YAL Christmas Email

Merry Christmas
...and a Happy New Year!

Twas the night before Christmas, and in the YAL house.
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
A semester was finished, projects complete,
And Dr. Paul once again won his congressional seat.

YAL interns were nestled, all snug in their beds,
While visions of liberty danced through their heads.
With students on break, and a lager on tap,
The staff was ready for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter,
We sprang from our beds to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and was blinded by cash.

The moon shined bright on the light-falling snow,
It gave luster to objects located below.
What appeared before me was quite the surprise,
It was ol' Ben Bernanke, with malice in his eyes.

His sleigh made of dollars, his suit paper bills,
The Fed Chairman looked at me, and it gave me the chills.
"You think you're so clever with your liberty," he sneered.
"But I'll inflate and inflate, even more than you've feared!"

"Now Geithner! now, Congress! now, Senate and House!
We'll make the dollar too weak for even a mouse!"
His fury was frightening, his power unmatched.
But I knew Mr. Bernanke's plan had a catch.

"Excuse me, sir Chairman," I quietly said.
"But I have some info which may turn you red."
"Oh yes, Mr. Frazee?" he answered with glee.
"What could you possibly say that might bother me?"

"YAL members are young, and they are eager too.
"They know what they believe and certainly don't like you.
"With strong donor support and the winds at their backs,
"I can assure you this, they're planning to attack."

"This Fall I saw them training, they're incredibly smart.
"They've turned liberty activism into a science and an art.
"Many volunteered for campaigns to express their strong voices.
"And came Election Day, the results reflected their choices."

"The TEA Party is for real, don't you know what this means?
"Say goodbye and good riddance to your printing machines.
"Ron Paul has a new job - and, oh, I'm sure you will care,
"He's the new Domestic Monetary Policy chair."

Bernanke's jaw quivered, and fear filled his eyes.
He knew I was serious, and that we had uncovered his lies.
And just then he noticed the snow was starting to stick,
His paper sleigh was melting, this was the end of his shtick.

"Jeff Frazee!" he yelled, "you have made an enemy of me!"
"Don't you dare think this is the last of the Fed that you'll see!"
I smiled and shrugged as I checked the date.
"Congress starts on January 3rd, so we'll see what's your fate."

In the meantime, vacation is sweet, and I believe it's well-earned.
YAL's network is growing and there's so much that we've learned.
The R3volution continues as Ron Paul's fortunes now take flight.
So Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Emailing Bill O'Reilly

So, I figure that I am a fan of The O'Reilly Factor and if I'm going to get good feedback, I should get out there a little more, so I composed an email and sent it to him. I know that he gets a lot of emails and I'm unlikely to get past a staff person, but it's a shot. I'm including the email below for you to peruse. I'd like to hear any opinions on the subject, if you have them.

Mr. Bill O'Reilly,

First, I'd like to say that while the economy is tight, I don't have any cable/dish service and therefore don't have the opportunity to watch your show regularly. I have read most of your books and enjoy your show when I have the chance.
* Not that Bill will every really read MY humble email *

Second, you state that you have a decent collection of historical documents that you've gathered. Would you consider allowing Google to scan and make those online for anyone interested in history and their own research? I do not have influence with Google to say whether they would be interested, but I doubt they would turn you down with rare documents that have historical value and making them available online at Google Books, for posterity's sake.

Third, I'd like to know what you think the value of the dollar would change if an amendment were made to FORCE the Federal Government to balance it's budget and pay off the debt. I mean, confidence and buying power would increase, the strength of the USD would go up on global commodities and products, but how much and over how long of a period? I have a blog (modest and conservative) promoting citizen implemented control over government spending (http://fiscalamendment.blogspot.com). This is a 30 year plan and I think that there would be a instant value and confidence increase in the dollar, what do you think of this radical plan that has literally NO chance of actually being made law.

But, for us little guys that dream big, nothing happens if we don't do anything. It's a slim chance, I just feel that something dramatic has to change if we're to prevent a total trauma to the system. We have become so desensitized to the government spending "another trillion" that most people don't realize that means over $3000 per person. With this amendment in place, our lawmakers would HAVE to tax that out of us and people WOULD care at that point. I think it would eliminate some of the political apathy that we're experiencing in our country right now.

I have some drastic measures to make this happen, but most of it goes to preventing the government from giving or donating money to businesses, charities, and trimming social programs (even scaling to income). It would force government to be more judicious in their invasiveness into our homes, cars and businesses.

I'd like to have your feedback on the amendment, whether it's a good thing or not and feasibility.

Thank you.

So, there it is. Let's see where it goes from here....

Well, the US has already been considered bankrupt, when the US currency was no longer exchangable for it's value in gold. I've been thinking a lot about the National Debt and how it's almost become fashionable. I say it needs to STOP.

First, We first really got started with a debt because of war. That seems to boost it quite a bit every time. Ok, war is already bad. It can help the economy, but it's still just borrowing to jump start production now.

The National Debt first exceeded $1 Trillion under President Reagan within the past 20 years. It took us 200 years to get to a trillion dollars, and now they do it every quarter. There is one singular primary example of what happens to a county that goes bankrupt, the former USSR. It broke down into many component parts, seperate countries and took more than 10 years for the economy to start stabilizing.

Government spending was DRASTICALLY cut and the country had to reform and everyone readjust. I'd like to think the best, but with our politicians going crazy thinking that "it's only paper" and getting themselves richer, we need to change the rules of engagement.

Food for thought from this blog today: Every time that they spend $1T, that's $3217.48 per PERSON that they've spent. At some point, we'll have to account for that. Our debt is currently 95% of our GDP, that's ALL the business done within the US. That is a problem.

So next time you hear "Congress is spending another $Trillion on ....", think "That's going to cost everyone I know and love $3217, I wonder if I should do or say something".

How to reduce the budget #1

Well, first thing I think should happen, since we're borrowing money and paying interest, is to stop GIVING money away to special interests, charities, foreign governments and subsidies.

Let me clear about this, my proposal does not mention social programs such as school lunch or food stamps. I'll address those later.

What I mean is this, the wealthy should not consider farm land a viable investment to get federal money. Subdivision developers promote developments as a way to get federal dollars annually. (See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/01/AR2006070100962.html). An example is the sheep industry in New Zealand that recently lost all federal subsidies in their country. It is now a more efficient, thriving industry because of change. Subsidies promote laziness. http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0303/newzealand_subsidies.shtml

Even charities like the Boys & Girls club, which I support, was under fire earlier this year for excessive executive salaries, travel expenses and over half a million dollars in lobbying. Is this how a credible charity should behave? When they realize that it will return many times that in federal dollars, yes, they should. This is not an isolated incident and it's unfortunate.

These programs can be reviewed and considered at the state or local levels much more effectively for social aid and should not be influenced by federal lobbists and congress.

Regarding foreign aid, I do not believe we are an island and should cease foreign relations, but we cannot afford to borrow money to give to another county who is probably carrying less debt than we are and pay for it at 4% for the next 30 or more years. If we need to loan someone money, let's do it with the same terms at which we're borrowing it. Let them pay the interest on it.

Government should not drive private research with a government agenda. If it is marketable and worth research dollars, plenty of big pharmaceutical or chemical companies invest the money. If public money is used to fund research, the public should have an ownership in that technology based on the percentage of investment made. And I don't think government should own companies, stocks or patents, which borders on socialism and is a slippery slope.