Then, when I started to see images on blogs of rallies starting at Tehran University, I thought it was just a few rebellious youth. But then I started to see streams of Twitters from people in Iran talking about the police coming for them, and in their communication there was a determination I did not expect. Then, to my horror, I started to see images of bullet-riddled dorm room doors, bloody fighting, fires, continuing police brutality–there were reports of police firing into crowds and at least one person confirmed dead.

I notice that many of the larger news outlets were not reporting the uprisings much until last night, but instead on Saturday many were leading with stories like crowds hold “celebrations for Ahmadinejad.”

But then social media outlets dominated and broke through. I think the government in Iran cracked down on the Internet, but people were still able to Twitter using mobile phones. It’s almost as if the youth (those under 25, who are reportedly 70% of Iran’s population) have seized on a rare opportunity to let the world know what is really happening in their country. I fear they only have a few days left before the remaining foreign reporters are expelled or quieted. The foreign reporters who were allowed in to cover the “election” will be sent home now. I fear the government will become more violent at that point, and I hope the international community will not forget what it happening there and what has happened to the people.

No matter the outcome, I think it is too late for the Iranian government to escape without injury. The current regime has lost any remaining respect they had, and I believe the days of dictatorship in Iran are numbered. The people want to be free, and this is clear.

I just read on Bloomberg.com that “[H]undreds of thousands of people demonstrated today in downtown Tehran at a rally led by Ahmadinejad’s defeated opponent, Mir Houssein Mousavi, who charges widespread fraud in the June 12 vote.”

This is a huge movement of brave dissenters! Now, I don’t know Mousavi, and I don’t know how he would rule under the clerics. But I still think the revolt itself is a hopeful sign in the right direction.

In honor of the protestors, and as we approach July 4th, here are the opening words of our own Declaration of Independence…

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world…

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Michelle Malkin is doing a great job reporting on and opposing this corporate welfare bill. She has the roll call votes here (or you can see them on the U.S. Web site, here) and information on who to contact to fight it.

The same piece of socialist legislation that the House courageously rejected on Monday has been mangled even more and regurgitated through the Senate (passing 74-25). The bill is now over 400 pages (it was 110 when the House voted on it) and now it has the “Dodd Amendment” attached which adds welfare in the form of mental health legislation. Recall, Sen. Dodd is one of the leading corrupt figures who helped create this credit mess through housing reform legislation.

Our only hope for economic freedom in the future (since I pretty much feel like I live in a socialist state now) may be to seek out and support one of the brave House Republicans who spoke out against this legislation and to support his or her presidency for 2012. Ron Paul, incidentally, was one such representative, although I’m not a huge fan of Rep. Paul because I think his foreign policy of isolationism is too dangerous. (I seem to recall that Ralph Nader supporters are also trying to unite these two on a ticket, which seems like a contradiction to me since their economic policies are the exact antithesis of each other.)

But, there are other possibilities for a 2012 candidacy for president which I plan to research further. I will post them here as I find them. Perhaps a grass roots effort is in order. If we can muddle through the next 4 years, and then put in a more principled person in the executive branch, someone who is strong enough to fight for what’s right, we may still have a chance of avoiding the Second Dark Ages. Maybe we could even find someone who would leave religion out of the political discourse.

At this point, I don’t think I can vote for McCain because of his betrayal on this bill. So unless Palin convinces me otherwise tonight, I am seriously considering writing in a candidate for president. I have to research this further. I don’t want to throw away my vote, but I also think McCain is like Obama-lite anyway. We are in for a very rough ride these next 4 years, no matter who is in power.

I am so disgusted with our government right now. The corruption in the Senate is almost beyond comprehension. Et tu, McCain.

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It’s like a scene straight out of Atlas Shrugged. The economy is flailing — quite possible beyond help at this point — dragged down by the easy lending mortgage loan practices made possible by the federally chartered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (who received low interest rates on loans in exchange for meeting HUD’s affordable housing goals) — and Congress is currently debating a bill that will give the U.S. Treasury rights to borrow $750 billion of taxpayer money to buy up bad mortgage loans held mostly by investment banking firms. This current crisis is the result of decades of cronyism between corrupt politicians and psuedo-capitalists on Wall Street who expected their gambling debts to be paid by the public coffers. And they were right.

This is a comedy of errors.  The very same people (most notably House Speaker Barney Frank, Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Christopher Dodd) who literally ushered in the era of “federally backed” sub-prime mortgage loans (see the Government Sponsored Entity Act of 1992 and subsequent HUD measures) are the same people now orchestrating the bailout.

I have no confidence that this bailout will even work beyond the short-term (one to five years) — and I would have much more confidence in solutions rooted in free-market principles (lowering the capital gains tax, removing the regulations forcing banks to sell off assets, etc.)

Of course, we don’t have a free market now and arguably have never had a truly free-market system (though historically we were much closer up until the early 1900s). Since the early 1900s, we’ve had ever-increasing deficit spending (to the tune of over $9 trillion today), taxation and more and more regulatory controls on businesses. We’ve even seen the government take over and control certain industries, such as utility companies (and now banking!). We have so many acronyms for government regulatory agencies that it boggles the mind — IRS, FDA, EPA, HUD — well, you can just read the list, here, http://www.usa.gov/Agencies/Federal/All_Agencies/index.shtml.

Yet somehow this current crisis is being blamed on “lack of regulation” or “deregulation.” Right. Perhaps you could argue (as some did) that we needed more restrictions on government action with respect to Fannie and Freddie but not more regulatory controls over the market. And, the latest bill, of course, creates yet more agencies and more acronyms. (If you don’t think government regulates business in America, just try to start a small business.)

Whatever true prosperity we do have is in direct proportion to the degree we have free trade and free market conditions. Unfortunately, you cannot have lasting economic prosperity in a mixed economy. Capitalism cannot survive under the stranglehold of regulation, government controls and ownership, taxation and deficit spending (which the government deals with by printing more money and convincing people to buy more T-bills). Eventually, the system will fail, as it is doing now. And it will fail all over the world, particularly in the areas where we see the highest degree of globalization.

The U.S. could take the lead by eliminating its capital gains tax, freeing up businesses to do what they do best (make money) and by letting the banks who made the mistake of getting in bed with government and relied on the public coffers to back its debts. (What reality were they living in? Don’t they know the federal government doesn’t have any money?) Anyone who takes on risk for private profit should not expect public welfare when they lose, even if it was government mismanagement and regulation that led to the problem in the first place. Two wrongs do not make a right, and the ends do not justify the means now.

If this bailout didn’t pass today, would we experience economic conditions worse than the 1930s? I don’t think anyone knows for sure. And with the bill, we will never know what would have happened or how long it would have taken to get out of this bust sans government expansion.

Incremental growth of socialism (the government ownership of the means of production) is like a cancer on a healthy human being. It may start very small and may exist in seeming harmony with the healthy cells for a long time. But left unchecked, it will suddenly dislodge and move to vital organs where its necrosis begins, feeding on living tissue until the vital organs cease to function. You cannot let the cancer cells co-exist forever. You must cut them out completely, somehow, some way.

What we’re seeing now with this bailout is like giving someone vitamins or homeopathic remedies to try to cure lung cancer. The patient may feel good for a while. He can still get up and walk around. He may even live another few years. But in the end he will succumb to the malignancy within.

An alternative is to use more reality-based medicine — put the patient in the hospital and surgically remove the cancerous lung, then perhaps follow with a huge dose of radiation on the surrounding areas to counteract any metastasis. Only then would the patient have a real chance of getting healthy again and living with a higher quality of life.

But no one wants the pain of surgery, no one wants to suffer through its debilitating effects (even if only for the short-term) or experience the painful recovery that follows. It is much easier to swallow a few billion dollars worth of vitamins and put on a happy face. A is A, though, and buying time by throwing taxpayer money after what may be worthless assets (who knows what condition these houses are in?) is not going to solve the very real problems our economic system faces.

But, dire as it sounds, this country still has cancer. The good news is, we are close to a cancer cure — and there is always hope. Perhaps we can survive, muddling along during an Obama presidency, propped up with a devalued dollar, to realize we need to give the healthy parts of our society a fighting chance.

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If there were ever a moment since the fall of the Berlin Wall when Europe should be worried, this is it. If Europeans are not willing to engage through Nato, that tells us everything we need to know about the true state of health of what is, after all, supposedly a ‘North Atlantic’ alliance.

(hat tip: Drudge)

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