Last year, the federal government spent more than $477 billion on some 50 different programs to fight poverty. That amounts to $12,892 for every poor man, woman, and child in this country. And it does not even begin to count welfare spending by state and local governments. For all the talk about Republican budget cuts, spending on these social programs has increased an inflation-adjusted 22 percent since President Bush took office.

Despite this government largesse, 37 million Americans continue to live in poverty. In fact, despite nearly $9 trillion in total welfare spending since Lyndon Johnson declared War on Poverty in 1964, the poverty rate is perilously close to where it was when we began, more than 40 years ago.

Read the whole article

Here’s the good news: Fully 69% of American high school students think musicians should be allowed to sing songs with “offensive” lyrics without fear of prosecution.

Here’s the bad news: Only 54% of students say newspapers should be allowed to publish controversial stories without government approval.

Read the full story at http://www.theadvocates.org/liberator/vol-11-num-19.html#GBU

Aaron Russo is proud to announce the opening of “America: Freedom to Fascism” in theaters around the country.

Denver, CO
Opening September 29:
Regency Theatres Tamarac Square
7777 East Hampden Avenue
Denver, CO 80231
(303) 368-9200
Are you aware that…

• by May of 2008 the law will require you to carry a national identification card?
• there are plans being developed to have all Americans embedded with a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) computer chip under their skin so they can be tracked wherever they go?
• the Supreme Court has ruled that the government has no authority to impose a direct unapportioned tax on the labor of the American people, and the 16th Amendment does not give the government that power?
• computer voting machines can be rigged and there is no way to ensure that your vote is counted?

To learn more about the movie, go to http://www.freedomtofascism.com/

During our discussions at the Gold Dust, there is an occasional comment on the subject of the El Paso County Chapter of the Libertarian Party. The comments are always the same: “What happened to El Paso County? They used to have a very large Libertarian group. Now they don’t seem to be doing a thing.” A recent article by Ed Sealover in the Colorado Springs Gazette answers the question:

The local disappearance of Colorado’s largest third party did not come suddenly, said several former county Libertarian leaders. Rather, it was a combination of personal obligations felling its leaders and political complications that made the party’s message less appealing.

For a complete explanation and a little bit of history, read the entire article. While it is generally a discouraging turn of events, I think that it is important that we consider what we can do in Pueblo County to overcome some of these same obstacles.