Both Parties are controlled by the same international elites, and in this new, Aquarian Age, we have to meditate, read worthwhile history (like the Mencken book alluded to below), and make our own informed choices.  And today, the San Francisco Chronicle has  exposed the NeoCon Elite's scheme to use fear and control to centralize power.  Have you ever read anything as Orwellian as this?

"Beginning in 1999, the government has entered into a series of single-bid contracts with Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root (KBR) to build detention camps at undisclosed locations within the United States. The government has also contracted with several companies to build thousands of railcars, some reportedly equipped with shackles, ostensibly to transport detainees."

And for what reason are concentration camps needed in each state of the Union?

Sect. 1042 of the 2007 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), "Use of the Armed Forces in Major Public Emergencies," gives the executive the power to invoke martial law. For the first time in more than a century, the president is now authorized to use the military in response to "a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, a terrorist attack or any other condition in which the President determines that domestic violence has occurred to the extent that state officials cannot maintain public order."

The Military Commissions Act of 2006, rammed through Congress just before the 2006 midterm elections, allows for the indefinite imprisonment of anyone who donates money to a charity that turns up on a list of "terrorist" organizations, or who speaks out against the government's policies. The law calls for secret trials for citizens and noncitizens alike.

Also in 2007, the White House quietly issued National Security Presidential Directive 51 (NSPD-51), to ensure "continuity of government" in the event of what the document vaguely calls a "catastrophic emergency." Should the president determine that such an emergency has occurred, he and he alone is empowered to do whatever he deems necessary to ensure "continuity of government." This could include everything from canceling elections to suspending the Constitution to launching a nuclear attack. Congress has yet to hold a single hearing on NSPD-51.

And to fill those camps with dissidents, er, I mean, terrorists:

U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Venice (Los Angeles County) has come up with a new way to expand the domestic "war on terror." Her Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007, which passed the House by the lopsided vote, would set up a commission to "examine and report upon the facts and causes" of so-called violent radicalism and extremist ideology, then make legislative recommendations on combatting it.

A clue as to where Harman's commission might be aiming is the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, a law that labels those who "engage in sit-ins, civil disobedience, trespass, or any other crime in the name of animal rights" as terrorists. Other groups in the crosshairs could be anti-abortion protesters, anti-tax agitators, immigration activists, environmentalists, peace demonstrators, Second Amendment rights supporters ... the list goes on and on. According to author Naomi Wolf, the National Counterterrorism Center holds the names of roughly 775,000 "terror suspects" with the number increasing by 20,000 per month.

The San Francisco Chronicle is a mainstream media company, so no one can call this conspiracy theory.

There will be more and more dissidents subject to these Police State laws as dissidents are created by Elite funding of both sides of advocacy fights. Take the immigration battle: both sides are controlled. Immigration shouldn't be an issue - our Constitution grants no Power for the federal govt to interfere in human movement in or out of the border. All the Founders wanted was a system of Naturalization by which immigrants could become citizens, and otherwise Free Trade to make sure no foreigner wanted to kill us and to ensure a growing economy to employ all the newcomers.

Another Elite favorite is the Drug War, against which even former cops are advocating through a group called LEAP. Yesterday I blogged about a client's lawsuit to overturn the whole war. Speaking of Enforcement, here's what H.L. Mencken, American's great social critic from the 1920s, said. Can't wait to read his just-found book, "Notes on Democracy".

And when the Elite face criticism, they do a minimal amount of good things, and make sure their Elite media friends broadcast about those actions. The World Trade Organization, for example, is colluding with Big Pharma and Big Agra to have the United Nation's Codex group outlaw natural food and nutrients, as blogged previously. But WTO also does help consumers gain access to more goods and services. Does the latter, then, justify extra-national government, of which the WTO is an example?

Another international body facilitates Elite control of developing countries. The World Bank funds giant infrastructure projects that, since they do not arise from the private sector, lack long term sustainability, and at the same time crowd out investment that otherwise would fund loans to middle class retailers. Congressman Paul says as much in a recent Banking Committee hearing.

The Elite want their "frankenfoods," and they're isolating Europe's intransigence with appeals about the hunger of the world.

Elites now are being blamed by a SE Asian country for using Avian Flu as a BioTerrorist weapon, and as a Big Pharma tool to sell vaccines.

But the Elites can't handle threats to their War against Terrorism: no acquittals are allowed in Gitmo, which should be ceded back to Cuba, just as trade restrictions with Cuba should be lifited with Castro's departure. And for those taken in by Michael Moore's "Sicko," that Castro's healthcare system was admirable, think again.

Not only are acquittals prohibited for the poor prisoners at Guantanomo, but also dissent in the Media is verboten, as Chez found out at CNN, for his Huffington blogging.

Finally, I can't believe the Elites are interfering in children playtime with legos.

Yesterday, actually, April 23rd, was this year's Tax Freedom Day, the day the Tax Foundation estimated individuals completed paying average taxes to federal, state and local governments. More than food, clothing and shelter combined!  Speaking of the IRS, Chris Edwards at Cato found how certain harmless financial transactions you undertake can expose you to money laundering charges.  And if you don't pay taxes, even though the IRS claims they're "voluntary," you'll be jailed, as actor Wesley Snipes is about to find out.  Tax protesting has an honorable history, going back to the Whiskey Rebellion that some folks' hero George Washington viciously put down.

Yes, we're paying more in taxes than in food, and those food prices are exploding!  Further, hyperfocus on deriving power from anything but oil is aggravating the new problem of food inflation.  High food prices and food shortages, interestingly, are one of the many results of central banking and fiat currency (which was castigated by Tom Paine, who otherwise wrote in the 1830s about America's using charity to adequately care for the poor). 

Congressional control of food prices and supply won't work any better than Congress' pending bailout of home borrowers.  And you heard it hear first:  farmer unions are going to Congress to force the CFTC to stop commodity speculators, to keep the Wall Street credit crisis from spreading to rural America, due to "lack of regulation and oversight".  People still believe this?  Apparently they do, even ones schooled in Austrian economics, such as Mr. Skeptic Michael Shermer, the pro-evolution guy so many libertarians love - but a certain libertarian finds in Mr. Shermer's book a lot of mistaken Statist ideas. 

Skeptics like Shermer dismiss ancient, natural remedies that work.  It's a shame that Big Medica's (sic) schools are questioning the legitimacy of naturapath degrees.  Big Pharma, not just Big Medica, sees natural living as a competitor to its chemical/invasive solutions.  One can't blame them for backing fluoride in the water (since the sicker we get, the more profit they make - just observe Monsanto's GMO effect on the food supply), but it's nice to see this Canadian town rejecting such chemicals in their drinking water.  (Here's a map showing worldwide groundwater contamination).  The danger of professional medicine is endless, as chemotherapy for cancer now has been found to damage the brain.  Fortunately, Natural Solutions Foundation and related groups are drafting new proposals to ensure consumer access to health freedom, and have gotten the FTC to agree to consider banning untruthful vaccine ads.

With the deepening and widening recession, we still have a Perpetual War on Terrorism potentially spreading to Iran, and worsening Police State abuse of dissidents, even political activism.  So, activists, are you ready to attend ACLU's annual "lobby" day on June 8?  Whether it's domestic spying, dissident persecution or protecting your Rights, this is the time to act!  The media sure won't lobby for you, since they've sat on the story of Bush's approval of torture. Amnesty Intl and other activists are suing to get the CIA to divulge how large their rendition program is, and here's a movie to expose what we really do in our Iraqi prisons.  And dissidents continue to be persecuted, in this case effecting those merely desiring a proper investigation of the 9/11 terrorism (which the Libertarian Party now has added as a plank).  Nonviolent citizens - and longer sentences - are making US prisons more crowded than any others worldwide.

Speaking of spying, FBI Director Mueller testified before House Judiciary on his desire to spy on all internet use.  The judiciary, Murray Rothbard said, wasn't as independent as the Constitution envisioned.  With its approval of searches and seizures during otherwise illegal police actions, the court continues its sycophantic behavior.  One great reform idea from Reason is to expose District Attorneys to lawsuits, since the criminal justice system is becoming increasingly abusive of its citizens.  And instead of the Mark of the Beast (national ID), congrats to this state government organization for calling for the repeal and rejection of REAL ID.

One person Justice is abusing is a client, Siobhan Reynolds of the Pain Relief Network, who is suffering personal attack as she properly and bravely defends a victimized pain doctor.  With this in mind it's nice to see David Boaz' reminder that defending Liberties SHOULD equate with strong "law and order" policies and court decisions. 

One of the grossest Government violations recently is its invasion of the Texas polygamous property, despite, according to Cato's Tim Lynch, "not one child complaining about mistreatment".  CEI's Hans Bader says child welfare laws encourage "child snatching".  Libertarian Party presidential candidate Mary Ruwart is getting criticism for claiming child sex laws aren't as effective as their proponents claim.  How disgusting that some laws become so sacrosanct that a prudent risk-benefit discussion is prohibited!

A continuing government atrocity is the discrimination against people newly arrived in the US.  Instead of more government interference at the borders, let's support Ricardo Valenzuala's MexAmerica border free trade zone (although I'm not for the North American Union Government, which Bush just advocated.)  I discourage managed trade, and support free trade.  We shouldn't be closing borders or blowing up countries; we should be trading and traveling!  I love offshoring, including of medical services, in this case with South Carolina insurers bypassing their hospitals for Singapore clinics.  I only hope entrepreneurs join my client's Santa Clara sanctuary - an organic farm/holstic health clinic in Panama's mountains.  Entrepreneurship, worldwide, is the dream of humanity.  Last month I had the privilege to help out with a company's booth at a trade show for international construction. Imagine the possibilities if more people gave up their addiction to Big Government, how new small businesses could open anywhere on Earth, regardless of the fiction of borders and governments.

Folks afraid of immigrants also are afraid of lost jobs.  But Cato's Dan Griswold reminds us that manufacturing actually is higher now than previously - just look at all the things we make.  Europacific Capitol's Peter Schiff downplays this manufacturing list, saying the bulk of future productive capacity lies overseas, which is where everyone should be transferring their assets.  CLICK SHIFF'S LINK TO PROTECT YOUR OWN ASSETS!

For the rabid NeoCons barking for War on Iran, here's yet another poll patiently explaining to you mongers that Moslems and Arabs have no problem with Americans; their problem is with our policies.  Earlier this year I volunteered at the booth of the American Conservative Defense Alliance, which supports a constitutional foreign policy.  It was sad at this conference how many conservatives have hopelessly wed to NeoCon Imperialism and nationbuilding. 

But not all Elites are Neocons, and some elites from the military world oppose Imperialism, and even want radical reform of the government.  Former Canadian Defense Minister Paul Hellyer wants openness in government:  DISCLOSURE of unexplained phenomenon information thus far covered up.  I saw him speak this past weekend at Stephen Bassett's annual XConference.  Also speaking at that conference was Apollo Astronaut Edgar Mitchell, who was so overwhelmed by the "oneness" of space that the following year in 1972 he founded the Institute for Noetic Sciences, to explore the limits of consciousness.

So what can folks do to bring Tax Freedom Day to an earlier point in the calendar?  One goal is to protect the internet as a communication vehicle, since Statists find it hard to suppress liberating info on the Net - Comcast has pledged to keep the Net open, perhaps cynically to stave off Net Neutrality.  Another goal is to create a better "mainstream" media, which you can help do by joining BreakTheMatrix, the alternative news media organ run by fundraiser Trevor Lyman to give people better information, including that which will make us less susceptible to the sophistry of the annoited Elite.

Breaking the Matrix is a radical idea, and Nock said radicalism is the true creed of the libertarian.  He said this in the 1920s while differentiating the term with "liberal".  Another radical, from the 1930s, was William Chamberlin, who wrote this classic about the similarity among the "isms".  So let's rise above the isms and take back not just our country, but also our world, so we can all live and let live.