“Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!” ~ George Washington

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both actively grew hemp throughout many years of agricultural endeavors at their treasured Virginia abodes, Mount Vernon and Monticello, respectively. There is little evidence to suggest that either man grew the marijuana strain of cannabis; they likely grew the strain of cannabis commonly referred to today as “industrial hemp,” which has absolutely no use as a psychoactive drug. Washington and Jefferson had multi-acre fields of hemp; the plant’s fibrous qualities were invaluable for making rope, cloth, and other critical and commonplace items of the day.

“Hemp… is abundantly productive and will grow for ever on the same spot.” ~ Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson’s journal entries related to hemp can be found on the Monticello website; this particular passage was in his Monticello agricultural journal in 1815.

George Washington exclaimed the above praise for hemp in a letter to the Mount Vernon gardener in 1794.

“We ask for too much salvation by legislation. All we need to do is empower individuals with the right philosophy and the right information to opt out en masse.” ~ Joel Salatin

Joel Salatin is recognized around the world as one of the leading voices for a return to common sense, earth-friendly farming. I had the opportunity to visit Salatin’s “Polyface Farm” this past March and walk around his beautiful land in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. Salatin’s books are fun reads and full of provoking and practical thoughts for farmers and non-farmers alike. If you are interested in localism, sustainable farming, and realistic ideas to become self-sufficient in a practical manner, there is no better place to start than with Joel Salatin’s work.

Joel Salatin endorsed Ron Paul for President in 2008 and 2012.

My uncle, Robert, interacting with the pigs at Polyface Farm.

Timm and his work at Green Energy Park represents the very best of entrepreneurial initiative, creativity, and community building. The mission statement of Green Energy Park is to utilize “clean, renewable energy resources to facilitate economic development, provide environmental protection, and offer educational opportunities.”

Today I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Lonnie Hendrix, Mayor of Hyden, Kentucky (a small town of 300 in Leslie County in Eastern Kentucky). I was blown away by Mr. Hendrix’s spiritual depth, dedication to service, and humility. He was very welcoming to our group of 15 students, who are participating in an entrepreneurship program, Entrepreneurship for the Public Good, through Berea College.

Mr. Hendrix takes no salary, has given more than half of his private wealth away over the years, and ran for Mayor despite death threats and going up against a very corrupt local system. After winning with approximately 70% of the vote his first time running, he received 94% of the vote in his reelection bid for Mayor.

If you are ever in Eastern Kentucky, be sure to stop by the Mayor’s Office and say hello to Mr. Hendrix. It is immensely refreshing to meet a civic leader who genuinely cares for the people he serves and is willing to make personal sacrifice to help the community that he loves. He is exactly what this world needs.

My sincere gratitude to Peter Hackbert and Entrepreneurship for the Public Good for making this visit a possibility.

"If we are not even free anymore to decide something as basic as what we wish to eat or drink, how much freedom do we really have left?" ~ Ron Paul

"True competition in the delivery of medical care is what is needed, not more government meddling." ~ Ron Paul

"Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long." ~ Ron Paul

"There's a risk I could win." ~ Ron Paul

“The freer the market is and the more respect you have for private property, the better the environment is protected.” ~ Ron Paul

One of the most frustrating things for me to see, especially with teens and young adults, is the firm belief that government legislation is the ultimate way to bring about environmental change. ~ The Libertarian Environmentalist

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTr50dREplg[/youtube]

Joel Salatin, founder of Polyface Farms (located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley), is nationally recognized as one of the most influential local and naturally sustainable farmers in America. Salatin was featured in the films Food, Inc. and Farmageddon, which expose the corporate-government relationship in the field of agriculture. Salatin is also the author of eight books, including “Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal.”

Joel Salatin has endorsed Ron Paul for president twice, once in 2008 and again in 2012. This is what Salatin said of Paul in 2008:

I don’t think I’ve ever felt as comfortable with a Presidential candidate as I do this year with Ron Paul. Generally the conservatives worship Wall Street, the military industrial complex, and American empire building around the world. The liberals worship government agencies, government solutions, and never saw a tax they didn’t like or a baby worth saving. So where does a guy turn who wants small government, no subsidies, pro-life, no corporate welfare, and a hoe-your-own-garden military? Finally we have a candidate: Ron Paul.

The reason the mainstream can’t handle him is because he doesn’t fit the stereotypes. And therein lies his strength. As a Christian libertarian environmentalist capitalist, Ron Paul embodies the reasonable approach to thorny issues. He would rein in the globalists by unleashing grass roots entrepreneurs. That’s true free marketing, not pseudo free marketing via corporate welfarism and criminalizing small business. He thinks we should be able to choose what to eat and how to educate rather than big brother government being the only credible approval source.

Rather than squandering the nation’s treasury and goodwill to insure cheap oil, he would unfetter backyard tinkerers whose 100-mile-per-gallon carburetors and cottage-sized alternative fuel prototypes could make the U.S. energy independent. He understands that the real answers do not come from the top down, but always come from the bottom up. And that is why he often casts the solitary opposition vote in Congress. Bless him.

Salatin maintained nothing but praise when he endorsed Paul in the 2012 presidential election:

I’ve been a fan of Ron Paul for years, since the first day I learned about his positions.  He’s the only one with enough backbone to take on the entrenched corporate-government fraternity by attacking with the power of freedom, thereby unleashing entrepreneurial dreams on the marketplace.  Currently cowering under the withering fire of guns, badges, and bureaucracy, America’s home-based and back-yard innovators have plenty of antidotes to the problems that plague our culture.

Paul understands the power of bottom-up creativity.  Reducing the military, both foreign and domestic, reducing regulatory power, and reducing the penetration of prejudicial government interests in the culture is the balanced approach to restore constitutional normalcy.  Paul is the only national figure willing to go to the mat for these precious principles that will ensure tomorrow’s opportunities.

Joel Salatin is a pioneer in the growing local, sustainable, and natural food movement. His endorsement of Ron Paul is an endorsement of the principles of freedom and liberty, which Paul has strongly stood for since getting elected to Congress in 1976.

Joel Salatin photo made by Parkle Lee. 

“If we are not even free anymore to decide something as basic as what we wish to eat or drink, how much freedom do we really have left?” ~ Ron Paul

During his time in Congress, Ron Paul introduced H.R. 1830, legislation that would decriminalize the sale of unpasteurized milk and milk products across state lines. On May 16, 2011, Congressman Paul spoke of H.R. 1830:

Hard as it is to believe, the federal government is actually spending time and money prosecuting small businesses for the “crime” of meeting their customers’ demand for unpasteurized milk! Recently the Food and Drug Administration conducted a year-long sting operation targeting Rainbow Acres Farms in Pennsylvania. As a result of this action, Rainbow Acres’ customers will no longer be able to purchase unpasteurized milk from this small Amish farm.

Mr. Speaker, many Americans who the government wishes to deny the ability to purchase unpasteurized milk have done their own research and come to the conclusion that unpasteurized milk is healthier than pasteurized milk. These Americans have the right to consume these products without having the federal government second-guess their judgment about what products best promote health. If there are legitimate concerns about the safety of unpasteurized milk, those concerns should be addressed at the state and local level.

In this 2012 presidential election, Ron Paul is the only candidate who has stood up for the right to drink raw milk. Paul recognizes that it is up to each of us as individuals in our local communities to take responsibility for what we put in our bodies.

“What is so dangerous about you making your own choice about whether or not you can drink raw milk? I think we ought to vote for the right to drink raw milk!” ~ Ron Paul

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQnkrc0Ge-A[/youtube]

Upon seeing the “Ron Paul Revolution” T-shirt I was wearing, Galbraith said, “I wrote in Ron Paul for president.”

Treat yourself to twenty minutes of this independent thinker’s thoughts on drugs, education, debt, and a variety of issues plaguing Kentucky and America as a whole. We need more Gatewood Galbraith’s.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Lk_zre3enc[/youtube]

Galbraith talking with Berea College students (Photo by Dylan Gorski)

“What will happen if the dollar collapses? Hyperinflation will then become worldwide. I said, If. I should have said, When. It is very near total collapse already. Once the house of card falls, it will fall very quickly indeed. Money will not be worth the paper it’s printed on.” — Swami Kriyananda

Ron Paul has been predicting this dollar collapse since he was elected to Congress in 1976. In fact, he was motivated to run for Congress after President Richard Nixon disconnected the U.S. Dollar from gold in 1971. Ron Paul’s record speaks for itself. However, don’t take my word for it. Please, watch this video and see for yourself:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxHkNNPou-Q[/youtube]

How can we shift society to understand the importance of liberty?  

The best way to encourage a societal shift to a culture of liberty is to demonstrate a free society on a daily basis. The Free State Project and Southeast Liberty Project are two projects in the liberty-movement dedicated to bringing liberty-minded people together in one geographic location. This can increase activist mobility, effectiveness in changing local policies, etc. This is a good start.

Secondly, one must research economic history to understand that the wealth of society today has come through voluntary economic interactions. When looking at history through this liberty perspective, one will recognize that the chaos in history – whether it be economic panics, wars, or assaults on peaceful individuals – have largely been provoked by government policies.

Really, it’s akin to convincing people that before the War on Drugs, not everyone was shooting up heroin and smoking marijuana. If you suggest repealing the War on Drugs, someone may claim, “Then everyone would be doing heroin and cocaine!” A good response would be, “Is it the War on Drugs today that is keeping you and everyone else in society from doing heroin and cocaine?”

This is a movement that attempts to enlighten people to what individual liberty is through education and practice. We cannot shrink the size of government and end these overseas endeavors if we continue to believe the role of government is to protect us from cradle to grave, attack brown people in another country, and regulate every facet of our lives, businesses, and economy. For this vision of liberty to become a reality, people must individually awaken to the reality that they can take better care of themselves than the government, that they can interact with other human beings without government intervention, and that peace cannot be accomplished through a coercive government empire (such as what the U.S. has in place today).

This is currently a movement of education, practical solutions to reach a high-minded goal, and a dedication to practice the principles of peace, non-aggression, and voluntary cooperation in our daily lives.

Can Ron Paul Compromise and Bring People Together? 

The original Tea Party was organized by Ron Paul supporters in 2007, and it was a clear anti-war and anti-debt endeavor. The modern Tea Party movement inspired by Sarah Palin, etc., is not affiliated with the Ron Paul campaign. In fact, they generally support Herman Cain or other candidates who support more of the status quo.

Ron Paul received over 300 cosponsors – both Republicans and Democrats – for his Audit the Fed bill. Paul has worked with Dennis Kucinich, arguably the most Leftist member in Congress, on legislation to end the U.S. imperialism overseas. Paul currently has a growing amount of Democrat and independent support with the new Blue Republican initiative, which has received encouragement through the Huffington Post.

Ron Paul has proposed this as a very reasonable compromise: cut the militarism overseas (which will save hundreds of billions of dollars annually), and use those funds to tide over people who are reliant on government’s welfare programs. At the same time this is going on, give young people the option to opt out of these government programs. This naturally will result in a society focused on individual responsibility, self-sufficiency, etc. However, it would ensure that the elderly and all others reliant on government programs in the present would receive the care and funds that they need.

This is by far the best compromise I have heard from a presidential contender: cut the foreign spending, take care of people at home, and let people voluntarily opt out of the government programs if they so choose.

Paul has a clear record of reaching out to those who may disagree and coming together on common ground. He has done this despite being laughed at and mocked by Republicans in 2008; consider, also, that very few representatives in Congress have been willing to compromise and come together to the degree Ron Paul has since becoming a U.S. Congressman in 1976.

What about Barack Obama? 

One term of Barack Obama has done enough to show me that he is not any better than Republicans. If he did what he promised on the campaign trail in 2007 – end the Iraq War, abolish the PATRIOT Act, etc. – I would consider voting for him. However, his voting record as a Senator and record as President has proven him to be hypocritical in his campaign rhetoric.

Obama extended the PATRIOT Act until 2015, entered the U.S. into more wars, has brought no troops back to U.S. soil, has rapidly expanded spending and debt, hasn’t proposed or supported auditing the Federal Reserve, didn’t close Guantanamo, pushed the DOJ to go after medical marijuana dispensaries, supports the War on Drugs, continues to allow raids on raw milk firms, takes in multi-million dollar donations from corporations, supported the bailouts, etc. There’s nothing he’s done to earn my trust.

In short, I see the two parties as two heads off the same ugly, indefensible, tyrannical monster. Occasionally you’ll get someone like Ron Paul who cares more about principle than party, but it is extremely rare in a field as corrupt as politics.

I’d much rather vote for third party candidates such as Ralph Nader (who’s also worked with Paul), Cynthia McKinney (also worked with Paul), or Chuck Baldwin (worked with Paul) than a deceptive politician whose prime concerns are approval ratings and maintaining the status quo. A vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

Whether Obama or another Republican (other than Paul) gets elected, the dollar will collapse and the entire system as we know it will come to an unspeakable crash. Both political parties have expanded the wars, violated civil liberties, increased government control of the economy, and ignore the Constitution just about 100% of the time. Thus, it makes little difference to me if Obama or Romney, Bachmann, or Perry are elected. I will vote with my conscience and tell my children and grandchildren I did everything in my power to support Ron Paul and spread the message of liberty.

Will you join me?