A Geek With Guns

Today is the first day of the Minnesota Republican Convention. As you read this delegates are currently in St. Cloud fighting over political matters. I didn’t go. After my experience at my local basic political operating unit (BPOU) convention I decided to swear off continued participation in this race. Part of it was just the monstrous nature of the big-wig Republican attendees, their desire for power at the cost of others was disgusting. Another part of it had to do with the Ron Paul campaign itself. There’s been something going on with the Paul campaign that didn’t sit right with me but I’ve been unable to put my finger on it. With the recent announcements and other news I’ve been slowly scrapping together the pieces of the puzzle are starting to come together. I posted about the recent announcements made by the Paul campaign.

It seemed entirely odd to me that the campaign would be sending out announcements that could easily be construed as the campaign being suspended and telling supporters that any hope of winning the presidential nomination is basically gone. What campaign in its right mind would tell supporters that the chances of success were basically none? Then I came across the following article and things started to make more sense:

Reince Priebus (the RNC chairman from Kenosha, Wisconsin), and the Republican National Committee (RNC) threw their support behind Mitt Romney after Newt Gingrich announced he would be suspending his campaign. Through the RNC chair, Reince Priebus, the RNC will help register voters and encourage outreach for Mitt Romney.

I’ve had no doubt that the Republican nomination process is fixed and that Romney is the anointed one for this year’s nomination. Between threatening states that sent “too many” Ron Paul supporters and several prominent officials of the Republican National Committee (RNC) openly stating support for Romney it has been obvious that the RNC will go to any length to ensure Romney gets the nomination. The statement released by Jesse Benton, the chairman for the Ron Paul campaign, shed even more light on the actions of the Paul campaign:

“In April, the RNC asked our campaign for our blessing to begin assembling the Victory organization Republicans will require to guarantee a win in the fall. Building such an operation is no small undertaking, and our Party needed to build in a few months what the incumbent president has been building for four years.

“The RNC offered to set up a joint fundraising committee with the Paul campaign and were very clear that if Dr. Paul became the nominee, the Victory Operation would be behind him 100 percent. They also were clear that they would hold off if our campaign objected. I gave my full consent for the RNC to move forward.

“Chairman Priebus has always treated Dr. Paul and our team with respect, and we appreciate his leadership. He has been an outstanding chairman and has our full confidence.”

It is unclear to me is Benton is entirely ignorant or corrupt. The agreement mentioned in Benton’s statement is obviously a sucker’s deal. While the RNC promises to completely back Paul if he gets the nomination they have no intention of allowing Paul to get the nomination. They’re making a bet because they already know the outcome. Did Benton agree to this deal because he believed the RNC was actually planning on playing fair or because they offered him something to advance his political career? The only evidence I have to the latter is circumstantial, Benton was the one who released the recent announcements that appeared to be hand crafted to destroy the morale of Ron Paul’s supporters. Since the only evidence I hold is circumstantial I’m going to assume the former, that Benton and other higher ups in the Paul campaign are naive and believe the RNC is willing to play fair.

Having leaders of the RNC backing Romney is pretty obviously a violation of the RNC’s own rules:

“Rule No. 11 Candidate Support
(a) The Republican National Committee shall not, without the prior written and filed approval of all members of the Republican National Committee from the state involved, contribute money or in-kind aid to any candidate for any public or party office except the nominee of the Republican Party or a candidate who is unopposed in the Republican primary after the filing deadline for that office. In those states where state law establishes a nonpartisan primary in which Republican candidates could participate, but in which the general election may not include a Republican candidate, the candidate endorsed by a convention held under the authority of the state Republican Party shall be recognized by the Republican National Committee as the Republican nominee.

(b) No state Republican Party rule or state law shall be observed that allows persons who have participated or are participating in the selection of any nominee of a party other than the Republican Party, including, but not limited to, through the use of a multiparty primary or similar type ballot, to participate in the selection of a nominee of the Republican Party for that general election. No person nominated in violation of this rule shall be recognized by the Republican National Committee as the nominee of the Republican Party from that state.”

Apparently they have been able to get away with it by offering the sucker’s deal to the Paul campaign. The RNC must have said, “Listen, if you guys don’t pursue this whole rule violation ordeal we’ll promise to back Paul if he gets the nomination.” Like suckers the Paul campaign apparently fell for it.

My uneasiness regard the Ron Paul campaign is finally starting to make sense. I’m not the only one disenfranchised with the campaign at this point, many of my fellow Paul supporters have expressed similar views. Yet many of Paul’s supporters have been creating justifications for the recent actions of his campaign, something I was worried would happen due to the amount of emotional investment many people have in his winning. The most common theory put forth by those who still support the campaign is that the recent actions are part of a master plan to lower the establishment’s guard so we can swoop in unopposed and claim victory. This theory doesn’t make any sense to me because the recent actions by the campaign have caused massive devastation to the morale of Paul’s supporters. Several delegates have even expressed refusal to continue attending conventions, actions that directly oppose the Paul campaign’s supposed goal of motivating as many delegates as possible to attend the RNC and take the Republican Party. If that is the strategy then telling delegates that the campaign is basically over isn’t going to advance the cause.

Another common theory being put forth by those desperately trying to continue believing in the campaign is that the way is merely being paved for Rand Paul’s run next election cycle. To that I say woopty fucking doo. I’m not a big fan of Rand. Many neocons will claim they like Rand better than his father because Rand makes sense. For the same reasons neocons like Rand I don’t. If the master plan has been to pave the way for Rand then I’m sorry I had any involvement in this campaign.

Others are claiming the goal of the Paul campaign has always been to reclaim the Republican Party and return it to its roots. Unfortunately there is no reclaiming the Republican Party, it’s a dying party and a poison brand. The big wigs in the party are bloody thirsty evangelicals who want nothing more than to bring a new crusade to the world. A majority of Republican Party members are mindless automatons who obey the commands of the higher ups and those commands have been to resist control from the Ron Paul supporters. Even if we do reclaim the party we’re left with the party. We will hold control over an empty shell. All of the crusaders will flee and likely establish their own party while we’ll be standing around holding a brand that is known for its opposition to civil rights, advocacy of war, and general authoritarian nature. Attempting to change this image will fail, poisoned brands generally can’t be salvaged. Nobody looks at the actions of a political party, they just agree with whatever propaganda they’re told to.

Either way it’s pretty obvious to me that many Paul supporters are actively disillusioning themselves with the campaign. They want to believe the campaign is attempting to do good so they come up with theories about the recent actions that support their desire. The majority who have been involved in the campaign seem to be willing to question the recent actions, even asking “What if…?” is met with resistance. Those of us standing in the corner asking, “What the fuck guys?” are being accused of devastating morale and attempting to undermine the campaign. Perhaps the latter accusation is true. I have no idea what the Paul campaign is doing at the moment nor can I see their goals. When I don’t know what somebody is doing I get edgy, when evidence indicates what they’re doing isn’t good are move to undermine the plan. The campaign hasn’t offered any valid justification for their recent actions so I have reason to believe they’re up to no good.

Perhaps I’m in a fairly unique position, I never really believed Ron Paul could get the nomination and thus watching this campaign crumble (at least appear to crumble) has had little effect. Part of me did hold up some hope that the good guys could win this time around but it was nothing more than a glimmer, and that glimmer still exists although it’s getting harder and harder to see. If my concerns are true, if there is chicanery going on in the Paul campaign, it will just prove my point that you can’t play the political game without getting fucked at some point.

As of this writing there is a money bomb going on at the Ron Paul campaign website. Usually these rake in a couple of million dollars, this one hasn’t even broke $300,000 yet (if it does break that please realize I wrote this article during the money bomb and likely didn’t have the opportunity to edit this portion before it posted). Obviously the recent actions of the campaign have had a vastly negative effect, the supporters are unhappy and less willing to send money or otherwise support campaign efforts. From where I stand it appears the Ron Paul campaign is the worst enemy of Ron Paul getting elected. They had a plan, claimed to be in the game until the end, and dropped the ball at the eleventh hour. Many supporters of the campaign have resorted to viciously attacking those who question the recent actions because facing the possibility of failure is too much for them to handle. When you’re no longer willing to question your cause, when you turn a blind eye to what’s going on around you, that is the moment you’ve lost and you know it. You don’t want to admit you’ve lost but you know you have.

Last week I gave my predictions for France, most of which were pulled from the book Pictures of a Socialistic Future [PDF]. Pictures of a Socialistic Future was a took written at the end of the 1800s that property predicted many things that would happen in socialist countries. One of the predictions was the socialist state would face a massive exodus of people and would implement laws preventing unapproved departures from the country. Such laws have been implemented in many socialist countries and are put into place to keep wealth and labor in the country by force. Guess what? The United States is officially announcing plans to implement such laws:

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has a status update for Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin: Stop attempting to dodge your taxes by renouncing your U.S. citizenship or never come to back to the U.S. again.

[...]

At a news conference this morning, Sens. Schumer and Bob Casey, D-Pa., will unveil the “Ex-PATRIOT” – “Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy” – Act to respond directly to Saverin’s move, which they dub a “scheme” that would “help him duck up to $67 million in taxes.”

The senators will call Saverin’s move an “outrage” and will outline their plan to re-impose taxes on expatriates like Saverin even after they flee the United States and take up residence in a foreign country. Their proposal would also impose a mandatory 30 percent tax on the capital gains of anybody who renounces their U.S. citizenship.

The process of preventing people from leaving the United States has been underway for a while. Earlier this year legislation was announced that would prevent those who owe taxes from leaving the country. Now the state is moving to make laws that will make it legal for the state to plunder a great deal of your wealth if you decide to renounce your citizenship. Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t get much more blatant than this.

You are not a citizen, you are not a free individual, you are a slave according to the state. In their eyes they own you, you are their property. Honestly, if you have any wealth whatsoever get the fuck out of this country now. The ship is sinking and the state is looking to transfer any and all wealth from the people to its cronies and agents before there is no wealth left to take. Eugene Richter warned us what socialism would bring in Pictures of a Socialistic Future and nobody felt it was worth heading his warning. Right now the state is targeting the wealthy because they have the most to take but you can rest assured that laws preventing the departure from the United States will only expand.

Also, the the Expatriation Prevention by Abolishing Tax-Related Incentives for Offshore Tenancy Act? EX-PATRIOT Act? Really? Really?! Who the fuck is paid to come up with these acronyms?

I hat tip to Snarky Bytes for this revealing story.

A common criticism I hear regarding libertarianism and Ron Paul specifically is that they both fill a niche by a vast majority of people don’t agree with them. I find this criticism dubious at best. How can I say that? Isn’t the fact there hasn’t been a libertarian president proof that the claim is true? No.

Simply put, most people don’t have beliefs regarding political issues. They believe what the most influential people in their lives tell them to believe. They don’t put time into thinking about their beliefs, they just know that one side is right and the other side is wrong. It’s how the game is played. You cheer for the team that’s geographically closer to where you live and shout against every other team because, “They’re not from around here.” Evangelicals will generally oppose legalizing abortion because their ministers have told them it’s against the will of God while progressives will generally support legalizing abortion because the hot feminist they’re trying to shack up with tells them a woman has a right to choose. Neither party every stops to actually consider what they believe.

Foreign policy is another great issue to demonstrate this fact. Many people believe Paul’s foreign policy is “kooky” or “unworkable” and cite talking points to backup their claim. Likewise supporters of Paul’s foreign policy merely believe themselves to be anti-war and therefore must agree. Neither group stops to consider the reason they believe what they believe.

This is why I say criticizing libertarianism based on the apparent lack of popular support is pointless. The majority of people oppose libertarian ideas because the talking head on the teevee tells them to. Most of these people don’t even know about libertarian philosophy. They know the talking head on teevee told them that the libertarians want to eliminate Medicare and that will cause their grandparents to die a slow and horrible death. What those talking heads never mention is that libertarian philosophy is based upon the non-aggression principle and taxation, a form of theft, is incompatible with the non-aggression principle. Because Medicare is funded by initiated force libertarians oppose it but support alternatives such as mutual aid.

You simply can’t claim a majority of people don’t support beliefs when a majority of people don’t have beliefs.

At the beginning of this week the Ron Paul campaign announced a strategy change that was misconstrued as a campaign suspension. I couldn’t figure out why the campaign made such an announcement since it was pretty obvious how the media would take such news but I think somebody in the Paul campaign has decided the best way to move forward is to decimate the morale of Paul’s supporters. I present to you an e-mail I received from the Paul campaign yesterday:

Every day, I see firsthand how humbled and encouraged Dr. Paul is to have the enthusiastic support of so many who are committed to revitalizing our country.

Let me be very clear. Dr. Paul is NOT dropping out or suspending his campaign.

As Dr. Paul has previously stated, he is in this race all the way to the Republican National Convention in Tampa this August.

And he is deeply grateful for every resource he has been entrusted with to run an historic campaign that continues to defy all expectations.

Looking ahead, our campaign must honor that trust by maximizing our resources to ensure the greatest possible impact at the National Convention.

So while our campaign is no longer investing in the remaining primary states, we will continue to run strong programs at District and State Conventions to win more delegates and alternate delegates to the National Convention.

To this end, our campaign has several positive and realistic goals:

1) Having recently WON Maine, we believe we can win several more states.
2) We will win party leadership positions at both the state and national levels.
3) We will continue to grow our already substantial total of delegates.

We will head to Tampa with a solid group of delegates. Several hundred will be bound to Dr. Paul, and several hundred more, although bound to Governor Romney or other candidates, will be Ron Paul supporters.

Unfortunately, barring something very unforeseen, our delegate total will not be strong enough to win the nomination. Governor Romney is now within 200 delegates of securing the party’s nod. However, our delegates can still make a major impact at the National Convention and beyond.

All delegates will be able to vote on party rules and allow us to shape the process for future liberty candidates.

We are in an excellent position to make sure the Republican Party adds solid liberty issues to the GOP Platform, which our delegates will be directly positioned to approve. Our campaign is presently working to get several items up for consideration, including monetary policy reform, prohibitions on indefinite detention, and Internet freedom.

Finally, by sending a large, respectful, and professional delegation to Tampa, we will show the party and the country that not only is our movement growing and here to stay, but that the future belongs to us.

Dr. Paul will begin this new phase of the campaign this Friday by speaking and holding several events at the Minnesota State Convention. He has also recently accepted an invitation to speak at the Texas Convention, and we are busy scheduling appearances around other State Conventions later this month and into June.

As Dr. Paul stated in his message yesterday, this fight is NOT over. We will continue fighting and expanding, and “we will not stop until we have restored what once made America the greatest country in human history.”

But for Dr. Paul’s efforts in the remaining State Conventions to be successful, and to ensure we get as many Ron Paul delegates to Tampa as we can, he needs you to continue standing with him.

Along those lines, as you probably already know, the grassroots are holding a Money Bomb on Thursday, May 17. Any money raised from that Money Bomb will go toward winning delegates and finalizing our plans for Tampa.

As those plans for the National Convention come together, we will make sure all of our delegates, whether bound or unbound, get the information and aid they need.

Your support on May 17 will also help us reach more Americans with the solutions we know can restore our nation. Each person we add to our cause strengthens our movement for the critical work that awaits us beyond Tampa.

Dr. Paul, John Tate, myself, and the entire campaign staff know what incredible sacrifices have been made by each of our supporters.

Thank you for all of your hard work and your dedication to liberty. Together, we will champion Ron Paul and his message in Tampa, and we will lay the groundwork for future victories.

Emphasis mine. That’s a very long e-mail to simply say, “Hey guys, we don’t have enough delegates to stop Romney but we can still influence the Republican Party platform!” In other words the Paul campaign has basically said it’s giving up trying for a first place victory and, instead, hoping for the bronze medal.

The part I emphasized, the consolation prize if you will, is absolutely lackluster. We can influence the Republican Party platform? The same platform that already has many liberty issues listed by goes entirely ignored by Republican politicians? Sign me right the fuck up for that! What a treat, we can influence something that gets completely ignored! If I to waste my time on pointless activities I could just stay at home and masturbate. Actually the latter is a better deal because it doesn’t involve sitting in a room full of screaming blood-thirsty neocons trying to get the state to enforce their ideas of morality.

I’ll be totally honest, this news really doesn’t bother me all that much. I was never that vested in Paul winning because, as I’ve noted on this blog numerous times, I know the entire nomination process is rigged and people like you and me have no say in who the Republican nominee is. With that said the real value of the Ron Paul campaign as been the people and the liberty movement that has sprung from those people. The campaign is doing a disservice to those people by killing morale.

Why did the campaign choose to say this? Why didn’t they talk about the actual meaningful actions that the liberty movement could take? While I don’t believe this country can ever have a viable third-party working towards that goal is certainly more worthwhile than trying to change the Republican Party platform. Paul gave up running for Congress so there is no reason he needs to continue placating the Republican Party, they’ve already demonstrated their hatred for him so he should return the favor. How about putting major resources into bring the Federal Reserve front and center? Saying, “End the Fed!” is a great slogan but it doesn’t address the actual issue. Look at all the organizations that spend time trying to advocate for and against gay marriage. Those organizations put together flyers and hold rallies in the hopes of getting their message out. The Paul campaign certainly has the people and resources to do something similar regarding the Federal Reserve. What about jury nullification? A powerful advocacy group made up of liberty minded folks could do wonders for raising awareness of the power jury members hold.

My point is alternatives exist and the Paul campaign could do a great deal of working in drumming up advocates for these alternatives. Instead they’re sending out e-mails that appear to be crafted in such a way as to deflate the liberty movement and discourage individuals from continuing the good fight. Ron Paul has been a rally point for the liberty movement in my opinion. I never expected him to get to the White House, his value has been in bringing advocates of liberty together. Such power can still be wielded for good but offering a worthless consolation prize isn’t the way to do it.

Many people, especially gun rights advocates, are starting to parrot the familiar phrase that this election is the most important election of our lifetime. I think this blog nailed it:

Take a breath. This is not the most important election of your lifetime. Every election is the same, and it is an airtight bet that each new president is going to be worse than his precedessor. Bamboozled voters sprint to the polls every four years, and appropriately utter the same line beggars use: “Gimme some change, gimme some change!” And like those unfortunate beggars (who also don’t see their fortunes change), each time they are left holding an empty cup.

I’m 29 and this will be the third election cycle I’ve had to experience. All three elections have been labeled as the most important election of my lifetime and nothing has changed after any of them. Although I missed being of voting age by one year when Bush was running against Gore I remember all the talk about how that election was the most important election gun owners had ever experienced. Then when Bush was running against Kerry it was the most important election of my lifetime because Kerry would take my guns. When it was McCain against Obama is was yet again the most important election of my lifetime because Obama was a gun grabbing socialist. Now I’m being told that this is the most important election of my lifetime because Obama will be free of having to worry about reelection and be in a position to potentially nominate two Supreme Court justices.

If every election I’ve experienced has been the most important one of my lifetime then unimportant elections must be extremely nonevents. Let’s face facts, nothing has changed in the last three elections (or any elections before that, but I wasn’t paying any attention to the political arena at those times so I’ll refrain from further comment). Bush didn’t change anything for the two terms he was in office and Obama hasn’t changed anything for the one term he’s been in office. Neither Obama or Romney is likely to change anything either. The bottom line is the state’s violence continues to be wielded against the people of the world. While the police state expands here at home foreign countries are being invaded and occupied.

This isn’t the most important election of your lifetime, no election has every actually been important. Honestly, I would say this is the least important election of your lifetime because with each election the state’s power grows and as it grows elections become even more meaningless (if that’s even possible).

If I have any readers in California let me extend my sympathies. Not only do you have to suffer from draconian gun control laws but your state is also a sinking ship economically. Apparently the politicians of that state aren’t content with the people they’ve already driven off by their ever increasing tax rates since they’re looking to jack up the taxes again:

California also hopes for $1.5bn in revenue over the next year after this week’s Facebook stock flotation.

In outlining the proposal, the Democratic governor said on Monday the state could not overcome its deficit by cuts alone.

“It’s taken more than a decade to get into this mess. We’re not going to get out of it in a year,” he told reporters. “But we’re making real progress.”

California residents will vote in November on an increase in the sales tax as well as an income tax rise on those making more than $250,000 yearly. Both measures would be temporary and would also increase education spending.

First of all let me just remind people that temporary tax increases have a habit of becoming permanent. With that said those of you making $250,000 or more and live in California you can rest assured that your potential new tax rate of 10.3% is likely be temporary… because your government officials will try to increase it again and again. California is the poster child for stupid economic policies. It demonstrates what happens when the collectivists get their way. As the state moves to bleed every wealth producer dry those wealth producers leave the state and take their jobs with them. While the collectivists scream “Tax the rich!” they forget that “the rich” are the ones who have enough resources to pack up and go elsewhere.

If you live in that state you should get the heck out of there now before they start preventing people from leaving.

Obama is running on his hope and change platform again. He hopes that people will just forget about his last four years of stomping the gas pedal to tyranny and accept him as a freedom loving president who supports the rights of individuals. When his campaign is having protesters arrested that message becomes a bit more difficult to swallow:

Though the NATO summit won’t officially begin until later this week, police have already ramped up their presence in downtown Chicago and, on Monday morning, they made a number of arrests at President Obama’s campaign headquarters.

After a group of demonstrators rushed into Prudential Plaza, the building where Obama’s re-election campaign is based, eight protesters were led away in handcuffs when they refused to leave the building’s lobby, the Chicago Tribune reports. Police said the arrested demonstrators would likely be charged with criminal trespass.

The group was organized by the Catholic Worker movement and, according to Fox Chicago, was attempting to open up a dialogue around ending the U.S. occupation in Afghanistan. The action is part of what activists are calling a “week without capitalism.”

While those protesters may never get their wish of ending the occupation of Afghanistan at least they’re getting their goal of a week without capitalism. As I’ve explains the only alternative to capitalism is force. Instead of mutually beneficial relationships built upon voluntary trade those protesters are getting a taste of the alternative, the force of the state, and they don’t seem to be enjoying it.

Capitalism is a beautiful system that achieves mutual benefit by relying on self-interest. People are compelled to help each other because by doing so they are also helping themselves. If you make shoes and you need bread then you and the baker can make a mutually beneficial trade, shoes for bread. Those who perform the job of satisfying fellow individuals are rewarded so they may expand their operations and satisfy even more individuals’ needs. Capitalism stands as a stark opposition to the state’s violence where mutual benefit doesn’t arise because one party, the state, steals from the other party. Instead of mutual cooperation you have threats and acts of violence.

You want a world without capitalism? Good news, we already have it and it’s called the state. There is no need to protest or demonstrate because that goal has already been achieved. Instead of entering voluntary agreements with your fellow people you now have great portions of your wealth stolen from you so that it may be redistributed to those in the state’s favor. No need to trade for the people of Afghanistan exists because the United States government is there forcefully taking the desirable natural resources. Do you know what the best part is? You don’t have to limit yourself to a week without capitalism, you get to suffer your entire life without capitalism. Congratulations, your deepest desires have been fulfilled.

Yesterday the Ron Paul campaign sent out the following e-mail:

Dear Christopher,

As I reflect on our 2012 Presidential campaign, I am humbled by the supporters who have worked so hard and sacrificed so much. And I am so proud of what we have accomplished. We will not stop until we have restored what once made America the greatest country in human history.

This campaign fought hard and won electoral success that the talking heads and pundits never thought possible. But, this campaign is also about more than just the 2012 election. It has been part of a quest I began 40 years ago and that so many have joined. It is about the campaign for Liberty, which has taken a tremendous leap forward in this election and will continue to grow stronger in the future until we finally win.

Our campaign will continue to work in the state convention process. We will continue to take leadership positions, win delegates, and carry a strong message to the Republican National Convention that Liberty is the way of the future.

Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have. I encourage all supporters of Liberty to make sure you get to the polls and make your voices heard, particularly in the local, state, and Congressional elections, where so many defenders of Freedom are fighting and need your support.

I hope all supporters of Liberty will remain deeply involved – become delegates, win office, and take leadership positions. I will be right there with you. In the coming days, my campaign leadership will lay out to you our delegate strategy and what you can do to help, so please stay tuned.

For Liberty,

Ron Paul

This has lead media sources, like the LA Times, and other individuals to state that Ron Paul has all but suspended his campaign. Fortunately that’s not what’s happening:

Battling on would require millions of dollars that the Ron Paul operation does not have, his campaign said.

But the Texas congressman will continue to try to win delegates awarded at forthcoming state conventions.

Mr Paul has 104 delegates, behind Mitt Romney’s 966, with 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Unfortunately what’s really happening and what people think is happening are entirely different. Because of the campaign announcement people now believe the Ron Paul campaign is done and that he’s out of the race. This was one of the dumbest moves the campaign could have made. I do understand that campaigning in Texas and California isn’t likely to gain much advantage it would prevent media outlets and other individuals from saying the campaign is throwing in the towel. In this case it would have been smarter to run a couple of advertisements for the sake of appearance and left it at that.

Politics is all about appearances. If you falter in any way your competition will swoop in like vultures to pick your corpse clean. The campaign announcement basically opened the door for Ron Paul’s opponents to say the Paul campaign is broke and done. While the e-mail said, “Moving forward, however, we will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not yet voted. Doing so with any hope of success would take many tens of millions of dollars we simply do not have.” but most people are only going to focus on the second line and interpret it as saying the Ron Paul campaign doesn’t have enough money to continue on.

This was a boneheaded move if there ever was one. Ron Paul isn’t “effectively ending” his campaign but focusing resources where they will be better utilized. Any intelligent person would understand that but politics isn’t about the intelligent person, it’s about soundbites, and the Paul campaign just handed out a soundbite that is allowing the media to announce Romney is now running unopposed.

Not wanting to be outdone, our neighbors to the north are looking to bring more tyranny upon its people:

A proposed private members’ bill would make it a crime for protesters to wear a mask or disguise while participating in a riot or unlawful assembly, and this week the Harper government put its weight behind the legislation.

The Conservative majority on a House of Commons committee that’s examining the bill took matters a step further Thursday by doubling the proposed maximum prison term to 10 years from five.

Government MPs passed the amendment over the objections of the NDP opposition, who argue the bill is a sham because wearing a mask to commit a crime is already an offence under the Criminal Code.

So it’s going to be illegal to wear a mask while participating in a riot or “unlawful assembly?” Isn’t participating in a riot already illegal? What the hell is an “unlawful assembly?”

What is the point of laws like this other than to expand the police state? I can think of none as these laws simple make acts that are already illegal more, uhh, illegaler I guess. Whether somebody is wearing a mask while participating in a riot should be irrelevant, the only things that are relevant are whether or not they hurt anybody or damaged property. Masks aren’t enchanted items that give +2 to melee or +2 to smashing shit and thus are not relevant regarding any crimes.

Oh well, this does demonstrate that the police state is expanding everywhere, not just in the United States of America.

All the major media outlets are talking about the “surprise” $2 billion loss reported by JPMorgan:

JPMorgan Chase, the biggest US bank, has revealed a surprise trading loss of $2bn (£1.2bn) on complex investments made by its traders.

Of course anybody who pays attention to the game recognize this play. JPMorgan is basically positioning itself to receive some government cash. It’s no secret that the state likes to give bankers tons of cash in the form of bailouts and the headlines are making sure to point out that JPMorgan is the biggest bank in the United States. If smaller banks qualified for bailouts you know the biggest bank in America is “too big to fail.”

Here’s how the game usually works. A private entity wants to get a large chunk of money from the state and the politicians want cushy jobs when they exit politics. This situation is mutually beneficial because the banks can offer cushy jobs to the politicians in exchange for huge chunks for state money. Politicians also want to maintain their power so they package up the handout in a manner they believe the public will support. In the case of large banks the package is one of economics, they will tell the public that the United States economy will suffer greatly if the bank fails. What the politicians neglect to mention is the fact capitalism requires bad businesses to fail because bad businesses have misallocated resources and those recourse must now be property allocated.

I’m predict JPMorgan will receive some kind of large handout from the state in the coming months. Perhaps they won’t be the only receivers either.