Recommended

A collection of products and resources on a variety of topics by a variety of people recommended to keep things somewhat balanced and give you insight to the ‘other side’ of the story.  For now, a short list of articles, books and films.  In the future I hope to provide a more in depth, though concise ‘recommended reading’ list for you.  

VARIOUS ARTICLES

Government Cannot Do Church’s Job by Chuck Baldwin. Possibly the finest short article I have ever read dealing with the roles of the federal government in a free society.

———————————————————————————

LIBERTY LIBRARY (various topics)

A NATION OF SHEEP - Napolitano has written a compelling and important book outlining the disintegration of our “unalienable rights” and civil liberties. You may have to monitor your blood pressure as Napolitano sheds light on a plethora of disturbing and barbaric attacks against the freedoms most of us take for granted.

Bridging the gap between apathy and so-called conspiracy theories, the author uses freely available and established facts to paint a picture of the road we are on and it doesn’t look good up ahead. Napolitano shows time and time again that the very atrocities we have been warned about by many of those once written off as “conspiracy theorists” have come true.

Thomas J. DiLorenzo has put together a short list of ‘liberty lost’ highlighted in A Nation of Sheep. Here are a few of his and a couple of my own.

• Government can now write their own search warrants, called “National Security Letters.”
• Persons served with “National Security Letters” are prohibited from telling anyone about it (including spouse, lawyer, etc.)
• The president has been given the authority to declare himself essentially dictator after declaring a “state of emergency” which the president defines as well.
• The government can deny anyone the right to due process by declaring him an “enemy combatant.”
• The government can avoid litigation or deny you the alleged evidence against you by claiming that such things pose a threat to national security. You can still be found guilty in such circumstances.
• Peaceful protesters have been mass arrested.
• Government officials can search your home without notifying you.

The list goes on and on. Not only are such things possible, they are happening regularly to innocent people, just like you and me.

This book may well provide the shot-in-the-arm you need to realize that ‘all’s not well’ and will hopefully encourage you to dig deeper, and address the issues that so many want to avoid but that must be addressed if America is to remain a free republic. This is a must read.

———————————————————————————

FILMS REGARDING FREEDOM (various topics)

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WAR

For years you have been exposed daily to the pro-freedom, pro-liberty, pro-food, pro-medicine, pro-democracy side of the story. But there are those who believe pro-war, pro-imperialist, pro-empire might be more accurate. Have you ever listened to their side of the story?

It would be naïve to think that the issue is black and white. There are legitimate concerns and criticisms regarding US motives, policy and actions in Iraq and elsewhere. It would be irresponsible not to address and honestly assess them.

Two films that have much to offer to this end are Why We Fight and No End in Sight. Both are well-made, critically acclaimed, and worthy of consideration and discussion.

Why We Fight (trailer)

No End in Sight (trailer)

Despite what you may believe or what you may have been told, it is not unpatriotic to question the actions of our government. It is our government. Criticizing the war has nothing to do with supporting our troops or not. Actually, assuring that our troops are only fighting legal, legitimate, constitutional wars is arguably the best way to support our troops.

• Soldiers want to know why, as part of the most powerful military in the world, they are forced to rummage through scrap heaps to find temporary armor plating for their humvee and other vehicles.
• Iraqi people want to know why, after the fall of Bagdad, US troops watched as criminals and unfettered masses looted and pillaged the city for over a month, destroying the infrastructure and any realistic hope of rebuilding their society. Plundered buildings included government ministries, the national museum housing some of the world’s most important human artifacts, and the national library containing the written history of the Iraqi people and personal property and homes. (Hint: The administration told the soldiers it was their job to liberate, not to protect the city. And we’re surprised there are insurgents?)
• People sent in to support the Iraqi people and establish a new government want to know why they were put into empty office buildings, provided little or no staff, given no plan of action or direction, and not even furnished with basic supplies like chairs and telephones. (Money and supplies were available: Government contractors and other top officials built safe and luxurious homes and offices, had armored vehicles, and even had swimming pools and private chefs among other “conveniences.”)
• A couple of marines (and many others) want to know why the US paid over 1.2 million dollars to a government contractor to build a fort that an Iraqi contractor and a couple of marines built for $200,000 – and in 6 months. Over a year later, the government contracted fort was still being built.
• The world wants to know why the Bush administration chose to stand down half a million Iraqi military and police officers who were ready to fight alongside the US military in an effort to restore their country, salvage their pride, and provide for their dependant families. Instead, we put hundreds of thousands of armed and trained Iraqis in the unenviable position of having to find ways to feed their families, defend their homes, and sustain their livelihoods. And we are surprised many of them joined with radical insurgent groups? What would you have done?

This list goes on and on. You will be surprised, enraged and saddened not by the stories of radical, Bush hating, anti-war protestors, but by those of Iraqi civilians caught in the middle, of high ranking US government officials who have dared to question things from the beginning, and of our own soldiers who witness and even participate in the atrocities under orders of a leadership that is accountable to no one.

Are such things worthy of discussion and debate, regardless of your current position on the war? I certainly hope so.