From the February 2008 Idaho Observer:

Government sanctioned vote-fraud has been prevalent in the 2008 presidential primaries. Frustrated Ron Paul supporters, listening to the FAUX news delivered by every corporate-owned news station in the nation are wondering what can be done to counteract the global socialists’ attempts to limit the pool of viable candidates to their hand-picked, corporate-owned puppets.

From the Democrats we have garnish-your-wages-frankenfood-financed-more-government-intervention-proponent Hillary Clinton and Muslim-no-Catholic-no-United- Church-of-Christ-member-what-do-I-stand-for-anyway Barack Obama.

From the Republicans we have Mormon-hedge-fund-Chinese-merger-millionaire Mitt Romney (oops, he withdrew for reasons that make no common sense), "Born-again- Christian"-government-ethics-violator-Arkansas Mexican-consulate-and-illegal-alien-protector-CFR-advised Mike Huckabee and pro-Zionist warmonger-POW-abandoning-communist-collaborating-psychologically-unstable-open-border-proponent John McCain (who is ready to bomb Iran any minute).

Both Democrats and Republicans have black box voting machine programmers. No one can audit, let alone dispute, corporate owned, hackable, ivotronic touch screen black box voting machines that don’t count Ron Paul’s votes even when people loudly proclaim that they cast them.

None of Dr. Paul’s opponents care a whit about the Constitution, and all have voted for amnesty of illegal immigrants and/or continued war—in total disregard of the opinions of the majority of Americans who want out of the war and oppose amnesty for illegals.

Sensing that the four establishment frontrunners do not have the interests of average Americans at heart, I followed a recommendation in The Hightower Lowdown and checked the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) website to see if there were members of Congress interested in being plugged into the grassroots efforts popping up to restore the Republic. I discovered that the CPC, as a group, opposes continuing the war in Iraq, the Patriot Act, corporate consolidation of the media, and nuclear expansion of any kind. It supports bringing American troops and American jobs home and promoting fair trade abroad; it advocates honoring our veterans, protecting personal privacy, reforming the election process and promoting renewable energy, clean water and clean air.

The good. Some remarkable "progressives" in the caucus include Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Robert Wexler (D-FL)—all members of Congress actively supporting the impeachment of vice-President Dick Cheney. Co-chairs include Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), who sponsored a comprehensive energy strategy, HR 737, the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Act of 2005 and Barbara Lee (D-CA), co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus and author of a Feb., 2008 letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) demanding that the Bush Administration be held accountable for its flagrant disregard of the congressional prohibition against the U.S. establishing permanent military bases in Iraq.

The bad. On the other hand, the caucus has some rather dubious members including John Conyers (D-MI), who made the Judicial Watch "top 10" list for most corrupt politicians in 2007 and Tom Udall (D-NM), who supports FDA control of vitamins and supplements.

The ugly. Since 404 of 435 legislators voted for HR 1955, the "Homegrown Terrorist Act," some of the caucuses’ 72 "progressives" must have voted "yea" on HR 1955 which expands the numbers of people who can be treated like terrorists to include almost everyone. They also support HR 767, the United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act), and the DREAM Act, which would provide college education to the children of illegal immigrants at U.S. taxpayer expense.

The letter. Seriously concerned about how many of these 72 congressionally-caucusing progressives are ready to be plugged into the "grassroots," I sent them all a letter containing specific questions regarding the North American Union, Real ID, E-Verify, the National Animal ID System (NAIS), CO2-caused global warming and a "carbon tax," the Fed, the IRS, truth in labeling, the Veteran’s Disarmament Act and asked them to support Rush Holt (D-NJ) and his Confidence in Voting Act, which seeks to replace disreputable electronic machines before November and provide independent audit committees to conduct public hand counts.

While waiting to see if I hear from any of them and what their responses might be, I began looking inward to explore what I am doing and why. It all seems so hopeless at times and it feels like there are so many dark forces working against us through elected officials that, at times, I wonder if I’m wasting my time, energy and the postage.

I get up each day and breathe the morning air and thank my Creator for everything He has given me. I read the Bible and ask for Divine Inspiration to bring healthy food, air and water to my country and this world, to deliver us from evil and to make me an instrument of peace. I read and listen to the political junk that comes to me, put on my Ron Paul sweatshirt and get to work writing letters to the newspaper, local officials, state officials, every group or individual seeking donations for their causes and Washington legislators--both my own and any others who might listen. I believe that I am guided to do this work.

And then I find myself inspired by the books I am led to read and emails that I receive from other activists.

Ringing Cedars. I am reading Who Are We? by Vladimir Megre (book 5, see ad page 17). He writes, "The people of the Earth have so many diverse languages and dialects. And yet there is one language for all. It is woven together out of the rustlings of the leaves, the songs of the birds and the roar of the waves. The Divine language has fragrance and colour. Through this language God responds to each one’s request and gives a prayerful response to prayer."

Cota Robles. Author Patricia Diane Cota-Robles sent me an email explaining how it appears as though everything on this planet is spiraling out of control and disintegrating into an abyss of chaos and confusion; that the people in positions of power associated with governments, corporations, energy, religions, the media, and financial and medical institutions have succumbed to the paralyzing grip of their fear-based, fragmented human egos, and bought into the illusion that they must lie, cheat, steal and kill in order to survive. It is difficult for the average person to fathom how we will ever get out of this mess, and it seems as though our humble efforts are futile in the face of such powerful adversity. But, she says, nothing could be further from the truth.

Buckminster Fuller. And then there’s the comment from Buckminster Fuller who once said, "In order to change an existing paradigm you do not struggle to try and change the problematic model. You create a new model and make the old one obsolete."

If you start with the thought and run with it as if we are a family of humanity that can live together in peace, harmony, joy, mutual respect and abundance, and revel in the unity of our diversities, then you can see how creating a new model is within our grasp.

Evidence. And there is evidence that a new paradigm is emerging and obsoleting the old.

• In north Idaho, a small group is forming a locally-grown food sharing, food selling, food trading cooperative and planning a grange revival. The initial planning session released many do-able ideas about how to get this plan off the ground, to increase local food production and support local enterprise in the area. The second meeting planned a community operated garden, supported by the mayor. Some attendees are seeing a bigger picture – creation of a "transition initiative," the process of making their village or town independent of oil and oil barons.

• The Free State Project in New Hampshire is gaining ground (see page 19).

• Thousands of Russians, are in the process of rejecting the technocratic age that has brought so much misery and are going back to the land (see page 17).

• Jim Hightower and Susan DeMarco of Texas have just released a book about 50 individuals and groups that are breaking away from corporate owned government, and creating a new life for themselves and others, the American way.

• In the last two years the number of home-schooled students in the United States has doubled, from two million to four million.

• Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer has announced that the REAL ID Act is a "real threat to real freedom for real Americans," and has sent letters to 17 other states in the west asking them to join him in refusing to ever impose the Real ID rules for drivers licenses.

• While Congressman Ron Paul deals with the fraudulent presidential election process, six of his supporters in Maryland are running for Congress. Washington State’s new "Ron Paulian" State Legislative Candidates Mike Shea and Mike Novak will be speaking about their vision for the state legislature later this month.

In the book, Who Are We? Nikolai Fiodorovich, a philosophy instructor from a Moscow University, pulls out a book from his bookshelf, one in an expensive leather binding and heads over to the fireplace. Tossing the book into the blazing hearth, he explains: "Those are the prophesies of Nostradamus, about all sorts of cataclysms and the end of the world. D’you remember Anastasia’s words on this? ’The dates you gave, Nostradamus, for fearful cataclysms on the Earth, were not predictions. You created them out of your own thought and persuaded people to accept their implementation. Now they are still hovering over the Earth, and frightening people with their sense of despair.’"

Anastasia continues, "The universe itself is a thought, a thought from which was born a dream, which is partially visible as matter. Your thought will reveal a new beginning and continuation. From obscurity will arise a new and resplendent birth, and it will reflect your soul, your dreams, your whole aspirations."

The value of prophecy. Even the Bible tells of how that which is prophesied can be averted when men repent of their wicked ways. The book of Jonah tells of a prophet told by God to go to a great city and preach against it, because of its wickedness. After trying to hide, he did as he was told, and declared that in forty days Ninevah would be destroyed!" The Ninevites declared a fast and wouldn’t even feed their livestock. When God saw what they did, and how they turned from their evil ways, He had compassion, and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.

Secession: Our own escape clause. If we get to the point where we are obsoleting the old paradigm of rape, pillage and plunder with a new paradigm of freedom and justice for all and Congress chooses not to follow us, we can secede. On the Alex Jones Show, there was a humorous clip on "super Tuesday": The crooked president accepts office for another term, and is giving his acceptance speech at the White House when suddenly, out of nowhere, a bomb goes off, blowing up the political district. In the anarchy that ensues, California secedes from the Union, becoming its own country. Texas follows suit, taking many neighboring states with it.

The Lakota Tribe, who live on reservations in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska have already done this. On December 17, 2007, they notified the U.S. Department of State that they have unilaterally withdrawn from all Treaties and Agreements entered into between the United States of America and Lakotah.

A secessionist movement is currently growing in Vermont.

Don’t give up. Keep writing legislators about what you want. Some actually listen. Think about how to protect yourself from unclean water, unclean food, and unclean government. Then do something. Support Ron Paul for President, no matter what. File a request for an absentee ballot, and make sure you make a copy before you mail it in. If Ron Paul’s name isn’t on it, write it in. Find the freedom candidates running for Congress in your state, and support them. If there aren’t any, become one.