sarah's house at 8am and headed out to the airport, courtesy of Sarah's sister. We arrived, and without delay or flaw made it to our gate. This after a hearty breakfast at an airport diner.
The flight passed by as if in a dream. Sarah sleeps like a borg drone, arms folded, jaw tense, face straight ahead. I normally get seasick but this time hardly a quease.
Once at O'Hare we got off and proceeded to baggage claim where we found Janene serendipitously waiting for us (she had a different flight). As we walked up our bags popped out neatly in a row, so no waiting there. When we got to the curb, our car rental shuttle rolled up within ten seconds. We got a grey SUV. It's pretty sweet.
So, basically, the whole trip was supernaturally smooth. Everything is groovy.
We went out for sushi. Also fabulous. At some kind of trendy techno-beat place. We gorged ourselves on the good of the land and sea. I expect the rest of the trip to be humble and modest and laid back. It was a 40 minute wait to get in but totally worth it.
More tomorrow.
During the wait and the flight I managed to polish off one of the three books I ordered last week: Meltdown. Summary as follows:
Meltdown is a 2009 book on the global financial crisis of 2008–2009 by historian Thomas Woods, with a foreword by Rep. Ron Paul.
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Woods is a follower of the Austrian School of economics and believes in the gold standard. The book is dedicated to Murray Rothbard and Ron Paul.
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Woods' thesis includes: Deflation of prices neither causes nor prolongs depressions. Indeed, deflation may be necessary to prevent depressions or to bring depressions to an end. The Fed is the primary cause of business cycles via its arbitrary and coercive control of the money supply. Trying to cure these credit cycles with more government intervention will not work.
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In this case, government intervention in the form of support for housing and excessive monetary expansion caused the current crisis. By creating an illusion of wealth (that certain resources exist which do not exist), interventions encourage wasteful investments and unsustainable consumption, instead of productive investments. The proposed cures (bailouts, more money creation, and stimulus spending) will just make matters worse.
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No business is really too big to fail, even large financial institutions. For them, as with other businesses, liquidation is preferable to a bailout.
Shiny
You can't take the sky from me
Plague Giant
Beasts of Chaos Rumored List
Lords:
Beastlord
Great Bray Shaman
Doombull [magicial weapons and mutations only]
note- Lords can buy Chaos Armour for 10 pts
Hero's:
Wargor
Bray Shaman
Centigor
Core:
Beast Herd [rank up 5 wide]
Bestigors
Centigors [fast cav]
Warhounds
Special:
Tuskgor Chariots [2-1 choice]
Minotaurs [become core choice with Doombull]
Chaos Ogres
Dragon Ogres
Rare:
Chaos Giant
Shaggoth
Spawns
Gorgon - [stat line: M8 WS5 S5 T5 W5 I3 5A]
New rule change: If your General decides not to ambush, your general can have the chance for Beast Herd units to scout. [roll a D6]
1-2: Beast Herds are drunk and do not Scout
3-4: 1 unit of Beast Herds can Scout
5-6: 2 units of Beast Herds can Scout
New models: Bestigors, Mino's, Dragon Ogre, Shamans, Beastlord/Wargor & Gorgon.
Lords can take 100 pts of magic items & 100 points of Chaos Mutations/Gifts. Hero's can take up to 50 points of magical items and 50 points of Chaos Mutations/Gifts.
Some interesting new items or Chaos Mutations/Gifts: [Mutations/Gifts can only be taken once]
* banner that turns Bestigors into Raider's like Beast Herds *
* breath gift * [breaths fire 25 pts]
* extra Two Arm Mutation * [adds +2 attacks to profile 50 pts]
* extra Horn * [adds a extra attack on the charge 20 pts]
* Hoof of Speed [double M5 model 30 pts]
* Stone Skin * [+2 to your armour save 25 pts]
* Staff of Darkoth is a bound item *
* Troll Hide * [50 pts for Regeneration]
* Unholy Beast Strength [+1S for 25 pts]
* Bloodstone Braystaff* [Arcane item that gives a +1LD to Shamans and +2 MR for 50 pts]
Spell Lores: Beasts of Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch are getting there own new lores. Very close to the WoC new lores with minor change to the lists. For Tzeentch player's I was told boon of Tzeentch is in there.
Inside thoughts from play tester's are: That a Doombull with Chaos Mutations can rival a Vampire Lord as a combat character now. Plus Chaos Armour & Stone Skin give him nice protection at 2+ armour save. He expects Doombull to be the most popular Lord choice!
Also by turning the Centigors into Fast Cav there no need to add flyers into a Beast of Chaos army. Between this move and the new Gorgon & Chaos Mutations, BoC should be able to compete very well in 7th edition.
I was told that they feel this list will pretty much go to print. That Games-Workshop and play testers are all happy with the end results so far. Will post more information as I get it. As I asked for the new lores so I can play test with my friends myself.
GoC
Plastic Trygon on the Horizon
Campaign for Liberty Update
Dear Friend of Liberty,
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Principled freedom activism requires informed workers with a strong grasp of the ideas we champion. The more immersed we are in the reasons for our beliefs, the better we are able to communicate our message and achieve our goals. These recent books should be of great interest to members of Campaign for Liberty.
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For the book on the financial collapse, how it started, and what to do about it, see Tom Woods's newest masterpiece Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the Economy Tanked, and Government Bailouts Will Make Things Worse (Regnery, 2009). Woods explains how the Federal Reserve, Fannie and Freddie, and other government programs meant to subsidize housing caused the real estate bubble. He sheds light on the whole crisis, critiques the bailout, provides an accessible explanation of the Austrian Theory of the Business Cycle, discusses past booms and busts including the Great Depression, and discusses the importance of sound money to a free, functioning economy. The book anticipates the other side's arguments and refutes them in an understandable way. Meltdown is short, comprehensive, a pleasure to read, and could not be more needed today.
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Presidential power has been a top issue under the last couple presidencies, but the abuses go far back in our history. Who were the best presidents, from the standpoint of liberty, peace, and prosperity? Who were the worst? Ivan Eland ranks the presidents in his well-researched and well-written tome Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty (The Independent Institute, 2009). While most historians, pundits, journalists, and political scientists tend to favor "great" presidents who waged major wars and expanded their own power, Eland judges America's chief executives on the basis of how closely they adhered to the Constitution, avoided unnecessary war, and protected Americans' personal and economic liberties. Find out why Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Ronald Reagan tend to be overestimated while overlooked presidents like John Tyler and Warren G. Harding are the true greats.
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Now that the Bush years are over and the Obama era is well underway, it is an important time to reflect on why government power, whether controlled by the left or the right, is a great danger to liberty. Lew Rockwell's newest book, The Left, the Right, and the State (Mises Institute, 2009), identifies the threats to liberty coming from both sides of the modern political spectrum, is uncompromising in its analysis of statist ideology, and points the way toward a principled alternative: freedom. Rockwell dissects socialism, economic ignorance, central planning, environmentalism, anti-capitalism, and invasions into economic liberty; he critiques warmongering, the drug war, nationalism, and corporatism; he defends the free market against all its enemies and finds threats to liberty in government operations ranging from drunk driving laws to the census. For a full understanding of what we freedom lovers are up against, this beautiful book is a must-read.
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If you have not yet read Andrew Napolitano's blockbuster A Nation of Sheep (Thomas Nelson, 2007), what are you waiting for? The book is a wonderful treatment of the war on terror's threats to our liberties, public complacency in the face of government lawlessness, the danger of censorship, as well as the importance of a political culture that respects individual rights. And don't miss his forthcoming book Dred Scott's Revenge: A Legal History of Race and Freedom in America. This book explores the origins of American slavery, the problems with early America in sticking to its ideals, the history of segregation and Jim Crow, the Tuskegee Experiment, the trouble with legal positivism, and how both parties exploit racial tensions. The Spanish edition is currently available for pre-order here.
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These books will help you arm yourself in the battle for our liberties and articulate the ideas we believe are essential to a free society. For more information on Campaign for Liberty's core principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, check out our Education section at CampaignforLiberty.com.
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In Liberty,
Anthony Gregory
Editor-In-Chief, Campaign for Liberty
Reading Binge
I'm about to go on another reading binge.
This time the topics are: US Constitution and Economics. I have already ordered two related books from Ron Paul's reading list. However, can anyone recommend a book or two on these topics that offer a differing viewpoint?
Plowing Ahead
Show and Tell
Check out these Black Templars.
I am just twiddling my thumbs. Ready to set up projects now to be slated for completion.
At this moment in time I am watching a special episode of Ben 10 with my kids. We love that show.
Today was super busy. We got a ton accomplished. Sarah is still going to bill some projects tonight. What did we accomplish:
- Serious inroads to cleaning and organizing the bitz buildup in the assembly room (I think we sorted at least 300 sprues)
- Packages up and out.
- Prepping and processing of about ten new projects.
- Four or so new projects reviewed and checked in.
My Eldar came out of assembly. I added some of my own mods to them and they are ready to paint. It doesn't look like I have an opponent for this weekend, though.
Belly Laughs x12
I got about twelve good belly laughs out of this web production. I think it's about an hour long all told.
Spiderman to the Rescue
This is a really heart-warming story:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29875894/
When my daughter was about four I would call my wife's cell and impersonate the various personalities that she loved on TV.
