PoliticalAction.com Blog

Dear Caring American,

As you know, the nation of Haiti received their largest earthquake ever —a 7.0 earthquake, centered around 10 miles west of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

According to our representatives there on the ground, the first hand reports say there is “TOTAL DEVASTATION”!! Many buildings have collapsed, even the “fortified” presidential palace, as you have seen on TV!

John, one of our representatives, just called asking for our immediate help! He was in the middle of driving people to one of the hospitals left standing. His cracked voice told the entire story of the total devastation!

The Haitian people—NOW, more than ever—desperately need your financial help today!

Please SELECT HERE to instantly assist in sending more containers of disaster relief supplies!

YOUR gift can literally help Haitians to survive this total devastation! Over 9 million Haitians await your generosity!

Our additional disaster relief containers are READY TO GO . . . right now! Our representatives have just informed us the port at St. Marc is open and the displaced people are flooding into St. Marc with nothing.

We already have a ship loaded with meals on its way to Haiti. It will be docking there within hours filled with rice and beans and all manner of first responder supplies.

We are ready to ship more NOW. We have up to 40 container spaces reserved on the next ship. There’s no waiting. As soon as we receive enough money to ship from people just like you, the containers will be released! Space on a ship, ready to pull out of the port—bound for Haiti- is secured. They are holding spaces for our containers NOW.

SELECT HERE to immediately help in sending containers of disaster relief supplies RIGHT AWAY!

Electricity is out in most places. Any kind of communications is nearly impossible! The damage and the casualties are unbelievable but devastatingly true. Even as I write this, the early morning reports are starting to trickle in. The stench of death has enveloped the capital city.

This is a catastrophe of major proportions. The disastrous earthquake did not distinguish between the rich or poor, even though over 80 percent of Haiti lives below the poverty line. It’s the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

This disaster has turned out to be even more deadly than any one of their recent disasters, like:
* Hurricane Gordon killed more than 1,000 people in 1994
* Hurricane Georges killed more than 400 and destroyed the majority of the country’s crops in 1998
* In 2004, heavy rains from Hurricane Jeanne, which passed north of the country, caused landslides and flooding that killed more than 3,000 people
BUT THIS EARTHQUAKE HAS TURNED OUT TO BE EVEN DEADLIER!

Immediately, MOMS AGAINST HUNGER quickly sprang into action!

The bottom line: we urgently need fuel and distribution money to send these already-packed containers. Will you try to give something to help these really desperate people? These containers will not be shipped unless compassionate people, like you, respond at once!

Please SELECT HERE to let us know that we can release the containers of disaster relief supplies to this impoverished and chaotic nation!

We’re ready to ship up to 500,000 pounds of disaster relief supplies: meals, rice, water, medical supplies, hygiene products, shoes, new clothing, school supplies, etc. It is ALREADY PACKED and in our warehouse at the Port of Houston. The releasing of these disaster relief supplies is up to you! We must just cover the cost of shipping.

My heart is broken for the dear Haitian people—who have already suffered so much. When the desperate call came for meals, even though we did not have the shipping monies, we felt like we had to give. That’s how God works; maybe you would consider giving out of your own need. God honors that!

After last year’s flooding, the mayor of Port-au-Prince declared that 60 percent of the buildings were shoddily built and unsafe in “normal” circumstances-much less CATASTROPHIC circumstances. TV shows that thousands of rickety shacks lay in dust-clogged shambles.

DISASTER RELIEF SUPPLIES
ARE READY TO SHIP . . . NOW!
Our warehouse official awaits my call. SELECT HERE to help me to tell him “YES, RELEASE THE CONTAINERS!” The people of Haiti await your response.

As the TV shows the amount of devastation becomes more clear. The United Nations peacekeeping mission also collapsed. People are dead in the streets, untold thousands. Blood-spattered mothers wander aimlessly in the cluttered streets, looking for children and survivors.

The damage is staggering, even for a country that is so accustomed to disaster and tragedy.

But a portion of the Haitian people have a strong faith; and so do we. We have been working in Haiti, through our Partners, for over 30 years. We have the infrastructure to distribute. They believe we will come with help…

And after midnight, it was reported that groups of Christians were singing hymns in the streets, searching for a higher power out of this rubble.

My Friend, we cannot sit back. The death toll continues to climb. Much more important than years of political instability is the LOSS of human life!!

Moms Against Hunger has always been a “FIRST RESPONDER” to those in need under desperate circumstances. And we are meeting the need—-one person at a time. Check us out at www.momsagainsthunger.org.

That is what we are doing in Haiti in the next few hours—leading people from the brink of total despair, back to life! Will you help today?

You’ve got a very important decision to make.

Will you help in this catastrophic disaster?

Or will you turn away and let “someone else” take care of it?

Our people on the ground in Haiti are READY to distribute.

Thank God for your help,

Dr. Gayla

P. S. We cannot delay our response. The news reports are SHOWING the devastation! I cannot say no; I had to say YES!

Please SELECT HERE to instantly assist in sending containers of disaster relief supplies!

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Conservative Action Alerts
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Statement of Congressman Ron Paul
United States House of Representatives

Statement Before Foreign Affairs Committee

December 10, 2009

Mr. Speaker thank you for holding these important hearings on US policy in Afghanistan. I would like to welcome the witnesses, Ambassador Karl W. Eikenberry and General Stanley A. McChrystal, and thank them for appearing before this Committee.
I have serious concerns, however, about the president’s decision to add some 30,000 troops and an as yet undisclosed number of civilian personnel to escalate our Afghan operation. This “surge” will bring US troop levels to approximately those of the Soviets when they occupied Afghanistan with disastrous result back in the 1980s. I fear the US military occupation of Afghanistan may end up similarly unsuccessful.
In late 1986 Soviet armed forces commander, Marshal Sergei Akhromeev, told then-Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, “Military actions in Afghanistan will soon be seven years old. There is no single piece of land in this country which has not been occupied by a Soviet soldier. Nonetheless, the majority of the territory remains in the hands of rebels.” Soon Gorbachev began the Soviet withdrawal from its Afghan misadventure. Thousands were dead on both sides, yet the occupation failed to produce a stable national Afghan government.
Eight years into our own war in Afghanistan the Soviet commander’s words ring eerily familiar. Part of the problem stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation. It is our presence as occupiers that feeds the insurgency. As would be the case if we were invaded and occupied, diverse groups have put aside their disagreements to unify against foreign occupation. Adding more US troops will only assist those who recruit fighters to attack our soldiers and who use the US occupation to convince villages to side with the Taliban.
Proponents of the president’s Afghanistan escalation cite the successful “surge” in Iraq as evidence that this second surge will have similar results. I fear they might be correct about the similar result, but I dispute the success propaganda about Iraq. In fact, the violence in Iraq only temporarily subsided with the completion of the ethnic cleansing of Shi’ites from Sunni neighborhoods and vice versa – and all neighborhoods of Christians. Those Sunni fighters who remained were easily turned against the foreign al-Qaeda presence when offered US money and weapons. We are increasingly seeing this “success” breaking down: sectarian violence is flaring up and this time the various groups are better armed with US-provided weapons. Similarly, the insurgents paid by the US to stop their attacks are increasingly restive now that the Iraqi government is no longer paying bribes on a regular basis. So I am skeptical about reports on the success of the Iraqi surge.
Likewise, we are told that we have to “win” in Afghanistan so that al-Qaeda cannot use Afghan territory to plan further attacks against the US. We need to remember that the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 was, according to the 9/11 Commission Report, largely planned in the United States (and Germany) by terrorists who were in our country legally. According to the logic of those who endorse military action against Afghanistan because al-Qaeda was physically present, one could argue in favor of US airstrikes against several US states and Germany! It makes no sense. The Taliban allowed al-Qaeda to remain in Afghanistan because both had been engaged, with US assistance, in the insurgency against the Soviet occupation.
Nevertheless, the president’s National Security Advisor, Gen. James Jones, USMC (Ret.), said in a recent interview that less than 100 al-Qaeda remain in Afghanistan and that the chance they would reconstitute a significant presence there was slim. Are we to believe that 30,000 more troops are needed to defeat 100 al-Qaeda fighters? I fear that there will be increasing pressure for the US to invade Pakistan, to where many Taliban and al-Qaeda have escaped. Already CIA drone attacks on Pakistan have destabilized that country and have killed scores of innocents, producing strong anti-American feelings and calls for revenge. I do not see how that contributes to our national security.
The president’s top advisor for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, said recently, “I would say this about defining success in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the simplest sense, the Supreme Court test for another issue, we’ll know it when we see it.” That does not inspire much confidence.
Supporters of this surge argue that we must train an Afghan national army to take over and strengthen the rule and authority of Kabul. But experts have noted that the ranks of the Afghan national army are increasingly being filled by the Tajik minority at the expense of the Pashtun plurality. US diplomat Matthew Hoh, who resigned as Senior Civilian Representative for the U.S. Government in Zabul Province, noted in his resignation letter that he “fail[s] to see the value or the worth in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year old civil war.” Mr. Hoh went on to write that “[L]ike the Soviets, we continue to secure and bolster a failing state, while encouraging an ideology and system of government unknown and unwanted by [the Afghan] people.”
I have always opposed nation-building as unconstitutional and ineffective. Afghanistan is no different. Without a real strategy in Afghanistan, without a vision of what victory will look like, we are left with the empty rhetoric of the last administration that “when the Afghan people stand up, the US will stand down.” I am afraid the only solution to the Afghanistan quagmire is a rapid and complete US withdrawal from that country and the region. We cannot afford to maintain this empire and our occupation of these foreign lands is not making us any safer. It is time to leave Afghanistan.

August 9, 2009

Dear Friend of Liberty,

The speaker lineup for Campaign for Liberty’s Northeast Regional Conference continues to grow!

Not only will Congressman Ron Paul and Judge Andrew Napolitano be present, but I am proud to announce that they will be joined in Valley Forge by best-selling author and historian Tom Woods as well as former CIA counterterrorism specialist and military intelligence officer Phil Giraldi.

Only in Valley Forge will Tom Woods give the fourth installment of his Foundations of Liberty lecture series that was developed specifically for C4L.

Phil Giraldi, a recognized authority on international security and counterterrorism issues as well as a regular contributor to The American Conservative and CampaignForLiberty.com, will speak to attendees about the state of current US foreign policy. This will give you the information about our foreign affairs the mainstream politicians and media pundits refuse to provide.

You can attend these lectures plus much more for only $76! Register today using promotional code Jackson to receive a FREE gift from Campaign for Liberty.

Campaign for Liberty is committed to giving Regional Conference attendees top-notch political training and networking opportunities to strengthen our movement and prepare grassroots activists to reclaim their country one neighborhood at a time. With Congressman Paul, Judge Napolitano, Tom Woods, and Phil Giraldi, our Northeast Regional Conference will be the biggest yet!

In Liberty,

John Tate
President

P.S. Don’t miss this chance to hear what they won’t teach you in most schools or tell you on the news. Space for C4L’s political training is limited, so reserve your spot today and use promotional code “Jackson” to receive your free gift!

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

As the healthcare debate rages on, there is one reality that even the proponents of this hostile takeover of healthcare by government cannot ignore – and that is money. The government simply does not have the money for a new, expansive, public healthcare plan. The country is in a deep recession that will deepen even further with the coming collapse of the commercial real estate market. The last thing we need is for government to increase and expand taxes to pay for another damaging, wasteful program. Foreigners are becoming less enthusiastic about buying our debt, and creating another open-ended welfare program when we cannot pay for what is already in place, will not help. Champions of socialized medicine want to tax the rich, tax businesses that already cannot afford to provide health plans to employees, and tax people who don’t want to participate in the government’s scheme by buying an approved healthcare plan. Presumably, all these taxes are to induce compliance. This is not freedom, nor will it improve healthcare.

There are limits to how much government can tax before it kills the host. Even worse, when government attempts to subsidize prices, it has the net effect of inflating them instead. The economic reality is that you cannot distort natural market pressures without unintended consequences. Market forces would drive prices down. Government meddling negates these pressures, adds regulatory compliance costs and layers of bureaucracy, and in the end, drives prices up.

The non-partisan CBO estimates that the healthcare plan will cost almost a trillion dollars over the next ten years. But government crystal balls always massively underestimate costs. It is not hard to imagine the final cost being two or three times the estimates, even though the estimates are bad enough.

It is still surreal that in a free country we are talking only about HOW government should fix healthcare, rather than WHY government should fix healthcare. This should be between doctors and patients. But this has been the discussion since the 60’s and the inception of Medicare and Medicaid, when government first began intervening to keep costs down and make sure everyone had access. The result of Medicaid/Medicare price controls and regulatory burden has been to drive more doctors out of the system – making it more difficult for the poor and the elderly to receive quality care! Seemingly, there are no failed government programs, only underfunded ones. If we refuse to acknowledge common sense economics, the prescription will always be the same: more government.

Make no mistake, government control and micromanagement of healthcare will hurt, not help healthcare in this country. However, if for a moment, we allowed the assumption that it really would accomplish all they claim, paying for it would still plunge the country into poverty. This solves nothing. The government, like any household struggling with bills to pay, should prioritize its budget. If the administration is serious about supporting healthcare without contributing to our skyrocketing deficits, they should fulfill promises to reduce our overseas commitments and use some of those savings to take care of Americans at home instead of killing foreigners abroad.

The leadership in Washington persists in a fantasy world of unlimited money to spend on unlimited programs and wars to garner unlimited control. But there is a fast-approaching limit to our ability to borrow, steal, and print. Acknowledging this reality is not mean-spirited or cruel. On the contrary, it could be the only thing that saves us from complete and total economic meltdown.

Anthony from Detroit writes:

How can the media (all) ignore the fact of the U.S. coming
off the “gold” standard ($35/oz)to a free rise or fall during Nixon era and President Reagan allowing the CEO’s, CFO’s, and Presidents of corporations to escape going to jail when they commit a crime and hide in the name of a corporation when the I.R.S. treats the corporation as an individual? If I committed the same crime as an individual, I’d go to jail.

Secondly, President Obama was handed a “Ponzi Scheme” with the $700.billion+ bail-out money, knowing full well the next President would have to continue his “rip-off of the American citizens OR print more money to cover the bad decisions of the major companies and corporations. This is a Ponzi scheme to pay out good money after bad when they knew the decisions were bad.

Nixon started this mess when we came off the gold standard and the
Republicans took advantage of the print more money to pay off bad or greedy debts.

Voting on the supplemental is imminent, and the outcome is
NOT a foregone conclusion.

That’s why we’re asking you once again to call your Congressional
representatives and tell them to vote ‘NO’ on the bill, H.R. 2346.

This time, though, we don’t want you just to call your own Congressional
representatives. We also need you to reach out to representatives who
remain undecided or are tentatively leaning ‘YES’ or ‘NO’.

This can be done with Firedoglake’s Citizen Whip Tool, which
helps you find out where Democratic representatives are leaning on the
Supplemental. The goal is to target those Democrats who are either ‘Leaning
NO’, ‘Undecided’, or ‘Leaning YES’. The major national peace and justice
groups, with which UFPJ works, culled together this targeted list with your
report-backs.

To reach the Capitol Switchboard, call this number: 202-224-3121.

Your phone calls made a big difference in the first round of votes, as 51
antiwar House Representatives voted against the Supplemental. And now, due
partly to our pressure earlier this week, the Graham-Lieberman torture
amendment will be taken out of the reconciliation bill. However, the IMF
funding remains — and most importantly, so does the funding for the wars
and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

That’s why we need to make these calls, express our opposition to more war
spending, and force our Congressional representatives to take a stand!
Let’s send a strong message to Washington: end these wars!

Thanks,

United For Peace and Justice

By Stephen C. Webster

After months of activism and lobbying by Congressman Ron Paul’s supporters, House Resolution 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act, will move out of committee to be debated by the full House of Representatives.

In a show of cross-party unity, Ohio Democratic Congressman Dennis Kucinich became the bill’s 218th co-sponsor, pushing it over the threshold for debate in Congress.

The bill, which achieved its 222nd co-sponsorship on Thursday, has been in consideration by the House Financial Services Committee since Feb. 26.

Congressman Kucinich, along with Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), announced Tuesday that the House Financial Services Committee will subpoena the Federal Reserve to ascertain the details of the Fed’s agreements with Bank of America in the institution’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

“The full committee and Domestic Policy Subcommittee, under the leadership of Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), have been investigating the circumstances surrounding the federal government’s bailout of the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch transaction,” Kucinich’s office noted in a Tuesday release. “Specific documents subpoenaed include emails, notes of conversations and other documents.”

While the bill enjoys some Democratic supporters, the vast majority of H.R. 1207 co-sponsors are Republican.

“The tremendous grass-roots and bipartisan support in Congress for HR 1207 is an indicator of how mainstream America is fed up with Fed secrecy,” said Congressman Paul in a Thursday media advisory. “I look forward to this issue receiving greater public exposure.”

Though the move from committee to full House is sure to hearten supporters, the Senate also has pending before it a bill which would have originally given Congress greater oversight of the Federal Reserve. But in its present form, notes Huffington Post writer Ryan Grim, a recent, every-so-slight modification essentially ‘neutered’ the bill.

“Thanks to an overlooked document posted on the website of Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, voters can virtually watch the water being dumped into the brew that Grassley had hoped to force the Fed to drink,” he wrote.

“On page five of Grassley’s amendment, he intends to give the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office power to audit “any action taken by the Board under…the third undesignated paragraph of section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act” — which would be almost everything that it has done on an emergency basis to address the financial crisis, encompassing its massive expansion of opaque buying and lending.”

Grim adds: “Handwritten into the margins, however, is the amendment that watered it down: ‘with respect to a single and specific partnership or corporation.’ With that qualification, the Senate severely limited the scope of the oversight.”

Congressman Paul, in defense of his proposal to audit the bank which controls America’s currency, argues not just for transparency. He wants to close it down.

“Detractors have [...] argued that the Fed must remain immune from the political process, and that that more congressional oversight would distort their very important decisions,” Paul wrote in an editorial titled, ‘Audit the Fed, Then End It!’ “On the contrary, the Federal Reserve is already heavily entrenched in the political process, as the Fed chairman is a political appointee. High-level officials routinely make the rounds between positions at the Fed, member banks, Treasury and back again, taking care of friends and each other along the way.”

He continued: “As far as the foolishness of placing complex monetary policy decisions in the hands of politicians – I couldn’t agree more. No politician or central banker, no matter how brilliant, is smart enough to know more than the market itself. The failure of central economic planning has been witnessed over and over. It is frankly beyond me why we ever agreed to try it again.

“To understand how unwise it is to have the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the magnitude of the privileges they have. They have been given the power to create money, by the trillions, and to give it to their friends, under any terms they wish, with little or no meaningful oversight or accountability. Thus the loudest arguments against greater transparency are likely to come from those friends, and understandably so.”