United Liberty

That is the word from Politico. According to several sources, the results were met with boos from attendees of CPAC, which again shows that conservatives are still not welcoming to libertarians despite what Ronald Reagan said about the correlation between the two philosophies (“If you analyze it I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism”).

In case you’re wondering, Mitt Romney won each of the last three CPAC straw polls (2007, 2008 and 2009).

Here are the full results:

• Ron Paul: 31%
• Mitt Romney: 22%
• Sarah Palin: 7%
• Tim Pawlenty: 6%
• Mike Pence: 5%
• Newt Gingrich: 4%
• Mike Huckabee: 4%
• Mitch Daniels: 2%
• Rick Santorum: 2%
• John Thune: 2%
• Haley Barbour: 1%
• Other: 5%
• Undecided: 6%

Way back in July of 2003 Ron Paul wrote an article entitled “We’ve Been Neo-Conned” in which he laid out facts showing that the “Neo-Con” philosophy had taken over the foreign policy of the USA (For a quick primer on the Neo-Conservative movement please click the link above). As I was reading this article one question kept repeating in my head:

“How did it come to this?”

The only place to start I believe is with the American person (notice I didn’t use the plural “people”). I will use myself as an example since I believe my story is common to many modern-day libertarians and members of the Liberty movement.

In short, I was raised a Reagan Republican, became a Neo-Con after 9/11, converted to a Goldwater conservative after the invasion of Iraq and became a full-fledged libertarian after finding the writings of Murray Rothbard(OK, maybe every libertarian didn’t become one because of Murray but I think many have a similar story).

But here is what I believe is key in my story and the reason why there aren’t more capital “L” Libertarians: I didn’t get their foreign policy. Like many I actually referred to myself as libertarian on social and monetary issues, but not when it came to our “enemies”. I hear the same from freedom loving people over and over again, especially in the wake of 9/11.

The reason the Neo-Cons were able to seize power is FEAR. I am not putting anybody down because of it. I can certainly relate, but we still have to figure out why the American person is allowing our government todrop bombs and declare war on anybody they want to while we cheer them on. When does fear translate to lunacy?

The people of Germany are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the end of the division of their nation:

With prayers, music and pomp, Germany on Monday remembered the 20th anniversary of the day the Berlin Wall fell, sending East Germans flooding west and setting in motion events that soon led to the country’s reunification.

Chancellor Angela Merkel — reunited Germany’s first leader to grow up in the communist east — started the day with President Horst Koehler and other leaders at a prayer service at a former East Berlin church that was a rallying point for opposition activists in 1989.

“We remember the tears of joy, the faces of delight, the liberation,” Lutheran Bishop Wolfgang Huber told the congregation at the Gethsemane Church.

East Germany’s fortified border crumbled on the evening of Nov. 9, 1989 after 28 years holding in the country’s citizens — a pivotal moment in the collapse of communism in Europe that followed a confused announcement by a senior official.

We aren’t that far away from the day when the Berlin Wall will have been down longer than it was up, and that’s a day to look forward to.

This video does a great story of telling the story of how this happened:

I suppose that credit should be due to Senate Republicans who made the difference in defeating the Auto Bailout. I also believe that President Bush’s brazen act of shifting money to the automakers is shameful operation.

But then Senate Republicans release a letter pleading with President Bush not to usurp the decision of Congress on the automakers bailout.

So far, so good.

But then these Senate Republicans gave their reason for opposing the bailout as the refusal of the United Auto Workers to agree to a cut in wages.

These folks still don’t get it!

The man accused of threatening to assassinate President-elect Barack Obama at first sounds like a crank:

The FBI has arrested a schizophrenic man in Hawaii who had threatened to kill the US President-elect Barack Obama during his vacation to the Pacific state at the end of December, ITAR-TASS reported.

Mark Miyashiro made the threats to Obama’s life on December 3 during an appointment with his doctor who is treating him with a schizophrenic disorder.

However, he seems fully prepared to take his words into action:

Miyashiro was arrested in his home in Kaneohe where the FBI found and confiscated a Russian-made SKS rifle.

Obama’s apparent Attorney General pick follows a pattern of tapping established Democrats and veterans of the Clinton administration:

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Former Clinton Deputy Attorney General Eric Holder is President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for the position of attorney general, according to two prominent Democrats involved in transition matters.

Holder, who is still being vetted, has indicated he will accept the job if it is offered, the sources said.

If confirmed, Holder would be the first African-American to lead the Justice Department.