Thursday, December 27, 2007

News Clip from 2005



This video is from ABC from 2005. I think that everyone should be scared by the statement that the solider makes and the end of this video.

solider: ...you don't want to think about the stuff you're going to have to do if someone, pops around a corner.

interviewer: You mean shoot an American?

solider: Yeah

New Orleans Gun Theft


This should outrage every American!

Monday, December 24, 2007

Ron Paul on Meet the Press

Friday, December 07, 2007

ABC News and Ron Paul

ABC News has a really good writeup of the Ron Paul campaign, it can be found here. If you are not already aware of the Ron Paul Blimp, then make sure to read this article. It is a great way for those who have already donated the maximum amount allowable by law, to continue to support the Ron Paul campaign. The website for the Blimp can be found here.

Ron Paul on The View

Monday, December 03, 2007

Make sure you are able to vote!

It is very important that everyone who wants to vote Republican in the upcoming primaries be registered as a Republican. For those who live in the State of Colorado you can go here to verify that you are registered as a Republican. If you need to make a change of information, than you better hurry because you only have until December 5th, 2007, to make a party change. The form needed to change your party affiliation can be found here. Voting in the primaries is one of the biggest things that the supporters of Ron Paul can do. To find out what else you can do to promote the cause of liberty, please visit http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/. Just click on your state and see what else you should be doing. Keep working hard, we are making progress. Don't forget to stop by the new donation page. We have another big money bomb scheduled for December 16th. Let's make this one even bigger than Nov 5th.

"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

About the Youtube Debates

For those who have not subscribed to the newsletter from Ronpaul2008.com, I didn't want you to miss out on this message from Ron Paul. Below is an excerpt from the email:


Then, after the debate, Rudy Giuliani walked up to me and said, "Oooh, you sure have a LOT of supporters." It’s only the beginning, I told him.

Indeed, he could have told that by the crowd outside after the debate. Mitt Romney had a few people, but no one else did. We, on the other hand, had about 500 enthusiastic revolutionaries, plus a boat, a trolley, and two planes towing lighted signs. As I looked out at the crowd, I thought: the establishment has no idea of what they are facing. We have an army of freedom, prosperity, and peace. As the LA Times political blog noted the other day, the British also thought they had no problem with the Americans--until Yorktown.

The video showing Mr. Paul's responses to the questions can be viewed below.


Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Ron Paul draws support from a wide range

Ron Paul has apparently found support from a brothel owner in Nevada.
From the MSNBC article:

"I'll get all the (working girls) together, and we can raise him some money," Hof told the Reno Gazette-Journal. "I'll put up a collection box outside the door. They can drop in $1, $5 contributions."

I have the same exact view as Ron Paul does on the issue of prostitution. I don't think that the government should be making laws against it, and at the same time I don't support it. I always like it when I hear this argument (from women) that prostitution is degrading and it should not be legal. In my personal opinion starving is degrading. Some may have the choice of being a prostitute or not eating. I see that as a simple choice, I like to eat. For those that may be in this financial situation, should we make their effort to eat an illegal activity? I will grant that the case of the starving prostitute may not be the most common scenario for those involved in this business venture. If anyone has data on this let me know. I would like to see a study showing the number of prostitutes that fall below the poverty line. Where is the Bureau of Labor Statistics when you need them?

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Take a Tour with Todd

I would like to welcome you to take a virtual tour with me(Todd). This unfortunately will only be a partially guided tour. I have a few different things that I would like to show you and also some documents you may want to read.
I was watching The Good Shepherd with a friend of mine. We came to the scene where the CIA is interrogating a suspect.

Friend: What are they doing to him?(stronger language may have been used)
Me: Oh, don't worry that's a CIA approved interrogation technique. It's called water boarding!
Friend: They're going to drown him
Me: They are just trying to simulate drowning
This event combined with others recently has led to this post. I would like to start the virtual tour off with a video that was put together by PBS.
Stop number 1 of the tour is here: Stop 1

I would like for you to watch all 3 videos before proceeding on the tour. Think about the video and what you have learned for a moment. Do you support sending people to other nations to be tortured? What does torture do to a human? I can only imagine since I have never been tortured. I imagine that it would permanently change you for life.
Look what happened to Sayyid Qutb who was tortured in Egyptian prisons. He supposedly had a direct connection to Osama bin Laden and the Autumn 2001 event. You can partially thank Greeley for that one. If you want to watch some videos on this, you can click here and also here.

Stop 2 -
I came across a news article that said a manual for the day to day operations of Guantanamo Bay. Wired has an article that talks more about the release of this document. Wired also had a link to the manual. Do we really need to have instructions on the proper way to use dogs with prisoners? Do we need to use dogs with prisoners?

The whole point of this post was to expose some people who might not be aware to the extent the United States abuses some of it's prisoners. Hopefully everyone will keep in mind that it is the policies of our current administration that has allowed these things to occur. It you find yourself in disagreement with the idea of secret prisons and also turning over people that we have arrested to other countries so they can be tortured for us—then perhaps we should all take a serious view towards the presidential elections of 2008. This means you may need to get involved now instead of just waiting to see who gets the nominations for the different parties.
Get involved and do something if you would like to see changes.

Monday, November 12, 2007

The Next Money Bomb

The next big fund raising event for Ron Paul is scheduled for December 17th, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. For more information go to Tea Party 07. We raised over 4.2 million on November 5th, let's see if we can't raise even more money this time around.

Ron Paul on the Situation Room

My favorite part of this video is when he is getting questioned about Rosa Parks. I really appreciate his answer. It reminds me of a pamphlet that is distributed by the constitution party. The pamphlet by the way, is definitely worth a read.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

No Ron Paul Zone

Monday, November 05, 2007

Not Content?

Here is another example of people not content with our current administration and a complete lack of mention to the solution. Do people really think that Rudy or Hilary are going to make a change for the good in this country? The article talks about both parties and many independents that are upset with the way our country is headed, yet not a mention of the only candidate that would actually chart a different course. I guess I should not be surprised. It not like Ron Paul matters to anyone. I mean he didn't just raise millions of dollars in one day through a grassroots donation program. Oh wait, yes he did!

Keep the donations coming

I just read an article saying that there was over $100,000 raised in the first half hour! Here is a link to an updated story. We are at over $2 million currently let's keep the effort going.
Also, here is a writeup that Ron Paul and his supporters got at mensnewsdaily.com. This is definitely worth a read! I really enjoyed his description of who is and who is not in the Ron Paul camp. Here is a excerpt from the article:

Socialists are absent in the crowd of Paul supporters. Gender feminists are absent in the crowd. Men who no longer have a pair are absent as well. One would think this might be a good milieu for the Men's Rights Movement.

I recommend taking time to read the article. Ron Paul supports will thoroughly enjoy it.

Sunday, November 04, 2007

Remember Remember the 5th of November

Today is November the 5th which is also Guy Fawkes day. In recognition of this a bunch of Ron Paul supporters are going to try to raise $10 million. I'm sure that we probably should be trying to blow up a building but we will give this peaceful thing another try. If we are successful in doing this it would be the most money ever raised on a single day for a presidential candidate. If you click here you can watch the video by the Ron Paul Girl about Nov 5th. To find out more information about this grassroots donation project please visit Thisnov5th.com. To donate to Ron Paul's campaign please go here.

Join The Revolution!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Fun with The Fed Part 1

The Federal Reserve announced that they are cutting the Federal Funds Rate by .25%. This comes after the last cut on September 18th, which was .50%. If you are not familiar with the Federal Funds Rate or some of the other tools that the Fed uses to manipulate the economy, you can click here and read about them.

For those who have never studied economics you might have a few questions, such as:
Why is the Fed trying to control how the economy works?
I thought that under communism the government tried to control the economy, what gives?

These are all legitimate questions to be asking. For an in depth history about how and why the Federal Reserve came about I recommend reading The Creature from Jekyll Island by G. Edward Griffen. This book may take you a while to read, but it is worth it if you want to understand the origin of the Federal Reserve.

Should the government be involved in the economy? This is a question that does not get asked enough. The main question that people will argue is how much should the government be involved with the economy. It seems to always be a matter of how much involvement and the going assumption is that the economy would come tumbling down if it was not for the ever watchful hand of the government.

I plan to address this question of economic stability without government involvement in part 2.
If you are already on board with those of us who would like to see the Federal Reserve abolished, then you probably know that there is only one presidential candidate that claims he will do this, Ron Paul. If you would like to show your support for abolishing the fed and for Ron Paul, I found the perfect tee shirt for you.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Ron Paul on Jay Leno

My favorite presidential candidate made an appearance on Jay Leno last night. I don't own a television so I was unable to watch it live. However thanks to the work of other people it is already available as a youtube video.

Template Upgraded

The transition of upgrading my blog template went a lot smoother than I expected. At this point it is mostly completed. I have added a couple of new features. One is that at the bottom of every post there is a link for Digg. So if you read an article and want to share it with others feel free to Digg it or there is also a link to e-mail that post to a friend. Also The Prism is now syndicated thanks to feedburner.com. Just look on the sidebar and there is a link for the RSS feed as well as a link to easily add The Prism to your Del.icio.us account. Hope everyone enjoys the new features and feel free to e-mail if there is something else that you would like to see.
Happy Reading
Todd C.

Monday, October 29, 2007

Upgrading Template

Dear Readers,
I decided that I am going to upgrade my template so I can use the functionality that is included in the newer templates. Hopefully this will be a smooth and quick transition. Thanks for your understanding in the process. I hope to have completed the transition within 2 days.
Thanks,
Todd C.

Ron Paul in Wyoming

I had the chance this weekend to attend a Ron Paul rally in Wyoming. I had a great time and was able to shake Dr. Paul's hand and tell him that I looked forward to seeing him in office in 2008. It was great to see other people who are also excited about Dr.Paul running for President.
There were many people that came from Colorado to hear Dr.Paul speak, as well as those from Wyoming. I met people from Windsor as well as Louisville. In fact that guy that I met from Windsor was handing out free Ron Paul hats. He has his own business in Windsor, Co and makes hats. I didn't get to talk to him for long but, I was able to obtain a business card. The name of the company is Sovereign Threadz. Their website is under construction at the moment but anyone in the Front Range area interested in a cool Ron Paul hat should definitely give them a call at (970) 686-6055. Below you can view your author with Dr. Paul and I have included links for anyone who is interested in viewing the speech.



Part 1 of 5
Part 2 of 5
Part 3 of 5
Part 4 of 5
Part 5 of 5

Ron Paul Hope for America

Monday, October 22, 2007

Ron Paul tries to educate Rudy Giuliani

Before you label Ron Paul's theory about why Autumn 2001 occurred, you might want to know a little history. If you don't and you call Dr. Paul's theory absurd on national TV, you might have a reading list assigned to you.

In the video below you can see Ron Paul's stance on why 9-11 might have occurred and Rudy Giulani's response.


Here is a clip of Ron Paul on Bill Maher's show, which briefly talks about Rudy Giuliani's reading list and Dr. Paul's stance on a range of issues.


What amazes me about Mr. Giuliani's response to Dr. Paul is the fact the Mr. Giuliani apparently has never considered that our foreign policy might have repercussions. If you are interested in "Reading with Rudy" you can click here to see the list of books assigned to Mr. Giuliani. Also for an in depth version of Ron Paul's idea of Foreign Policy don't forget to look at "Foreign Policy of Freedom" by Ron Paul. Don't forget to donate if you are able at RonPaul2008. Also you can view Dr. Paul's stance on many different issues and even download fliers on his website.
Ron Paul Hope For America

Friday, September 28, 2007

Get Off Our Campus!




During a normal school day I would not have even noticed the display that had been setup. However I had to make a trip across campus yesterday and low and behold pictures of children that had been murdered by the practice of abortion. Thankfully I had already finished breakfast. I didn't have time to stop and look since I was on my way to class. However after class I decided to stop and say hi. On one side of the sidewalk was the Justice For All group and standing on the other side was a couple of people with an opposing view. Two individuals were seen holding what looked like homemade signs. One sign read "Stop using Jesus as an excuse, to be a narrow minded bigoted asshole". This one got me to smile. Does that mean that I am allowed to be a narrow minded bigoted asshole as long as I am not using religion? I sure hope so. Another individual was holding sign say "Get off of our campus". When speaking to the gentleman with the sign saying to get off our campus; he said that he respected their right to be here, he just did not appreciate the graphic images. If that was true you think his sign might has read a little different. Personally I think that he just wanted these other people to go away because they made him uncomfortable.
All of the people that I spoke to from Justice For All were very polite and respectful, as was everyone. I spoke to a young woman and she solicited my opinion on the whole presentation. I informed her that like Justice For All, I don't support the murdering of our children, however I was not able to agree with the presentation. I think that these people's hearts are probably in the right place, but showing a 10ft by 10ft picture of an aborted child strikes me as the wrong way to approach the topic. To learn more about Justice For All you can visit their website. Thoughts on the issue of presenting graphic images on a public campus are officially solicited. Just click the comments link at the bottom.


Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Ron Paul and Ben Bernanke

Ron Paul on Moral Hazard

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Expensive day at the ballpark, Part 2

A little over a month ago, I had a post about the guy who caught Barry Bond's 756th home run ball. At time the ball was estimated to be worth around $500,000. To those of us who don't really care about sports, this seems like a very large number. I mean this is probably not the last homerun that Mr. Bonds will ever hit. Why is it worth so much money? I'm sure it is probably hopeless trying to explain something like this to someone who is not interested in watching sports. Well it turns out that the estimate of the home run ball's value was less than market price.

The ball sold for $752,467.

Let us take a minute to think about how much money that is. Well maybe not how much money but, what else it could have been used for. If you go to Feedthechildren.org you can make a donation that will help feed starving children in Kenya. According to the FTC page, one can feed 10 children for $80 a month. So that means that for $8 a month or $96 a year, you can feed a child in Kenya. Assuming that the price of food is constant and that it does not cost anymore to feed a 15 year old than it does a 2 year old; it would cost $1,728 to feed a child in Kenya from birth until their 18th birthday. I know that these are some large assumptions, but just work with me for a minute. If you had $752,467 how many children could you feed from birth until their 18th birthday in Kenya? The answer is 435 children. One could feed 435 children in Kenya with that amount of money for 18 years, with the assumptions that I have made.

Now I am not saying that we should all go and give our money to the poor. I am also not saying that Marc Ecko ( the winning bidder of the ball) should have done something else with his money. I think that everyone should spend their money as they see fit. I will leave it to the altruists to say Mr. Ecko should be helping poor children in Kenya. I think that this is just a reflection on the American culture as a whole. For better or for worse; I will leave that value judgment up to you.

Monday, September 17, 2007

New Attorney General

Alberto Gonzales is finally Gonzo.

If you are a reader of Slate, then perhaps you also followed Deathwatch. This was a series of articles documenting the downfall of our former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. These articles were written by While reading my copy of the Times this morning, I found out that a man named Michael B. Mukasey appears to be in line for the position of Attorney General. From a New York Times article by Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Philp Shenon:

But people in both political parties say he possesses the two qualities that Mr. Bush has been looking for in a nominee: a law-and-order sensibility that dovetails with the president’s agenda for the fight against terror

To read the rest of the article click here.
Mr. Mukasey must be quite an individual with the type of flexible moral fiber that is required to work in the Bush administration. I mean how are you suppose to have a law and order sensibility, when the President keeps pushing his nonsensical policies? President Bush's "war on terror" has nothing to do with sensibility. I think that if one has a law-and-order sensibility then you would have to be directly opposed to many of the President's idea about how to fight his imaginary war. Another article talking about Mr. Mukasey nomination can be found here.
I have concerns over anyone who President Bush is willing to appoint for AG even in his last days in office. Trust is one of those things that, once you lose you have to work very hard to regain it. Bush lost my trust a while ago and has not yet done anything to gain it back.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Expensive day at the ball park

What a great country we live in. A college student gets to go to a MLB game and happens to be lucky enough to catch a home run ball, and now has to worry about the IRS knocking on his door. Matt Murphy caught Barry Bond's 756th career home run. The ball is estimated to be worth about $500,000. From an article on Yahoo Sports:

Selling the ball for that amount would instantly put Murphy in the highest tax bracket for individual income, where he would face a tax rate of about 35 percent, or about $210,000 on a $600,000 ball.

It gets even better. If the ball increases in value too quickly, he might be subject to capital gains laws. Does anyone out there think that a smaller less powerful government might be useful? You can read the whole story by going here.

Monday, July 09, 2007

Education Gap or Culture Gap

I love reading stories about the poor Hispanics or Latinos that are disadvantaged because they don't make as much money as everyone else. If you have read such trash before, you may be familiar with my home town paper. Most stories tend to only focus on pay and ignore education levels. Is it fair that the group that has the smallest amount of education gets paid the least? In my world it is. Education is a normal good. The more of it you have the more you typically make. Brink Lindsey who is the vice president for research at the Cato Institute, has an article worth reading. The Culture Gap.

On the bright side for those of us pursuing a college degree. Apparently the demand for people with a college degree is not being met. That means more money to those who have a degree typically. So make sure you read The Culture Gap and make sure that your culture is not setting you up for future economic failure.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

Where are we heading?

Dictionary from 2010
Privacy - n.
1) The act of being private
2) The incorrect belief that an individual has a right to be free from intrusion in one's life. This view is usually held by terrorists and other enemies of the state.

How many people think that the above definition is unrealistic in a few years?

I am personally still waiting for the "Pre-Cogs" from Minority Report to detect my future criminal thought. But for now we will have to get by with our current measures. Which now include lip reading software on video surveillance cameras.

Is your car spying on you? This is the title of an article written by Robert Vamosi for Cnet. I would recommend reading it before you consider buying a new car. The article talks about the different measures that are being put into new cars. They are similar to the black boxes that are found on airplanes. The devices installed in the cars are not recording audio, yet they do record speeds and events like an airbag deploying. Just imagine the possibilities!

Many new cars have Global Positioning Satellite(GPS) technology installed in them. The most common GPS solution that you might be familiar with would probably be Onstar.
In 2004, a team from Autoweek took a Chevy Malibu Maxx out for a test drive. They found that without actually having a wreck, they could get the attention of Onstar.

You need not be anywhere close to a collision, really. For our road test team this summer, it was just a matter of running a routine slalom in a Chevy Malibu Maxx—without so much as hitting a rubber cone—when OnStar called to check up on our driver’s health. —Under the Hood, with Big Brother by Bob Gritzinger

Just wait until these little devices are required by law. Imagine what would happen to your insurance rates if your insurance company has access to these details. This is addressed in the Under the Hood article. I would recommend that everyone take a minute to read it.

If you would like to know the position your state has taken in regards to these black boxes, you should visit this site.

As always, feel free to post: thoughts, comments and revolutionary ideas in the comment section.

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Gun Control?



I am happy to see that I am not the only one to point out, that if concealed carry holders were allowed to carry on college campuses, then the Virginia Tech shooting may have had a better ending.

Dudley Brown is the executive director of Rocky Mountain Gun Owners (this is a site that everyone who supports the right to bear arms should visit). He is quoted in the Daily Camera about the effects of not allowing people with a Concealed Carry Permit(CCW) to carry on campus. I would recommend reading the article.

Groups like the Brady Campaign, use Virginia Tech as an example why America needs tougher gun laws. Here is an excerpt from a press release by the Brady Campaign:

"This organization has a long history of expertise on the Brady Law and on the regulations administering the related Federal laws that determine which individuals are prohibited purchasers. We believe there is clear evidence that since a Virginia judicial officer found that Cho Seung-Hui presented 'an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness' that he fell within the category of 'adjudicated as a mental incompetent' used in the Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, and therefore should have failed his background checks.
The complete press release can be found here.

I think that I may be in agreement with the Brady Campaign for once. The laws that are already on the books should have stopped Cho from purchasing a handgun. So there was a lack of enforcement of the current laws. There is absolutely no reason why more restrictive gun laws should be passed because of this occurrence. What would have been useful in this case, would have been the enforcement of current laws. So let's all take a moment and remember that this was an instance of the laws not being enforced; not a need for new laws!

The picture seen at the begining of this post was made by Oleg Volk. If you get the chance you should take a glance at his gallery. Mr. Volk has some works that really make a statement.
Also make sure to stop by his store and look at some of the t-shirts for sale. I can't help it. I feel the need to share a couple of other works from Mr. Volk.

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Public School Lunacy

A High School in New Jersey wants to start randomly testing their students for alcohol use. Why anyone still sends their children to public schools is beyond my comprehension. I know people are going to use the excuse of finances, which in many cases is just that, an excuse. Does it really matter to you as a parent if your children receive adequate schooling? Perhaps you should look into teaching your children. They are your responsibility! Anyways I think if I had a high schooler that was attending this school(which I wouldn't), I would allow them to have one beer with dinner on Saturday night. That way when my child tests positive on Monday morning at school, I'll receive a fun phone call. It is my understanding that your child is allowed to have a reasonable amount of alcohol as long as it is consumed in the home under the supervision of the parents. My child would not have broke the law and I wouldn't have either. What a waste a time. What about someone taking communion on a Sunday? I am not sure how sensitive the test is, but that would be funny. I think that is what I would claim if I tested positive for this. Then I would call the ACLU and complain about religious persecution.
Just my thoughts. Feel free to post comments to this posting.
Thanks

Thursday, January 04, 2007

Civil Liberties???

I had a bad day dream: I am walking about the house ranting, when suddenly one of my children interrupts me and asks what are civil liberties and why I am so upset?
Well the thing that prompted such a daydream was reading the title of a news article "Bush says feds can open mail without warrant". As usual you can click on the title of this blog to read the article.

If you buy from Amazon, you need to read this

What most Amazon.com customers do not know about is that Amazon has a 30 day price policy. It works like this: You buy a item on the 10th of the month and by the 20th the price dropped $10. Simply call amazon and ask for your rebate. As long the price drop occurs within 30 days of your purchase. Slate Magazine has an article with all the details. Click here to read.

 

"Perhaps your grip on reality is not quite as firm as you might have hoped" - Todd Connelly


"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Words are chameleons, which reflect the color of their environment. -Learned Hand, jurist (1872-1961)

What does all of this do to the best minds among the students? Most of them endure their college years with the teeth-clenched determination of serving out a jail sentence. The psychological scars they acquire in the process are incalculable. But they struggle as best they can to preserve their capacity to think, sensing dimly that the essence of the torture is an assault on their mind. And what they feel toward their school ranges from mistrust to resentment to contempt to hatred – intertwined with a sense of exhaustion and excruciating boredom.

--Ayn Rand Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal