Australia moving forward with internet filtering plan
Ars Technica – Australia’s internet filter: could legal content get banned too?
Although the party responsible for pushing the filter forward, the “Family First” party, has good intentions – filtering internet at the ISP level is not a sound way to achieve an agenda in a (supposedly) free society. However, since guns are banned in Australia, it is not very suprising.
The filter would mandate blockage of all illegal content, including drug related sites and child pornography. The filter could also optionally block all pornography.
The problem seems to be that lawmakers can’t decide on what is “illegal”, since some of the content that would be blocked is currently legal to view in Australia.
I’m know that the Family First party in Australia has good intentions, but they ought to take a hint from the U.S. that beaurocracy can never achieve anything with the same level of efficiency as the private sector. Why make the internet 20-75% slower and have a mandated filter, rather than buying a $50 piece of software that can do the same thing?
Someone needs to tell Steve Fielding about Net Nanny.
I’m sure that the government could even issue vouchers to get the software for every citizen and it would still be cheaper (especially in the long run) than implementing a government mandated, ISP level internet filter.
Tags: Australia, beaurocracy, free market, internet, Net Nanny, private sector, Steve Fielding
End the income tax in Massachusetts
Oct 24, 2008 Campaign for Liberty, Ron Paul, economy, politics
from Campaign for Liberty:
Urgent Message to You from Two Strong Ron Paul Supporters
from Carla Howell and Michael Cloud
Dear Fellow Supporters of Ron Paul,Ron Paul campaigned to Repeal the Income Tax – and dramatically shrink the size and power of government. Now you have the opportunity to take the first step to make Ron Paul’s dream a reality – by helping us to repeal the income tax in Massachusetts this November 4th.
We are co-sponsors of Ballot Question 1, the legally-binding ballot measure that will END the Massachusetts state income tax.
Maybe you’ve read articles about our ballot initiative in the ‘Wall Street Journal,’ ‘the New York Times,’ ‘the Boston Globe,’ ‘National Review,’ ‘Reason,’ ‘CATO,’ ‘the National Taxpayers Union,’ or at LewRockwell.com. Or seen us on CNN or Fox News.
Do we really have a reasonable chance to win? Or is this just another fantasy?
Four different polls show us dead even. One poll shows support for ENDing the income tax at 45% — with 45% against. 9% undecided. Two other polls show 45% For and 45% Against – with 10% undecided. One strange poll showed 37% For and 37% Against – with 26% undecided.
This is the second time we’ve put this END the income tax initiative on the ballot. Last time, with a few hundred volunteers – and a total advertising budget of $89,000 – we got 45.3% of the vote. 885,683 votes.
50/50 odds of repealing the state income tax. And a chance of setting in motion a series of state-by-state repeals of income taxes.
Why will Massachusetts voters vote YES – and END the income tax? What are the benefits to them?
1. Our Ballot Initiative will give back over $3,700 each to 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers. $3,700 average. Each worker. Not just once. Every year.
2. It will take $12.6 Billion out of the hands of Massachusetts Big Government – and put it back into the hands of the men and women who earned it. Not just once. Every year.
3. In productive, private hands this $12.6 Billion a year will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs in Massachusetts.
4. This will force the state legislature to streamline and cut the waste out of the Massachusetts state spending.
5. This will force the state legislature to get rid of the failed, flawed government programs that don’t work – and often make things worse.
6. It’ll make the state legislature accountable to Massachusetts workers and taxpayers – instead of the government employees, lobbyists, and special interests who profit from high government spending.
7. With less government and no income tax, Massachusetts will become a magnet to private, productive businesses and individuals. More good jobs and more good workers.
8. And with 3,400,000 Massachusetts taxpayers getting back an average of $3,700 each in their take home paychecks, this just might radically reduce home foreclosures.
Wouldn’t these huge, immediate, direct benefits get you to the polls on November 4th?
But there’s a huge 900 lb gorilla standing between us and victory.
Who? The Teachers Unions.
Massachusetts Teachers Association, S.E.I.U. (the government employees union), AFL-CIO (who get plush government construction pay), and the other unions who get tax-funded jobs.
Union dues have already bankrolled $2,090,100 of the NO on 1 War Chest. That’s 99.93% of the anti tax-cut funding!
In addition, these unions and their allies also reported $443,437 in in-kind donations.
In addition, these unions have mobilized an estimated $1,200,000 worth of paid and unpaid union activists to stop us from ending the income tax.
Plus, with the Massachusetts Teachers Association driving this effort, the unions and their political allies are generating widespread news coverage of Ballot Question 1.
Over 53 newspaper articles and opinion pieces in just the last 10 days!
The unions are very effective. 100% of the newspaper editorials oppose our Ballot Question 1. Over 96% of opinion columns are against us. Over 83% of the newspaper articles are indisputedly against us. The remaining articles usually lean 50% to 70% against Ending the income tax.
Despite our opponents’ $2,090,100 in union dues dwarfing our fundraising, despite their several thousand paid and unpaid union activists being over 100 times the number of our volunteers, and despite their overwhelming advantage in Newspaper and TV support –
WE ARE STILL DEAD EVEN IN THE POLLS.
Some polls show us and our opponents each at 45% — with 10% undecided. One poll shows us and our opponents each at 37% — with 26% undecided.
With everything they’ve thrown at us, we’re still tied.
With less than three weeks left, we can beat them.
We and our team are doing media interviews, debating our opponents, appearing on talk shows – and we’re reaching more and more of the 3,400,000 Massachusetts workers and taxpayers.
The Massachusetts Teachers Association and their allies have already begun as much as $5,000,000 in Negative Ads and Fear Ads in these last 2 or 3 weeks.
To win, we probably need to run $500,000 in our high-impact ads. Or as close to that amount as we can.
We have $49,816 in the bank. We need to raise $450,000 immediately – if not sooner.
Our ads can tip the scales – and give us victory for the taxpayers.
We’ve developed and tweaked an advertising language, message and approach that’s viral. Contagious. Infectious. Persuasive and unforgettable to Massachusetts taxpayers.
Each $20,000 in advertising will produce an additional $40,000 in positive news coverage, publicity, and word of mouth.
Together, you and we CAN win if you donate as much as you can, if your donation helps us run just 10% of the advertising our opponents are running.
Join us, and be an indispensible member of the Army of Davids that ENDS the Massachusetts income tax in less than 3 weeks.
Will YOU please contribute $500 or $250 or $150 right now – so we can produce and place the first wave of advertising?
If you are successful in your career, if you have enough cash or credit to make a larger donation, you will make a huge difference. Will you please donate $10,000 or $5,000 or $2,500 or $1,000 today?
Your donation is our advertising budget – to END the income tax. It’s our campaign budget.
Other Ron Paul donors are counting on YOU to give what they are giving. To join them. They need YOU to donate now. Will you please donate $85 or $65 or $45 today?
Even $5 will help.
Don’t wait. Please contribute now by credit card by clicking:
https://secure.bluehost.com/~savyonco/ms/sga/sga2.php
Or please write your check today and mail it to:
The Committee For Small Government
6 Goodman Lane
Wayland, MA 01778
Make history. Make a donation today.You will remember this for many, many years. Thank you.
Small government is possible.
Your friends and allies,Carla Howell & Michael Cloud
Co-Sponsors, Ballot Question 1 to END the Income Tax
Tags: Campaign for Liberty, Income Tax, Massachusetts, Ron Paul
The things some people will do… another reason to vote for Chuck Baldwin
Oct 24, 2008 politics
This idiot from College Station, Texas lied about being attacked by a robber who she says mugged her and carved a “B” into her cheek with a dull knife because of her support for John McCain. Later, when confronted, she admitted that she made the whole thing up. She showed no sign of remorse.
The article says that she is a McCain campaign volunteer, but the campaign will come out and denounce her actions (unless they are complete idiots).
To be fair, Obama supporters have really been much worse:
Campaign headquarter manager’s home shot at because of a McCain/Palin sign in his yard
6 Republican politician’s homes defaced
Pretty crazy stuff. Down with the 2 party system.
I might as well plug a good liberty minded website while I’m at it too. And don’t forget Chuck Baldwin for President 2008.
Tags: barack obama, chuck baldwin, John McCain
Texas politics: Why I won’t be voting for Tom Craddick
Oct 21, 2008 politics
Not too long ago, I spoke at the La Entrada al Pacifico townhall style meeting held at the UTPB CEED building here in Midland, Texas. One of the points that I made was that the La Entrada al Pacifico corridor (as a section of the larger Trans Texas Corridor) was an encroachment on our state and national sovereignty, because the TTC (but not La Entrada al Pacifico, as pointed out by James Beauchamp) it is not only giving taxing/tolling authority to foreign entities, but using Texas taxpayer money to subsidize the importation of foreign goods. As it turns out, Craddick’s wife, Nadine, is a co-founder of MOTRAN (Midland Odessa Transportation Alliance), an organization that is spearheading La Entrada al Pacifico.
Tom Craddick lists the “Driver Responsibility Program”, a program which imposes a surcharge on driving offenses such as not physically carrying your license with you while driving (even if it is valid and you forgot your wallet at home) or any moving violation(s) which result in 6 points on your driving record. A portion of the revenues from these surcharge fees (49.5% to be exact) are going to TXDOT’s “mobility fund”, which funds highway projects, including the trans-Texas corridor and La Entrada al Pacifico, since TXDOT is currently performing a $1.5 million study of the La Entrada al Pacifico corridor in Texas.
Not to mention, the “Christi Craddick Bill” – a bill which gave Craddick’s adult daughter state funded health care, despite his criticizing legislators who pay employees who do little to no work for the state of Texas with taxpayer dollars. His daughter works for his PAC and provides no service to the State of Texas.
Craddick was also involved in a money laundering scheme in 2002.
Tags: christi craddick, driver responsibility program, la entrada al pacifico, midland, MOTRAN, nadine craddick, odessa, tom craddick, trans-texas corridor, TXDOT
The politically incorrect guide to politics with John Stossel
Oct 20, 2008 economy, politics
This is an amazing one hour piece for mainstream media. I always knew I liked John Stossel.
Why do presidential candidates always act like they can fix everything and run our lives the way they want to? Why do they promise all sorts of things they know they can’t deliver? Things like energy independence and health care can only be solved by getting bureaucracy out of the free market*.
*I’m not saying there should not be any regulation in a free market capitalist system. However, regulation should be reduced to allow the market to work on its own.
Tags: energy independence, health care, John Stossel, libertarian
Obama: globalist neocon warmonger?
Oct 16, 2008 general
Why does Obama have so many warmongering foreign policy advisers like Madeleine Albright, who once said it was acceptable for 50,000 Iraqi children to die if it meant getting rid of Saddam Hussein?
Why is Obama a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an outspoken globalist organization with imperialist ambitions?
As time passes, the more apparent it becomes that Obama is simply a puppet for the neocon political machine. He’s convinced that we need to continue our foreign policy of imperialism, and he even wants to invade Pakistan and add 100,000 troops to our military. Obama is nothing but a neocon warmonger with a big “D” in front of his name. Forget about the wedge issues like gay rights and fair housing. Make no mistake, those are the issues that the powers that be want you to focus on so that the one party masquerading as two can pull the wool over your eyes and continue their imperialist, interventionist foreign policy.
A vote for Chuck Baldwin is a vote against globalism, imperialism, fascism, socialism, interventionism, beaurocracy, inflation, militarism, and a vote for the Constitution of these United States of America.
Tags: 2008 election, chuck baldwin, Council on Foreign Relations, neocon, Pakistan
Was Obama born in Kenya?
Oct 16, 2008 politics
Despite attempts to force him to produce his birth certificate, Barack Obama has not complied, and continues to deny requests due to minor legalities in the case against him. His grandmother in Kenya talks about being in the delivery room in Kenya while Obama was born, and Obama had to be a citizen of Indonesia in order to attend a school there.
Despite being against Obama, I am not voting for McCain. I support Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party.
Tags: 2008 election, barack obama
