LOLA created a panel for CPAC called- Why Real Conservatives Are Against the War on Terrorism. This instruction gave clear and concise understandings as to why anyone that believes in Liberty should be against the war on terror and any aggression against others

Is America’s current “War on Terror” essential to keeping our nation safe? Or is it yet another vehicle for the federal government to increase its power over our lives and take away our liberties? Is the “War on Terror” actually weakening our national defense and increasing opposition overseas?

The panel, Created by LOLA and co-sponsored by The Future of Freedom Foundation, Ladies of Liberty Alliance and Campaign for Liberty, included:

# Karen Kwiatkowski — retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

# Jacob Hornberger — founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation

# Philip M. Giraldi — former CIA counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer, current Francis Walsingham Fellow at The American Conservative Defense Alliance

# Bruce Fein — former associate deputy attorney general in the Reagan administration

CPAC 2010: "Why Real Conservatives Are Against the War on Terrorism, Part 1" from The Future of Freedom Foundation on Vimeo.

Tracey Harmon will be heading to Iraq in April- in hopes of awakening the hearts and minds of others to the non aggression principle.  Here is a more detailed description of her mission and how you can support her:

It has been my personal obligation to travel to Iraq ever since enlisting in the U.S Army at 18 years old.   As a soldier, I swore an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States from all foreign and domestic enemies.  When it occurred to me that more enemies of the U.S constitution are being created and the surge of violence and terrorism is increasing by our presence in Iraq, I decided to apply for Conscientious Objector status.  I refused to participate in the unnecessary bloodshed and violence our country is waging against innocent civilians, and vowed to go to Iraq without a weapon.  Now, I have the unique opportunity to travel unarmed to Iraq on a peacemaking delegation this spring.

I depart for Istanbul on April 15.   I will be traveling with an international team through an anonymous organization that follows the principal of "devoting the same discipline and self-sacrifice to non-violent peacemaking that armies devote to war."  Their ground teams are based in the conflicted border regions of the Kurdish North and accompany displaced persons by documenting human rights violations against civilian populations. I came into contact with their work through my travels in the Middle East.  After hearing my story of getting out of the Army as a Conscientious Objector to war, the Executive Director of this organization gave me a special invitation to visit all of the ground teams in Iraq.

Although the main purpose of the team’s delegation is to access the security for future participants, my overall mission is multifaceted:  I will be meeting with various NGOs, relief groups, and local Iraqi civilians to document an insider's perspective on the cost of war, and the structural damage we have caused.  I hope to conduct live radio interviews in country to illustrate this reality. I will be taking letters from veterans in Iraq Veterans Against the War - letters of remorse, grief, and apology for losses. I will accept personal responsibility for the damage due to my participation, as a former soldier, and work towards alleviating human suffering in any capacity I can.  I hope to return home with footage, interviews, stories, pictures, articles, as well as contacts for a future delegation I am planning on behalf of Iraq Veterans Against the War and LOLA.  This is a risky trip I am taking – but I already swore to give my life to defend this nation once.  I believe that the greatest thing I can do to protect my country is to protect those whom our “Military-Industrial Complex” has harmed.  As a Conscientious Objector to war, I believe that making peace requires extreme non-violent action.

I am requesting that you join me on this peacemaking delegation.  To cover transportation and basic ground costs, I need to raise $3000.  I am not only asking for your financial assistance, but also your support.  I am creating an email chain for those who wish to receive immediate updates while I am in Iraq, as well as access to my blog with live footage.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.”

Thank you so much,

Tracey Harmon

Is it just me, or is the number of violent police-related incidents rising dramatically lately?

Every time that I get on the computer, it seems like there is a SWAT team at a protest or a cop is waving his gun around during a snowball fight.

And then I read about the transformation of a Boyscout into a Mini Me version of a Homeland Security goon.



You could say that I am scared for the future.  Big guns aimed at innocent civilians is definitely scary.  But then I noticed something -- most of these gun happy "public servants" are men . . . so, this seems like a job that LOLA can definitely tackle!

Quoting the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding,"The man is the head, but the woman is the neck. And she can turn the head any way she wants."  If we can get enough "necks" in this movement, who knows, maybe cops will start promoting a little peace, freedom and prosperity!  Or maybe we won't need them at all . . .

President Obama recently wrote to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in an attempt to restart talks about nuclear disarmament.   A senior State Department official said: "The North Koreans have a choice: continued and further isolation or benefits for returning to the six-party talks and dismantling their nuclear weapons program."

Kudos for sending a letter instead of more troops to South Korea, but what has isolation (or the threat of further isolation) done for us thus far? Sanctions do not hurt the intended decision-makers, and continuing them won't push the Kim Jong Il government to change. We have to try a new method of engagement.

North Korea, like any country, wants security.  We need them to know that they won't become a target once they pursue nonproliferation.  Like a teacher must deal with the class bully, the world has to deal with rogue states. The bullies exist, and they always will to some degree. The best teachers know that alienating a bully may perpetuate the poor behavior, but encouraging them and asking his classmates (i.e. China, South Korea, Russia, etc.) to put pressure on him works. In international relations, we call that diplomacy, and there is plenty more we can do in that regard.

Everyone hates crime, no one likes hate, so we should all be against hate crimes, right? The Huffington Post's headline article right now is called "No More Matthew Shephard's," referring to the 1998 murder of Matthew Shephard based on his sexual orientation.

My question is:  What did we do for the past 11 years without this legislation? Were gays being murdered left and right with no recourse!? This makes me believe that if the government could monitor your thoughts, they would.  And they'd regulate them, too!