<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>The Freedom Factory &#187; Matt Johnson</title>
	<atom:link href="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/author/bestrafer/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me</link>
	<description>Freedom Blog, Liberty Blog, Blogging About Freedom, Capitalism, Free Markets, Free Society, Political Freedom, Economic Freedom, Personal Finance, Financial Freedom, Austrian Economics, Libertarian Politics, Consevative Politics, End The Fed, Fighting Socialism</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:33:13 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>http://skyrocket.me/?v=3.1.1</generator>
		<item>
		<title>We Not Rich&#8230; Yet</title>
		<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/we-not-rich-yet/</link>
		<comments>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/we-not-rich-yet/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:40:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matt Johnson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Personal Finance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[why you're not rich]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/?p=907</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is an actual call from a woman who was getting her car repossessed from the bank. Listen until the end and hear how she thinks it is going to work itself out. No wonder Obama was elected &#8212; he&#8217;s gonna make people rich! Check out our other articles and join The Freedom Factory for [...]


No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/because-we-have-obama.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-915" style="border: 0pt none;" title="because-we-have-obama" src="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/because-we-have-obama.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="226" /></a></p>
<p>This is an actual call from a woman who was getting her car repossessed from the bank. Listen until the end and hear how she thinks it is going to work itself out.<span id="more-907"></span></p>
<p>No wonder Obama was elected &#8212; he&#8217;s gonna make people rich!</p>
<p>Check out our <a href="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me" target="_self">other articles</a> and <a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1096073" target="_blank">join The Freedom Factory</a> for updates.</p>


<p>No related posts.</p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/we-not-rich-yet/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>26</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/we-not-rich-1.mp3" length="565885" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>How many zeros in a billion?</title>
		<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/</link>
		<comments>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:20:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matt Johnson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spending]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spending bill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wasteful government spending]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/?p=902</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The next time you hear a politician use the word &#8220;billion&#8221; in a casual manner, think about how you want government spending YOUR tax money. A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases. A billion [...]


No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p class="MsoPlainText">The next time you hear a politician use the word &#8220;billion&#8221; in a casual manner, think about how you want government spending YOUR tax money.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.</p>
<ul>
<li>A billion seconds ago it was 1959.</li>
<li>A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.</li>
<li>A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.</li>
<li>A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoPlainText">At the rate our government is spending it, a billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes ago.<span id="more-902"></span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">According to the IRS, tax revenue brought in for 2007 was higher than any year in U.S. history.<span> </span>And yet, for every $1.00 the IRS brings in, government spends $1.50.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">While this thought is still fresh on the brain, consider New Orleans.<span> </span>(It&#8217;s amazing what you can learn with some simple division.)</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D) is presently asking Congress for $250 Billion to rebuild New   Orleans. Interesting number &#8212; what does it mean?</p>
<ul>
<li>If you are one of the 484,674 residents of New   Orleans (every man, woman, and child) you each get $516,528.</li>
<li><span>I</span>f you have one of the 188,251 homes in New   Orleans, your home gets $1,329,787.</li>
<li>If you are a family of four&#8230; your family gets $2,066,012.</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Perhaps Americans would vote differently if they voted with their calculators.<span> </span></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">With a growing deficit, a new president that advocates $300 Billion in NEW federal spending next year, AND wants to give a &#8220;tax credit to 95% of the population,&#8221; consider this:</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText"><span> </span></p>
<ul>
<li>Accounts Receivable Tax</li>
<li>Building Permit Tax</li>
<li>CDL License Tax</li>
<li>Cigarette Tax</li>
<li>Corporate Income Tax</li>
<li>Dog License Tax</li>
<li>Federal Income Tax</li>
<li>Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)</li>
<li>Fishing License Tax</li>
<li>Food License Tax</li>
<li>Fuel Permit Tax</li>
<li>Gasoline Tax</li>
<li>Hunting License Tax</li>
<li>Inheritance Tax</li>
<li>Inventory Tax</li>
<li>IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax)</li>
<li>IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)</li>
<li>Liquor Tax</li>
<li>Luxury Tax</li>
<li>Marriage License Tax</li>
<li>Medicare Tax</li>
<li>Property Tax</li>
<li>Real Estate Tax</li>
<li>Service charge taxes</li>
<li>Social Security Tax</li>
<li>Road Usage Tax (Truckers)</li>
<li>Sales Taxes</li>
<li>Recreational Vehicle Tax</li>
<li>School Tax</li>
<li>State Income Tax</li>
<li>State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)</li>
<li>Telephone Federal Excise Tax</li>
<li>Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax</li>
<li>Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax</li>
<li>Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax</li>
<li>Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax</li>
<li>Telephone  State and Local Tax</li>
<li>Telephone Usage Charge Tax</li>
<li>Utility Tax</li>
<li>Vehicle License Registration Tax</li>
<li>Vehicle Sales Tax</li>
<li>Watercraft Registration Tax</li>
<li>Well Permit Tax</li>
<li>Workers Compensation Tax</li>
</ul>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world.<span> </span>We had absolutely no national debt. We had the largest middle class in the world. &#8230;and Mom stayed home to raise the kids.</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">What happened?</p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Can you spell GOVERNMENT?</p>
<p>—–SPECIAL OFFERS—–</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Federal Reserve is creating tens of trillions of new dollars</span>, debasing our currency, and <strong>silently taxing us all through inflation</strong>. With tens of trillions in federal budget deficits on the horizon there is nowhere for the US dollar to go, but down.<br />
<a href="http://www.bullionvault.com/#robviglione"><img title="Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices" src="http://www.bullionvault.com/images/adverts/Buy_Gold_Today_Banner.gif" border="0" alt="Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices" width="468" height="60" /></a></p>
<p>Refuse to be a victim of this flawed financial system, buy gold and silver NOW!</p>
<p>With <span style="text-decoration: underline;">hyperinflation</span> and risk of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">economic disaster</span> increasing with each dollar Congress recklessly spends, it pays to be prepared: Consider <strong>stocking up on Emergency Supplies</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://thereadystore.com/freeze-dried-food-storage/ultimate-year-supply-of-freeze-dried-food-10-cans?aid=4b6612785c8c0&amp;bid=5d60a2f8" target="_top"><img src="http://www.thereadystore.com/affiliate/accounts/default1/banners/728x90uys.png" alt="Ultimate Year Supply" title="Ultimate Year Supply" width="798" height="90" /></a><img style="border:0" src="http://www.thereadystore.com/affiliate/scripts/imp.php?aid=4b6612785c8c0&amp;bid=5d60a2f8" width="1" height="1" alt="" /></p>


<p>No related posts.</p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/how-many-zeros-in-a-billion/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>7</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Just Why DID the Chicken Cross the Road?</title>
		<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/just-why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road/</link>
		<comments>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/just-why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 16:43:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matt Johnson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[barack obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[funny]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[john mccain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[satire]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/?p=721</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Political and community leaders around the U.S. weigh in. BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! Chickens need hope for their future, and I&#8217;ll give it to them! JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue [...]


No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/chicken1.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-722 aligncenter" title="chicken1" src="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/chicken1.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="226" /></a></p>
<h3>Political and community leaders around the U.S. weigh in.</h3>
<p><strong>BARACK OBAMA:</strong> The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! Chickens need hope for their future, and I&#8217;ll give it to them!</p>
<p><strong>JOHN MCCAIN:</strong> My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.</p>
<p><strong>HILLARY CLINTON:</strong> When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn&#8217;t about me.</p>
<p><strong>GEORGE W. BUSH:</strong> We need to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not.  The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.</p>
<p><strong>DICK CHENEY:</strong> Where&#8217;s my gun?</p>
<p><strong>COLIN POWELL:</strong> Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.</p>
<p><strong>BILL CLINTON:</strong> I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of crossing?</p>
<p><strong>AL GORE:</strong> I invented the chicken.</p>
<p><strong>JOHN KERRY:</strong> Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken&#8217;s intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.</p>
<p><strong>AL SHARPTON:</strong> Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.</p>
<p><strong>DR. PHIL:</strong> The problem we have here is that this chicken won&#8217;t realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he&#8217;s acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.</p>
<p><strong>OPRAH:</strong> Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I&#8217;m going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.</p>
<p><strong>ANDERSON COOPER, CNN:</strong> We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.</p>
<p><strong>NANCY GRACE:</strong> That chicken crossed t he road because he&#8217;s guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.</p>
<p><strong>PAT BUCHANAN:</strong> To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.</p>
<p><strong>MARTHA STEWART:</strong> No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmers Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.</p>
<p><strong>DR SEUSS:</strong> Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad?  Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I&#8217;ve not been told.</p>
<p><strong>ERNEST HEMINGWAY:</strong> To die in the rain, alone.</p>
<p><strong>JERRY FALWELL:</strong> Because the chicken was gay! Can&#8217;t you people see the plain truth? That&#8217;s why they call it the other side. Yes, my friends, that chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay, too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like  the other side. That chicken should not be crossing the road. It&#8217;s as plain and as simple as that.</p>
<p><strong>GRANDPA:</strong> In my day we didn&#8217;t ask why the chicken crossed the road.  Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.</p>
<p><strong>BARBARA WALTERS:</strong> Isn&#8217;t that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.</p>
<p><strong>ARISTOTLE:</strong> It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.</p>
<p><strong>JOHN LENNON:</strong> Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.</p>
<p><strong>BILL GATES:</strong> I have just released eChicken2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.</p>
<p><strong>ALBERT EINSTEIN:</strong> Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?</p>
<p><strong>COLONEL SANDERS:</strong> Did I miss one?</p>


<p>No related posts.</p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/just-why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Common Sense Fix</title>
		<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-common-sense-fix/</link>
		<comments>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-common-sense-fix/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:59:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matt Johnson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bailout bill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/?p=710</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[We are at a crucial time in our country&#8217;s financial history. The Senate passed the $700 billion bailout plan on Tuesday, and the House votes on it Friday. We are supporting an alternative plan that will keep our nation from going even deeper in debt. We need everyone&#8217;s help! Here are 3 steps you can [...]


No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center;"><img class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/image/general/t_3steps.png" alt="" width="405" height="18" /></p>
<p>We are at a crucial time in our country&#8217;s financial history. The Senate passed the $700 billion bailout plan on Tuesday, and the House votes on it Friday. <strong>We are supporting an alternative plan that will keep our nation from going even deeper in debt.</strong></p>
<p><strong>We need everyone&#8217;s help! </strong>Here are 3 steps you can take to change our nation&#8217;s future:</p>
<p><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/image/general/t_pray.png" alt="" width="209" height="24" /></p>
<p><strong>If you pray, pray for them to resist a spirit of FEAR and to embrace WISDOM</strong>. Even if you don&#8217;t like them or agree with them, pray for them and tell them you are praying for them. There is a spirit over this problem that must be broken. Also, most of the media personalities are afraid as well and that is affecting their reporting. Pray for fear to be removed from them; they are making this worse.</p>
<p><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/image/general/t_send.png" alt="" width="264" height="24" /></p>
<p><strong>Send <a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/the_common_sense_fix.pdf" target="_blank">The    Common Sense Fix</a> to your Representatives and Senators</strong> and tell them how you expect them to vote, and that if they put this nation in $700 billion of debt, that you will vote them out. It&#8217;s their job to listen to us! (Whichever presidential candidate or political party that champions this plan from their leadership down will likely become the next president. That is because this plan fixes the crisis while going along with the wishes of the vast majority of Americans.)</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>First, read <a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/pdf/the_common_sense_fix.pdf" target="_blank">this        page</a></strong> (PDF)</li>
<li><strong>Next, copy the info on <a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/common_sense_fix.txt" target="_blank">this        page</a></strong> (text file)</li>
<li><strong>Then send it to your </strong><a href="http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm" target="_blank"><strong>Senators</strong></a><strong> and </strong><a href="http://www.house.gov/writerep/" target="_blank"><strong>representatives</strong></a> by copying and pasting the text in the web form you&#8217;re sent to.<em><strong>*Note: </strong>If their websites are down, that means we&#8217;re making a difference! Keep refreshing the page until you get through. You can also go through <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials/" target="_blank">Congress.org</a>,        though we don&#8217;t endorse this site.</em></li>
</ol>
<p><strong><img style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://www.daveramsey.com/media/image/general/t_tell.png" alt="" width="142" height="23" /></strong></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/fed_bailout/index.cfm?fuseaction=dspMailAFriend">Send a link to this page</a> to everyone in your address book </strong>and tell them to urgently follow these 3 steps TODAY. The more people we have supporting this and contacting their elected leaders, the more likely we can turn our economy around!</p>
<p class="contentredbold"><strong>More Info:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/tdrs/index.cfm/2008/9/30/3-steps-to-change-the-nations-future">Share your thoughts and read other&#8217;s comments</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/media_relations/index.cfm?FuseAction=dspCompanyInfo&#038;app=wheresDave">Get a list of Dave&#8217;s media appearances this week</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/voted-b-rescue-package/" target="_blank">Find      out how your state reps voted for the $700 billion plan</a></li>
<li><a href="http://a1611.g.akamai.net/f/1611/23575/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23575/audio/mp3/mydrs_blog/092308_mark_to_market.mp3">Hear      author Dave Ramsey&#8217;s rant about it</a></li>
</ul>


<p>No related posts.</p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-common-sense-fix/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>18</slash:comments>
<enclosure url="http://a1611.g.akamai.net/f/1611/23575/9h/dramsey.download.akamai.com/23575/audio/mp3/mydrs_blog/092308_mark_to_market.mp3" length="3252139" type="audio/mpeg" />
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Paradox of Liberalism</title>
		<link>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-paradox-of-liberalism/</link>
		<comments>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-paradox-of-liberalism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:29:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Matt Johnson</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Economics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[democrats]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[liberalism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obama]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[socialism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/?p=581</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[What our founding fathers established in the late 18th century was considered very liberal &#8212; giving people freedom to determine and pursue their own goals, uninhibited and unaided by the government. From their own experience, they knew that the more the people demanded from government, the more the government would have to control the people.  [...]


No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p style="text-align: center"><img class="size-full wp-image-582 aligncenter" title="paradox" src="http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/files/paradox.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="226" /></p>
<p style="text-align: left">What our founding fathers established in the late 18th century was considered very liberal &#8212; giving people freedom to determine and pursue their own goals, uninhibited and unaided by the government.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">From their own experience, they knew that the more the people demanded from government, the more the government would have to control the people.  They learned from monarchies  and feudal systems that kept people in poverty in order to make those people rely on the pittance that the kingdom supplied just to keep them alive and working for the monarchy.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">The so-called &#8220;liberal&#8221; ideas our founding fathers proposed &#8212; ideas like unrestricted free trade, small government, and political and economic freedom for its citizens &#8212; are the foundation on which the U.S. was created.  Those ideas are the very reasons the U.S. has gone from fledgling country to dominant world power in 200 short years.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Those ideas are the reason many consider the U.S. to be the best damn country in the world.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">But with freedom comes risk.  In a free society, you are in the driver&#8217;s seat of your life.  You create your own circumstances, and whether that&#8217;s rags or riches, you are ultimately responsible for yourself.  No one else is.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Contrast that with a communist or socialist state like the former USSR, or China or Cuba.  In a socialist state:</p>
<ul style="text-align: left">
<li> You are guaranteed a job (although you have no say in what that job is)</li>
<li> You are guaranteed a paycheck (although government takes 75% automatically for taxes)</li>
<li> You are guaranteed food to eat (although it&#8217;s never fresh and may be rationed at any time)</li>
<li> You are guaranteed a roof over your head (although you&#8217;ll be sharing it with 6 other families)</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left">Socialism allows you to &#8220;outsource responsibility&#8221; in your life to the government.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Sounds nice, until you consider the consequences.  Yes, you will be able to eat and provide a roof over your head, but you will never have a chance to progress in life because Uncle Sam will take away nearly everything you earn to pay for the next guy&#8217;s medical/housing/retirement.  You will be at the mercy of the government, who may or may not be interested in you in your time of need.  You will have no control over your own life.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">This leads to the paradox of modern-day liberal philosophy.  Liberals claim to seek freedom from government controls over social issues in their lives:</p>
<ul style="text-align: left">
<li> Less interference in our personal lives &#8212; &#8220;Don&#8217;t tread on me!&#8221;</li>
<li> Less restrictions on abortion &#8212; &#8220;We want the right to choose [life or death for our unborn children]&#8220;</li>
<li> Less restrictions on marriage &#8212; &#8220;We want gay marriage&#8221;</li>
<li> Less restrictions on drugs &#8212; &#8220;We want marijuana legalized&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left">At the same time, they are asking the same government that imposes &#8220;shackles&#8221; on their personal lives to provide them with unlimited services:</p>
<ul style="text-align: left">
<li> More control of the medical system &#8212; &#8220;We want free health care&#8221;</li>
<li> More control over jobs and wages &#8212; &#8220;We want a high minimum wage and salary caps for the rich&#8221;</li>
<li> More control over retirement &#8212; &#8220;We want Social Security&#8221;</li>
<li> More control over landlords and housing &#8212; &#8220;We want rent control&#8221;</li>
<li> More social safety nets &#8212; &#8220;We want welfare for the poor&#8221;</li>
<li> More control over education &#8212; &#8220;We want better public education&#8221;</li>
<li> More control over the environment &#8212; &#8220;We want a green society&#8221;</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: left">How can the same group of people that so distrusts our government ask that same government to provide cradle-to-grave care?</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Don&#8217;t they know the consequences of asking for everything from the government?  Have they studied history?  Have they considered other countries that have gone down this dangerous path?  The party that seeks these programs needs &#8212; requires &#8212; people to be in poverty in order to control them!</p>
<p style="text-align: left">When I was 16, I got my first car and demanded my freedom from my parents.  I argued against a curfew and scoffed when my folks told me who I could or could not hang out with.  But out of the same breath, I expected for them to feed me and provide a place to live rent-free.  I fully expected them to pay my bills while I ran around being a carefree teenager.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">These days I laugh about how immature I was back then.  But it&#8217;s not so funny when 50% of our country &#8212; grown men and women &#8212; behave the same way toward the government!</p>
<p style="text-align: left">True liberalism is freedom from the shackles of a &#8220;nanny-state&#8221; government that controls who can progress to wealth or who can start/run a business or travel freely through the country. As stated before, our founding fathers were very liberal in their time.  But oh, how the world has changed&#8230;</p>
<p style="text-align: left">The modern Democratic party has hijacked the liberalism of our government and taken it to an extreme where current social trends and collectivist views define the party platform.  They&#8217;re fighting in the name of &#8220;the common good&#8221; to enact the same socialist policies our founding fathers worked so hard to prevent.</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Serious academic debate about the economics of socialism ended nearly 100 years ago.  How many times are we going to try to make socialism work before we realize it can&#8217;t?</p>
<p style="text-align: left">You can&#8217;t have your cake and eat it too.  Either you want more government (regulation, interference, control) or less government (freedom, privatization, risk).</p>
<p style="text-align: left">Make up your minds, people.  There is no in-between.</p>
<p><strong>Join our crusade to RESTORE THE REPUBLIC and <a href="http://www.feedburner.com/fb/a/emailverifySubmit?feedId=1096073" target="_blank">subscribe to E-mail updates</a></strong>.</p>
<p>—–SPECIAL OFFERS—–</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline">The Federal Reserve is creating tens of trillions of new dollars</span>, debasing our currency, and <strong>silently taxing us all through inflation</strong>. With tens of trillions in federal budget deficits on the horizon there is nowhere for the US dollar to go, but down.<br />
<a href="http://www.bullionvault.com/#robviglione"><img title="Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices" src="http://www.bullionvault.com/images/adverts/Buy_Gold_Today_Banner.gif" border="0" alt="Buy gold online - quickly, safely and at low prices" width="468" height="60" /></a></p>
<p>Refuse to be a victim of this flawed financial system, buy gold and silver NOW!</p>
<p>With <span style="text-decoration: underline">hyperinflation</span> and risk of <span style="text-decoration: underline">economic disaster</span> increasing with each dollar Congress recklessly spends, it pays to be prepared: Consider <strong>stocking up on Emergency Supplies</strong>:</p>
<p><a href="http://thereadystore.com/freeze-dried-food-storage/ultimate-year-supply-of-freeze-dried-food-10-cans?aid=4b6612785c8c0&amp;bid=5d60a2f8" target="_top"><img title="Ultimate Year Supply" src="http://www.thereadystore.com/affiliate/accounts/default1/banners/728x90uys.png" alt="Ultimate Year Supply" width="798" height="90" /></a><img style="border: 0" src="http://www.thereadystore.com/affiliate/scripts/imp.php?aid=4b6612785c8c0&amp;bid=5d60a2f8" alt="" width="1" height="1" /></p>


<p>No related posts.</p>
<p>Related posts brought to you by <a href='http://mitcho.com/code/yarpp/'>Yet Another Related Posts Plugin</a>.</p>]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://freedomfactory.skyrocket.me/the-paradox-of-liberalism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>21</slash:comments>
		</item>
	</channel>
</rss>

