Hello, My Friends,

It's Memorial Day. Be sure to thank your local veterans for facing bayonettes, knives, machine guns, hand grenades, bombs, artillery, land mines, flame-throwers, napalm, chemical & biological weapons, missiles, and nuclear weapons in defense of American liberty.

You'll find them standing outside American Legions and VFW posts, because they are no longer allowed to smoke indoors.




As long as smoking bans exist, they died for nothing.

On this Memorial Day, why not truly honor their memory by learning what the real anti-smoking agenda is, because it ain't just about tobacco. It's about state control of every aspect of our lives--what we smoke, what we drink, what we eat, what we drive, where we live, who raises our children, where we live out our old age--and who we will be allowed to live out our final years with.

Unless responsible citizens stop feeding the egos and bank accounts of crank conspiracy theorists who fear-monger about the so-called Illuminati and "New World Order", and they start paying attention to the REAL threats to our freedom, instead, our real American heroes truly did die for nothing.

Here are a few recommended places to begin returning to reality and sanity:

FORCES

Velvet Glove, Iron Fist

Dissecting Anti-smokers Brains

Freedom To Choose (UK)

The Facts About Second-Hand Smoke

Junkscience.com

Junk Science Judo

Science Without Sense

Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Ruin Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them

The Scare Economy: Our Money, Our Virtues, Our Choice

"Today, the solitary inventor, tinkering in his shop, has been overshadowed by task forces of scientists in laboratories and testing fields. In the same fashion, the free university, historically the fountainhead of free ideas and scientific discovery, has experienced a revolution in the conduct of research. Partly because of the huge costs involved, a government contract becomes virtually a substitute for intellectual curiosity. For every old blackboard there are now hundreds of new electronic computers.

The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present – and is gravely to be regarded.

Yet, in holding scientific research and discovery in respect, as we should, we must also be alert to the equal and opposite danger that public policy could itself become the captive of a scientific-technological elite."

- President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Farewell Address

NO MORE RULE BY THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR!

The waterboarding that Christopher Hitchens receives in the video below is NOT torture, according to the previous and current Presidents of the United States of America.

Both men claim to believe in God.

Both men claim to be human beings.

Both men are comprised of DNA from the same species that produced both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Adolph Hitler. Ghandi and Ted Bundy.

Presidents Bush and Obama made conscious decisions to favor brutality over humanity. It was their choice, their decision.

May posterity never forget what these men did, what they allowed to happen, and what they refused to punish others for doing. For they have brought eternal shame to a species that has spawned 100 billion living beings so far. Bush and Obama do not only represent us in government. As leaders of the most powerful nation of people on Earth, they are ambassadors for the entire human species itself.

How do you like the way they represent the kind of being that YOU are?

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AP filed a report on Texas Governor Perry's remarks concerning "secession" from the Union. Contained in that report was a quintessential example of manipulative rhetoric, coming from Texas Rep. Jim Dunnam-- a man who is supposed to be serving The People, not manipulating them.

You may read the AP story itself HERE.

For your information, below is the text of my response to Representative Dunnam, who I find so offensive that I felt compelled to make my opinions known from 1000 miles away, even though he does not represent me (thank goodness). Read this with thoughts of other public figures' statements in mind, for his attempts to manipulate the public are merely typical, not unique.


Rep Dunnam:

Regarding your recent public comments on the Texas governor's statements concerning secession:

From the Associated Press: "Talk of secession is an attack on our country. It can be nothing else. It is the ultimate anti-American statement," Dunnam said at a news conference.

I do not appreciate you assuming that I, and other Americans, are too ignorant and illiterate to recognize an attempt to manipulate our emotions when we hear one.

TALK is not an attack. It is speech, made free by the U.S. Constitution. You should read those four pieces of paper some time. Pay special attention to Amendment #1 in the Bill of Rights. If speech causes you the physical trauma that is characteristic of an "attack", I recommend that you resign your office immediately, and seek medical/psychological counseling. You have insulted every American who has ever truly been attacked--including every American who has ever been killed while defending us. THEY were attacked.

"It can be nothing else". Really? Nothing else? It can't be anything else at all? It couldn't be a differing opinion? A hallucination? Insanity? A rational argument? An illusion? A poorly conceived off-the-cuff remark? The work of a speech writer? It couldn't be ANYTHING else? You told a lie here. Liars should not serve in public office.

"The ultimate anti-American statement". After you've finished reading the Constitution, you might want to read a one-page document called the Declaration of Independence, where the American Founders (i.e., AMERICANS) explained why it is a moral imperative that people DO dissolve the political ties that bind them, when those ties have become corrupt, abusive, and corroded. For example, when a nation's leaders focus their rhetoric on manipulating citizens, rather than serving them.

I don't know which is worse, the thought that you are truly this ignorant of American history, and therefore are incompetent to serve as a representative of The People, or that you have so much contempt for The People that you're willing to use emotionally-charged rhetoric in a blatant attempt to manipulate them. Either alternative makes you look very, very bad, except in the most extreme cases of cult mentality that characterize both major political parties.

And no, I am not a Republican, or a "conservative", or a supporter of Gov. Perry. Truth be told, I'm not fond of Gov. Perry. Yet I will defend any man's right to say that which even I disagree with. What a shame it is that you do not. Anti-American, indeed.

A BLACK First Puppy in the White House? What is this country coming to, anyway? They even named him "Bo" (short for Mr. Bojangles?).

Worse, the dog was a gift from Senator Ted Kennedy. Obama will certainly be bound to serve the New World Order Now.

I'm sure it won't be long before Alex Jones starts claiming that Bo is the evil doppelganger of Jesus' faithful three-legged hound, Skip. The dreaded "Anti-Puppy", who will bring tyranny and oppression to the canine race. I expect Alex Jones to call for Bo's impeachment before the Easter holiday has ended.

Still, you gotta admit, that's one cute puppy. Take a look at him HERE.

In celebration of the city of Belmont, California setting human liberty back around 500 years to when the hate group known today as the "Anti-smoking Movement" first began (Belmont banned smoking inside your own HOME), I'm in the mood to face the harsh reality that the worst cancer on earth is humanity itself.

Not all humans, of course. But the most malignant ones of all seem to gravitate toward politics, law, dictatorship, and other fields where they can dominate and subjugate their fellow humans. You know--tell other people what to do, how to live, which behaviors they may or may not engage in, and so on. Early Americans called them "Tyrants". Today, we call them "Madam Councilwoman" (aka Soccer Mom).

Let's take a look at where we're headed when the people who are least competent at sharing a planet cooperatively with other people, are in charge of our governing institutions, and they keep on producing one "little miracle" after another, after another. After another. And in the case of Sarah Palin, yet another. And in the case of that Angelina Jolie wannabe in... where else, but California (where Belmont is located), it's yet another "little miracle" times 14 (so far).

And away we go:

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So many "little miracles" filling the earth, from sea to shining sea. And what do they do while they are here? They worry about what OTHER people are doing inside those OTHER PEOPLES' own homes:




Sorry folks, but even if you haven't figured out yet that the American Experiment has failed, it should be obvious to everyone that God's Experiment failed the moment this human cancer first began to be fruitful and multiply.

Thanks for making the world a better, brighter place, Belmont City Council.

On January 14 the U.S. House voted to significantly raise taxes on just one minority of law-abiding Americans--the only remaining group of law-abiding Americans that is routinely and openly persecuted by the U.S. government itself, for it's own gain.

Please CALL President-Elect Obama's office at 202-540-3000 (press #2 to speak to a human), voice your opposition to higher taxes for poor Americans, and we'll all learn early on whether or not Barack Obama really does keep his campaign promises.

I'm talking about raising tobacco taxes, yet AGAIN (until the next time).

During my 10 years of research on American poverty in the Third World American project, it was perfectly evident that tobacco taxes have had a devastating impact on poor individuals and families. While real wages have steadily DECREASED, the price of just one pack of cigarettes has risen from around $1.25 to more than $6.00 in some states, in less than one generation. This is tantamount to a significant mandatory pay cut for any citizen who makes an adult decision to engage in one particular legal activity, out of all legal activities that are taxed. Regardless of how you personally feel about tobacco, it IS a perfectly legal activity for adults. Yet it is the only legal activity that witnesses perpetually skyrocketing taxes (which will never, ever cease to rise), prohibition of actually USING a legally-purchased product--even on PRIVATE property, and growing hatred and persecution against those who use that legal product, which borders on violence. (The Minnesota smoking ban forced 25% of the population into temperatures down to -30 degrees, with wind chills down to -50 degrees last week. These temperatures closed schools because they posed an imminent threat to human survival. Smoking does not cause an imminent threat).

Meanwhile, the anti-smoking industry and its primary benefactor, Big Pharmacy, have profited beyond comprehension, at tobacco users' expense.

In its expansion to the State Childrens' Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the House recently voted to raise taxes as follows:

Cigarettes: $6.10 per carton
Large Cigars: up to $.40 per large cigar
Little Cigars: $.96 per pack
Pipe Tobacco: $1.71 per pound
"Roll Your Own" Tobacco: $23.52 per pound (yes, you read that correctly)
Chewing Tobacco: $.305 per pound
Snuff: $.915 per pound

This (and all tobacco tax increases) represents yet another attempt by an utterly incompetent, negligent and corrupt Congress to raise revenues in the shadows, in order to mask its own mismanagement of public funds.

"A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul". ― George Bernard Shaw

Well, it doesn't receive the support of THIS Paul. This tax increase is an abomination, and the way it's being snuck into law behind the scenes, under the pretense of "Children's Health" is reprehensible. Message to Congress: Children do not exist for the purpose of providing you with a pretense for stealing money from consumers. Your blatant exploitation of children for your own gain is sickening.

On an episode of Family Feud, ca. 1980, Richard Dawson asked the contestants "What would people continue to buy even the prices skyrocketed?" One of the first responses was "cigarettes" (I believe it ranked as the #2 answer), and the consensus among all present was "good answer'. Congress is well aware of this. Any claim that increased taxes are meant to reduce smoking is unconscionable, and a blatant lie. It is an attempt to swindle more money from 25% of the population without any accountability, and nothing more.  If we take Congress' explanation literally, then if tobacco users do quit, this tax revenue will necessarily dwindle, and "Children's Health" will suffer from inadequate funding. Congress is counting on the American People failing to recognize the obvious: This is pure extortion against a minority population that is utterly defenseless to prevent THEIR behavior alone from being singled out for hatred and persecution.

"There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because YOU think it would be good for him." (emphasis added) - Robert Heinlein

One of the consequences of repeatedly increasing tobacco taxes is less money in tobacco users' pockets, as if working Americans aren't already struggling enough. Another consequence of perpetually rising taxes as real wages decline, is that tobacco use is gradually being transformed by the rich and powerful into an exclusive privilege of and for the rich. This tax increase alone represents an annual decrease in income of $220 for the typical cigarette smoker--that's more than 1/3 of the amount of the highest possible Economic Stimulus Rebate check that many of them received last year. $220 means absolutely nothing to the rich. But it means a hell of a lot to the other 90% of Americans who work for a living, and receive nothing but financial struggle in return.

Technically, $220 a year IS affordable for most people. It won't inspire many people to quit using tobacco (which should be their choice in a free country, anyway). However it WILL deliver billions of dollars to the U.S. government to help pay for things like... trillion dollar bailouts to multi-billion dollars corporations that helped to get these same legislators elected to public office in the first place, and who help to keep these officials in power as career politicians who have little or no conception of what life is like for typical Americans.

Recent reports have shown that funds derived from the Tobacco Settlement (i.e., from tobacco users) have been used for everything from college scholarships to building a museum in Alaska. NOTHING to do with public health. One of the most visible anti-smoking leaders in the U.S. openly admitted that the money being sucked out of smokers' pockets, "helps to pay my mortgage".

But this new tax also blatantly violates Barack Obama's promise NOT to raise taxes on Americans who earn less than $250,000 year. By the anti-smoking industries' own mouths, most smokers are poor....

Is Barack Obama going to prove that he's made of better stuff than the people who have occupied Washington (quite literally) for so many years? Is he going to follow Grover Cleveland's example and use his power of veto to keep a incompetent, negligent and corrupt Congress in check? And now that Obama is quoting the American Founders, and calling upon all Americans to exhibit the same kind of moral courage and dedication to liberty that they did, is he doing to prove that he is a LEADER, by setting this example with his own actions? Or is he too going to abandon his most significant campaign promise before the litter from his inauguration ceremony has even been cleaned up?

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical." - Thomas Jefferson

I would add that forcing a citizen, against his or her will, to finance their own persecution, is just plain evil.

Is President Obama going to stop Congress with his veto power, and then expose what they are really doing to the American People so that voters can remove the most offensive legislators from office?

Probably not.

UNLESS, you call Obama's office and make YOUR voice known. One thing that surprised me from the Third World American project was learning that many of the most "corrupt" things that Congress does are the actually result of profound ignorance, more than anything else. Most Congressmen don't even read the bills they pass, which is utterly irresponsible to begin with. Yet, overall, generally speaking, they do vote the way they BELIEVE is right, based on the information available to them. "Big Tobacco" does NOT have a stranglehold over this Congress' ear. Big Pharmacy and the astoundingly profitable anti-smoking industry dominate what most Congressmen think they know about the tobacco issue. And now, as President, Barack Obama will continue to become even more distanced from the reality of ordinary Americans' daily lives as time goes on. That's human nature. Many of the legislators who voted for this tax increase probably aren't even aware of the potentially catastrophic consequences of decreasing poor Americans' incomes by ANY amount--especially when many Americans don't know how to budget properly to begin with (courtesy of the U.S. Department of Education)

Please, begin the Obama Administration right by doing YOUR part as a citizen. CALL the President-Elect's office at 202-540-3000, press #2 to speak to a human being, and voice your opinion on the matter. Let Obama know from day one that WE are willing to help him recognize the sleazy actions of special interests and incompetent Congressmen, as long as he's willing to listen to us. If you don't do it now, the precedent for civil inaction will be set, and we should expect to never have President Obama listen to the American People again. After all, there are plenty of lobbyists from Big Pharmacy and the anti-smoking industry (among many others) who are salivating at the opportunity to give the new President something to listen to, 24 hours a day, for the next four years.

Barack Obama is about to break his campaign promise and raise taxes on the American middle class--and he may not even be aware of it. Please, do your part to make him aware of it. If you can't take the time to make just one phone call during our period of greatest hope that this President will actually listen (the presidential honeymoon), then God help us all.

The President-Elect's office number is 202-540-3000. Please press #2 to speak to a human being. Voice mails have about as much impact as talking to yourself.

Please forward this message far and wide. The idea of using backdoor methods to take even more income away from the American working poor during the "worst economic times since the Great Depression", is nothing short of evil.

I have upload Episode 007 of Paul's Academy, on the topic of American Independence. What really happened in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776? What really happened to the American Founding Fathers after the Revolutionary War? What does Independence Day reallymean to Americans today? Episode 007 explores what it means to be a good citizen who has proven worthy of the American Founding Fathers' efforts, and it takes a look at just how far the American government has descended toward the very tyranny that the Declaration of Independence sought to free Americans from in the first place. And in the spirit of Thomas Paine, Paul bluntly explains the difference between free citizens and freeloading citizens--which includes many of our elected officials.

This Special Edition is all about handheld digital field recorders: The 4 main things that are necessary to record quality audio; My own epic search for a handheld digital field recorder; Tips & tricks for doing product research on the internet, and safe shopping on the internet; Why I chose to the Tascam DR-1 24-bit digital recorder over the competition. You'll even hear the EVP (Electronic Voice Phenomenon) that I recently recorded at a local cemetery. 

Check it out at www.paulsacademy.com. And please, support this show by taking just a few seconds to for Paul's Academy at Podcast Alley. It takes only a few seconds to vote, and it really helps other people find the show. Thanks in advance!