As many on the left seem to be enjoying of late, the NAACP continues to attack the Tea Party movement with allegations of “racism” and “extremism”. The absurdity of this notion is clear for those who see the truth when they attend a Tea Party or other pro-liberty event, but even the truth does nothing to faze those who are so willing to throw around allegations of racism as if they were baseballs.

For those of you who don’t know, the NAACP recently launched a site called “Tea Party Tracker” with the mission to monitor “racism and other forms of extremism within the Tea Party movement.” As part of this mission (a mission of intimidation, perhaps?), they post photos from various Tea Party rallies and events that show either “racism” or “extremism”. Seems like a simple enough concept, right? But where does one draw the line and how does one define “extreme”?

Take, for example, this photo of several members of the UW Seattle chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, taken on April 15, 2009, while they were sign-waving on campus before heading downtown for the Tea Party.

The signs read “Google Young Americans for Liberty”, “Bailouts = [Higher] Taxes & Inflation”, and “Endorsed by Ron Paul”. But with signs as innocent as these, why in the world would I be writing about the NAACP’s apparent attempt to discredit the Tea Party? Of course, there’s more to the story.

The following is a screenshot of the Tea Party Tracker website on September 2nd, 2010. As you can see, this totally innocent picture is included, apparently declaring my friends either “extremist” or “racist” and prime examples of what can be found at these rallies?

Don’t believe me? Click through to Tea Party Tracker’s Flickr page and see it again – plain as day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53431339@N08/4929621743/

To any sane person, these signs would come across as simple political speech and to construe them as “racist” or “extremist” would be to construe ANY opposition to Obama or his policies as “racist” or “extremist”. I’m sure there are many out there who would like a world where such was the case, but it’s not and any group making such claims should be a laughing stock.

In the very least, this is offensive to my friends and a blaring double standard on the part of the left and the NAACP. How is it that someone like Glen Beck calling Obama ‘racist’ causes an uproar, but the NAACP calling a group of libertarian college students who wish to share their opinions on campus ‘extremist’ doesn’t even cause an eyebrow to be raised? Simple: the prejudice against Tea Partiers, libertarians, and supporters of freedom is so thick that the media can’t see through it.

Don’t get me wrong. I totally support the NAACP’s First Amendment right to point out the hypocrisy of those that they view as a threat (why they view liberty and freedom as a threat is another issue entirely). Go ahead, do it. Heck, it’s probably something good for those organizing Tea Party rallies to do themselves. But what I can’t stand is when false accusations are made, especially when the accused are my friends. How, I ask, does posting photos like this work toward the NAACP’s goals of racial equality? Think about it and let me know – I’m genuinely confused…

It’s that time of year again. Summer plans are winding down, students are prepping to return to campus to begin learning again and campaigns are getting more exciting.

How better to prepare for campus activism and campaign work this fall than to take a Youth Leadership School (YLS) from the Leadership Institute?

Nicknamed “the boot camp of politics”, the YLS provides you with effective techniques to organize and lead massbased youth efforts for candidates and causes of your choice.

Topics covered include:

• Building an effective student organization
• Getting out the vote
• Earned media (favorable publicity)
• Developing a public relations strategy
• Launching a successful career in politics

I’ve been through more LI training than I care to admit, but the YLS is hands down the best. It’s great for learning strategy, networking with other activists and, if you complete the training, puts you at an advantage when trying to get a campaign job.

LI will be in Seattle in August and in October.

For a full list of upcoming Leadership Institute trainings, click here.

As one of the interns for YAL National this summer, I’m working on a database of jobs and campaign opportunities for liberty-minded individuals. Want to get a foot in the door for a career fighting big government? Want YAL to review your resume and refer you to some of the most important campaigns in the country? Then check out Work for the R3volution! But if you want a campaign job and don’t want to leave your home state, you don’t need to look much further than your own backyard. Washington State alone has a handful of liberty candidates who need volunteers!

If you’re interested, shoot me an email at mikayla.hall@yaliberty.org

Note: YAL does not endorse or support any candidate for public office.

Even in a time when the economy is in shambles, foreign wars have the nation in up to its neck, political unrest and disagreement is the highest it’s been in years, and no one really seems to be sure of what the future may hold, it’s nice to know we can still put all of our differences and fears aside for a beautiful night of barbeques and fireworks!

Wishing all readers of Reality Check a safe and happy Fourth of July and the United States of America a very happy 234th birthday – here’s to another 234 years of wonder!

-Andy

Tomorrow the University of Washington-Seattle’s YAL chapter will host a health care debate between UW Law’s Prof. Stewart Jay and the Cato Institute’s Ilya Shapiro. It’s in response to the program’s first health care forum, for which the school claimed they were unable to find someone to challenge the constitutionality of the recent health care reform bill due to time constraints.

Citing UW-Seattle specifically, Ilya Shapiro, a senior fellow of constitutional studies at Cato, issued a challenge to debate the constitutionality of the bill anytime, anywhere. YAL-UW accepted that challenge, with the help of UW Law, the Federalist Society, UW College Republicans and the UW Young Democrats.

If you are unable to be in Seattle, but would like to watch the podcast, you can find it here.

Whether you were a child of the 1970s, 1980s, or even the mid 1990s, chances are you’ve seen Schoolhouse Rock, either on TV or in the classroom. Despite being targeted at children, these shorts often have educational messages that hold true even for adults and even into this new decade.

That said, I invite you to take a look at ‘Tyrannosaurus Debt’ a Schoolhouse Rock short produced in 1996.

It’s a simple thought, but it’s reallysomething to think about given the direction this country has been headed for the past five to ten years. Perhaps the time has come, perhaps the Liberty movement is just the form of revolution that Mr. Jefferson was talking about…

“Every generation needs a revolution.”

-Thomas Jeffersson

We believe in this quote so strongly, in fact, we have it on the back of our t-shirts. Now there’s something to think about.

I came across this quote today and I feel it is a good way to describe the liberty movement and Republicans who still haven’t learned anything:

“There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”
- Henry David Thoreau

I find this video to be a really powerful reminder why we must fight so fiercely against government attempts to undermine the free market, one of the most essential components of freedom in the United States and around the world.

Perhaps more than anything is the beautiful way in which they it approaches the importance of capitalism in a free society – a level of genuine enthusiasm and eloquence all too often missing in more modern films.

However, wars, or the threat of wars, interrupt the normal operations of our competitive business system, and may result in government controls which crack essential blocks in our foundation of freedom.

If the youth become galvanized with such government interventions and controls as the Bailouts and Health Care Reform, the future of freedom in this country may well begin to look bleak.

If you dont do it for yourself, do it for your children, your grandchildren, and the generations of Americans and immigrants to come that are going to want the same opportunities youve had in your lifetime during their lifetime!

-Andy

By Steve H.

Is it possible, in the greater sense of things, to be conservative or liberal without great contradictions? Is there a way to make sense of conservatives who preach small government, who then just expand it in order to fulfill our role as World Police? Does it make sense that liberals, who criticize and despise the power of big businesses, are willing to raise inflation and national debt by giving trillions of every working American’s own dollars to save the failing business giants?

If anyone can make sense of the liberal or conservative ideologies without great contradictions and/or hypocrisies, I’d like to hear it.

Liberals usually deny an absolute morality, claiming morals to be relative, and tend to deny the power of authority. All right, but then why did liberal senators and congressmen (like Obama) vote for the Patriot Act? They continually deny individual, local, and states’ rights, while forever pushing towards national and international Leviathans which can manage the economy and people against their will.

The same secularists who preach reason and tolerance manage to tolerate little and show lacking reason in their political beliefs, often preaching for socialized economies despite their being no historical nor modern examples of a successful socialized economy. Maybe one day a bailout will work as expected, perhaps affirmative action will help minorities instead of setting low standards for them, and maybe one day welfare really will help the poor, but it’s more than reasonably obvious that government handouts have never helped anyone. But as long as sexual rights are preserved and gays can marry, the government can do whatever it likes?

Conservatives don’t make any more sense than liberals do. The conservative ideology is supposed to be about local, individual independence and self-determination. Smaller government, and so lower taxes as well. It makes sense to me, but then conservatives in office generally don’t follow these principles.

Instead they increase funding for the particular programs they like (farm subsidies) and give a tiny tax refund to keep the voters happy, all the while doing their very best to expand the government and military’s presence overseas. Christianity is defined by Jesus’ principles of making peace, moving past materialism, and loving your enemies. Yet Christians on the Right are often the ones pushing for America to break peace and persecute countries that aren’t friendly to us.

It seems self-determination and individual freedom is only important when it comes to money and guns rights. As long as farmers get their welfare and gays can’t marry, everything is just dandy, right? There are only two consistent macro ideologies: Statism and Libertarianism. Either you think a great collective government should control the individual in general, or you think individual freedom trumps state tyranny and government should be as local and minimal as possible. To fight for only certain rights, while oppressing the others, as both conservatives and liberals tend to do, is as contradicting as it is unreasonable. Either you think that someone can do whatever they like, as long as they’re not hurting someone else, or you think that everyone should be controlled by someone that knows better(Bush or Obama?). Rather than promote only the rights you care about, and oppressing those you don’t exercise, support the human rights given to us by the Constitution and defend freedom everywhere.