1. The Constitution, and ARTS' Core Principle

2. Debt, Taxes and Spending

3. 9-11 and the War on Terror

4. War and Foreign Policy

5. How  Oil, War, 9-11, and the U.S. Dollar are Tied Together

6. American Independence and Sovereignty
7. Health Care
8.  Employer Pensions
9.  Social Security
10. States Rights
11. Privacy and Personal Liberty

12. Abortion
13. Separation of Church and State
14. Education
15. Environment
16. Border Security and Immigration Reform

17. Private property and Eminent Domain
18. Gun Ownership
19. Social Programs; Welfare and Culture

20. Gay, Ethnic Laws, and Hate Laws

21. Drug war

22. Energy

23. Corporate Greed

24. (Blank)

25. Impeach Bush and Cheney

26. Recommended Reading

For information on other issues, please contact the campaign office. We appreciate your interest.

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1. The Constitution, and ARTS' Core Principle

1a. Constitution: We have observed many examples of people (including some in government who should know better) treating the Constitution as a set of laws and rules that control citizens. Wrong! The purpose of the Constitution is to restrict and limit the government by making it a short list of  'enumerated powers'. Congress makes the laws! That's one of the reasons the 18th amendment (alcohol prohibition) was wrong, it put restrictions on the people. The same applies to a proposed amendment for abortion. Such issues should be passed as laws at the state level, or not at all. It is the job of us citizens, and our elected 'leaders', to maintain those limits and keep the government (at ALL levels) on a short leash. The intent was, 'if it is not on the list, the government can't do it!' Many Founders, led by George Mason, balked even at this restraint. They didn't trust the government (and its power-seeking elected members) to stay within the limits, so they wouldn't support ratification until a 'Bill of Rights' (the first ten amendments) to protect the rights of the people and States was included. They were right! The Constitution has been abused to gain power for Federal politicians and their friends. Today, more than half of laws and spending are unconstitutional. Abuse of the 'implied powers', 'general welfare', and 'interstate commerce' provisions account for most deviations. A further misunderstanding is that we are a Democracy. Wrong. In a Democracy the citizens vote directly to make laws, and tyranny of the majority soon rules. We are a Constitutional Republic, where we vote for Representatives who in turn are restricted by the Constitution.

A 'short leash' is required on government power at all levels (city, county, state, federal) because we grant them 'police powers' (legal use of force by police and military) which is easily abused. The current 'War on Terror' and 'Patriot Act' are good examples.

1b. ARTS' Core Principle: Most elected officials take positions based on their feelings, personal preferences, and pressure from the special interest groups who give them money or votes. ARTS positions are based on an objective principle which is:

"The proper role of government is to PROTECT the personal and property rights of its citizens, as INDIVIDUALS, from violation or threat by OTHERS."

With this approach, government ownership and control is minimized, and human interaction is more peaceful and voluntary (it pays to get along!), and has a proven track record of producing more peace, prosperity, ethics, and justice, proportional to the extent it is employed.

If so, why do people support 'more-government' systems known as Progressive, Liberal, or Socialist? The key is they hope to fund their projects with 'other people's money' by 'tax the rich' schemes. While popular (most people like have others pay for their benefits), these systems use inherently immoral and coercive 'gang theft by vote', which results in declining peace, productivity, and justice, if you count all the side-effects (including robbing 'the rich' by forced payment of their so-called 'fair share'). A society that broadly accepts this type of immoral funding is in decline, as shown by falling ethics in all parts of us activity by people, business and government since the 1950s. Sad!

Key points to understanding and using  ARTS' Core Principle are:

a) Our Federal and State governments were created by, and are still controlled by, we the people to protect our their rights (a short list of 'natural rights' you are born with, which does not include subsidized or free health, education, etc.). Thus, the government is our servant, not our owner, manager, funder, or nanny. To implement this protection, we grant the government 'police powers' (the right to use force), and thus we need to be ever on guard to avoid abuse, including use of laws beyond their intended purpose (RICO, FISA, etc.). For individuals, the flip side of this is ; "A person should never initiate force except in self defense", or " Persons can do whatever they want to, short of violating the equal rights of others".  In a personal (not legal) vein, Dave suggests that each person has a moral obligation to be a beneficial presence in the world. This starts with being honest, kind, courteous and clean.

Personal rights are freedom of religion, speech, etc. Some of these are listed in the Constitution, but in fact all are 'natural' at birth, and not bestowed by the government (which can only protect or abuse them; not create, except for fake 'legislated' rights). Our Founders debated if any should be listed (to avoid exclusion of some not listed), hence they included Amendment IX. Note that only a human individual has personal rights.

Property include tangibles, and intellectual property owned by a person or legal organization (corporation, etc.). Except for government restrictions (often unconstitutional), a property right is; " The right to use and dispose of your property (use, sell, loan, lease, give, etc.) however you see fit, short of violating the equal rights of others."

Property rights need to be treated as superior to personal rights in order to avoid conflicts. For example, if you enter someone’s property without permission (trespassing) and start to give a sermon, your freedom of speech and religion are not being violated if you are made to leave.

b) The government needs police, courts, and military for national DEFENSE to do its job, all used within the limits of the Constitution. But note that the military must not be used to enforce or solve political or economic issues abroad, when there is no threat to our homeland (such as the Iraq war).

c) There are no group rights (by sex, race, age, etc.). Every citizen has the same rights. We should not create 'preferred minorities' with special privileges, which are easily abused. There should be no subjective versions of laws, such as a 'Hate Crimes'. Theft is theft, murder, is murder.

d) Nothing can be a right if you expect someone else to pay for even part of it (such as health, education, etc.). Insurance is a method to share risks and expenses, but must be voluntary, or if run as a 'single payer' by the government, have equal benefits to all, based on terms and payments, and not include a 'welfare' aspect where some members pay less for the same coverage. For example, using property tax to pay for public schools is a ripoff of owners since there is no connection to whether the payer has kids in school.

e) Your body is your property. If you hurt yourself, or put yourself at risk, it is none of the government's business. Note that the Core principle above ends in 'by others'.

f) The same principle of 'protection' applies to the property rights of business and other legal entities.

g) As with people, the government has no authorization to be the 'owner, manager, funder, or nanny' of the 'national economy'. Free enterprise does a great job of supplying goods and services, while government interference (controls, subsidies, etc.) always do more harm than good, if all the side-effects (including inflation and depressions) are counted.

h) Provision of 'essential services' conflicts with the principle of only 'protecting rights', and is a constant threat to limiting the size of government at all levels (city, county, state, and federal). This is where the federal 'General Welfare' clause is most abused. While most should be 'privatised', to the extent these projects (such as education, sewer, water, roads, public health, parks, mass transit, etc.) are unfortunately approved, they should at least be;

  1. Charged to users at compensatory rates (user fees, tuition, no subsidies). Again, voluntary private charity can help the truly needy.

  2. Built and operated by contractors on a competitive-bid basis. . The main reason the Federal government has become huge, and involved in running or financing so many unconstutional state and city projetcs, is that unlike the States and cities, it never runs out of money, thanks to the Federal Reserve piggy-bank of fake money!

i) The above Core Principle refers to 'violation or threat by OTHERS'.  The government only has a role to act when such violations or threats are imposed on someone, and they have no choice to avoid it. For example, non-smokers can avoid privately-owned places that allow smoking (bars, etc; just don't go there!), so it would be a violation of the owner's property rights to impose a non-smoking ordinance, but not City Hall (there is only one, and there are times when you are required to go there; no choice), or other government sites. However, while it is improper to use the legal system to impose your personal preferences on others (smoking, religion, zoning, etc.), there is the viable alternative of 'voluntary negotiation.'  This means you (or a group you form) approach the bar owners, or your neighbors, and try to make a deal that serves your wants and needs. Bar owners want customers; maybe they will create a non-smoking room. This applies to any situation. It is peaceful and proper, and no 'tyranny of the majority' is employed.

j) The government cannot do things that are illegal or immoral if done by citizens. Sadly, unethical practices (which should be illegal) such as 'progressive' taxation ('tax the rich') are jutified as 'needed' and a method of charging 'fair share', while in fact it is simply 'gang-theft-by-vote'. Why not have the government rob banks, or give guns to the Red Cross and United Way for fund raising? The violation of rights is 'tyranny of the majority' and cannot be justified because it is 'the will of the people', 'the American way', and done by the government. There are many other examples (military draft, subsidies, legislative favors, etc.).

The maze of 'social engineering' laws that tell us how to live and work do much more harm than good when all the side effects (unintended consequences) are considered. The ARTS approach emphasizes liberty, personal responsibility, and limited government, which is consistent with our American heritage and Constitution, and history shows it results in maximum peace, prosperity, ethics, and justice.

Look at the conditions in countries around the world with ‘big government’ (Progressive, Socialism, or Dictatorships) and judge for yourself. Start with N. Korea, Cuba, and the several '..stans' (former Soviet Republics).

2. Debt, Taxes and Spending:

These demons of government abuse all tie together! One needs, or feeds, the other. The citizens lose.

A. Debt: Domestic and foreign debts are at record levels, for both persons and businesses. With debts of over $9 trillion, the U.S. government is the world’s biggest debtor (and this doesn't count the over $53 trillions of unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations). Former Chairman Greenspan of the Federal Reserve Bank (Fed) kept interest rates artificially low (not market-driven) from 2000 to 2006 so mortgages were cheap, to ‘stimulate’ the economy. It is just like taking heroin, and has withdrawal pains when the economy gets ‘sick’ from mal-investment (too much money chasing deals). People and business borrowed and spent too much of this cheap money, and now reality is setting in and the Fed has changed policy, so we have; 1. A credit 'crunch' (banks have less money to loan), and 2. Increased interest rates that drive-up ARM (adjustable rate) mortgages. This is what causes foreclosures as home 'owners' can't meet their increased payments. Greenspan knew he was creating this monster, but did it to please his political bosses. ARTS says he should be indicted for malfeasence and fraud! Instead, he is treated like a sage by his accomplices in Congress and Think Tanks.

The money we send abroad to buy imports comes back to buy government debt or U.S. assets (Treasury Notes, T-Bills, golf courses, part of Morgan-Stanley, etc.), but that can’t go on forever. The US Dollar (US$) is at risk of collapse due to excess creation of new money by the Fed (called ‘inflation’ of the money supply, like a balloon; which reduces the purchasing power of all US$).

B. Taxes: Taxes divert money to the government so people can’t use it to spend or invest. History shows that the government uses it unwisely, so the economy and standard of living suffer. We must reduce taxes and spending of all types, and abolish many taxes. Bush has made a start, but much more needs to be done. Once the spending and borrowing cuts are in place, ARTS says cut taxes by 50% or more. We recommends a 'sales' or 'added-value' tax to replace the income tax. This is non-intrusive to personal affairs, less 'progressive' (no ‘penalty on success’; except that big spenders pay more), and easy to manage. It would be set at a percent consistent with plans for reduced spending (note that the 'Fair Tax' is set high to yield as much money as today's income tax). There would be very few 'exceptions', and 'deductions', and no ' loop-holes'. This 'Coordinated Attack' (it works for the military) of reduced spending and taxing is how we can balance the budget and save our economy from ruin! An even better plan is to cut spending enough that income taxes aren't needed!

C. Spending 

The U.S. economy and dollar are in trouble, and while our DC 'Leaders' are very worried about it, but won't admit it to us regular folks. They start wars to gain control of oil and other nations instead. Federal spending is out of control. All the elected folks in DC are on a 'feel-good', 'vote-for-me' binge of unconstitutional and excess projects including wars, empire building, pork-barrel earmarks, and projects that should be handled by States, or eliminated. Dave says; 'Cut spending by at least 50%, or more, by a) Eliminating unconstitutional and wasteful agencies such as the Dept's of Education, Commerce, Agriculture, Homeland Security, Energy, etc., and b) Close over 90% of our overseas bases and bring the troops home.'

Wars and an empire of foreign bases drain our treasury. Costly foreign aid is used to bribe politicians and and subsidize nations that in fact need reform. The dollar has lost 80% of its domestic value since 1971 (when convertibility to gold under the Bretton Woods Agreement was ended), and 69% against the Swiss Franc and other foreign currencies. The Dollar's value depends heavily on oil-producing nations selling oil in USD, but this is changing (see below, and Home page). These weaknesses expose the US to collapse of the dollar and a major depression.

Bill Bonner wrote in Feb-06, "Today, people own less of their own homes - homeowner equity (the portion not mortgaged) has fallen from nearly 70 percent in the late 1970s to less than 55 percent in 2005. Plus, the average person owes more money to more people than ever before. Household debt in the fall of 2005 is 113 percent of annual income on average; prior to1980, it was 58 percent. Today, fewer people have secure sources of money for their retirement. More than two-thirds of older households - those headed by people 47 to 64 – had someone earning a pension in 1983. By 2001, fewer than half did."

These are the ominous signs of a society 'living off its seed corn', and 'things that can't last, don't.' Pay heed !

Prices were stable and there were no major depressions when paper money was backed by convertibility to a valuable commodity such as gold. Gold backing of money faded during the early 1900s when governments sought easy ways to get more money without direct taxes. Politicians hate to run out of money, so they love the end of gold backing, which sets them free to have their Federal Reserve Bank create money out of thin air. This is called ‘fiat’ money, where its value is whatever the government says it is (i.e., four quarters equal one dollar). ‘Legal tender’ laws were issued to force people to use only US government money. The dollar is now essentially a share in ‘USA, Inc.’ and is backed only by the strength of the US government and economy. Compared to other currencies, it is still the strongest in the world and nations use it as their ‘reserve’ currency, treating it ‘as good as gold’. As with any share, its value decreases if more shares are issued. The US has abused its currency by issuing too much (called ‘inflating’ the supply) compared to other countries, and hence the decreases compared to others as shown above. The European Union invented the Euro in an effort to compete. For more details, refer to What has the Government done to our Money?. On Jan. 18, 2006 Congressman Ron Paul (Rep. TX-14, www.house.gov/paul/ ) issued a report expressing his concern about corruption and spending in DC, which in part said, "Today, most business interests and the poor are dependent on government handouts. Education and medical care are almost completely controlled and regulated by an overpowering central government. We have come to accept our role as world policemen and nation builder with little question, despite the bad results and an inability to pay the bills. The question is, what will it take to bring about the changes in policy needed to reverse this dangerous trend? "

William Clark's excellent essay " The Real Reasons Why Iran is the Next Target:The Emerging Euro-denominated International Oil Market" ( http://globalresearch.ca/articles/CLA410A.html) explains why the planned change in some oil sales from US Dollars (petro-dollars) to Euros is a major threat to the US economy. Of course, this ties-in with the War on Terror and the threatened bombing of Iran. 

3.   9-11 and the War on Terror

The tragedy of 9-11 was the result of many years of intervention by the US in the Middle East. Never forget that; 1) 15 of the 19 bombers who planned and executed 9-11 were Saudis, and 2) A group of Saudi Royals were allowed to fly out of the US on Sep. 12 even though there was a stop on all flights. Why didn't we invade Saudi Arabia and do a 'regime change' on the despotic royal family? (Hint: We already have a good oil deal with them). The Royals, old family friends of the Bushes, are hated by their people, and have paid-off their dominant Wahhabi clerics (a militant sect of Islam and operators of radical anti-American/Christian/Jew mosques and Madrasah schools worldwide; these are the guys who like to lash women because they have been raped) with oil money over the years to avoid a revolution. Ignoring Saudi Arabia is your first clue that Bush and his team had a hidden agenda for the War on Terror!

Many well informed, well educated, and sincere people have concluded that the government at least 'facilitated' the 9-11 attack as a 'trigger' for their plans to invade Iraq and grow 'Empire-USA'. A likely explanation is that the Israeli and DC leaders learned of the Arab plot and decided to 'accomodate ' it. They both wanted an excuse to invade Iraq and Iran. How else does one explain the series of events such as; 1) FBI inputs on pilot training by Arabs was ignored, 2) NORAD planes were not launched, 3) The towers and building 7 fell straight down at free-fall speed (this can only happen by controlled demolition !), 4) A demolition company was at the tower site the next morning to haul away debris to a restricted site, then ship it overseas for scrap. (this prevented analysis of how the tower I-beams were cut in 30 to 50 foot sections before falling, and was a massive violation of the crime scene), and 5) the debris and damage at the Pentagon were more consistent with a missle than an airliner crash. The list of suspicious events goes on. For more info, see www.scholarsfor911truth.org . The case is not closed!! The 'official' 9-11 report is full of errors, bias, poor research, and voids. Calling the citizen investigators 'kooks' working on 'conspiracy theories' will not stop discovery of the truth. This contrived justification for the disastrous War on Terror must be exposed so that the War can be stopped.

If you find it hard to believe that our leaders would lie to start a war, and allow our troops to be killed and maimed for political and economic reasons (not for defense), then review Dave's column 'Wars, and The Lies that Start Them' (published on Sep. 10, 2007) in the left margin of the Home Page, Part 8.

The Bush team of ‘neocons’ (former Liberals such as Wolfowitz, Perle and Feith who became ‘new conservatives’ to seek their personal goals; for more information reference the article "My Alma Mater is a Moral Cesspool" on the Counterpunch website) took advantage of the atmosphere of crisis generated by 9-11 to create the ‘War on Terror’ as a general-purpose, and forever, project to implement their plan to use force to gain control of oil and politics worldwide. The result has been an immoral, illegal and counterproductive crusade. The documented information below traces how Bush and his team got us into this mess and why it will be costly, or impossible, to correct it. All information is verifiable from multiple sources.

The purpose of Clinton’s Balkans war was; 1. To gain control of the Balkans region so we could build oil pipelines through it, 2. Build huge Camp Bondsteel as a reional supply center, and 3. To evict China from Eastern Europe and its oil, including the Caspian area. Remember the ‘accidental’ bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade? Why was NATO involved when no NATO member had been attacked? Bush’s invasion and occupation of Afghanistan was primarily to get access to build an oil/gas pipeline from Uzbekistan to a warm water port near Karachi, Pakistan (the same reason the Russians invaded in the 1980’s; Google 'Afghanistan, Unocal'). This project had been delayed for many years but was suddenly approved in Dec-01. Another result of the U.S. invasion, and insertion of a U.S. puppet as President, is that Afghanistan is now the world's #1 producer of opium, and we are making almost no effort to stop it because we have no control in the area outside of Kabul. Iraq never threatened the US and Saddam was not a cohort of Osama. As stated by former US Treasurer Paul O’Neill, Bush and his team had been planning to invade Iraq well before 9-11. Bush fired him for his lack of 'loyalty', as discussed  in Paul's book 'The Price of Loyalty'. For further insight on Iraq, visit the A War in Search of a Reason column by Ivan Eland. Thus, they started building a case for preemptive war by fabricating phony reasons such as WMDs and branded Iraq as a part of 9-11. A further fabrication was that 9-11 occurred because the bombers hated our way of life. This doesn't make sense to anyone who has studied Middle East events since the Crusades of the ninth century and in particular since the creation of Israel in 1948. Indeed, in his ‘Letter to the American People’ in Nov-04, Osama stated that his reasons for 9-11 were; 1) US bases in Saudi Arabia, 2) extreme US support of Israel, 3) bombing of Iraq for ten years, since 1991, and 4) support of the corrupt Saudi royal family and sale of oil at low prices, denominated only in US dollars (a deal made by FDR in 1945).

A study done by Prof. W. Pape at the University of Chicago, and part of his book ‘Dying to Win’, shows that the primary reason driving suicide terrorists is opposition to occupying troops in their homeland (not religion), which we had done for many years in Saudi Arabia. Yet Bush pushes the fabrication that ‘they hate our way of life’ as a diversion from the truth. As author William Lind wrote after Bush’s Dec. 18, 2005 TV address: ”The strategic objectives the Bush administration set for this war – a peaceful, democratic Iraq that would be an American ally, a friend of Israel, a source of unlimited oil and of basing rights for large American forces – were never attainable, no matter what we did. Strategies invented in Fairyland cannot be implemented in the real world. Pity the military that is ordered to try.” On Dec. 30, 2005 Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, Assistant Secretary of Treasury under Reagan, wrote, "Bush claims that his war crimes are justified because they are committed in the name of 'freedom and democracy'. The entire world rejects this excuse. Sooner or later even Bush’s remaining Republican supporters will turn away in shame from the dishonor Bush has brought to America." On Jan. 16, 2006, in his excellent essay on how our Executive branch is becoming dictatorial (refer to http://www.lewrockwell.com/roberts/roberts139.html), Dr. Roberts wrote, " It is paradoxical that American democracy is the likely casualty of a "war on terror" that is being justified in the name of the expansion of democracy."

The TRUE REASONS Bush invaded Iraq are:

1) Control of oil (a step to control the greater mid east),

2) Defense of Israel (plus access to water, oil, and more land), 3) Land for permanent bases (hence they had no ‘exit strategy’; we are building four huge airbases in Iraq), and

4) Defense of the U.S. dollar (Saddam had converted to selling oil in Euros).

Also, the Christian Right has a religious reason for insuring the special treatment of Israel, since they believe Israel must exist in order to allow the second coming of Christ. Faith-based persons of influence who favor special treatment of Israel in US policy are Bush, Tom DeLay, John Ashcroft and various church leaders from whom Bush wants support. They are credited with securing his election in 2004. But, they are getting impatient with Bush promoting religion, so on Oct. 2, 2007 they threatened to start a new party!

In Jan-06 the sabers started rattling to justify bombing Iran, and are getting louder today in Oct-06. The 'official' reasons may be different, but the Real Reasons will be the same as three of the above for IRAQ (oil, Israel and defense of the US Dollar). Iran has announced plans to sell oil in Euros. Israel bought 100 'bunker-buster' bombs from us in Nov-04 (just after the election), and is ready (anxious?) to use them. Stay tuned!

The vast  ‘War on Terror’ was created primarily as a cover to give U.S. empire builders the authority to increase their control by meddling in the affairs of other nations worldwide. Under it, the Afghan and Iraq wars have caused death and maiming of thousands of civilians and our troops, reduced our liberty, cost hundreds of billions, and allowed abuse of rights. The ‘USA Patriot Act’ gives the government excess authority which is easily abused. Under it, even US citizens tend to be viewed by authorities as 'guilty until proven innocent', and are at risk of being secretly spied upon,

or arrested, as terror suspects if they criticize government conduct and policies. All these programs continue with no end, or net benefit, in sight.

A better solution is to stop interfering in the internal affairs of other nations so that we don’t create enemies. 

On Jan. 15, 2006, Dave said we should announce by Feb. 28, 2006 a plan to begin by March 31, 2006 a phased withdrawal of all troops and equipment from Iraq, to be completed by Sep. 30, 2006, or sooner. Only defensive military action would be allowed during the transition.

Despite all the anti-war talk in Congress, and votes by the people in Nov-06, Congress has yet to approve a withdrawal or ‘redeployment’ plan!

ARTS says the use of withdrawal dates will give the Iraqis incentive to 'get organized' before we leave, and he predicts that 'insurgent' attacks will drop-off quickly when the plan is announced. As noted above, the primary cause of suicide terrorist attacks is the presence of occupying troops. We should also withdraw from most of our bases in over 130 countries worldwide. Bush and his team don't want to withdraw from anywhere because they want to control Iraq (via a puppet President), control more oil, and continue to keep building an Empire worldwide. RRC believes in strong defense, but not costly and useless wars that can be avoided with no harm to us. For more, see Part 4 '911' in the left margin, and Part 8A 'True Reasons Bush invaded'.

4. War and Foreign Policy:

The Republican Party has veered off-course in the last ten years and needs new leadership and reform at all levels. It is now the party of war, spending, religion and corruption! RRC will help to restore traditional Republican principles such as;

1) Limited Constitution-based government, low taxing and spending, and a non-interventionist foreign policy, with strong defense against attack and valid threats, but

2) No wars (or 'Police actions') without the express approval of Congress,

3) No pre-emptive wars or invasions, and

4) No wars or invasions for economic or political goals (such as for Empire-USA).

This non-intervention approach not only causes less violence initiated by the U.S., but reduces or eliminates animosity toward the U.S. that results in attacks such as 9-11. As shown in Prof. Pape's book; 'Dying to Win', occupation by foreign troops is by far the main reason suicide terrorists attack. The U.S. has 700 bases in 130 countries (a part of maintaining Empire-USA), which must be reduced or eliminated.  

5. How Oil, War, 9-11, and the US Dollar are Tied Together

There is a cause-and-effect connection between oil, value of the US Dollar, and 9-11. For a summary, read the paragraphs below.

The two huge problems shown in A. and B. below were known by the Bush Team when they entered office in Jan-01. They had a warfare plan to control oil and politics worldwide, but 9-11 gave them cover to get started sooner and bigger (see #3 above).

A. Risk of Collapse of the U.S. Dollar (USD): The value of the USD is now propped-up in part by the fact that most oil sales (to any buyer) are denominated in the USD. The market value (purchasing power) of all fiat currencies (just paper; no gold or silver content or convertibility) depends on the willingness of others to use it (market demand), and hold it as savings, or for a nation, as foreign exchange reserves (typically in the form of US government bonds). All transactions are part of demand, but oil purchases are one of the largest and most visible. A major shift to use of another currency, such as the Euro, would cause a drop in USD value, and could trigger a panic to get rid of USD holdings (cash, bonds, real estate) by foreign persons and nations to avoid major loss of value (30 to 50 percent, or more). China has already started, and S. Korea has hinted. Japan could be next. These three countries are the biggest holders of USD denominated assets. A USD collapse would cause a major US depression, and affect others worldwide. 

A shift to the Euro (or any other non-USD currency) by other countries for; 1) Oil purchases, 2) Investments (bonds, businesses anywhere, etc.), or 3) Foreign currency reserves, would reduce support for the USD and is a nightmare scenario for the US. 

In Nov-02 Saddam converted to Euros, which we reversed just after the Mar-03 invasion. Venezuela is threatening to convert. Iran started its own 'Bourse' trading exchange in early 2007to compete with existing US and British exchanges, and trades in multiple currencies, including the USD, Euro, and Yen. The shift to Euros puts these countries on top of the list for intervention by the US. The CIA plot to unseat Venezuela's Pres. Chavez in Apr-02 didn't work, but he is on notice.

RRC's Solution: The USD is vulnerable because of; 1) Excess expansion of the money supply ('Inflation', to pay government bills), and 2) Excess spending and debt by the government. Reversal of these errors will bring strength.

B. Loss of Oil and Gas Control to Russia, China and India: The oil industry agrees that within about 20 years the earth will reach 'peak oil' production. This means the wells for cheap oil (easy to reach, pump, and refine) will start producing less ('peak oil'). There will be lots of oil left (tar sands, shale, etc.), but it will be very expensive to acquire and refine. The US is competing with other countries (mostly China and India; Russia has its own) for control of the remaining cheap oil. They are traveling the world together to negotiate long term contracts (China announced one with Saudi Arabia in Jan-06). The U.S. is invading oil producers on false pretenses to gain control. Russia's long dispute/war in Chechnya is mostly about control of oil, gas, and pipelines in the Caspian region where Russia seeks broad control. India and China face oil shortages in the future so they are cooperating in deals to gain control of oil in the MidEast, Africa and SE Asia. This threatens US availability and price of over 80% of the world's proven 'cheap' reserves. These are key reasons for the US wars in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq, and threats to Iran. The stakes could not be higher, including risk of broad and long wars, and economic depression, for all nations involved.

ARTS' Solution: Rather than seeking military and political control of oil-producing nations (a costly and immoral method), the US should negotiate long-term contracts for supply. Big customers have clout! This approach will also end creating enemies by meddling in the affairs of other countries.

The Iraq war is not going well and Bush is now collaborating with  the former enemy Sunnis (Cheney's Jan-06 trip around the region) on a deal to reduce the anti-US attacks inside Iraq so the US can declare victory and get out 'with honor'. Of course the original plan was to stay forever in order to; a) Control Iraq oil, b) Use permanent bases in Iraq to control the Mid East, c) Defend Israel, and d) Keep Iraq oil sales in US Dollars.

Failure to capture Osama bin Laden is no accident. having him at large helps keep Bush as a 'War President' so the above issues can be pursued as part of the forever War on Terror. The same applies to onerous checking and restrictions by the TSA on carry-on luggage for air travel, while the checked baggage is barely inspected. This keeps 'the people' on edge about terror, so they will not object to loss of liberties. The increasingly illegal and desperate measures (spying, torture, etc.) being taken by Bush show his concern about avoiding new attacks on US soil, which are made even more likely by his ongoing intervention for the above issues in the Mid East.

ARTS support a strong defense, and wars entered for valid reasons approved by Congress. .

In their effort to solve the above problems and gain power worldwide, ARTS says the BushTeam is operating as an Imperial Presidency, with excess use of force and secrecy, which conflicts with core Republican principles. They are using: 1) foreign aid, intervention, and war in a plan to control the world’s politics and oil, and 2) high spending, funded by debt, to pacify the folks at home. The first version of the warfare plan was secretly issued in Sep-00 by the ‘Project for a New American Century’ team (PNAC, a DC think tank) which started in 1997. The plan called for increased military force worldwide to promote control of oil and their special-interest politics. When Bush was elected in Nov-00, many of the authors (including Rumsfeld, Perle, Kagan, Feith, Abrams, and Wolfowitz; Cheney was a cofounder) joined the Bush team. For details, refer to the 25Feb03 essay, The Project for the New American Century, by William Pitt and Scott Ritter (former UN Inspector for Iraq weapons). As shown by the demise of all previous empires in history, this approach never works. It is a path to military, economic, and ethical failure.

6. American Independence and Sovereignty

The U.S. has become entangled in a host of international agreements and memberships that threaten our sovereignty. The UN is and International Criminal Court (ICC) are old ones, but more recently we have joined GATT, NAFTA, CAFTA, and WTO. A looming (and largely secret) threat is the North American Union (NAU), which some say would essentially merge Mexico and Canada with us (can you say oil?). It involves building a highway from Mexico to Canada, with ‘free-wheeling’ rights for Mexican trucks and drivers to operate in the U.S. We should withdraw form any deal or orgs that infringe upon the freedom or independence of the USA.