I am getting used to the world as a defense attorney, but the one thing I am not getting used to is the absolute disregard some people have for life, theirs and others. And the worst ones are the youngest prisoners. They act all cocky and proud that they are criminals and don’t care at all that they are going to be spending much of their lives in prison rather than out in the world living. It’s very tough to understand.

Luckily most are just people who do stupid things at stupid times. Don’t get me wrong they can be facing just as severe consequences. But you can actually feel some hope that they won’t be back in again if you manage to win. Who knows, maybe someone somewhere will wake up and realize that they could face serious problems if they stay on the path they are on. who knows.

 On an unrelated side note: I’ve learned that lawyers who are incarcerated are considered gods in prison. While I never want to commit a crime or be railroaded on some false accusation, it’s nice to know that my skills will keep me safe from any harm that could come.

This political season began over a year ago, making it one of the longest political seasons yet. And that is optimistic; one could say the season began the minute GWB was sworn in for his second term as President of the United States of America. There comes a time, however, when politics should be set aside and we allow ourselves some unity at being one of the few citizens of the world who can truly call themselves American. Today I took an incredible walk along a wooden, American made, boardwalk on California’s scenic central coast. This is a great country and it was no small feat making it great. For all America’s purported evil the press slobbers about, seemingly countless people continue to want this country to be their home. Since this country is great, our feelings for her are of course passionate. We may argue tooth and nail with our political foes, nevertheless, enjoy the fact that we only argue and trade verbal barbs instead of bullets. This may change, war may be inevitable, I for one do not look forward to that day. So for today, I enjoy America and all the she is to us.

So its March Madness. I’ve never been a big basketball fan but ive been filling out charts the last few years. quite frankly ive never been good at it. Seriously, I suck.

If i pick the winners, they have upsets. If i pick the losers they are crushed. Quite frankly I should just pick the people i dont think would win. but that would mean they wouldnt win. There is no hope for me.

And I just want to see my Alma Mater get past the first one at least one year. Seesh. One round! Is that too much to ask. We cant even beat the team seeded lower than us when we are in there. What the heck is up with that? Some Cougars they are. Oh well maybe next year. But I am always disappointed with my teams. Sports victories arent in my teams future. but im still loyal to a fault.

We have all heard lately the racist filth and outright lies that have spewed forth from Rev. Wright of the Trinity United Church of Christ (“TUCC”) in Chicago, of which Obama is a 20 year member.   You might be surprised to learn that TUCC compromises the largest congregation of TUCC in the nation.  Rev. Wright (former) presides over an 8,500 member congregation. As congregations go, this is no small church.

Rev. Wright has espoused black nationalism, accused the “white” government of trying to annihilate blacks, among a myriad of other hate filled racist rants that do not bear repeating at this juncture.  Those that support Obama claim that he had no knowledge, or at most, never “really” heard specifically those hate filled rants from his pastor that he was intimately acquainted with for 20 years.   Before the truth about Obama’s church came out (I include the majority members of the church, because you cannot seriously claim that as lead pastor since the 1970s the members were “clueless” as to his beliefs) Obama had Rev. Wright’s endorsement on his webpage, now, Obama is doing everything he can to distance himself from his “Spiritual Advisor.”

I have been told repeatedly that Obama’s pastor’s remarks are no big deal and that it is only a big deal to racists like me.  it is only a big deal because you wouldn’t for vote him as you would never vote for a black president anyways.   This from the very dems who would be hyperventilating if this had been McCain’s white pastor of twenty years and the white pastor had been saying this about black people.  It is no big deal, it’s like a gambling problem, the guy just made a mistake?  Really?  If it is no big deal, why then did the TUCC remove him from his position as lead pastor?  Why did Obama fire him from his campaign?  Why did Obama remove Rev. Wright’s personal endorsement from his website?

More troubling, is that there are those who, even after reading this, will still believe that I am a racist and that Rev. Wright’s hate filled rhetoric (that is only a problem now because the truth is out) is ok.

I’ve been reading Liberal Fascism by Jonah Goldberg lately. I highly recommend the book because it has really been making me think. Mostly about what freedom and liberty really is.

I’ve also taken a job as a public defender, which I am really enjoying and trying to wrap my head around the fact that I am defending the people that a few years ago would have had a problem defending. You know the guilty ones. (The innocent ones I don’t have a problem defending, never did).

The thing is I feel as though everything I’ve gone through lately, and these new experiences are changing my world view. I am not sure what they are changing them too. Definitely not becoming a liberal, progressive, fascist, communist, whatever you want to call the left. Because I see how easy it is for government to be corrupted and people to abuse power.

 So yeah I’ve been thinking alot about freedom, liberty, but also power and the nature of it. The Founders set up the Federal government the way they did because they did understand power. The fact is absolute power corrupts absolutely. But where exactly is that line where government cannot and should not cross? I don’t know anymore. I am definitely more inclined allowing more freedom, but I also know anarchy arise out of it and anarchy is one of the antithesis of freedom.

One thing I am convinced of more and more is that no system of government is perfect. That is why you need to have honest and moral people in order to maintain freedom. Because without honest and moral people in power, those who are in power will use any means necessary to not only abuse their current power but obtain more power than they were originally given.

Joseph Smith was once asked how he governed such a great amount of people. He responded “I teach them true principles and they govern themselves.” Self-government is the key to freedom. That means we need to take personal responsibility for our actions. That means we do have to choose to live moral lives. We determine our destinies, not anyone else. Sure life can throw us curve balls, but its our choices that determine whether we hit them out of the park or not.

If all of us don’t return to principles of self government, we we see oppression and bloodshed at an unheard of scale. That may sound crazy, but I know it’s as true as much as I know the sun will rise in the morning. I don’t want to fall to that.

So, some of you may have noticed that I have talked a lot lately about the Libertarian Party, or LP. While I haven’t officially changed my voter registration (I’m still registered in Washington state, where you don’t register by party), I have made up my mind to register as a Libertarian when I move to my new home in August. Here’s why.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, I didn’t leave the Republican Party; the Republican Party left me. And it’s not just the nomination of John McCain, although that was certainly the tipping point. Over the last couple of years, I have done a lot of pondering about my politics, my values, and the like.

First of all, I am upset at the GOP’s lack of respect for the most dear of American values - liberty. As examples, see:
* the Patriot Act, which gave executive agencies the authority to approve warrants for surveillance;
* John McCain’s campaign finance reform, which is a direct assault on freedom of speech;
* continuance of the War on Drugs and prohibition of many drugs which are less harmful than currently legal drugs (e.g. marijuana);

The GOP also seems to have forgotten about small government. Examples here include, but are by no means limited to:
* No Child Left Behind - championed by Bush and approved by Republicans, it dramatically increased the federal government’s role in education. It was not so long ago that the GOP wanted to eliminate the relatively new Department of Education.
* Interference in free trade, such as the appalling continuation of agricultural subsidies, and Bush’s shameless 2002 steel tariff.
* Bush’s budgets, which has doubled discretionary spending from $555 billion in 2000 to $1.114 trillion in FY 2008 (no, that does not include the War on Terrorism);
* the GOP’s lack of initiative on introducing market-based solutions to high-cost health care, and giving up on introducing Social Security reforms.

Furthermore, the GOP is soft on immigration, and will only get softer with McCain in charge. Defending the nation is one of the charges the federal government is very specifically given in the Constitution, yet the GOP-led federal government has failed to close our borders. Immigration policy takes up many threads on the board - suffice to say I am dissatisfied with the GOP’s lack of response on this issue.

Finally, the trend of the GOP towards neo-conservatism disturbs me. I always considered conservatism (or paleo-conservatism, at least) to be against such things as running perpetual budget deficits to sustain economic growth (a Keynesian idea), opposition to a large central government instead of “seeing it as natural, indeed inevitable,” or viewing the power of the world’s largest military as an “opportunity” for an expansionist government. Neoconservatism, however, is for all of these things, and I cannot continue to support a party that agrees with this philosophy.

So where does that leave me? Certainly not with any party to the political left of the GOP. The Democrats, along with the Greens, World Workers, etc., put too much faith in the ability of the federal government to control the economy, not to mention people’s lives. That leaves third parties towards the right. I briefly toyed with the Constitution Party, the ideological home of former NH Senator Bob Smith, but they seem to lack an appreciation for freedom, along with all the rest. So finally, after a couple of months of mulling it over, I stepped over to the Libertarians.

I don’t agree with all LP views, just as I didn’t agree with all GOP views. Two issues where I disagree are immigration (I’m strongly pro-deportation, where many LP members are pro-amnesty) and drugs (I believe in legalization of some drugs; many libertarians advocate complete legalization). However, at the most basic level, libertarians believe that people should be given the maximum amount of freedom compatible with necessary government functions.

I know just what some of you are going to say: It’s a waste of time not to vote either Dem or GOP. Here’s my counterargument: yes, I may be voting for someone with no chance to win - this year. But, given enough support at the voting booth, the LP will gain national attention as an alternative to the other two parties. And, given enough grassroots support, the LP can grow its organizational structure to be able to handle the logistics of a full-blown Presidential campaign in four years’ time. Not to mention, the LP has the strongest “bench” of any third party (i.e. members who have held lower offices), and they put effort into electing members at all levels of government, unlike many parties that only run candidates for high-profile elections.

So, if you are tired of politics as usual, and want to attempt to make a real difference in the American political system, I encourage you to consider the Libertarian Party. I have no idea what to expect out of LP membership (I’m still a n00b), but I am willing to use my vote and my resources to elect freedom-loving officials instead of politicians from the two main parties.