You are being lied to. This much is certain; things are not as they seem.

The Mainstream Media is owned and operated by the same handful of giant conglomerate corporations, spoon-feeding us with the same propaganda day-in and day-out, while certain views, topics and subjects are deemed "taboo" and left behind in the dust.

Big Government has colluded with banker robber barons and global elites to rob us of our wealth and bring our entire economy on the brink of disaster, while maintaining the puppet show of a false democracy where we are lead to believe we have a real choice or say in politics.

Big Pharma has left behind a trail of thousands dead from toxic drugs approved by the FDA, while it continues it's crusade of tyranny and suppression against natural holistic medical practices, herbal remedies and vitamins because the drug companies can't patent and profit off them.

Big corporations and their lobbying cartels suppress new technologies that threaten their outdated business models (from everything from energy to music), sue their consumers and shackle devices from fair use just for the sake of absolute control.

No more! The internet is the great equalizer. The truths are being exposed. Their lies and corruption are being brought to light for what they are, and solutions are being discussed on grassroots levels. But the information is scattered across the web that is the Internet. Here you will find a portal to lot of this information; a place to bring it all together, and to bring people together with a common cause of liberty and a desire to contribute. Here you will find freedom oriented views and information pertaining to politics, health and technology. Ways to fight and expose lies and corruption, to fight unlawful restrictions, and bring about true change. It's time to spread the truth, to resist tyranny and embrace liberty. With knowledge comes power. With that power, action can be taken.

So, my friends, will you join us? Will you take the red pill and follow us down the rabbit hole to discover what's on the other side? Or will you be content to stay behind, ever shackled in the matrix, grazing obliviously amongst the sheep?...   www.libertyspeak.net

I've been reading a lot about politics and the history of how we've gotten to where we are in the last few of years. I think this excerpt from G. Edward Griffin's Freedom Force website really solidified some thoughts in my mind. This really sums up the foundation of my political beliefs. First, his quote, and then my further analysis:

“Would you rather be a Neoconservative or a Progressive? That is a trick question. The trick is in the fact that, although there may be differences between the rhetoric and short-term agendas of these groups, their long-term goals actually are the same. They may differ over how to fight a war in the Middle East but not over the right of the President to wage such a war empowered by the UN instead of Congress. They may differ over what kind of speech should be forbidden ('subversive' speech vs. 'hate' speech, for example) but not over the right of the government to forbid it. They may differ over how fast to bankrupt the nation to provide benefits for its citizens but not over the assumption that providing benefits is what governments are supposed to do. They disagree over tactics, timing, and style, but not objectives. They fight for dominance within the New World Order, but they work together to build it. That is because both groups have embraced the underlying ideology of global
collectivism.
In today's debate,the illusion of opposites has become a myth of gigantic proportions. On one side- supposedly the Left side - we have Leftists, Communists, Socialists, Marxists,Neo Marxists, Leninists, Maoists, Liberals, Progressives, and (in The U.S.) Democrats. On the other side - supposedly the Right side - we have Rightists,Nazis, Neo Nazis, Fascists, Conservatives, Neoconservatives, Reactionaries, and(in the U.S.) Republicans.

What are the elements of collectivism that are common to all of these seemingly opposite forces? Collectivists on the so-called Left and Right agree that:

1. Rights are derived from the state;
2. The group is more important than the individual;
3. Coercion is the preferred method to bring about reform;
4. Laws should be applied differently to different classes;
5. Providing benefits (redistributing wealth) is the proper role of government.

These are the core principles held by collectivists in their quest to remold mankind to their hearts desire. The main disagreement among them is over how those principles should be applied. They do not realize that it's not the application of those principles, but the principles themselves that cause injustice, scarcity, and freedom's demise. History has already shown this truth in the form of despotism under Nazism (the so-called Right) and Communism (the so-called Left). It is sad that intelligent people with knowledge of this history still cling to the myth that they are opposites when it is so clear they are merely different manifestations of the same ideology. “ - G. Edward Griffin. www.freedom-force.org

And here's my further analysis, and definition of the opposite of collectivism:

Individualism is the opposite of collectivism in all 5 of those core points. This is what politics all boils down to for me, and why I cannot support typical Republicans and Democrats because they offer nothing but more of the same collectivist ideology. This is the individualist point of view, (examples and elaborations are mine):

1. Rights are NOT derived from the state. They are inalienable, and existed long before we transferred any power to a surrogate government. (For an excellent discussion on surrogate vs. indigenous power, see Common Sense Revisited. Whether you believe rights are God-given or that they just are doesn’t matter. The Constitution lists out some of the most important rights explicitly. It doesn’t “grant” the people these rights, it prevents the government from taking them away. The United Nations charter, on the other hand, states “rights, as given by the state, may not be infringed upon unless by law.” That is completely unacceptable.

2. The group is NOT more important than the individual. Groups are abstractions. Groups are nothing but a bunch of individuals, for without individuals there would be no groups! It is not acceptable to take inalienable rights away from the individual for the “greater good” of the group. History books have misled us for generations. This country is NOT just a democracy. It is a constitutional republic. (Remember the phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance? “…and to the republic, for which it stands…”)? Our Founding Fathers did not have nice words about democracies. Democracies can, and will, devolve into mob rule, where the majority will take away the rights of the minority. In a republic, a higher form of democracy, the majority can not take away the rights of the minority. That’s why they were compelled to explicitly list some of them in the Bill of Rights.

3. Voluntary action is always preferable to coercion. Freedom is the absence of the initiation of force. The proper role of government (force) in a free society then, is to defend and/or retaliate against those who initiate force. Government in a free society should not be the initiator of force. The proper role of government is to protect the rights of the individual and provide for the common defense.

4. Everyone should be treated equally under the law. Most politicians always claim they agree with this principle, but their actions often show otherwise. Laws and programs like affirmative action end up giving certain groups special rights or privileges as “compensation” for some perceived injustice that has been brought upon them. That just causes an injustice for all the other groups by giving one group special privileges. Legislation such as “hate crime” laws is foolish and goes against this principle as well. Why is it worse to murder someone that’s gay than someone that’s straight, for example? This is preposterous. It is a despicable crime against another human being, regardless of motive. The guilty party should be punished based solely on his crime, and not to based on his motivations or who the victim was.

5. Providing benefits by redistributing wealth is NOT the proper role of government. Much good comes from volunteerism, and even more did before the federal government decided this was their “duty”. Social programs and welfare belong to volunteer forces in local communities, non-profit groups, churches, etc. There would be much more voluntary charity if the government did not offer these corrupt welfare programs, because people would realize their help is needed since the nanny state wasn’t going to “take care” of everyone from the cradle to grave. Individualists believe in true charity, brought about by sincere voluntary action, not phony charity that is coerced out of our pockets. If the government didn’t steal over 1/3 of our money via the IRS, everyone would have a lot more to donate to causes that they believe are worthy. The altruistic “Robin Hood” philosophy of “steal from the rich, give to the poor” is not the answer.