Stefan Molyneux

It's also interesting that the media never talk about the parents of shooters, except in this case, because the mother was a homeschooler, and a survivalist...[] Also, why not have Dr Thomas Sowell on to talk about gun control? Why give full media exposure to Alex Jones? Nothing the media does is accidental.

I'm not sure what you mean by the word 'primary' - do you mean the majority, or the most important of a minority group, or something else?

Oh, Stefan, I'm sure you could comprehend that we meant to criticize your assumption that child abuse is responsible for most, if not all[/font] violence and agression perpetrated by PEOPLE. Yes this is what I meant, Stefan. And this is the view of your beliefs that I have after watching and reading tons of your work. So if it's not actually what you believe, then at the least it should concern you that for some reason this is what I - and apparently others - are perceiving. "most, if not all" Do you understand that these are enormously different positions, and that trying to mix them together is intellectually irresponsible? For instance, if someone says, "most lung cancer is caused by smoking" (80-90% is), that is a defensible position. If someone says, "all lung cancer is caused by smoking," then you only have to find one instance where it was not caused by smoking to disprove the position. To lump the two positions together as if they are interchangeable is to create a silly strawman not really worthy of response.

I'm not sure where I said that child abuse is responsible for all the problems in the world, perhaps you could remind me... I mean, an earthquake is a problem, but I don't think it's traceable to child abuse.

I certainly understand your skepticism, and if you want to find the flaws in the many studies I have cited, or the experts I have interviewed, I am certainly happy to hear them. It will take a little bit more than calling me " dogmatic" though. http://www.fdrurl.com/bib

Various reports show that up to 90% of parents think a good swat on the behind is okay; one 2010 survey, according to Child Trends Data Bank, found that found 75% of women (and 64% of men) agreed that kids sometimes need a "good hard spanking." http://ca.shine.yahoo.com/blogs/parenting/spanking-leads-aggressive-depressed-kids-191000663.html

PowerPoint Presentation Download [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYkl3XlEneA] Facts about the state of the US economy signs of a terminally ill culture General data Index; 0 - Employment numbers US Non-US 1 - Jobs 2 - Middle class wealth Reduced standard of living, income and savings Consumer Debt/Debt Class polarization 3 - Poverty rate Aid level Massive Numbers 4 - Inflation 5 - Rate of change 6 - Government Finances 7 - Expert Predictions 8 - Signs of accelerating collapse 9 - Historical similarities 10 - Cost of regulations 10.5 - Wealth of the wealthy to watch 11 - Miscellaneous 12 - The Empire has no clothes 13 - More incredible economic numbers 14 - New Graphs The links within the paragraphs should direct you to a specific story concerning that word where the “Link” or “Link to page” links should direct you to the place where that paragraph were taken from. 0. Employment numbers US: Link https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/hsocUcmptmYk7vouoDhVKfqLfG59_F8Gj9JbE0GFgSYsPdmS_irjGBIR1zN3I9YsWCs-JYWlU6N9UzmIF0BE2z9WNv42GzNsHQaD238tykKKFEeEjdQ Public vs Private change 2009-mid 2012 Link https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/N55Vnldxbp7yiCl3_k_Cdrp15z1L5ViZ5QPFQ_Y5AyOlLljkKGeHSjDZmykWlFqReID0zRDNHF1XWFlY-1s31qSVIlW4qlJG0SThJZVBrK73f8LtFsY Public vs Private total 2009-mid 2012 Link Take the recent unemployment numbers that took the U.S. stock market to fresh three month highs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 163,000 new jobs were created in July, 2012. Sounds good enough, but like most numbers, even if it is accurate, which it is not, it creates an intended deceit. Looking at the Bureau of Labor Statistics own tables reveals the following startling fact: The U.S. actually lost 1,204,000 jobs in the month of July, 2012. Don't believe it? Take a look at the actual unadjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. During July, 2012, the private sector added a net 27,000 jobs which represented an added 76,000 goods-producing jobs less 49,000 jobs lost in the service sector. The other million plus were lost in the public sector. The 163,000 represents a number that has nothing to do with reality, but rather represents a model that supposedly takes into account the seasonality of certain jobs. Link According to recently released data from BLS, the total number of people employed had climbed to 143,262,000 last month, an overall increase of 847,000 in the six months since June. The number of people with government jobs increased by 621,000 to 20,559,000, the same five-month period since June. These 621,000 new government jobs created in the last five months equal 73.3 percent of the 847,000 new jobs created overall. Link Just a note from Brady: The above paragraph states that in the 5 months since June 847,000 jobs had been created in the US. If we don’t bundle in the government jobs, that figure drops to 226,000 in 5 months. You’d think that figure was good since it’s positive right? Not really. For the US to keep up with population growth, an estimated 150,000 new jobs per month is considered feeble in that very task. If you don’t count government jobs, that leaves a deficit of 524,000 jobs. This number is probably a pretty good estimate of the number of people added to the massive state, blood buffet since out of the 750,000 new people, only 226,000 really got into the free market. And this is not counting the part time jobs that will go away when the Holidays are over. The two-tenths drop in the unemployment rate was because people gave up looking for work. The labor force participation rate fell to 63.6% from 63.8% in October. If it had just held steady since then, the unemployment rate would be back over 8%. Indeed, if the LFP rate was just where it was in November 2011, the unemployment rate would be 8.3%. Some 542,000 Americans left the labor force just last month. Link The only reason that the unemployment rate fell was because more people dropped out of the labor market than actually found jobs. The labor force declined by 350,000 and the labor force participation rate, a measure of potential workers, declined to 63.6, the same level as reported in September. Link 15 Signs That Layoffs And Job Losses Are Skyrocketing Link 1.Dow Chemical has announced that it will be closing about 20 plants and will be letting about 2,400 workers go. 2. Colgate-Palmolive has announced that they will be eliminating about 2,300 jobs. 3. DuPont has announced plans to eliminate about 1,500 jobs. 4. Ford has announced that it will be eliminating 6,200 jobs and will be reducing production capacity in Europe by 18 percent. 5. Hewlett-Packard announced last month that they plan to eliminate29,000 jobs. 6. Chip maker AMD has announced that they will be getting rid of about 15 percent of their workers. 7. Sony has announced plans to reduce their workforce by about 2,000 workers. 8. Electronics manufacturer Sharp reportedly plans to eliminate 11,000 jobs. 9. Engine maker Cummins Inc. has announced that they plan to get rid of about 1,500 jobs by the end of 2012. 10. Earlier this month Applied Materials announced a plan that will eliminate up to 1,300 jobs. 11. Zynga (known for making video games for Facebook such as FarmVille) has announced that they are reducing their workforce by about 5 percent. 12. Lattice Semiconductor has announced plans to eliminate about 13 percent of their jobs. 13. Alcatel-Lucent recently announced a plan to eliminate more than 5000 jobs all over the globe. 14. Siemens AG has announced that the number of positions being eliminated may reach 10,000 by the end of the year. 15. Banking giant UBS plans to eliminate up to 5,000 jobs. Please keep in mind that these job cuts do not show up in the unemployment numbers yet. When big corporations announce the elimination of jobs, it often takes a while before those job losses actually take place. The Employment Rate In The United States Is Lower Than It Was During The Last Recession Link From the article: “The media is buzzing about how "163,000 new jobs" were added in July but the unemployment rate went up to "8.254%". Sadly, those numbers are quite misleading. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in June 142,415,000 people had jobs in the United States. In July, that number declined to 142,220,000. That means that 195,000 fewer Americans were working in July than in June. But somehow that works out to "163,000 new jobs" in July. I am not exactly sure how they get that math to add up. Perhaps someone out there can explain it to me.” Non US: Canada may have added 1,800 jobs in October, but that number hides the fact that almost all the gains came from government and that the private sector lost more than 20,000 jobs. Link Chart: Public sector employment growth outpacing private Link 1. Jobs The middle class continues to shrink - 95 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were middle class jobs. Link The percentage of low paying jobs just continues to increase. At this point,one out of every four American workers has a job that pays $10 an hour or less. If that sounds like a high figure, that is because it is. Today, the United States actually has a higher percentage of workers doing low wage work than any other major industrialized nation does. Link The U.S. economy is not producing nearly enough jobs for all of us at this point. For example, it was reported that 20,000 people applied for just 877 jobs at a Hyundai plant in Montgomery, Alabama earlier this year. Sadly, the official U.S. unemployment rate has been above 8 percent for 40 months in a row, and this is supposed to be “the recovery”. Link Public Sector Employment Outstripping Private Sector - Federal Employees Are Sitting Pretty - TSA Utilizes a Different Pay Scale - Public "Servants" Dominate Job Market Link GUNTER: Public sector wages are getting out of hand Link “ Much was made last year by the “Occupy” movement about the privilege of the 1% versus the poverty of the 99%. But if the movement and its supporters are so against unearned privilege, how come we have never heard anything from them about the 20% versus the 80%? I’m talking about the 20% of workers employed in the public sector versus the 80% of us who work for private-sector employers.” The Vampire Sector Link • A driver’s education teacher in Illinois gets a $170,000 annual salary and $120,000 annual pension. • In New York, some city workers amass more than $100,000 in overtime during their last year before retirement to create a monthly pension higher than their salary. • 420 of Illinois’s physical education teachers, 332 English teachers and 94 driver’s education teachers make more than $100,000 a year, with salaries for each position topping out at more than $160,000 a year. • A citizen of Houston, Texas, pondering the curious, concomitant rise in crime and taxes, would find that the number of police officers serving the community has remained the same for six years running, despite a 40 percent budget increase to cover higher salaries, pension and healthcare benefits. • A small business receiving an IOU in California might be surprised to learn that in 2008, 40 percent of Vallejo’s 613 employees had salaries greater than $100,000 a year, the same year the city filed for bankruptcy. The number of jobs at new small businesses continues to decline. According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration... Bush Sr.: 11.3 Clinton: 11.2 Bush Jr.: 10.8 Obama: 7.8 • In Fort Worth, Texas, one police chief recently retired at age 55 with a guaranteed annual pension of $188,692. His successor retired at age 52 with an annual pension of $113,614. Another unremarkable State of California retiree gets an annual pension of $500,000. He was outsmarted by two University of Connecticut professors who are currently collecting six-figure pensions while simultaneously collecting similar salaries. Public vs Private working hours Link The number of long-term unemployed remains at a sky-high 40.1%, the same as in August. Link The employment rate for youth ages 16 to 19 dropped precipitously — down 42 percent since 2000. Link Total compensation costs for management, professional, and related occupations, which represent approximately half of all state and local government employment, averaged $50.43 per hour worked. State and local government employers spent an average of $41.56 per hour worked for employee compensation in September 2012. Total employer compensation costs for private industry workers averaged $28.95 per hour worked in September 2012. Link The federal workforce has become an elite island of secure and high-paid workers, separated from the ocean of average American workers competing in the global economy," according to a report this year by the Cato Institute. That report found the average civilian federal government worker collected just under $84,000 a year in taxpayer money, about $32,000 more than the average private sector worker. That's a total federal worker package of about $236 billion a year. In the United States, the average federal worker now earns 60% MORE than the average worker in the private sector. Link In 2010, the number of jobs created at new businesses in the United States was less than half of what it was back in the year 2000. The U.S. economy lost more than 220,000 small businesses during the recent recession. Since January 2009, as the chart shows, a net of 194,000 new jobs have been created. During that same time, 14.7 million have been added to the food stamp rolls. Link In the 1,420 days since he took the oath of office, the federal government has daily hired on average 101 new employees. Every day. Seven days a week. All 202 weeks. That makes 143,000 more federal workers than when Obama talked forever on that cold day in January of 2009. Link Sadly, 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs. It looks like the unemployment numbers are likely to get even worse. Since the election, dozens of large companies have announced major layoffs. Overall, large companies have announced the elimination of more than 100,000 jobs since November 6th. Link I work for the oldest and largest health insurer in the state of Ohio in the underwriting department. At 9 a.m.this morning, my department (about 50) were called into a meeting in the executive boardroom. We were informed that due to a provision in the healthcare 'reform' effective 2014 called guarantee issue, our services would no longer be needed, and we were offered severance So Obama got to keep his job, and we lost ours. It is maddening that some tyrant 400 miles away can have such a ruinous effect on peoples lives. Link A Las Vegas business owner with 114 employees fired 22 workers today, apparently as a direct result of President Obama’s re-election. “David” (he asked to remain anonymous for obvious reasons) told Host Kevin Wall on 100.5 KXNT that “elections have consequences” and that “at the end of the day, I need to survive.” Link The percentage of working age Americans that have jobs is not increasing. The employment to population ratio has stayed very steady (hovering between 58% and 59%) since the beginning of 2010. When Barack Obama first took office, the number of "long-term unemployed workers" in the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6 million. The average duration of unemployment in the United States is hovering close to an all-time record high. According to Reuters, approximately 23.7 million American workers are either unemployed or underemployed right now. There are about 88 million working age Americans that are not employed and that are not looking for employment. That is an all-time record high. According to CareerBuilder, only 23 percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012. Back in the year 2000, about 20 percent of all jobs in America were manufacturing jobs. Today, about 5 percent of all jobs in America are manufacturing jobs. Since January 2009, the "labor force" in the United States has increased by 827,000, but "those not in the labor force" has increased by 8,208,000. This is how they have gotten the unemployment numbers to "come down" The United States has lost an average of approximately 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Amazingly, more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities in the United States have been shut down since 2001. According to author Paul Osterman, about 20 percent of all U.S. adults are currently working jobs that pay poverty-level wages. According to Gallup, the unemployment rate was at 8.3% in mid-January but rose to 9.0% in mid-February. In America today, the average time needed to find a job has risen to a record 35.2 weeks Link More than 40% of Americans who actually are employed are now working in service jobs, which are often very low paying Link At this point, less than 25 percent of all jobs in the United States are "good jobs", and that number continues to shrink. In the United States today, more than 41 percent of all working age Americans are not working. Saddening fact: If you gathered together all of the workers that are "officially" unemployed in the United States into one nation, they would constitute the 68th largest country in the entire world. 2. Middle Class Wealth Reduced standard of living, income and savings: Each year, the average American must work 107 days just to make enough money to pay local, state and federal taxes. Link As the cost of living goes up, wages continue to stagnate or even fall in many areas of the country. Sadly, this is part of a long-term trend. According to one study, between 1969 and 2009 the median wages earned by American men between the ages of 30 and 50 declined by 27 percent after you account for inflation. Link During this time of the year, there are large numbers of new college graduates entering the work force. Unfortunately, there are not nearly enough jobs for all of them. In fact, approximately 53 percent of all U.S. college graduates under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed last year. Link Health insurance continues to become more expensive. Health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent since Barack Obama became president. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, health care costs accounted for just 9.5% of all personal consumption back in 1980. Today they account for approximately 16.3%. Link Just paying for the basics is becoming increasingly difficult for many Americans. For example, there are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001. Link In recent years U.S. families have experienced an astounding decline in wealth. According to the Federal Reserve, the median net worth of families in the United States declined “from $126,400 in 2007 to $77,300 in 2010“. Link According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, 85 percent of middle class Americans say that it is more difficult to maintain a middle class standard of living today than it was 10 years ago Link Right now, approximately 25 million American adults are living at home with their parents Link 62 percent of middle class Americans say that they have had to reduce household spending over the past year. Link In the United States today, 77 percent of all Americans are living to paycheck to paycheck at least some of the time. Median household income in America has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4000 during that time span. Link 36 percent of Americans say that they don’t contribute anything to retirement savings (July 2010) Link 24% of American workers say that they have postponed their planned retirement age in the past year Link A staggering 43 percent of Americans have less than $10,000 saved up for retirement Link A different recent survey found that 28 percent of all Americans do not have a single penny saved for emergencies. In the United States today, somewhere around 100 million Americans are considered to be either "poor" or "near poor" The percentage of Americans that find that they are able to retire when they reach retirement age continues to decline. According to one new survey, 70 percent of middle class Americans plan to work during retirement and 30 percent plan to work until they are at least 80 years old. Back in 2007, 19.2 percent of all American families had a net worth of zero or less than zero. By 2010, that figure had soared to 32.5 percent One recent survey discovered that 40 percent of all Americans have $500 or less in savings. In the United States today, there are close to 10 million households that do not have a single bank account. That number has increased by about a million since 2009 Right now, the United States actually has a higher percentage of workers doing low wage work than any other major industrialized nation does. There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001. In 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent are covered by employment-based health insurance. As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all U.S. adults were married In 1984, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older was 10 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger. Today, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older is 47 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger. If you can believe it, 37 percent of all U.S. households that are led by someone under the age of 35 have a net worth of zero or less than zero A different recent survey found that 28 percent of all Americans do not have a single penny saved for emergencies. Link Consumer Debt/Debt: Many Americans are trying to make ends meet for their families by going into more debt. Consumer borrowing hit another brand new record high in October. It looks like the American people have not learned from their past mistakes and have decided to roll up consumer debt at a faster pace than ever before. Link Back in 1983, the bottom 95 percent of all income earners had 62 cents of debt for every dollar that they earned. By 2007, that figure had soared to $1.48. Total consumer debt in the United States has risen by 1700 percent since 1971. According to the Student Loan Debt Clock, total student loan debt in the United States will surpass the 1 trillion dollar mark at some point in 2012. If you went out right now and starting spending one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. Recently it was announced that total student loan debt in the United States has passed the one trillion dollar mark. According to one recent survey, approximately one-third of all Americans are not paying their bills on time at this point. As you read this, there are more than 6 million mortgages in the United States that are overdue. Sadly, 43 percent of all American families spend more than they earn each year Link After adjusting for inflation, U.S. college students are borrowing about twice as much money as they did a decade ago. Today, 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month. Incredibly, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards. The average interest rate on a credit card that is carrying a balance is now up to 13.10 percent. Of the U.S. households that do have credit card debt, the average amount of credit card debt is an astounding $15,799. Overall, Americans are carrying a grand total of $798 billion in credit card debt. If you were alive when Jesus was born and you spent a million dollars every single day since then, you still would not have spent $798 billion by now. At this point, about 70 percent of all auto purchases in the United States involve an auto loan. In the United States today, 45 percent of all auto loans are made to subprime borrowers. Mortgage debt as a percentage of GDP has more than tripled since 1955. According to a recent study conducted by the BlackRock Investment Institute, the ratio of household debt to personal income in the United States is now 154 percent. Class polarization: Increasingly, our country is being divided into “two Americas“. According to Forbes, the 400 wealthiest Americans now have more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. Link The United States now ranks 93rd in the world in income inequality. Link Corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are at an all-time high. Meanwhile, wages as a percentage of GDP are near an all-time low. Link All from July 2010 and this the Link for all of the “Class polarization” 83 percent of all U.S. stocks are in the hands of 1 percent of the people. 61 percent of Americans “always or usually” live paycheck to paycheck, which was up from 49 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007 66% of the income growth between 2001 and 2007 went to the top 1% of all Americans Over 1.4 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy in 2009, which represented a 32 percent increase over 2008 Only the top 5 percent of U.S. households have earned enough additional income to match the rise in housing costs since 1975 For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together As of 2007, the bottom 80 percent of American households held about 7% of the liquid financial assets The bottom 50 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the national wealth Average Wall Street bonuses for 2009 were up 17 percent when compared with 2008 The top 1% of U.S. households own nearly twice as much of America’s corporate wealth as they did just 15 years ago Despite the financial crisis, the number of millionaires in the United States rose a whopping 16 percent to 7.8 million in 2009 The top 10% of Americans now earn around 50% of our national income In the United States today, corporate profits are at an all-time high. The percentage of Americans that are living in "extreme poverty" is also at an all-time high according to the U.S. Census Bureau In the United States today, the wealthiest one percent of all Americans have a greater net worth than the bottom 90 percent combined The poorest 50 percent of all Americans now collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States For the first time in U.S. history, banks own a greater share of residential housing net worth in the United States than all individual Americans put together 3. Poverty Rate: Aid level: Right now, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. And that does not even count Social Security or Medicare Link According to numbers that were just released, the number of Americans on food stamps has risen to a new all-time record of 47.71 million. That is a huge increase of more than 600,000 over the previous reading of 47.10 million. After about a year of slow growth, it looks like the number of Americans on food stamps is starting to skyrocket once again. Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps. Link Since Barack Obama entered the White House, the number of Americans on food stamps has increased from 32 million to 46 million Link to page According to the National Center for Children in Poverty, 36.4% of all children that live in Philadelphia are living in poverty, 40.1% of all children that live in Atlanta are living in poverty, 52.6% of all children that live in Cleveland are living in poverty and 53.6% of all children that live in Detroit are living in poverty Link to page Food banks all over America are reporting that more needy families than ever before are showing up to get food. Link For the first time in U.S. history, more than 40 million Americans are on food stamps, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that number will go up to 43 million Americans in 2011 Link In October 2008, 30.8 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, 46.7 million Americans are on food stamps Link Approximately one-fourth of all children in the United States are enrolled in the food stamp program Link Massive Numbers: As the middle class shrinks, the ranks of the poor continue to expand. Sadly, at this point 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be “low income” or are living in poverty. Link Approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010 – the highest rate in 20 years Link Family homelessness in the Washington D.C. region (one of the wealthiest regions in the entire country) has risen 23 percent since the last recession began The number of Americans living in poverty has increased by about 6 million over the past four years. Today, about one out of every four workers in the United States brings home wages that are at or below the federal poverty level Link Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be either "low income" or impoverished Link The number of children living in poverty in the state of California has increased by 30 percent since 2007 Link to page According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49 percent of all Americans live in a home where at least one person receives financial assistance from the federal government. Back in 1983, that number was less than 30 percent. A few days ago, the latest food stamp numbers were released. It turns out that the number of Americans on food stamps increased by 420,947 from July to August. That was the largest one month increase that we have seen in a year. At this point, an all-time record 47.1 million Americans are enrolled in the food stamp program. Link More American families are falling out of the middle class every single day. New numbers that were just released by the U.S. Census Bureau show that the number of Americans living in poverty rose to a new all-time record of 49.7 million last year. Once upon a time, people would have laughed at you if you suggested that someday 50 million Americans would be living in poverty. But here we are. Link 4. Inflation: The inflator and the inflation rate: (December 14th, 2012), the Federal Reserve announced plans to spend $45 billion a month to buy bonds, and to keep a key interest rate near zero until unemployment drops below 6.5 percent. Link Unfortunately, one of the experts USA Today interviewed said that we can expect water bills to rise between 5 percent and 15 percent a year moving forward. Link The unofficial misery index, which is calculated by combining unemployment and inflation, is now at a 28 year high. Link Some analysts are projecting that we could see food prices rise by 14 percent or more over the next year. Link Moreover, whatever money you do make (or save) will rapidly lose value as inflation, downplayed by the government of course, takes hold at a rate in excess of 10% per year, which means your money will be cut in half by 50% within seven years Link Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row Link to page Health insurance premiums rose faster than the overall rate of inflation in 2011 and that is happening once again in 2012. In fact, it has been happening for a very long time. Link to page Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger than it was just 20 years ago. Link to page In Florida right now, some drivers are paying nearly 6 dollars for a gallon of gas. On average, you could buy about 10 gallons of gas for an hour of work back in the mid-90s. Today, the average hour of work will get you less than 6 gallons of gas. To get the same purchasing power that you got out of $20.00 back in 1970 you would have to have more than $116 today. When Barack Obama first took office, an ounce of gold was going for about $850. Today an ounce of gold costs more than $1700 an ounce Link Price of 8 everyday items 2002 vs 2012 Link ITEM $ PRICE 2002 $ PRICE 2012 % DIFFERENCE GASOLINE (GALLON) 1.44 3.73 158 BEER (16OZ) 0.99 1.24 25 EGGS GRADE A (12) 1.03 1.80 73 COFFEE (LB) 2.92 5.58 90 PEANUT BUTTER 1.96 2.75 40 MILK (GAL) 2.75 3.47 26 BREAD(LOAF) 1.01 1.41 39 MARGARINE(LB) 0.86 2.09 143 Electricity (KW) 0.091 0.130 42 Beef Steaks (16oz) 4.40 6.22 41 Tomato (LB) 1.18 1.44 22 Turkey whole (LB) 1.05 1.65 56 Bacon (LB) 3.23 4.52 39 Ground Beef (LB) 2.28 3.69 61 Cookies (LB) 2.59 3.61 39 Wine (Liter) 6.23 10.03 60 Apple, red delicious ( LB) 0.94 1.35 43 Orange Juice( 16oz) 1.84 2.69 46 Spagetti and Macaroni (LB) 0.91 1.32 44  5. Rate of Change: According to Gallup, unemployment in the United States shot up very sharply during the month of November. Link 6. Government Finances: Over the next 75 years, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars. That comes to $328,404 for each and every household in the United States. Link Over the last several decades, the debt burdens being taken on by average Americans have absolutely exploded. All of this debt is making things incredibly difficult on American families. The following is from a recent CNN article…. In 1983, the bottom 95% had 62 cents of debt for every dollar they earned, according to research by two International Monetary Fund economists. But by 2007, the ratio had soared to $1.48 of debt for every $1 in earnings. Link As I wrote about yesterday, the federal government has run a deficit of $292 billion dollars during the first two months of fiscal 2013. That figure is $57 billion higher than it was during the same period last year. Government debt continues to soar wildly out of control and at some point all of that debt is absolutely going to crush us. Link During 2012, the U.S. government must roll over nearly 3 trillion dollars of old debt The U.S. national debt is now more than 22 times larger than it was when Jimmy Carter became president During the Obama administration, the U.S. government has accumulated more debt than it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that Bill Clinton took office If the federal government began right at this moment to repay the U.S. national debt at a rate of one dollar per second, it would take over 440,000 years to pay off the national debt. If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days. Right now, the U.S. national debt is increasing by about 150 million dollars every single hour Spending by the federal government accounted for about 2 percent of GDP back in 1800. It accounted for 23.8 percent in 2011, and according to former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker, it will account for 36.8 percent of GDP by 2040 link 7. Expert Predictions: Wall Street bankers are expecting "the worst bonus season" since 2008. Not a lot of people are going to shed tears over this one, but this is a sign that there is trouble in the financial world. Link 8. Signs of accelerating collapse: The employment numbers are even belied by garbage, not just the government's garbage, but real garbage. A recent ZeroHedge blog interpreted Bloomberg numbers on the number of carloads of trash being hauled by U.S. railroads. "As Bloomberg explains: 'One closely watched economic indicator is the rail car loads of waste and scrap materials.' Logically, 'The more we demand, the more waste is generated by that production.' As the chart of the day(below), courtesy of Bloomberg Brief, demonstrates, if garbage is the benchmark, the US economy is now contracting faster than it has at any one point in the past 3 years and is on pace to recreate the economic collapse last seen after the Lehman bankruptcy. Lihttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/cX1gaX2kAJU89EXVmWd7Zkf2Z-CFEApIfVRRroK7hRFFvx4ZbNzkk4dDPqsLeczxcRuNN_g5pu1vZ8XiUfPGuGFUXQjbFwIA5KZONrIw2FH2hDSg-kI Article: Small Business Surveys Suggest New Downtrend Despite Incomplete Recovery From the Great Recession 9. Historical Similarities U.S. retail sales have declined for three months in a row, and that is a very bad sign. Retail sales in America have fallen three months in a row only 27 times since 1947. In 25 of those instances, the U.S. economy was either “in a recession or within three months of a recession.” Link The condition of the U.S. economy today mirrors the economic situation prior to the Great Depression. There is slow economic growth, massive deficits, high unemployment and foreclosures, and a shaky banking system. Real unemployment is at the same level it was during the Great Depression, around 25 percent. The drop in home prices and sales is actually worse than during the Great Depression. The stock market has been dropping, and stocks are currently overvalued by as much as 50 percent. Speculative greed precipitated the stock market crash, similar to the investors and homeowners of today who made risky investments they could not afford. Link Youth unemployment in the United States is now at the highest level that we have seen since World War II. Link I have written previously about how the once great city of Detroit has become a symbol of the downfall of the U.S. economy. Well, now the state of Michigan is laying the groundwork for a "managed bankruptcy" of Detroit. Sadly, many other large U.S. cities will likely follow suit over the next couple of years. Link This time the results are going to be dramatically worse than 1929. This time we are facing The Greatest Depression ever. Why? Because The Great Depression had NONE of the structural, economic, and social problems, nor the massive obligations we are now facing. Read the facts: In 1929 America was not $16 trillion in debt, plus facing over $100 trillion in unfunded liabilitieshttps://lh6.googleusercontent.com/tjL9G9xEv07lsv_ec-Vn2M0XMljvoc0Z6RpGz81N8rZKmc95IJhDtMFfO0R-c2fV5QnfYhAU9m77p0bmIHGX3Y8wMVtpbeV98e2-ThHL6RokdzbRHIc. That’s over $360,000 in debt per citizen. In 1929, most of our states were not bankrupt, insolvent and dependent on federal government handouts to survive. One county (Cook County which includes Chicago, Illinois) now owes over $108 billion in debthttps://lh3.googleusercontent.com/M-C_LiyRY9X1_S4zv2eDzE1qqdTETSwDR5FVKAYb6yEgViqoeJz2LLnChcRGlA_Emw1urGRZzsDbwEBadttrHxi24AlcfYwCQVz8G88BsfmOOEjQxBA (the biggest part of it in unfunded government employee pensions). In 1929, we did not have 21 million government employees with bloated salaries, obscene pensions, and free health care for life. Today 1 out of 5 federal employees earn over $100,000 No one could have imagined any of this in 1929. There is no possible way to pay these bills moving forward. In 1929, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid didn’t exist. The federal government had no such obligations threatening to consume the entire federal budget within a few years. In 1929, there was no such thing as welfare, food stamps, aid to dependent children, or English as a second language programs. American’s didn’t consider it the responsibility of government to pay for breakfast and lunch for school students -- let alone for illegal immigrants at school. Who could have imagined back in 1929 that one seventh of America's population would be on food stamps…and the federal government would ADVERTISE to encourage even more Americans to sign up for food stampshttps://lh4.googleusercontent.com/u6M9dfcvr5Y2tjaBKkka-2Qt0Fq4vHSTOBDPDsX6cC9e2aQlBCuz3m4f5xxfO0NtwomLFwNGktUFw3s6KKBjplUw5uu1eymdeVkVJ-nA642ZiVKDDOY and welfare. Link The above list goes on Stef, I recommend you have a look. Just think how tragic it will be when the government’s finances collapses, millions will be completely left stranded. If there’s anytime for those with the capacity to get away to finally get a glimpse of a warning flare through the thick smog of bullshit, it’s now where ET of collapse or depression is still a toss up between days and years. 10. Cost of Regulations: According to the New York Times, a Jeep Grand Cherokee that costs $27,490 in the United States costs about $85,000 in China thanks to all the tariffs. Link Thanks to horribly oppressive regulations, red tape and taxes, it is incredibly difficult to run a successful small business in America today. According to the Christian Science Monitor, more than half of all small business owners in America cannot even afford to put food on the table from their small business earnings…. Another recent survey found that 23 percent of all small business owners have gone an entire year without pay. Link Overall, the U.S. manufacturing sector contracted last month for the first time in almost three years. The following is from a recent article in the Los Angeles Times…. A factory index calculated by the Institute for Supply Management slid to 49.7 in June from 53.5 in May to the lowest reading since July 2009. Any level below 50 denotes tightening in the sector; anything above signifies growth. Link The Philadelphia Fed’s employment index indicates that there is bad news ahead for the labor market…. Link An all-time record 49.9 million Americans do not have any health insurance at all at this point, and the percentage of Americans covered by employer-based health plans has fallen for 11 years in a row. Link to page During the Obama administration, worker health insurance costs have risen by 23 percent. Link to page According to one recent survey, approximately 10 percent of all employers in the United States plan to drop health coverage when key provisions of the new health care law kick in less than two years from now. Link to page This is what American workers now must compete against: in China a garment worker makes approximately 86 cents an hour and in Cambodia a garment worker makes approximately 22 cents an hour Link Small business owners all over America are declaring that Obamacare is going to force them to start replacing full-time workers with part-time workers during 2013. Link Obama has put onerous regulations into place that are crippling the economy and allowing little room for recovery. There are environmental restrictions on offshore drilling, CO2 emissions, and Obama refuses to approve the Keystone Pipeline, which would have created 100,000 jobs Link 10.5 Wealth of the wealthy to watch: According to the Wall Street Journal, of the 40 biggest publicly traded corporate spenders, half of them plan to reduce capital expenditures over the coming months. Link 11. Miscellaneous http://money.usnews.com/money/careers/articles/2011/07/08/public-versus-private-sector-job-gains Article of origin: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/55-facts-about-the-debt-and-u-s-government-finances-that-every-american-voter-should-know While Barack Obama has been president, the U.S. government has spent about 11 dollars for every 7 dollars of revenue that it has actually brought in. #2 During the fiscal year that just ended, the U.S. government took in2.449 trillion dollars but it spent 3.538 trillion dollars. #3 During fiscal year 2011, over a trillion dollars of government money was spent on 83 different welfare programs, and those numbers do not even include Social Security or Medicare. #4 Over the past four years, welfare spending has increased by 32 percent. In inflation-adjusted dollars, spending on those programs has risen by 378 percent over the past 30 years. At this point, more than100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. Once again, these figures do not even include Social Security or Medicare. #5 Over the past year, the number of Americans getting a free cell phone from the federal government has grown by 43 percent. Now more than 16 million Americans are enjoying what has come to be known as an "Obamaphone". #6 When Barack Obama first entered the White House, about 32 million Americans were on food stamps. Now, nearly 47 million Americansare on food stamps. And this has happened during what Obama refers to as "an economic recovery". #7 The U.S. government recently spent 27 million dollars on pottery classes in Morocco. #8 The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently spent $300,000 to encourage Americans to eat caviar at a time when more families than ever are having a really hard time just trying to put any food on the table at all. #9 During 2012, the National Science Foundation spent $516,000 to support the creation of a video game called "Prom Week", which apparently simulates "all the social interactions of the event." #10 The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the largest snack food maker in the world (PepsiCo Inc.) a total of 1.3 million dollars in corporate welfare that was used to help build "a Greek yogurt factory in New York." #11 The National Science Foundation recently gave researchers at Purdue University $350,000. They used part of that money to help fund a study that discovered that if golfers imagine that a hole is bigger it will help them with their putting. #12 If you can believe it, $10,000 from the federal government was actually used to purchase talking urinal cakes up in Michigan. #13 The National Science Foundation recently gave a whopping$697,177 to a New York City-based theater company to produce a musical about climate change. #14 The National Institutes of Health recently gave $666,905 to a group of researchers that is studying the benefits of watching reruns on television. #15 The National Science Foundation has given 1.2 million dollars to a team of "scientists" that is spending part of that money on a study that is seeking to determine whether elderly Americans would benefit from playing World of Warcraft or not. #16 The National Institutes of Health recently gave $548,731 to a team of researchers that concluded that those that drink heavily in their thirties also tend to feel more immature. #17 The National Science Foundation recently spent $30,000 on a study to determine if "gaydar" actually exists. This is the conclusion that the researchers reached at the end of the study.... "Gaydar is indeed real and… its accuracy is driven by sensitivity to individual facial features" #18 Back in 2011, the National Institutes of Health spent $592,527 on a study that sought to figure out once and for all why chimpanzees throw poop. #19 The U.S. government spends more on the military than China, Russia, Japan, India, and the rest of NATO combined. In fact, the United States accounts for 41.0% of all military spending on the planet. China is next with only 8.2%. #20 In a previous article, I noted that close to 500,000 federal employees now make at least $100,000 a year. #21 In 2006, only 12 percent of all federal workers made $100,000 or more per year. Now, approximately 22 percent of all federal workers do. #22 If you can believe it, there are 77,000 federal workers that make more than the governors of their own states do. #23 During 2010, the average federal employee in the Washington D.C. area received total compensation worth more than $126,000. #24 The U.S. Department of Defense had just nine civilians earning $170,000 or more back in 2005. When Barack Obama became president, the U.S. Department of Defense had 214 civilians earning $170,000 or more. By June 2010, the U.S. Department of Defense had994 civilians earning $170,000 or more. #25 During 2010, compensation for federal employees came to a grand total of approximately 447 billion dollars. #26 If you can believe it, close to 15,000 retired federal employees are currently collecting federal pensions for life worth at least $100,000 annually. That list includes such names as Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Dick Gephardt and Dick Cheney. #27 During 2010, the federal government spent $33,387 on the hair care needs of U.S. Senators. #28 During 2010, U.S. Senators pulled $72,370 out of the "Senate Restaurant Fund". #29 During 2010, an average of $4,005,900 of U.S. taxpayer money was spent on "personal" and "office" expenses per Senator. #30 In 2013, 3.7 million dollars will be spent to support the lavish lifestyles of former presidents such as George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. #31 During 2011, the federal government spent a total of 1.4 BILLION dollars just on the Obamas. #32 When you combine all federal government spending, all state government spending and all local government spending, it comes toapproximately 41 percent of U.S. GDP. But don't worry, all of our politicians insist that this is not socialism. #33 As I have written about previously, less than 30 percent of all Americans lived in a home where at least one person received financial assistance from the federal government back in 1983. Today, that number is sitting at an all-time high of 49 percent. #34 Back in 1990, the federal government accounted for just 32 percent of all health care spending in America. This year, it is being projected that the federal government will account for more than 50 percent of all health care spending in the United States. #35 The number of Americans on Medicaid soared from 34 million in 2000 to 54 million in 2011, and it is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls. #36 In one of my previous articles, I discussed how it is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025. #37 If you can believe it, Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. That comes to approximately $328,404 for each and every household in the United States. #38 In the United States today, more than 61 million Americansreceive some form of Social Security benefits. By 2035, that number is projected to soar to a whopping 91 million. #39 Overall, the Social Security system is facing a 134 trillion dollar shortfall over the next 75 years. #40 When Barack Obama first took office, the U.S. national debt was about 10.6 trillion dollars. Now it is about 16.2 trillion dollars. That is an increase of 5.6 trillion dollars in less than 4 years. #41 The federal government has now run a budget deficit of more than a trillion dollars for four years in a row. #42 If right this moment you went out and started spending one dollar every single second, it would take you more than 31,000 years to spend one trillion dollars. #43 If you were alive when Jesus Christ was born and you spent one million dollars every single day since that point, you still would not have spent one trillion dollars by now. #44 Some suggest that "taxing the rich" is the answer. Well, if Bill Gates gave every single penny of his entire fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for 15 days. #45 If the federal government used GAAP accounting standards like publicly traded corporations do, the real federal budget deficit for 2011 would have been 5 trillion dollars instead of 1.3 trillion dollars. #46 The United States already has more government debt per capitathan Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain does. #47 At this point, the United States government is responsible for more than a third of all the government debt in the entire world. #48 The amount of U.S. government debt held by foreigners is about 5 times larger than it was just a decade ago. #49 Between 2007 and 2010, U.S. GDP grew by only 4.26%, but the U.S. national debt soared by 61% during that same time period. #50 The U.S. national debt is now more than 37 times larger than it was when Richard Nixon took us off the gold standard. #51 The U.S. national debt is now more than 5000 times larger than it was when the Federal Reserve was first created. #52 The U.S. national debt jumped more on the very first day of fiscal year 2013 than it did from 1776 to 1941 combined. #53 Historically, the interest rate on 10 year U.S. Treasuries has averaged 6.68 percent. If the average interest rate on U.S. government debt rose to that level today, the U.S. government would find itself spending more than a trillion dollars per year just on interest on the national debt. #54 A recently revised IMF policy paper entitled “An Analysis of U.S. Fiscal and Generational Imbalances: Who Will Pay and How?” projects that U.S. government debt will rise to about 400 percent of GDP by the year 2050. #55 Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff is warning that the U.S. government is facing a gigantic tsunami of unfunded liabilities in the coming years that we are counting on our children and our grandchildren to pay. Kotlikoff speaks of a "fiscal gap" which he defines as "the present value difference between projected future spending and revenue". His calculations have led him to the conclusion that the federal government is facing a fiscal gap of 222 trillion dollars in the years ahead. Article of origin : http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/20-signs-that-the-u-s-poverty-explosion-is-hitting-children-and-young-people-the-hardest If you can believe it, a higher percentage of children is living in poverty in America today than was the case back in 1975. 2. More than one out of every five children in the United States iscurrently living in poverty. 3. According to U.S. Census data, 57 percent of all American children live in a home that is either considered to be "poor" or "low income". 4. Median household income for families with children dropped by a whopping $6,300 between 2001 and 2011. 5. For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year. 6. It is being projected that half of all American children will be on food stamps at least once before they turn 18 years of age. 7. One university study estimates that child poverty costs the U.S. economy 500 billion dollars each year. 8. The 18 to 24 age group has a higher unemployment rate than any other age group in the United States. 9. Young adult employment is now at the lowest level that we have seensince World War II. 10. In 2007, the unemployment rate for the 20 to 29 age bracket was about 6.5 percent. Today, the unemployment rate for that same age group is about 13 percent. 11. Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent. 12. Family homelessness in the Washington D.C. region (one of the wealthiest regions in the entire country) has risen 23 percent since the last recession began. 13. Since the year 2000, incomes for U.S. households led by someone between the ages of 25 and 34 have fallen by about 12 percent after you account for inflation. 14. In 1984, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older was 10 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger. Today, the median net worth of households led by someone 65 or older is 47 times larger than the median net worth of households led by someone 35 or younger. 15. During 2011, 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor's degree under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed. 16. Many young people are finding that they cannot afford to get married these days. Sadly, an all-time low 44.2 percent of all Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 are married right now. 17. Right now, approximately 53 percent of all Americans in the 18 to 24 age group are living at home. 18. The number of Americans in the 25 to 34 age group that live with their parents has grown by 25 percent since 2007. 19. One survey discovered that 85 percent of all college seniors plan on moving back in with their parents after graduation. 20. Overall, approximately 25 million American adults are living with their parents in the United States right now according to Time Magazine Original Article: http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/75-economic-numbers-from-2012-that-are-almost-too-crazy-to-believe #1 In December 2008, 31.6 million Americans were on food stamps. Today, a new all-time record of 47.7 million Americans are on food stamps. That number has increased by more than 50 percent over the past four years, and yet the mainstream media still has the gall to insist that "things are getting better". #2 Back in the 1970s, about one out of every 50 Americans was on food stamps. Today, about one out of every 6.5 Americans is on food stamps. #3 According to one calculation, the number of Americans on food stamps now exceeds the combined populations of "Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming." #4 According to one recent survey, 55 percent of all Americans have received money from a safety net program run by the federal government at some point in their lives. #5 For the first time ever, more than a million public school students in the United States are homeless. That number has risen by 57 percent since the 2006-2007 school year. #6 Median household income in the U.S. has fallen for four consecutive years. Overall, it has declined by over $4000 during that time span. #7 Families that have a head of household under the age of 30 have a poverty rate of 37 percent. #8 The percentage of working age Americans with a job has been under 59 percent for 39 months in a row. #9 In September 2009, during the depths of the last economic crisis,58.7 percent of all working age Americans were employed. In November 2012, 58.7 percent of all working age Americans were employed. It is more then 3 years later, and we are in the exact same place. #10 When you total up all working age Americans that do not have a job in America today, it comes to more than 100 million. #11 According to one recent survey, 55 percent of all small business owners in America "say they would not start a business today given what they know now and in the current environment." #12 The number of jobs at new small businesses continues to decline. According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per 1000 Americans breaks down by presidential administration... Bush Sr.: 11.3 Clinton: 11.2 Bush Jr.: 10.8 Obama: 7.8 #13 The U.S. share of global GDP has fallen from 31.8 percent in 2001 to 21.6 percent in 2011. #14 The United States has fallen in the global economic competitiveness rankings compiled by the World Economic Forum for four years in a row. #15 There are four major U.S. banks that each have more than 40 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives. #16 In 2000, there were more than 17 million Americans working in manufacturing, but now there are less than 12 million. #17 According to the Pew Research Center, 61 percent of all Americans were "middle income" back in 1971. Today, only 51 percent of all Americans are. #18 The Pew Research Center has also found that 85 percent of all middle class Americans say that it is harder to maintain a middle class standard of living today than it was 10 years ago. #19 62 percent of all middle class Americans say that they have had toreduce household spending over the past year. #20 Right now, approximately 48 percent of all Americans are either considered to be "low income" or are living in poverty. #21 Approximately 57 percent of all children in the United States are living in homes that are either considered to be either "low income" or impoverished. #22 According to one survey, 77 percent of all Americans are now living paycheck to paycheck at least part of the time. #23 Back in 1950, more than 80 percent of all men in the United States had jobs. Today, less than 65 percent of all men in the United States have jobs. #24 The average amount of time that an unemployed worker stays out of work in the United States is 40 weeks. #25 If you can believe it, approximately one out of every four American workers makes 10 dollars an hour or less. #26 According to the U.S. Census Bureau, an all-time record 49 percent of all Americans live in a home where at least one person receives financial assistance from the federal government. Back in 1983, that number was less than 30 percent. #27 Right now, more than 100 million Americans are enrolled in at least one welfare program run by the federal government. And that does not even count Social Security or Medicare. Overall, there arealmost 80 different "means-tested welfare programs" that the federal government is currently running. #28 When you account for all government transfer payments and all forms of government employment, more than half of all Americansare now at least partially financially dependent on the government. #29 Barack Obama has been president for less than four years, and during that time the number of Americans "not in the labor force" has increased by nearly 8.5 million. Something seems really "off" about that number, because during the entire decade of the 1980s the number of Americans "not in the labor force" only rose by about 2.5 million. #30 Electricity bills in the United States have risen faster than the overall rate of inflation for five years in a row. #31 According to USA Today, many Americans have actually seen their water bills triple over the past 12 years. #32 There are now 20.2 million Americans that spend more than half of their incomes on housing. That represents a 46 percent increase from 2001. #33 Right now, approximately 25 million American adults are living with their parents. #34 As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of marriages. According to a Pew Research Center analysis, only 51 percent of all Americans that are at least 18 years old are currently married. Back in 1960, 72 percent of all U.S. adults were married. #35 At this point, only 24.6 percent of all jobs in the United States are good jobs. #36 In 1999, 64.1 percent of all Americans were covered by employment-based health insurance. Today, only 55.1 percent are covered by employment-based health insurance. #37 Recently it was announced that total student loan debt in the United States has passed the one trillion dollar mark. #38 If you can believe it, one out of every seven Americans has at least 10 credit cards. #39 One survey of business executives has ranked California as the worst state in America to do business for 8 years in a row. #40 In the city of Detroit today, more than 50 percent of all children are living in poverty, and close to 50 percent of all adults are functionally illiterate. #41 It is being projected that half of all American children will be on food stamps at least once before they turn 18 years of age. #42 More than three times as many new homes were sold in the United States in 2005 as will be sold in 2012. #43 If you can believe it, 53 percent of all Americans with a bachelor's degree under the age of 25 were either unemployed or underemployed last year. #44 The U.S. economy continues to trade good paying jobs for low paying jobs. 60 percent of the jobs lost during the last recession were mid-wage jobs, but 58 percent of the jobs created since then have been low wage jobs. #45 Our trade deficit with China in 2011 was $295.5 billion. That was the largest trade deficit that one country has had with another country in the history of the planet. #46 The United States has lost an average of approximately 50,000 manufacturing jobs a month since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. #47 According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losing half a million jobs to China every single year. #48 The U.S. tax code is now more than 3.8 million words long. If you took all of William Shakespeare's works and collected them together, the entire collection would only be about 900,000 words long. #49 According to the IMF, the global elite are holding a total of 18 trillion dollars in offshore banking havens such as the Cayman Islands. #50 The value of the U.S. dollar has declined by more than 96 percent since the Federal Reserve was first created. #51 2012 was the third year in a row that the yield for corn has declined in the United States. #52 Experts are telling us that global food reserves have reached their lowest level in almost 40 years. #53 One recent survey discovered that 40 percent of all Americans have $500 or less in savings. #54 If you can believe it, one recent survey found that 28 percent of all Americans do not have a single penny saved for emergencies. #55 Medical costs related to obesity in the United States are estimated to be approximately $147 billion a year. #56 Corporate profits as a percentage of GDP are at an all-time high. Meanwhile, wages as a percentage of GDP are near an all-time low. #57 Today, the wealthiest 1 percent of all Americans own more wealth than the bottom 95 percent combined. #58 The wealthiest 400 families in the United States have about as much wealth as the bottom 50 percent of all Americans combined. #59 The six heirs of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton have a net worth that is roughly equal to the bottom 30 percent of all Americans combined. #60 At this point, the poorest 50 percent of all Americans collectively own just 2.5% of all the wealth in the United States. #61 Nearly 500,000 federal employees now make at least $100,000 a year. #62 In 2006, only 12 percent of all federal workers made $100,000 or more per year. Now, approximately 22 percent of all federal workers do. #63 If you can believe it, there are 77,000 federal workers that make more than the governors of their own states do. #64 Nearly 15,000 retired federal workers are collecting federal pensions for life worth at least $100,000 annually. The list includes such names as Newt Gingrich, Bob Dole, Trent Lott, Dick Gephardt and Dick Cheney. #65 U.S. taxpayers spend more than 20 times as much on the Obamas as British taxpayers spend on the royal family. #66 Family homelessness in the Washington D.C. region (one of the wealthiest regions in the entire country) has risen 23 percent since the last recession began. #67 If Bill Gates gave every single penny of his fortune to the U.S. government, it would only cover the U.S. budget deficit for about 15 days. #68 During fiscal year 2012, 62 percent of the federal budget was spent on entitlements. #69 Back in 1965, only one out of every 50 Americans was on Medicaid. Today, approximately one out of every 6 Americans is on Medicaid. #70 It is being projected that Obamacare will add 16 million more Americans to the Medicaid rolls. #71 Medicare is also growing by leaps and bounds. As I wrote aboutrecently, it is being projected that the number of Americans on Medicare will grow from 50.7 million in 2012 to 73.2 million in 2025. #72 Thanks to our foolish politicians (including Obama), Medicare is facing unfunded liabilities of more than 38 trillion dollars over the next 75 years. That comes to approximately $328,404 for each and every household in the United States. #73 Amazingly, the U.S. national debt is now up to 16.3 trillion dollars. When Barack Obama first took office the national debt was just 10.6 trillion dollars. #74 During the first four years of the Obama administration, the U.S. government accumulated about as much debt as it did from the time that George Washington took office to the time that George W. Bush took office. #75 Today, the U.S. national debt is more than 5000 times largerthan it was when the Federal Reserve was originally created back in 1913. 12. The Empire has no clothes A Washington Post survey that was conducted back in April discovered that 76 percent of all Americans believe that the U.S. economy is still in a recession. Link One recent survey found that 23 percent of all Americans believe that “government is the solution to the problem” while 64 percent of all Americans believe that “government is the problem”. Link One recent survey found that 63 percent of all Americans believe that the U.S. economic model is broken. Link Today, 71 percent of all small business owners believe that the U.S. economy is still in a recession. Link A new CNN poll out on Friday shows that two and half years after the financial crisis and subsequent fallout, the public’s worries about the economy have not settled. In fact, more people now feel the US is in a recession than they did in October of 2008. CNN’s survey showed that 69 percent of Americans think we are in a serious or moderate recession, with 13 percent who believe it’s still a mild one. That means 8 in 10 Americans still feel the economy is still stuck in neutral, which isn’t helpful for other economic indicators like consumer confidence, and could contribute to slowing the recovery. Link According to a recent CNN poll, 48 percent of Americans believe that "another Great Depression" is likely within the next 12 months. Link Reuters reports today: The April 20-23 Gallup survey of 1,013 U.S. adults found that only 27 percent said the economy is growing. Twenty-nine percent said the economy is in a depression and 26 percent said it is in a recession, with another 16 percent saying it is “slowing down,” Gallup said. Link How can so many Americans believe that we’re in a depression, when the stock market and commodity prices have been booming? As I noted last week: Instead of directly helping the American people, the government threw trillions at the giant banks (including foreign banks; and see this) . The big banks have – in turn – used a lot of that money to speculate in commodities, including food and other items which are now driving up the price of consumer necessities [as well as stocks]. Link Supreme Court disapproval rating dips to 46% in october 2012, down 15 points from 2009. Here’s a chart to show the steadily decreasing rate over the last decade: Dropping approval for congress Link Here are a few things that Americans like better than their lawmaking body: TSA People who hate the Olympics The Most Disliked Company In America The Least Popular Living Former President President Obama Mitt Romney Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari Banks and Financial Institutions Socialism Link Here are a few things that American like better than congress: BP oil spill Socialism Waterboarding Abortion Nixon Occupy Wall Street Paris Hilton Banks During the Banking crisis Link 13. When you think you’ve seen it all... http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-u-s-economy-by-the-numbers-70-facts-that-barack-obama-does-not-want-you-to-see $361,330 - This is what the average banker in New York City made in 2010. 500,000 - According to the Economic Policy Institute, America is losinghalf a million jobs to China every single year. 2,000,000 - At this point, the U.S. national debt is rising by more than 2 million dollars every single minute. 2,600,000 - In 2010, 2.6 million more Americans fell into poverty. That was the largest increase that we have seen since the U.S. government began keeping statistics on this back in 1959. 40,000,000 - According to Professor Alan Blinder of Princeton University, 40 million more U.S. jobs could be sent offshore over the next two decades if current trends continue. 150,000,000 - This is approximately the amount of money that the Obama administration and the U.S. Congress are stealing from future generations of Americans every single hour. 454,000,000,000 - During fiscal 2011, the U.S. government spentover 454 billion dollars just on interest on the national debt. $200,000,000,000,000 - Today, the 9 largest banks in the United States have a total of more than 200 trillion dollars of exposure to derivatives. When the derivatives market completely collapsesthere won't be enough money in the entire world to fix it. 14. New Graphs The percentage of Americans with jobs is at the lowest level in three decades. Link And wages as a percent of the economy have hit an all-time low. Link Put differently, the growth of our borrowing (red line) has wildly outpaced the growth of our economy (blue line). Link The next big problem is growing inequality. The top 1% of the country is getting ever-richer, while everyone else treads water or loses ground. Link Stagnant Wages Link Over the past 50 years, social-program spending has exploded as a percentage of the economy. Link Based on data from the Congressional Research Service, cumulative spending on means-tested federal welfare programs, if converted into cash, would equal $167.65 per day per household living below the poverty level. By comparison, the median household income in 2011 of $50,054 equals $137.13 per day. Additionally, spending on federal welfare benefits, if converted into cash payments, equals enough to provide $30.60 per hour, 40 hours per week, to each household living below poverty. The median household hourly wage is $25.03. After accounting for federal taxes, the median hourly wage drops to between $21.50 and $23.45, depending on a household’s deductions and filing status. State and local taxes further reduce the median household’s hourly earnings. By contrast, welfare benefits are not taxed. Link https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eRUPvqFjGWp_A4DTbhVFyAqWaG58X_lRFXkz5-Y_irF_3JTrhkXIUFZjnnCRtgsz7p0Iv-v40Il5PUGyo5jOt2edNZX8CXhvNUwmR7Cajd_BVm1iIdw The richest 20% have gained. Everyone else has lost. Link https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/w3QaIMrHVxYAqcRboXBhHRKy4FhHBJD_JKgyyZT9vgFHlGX6X5R1Y1OU3IFmVV15rTFy51nP0jYA7pOi8DiTvU44MKR9qgsdjkiC0xWWe8HGFYYumLc Don’t know this will be useful for this particular project but very interesting. Link Government spending is expanding at an exponential rate. As you can see from the chart below, federal spending is almost 18 times higher than it was back in 1970. Link Unless something changes right now, the outlook for U.S. government finances in future years is downright apocalyptic. The chart posted below is from an official U.S. government report to Congress. As you can see, it is projected that interest on our exploding national debt is absolutely going to spiral out of control if we continue on the path that we are currently on.... Link https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/WLPOGNi_r6RD7jggQhaO0zSwrilSIgxwUK8jbEp0crHW-5pvD2hWzdqkUaFXTuFkPJ1H1YsQLxpXf_9VQlVgqIajsk49-LndDYPTtAMJV0-IX0TbNBA As tens of thousands of U.S. factories get shut down and as millions of our jobs get shipped overseas, the number of unemployed Americans continues to go up and up and up. As you can see from the chart below, there has been a long-term trend of increasing unemployment in the United States. In fact, there are about 3 and a half times as many unemployed workers in the United States today as there were when 1970 began. Link The median duration of unemployment in the United States is in unprecedented territory. For most of the post-World War 2 era, when the median duration of unemployment in America reached 10 weeks that was considered a national crisis. Well, today competition for jobs is so intense that the median duration of unemployment is now well over 20 weeks.... Link Since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913, the value of the U.S. dollar has declined by over 95 percent. Link What the Federal Reserve has done to the monetary base since the beginning of the recession.... Link All of this new money is creating tremendous inflation. In particular, the price of oil is now ridiculously high. A high price for oil is very, very bad for the U.S. economy. Our entire economic system is based on being able to use massive quantities of very cheap oil. Link As you can see from the chart below, in the 1950s there were times when nearly 85 percent of all working age men had a job. Sadly, that number has stayed below 65 percent since the end of the last recession.... Link https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/rS-EGKG_VfoV4LZJnT8irOpVd2lmVlwXghoubLb6V6BFneF7vEY3QQfgH1TVOK_IgIkHKMoksXlwUHh8tfSQzavLB4jKpaS2R6asEoXs9WXGHsk6Ol8 US labor force participation has collapsed... Link https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jOIOHjK3wo81xHsRdlTmBM5ON4WpW7bnOELTGJwCKj6bNc98johlK4VcAC5uT2h5Ktruh8CwCB7GtAAKXIVybQ6nIKbb754YTDHfNmpDvQFJV5gbgdU The number of Americans working as a share of the population, perhaps the broadest measure of the health of the US labor market, remains in a depression. Link https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/sXxcrjDQcHPtAgbeXVt6xuYB_i3mCqoz8EuEsASOOt4zifxiOupdVFJAFUVfeDYSzaIJ2cBgKvx5uLKnyAy6QAt0XNmi2G33QgLX58E87ly3TV60RcY The economy is slowly creating jobs, but the Jobs Gap isn’t closing. The US lost 9 million private sector jobs during the Great Recession. Since job growth resumed, 5 million private sector jobs have been created. But as measured by economist Michael Darda of MKM Partners, the level of private sector jobs remains 13 million below the pre-crisis trend. Link

I get so much great information from listeners, as well as my own research, and I was thinking of creating a news feed for Freedomain Radio, have a look at the link below, and tell me if you think it would be of interest – and thank you so much! http://freedomainradio.com/Newsfeed.aspx

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI]

https://www.facebook.com/questions/516488231717996/

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h6JqT_IEiI] Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio - and recent winner of the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - discusses current events, future possibilities, peaceful parenting and practical politics with Brett Veinotte, host of School Sucks Project -http://www.schoolsucksproject.comFreedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.com

there is no such thing as "the law"

Liberty Inspiration Award of 2012 For the third anniversary of Liberty Candidates.com we have decided to honor all of those who have inspired the liberty movement through the voices of the many. This organization has always been about inspiration for motivation - we hand the torch over to those who were inspired by Ron Paul to spread his message in the political arena- and today we have given the torch to our brothers and sisters in liberty so that they may shine the light on those who have been there to motivate them. It’s called “giving back” It’s been a very humbling experience to receive these letters and to read each one. There are so many people out there who have been a part of this growing movement and we may not have known all these names before but we will always remember them now as the list grows day by day. Remember –we are all in this together and this just proves it. We have received 540 letters with nominations for 175 separate people. Wow! Each and every letter is printed below whether it was one line or a chapter in the life of someone’s personal history. We have listed all the honorable mentions in alphabetical order and kept the top 5 nominees for the end. Everyone who received a letter is a winner and everyone who took the time to write a letter was a winner as well. In some cases the praise was anonymous and in some cases there was no signature so we cannot publish who gave the praise. Thank you for partaking in this wonderful experience. May 2013 bring equal if not more inspiration to a growing movement of love, liberty and freedom. Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio – First Place Letters received… Stefan Molyneux, philosopher. Molyneux's Freedomain Radio podcasts inspire thousands of people daily. Just when you think you've got the freedom thing all sewn up, he challenges your ideas and pushes your mind to deeper places. He explains how the world works in many, many areas: psychology, sociology, theology, and economics, to name a few. – CJ I nominate Stefan Molyneux because he's a genius & tells it like it is. – IC Stefan Molyneux would be my choice for this award. I am sure there are those who have worked very hard that I don't even know about. I have to say however that Mr. Molyneux has inspired my intellectual side and caused me to rethink some of my previous ideologies. Especially regarding statism and non-aggressive behavior. – Anonymous Stefan’s' work is great and he is a real inspiration to many. – Anonymous He is a great thinker, moral instructor and teacher of libertarianism and anarchy. He has changed my life. Listen to him or people like him, it's better than going to the university. -IA I want to nominate Stefan Molyneux www.freedomainradio.com for the Liberty Award because of his RELENTLESS efforts to popularize the philosophy of Liberty and for his unique approach to raising the lowest common denominator towards a moral, non-violent, free, interactive, and therefore happier society. His efforts flank the most noble of ideas for social harmony, and his message and style reach through all age barriers, uniting in ideology people across the world. His message is one of hope, and is delivered in ways that are practical and effective. He has no equal in the complexity of issues he addresses. His knowledge and research are impeccable, and his charming, sharing ability, makes any drab subject a walk in the park, and fun - in challenging ways. Even my wife listens to them!!! And, did I mention HUMOR? Well, that is one of the most rewarding treats that he brings to the theater of ideas. Creative, not regurgitated humor. The world needs to know this man, his intellectual stature, moral integrity, knight of virtue, leader by personal example and introspection, a beacon of hope for frightened minds and souls, a shining light in the modern ideological dark age... and yes, there is more... Is Stefan Molyneux too good to be true? Not in my book of values. He is long overdue the Man of the Age award. Most ideological promoters are mere pep-talk artists or career inspirational speakers. Stefan Molyneux is not afraid to place his heart and mind in the vise of truth and cry with you, with empathy, sympathy, and compassion. He shares his trade, not a quick fix. He aims to heal, not to patch. Simply put, he is not a politician!!! Need I say more? What does this all have to do with the Liberty Inspiration Award? -- Inspiration is a product of the mind. Stefan frees minds. Free minds are the only way to Award Liberty to the World... Get the connection? -ML Stefan Molyneux should be nominated because he inspires me to challenge my own biases. He does this through his ability to communicate complicated ideas in an engaging manner. Through listening to his lectures, I feel like my brain has been exercised at a mental gym. I don't agree with everything he advocates, but I thank him for getting my brain firing on all cylinders. - DS I am hereby nominating Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Inspiration Award. He is truly a man of virtue, integrity, and courage. He is logically consistent both ideologically and practically in his application of the moral premise that property rights, self-ownership, and non-aggression are the pillars to a free and civilized society. There is no one I know of, on and off the airwaves, who is doing more to promote liberty and create a free society in all areas than this man. In a thousand years and beyond, all persons will know of and be speaking of this man and his contributions to philosophy and the fundamental first principles of virtue, liberty, and freedom for all. -M I nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the Liberty Inspiration Award. For each of our own personal journeys towards freedom and liberty-minded thinking we all have landmarks that resonated so strongly with us and became basically nodal points assisting us in keeping our baring in this wild, twisting landscape of balancing moral imperatives in our pursuit of justice. We look for a justice that can be applied wholly, a unifying theory. One has yet to be found, but it certainly can be said that some are working with more of the picture than others evident in the creative energies they share with us. Stefan, in my opinion, is one of the most free-flowing, tactical masters of this knowledge I've yet encountered. After logging countless hours into his work on Peaceful Parenting, anarchism and 'universally preferable behaviors' I still find there are countless more ahead of me before I really grasp what he seems to be trying to convey. The world hasn't yet been ready for Stefan's work, but it would seem his ideas are being able to take hold and his audience continues to grow in bounds, year after year. - Anonymous I'd like to take this opportunity to nominate Stefan Molyneux for this award. As one of our preeminent modern philosophers, he has been instrumental in leading today's liberty movement forward in a way that would make our founding fathers proud. Now that Ron Paul has stepped out of the spotlight, Stefan, with his numerous videos and articles, has become the natural replacement as an educator and leader for the masses at large. His words reach out in a way that is not only clear and palatable but also drives the hearer to action. It is hard to calculate how many people have been turned on to liberty by a specific person but I feel it is very safe to say that Stefan is the most deserving person for recognition in this regard. -JM If you’re looking for a candidate for the Liberty Inspiration Awards, may I suggest the name Stefan Molyneux. (I'm sure it's been suggested already). I've been listening to his podcasts since the beginning. In my opinion, over the last decade, he's done more to promote the cause of LIBERTY than anyone else. (I mean ANYONE). His presentation is compelling and meticulously reasoned. He pulls no punches. He's been an inspiration to me, as well as MANY others. - DV I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for this year’s Liberty inspiration award. His consistent philosophical message of voluntaryism and his tireless advocacy for individual freedom has been an effective combination, winning over the hearts and minds of many statists and minarchists alike, myself included. His prolific presence on the internet and his continuous exposure through debates and interviews has helped put the message of freedom in center stage for many who had never even considered it before. – GS I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Inspiration Award. He introduced me to the philosophy of liberty first through some youtube videos and after getting my first taste I fell in love with his radio broadcasts on Freedomain Radio. www.freedomainradio.com - SB I think Stefan Molyneux should win this award. Without him I would be nowhere. - AB G’day. I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. In my most humble opinion Stefan has done more than anyone to globally advance the cause of a truly free society. Personally, though I was already heading towards liberty, Stefan has cemented my commitment and given me the tools to argue the cause of liberty with those around me which lays the foundation to build and grow a free society. -HC I'm nominating Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Inspiration Award. His clarity of thinking, ability to argue the rationality of the arguments he proposes, the engaging way he communicates the arguments and the unparalleled dedication to helping as many people as possible access the information, puts him truly in a class of his own. My life has been radically changed and immeasurably improved forever because of the work that Stefan Molyneux does. His work is not only important to the furthering of rational thought and improving the human condition, but I believe is literally essential for the future of the human race. -MO Stefan Molyneux - For being SO rigorous and presenting life-altering, mind shattering/rebuilding ideas. Many of us think that the work that Molyneux is doing (and the sheer amount of it) is going to change the world, truly. – JD Stefbot lit the fire that broke the chains of slavery in my own mind. He has done so for countless others. Free yourself, listen to freedomainradio. –RS I Vote for Stefan Molyneux for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. Stefan Molyneux's ideas and passion have lit a fire under me to demand freedom in my own life. His leadership inspires me to go further than achieving personal freedom and organize with others to bring about long term positive change as a community. He has thrown his full intellectual weight and energy into the liberty movement. He even gives his books, podcasts and videos away for free to get the word out there and to cast the net as wide as possible. The approach he takes is alternative and complex and this is exactly what is needed if we are to achieve real, lasting liberty. He has spent 2012 gathering interviews from experts in their fields, hosting debates and discussions on freedom topics, presenting True News and delivering rousing interactive speeches all to better disseminate the roots of violence which ultimately make tyranny possible. For us to organize into a population of free individuals whose minds are unchained from the old dogma of obedience to authority, whose lives are ungovernable to any would-be dictator, whose hearts are warm and free from violence, this is the man we need to help us make that happen. –Tom I nominate Stefan Molyneux because he is the most important person alive to me, as a libertarian philosopher, he's the only person talking about where the problems the world is facing actually comes from. Prevention is key and that's exactly what this fine gentleman speaks about. Here is his website http://www.freedomainradio.com/ He is quite known in the liberty movement and is inspiring a whole new generation of youth on how we could finally turn this planet around and fix everything, he addresses even the smallest detail and does it perfectly. He is THE philosopher of our age. He recently even sent all his books to me for free, because I couldn't afford them. He's such a great person. He deserves it. – CW I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. Out of the many fantastic people out there promoting liberty, I believe Mr. Molyneux to be the most prolific, and the person providing the most well- rounded/all-encompassing approach to achieving liberty. He starts with the basic premise of child rearing: if we raise our children without aggression, then the aggression of the state will be as foreign to them as martian rocks are to us. If they learn that the use of force or violence to get what you want is wrong at home, then they will see the force initiated by others as immoral and intolerable. If we expect to eliminate the initiation of violence in our society from persons and government, then we damned well better provide the foundation for that philosophy to our children at home through example. Additionally, Mr. Molyneux spends hours of his own time each week (after years of study) providing us all insight, information from interviewing recognized experts, and debates with people on the morality of voluntaryism in the face of the coerciveness and violence of the state. The products of his labor, his many podcasts, roughly 1,100 videos and several books which he not only provides in PDF format, but also took the time to record in audio format, are provided for free... FREE... with just a request on his part for donations to support his efforts. Not only is he discussing a truly free society and free market with great depth, he is modeling the behavior he believes is essential to achieving a free society and free market for all of us. This man puts his money where his mouth is. Finally, more so than any other activist I am aware of, Mr. Molyneux provides listeners and viewers with tools we can use to help us promote freedom more articulately, to expose the 'gun in the room' of government, and enhance our understanding of free market principles to better counter arguments against liberty. It's work like this that has an exponential impact on the freedom movement. If all of these facets are not incredibly inspiring, then I'm not sure I understand the meaning of the word. On a final note, I can count on 2 hands the number of people who seriously changed my life just by meeting them or being exposed to them, and would still have a few fingers left... Stefan Molyneux changed my life. As a result, he changed my wife's life, and our children’s' lives. There are few people out there who are as thought-provoking, who express their ideas so articulately, and who take great pains to establish the foundation of their arguments on a moral premise, but who make it look so effortless. This focus on morality is, in my opinion, of primary importance to any paradigm shift we hope to achieve in society. - CD Why I nominate Stefan Molyneux: 1) He has an extremely sharp mind to dissect all the mechanization of statist machinery and reveal its inner workings. He made me realize the concept of "Horizontal enslavement" by fellow citizens and that we call freedom is just "free-range-Tax-farming". 2) His invention of Universal Preferable Behavior (UPB), a tool to mentally arm yourself against the "ethics" of the sociopaths. 3)How early childhood trauma (violating the reasoning skills of children) creates more damaged people to accept the idea of exceptional group of people damaged 4) His vast amount of podcast focusing on what we practically can do now to promote and live anarchy in our daily lives. –Jacob I'd like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio, he has brought many people to liberty and his arguments have clarified many a libertarian issue in my own head – JK I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the liberty candidate’s inspiration award because 'liberty inspiration' is exactly what Stefan is all about. I am personally living a freer life style by listening to his podcasts and reading his books. -PB I would like to cast my vote for Stefan Molyneux, because his approach to the libertarian message has helped to change my entire outlook on life for the better. I am now much more focused on sorting out my own personal problems, before I even start to even think about trying to save the world or the country. I think a lot of us libertarians get ahead of ourselves in the political realm, and we need someone like Stef to pull us back down to reality and keep us focused on what's important, such as... Our own happiness; our children; our personal relationships; our careers, etc. His videos and podcasts have reached multi-millions with a very clear and rational anti-state and pro-liberty message. While there are plenty of people deserving of this award, Stefan has my vote. -CT Hey there, just putting in my nomination for Stef. A very very long story short, I believe this guy to be one of the best philosophers in the past 200 years. Maybe even THE best as he has put forth the propositions that many people could not, given the statist and religious domination since, oh the dawn of time... The amount of shear time and thought and research he continues to do is just astounding. I could talk all day but Liberty is definitely one thing he stands for. –Michael I would like to nominate the philosopher/author Stefan Molyneux. Stefan is an inspiring champion of freedom and worthy of the award because he is one of the few people I've ever heard who is able to breakdown to basics the tenants of liberty and freedom and to do so in a humorously entertaining way. -JR I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award I think his podcasts are clear, morally consistent, and consequently very inspiring. –PK I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux. Although people like Ron Paul, Thomas Woods, Peter Schiff, etc. Have been incredibly significant in my journey and education it was Stefan who presented the ultimate liberty argument and finally got me to accept what I had such a hard time accepting, that true liberty is about individual freedom and voluntary cooperation. Even the best intended and smallest government still functions based on violence. -BHS I nominate Stefan Molyneux. He has focused on the foundation of libertarianism unlike any other person I've encountered. Of course he also discusses the economics principle that are violated by government, but what other libertarians are out there doing everything they can to explain the NAP to people? The NAP gives people a first principle to deduce a consistent system of ethics that justifies the rest of libertarian principles and ideals. Without a consistent system of ethics, we're all just acting irrationally. – BW I nominate Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Inspiration Award because he has an original message to promote freedom. He is the only one I've heard in twenty years who addresses the link between what a person experiences while growing up and their attitude toward the state and authority as an adult. He shows the link between the family and the state. That is a very original and important message. -AR I would like to nominate: Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Inspiration award. Stefan has reached a large audience with his radio show and YouTube channel and watching and listening to him for the last couple of years has really helped me to change some of my positions and views and become more liberty minded. I believe his talks are informative as well as entertaining, which helps me to absorb the points he expounds on, explains and gives arguments for and I've both learned new things about liberty, freedom and non-aggression principles from listening to Stefan as well has had beliefs I'd already held bolstered and strengthened. I very much believe that Stefan is inspirational and I think that his voice is going to help people explain to their representatives (and also influence how they vote) the principles of liberty and freedom, which we talk about cherishing in this country but most often don't really fight to preserve, especially when our (or more likely our politicians) self-interests get in the way. -MB Stefan Molyneux (Freedomain Radio). Stefan brings the philosophy of liberty to the masses, giving voice to how liberty is the best path to peace and a brighter future for the human race. He is “king of the metaphor” and uses illustrative language better than anyone to help explain dry subjects like economics, philosophy and history to people eager to hear the truth. He connects with people on intellectual and emotional levels. –MW I have to vote here for Stefan Molyneux as his podcasts have transformed my life and led to a huge turnaround in my attitudes. I've been propagating his material around the people in my life and its beginning to have an effect on them too. If it was not for Stef, I'd still be a foaming mouthed statist! Usually when I have to vote for something, if I have to email and manually type then I never bother. The fact that I have wrote this speaks volumes in praise! –Paul Would you please consider 'Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio' for the Award? I have not come across a more eloquent and entertaining libertarian philosopher and indeed he has inspired me to take on many principles in my own life. Besides, he has the most popular philosophy podcast in the world! –Michael Best youtube channel - thoughtful, interesting, consistent; high quality programs. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for his tireless contributions toward peace, liberty, and enlightened understanding. -SB Stefan Molyneux for 2012 Inspiration Award because he is a beacon of sanity preaching action based beliefs which are in turn based on information gathered using reason and evidence and peaceful goals. –Anonymous Stefan Molyneux - For keeping an ongoing dialog about the philosophy that underlies liberty. -JGM I am writing you to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for your 2012 Inspiration Award. I noticed that many of the individuals that are listed on your site are promoting the ideas of liberty through political action so I guess Stefan would fall into the "other" category on your application. I think this gives Stefan a distinct advantage because he is operating outside of the violent system that is the state that we are all trying to free ourselves from. Stef truly operates in the free market; he is not seeking checkmarks in the voting booth. Instead he is inspiring people like me to effect change where we have the most power - within our personal relationships. We are not going to change the state by knocking signposts into our yard any more than we are going to change the direction of a hurricane by going outside and screaming at it. Stef consistently points to the gun in the room and argues from a moral standpoint, which is the only way the state can truly be opposed. I definitely had a slight case of Stockholm syndrome before I started listening to Stef, but now I truly see the state for what it is - a mechanism for enslavement. Nothing was really more liberating than coming to terms with the fact that I am a slave - which I do not own my body and Stef’s explanation of why this has come to be was truly enlightening. Anybody that speaks from a political podium is censored by the mainstream argument - even Ron Paul. In the anarchist Ron Paul's farewell address to Congress he toed the line as much as possible from expressing that the state is a group of violent psychopaths to a truly free society is one of voluntarism (paraphrasing). Stefan does not operate under this censorship and this is what allows him to speak the uncensored truth. -RCI nominate Stefan Molyneux from freedomain radio because he has been the most influential liberty orientated figure for me. He has taught me more in a year than I learnt in 12 years of school and continues to show me the way ahead to a voluntary society through peaceful parenting. He addresses topics many others don't touch and is much more self-critical than other libertarians which helps him hone his arguments to have the greatest effect. All in all I am a better person thanks to him and am leading by example which is drawing other virtuous people into my life. Thank you. -WF My motive for nominating Stefan to this year's 2012 Liberty Inspiration Awards are simple and quite literal... He simply does inspire other people, I among them, with the ideas that freedom, morality and happiness are attainable, in the philosophic sense as well as the personal. Though, as he perceives it, freedom in the political sense will, alas, evade us for some time more, I hope that by nominating Stefan and help having him elected will bring more people into contact with his contents, and thus help bring greater freedom to the world. By making Stefan's work to the world attention therefore, I think you will do it a great favor. –TS I would like to nominate Ron Paul, Stefan Molyneux and Tom Woods for the Liberty Inspiration Award. All three of my nominees work tirelessly to advance the cause of liberty, to include philosophical, historical analysis and the creation of educational materials. All three nominees are somewhat different in their approaches and in their cause, but one cannot deny that the three have been responsible for some great intellectual debate, thought and reason. I respectfully ask that you consider these individuals for the award and give much needed exposure and support for these very intellectual individuals. -RP I nominate Mr. Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Inspiration Award. Stefan is not only a light in the dark, not only a beacon of truth; he is a shining super nova for liberty. He is an excellent intellectual entrepreneur. He does more for liberty and with less than party politicians. He has inspired me to better myself and to end the cycle of aggression in my family. Such aggression fuels all that is evil and which stands on the throat of liberty. -SH I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. No one, to my knowledge, has done more this generation to compose the message of Liberty as Stefan. He has over 2200 podcasts, over 1000 Youtube videos and many books for Free expressing the Philosophy of Liberty like no other. "Freedom" doesn't mean anything if it isn't clearly defined and Stefan has clearly defined the word and the philosophy. –JM I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux. All too often we as activists focus on the macro-scale wrongs in society which we, more often than not, cannot do much about. Stefan, in his emphasis of universality, brings much needed focus to our daily lives, our relationships, our children. Just as it is in our individual exchanges that the market presents itself, it is in our individual relationships they society presents itself. Just as we emphasize libertarian laws of ethics property exchange, we need to emphasize the ethical laws in our relations with our peers, and especially our dependents. Stefan's playful style harmonizes brilliantly with his focus: Logical and skeptical yet friendly and playful. He inspires his listeners to have deeper connections with those around them and to use their personal bonds to grow the ideas of liberty based on their ethical merit. This counteracts the isolating effects of the self- righteous condemnation we can be tempted flaunt and fosters a community of liberty initiates who use their empathy and understanding to perceive the psychic wounds clouding reason and communicate the liberty message effectively. His plethora of videos, podcasts, interviews, and conversations, I believe, will have a deeper and more lasting effect on building a stable libertarian society than we can know. - JCE I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. No one to my knowledge has done more this generation to compose the message of Liberty as Stefan. He has over 2200 podcasts, over 1000 Youtube videos and many books for Free expressing the Philosophy of Liberty like no other. "Freedom" doesn't mean anything if it isn't clearly defined and Stefan has clearly defined the word and the philosophy -RK Stefan Molyneux is by far the most influential, courageous, and effective philosopher of our time! He has an acute grasp on TRUTH and is tireless in promoting the message of liberty, based on rational, philosophical principles. I cannot begin to express the appreciation I have for Stef and the positive influence he has had in my own life. I was on the verge of utter despair and while his teachings at first put me in an even slightly "lower" place, there was something hopeful about his message. In my depressed low, I downloaded two of his books and several of his podcasts in a desperate attempt to find meaningful "value" to my continued existence. His teachings helped strengthen my 30-year marriage that was in serious jeopardy. And while I still feel fragile, every day I am stronger to challenge the cesspool of societal violence at the hands of statists. This I owe DIRECTLY to Stefan's teachings. His popular Sunday radio show, Freedomain Radio, is like an "open-door" policy for anyone needing philosophical counsel. And his counsel is generous, genuine, fair, compassionate, always honest, and appropriately optimistic. Further, I see a significant trend regarding Stef's work. The vast majority of contemporary liberty-minded scholars and activists that I have found are well-versed on his teachings, and it is clear that Stefan has had a significant influence on them. (I am happy to give concrete examples if needed.) Stefan Molyneux leaves no stone unturned to expose the vile contradictions inherent in society's propaganda, superstitions, and indoctrination - that we receive from birth to death. He offers hope and a myriad of effective tools to those needing a hand to cope with the shock of being unplugged from "the Matrix." Stefan walks the liberty talk by living through example, giving away his work for free and living off voluntary donations from his students. He is a no-compromise advocate for raising children nonviolently and he generously shares his own experiences related to his relationship with his young daughter. He persuasively argues that at the heart of most (if not all) ills to society are violence in any form against children. Stef illustrates the complexity of issues using logical, clear metaphors in an ultra-gifted, artful manner. While there are many "freedom fighters" that deserve recognition for their tireless, heroic, and courageous efforts, none come close to the relentless, multi-faceted teachings that Stefan passionately conveys. He is not afraid to show his personal vulnerabilities; and his quirky sense of humor is refreshing and endearing. He is tireless, devoted, tenacious, smart, humble, extremely persuasive, and in my humble opinion, no one else that I know even comes close to deserving this award. At the fast rate that the popularity of his message is increasing, it is my personal belief that Stefan Molyneux will go down in history as THE MOST influential philosopher in the history of our world. The Liberty Inspiration Award will serve to draw more attention to his message. It is the most important message of our day for humanity. It is a clear liberty message of philosophy aimed to rescue humanity from itself. - LG Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio. He is an extremely principled man who surrendered his job as a computer programmer to start an online show. He goes as far as to apply his libertarian morality to his parenting, in which he refuses to use violence (spanking) against his child. He is an outstanding father, and an icon of intellectual and moral excellence. Furthermore, he has published several books (not copyrighted, of course), and founded a library of over 1000 videos. He does so much for the libertarian movement simply by being so ubiquitous. It is almost difficult to look for anything political on Youtube and not stumble upon one of his videos – JMW I nominate Stefan Molyneux for the 'Fascists among Us' series alone. It's some of his best work to date--thought provoking, well argued, and unsettling in how it 'unplugs' the listener from the propaganda Matrix in which he lives. –AH Stefan Molyneux should win because.....it's as logical as he is. - GA I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for all of his wonderful work in waking people up to freedom. –Olle I nominate Stefan Molyneux for the award, for his tremendous success in spreading the philosophy of liberty worldwide through his website, for his contributions to theories of universal ethics, and for connecting the latest scientific research to philosophy to explain why liberty has failed in the past and how it can succeed in the future. -KW I think Stefan Molyneux should be nominated because he is an amazing speaker and promoter of liberty, the non- aggression principle, and the principle of self-ownership. He has been one of the most influential figures in my life that directed me to Voluntarism. I used to be a huge statist...so I know he can turn people into lovers of liberty. So he has my vote. –Devin I nominate Stefan Molyneux for this award. He's smart, prolific, and has done more for the evolution of my thinking on Liberty than anyone else. - JF Stefan fits the bill better than anyone I know. While he may not have been the first to consider and discuss the idea of Liberty. I do think he is the best. In a world that doesn't have time for 'the why'... that just rapid fire shoots out bullet points and catchy memes, Stefan explains the why. Not only does he explain the 'why'... but he leaves himself open to correction (which does happen) and encourages people to 'think for themselves’. My final point is on effectiveness. There is no value in a message that no one hears. Via his web site, freedomainradio.com, public speaking events and his youtube.com channel, his exposure is immense. Freedomain Radio alone has pushed out over 40,000,000 podcasts. –Ben I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. No one, to my knowledge, has done more this generation to compose the message of Liberty as Stefan. He has over 2200 podcasts, over 1000 YouTube videos and many books for Free expressing the Philosophy of Liberty like no other. "Freedom" doesn't mean anything if it isn't clearly defined and Stefan has clearly defined the word and the philosophy. – SB Please nominate Mr. Molyneux for the 2012 Inspiration Award. Over the summer of 2011 I met with multiple tragedies in my life that I was completely unable to deal with. I came across an interview with he did with Lew Rockwell. Through his philosophy of UPB (Universally Preferred Behavior) Stefan inspired me to seek truth through reason. And the non-aggression policy is now becoming a way of life. I feel as though Stefan has given (for free by the way) me the tools I need to resolve any crisis in my life that might lie ahead. I am forever grateful to Stefan for this. And I believe is most deserving of this award and more. -PM Stefan Molyneux is truly an inspiration. He is the articulate and experienced voice of reason in an upside down world. -RF Stefan Molyneux is a worldwide inspiration for liberty and freedom! -EB I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for this award. Never in my life have I encountered another human being so utterly dedicated to reducing every interaction to its most fundamental principles—those of compassion, protecting the self, and building microcosms we can all live free within. Truly, the knowledge and wisdom he espouses proves itself time and time again by being applicable to any circumstance, any sector, and any person. Between open-mic call-in shows to solve individual problems, and multi-part web-casts that broach economy, ethics, universal truth, and better parenting for a better future, I believe Stephan provides the most engaging material for both new seekers of liberty, and grizzled veterans looking to update their arsenals and sharpen their arguments. All else aside, his current series, The Fascists That Surround You, is a staggering, ground up examination of the very fabric of society—how we got here, and how we get away. I have never come across another explanation of society that so accurately describes the world around me with more clarity than I ever imagined possible. If knowledge and truth are the tools that bring liberty and freedom, Stefan Molyneux is the shiny-headed herald that brings us us the thinking of all out tomorrows. - SM I want to nominate Stefan Molyneux because their concepts and how he tell them have been the most clear I have heard, I have a much better idea of what Liberty – Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. I have been engrossed in his podcasts for only 6 months; yet, in this time, my reality has become more clear and understandable. I love truth in all of its forms, and have been a vegan for many years because of the apparent torture suffered by factory farmed animals. Stefan Molyneux has made me aware of the factory farming that takes place in human societies, and the torture suffered is just as wretched. This reality needs to be unveiled, and Stef is the most passionate and articulate man for the job. - PL The man changed my life. I dedicated myself to helping people after listening to his shows and I really began to understand myself properly for the first time. There can be no true liberty without personal liberty. This man has helped me and countless others to find our own freedom and that’s why Stefan Molyneux is my nomination. –Andrew I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. Stefan is the host and founder of Freedomainradio.com, the largest philosophical conversation in the world. Stefan should be nominated for this award because of his relentless work in bringing the ideas of liberty to thousands across the entire world. His passion and intensity are unrivaled when speaking or writing about freedom. Stefan Molyneux has been the most inspirational person in my life for the past four years in the realm of liberty and philosophy and I have no doubt that thousands more feel the same. -BHI nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. Stefan’s work has guided me along the path of political liberty and has helped me discover personal liberty within myself. -NC Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that Stefan Molyneux ought to be recognized and revered for his massive contributions to the Liberty movement. He is a more than worthy individual who deserves a Liberty Inspiration Award. Why? *Since 2005 Stefan has promulgated the philosophy of Liberty on his extensive website Freedomain Radio as well as on Youtube-- where his videos have received over 13 million views so far. *He has over 2000 podcasts and 1000 videos explaining in depth-- and with logical rigor-- ideas, arguments, critiques, and explanations of subjects pertaining to: -the nonaggression principle -property rights -economic fallacy -free market/Austrian economics -the history of government and individual liberty -the cycle of abuse and its relationship to violence -voluntaryism, libertarianism, anarchism, and anarcho-capitalism -political doctrines and their implications -the moral and ethical justifications for individual liberty -eliminating violence and aggression in our personal lives as a means of reducing violence in society altogether -voluntaryist solutions to social problems without the use of force (government) -and so much more... Stefan has also written books available for free online and in the form of text or audio readings. The books that he has written pertaining to Liberty include:-The Handbook of Human Ownership -On Truth -Universally Preferable Behavior -Real-Time Relationships -Everyday Anarchy -Practical Anarchy -How (Not) to Achieve Freedom –Revolutions. Through his large body of work, many have been introduced to the ideas of liberty-- especially the younger generation of individuals who will lead the future in the the cause for freedom. I was only sixteen when I was first introduced to Stefan's work online. He made a very compelling case for the nonaggression principle and a respect for property rights, and I believe that it is he-- more than anyone else-- who is the reason I call myself a Libertarian. –Anonymous I nominate Stefan Molyneux for promoting a consistent program of intellectual, emotional and political liberty. -JI Stefan Molyneux has done more to lead me and my friends to personal, social and financial liberty than anyone else out there. His YouTube channel has changed my life and the lives of those around me. He has clearly made the case for liberty by tying in ethics, philosophy, sociology and psychology to turn my mind's eye upon itself to be able to set itself free. By pointing out the violence inherent in the state, the predatory structure of the state who's power is concentrated in a sociopathic minority that lack empathy and thus seek to control others through destructive and subversive means, I am now much more aware of ways in which I must not only stop participating, but seeking to dismantle the current "system". One of his main arguments that liberty starts on a personal level is simply revolutionary when taken seriously. The task of changing one's own life to convince those around you and to live more freely, more honestly and more intimately, has changed my life in ways that have opened my eyes as to the greater tasks ahead in changing society on a macrocosmic level. I cannot say enough good about this man and what he has done for us; I simply don't have the words, but am forever grateful to him. –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. His work through the years has been inspirational and life-changing for countless of his listeners. He is a true and honest advocate of liberty, freedom and truth. -Katrin Stefan Molyneux is the obvious choice for liberty candidate simply because he is a fantastic philosopher with a clear mind, a powerful message, and has a passionate drive for drastically changing society over time through non- violent methods, i.e. philosophy, peaceful parenting etc. He is consistent with his principles, and he actually changes people’s minds (and lives) through his work. I can surely testify to that. He saved me. Or, as he himself puts it in his humble fashion when someone states just that: "I just helped you save yourself." He is the number one spokesperson for the case of freedom in our day and time. -AF Stefan has inspired me immensely this year and educated me on many things. I would like to nominate him for this reward. –Anonymous Please consider Stefan Molyneux for this year’s prize. He has done a lot to promote liberty this year with his Sunday Call-in Shows, ebooks, podcasts and Youtube videos. -Apophis Because he is just an awesome advocate of freedom. –Anonymous Please nominate Stefan Molyneux for a Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. I know of no man who works as hard for the cause of liberty. -RC Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio, A productive missionary of liberty, using principles and logic he has helped me with a tool-chest of arguments suited for spreading the red pill. "The story of your enslavement" is a 'must see' in my view. -TN Stefan Molyneux is doing a lot for freedom in that he's engaging people's MINDS by getting them into philosophy and reason. I've always been a fan of social and economic freedom, but he puts it better than anyone I know! - Johnny Stefan Molyneux, for his outstanding online videos that helped me and many of my friends in progressing our understanding of liberty. I do personally believe that his emphasis on children as means to promote liberty is a much more efficient way than the political spectrum. Also I personally see him as Ayn Rand's "illegitimate" son. Lol –Ari Very impressive libertarian philosopher had a huge impact in my life and in the lives of many others. Also has an huge back catalog of podcast material, definitely the most prolific candidate I can imagine. –AL For making sense of an often senseless world... –AJ I would like to show my support for Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. His work has been easily the most influential and inspiring in my life. What I think has been especially helpful for me is his emphasis on personal liberty to which I am extremely grateful. I've never had as engaging of discussions, good a job and prospects or as much optimism as I have now listening and considering the implications of the arguments he's put forward. I went from being a jaded liberal to being a full blown anarchist and I'm very happy I did. And to that and a lot more I credit Mr. Stefan Molyneux. He's my role model and I would love it if he were nominated for the 2012 Inspiration Award. - KB I'd like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. Stef and his podcast have been indispensable in my own personal development and that of countless others. -DL Stefan Molyneux, in my opinion, is the Alfred Kinsey of our time. Deconstructing social norms and reinstituting reason and evidence into our daily lives, he has provided the quintessential foundations for a better tomorrow. There have only been so many people who adamantly refused to budge on their principles, and Stefan Molyneux is among the even fewer who manage to make it succeed. That is why I feel obliged to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. -FR I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the following reasons: He has created a tremendous online resource for those seeking knowledge on various topics at his Freedomain Radio website and YouTube. This is where I first came across his work five years ago. I’ve been a fan since. The breadth of topics he addresses (religion, relationships, economics, politics, psychology, the family, history, mythology, etc.) is offered in a very down-to- earth, easy-to-comprehend, and thoroughly enjoyable fashion. Many of the free podcasts, articles, and books he offers functions as an inroads to every other topic. I began listening to mainly the relationships/psychology podcasts as I went through a rough break-up only to find myself drawn into the world of libertarian thought. At the time, I was a progressive/liberal/democrat, whatever you’d like to call it, I was just uninformed as to Austrian Economics, the Non-aggression Principle, the importance of ethics, the real objective reality of virtue, and the psychological mechanisms that led me to believe so many things that were counter to logic and reason. Mr. Molyneux’s material has not only educated me on the topic of Libertarianism (which I previously correlated to those ‘crazy, religious, right-wing tea-party people’ i.e. not me), or the topic of Capitalism (which in my youth, I was indoctrinated by Michael Moore to loathe), or Objectivism (where I was previously conditioned to believe Ayn Rand was simply a greedy nut), or Atheism (which having been raised Mormon, I was very leery of considering), but he’s educated me as to the nature of myself with noticeable results in my daily life. -MT I’d like to suggest: 'Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio' as being nominated for the Liberty Candidates 2012 Inspiration Award. I can absolutely affirm that the videos I have seen of him were very inspirational. -IS Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, for tirelessly preaching the world that freedom starts not in politics, but at home, and in our heads. –Anonymous For the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award, I nominate Stefan Molyneux. He, more than any other person, has shown me not only why Libertarianism is correct, but has truly boiled down the movement to its core principles and then extrapolated those principles to all areas of life, in a manner more clear and consistent than anyone I've read or heard. He showed me that while many enter the freedom movement from the area of politics, freedom isn't really about politics, politics are just the symptom - Stefan gets at the root cause. –DR I'd like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. He is a fantastic philosopher! Go Stef Go! –Howard Stefan is growing the liberty movement one podcast at a time. I have come to understand economics thru his discussions. This alone has disabused me of any hope for the federal budget and has allowed me to prepare my family for an uncertain future. Some of his talks involve problem solving on a very personal level with people who call in to him and are recorded with their permission. Because of Stefan, I no longer hit or scream at my kids. Before Stef, I thought blind obedience was freedom . . . . –Anonymous Stefan Molyneux has simultaneously relieved me of the burden of fruitless political action, and inspired me to pursue liberty in the daily activities that bring me happiness. He has taught me that the path to liberty doesn't wind through the treacherous bogs of politics. I have achieved a level of self-awareness I never knew was possible since listening to his many podcasts. My personal relationships have flourished, and my general outlook on life is much more positive since discovering his unique brand of liberty-mindedness. I nominate him, Stefan Molyneux, for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux. He has inspired me towards liberty, anarchism and the Non-aggression principle, along with peaceful parenting. He has done this with great articulation, sound principles and consistency of thought. He also brings a great sense of humor and passion in his podcasts and videos which grabs my attention and wants me to learn more about the ideas he puts across. It is because of Mr Molyneux, that my relationship with my wife is more wonderful than it has ever been and our child, which is due to be born on the 27th December 2012, will be brought up with no spanking and be in a much more loving environment. Also with the sound principles of liberty. –GM Stefan Molyneux is my nomination. He has influenced my life greatly. He promotes principles of non-aggression, property rights... –Anonymous There's no single person in the liberty movement that I've found more inspiring and enlightening than Stefan Molyneux. He has been integral in my own political awaking and an inspirational force for freedom in lives of hundreds, if not thousands of other people. Not only does Stefan spread the message of liberty but he actually presents the logical arguments to justify the philosophy. I believe his work in the field of rational ethics has given the libertarian philosophy a solid foundation on which to continue to build upon; something that has been long overdue. Anyway, I could go on but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's nominated Stefan. You know who he is and the work he's done and what he's contributed. I listen to many others in the liberty movement but really no one else is more prolific and philosophically consistent than Stefan. -DW The man that is liberating the man from inside, the one and only Stefan Molyneux. -TH The freedom principles Stef teaches have changed my life, he helped me find happiness and become a very productive people. Great bonus is that I find I can help others as well. I've never been this effective in spreading libertarianism either, starting from the personal and moving towards the political sphere—opposite to what I used to do. -Tuur Stefan Molyneux from Freedomain Radio, Jake Desyllas from the Voluntary Life, Stephanie Murphy from Porc Therapy. All three of the above people talk about actionable steps that you can make independently in your life right now, as opposed to relying on changing other people or the system at large.-Mike I'd like to throw my hat into the ring and nominate Stefan Molyneux. I was going to write long reasons as to why, but will spare you He presented the philosophy that: - helped me be a better father. - helped me be a better husband. - helped me be a better person. - helped me be a non-voter - helped me be a really bad statist - helped me raise my standards in my personal relationships - helped me to understand political action is an escape from making real change in my personal life. He presents such a rigorous intellectual consistency to his arguments, I think one day, the world will look back and say instead of "Read your Hobbes!!!" when arguing why a state needs to exist but say, "Read your Molyneux!!!" when arguing why it mustn't. –Gilligan Stefan is fundamentally changing people, not just informing them, but actually changing the individual daily lives through his philosophy of non-aggression and everyday anarchy and liberty. No one else out there can explain how philosophy permeates their every waking moment, and how it can be used to better their lives right now. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. Stefan Molyneux is the most profound liberty-minded philosopher of our time. He has much amazing work to point out the evils and hypocrisy of institutionalized violence and coercion, and turned on thousands of people to the arguments against statism. The arguments he presents are rigorous but also accessible, and he approaches the topics he discusses with the finely sharpened blade of consistent, rational methodology, cutting through the awful clutter of cultural bias. The awareness and community he has created with Freedomain Radio is truly inspiring, and he should definitely be given this award! -SG Stefan Molyneux - He is the most important libertarian philosopher of our time, this generation’s Murray Rothbard. -Mitch Stefan Molyneux- This man changed my life. Through his wonderful vidoes and podcasts, not only did I discover the immorality of authoritarian statism, but I adopted peaceful parenting and now apply the N.A.P. in my home and all of my personal relationships. -Anonymous There are many great quotes to be found in Stef's 2,000+ podcasts and videos, but this one sums up the core of why I think Stef deserves to win the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award: "The battle for freedom begins in our own hearts...in our own lives." His focus on individual relationships, building a grassroots voluntary community, and improving parenting promises to make a long-term, permanent impact on freedom in the world. Regardless of the legislation, taxes, and regulations of the next few years, by practicing the principles of voluntarism in our own lives- -with our own friends and family--we can show others what liberty truly means. And this lesson will stick better with a wider variety of people than any economic treatise or historical text (no matter how persuasive and correct). -NY I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thanks! Stefan has worked tirelessly to open countless minds to the truth of Voluntaryism. I can think of no one more deserving of an award for Liberty Inspiration. -NC I'd like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for his efforts in bringing philosophy to bear for the cause of a free, peaceful and happy society. I think he deserves the award for his choice of approach, including the application of the scientific method to maximize freedom and effect change within one's own life, voluntary actions such as his donation-based business model for the Freedomain Radio philosophy show, as well as the virtue, positivity and humor of his personality which he throws into the mix. -AH Stefan Molyneux because he is the best communicator of the principles and ethics of freedom out there right now and his videos and radio-show have skyrocketed in popularity over the past year. He's articulate, logical, compassionate and profoundly witty. –Anonymous Stefan has been, hands down, the greatest intellectual influence on my life. –JM I nominate Stefan Molyneux because of his passion, integrity, honesty and virtue which he injects into the ideas of liberty. He has taught me that arguing for freedom is made in actions not words - all true leaders wear their ideas on their hearts - to win freedom, we win hearts. –SM I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thanks! He is the reason I finally understand the actual meaning of the saying “The truth will set you free" -PZ. I choose to nominate Stefan Molyneux from Ontario Canada for several strong reasons. The first reason is the size of his show. In 2006, Stefan founded and now runs Freedomain Radio, the now largest philosophical show in the world with a total of much over 40 million views (this stat is a couple years old I believe) which now delivers 250 000 shows to the world each week. This show is a massive positive force in the liberty movement. It has exposed me and ten of thousands of other people to the ideas of liberty. The value this show brings me is difficult to describe but is at the level where I don't hesitate to donate money each month. The second reason is the quality of the message he brings to his massive audience. I'm hashing it up because I can't remember what it is exactly, but I believe the main theme of Freedomain Radio is political and personal freedom. This message is unique because it doesn't stop promoting the ideas of freedom and peace at the political level, but also carries them to the personal level to relationships where people are most often than not very un-free, caged by a soup of cultural bigotries. The topics of Stefan's shows reflect this theme by varying from the philosophy of peaceful parenting, all the way across to board to topics such as mainstream politics and an examination of the public union strikes. The final reason why I believe Stefan Molyneux should be one of the five to receive the Liberty Inspiration Award is because of the rock-band like public speech tour he has been doing for the past several years. Just in 2012 alone, he had 18 different professional public speeches which were held all across the world from Sao Paulo Brazil to Odessa Texas. You can see all of them on linked list below. Truly incredible! http://freedomainradio.com/Speeches.aspx -BL I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award because he helped me understand what liberty is. Before Stefan I didn't even know what the difference between left wing and right wing was. –JC I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for this award. Why? I could list all the talks and presentations and pro-liberty political arguments that he has made when I encountered him for the first time a few years ago, and all of that is good stuff, but what truly inspires me and motivated me was his words and actions on personal liberty. He's shown to me by his arguments and more importantly by his example that all the political liberty in the world won't matter a damn if you are not free in your own life, and that's what has allowed me to begin to turn my life towards personal liberty which I will reap rewards in liberty that all the political agitation in the world cannot hope to match. -AL I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for his outstanding videos and podcasts. He is inspiring people around the world to shift to free markets and free society. –Azis Stefan Molyneux has been, for years the most influential person in the Liberty Movement. He has made hundreds of videos and podcasts explaining market anarchism to the layman. He is a concise communicator and a respected personality. He may be the single most influential person who has taken thousands of people from small government libertarian to Rothbardian Anarchists. –JA Stefan Molyneux because I believe he is one of the most influential liberty minded philosophers of our time and his free digital books and videos are great in helping spread the message of liberty. -Erick I think Stefan Molyneux should be the one to receive the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. He has made the spreading of liberty a full time job (he even quit his job to focus completely on spreading the ideas of liberty), yet also provides everything for free. He has brought countless numbers of people over to philosophy, and he has always argued from consistent principles and (the most important being the Non-Aggression Principle, of course) and has even given a speech about voluntaryism to a group of Brazilian politicians. He is by far the most consistent and rational philosopher and spreader of liberty that I have ever seen. –Anonymous Stefan is passionate, resilient, approachable, balanced, thoughtful, and unabashed. His discussions have inspired me to actively change my life, my relationships, and my attitude for the better. He inspires me to better understand myself, my past, my world, and the people around me. Any cause which brings more public knowledge of Stef to the light is direly needed. –DS I am writing to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. He has been a massive inspiration to me and has spread the message of liberty across the globe in a very intelligent, entertaining and likeable way. His political views are 100% in-line with Dr. Paul's although he was glad that Paul didn't gain office as he thought it would backfire on liberty as libertarianism and capitalism would be blamed for the coming collapse. –Charlie Stefan Molyneux is my nomination. He has drastically changed my life overall....I have watched his videos and listened to his podcasts for the last three and a half years, I used to hit my dogs, hit my wife, had a billion energies of rage and he has helped me through argumentation, and more specifically, his gentle and alternative nature, has exemplified to me how to live peacefully. I have since stopped hitting my animals, I have also learned how to talk to my wife and how to communicate to her what I want in a factual way, and she has just made the decision to get rid of her dogs. I used to threaten her with leaving her because it's all I knew, this is exactly what I think liberty is all about, it's about how this can change your personal life, not on how to gather more people to make posters to throw up in front of a camera. Thank you so much Stefan Molyneux, I hope you guys can gather the sincerity and love I have for him in this response –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award because he said something that was one of the greatest revelations to me. It went something like this: ‘99% of people really wants to do the right thing, the problem is that most people are being told the wrong things.’ Until I’d heard this, it had never occurred to me that this was one of the major obstacles to freedom. -RN I would like to recommend Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for Liberty Inspiration Award. Stefan has completely changed the way I live my life. He taught me the importance of self-ownership and personal liberty, he opened my eyes to the non-aggression principle and most importantly, has allowed me to reconnect with my true self, and inspired me to be the best version of myself I can possibly be. Stefan made me fall in love with freedom, logic, philosophy, anarcho-capitalism and essentially, my life. -MW I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio. Without a doubt, Stefan's work has been the single most important source for my awakening to the ideas of liberty and freedom. Prior to finding his podcasts, I was a vaguely lefty statist - full of propaganda and misinformation. Because of his rigorous arguments, pleasant manner, and engaging dialog I was slowly convinced of the ideas of freedom. Stefan continues to push the boundaries of entertaining and educational material - keeping it fresh with both new ideas and restatement of old ones. -RB Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for his outstanding example of initiative and ingenuity. Stefan has taken unparalleled direction in his mission to expand both our understanding of freedom and liberty in philosophy *and*, having extensive experience in information technology organization, has also created a veritable on-line nexus for discussion and hosting of maintenance and expansion of this knowledge. Stefan has also experienced a verifiable spike in traffic since he began blogging several years ago - he is spreading the message at quite possibly the greatest rate of any single influence. Though, I have seen many Liberty bloggers websites, events, speeches, and videos, the intellectual forum that Stefan has built thus far, and I'm sure he will continue to build, stands as both a beacon, to those in search, and a monument, to those who have embraced, and merits Stefan every accolade he deserves. I hope you all will consider Stefan. -SP I like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the award. Because he actually talks about what people can do to make a change in their lives and helps everyone see how the ideals of freedom will translate into happiness when acted upon. He shows that it’s not an empty rhetoric or theoretical thing but a practical thing with direct benefits. He also doesn't shy away of talking about non-aggression against children, which is the most crucial things of all, since they will grow to be the new adults which will move society into the future. He also doesn't shy away to make clear that it’s a moral stand, that governments are evil and supporting them is just as evil. All in all he doesn't dance around the actual and practical topics of freedom that go right in the center of where freedom and slavery lies. That is, the heart and soul of a human being. –RB I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award due to his tireless efforts to educate others about liberty through mediums other than politics. While politics, particularly Presidential elections, have proven incredibly successful tools to open hearts and minds to the idea of liberty, Molyneux has taken a different approach. Freedomain Radio is the world's largest philosophical discussion, and it revolves around liberty. Stefan has simplified and condensed his message in to popular, easy to follow videos that are made freely available to potential future liberty lovers. Through his podcasts, speeches, and other videos, Stefan also equips liberty lovers with the arguments they need to diligently and effectively make the case for liberty. – Tom Stefan is an amazing person and brilliant philosopher. He promotes freedom and non-violent interactions. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. The ideas of liberty have been spreading lately, and it’s wonderful. But Stephan has an amazing ability to see beyond the obvious and tells us what is happening UNDERNEATH what is happening. Through listening to his podcast, I feel (finally!!) that I understand humanity. The brilliance of mixing politics and psychology is absolutely revolutionary, and has helped me (and many countless others) immeasurably. Most importantly for me, however, is that he gives up hope. My husband and I have 3 young girls, and listening to Alex Jones or something similar terrifies me, and that terror is a paralytic. Stephan does not want us to cower in acquiescence to our overlords. He motivates us to do the most important, (and in reality the only thing we can do)-- better our relationships! Be non-violent, loving and respectful parents. There is a vision of the future that is different from "The Hunger Games" of "1984"; and through philosophy, applied in our personal lives, we can achieve it! In my humble opinion, there is no one more deserving of recognition. -AN I'd like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award, because he's the one who made me understand what freedom is. –LT Stefan spoke at the LPGA State convention last year and asked nothing in return. He was very gracious and accommodating in helping to spread the message of liberty. –DH I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for your award. I am nominating him based on his outstanding and untiring efforts to improve the lives of the listeners and readers who have had the privilege of his intellectual presence. This man has solved the problem of ethics, a far greater achievement than Socrates, Plato, Nietzsche, or Rand. He has employed powerful psychological data to examine the correlations between relationships of every kind; gods, states, families, and most importantly, with the self. He has successfully brought philosophy back to life from its dank, relativistic catacombs, and offers political, social, and insights on religion such that any alternative can barely be called so in comparison. He has the largest philosophy talk show on the web, with millions of listeners and contributors. Youtube "stefbot" or "freedomain radio" and listen to anything. I can't say with definite certainty that you will be captivated immediately, and I certainly wouldn't want you to take my word for it. Whoever it may be that is reading this e-mail, you may have already heard of him and for all I know could have more experience with what he has to teach than I do. If not, I would highly recommend looking into it. It is the second most important thing you can do in your life. The first is applying the knowledge. –TB Stefan Molyneux for his groundbreaking philosophical approach, this is not only coherent, consistent and based on freedom principles, but also generally life-changing. -Anonymous I would like to vote for Stefan Molyneux because he has liberated me by helping me see that it all starts with the personal life. I have succeeded to become much freer in my personal relationships by not allowing people to abuse me anymore. The quality of my friendships has skyrocketed and I feel a lot happier thanks to his message of liberty. -MM I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. With the world’s most popular philosophy show he has inspired me and many I know to pursuit liberty in our personal lives. With rigor and passion he illuminates how we in our very lives can be freer and how we can influence our communities for a more free world. –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux.Freedomain Radio opened my eyes to Reality. -VC. I nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Awards! Stef has worked hard for the past several years to spread the ideas of individual freedom... his efforts have changed my life forever. –MD I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - he helped me immensely in the field of self-knowledge and better understanding of others, he literally opened my eyes in the field of politics and contemporary society system in general. –Anonymous Stefan Molyneux - As a natural progression, after my Ron Paul awakening, I ran across the YouTube videos of Stefan Molyneux. Although I am just beginning my journey to freedom, finding this man is like finding a diamond in a cow pasture. His ideas of non-aggression and the notion that battling the State is wasted energy in lieu of choosing to live free (as much as possible) within the state society and the spreading of Freedom Ideas and Principles is clearly the way to move forward. I highly recommend Stefan Molyneux. –LP I nominate Stefan Molyneux for this award for spreading liberty abroad. He opened mine, and many others mind's to the idea of true liberty and selflessly dedicates much time to the subject with a much different approach of philosophy as a basis for the ideas regarding the subject. This is not the grinding system of politics which many individuals seem to use as a platform to promote the concept. His many podcasts are packed full of ideas of true liberty and INSPIRE others to spread it. We have been born into a system that values freedom but does not know it. In these current times many of his thoughts are unorthodox or futuristic to closed minds. Listening for a year has completely changed my views on many things. One of the most important has been anarchism; the true path to freedom. To be completely and utterly free is something everyone should desire but many are trapped by the democratic system that has been in place since the founding of this country. Many times has he reinforced the fact that as time goes on the more freedom we lose citing many examples of it. Each year brings new restrictions of what you can and can’t do. He preaches and informs of ethics. Ethics is the only true system of right and wrong; not a set of laws created to control society. I think he is a great mind much ahead of the era we live in, but plants a seed that, if watered right, will grow into something great. A new tree of liberty. Free from governments and outside forms of control that we have unconsciously accepted as the status quo. Stephan has made me a more educated and informed individual. He has opened my eyes to a brighter chapter of humanity that can come. In his receiving of this award a wider audience could be reached greatly progressing our path to liberty. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of free domain radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Awards; He is host of the largest philosophy conversation in the world and consistently remains true to all aspect of liberty. -JW Nomination: Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio Reason: Stefan brought to me the idea that in reality politics is just a symptom of our scars & fears. In fact, freedom has very little to do with politics. I learned from stef that freedom is a direct result of yourself, the choices you make & the people you choose in life. For those who would one day want to achieve political freedom & peace for humankind, what better way is there to start to understand & stand up for freedom than to start with yourself? Stef opened the doors to me and millions of listeners worldwide about voluntarism & true personal freedom based on logic & morality. I cannot thank him enough for his contributions. Thanks Stef. – Poch You must nominate this man. His philosophy on Liberty is absolutely spot on and logical. A man dedicated to the truth of the human condition, Stefan has been at the forefront of the pure freedom from statism for years. For all that he has done, all that he will do, and the recognition that you will get through the millions that listen to him, he deserves to be nominated. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux. Stefan's podcasts have been the number one impetus for my understanding of the ideas of liberty. In a world largely devoid of compassion for these ideas, Molyneux's prolific youtube videos, recorded audio speeches, books, and articles are a constant buoy of freedom for me. Nominating him for this award is my thanks to him for his inspiration. –Derek I would like to highly recommend Stefan Molyneux for nomination for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Awards. If you're looking for inspiration, and liberty, you really will not need to look farther. I have never seen (and I've looked) a man with such logical arguments, plus the excitement and joy needed to get you interested in logic and reasoning. I really do not think you'll find another soul (to use the term loosely) like this one. -SS Because I listen/watch his youtube and strongly agree with his message/stance on issues. Haven't disagreed with anything he has to say so far. –Anonymous I think that I have already given the reason(s) why Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio should be nominated for the Liberty Inspiration Award. He is one of five inspirational teachers in my life, and one of three inspirational political teachers http://mickyandrani.blogspot.in/2012/03/profile-favourite-books.html. He may be my nominee by default (Ayn Rand is no more, and the website of Frederick Mann--buildfreedom.com--is counter-productive), but at the same time he is my active nominee. I still eagerly read and watch all updates from his blog, http://freedomain.blogspot.in/ and from his Google+ profile. In short, I continually learn from him, and I think that I am becoming better and wiser because of it. For this reason, I hope that Stefan will win the award: he will then get the deserved fruit of his labor, which every proponent of liberty should endorse. –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. He has completely put inline all points in my life into a comprehensive manual. He has explained what everyone knows but hasn't found the words for. Surely he is a sturdy step upon which we can use to keep our momentum pointed towards a free society. –Anonymous I nominate Stefan Molyneux, because he is an absolute beast for the cause of human freedom, and because he's one of the few libertarians who truly inspire people. His morality-centric approach to winning others to the cause of liberty was a large part of what got me 'hooked' several years ago - I could always find some way to wriggle my way out of a particular economic or political argument, but was simply never able to do so when faced with his presentation of libertarian ethics. I have many friends for whom this is also the case. He empowers others by constantly encouraging them to effect positive change in the area they can most control - their own lives, and the energy and passion with which he presents the case for philosophy, non-violence, and human freedom, is truly something to be admired. What is perhaps most impressive is the energy and work ethic with which he tackles his work - weekly podcasts and youtube updates, a weekly call-in show, writing books, recording audiobooks, operating a successful website, speaking engagements, interviewing and being interviewed by other notable libertarians - all while being a full-time parent. In my eyes, there is not a more inspirational figure to be found in the liberty movement. -CR I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio because he not only talks the talk, but he walks the walk. By writing his many liberty oriented books, Stefan has widened the discussion about liberty and narrowed the logically possible Statist solutions to social organization to as near zero as possible. But, more than this, by giving his books away for free, and by dedicating much of his time and energy in a similar manner, he encourages people to voluntarily pay for his products and services, which is commendable by contemporary standards where things such as water are mined from publicly owned resource deposits, bottled, and sold back to the public for more than the price of gasoline. Stefan could have easily put his goods and services up for sale, but he chose the virtuous path; he could have pursued his private interests in being a software entrepreneur, but he chose instead, knowingly or not, to progress the Liberty Movement in what has come to be the inevitable post-Ron Paul world. His many analyses and predictions are intrinsically valuable, as they serve as models of how to apply the first principles of the ethics of non-aggression, and they are extrinsically valuable as they help many people in their daily decision making processes. Stefan deserves this award for his tireless efforts, and we need to both reward him for his past deeds and encourage him to continue in his pursuit of happiness, life, and liberty for all. -Rich I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thank you! The reasons are as follows: 1) Education - Provides general definitions and discussion of philosophical principles. 2) Current events-Provides an alternative, liberty-minded perspective on current events. 3) Inspiration - Provides inspiration by practicing the principles preached (i.e. tolerance, understanding, handwork, ethics, honesty, etc.). I very much appreciate Freedomain's Podcasts and YouTube videos and have learned a lot from Freedomain over the years. -RL I choose Stefan Molyneux because he concentrates on the root causes of the problem we are facing. He talks about how you can live freedom today with yourself and people around you –Anonymous I nominate Stefan Molyneux , of Freedomain Radio for his hard work and devotion to waking up the sheeple , and trying to help in many ways that others do not stay ensnared in their toxic ways . –Philip Stefan Molyneux has been the most inspiration, insightful, and helpful Libertarian out there. He has been extremely prolific in his podcasts and has universalized and integrated the NAP in every aspect of his life. His has made Libertarianism a more personal subject, something I have always leaned towards –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. His approach to spreading the ideas of liberty and sound libertarian principles is truly unique, and he offers insights in areas few other libertarians spend time on, such as parenting, psychology and fundamental philosophy. He is a prolific writer, an energetic and passionate speaker, and an inspirational lecturer. More than any other person, he has been the most influential in helping me put down the candle and pick up a searchlight in my effort to find truth, happiness, and freedom. -DB I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. His work to integrate personal and political freedom into a unified theory has broken new ground and moved the discussion forward in a way that no one else has managed to do in recent memory –Anonymous I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thanks! He is truly one of the greatest philosophers of our time. Everything he does and stands for is the very essence of liberty. He has changed the lives of thousands; I included, and will continue to inspire his audience for generations to come. –MA I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thanks! Stefan, through his podcasts, books and Internet call-in shows, has inspired me to make attaining personal liberty the central focus of my life. His message is clear and consistent, and greatly needed today. -MB With the largest podcast directly about human liberty from all forms of violence and oppression I don't know that anyone would better fit the title than Stefan. With an upcoming documentary coming out and a million views per day, no one is making bigger ripples into the world on behalf of liberty and philosophical peaceful living and parenting.-PG I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. Personally, I belief that Stefan presents a coherent message of the morality of true liberty pass any form of government. He gives voice to those of us who ran out of excuses to keep supporting democracy through "limited government". He gave me the final push into anarchism/agorism/voluntarism or whatever you want to call it. He has become a huge influence on me, and in turn has helped me express ideas of individual liberty within my own community. -JG I nominate Stefan because he brings liberty to every last aspect of life versus just in politics. –JH I would like to nominate Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award - thanks! His work has changed my life. –Anonymous Because he brings logic and reason to a massi -ave audience and he does it purely on donations. He lives free in an unfree world! –Anonymous I'd like to nominate: Stefan Molyneux of Freedomain Radio. He has helped me understand the principle of non- aggression more deeply. –BW I choose Stefan Molyneux! He is so deserving of this award, he has spread not only the message of liberty, free- markets, capitalism and voluntarism but has done a lot of work in the field of peaceful parenting which is really where the most change will occur! He's changed my life and countless others. I choose Stefan, -CG Ron Paul – 2nd Place I nominate Ron Paul, because he is a true patriot. – Mandy Blankenship I nominate Ron Paul. Dr. Paul is my hero, he woke me up, he inspired me, he literally made me into a liberty warrior. And I didn't even know I wanted to be one. I thought I was fine, that life was going along just marvelously, thank you. I didn't even know I was asleep!!! I don't remember the moment I really woke up... But one day bingo: eyes wide open. I love hearing Dr. Paul speak because I know exactly what he's going to say. No surprise, no flip- flops, always consistent, constitutional, sane. And here's the other thing: he woke you up and millions like us. What if he'd just woken up one of us??? Lonely. And he did it over 30 years, literally one mind at a time. Brilliant strategy and the only one that works. If I must live in a time of tyranny, I'm glad I know it; I'm thrilled to be alive in the time of Ron Paul and especially thrilled to be a liberty warrior with some wickedly cool people. – Sally O’Boyle In my opinion Ron Paul has been the single most important figure in the liberty uprising that has come about within the last few years. He has inspired me along with many friends/acquaintances so for that I am thankful. - Anonymous I believe the award this year has to go to Ron Paul as he wraps up an amazing career of steadfast support and defense of the ideas of Liberty. When faced with statist ridicule, I constantly find inspiration in the strength and vigilance this man has showed over his long career. He is a bastion of our ideal, and no matter what one thinks about the individual elements of his particular philosophy, he never swayed from it. I believe that years from now there will be statues erected in his honor, and that he will be considered among the greatest of our nations intellectual standard bearers. - Andrew Stover, Star Toilet Paper LLC Ron Paul, presidential candidate: Ron Paul has caught the minds of young people across the country with his presidential campaign. He managed to do this with topics that, to many people, are thought to be dry and pedantic - - sound currency, the gold standard, and a Federal Reserve audit! Furthermore, he did it with little help from the mainstream media. If journalists would have done their job, Paul would be inaugurated President next month. Young people are the future and he did more to awaken them than any other public figure in my lifetime. – Celeste Jain The king of all my inspiration and many of us in the liberty movement is Dr. Ron Paul. He has never failed to continue his efforts to show us the value of individualism, property, and liberty. He asks all the tough questions and NEVER backs down. He has been honored in many circles but he is always worthy of such an honor. – Kristy Holmes Foote Ron Paul for obvious reasons. I don't think I really need to elaborate much more on the honorable congressman. He's my hero and will be someone who will continue to inspire myself and other generations for years to come. -Anonymous Ron Paul - for laying it down on national television over and over again, inspiring me to read thousands of pages of literature and hundreds of hours of audio/video related to liberty – Anonymous Ron Paul, for all the reasons. Please note his farewell address. – Anonymous Ron Paul seems to me to be the most constitutionally consistent candidate for president of the United States in my lifetime. I believe his contribution to the public debate regarding such issues as non-interventionist foreign policy, responsible monetary policy in the Austrian economic tradition, opposition to the war on drugs, and cutting back on both the size and scope of government, etc. to be of the utmost value. I was honored and privileged to volunteer as a grassroots supporter during his run for office in 2012, and Ron Paul is the political candidate I would like to nominate for Libertycandidates.com Liberty Inspiration Award for 2012. - Adam G. House Ron Paul for being a tireless candidate and successfully appealing to the “young" vote. – Anonymous Ron Paul - for spreading the message of liberty and sticking to his principles always. – Jo Vaccarino I 1st learned of Ron Paul upon seeing Aaron Russo's MUST SEE film, "America: From Freedom to Fascism", in late July 2007.Wow I was so impressed with his knowledge and awareness expressed in this film, and his unshakable convictions standing against the agenda to take away our Civil Liberties via the elite's desire to track & trace us all with RFID chips! A month later, I attended my 1st Ron Paul meetup group meeting, where I met fellow concerned individuals who were on fire with the desire to share what they have learned about how this world really works under the current tyrannical power complex, which is eroding our Freedom more with each passing day. We participated in Ron Paul sign waves, moneybombs, End the Fed Rallies, Audit the Fed petition drives, anti-vaccine education campaigns and much more. Ron Paul brought a diverse group of us together with a common bond: a desire to uphold & restore the Liberties expressed in our Constitution; because as Ron Paul says, Freedom is Popular! Hearing him speak in person for the 1st time, and seeing 12,000+ of us brought together in Washington DC at the r3VOLution March in July 2008, was deeply moving & meaningful for me. This man has sacrificed a perfectly good life as a medical doctor, to endure walking against the tide of corruption and criminal activity in Congress; always standing up for what is right, and maintaining an approachable, common sense and humble demeanor in countless high-profile interviews and speeches. Always a gentleman, he never stooped to name calling and the like while calling out politicians who are doing a disservice to our Nation and world. Ron Paul educated me about how printing valueless currency is destroying our economy, and how the endless empire building of the Military Industrial Complex has GOT to stop. I was privileged to hear him speak in person three more times. The 2nd time was in Ithaca NY in April 2012 when he was on his Campaign tour. I attended a smaller luncheon/gathering where Ron Paul spoke and then graciously signed our books afterwards. As I stood in line, watching him be totally present with each and every one of us, I knew that he was genuinely interested in meeting with the People and spreading his Message. He was in the midst of a grueling tour: Rhode Island the night before, an amazing speech later that night at a packed, huge arena @ Cornell University, to be followed the next day with more of the same in Pittsburgh. At an age where many would be completely content to enjoy a retirement and free time to pursue personal interests, Ron Paul was making time for us and for our Future. I saw a man dedicated to giving, with boundless energy, who patiently and passionately shared his ideas over and over in CNN interviews, alternative media show appearances, endless speaking engagements, and even unforgettable appearances on Jay Leno, where the host was clearly glowing with respect and affection for this man. Ron Paul ran for President for you & me; not for fame or Glory or being in the limelight. He exemplifies selfless service, graciousness and love with eloquence, sharp intellect and the endearing, folksy humor and kindness of a country Doctor from days of yore -- always with love. His Message has caught on and he is a friend of Liberty, supporting Homeschooling, Health Freedom, the Family Unit, our Bill of Rights, Justice for All, Sound Money and an end to these endless, illegal wars. I wish him all the very best in 2013 when he opens a new chapter to his activism, now that he's retired from Congress. His brilliant, candid and stirring Farewell to Congress Speech will go down in History as one of the Greats. I am grateful to Ron Paul for all he has done for us, and I'm excited to see what he has planned for 2013. THANK YOU, Ron Paul! This is just a brief overview of why I love and admire him so much. There is so much more to say, but I'll end here. – Liz Abbott http://www.reverbnation.com/lizabbottmusic I would like to nominate Ron Paul. He has changed my life (along with millions of others) and likely my future in just the past year or so. -Matthew G. Howerton, YAL Chapter Leader Dr. Ron Paul, Father of Liberty movement. He inspired millions of people around the world to fight for liberty. -Michal Krajicek, Czech Republic Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX): Congressman Paul has, for over 30 years, educated, inspired, and activated Liberty-loving citizens and candidates alike. Through his two most recent Presidential campaigns (2008, 2012) Dr. Paul (and his delegates) withstood the most vitriolic and hateful personal attacks from the media and his own party leadership, to bring the message of Liberty to the masses. Dr. Paul has always lead by example, putting his Oath of Office, the Constitution and Liberty before party loyalty or personal gain, as is demonstrated by both his political rhetoric and his congressional voting record. I cannot think of another who has inspired more to the cause of Liberty, young or old, Democrat or Republican, black or white, male or female, American or foreign. Dr. Paul is my #1 choice for the Liberty Inspiration Award. -CJ Schuman, Belleville, MI Ron Paul. He tirelessly works to spread the message of peace and liberty. He is an excellent ambassador of the general idea and has done much to share the wealth of knowledge he possesses. -Rob "Burly" Cain Ron Paul – he has done more, for longer, and more effectively, for liberty in this country than anyone in living memory. - Philip Boncer, P Boncer Consulting Ron Paul for being the deity who ran for President and spent all of that time on TV and speaking to thousands. This seems too obvious. –Jeff Till Ron Paul: I could go with a million different reasons for nominating Ron Paul but only one is truly needed: Paul has become the public face for the Liberty Movement. Every successful endeavor needs a figurehead. In football, the quarterback and the head coach become the face of a franchise. In a band the lead singer becomes the face of the group. In the Liberty Movement, Paul has become the face. He’ll be the first to admit that he has taken his inspiration and beliefs from others. He’ll be the first to admit that others have been more knowledgeable and their work and studies more vital to understanding liberty and its benefits. However, when it is all said and done, if Liberty is to win out it will ultimately be because Ron Paul put a face to the movement that has touched millions and will continue to inspire many more. Our nation is heading in the wrong direction but it will ultimately come to a crossroads that will necessitate a dramatic change. When the day of reckoning comes, and when the choice becomes authoritarianism vs. libertarianism instead of the choice between the right and the left, Paul will be that public face for those of us arguing the case for Liberty. People are waking up, and in Paul they have a steady and publicly recognized figure to hitch their wagons to. If liberty wins out, Paul will go down as a Thomas Jefferson- like figure of our current times simply by sticking to the principles of liberty and giving our movement a necessary face. -Anonymous Ron Paul - opened my eyes to the political and economic system; broke my apathy to politics. – Joey Sullivan, Austin TX Ron Paul – for bringing the liberty message to more young people than anyone else in the U.S. -Steven R. Christopher | Risk Analyst, CenterPoint Energy Ron Paul should also be considered for all of his teaching on the subjects of Constitutional Liberty and Freedom. That the GOP has never given him his due recognition is reason enough to award him for his efforts for Liberty. (His son, Rand is following in his footsteps, but I wouldn’t want publicity for winning this award to ruin his career … hoping he’ll run for President. The Left would begin their attack immediately if he were to win this award.) –Kathy VanKirk Dr. Ron Paul - As an untiring, unflagging proponent of liberty and freedom, he brought the discussion of liberties (and our loss of them) to the national stage. More people (including myself) have joined the cause of liberty and defending the Constitution than ever before, because he refused to compromise his principles, or dilute his message. A better spokesman for liberty has not existed since Thomas Jefferson. He was ignored by the media, ridiculed by his opponents and his own party, and never once hesitated to speak his mind and spread his message. Even though he is leaving Congress this year, he has planted the seeds of liberty that will grow into a mighty movement that cannot be ignored or suppressed. –Bob Schuon Allow me to quote you Thomas and say that when it comes to Libertarianism, here in Central Eastern Europe I am all alone and thus, I feel like "I'm chasing a Unicorn" Why? It has not been easy at all to take the Libertarian role, especially since I'm the only one in my field of studies. I have actually been called all kind of names. Therefore, in order to keep myself "sane" and motivated (that I'm not crazy) is to stick to Youtube, and to webpages like yours. Anyways, my point is: the only two I can nominate from the distance is Ron Paul and yourself [Gigi Bowman], since there is somewhat easy access to your and his videos through the web. I thank the internet, for otherwise I'd be going crazy!! –Remberto Latorre Ron Paul: He's battled long and hard to diminish the State, and shows no signs of giving up, or knuckling under to their demands. He lives the motto of vonMises: "Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito". I don't believe there's anyone alive who deserves this acknowledgement more, although there are many worthy contenders. –J. Peters Ron Paul. This was an easy choice for me. Dr. Paul has inspired me so much to be a better person, read more, speak and learn the truth of liberty and our government. Dr. Ron Paul is a true American hero, teacher, and patriot. –David M. Farrell Ron Paul, always and forever my President. -Jamie Huizenga I nominate are Ron Paul, for obvious reasons. – Daniel Roldan I nominate Dr. Ron Paul for obvious reasons. I think he is the father of the liberty movement and he has done more to make people in this country awaken to the constitution and the bill of rights as well as the Federal Reserve. Dr. Paul was a great inspiration to me personally as he did not endorse any candidate during this past election because as he said, there is no difference between the 2. He also advocates for our troops and to end these wars and bring them home. I have actually heard him get torn up over veterans coming up to him. How he wants so badly to bring them out of the hell that they are stuck in. I am proud of Dr. Paul and all that he stands for. –Monica Savant Ron Paul - For using his position and notoriety to explain ideas related to liberty. -John George Morris, IDSA I would like to nominate Ron Paul, Stefan Molyneux and Tom Woods for the Liberty Inspiration Award. All three of my nominees work tirelessly to advance the cause of liberty, to include philosophical, historical analysis and the creation of educational materials. All three nominees are somewhat different in their approaches and in their cause, but one cannot deny that the three have been responsible for some great intellectual debate, thought and reason. I respectfully ask that you consider these individuals for the award and give much needed exposure and support for these very intellectual individuals. -Ryan Porhola, Fairbanks, Alaska Ron Paul I should not even have to explain. –Bill Sembach Ron Paul, for obvious reasons, his 30+ years of standing up to congress, his consistent position in politics. And the fact that he made libertarianism and the Austrian school of economics "cool". –Ari Ron and Lew have promoted liberty in the past year. -Walter Block, http://www.walterblock.com/ Ron Paul- Dr. Paul brought my attention to the liberty movement and exposed so much of what is wrong with partisan politics. Because of Ron Paul, nobody can reasonably claim ignorance about libertarian ideals. -Anonymous I realize it's somewhat cliché, but I believe that Ron Paul deserves to be recognized for his 30+ years of action. He's been actively fighting the Federal Reserve since the 1970's, has been a Presidential candidate 3 times and a member of Congress for over 20 years. Ron Paul's 2008 Presidential campaign was the vehicle through which many people came to the ideas of liberty. Ron Paul has also been outspoken against the aggressive US foreign policy and won the inaugural FPP Peace Prize in 2009. -Darryl W. Perry, http://radio.fpp.cc Dr. Ron Paul. Watched him in the debates in 2008 and have supported him since. He has opened up this 53 year old woman’s eyes and ears to life, liberty and freedom. -Pamela LaBrake, Schenectady NY Ron Paul - About a year ago, it was suggested to me that I check out Ron Paul as a Republican candidate in the primaries. Prior to investigating this amazing man, my life was a dead cycle of Farmville and video games. The notion that there was much of anything out of place in the American society was not even a consideration. I was basically dead inside, content to live out my days in a blind sheep-like grazing. After watching the Republican Debates and then listening to some of Ron Paul's congressional speeches, almost overnight I was jolted awake and torn from the matrix in which I had been slowly drowning. To say that Ron Paul cured my apathy is an understatement. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops. I found sudden renewed energy and a desperate craving for more and more truth and information. Although some days were hard to bear as I muddled through the onslaught of truth that I had either been denying or was just downright oblivious to, and other days I felt like my brains were squeezing out of my ears, I have now come to a place where I understand the true value of all that Ron Paul has been talking about and promoting for most of his life. He is one of the last true statesmen and I will be forever grateful to him for opening my eyes to the reality of what freedom means and how much freedom has been lost to us. –Lisa Padilla Ron Paul, for obvious reasons – Anonymous Ron Paul. Because he is Ron Paul –Debbie Sidle Dr. Paul was the first living person to drive me towards my current ancap beliefs. He has held strong against all opposition. We would not have the movement we have without him. He is not naturally extroverted. He is not naturally someone to take charge of a movement, and I believe if someone else would have had his conviction, Dr. Paul would have stepped aside and let that person do it instead. His stand against those in the MSM even has many of his opponents in a place where they cannot help but give him respect, and some have at least been slightly changed and convinced of some aspects of the cause of liberty. His stand against the status quo of the nation when no other person was in the limelight, and his refusal to waver in his belief, has inspired me and countless others that I know. –Adam Goedker Antonio Buehler – 3rd Place (tie) I wish to nominate Antonio Buehler. My reasons are he not only responded to a deep inner need to save a person in distress as a good soldier, citizen or even a well-rounded gentleman would, but he also took that event and made good with it. He has organized a group of "cop watchers" throughout Austin and is taking the steps to get people active for the betterment of this community as a whole. He obviously has demonstrated leadership ability with a healthy dose of restraint to inform, protect and to permanently remedy the growing militarized police. - Maritha Gan, Paradise, TX Antonio Buehler. Antonio also rose up to the challenge when he was faced with the unpleasant consequences of standing up for liberty. It is now a year since he called out Austin cops and started getting harassed himself. An additional reason that I am putting Antonio in the top three is that he has been advocating for liberty in a non- ideological way (at least, according to my definition of ideology). He has been educating people about liberty non- stop even though he got harassed himself. He could have very easily taken a backseat in the liberty movement, but he did not. –Jaimi Hendrix I nominate Antonio Buehler, for his dedication and courage to fight police corruption in Austin, Texas through The Peaceful Streets Project. Personally, he has inspired me to become much more of a "hands on" activist than I've ever been. He's donated time and risked his personal freedom to expose police corruption. What more can you ask for? -Steve Cauley I nominate Antonio Buehler. Wickedly cool seems a little tame when it comes to Antonio. Wow. He's visibly afraid and courageous at the same time. He saw a wrong and went to right it with no thought of the consequence. He stood his ground with an armed asshole that had an armed asshole partner alongside him. He did exactly the right thing and kept his cool. NOW he's turned that stinky piss water into an opportunity to take down tyranny. I love it. He's a true leader, not a one-night stand but someone we can count on. When the going gets tough, you know Antonio will be there. I can't say that with conviction about some of my fellow liberty warriors. – Sally O’Boyle I would like to nominate Antonio Buehler of Peaceful Streets Project because he works tirelessly walking the streets every night trying to make sure that the police don't take advantage of good people. – Anonymous Antonio Buehler. I'm sure you have also heard plenty about Antonio. His dedication to combatting police brutality is truly inspiring; this is precisely why I will continue to be a financial supporter of the Peaceful Streets Project. – John Ramsey Co-Founder and Angel Investor, Liberty for All Super PAC I'd like to nominate and thank Antonio Buehler. Antonio Buehler, I don't know where to begin with this guy ;-).He's a modern day hero, in my opinion. It takes some kind of bravery and courage to stand up to the police and be consistent/ persistent with you, especially after they begin to retaliate, like they have towards him. Antonio, I believe has effectively raised awareness about the Police State and the corrupt APD to say the very least. He was arrested multiple times over 2012, I believe 3 times, and each time was for filming the police, if I recall accurately. Antonio soon after his first big incident with the APD almost a year ago now started the Peaceful Streets Project - which is a Police Accountability Group as well as almost like a neighborhood watch sort of aspect to it. Antonio has had some out of the park interviews, speeches and I am very much looking forward to his continued success an Activist in Austin, TX. – Nathan Cox Antonio because he's shown that you don't have to lay down for the man and except the unjust and corrupt "punishment" that they like to dish out to innocent civilians on a daily basis. He's a strong leader and has inspired so many people to stand up and fight back for our god given rights. We can fight the man in an intelligent and crafty way. Antonio is the man. – Anonymous I would like to nominate Antonio Buehler for starting The Peaceful Streets Project and exposing the truths about how some cops do their jobs. He is what every person should represent in peace, truth, and honesty. He stands up for what he believes in and is not afraid to express his ideas and thoughts to help others. - Fabiola Guevara Antonio Buehler has revolutionized the interface between citizens and the corrupt police department in Austin TX. He has done this despite the enormous personal sacrifice that the state has heaped upon him, unsuccessfully, to make him back down. - Jim Carigan First and foremost is Antonio Buehler of Austin, Texas. Antonio has helped further the cause of pushing-back against the growing police state not only through his individual activism and networking efforts but also by founding the Peaceful Streets Project -- which has galvanized members of the Austin community to step- up and actively document law enforcement activity in their city. By bringing people together and formulating a plan of action, Antonio has helped foster a sense of direction among those who understand the vital importance of protecting civil liberties. Honoring the principles of liberty, he has demonstrated a remarkable degree of openness in bringing the Peaceful Streets Project together by reaching-out to far more people than simply those who agree with him philosophically and ideologically: the PSP has among its membership people of a broad spectrum of walks-of-life -- even at least one active communist of whom I know. -Don Kissick Chair, Allen County Libertarian Party of Ohio Antonio Buehler is my nominee, for standing up for a woman being abused by police only to have the police file false charges against him, then taking a bad situation and using it to create the Peaceful Streets project. -Anonymous I would like to nominate Antonio Buehler for this award. Antonio has taken a very negative experience and mixed it in a crucible with his character. He has taken charge in trying to restore liberty and educate people how to fight for their own liberty, with his Peaceful Streets Project. I didn’t know him prior to 2012, when I read about his experience and discovered we had a couple mutual friends. As a graduate of one of the most elite business schools in the world, Antonio has shunned the traditional path, exchanges riches (literally) for liberty. A very admirable decision and one that should be acknowledged. – Erik Chavez He is a true hero- Russell Bentley I would like to nominate Antonio Buehler because he walks the streets tirelessly trying to make sure good people are not taken advantage of by the police. He created The Peaceful Streets Project. - Anonymous Antonio Buehler - Peaceful streets projects has been a massive force this year. Antonio never shies away from standing up for his rights – Derrick Broze I'd like to nominate Antonio Buehler for his steadfast dedication to seeing justice done and even taking the initiative of starting the Peaceful Streets Project that will likely serve as a defense against police brutality in dozens of cities across the nation. -Matthew G. Howerton YAL Chapter Leader I nominate Antonio Buehler for the Liberty Inspiration Award. As some of you may know, he was arrested on New Year’s Day, 2012 for filming police assaulting a woman. He was falsely charged with assault on a police officer, which is a third degree felony and carries a two to ten year jail sentence. He was officially falsely accused by Officer Patrick Oborskey of spitting in his face. There are many witnesses and a few videos that prove to the contrary. Despite this, Antonio is still going up for trial on the original false charges made by Patrick Oborsky in just a few days. Since his arrest, Antonio has founded the Peaceful Streets Project, which is a non-profit organization to stop police abuse and make them accountable for their actions. In addition to this, Antonio is a teacher who works with children of all ages. He shows them and teaches them what the true meaning of liberty is. He is a true inspiration to us all because he has his priorities straight and does not live a hypocritical life like many people who have received Noble Peace Prizes. He is a beautiful person on the inside, where it counts. – Mary Angela Cozzolino Antonio Buehler was my gateway drug, he gave me a free taste of liberty and now I'm addicted. – Anonymous Antonio Buehler for his creation of Peaceful Streets and tireless advocacy for freedom of photographic rights. –Melvin T. Riser Antonio Buehler- Antonio is a dedicated leader to his merry band of filmers. He and a small group of supporters single handedly started a grass roots group to address police brutality and hold police accountable. Of the people that around my area, I think these 2 guys [John Bush] are tireless and dedicated to their causes. –Monica Savant A vote for Antonio Buehler. I did not know what liberty was until I met him. I just live my life challenging what it means to be free. Always have. Antonio's example helped me be an activist and reach out to other people to participate and talk about liberty with. I know he's inspired a lot of people not just me. –Anonymous Antonio Buehler - Ignited a movement to take the streets back from APD like the city has never seen before at a time period never seen before. The timing couldn't have been greater following the massive beatings and violations against the Occupy movement at the hands of the police. His work has also ignited coalitions between the radical left and liberty community. Him and I have united on the front lines and taken lashings together from APD. Yet I am a former Communist Party national organizer and he is an investment banking graduate and liberty activist. The unity goes much deeper. That's just a real life example. - Joshua Pineda from the Peaceful Streets Project Antonio Buehler: He started up the Peaceful Streets Project, which is a great activist organization centered around police accountability and outreach to citizens to help them know their rights –Seth Antonio Buehler is the embodiment of how a free, sovereign, and peaceful human being should fight for freedom. After being subjected to bully tactics and an obvious smear campaign at the hands of the Austin Police Department to cover up their brutal mistreatment of citizens; Buehler rallied Austenite’s together to create The Peaceful Streets Project- which puts cameras in the hands of citizens to record the interactions between citizens and police. Buehler was named 'Activist of the Year' by the Austin Chronicle in 2012. Peace, Sovereignty, Accountability, Truth- Antonio Buehler embodies these principles- and so I nominate him for this award. -Ben Farmer I would like to nominate Antonio Buehler of Austin, TX for the Liberty Inspiration Award. As I'm sure many in the liberty community are aware, Antonio was arrested on New Year's Eve of 2011 after videotaping and questioning police about their use of excessive force on a peaceable woman. Besides being the inspiration for a Facebook group with over 6500 members, Antonio founded the Peaceful Streets Project in spring of 2012, a grassroots, all-volunteer initiative to end institutional violence on the streets of Austin. Their mission statement: "Through community organizing, engaging in non-political and non-violent direct action tactics, and utilizing new technologies, the Peaceful Streets Project seeks to bring about a cultural shift where individuals understand their rights and hold law enforcement officials accountable, and communities protect and serve each other." PSP provides free training sessions regarding citizen's rights during police encounters, trains for and participates in "cop watch" actions, and held its first Police Accountability Summit in July 2012 which was attended by over 200 people. Peaceful Streets also raised enough money to provide 100 free cameras to community members who are willing to monitor police in their neighborhoods. Antonio is a great defender of liberty; he not only talks the talk, but he walks the walk with his Peaceful Streets Project, bringing awareness, accountability, and community action into the streets of Austin. Please consider him as a recipient. http://peacefulstreets.com/, http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eopoUl-wssw, https://www.facebook.com/Antonio.Buehler?fref=ts, https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeAntonioBuehler/?fref=ts -Angela Harris Antonio Buehler - for his tireless efforts in police accountability here in Austin. –Cat Bleish Tom Woods - 3rd Place (tie) Thomas Woods has been my greatest, living, influence. He is very easy to listen to for hours at a time. He is able to keep your attention while discussing topics many would consider dry. – Anonymous Tom Woods - for establishing libertyclassroom.com and recruiting the best in the field to teach the truth about history and economics. – Anonymous Tom Woods for his defense of liberty through Liberty Classroom and his entertaining approach to making the case for liberty with his youtube posts. I felt he was far more effective building the case for Ron Paul without being part of the official campaign. – Anonymous Tom Woods - for teaching liberty. – Jo Vaccarino Thomas E. Woods Jr. - For being such a good face for the liberty movement (for example, has establishment credentials, has worked tirelessly and his books and articles have reached a wide audience, cheerful disposition, fair, good sense of humor, uncompromising, etc.). –John Davey Tom Woods- Very inspirational and has pinpoint accuracy on historical events. He is exciting to listen to and promotes Liberty with an unwavering type of gusto. – Patrick T. McDermott Thomas Woods Jr.'s writing and videos have given me daily inspiration and strength this past year. I see great similarities in his background and my own, and I am the same age. I didn't learn about the true meaning of liberty as soon as he did, but I didn't have Murray Rothbard as a teacher, either. I am glad, though, that I have Tom Woods Jr. as my teacher. -Jim Flood, Latham, NY Tom Woods for launching LibertyClasssroom this year. – Jeff Till Tom Woods - helped me understand history, politics, and economics. – Joey Sullivan, Austin TX Tom Woods – for providing historical insight and clarity of argument to the liberty debate, through his books, blogging, and liberty classroom outreach efforts -Steven R. Christopher | Risk Analyst, CenterPoint Dr. Tom Woods - The person that first influenced me toward the cause of liberty, Dr. Woods educates and informs everyone in his presence, whether in person or online. I cannot even begin to describe how persuasive he is, in his writings, and his videos, as well as in person, save to say that he convinced a hardened, cynical New Yorker that things do not have to remain "business as usual", and that restoring our liberties can and will happen. – Bob Schuon I would like to nominate Thomas E. Woods Jr. He is perhaps my favorite figure in the liberty movement, and I respect and appreciate his detailed and easy-to-understand explanations of concepts dealing with government, history, economics, and other topics he discusses. Also, he is awesomely funny. –Joe, NJ I nominate Thomas E. Woods Jr. as my choice for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. Woods has had a tremendous effect on me as a Libertarian, and follower of the Austrian School of Economics. The reason I nominate him is for his incredible dedication to his students, as well as his ability to cover both basic lessons of Liberty as well the more complex lessons of economics and socio-economics for those ambitious enough to learn them. He is an American hero, and deserves recognition as such. –Chris Thomas E. Woods Jr.: His work has been instrumental in winning me away from statism. The Church and the Market was the first Tom Woods book I read. He is tirelessly fighting for liberty through writing, videos, speeches, and radio interviews, and even takes the time to make personal replies to his fans. Liberty Classroom, his latest massive project, is an inexpensive way to learn more about the liberty movement. –J. Peters Tom Woods - Tom has been a blessing to the liberty movement. Through his videos, books and now Liberty Classroom, he has inspired Liberty better than anyone else I can think of. –Bob Heed Tom Woods. I have purchased all of his books, listened to his podcasts and watched his videos. Tom has an easy to understand way of speaking and is clearly expert in personal liberty. –Ray Zehrung I'd like to nominate Tom Woods for his tireless, awesome work for the cause of liberty. He's definitely the coolest dude for liberty! -Troy Middlecamp I put Tom Woods in almost a teacher category. My favorite quote from him is, "The best way to evade the propaganda is to learn American history the right way, the first time." Tom Woods inspires me to learn real history and what things really mean and how it affects our lives. –David M. Farrell I would like to nominate Tom Woods for the 2012 Liberty Inspiration Award. His writing and videos are the clearest and most concise out there. He has opened the eyes of more status quo republicans/democrats I know than all other pro-liberty writers combined. -Bryan Manolakos Tom Woods for his work with Liberty Classroom, his work defending Ron Paul, and his usual fantastic videos, speeches and articles. –Anonymous I nominate Tom Woods for the breadth of his work, but the one that has touched me the most is Liberty Classroom. Liberty Classroom is an affordable education on critical topics that are useful for a range of age groups. They're great material for homeschooling or people who just want to get some real insight on history –Brook Warren I would like to nominate Ron Paul, Stefan Molyneux and Tom Woods for the Liberty Inspiration Award. All three of my nominees work tirelessly to advance the cause of liberty, to include philosophical, historical analysis and the creation of educational materials. All three nominees are somewhat different in their approaches and in their cause, but one cannot deny that the three have been responsible for some great intellectual debate, thought and reason. I respectfully ask that you consider these individuals for the award and give much needed exposure and support for these very intellectual individuals. -Ryan Porhola, Fairbanks, Alaska Tom Woods: The commentary that Tom Woods provides about current events in the liberty movement is great. He is also a historian and teacher at his website Liberty Classroom. Liberty Classroom is a great tool for unlearning the indoctrination of government schools while learning the truth behind many different subjects like history and economics. –Seth Tom Woods: Tom, through his LibertyClassroom, his public speaking on Libertarian topics and his books has been an unstinting supporter of all things related to liberty. –Berl Kaufman Tom Woods is a walking encyclopedia. Only Judge Napolitano seems to rival his knowledge of history & his ability to teach using the context of liberty. –Anonymous I would like to nominate Tom Woods. Tom is humble, gracious, and infectiously sincere. He has a gift for making any topic he discusses a delight, and understandable by anyone–from the Federal Reserve and sound money, to nullification and secession, or to history. He has also started an ambitious Liberty Classroom in an effort to improve the accessibility and quality of liberty oriented knowledge. He is truly working hard to advance the cause! -Daniel Brooks Tom Woods. Probably the most brilliant mind among us also one of the kindest, most patient and friendly in the liberty movement. Always ready to teach and explain with probably more fans than anyone besides Ron Paul. He always takes the time to help and explain. He holds no airs and is always humble. He is always positive and an inspiration to all. –Gigi Bowman, LibertyCandidates.com Julie Borowski, Tatiana Moroz, Tom Woods. All 3 have their own unique ways of reaching people through the internet and promoting liberty, whether with rational but fun videos, beautiful liberty-promoting music, or academic and intellectually stimulating videos and other work. –Tom Boone http://gigibowman.com/2012/11/30/2012-liberty-inspiration-award-sponsored-by-libertycandidates-com/

Your support makes it possible thanks Joe

Canada is far more influenced by the UK than the US was... I mean, we still have the queen on the money

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFMUeUErYVg] Did you know that 90 years ago, America still had 12 times the murder rate of the United Kingdom? Did you know that criminals using guns are less likely to hurt their victims? Did you know that citizens use guns to protect themselves against criminals over two and a half million times a year? Sources: http://www.fdrurl.com/guncontrol Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web - http://www.freedomainradio.com https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e74hVs96-8ivIItNeC952QcyMG4gYwr6ZqijaJWud3E/edit http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/22/inquiry-link-military-veterans-crime http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8422073 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16933812 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF02111910?LI=true http://costsofwar.org/article/us-veterans-and-military-families http://www.medicinenet.com/child_abuse/page3.htm http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jun/03/opinion/la-oe-hymowitz-unmarried-mothers-20120603 http://www.photius.com/feminocracy/facts_on_fatherless_kids.html http://costsofwar.org/article/us-veterans-and-military-families http://freebooks.uvu.edu/SOC1010/index.php/ch21-military-a-criminal.html

Sources http://www.stopshrinks.org/articles/op-ed_hoeller_8-29-03.htm http://ssristories.com/index.php?p=celebrity http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A42930-2002May6?language=printer http://www.stopshrinks.org/reading_room/frame_docs/outstand.html http://www.oikos.org/biopsychiatry.htm http://www.oikos.org/childrenritalin.htm http://www.sntp.net/fda/fda_prozac.htm http://www.sntp.net/fda/breggin_drug_industry.htm http://www.madinamerica.com/madinamerica.com/Anatomy%20of%20an%20Epidemic.html http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/pi/ppf/pub-psyc.html http://www.astraeasweb.net/politics/badpsych.html http://www.naturalnews.com/011353.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-psychiatry http://www.omsj.org/issues/new-reports-cast-further-doubt-on-psych-drugs http://books.google.ca/books?id=QYrOzq2QiXgC&lpg=PA38&ots=bOqjRyi_dP&dq=psychiatry%20follow%20the%20money&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/health/policy/06doctors.html?_r=1 http://www.ehow.com/list_7453607_three-pay-mental-health-care.html http://www.ehow.com/list_6729348_government-pay-mental-health-care_.html http://www.sntp.net/null1.htm http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/women-and-prescription-drug-use_n_1098023.html http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/healthcare/story/2011-11-16/Report-1-in-5-of-US-adults-on-behavioral-meds/51241236/1 http://www.addictionbyprescription.com/facts.html http://www.drugawareness.org/recentcasesblog/ssris-soldiers-one-of-six-prescribed-ssris-iraqafghanistan http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1812055,00.html http://www.antipsychiatry.org/schizoph.htm

Wow, do you have more numbers on this?

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNnRXwPSGJk] Thanks again to the listeners for all the great references! http://c4ss.org/content/6462 http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/research/working_papers/2008/wp0804.pdf http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL34645.pdf http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/power/nuclear-power-committee/nuclear-power/about-nuclear-power/nuclear-uk/unpopular-in-britain http://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/research/working_papers/2008/wp0804.pdf

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWTYP6rcn30]

Kids keep getting smarter. School stays as dumb as ever. [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWTYP6rcn30&hd=1] http://wapedia.mobi/en/Flynn_effecthttp://psychology.suite101.com/article.cfm/are-iq-scores-really-increasing-over-timehttp://www.increasebrainpower.com/average-iq-score.html130 or higher: 2.2% of the population.120-129: 6.7% of the population.110-119: 16.1% of the population.90-109 (Average): 50% of the population.80-89: 16.1% of the population.70-79: 6.7% of the population.Below 70: 2.2% of the population.Psychologist Ulric Neisser, who, during 1995, headed an American Psychological Association task force writing a consensus statement on the state of intelligence research, estimates that if American children of 1932 could take an IQ test normed during 1997 their average IQ would have been only about 80Considering Ravens, Neisser estimates that if he extrapolates beyond the data, which shows a 21-point gain between 1952 and 1982, an even larger gain of 35 IQ points can be argued.For example, Dutch conscripts gained 21 points during only 30 years, or 7 points per decade, between 1952 and 1982.In the United States * 4.5 million children 5-17 years of age have ever been diagnosed with ADHD as of 2006. [Read article Adobe PDF file] * 3%-7% of school-aged children suffer from ADHD. Some studies have estimated higher rates in community samples.1 * 7.8% of school-aged children were reported to have an ADHD diagnosis by their parent in 2003. [Read article] * Diagnosis of ADHD increased an average of 3% per year from 1997 to 2006. [Read article Adobe PDF file] * Boys (9.5%) are more likely than girls (5.9%) to have been diagnosed with ADHD. [Read article Adobe PDF file] * ADHD diagnosis is significantly higher among non-Hispanic, primarily English-speaking, and insured children. [Read article] * Prevalence rates are significantly higher for children in families in which the most highly educated adult was a high school graduate (or had completed 12 years of education), compared with children in families in which the most highly educated adult had a higher or lower level of education. [Read article] * ADHD diagnosis among males was reported significantly more often in families with incomes below the poverty threshold (<100%) than in families with incomes at or above the poverty threshold. Rates of reported diagnosis among females were not significantly different across the three levels of poverty. [Read article] * Prevalence varies substantially by state, from a low of 5% in Colorado to a high of 11.1% in Alabama. [Read article]* Diagnosed cases of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder increased almost 4 percent every year from 2000 to 2010 making it the number one mental health concern in children.* Boys are twice as likely to be diagnosed as girls. This is down dramatically from the 10 to 1 ratio in 1997.* In America, the state with highest number of cases reported was Alabama with the highest number of prescriptions being written in Arkansas.* Slightly less than 5.5 million children ranging in age from 5 to 17 were diagnosed with ADHD in 2009.* Currently 60 percent of all children with ADHD are receiving medication for treating the disorder, with Ritalin continuing to be the most widely prescribed.* The most highly medicated age demographic for ADHD children are those from 9 to 12 years of age.*Children with ADHD, compared to children with ADHD, were more likely to have major injuries (59% to 49%), hospital inpatient (26% to 18%), hospitalized outpatient (41% to 33%), or emergency room visits (81% to 74%).http://www.articlesbase.com/mental-health-articles/11-attention-grabbing-childhood-adhd-statistics-2158651.htmlhttp://www.healthcentral.com/adhd/c/1443/13716/addadhd-statistics65% of children with ADHD exhibit problems in defiance or problems with authority figures. This can include verbal hostility and temper tantrums.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbiq2-ukfhM] References: http://www.acestudy.org/ http://www.cavalcadeproductions.com/ace-study.html http://www.neuropsychiatryreviews.com/07may/violence.html http://psychohistory.com/originsofwar/03_psychology_neurobiology.html http://www.motherinlawsunite.com/index.php?topic=46.0 http://www.adoptionarticlesdirectory.com/Article/Child-Abuse-and-Neglect--Effects-on-child-development--brain-development--and-interpersonal-relationships/42 http://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/focus/earlybrain/earlybraina.cfm These images are from studies conducted by a team of researchers from the Child Trauma Academy (www.ChildTrauma.org) led by Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D. http://primal-page.com/childabu.htm http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=childhood-adverse-event-life-expectancy-abuse-mortality http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/10/091006115140.htm http://freedomainradio.com/BOARD/forums/t/10392.aspx http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin4.htm#neg http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin29.htm http://www.religioustolerance.org/spankin28.htm http://www.annafoundation.org/stwh.html http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1285720 http://www.shockmd.com/2009/05/13/neuroscience-of-exercise/ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060401104819.htm For Initial Treatment Of Moderate To Severe Major Depression, Cognitive Therapy And Medication May Be Equally Effective http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050420092142.htm http://www.cancerconsultants.com/17196/ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070102092229.htm obesity: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12119573 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17572308?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed Alcohol: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16549308?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=1&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11754674?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=2&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed Leading causes of death: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9635069?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_SingleItemSupl.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=3&log$=relatedarticles&logdbfrom=pubmed The impact of maternal childhood abuse on maternal and infant HPA axis function in the postpartum period. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19931984?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=18 drug abuse: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/111/3/564 stress: http://www.the-scientist.com/blog/display/56139/ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Adverse+childhood+experiences+linked+to+health+risk+behaviors.-a0202360686 smoking/depression: http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/winter02/goldtolead.html

I got a number of comments that the name was a bit too obscure, and I think in hindsight they were right...

Thank you so much for posting the video around, and for your very kind words, I really do appreciate it, I also was very happy with how this video came out, though it took forever to put together!

the video [View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cd-SLRyuRq0]