This morning I opened my e-mail from The Advocates for Self-Government and want to share two items with you.

The first is the classic "I, Pencil," which was written by Leonard E. Read and first published in 1958. Mr. Read was the founder of the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) to promote and advance liberty. You can read his essay by clicking here.

Freedom is something we all hold dearly. The founders wanted the states to be laboratories of liberty and it's certainly turned out that way. There's a website (Freedom in the 50 States) that has an interactive map showing how the states compare.

Here on Delmarva, Virginia leads the way at #8, then Delaware at #17, and Maryland comes in at #44. You can visit the site by clicking here.

Michael J. Badnarik is an American software engineer, political figure, and former radio talk show host. He was the Libertarian Party nominee for President of the United States in the 2004 elections.

Here are the links to his online Constitution class:

Video 1 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V31zYjZamz4 

Video 2 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB-qDr9p61Q

Video 3 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCcilKRvkT0

Video 4 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiDO_DP1esM

Video 5 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34c3m2HVdYs

Video 6 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px8kDvCiApw

Video 7 of 7: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfZxNrmT3uA

Michael has several more videos available on YouTube.

Obama Declares ‘National Financial Capability Month’ -- Gov't To Teach Americans Responsible Budgeting

by James W. Harris      The Liberator Online     The Advocates for Self-Government

 President Obama has proclaimed April 2013 as "National Financial Capability Month," a time for the government to help Americans learn how to… make responsible financial decisions. 

Like budgeting. Smart spending. Borrowing wisely. Saving money. 

Yes, it sounded like an April Fool's joke to us, too, when we first heard it. Or maybe a satire from The Onion. 

But no, it's for real.

"Together, we can prepare young people to tackle financial challenges -- from learning how to budget responsibly to saving for college, starting a business, or opening a retirement account," declared President Obama.

Yes, by all means, learn how to prepare a budget from the experts at the Obama administration who, according to the conservative CNSNews.com website, have increased the national debt by $6,140,111,383,879.54 since Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009. That breaks down to an increase of $53,377 per household.
 
"My Administration is dedicated to helping people make sound decisions in the marketplace," declares the man who, with plenty of help from his mirror-images in the Republican Party, has overridden the desires of consumers and investors with billions of dollars of subsidies and endless pages of regulations. 

Yes, learn how to invest wisely from the president whose trillion-dollar stimulus spending "investments" have been a crash-and-burn disaster.

Yes, learn all about the responsible use of credit from the administration in power when, for the first time in history, the credit rating of the U.S. federal government was downgraded below AAA by Standard & Poor's. 

Yes, learn about "opening a retirement account" from the people who brought you the compulsory Ponzi scheme Social Security program, with its remarkably poor returns and questionable future.

"My Administration continues to encourage responsibility at all levels of our financial system…" Obama said.

Right, at all levels… except, of course, for the zillion-dollar totally out of control federal government itself.

"I call upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices," the president concludes. 

Be careful what you ask for, Mr. President. If the American people actually do come to understand your financial principles and practices, you may not like the consequences.

Here's the article by Sharon Harris, President of The Advocates for Self-Government, from The Liberator Online I told you about last Monday.

 The Great Cause That Makes All Other Great Causes Possible 
 
When I think about why I am a libertarian, this phrase frequently comes to mind: Liberty is the great Cause that makes all other great causes possible.
 
Liberty makes possible virtually all the good things in our lives. For only liberty creates the abundance that allows people to move beyond merely struggling to survive, and lets them express their compassionate, caring, and creative sides.
 
Liberty brings with it peace, abundance, charity, art, travel, creativity, tolerance, and the opportunity to pursue happiness.
 
Think of any great charitable cause -- feeding and clothing the hungry, eradicating poverty, expanding education, funding the arts, medical research, caring for neglected animals, protecting the environment, following personal spiritual pursuits -- and you will immediately realize that only personal and economic liberty makes it possible.
 
Where liberty is lacking, there is poverty, sickness, violence, tyranny, misery. Where there is liberty, there is abundance, harmony and the opportunity for happiness.
 
Liberty is literally a matter of life and death for the people of the world. For the world itself. 
 
As libertarians we are not only helping to set the world free, we are creating the conditions for a truly humane, harmonious, and abundant world to grow and flourish.

You can be proud of the work you do for liberty.

The Advocates exists to help libertarians be successful at spreading the precious ideas of liberty.

'Nuff said.
 

The other day Jeff called the show and said he used an online pharmacy to fill his prescription. Here's his e-mail from yesterday:

The medicine I take is $139 a month at Wal-mart and $111 for 300 days from Canada because the generic is not available in the U.S.

Jeff uses North West Pharmacy. I do not recommend using any online service for the purpose of getting prescriptions but, if you'd like to see this website, you can visit it by clicking this link: http://www.northwestpharmacy.com/ 

I mentioned during yesterday's show an interview in Reason Magazine with Ronald Reagan. Here's the link: Inside Ronald Reagan

Have you ever been to D.C. during the Cherry Blossom Festival? Well, I haven't. So, since I'd like to be there for this year's festival (March 20th through April 14th), I did some Googling.

Cherry Blossom Festival - National Park Service website

National Cherry Blossom Festival website

Cherry Blossom Festival and surrounding area map

Since you're already there, and it looks like these are within walking distance, here are some attractions you may want to visit, too.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial

George Mason Memorial

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

Korean War Veterans Memorial

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial

Lincoln Memorial

Smithsonian

The White House...not that you're allowed to visit...

The National Park Service announced that the peak bloom (defined as when 70% of the blossoms are open), will be March 26 – March 30.

On Friday's show (March 22nd) a couple of callers recommended taking the D.C. Metro into the city. I've checked their website (http://www.wmata.com/index.cfm) and it looks to me like getting on it in New Carrollton and going to the Smithsonian stop is the best route. The rates are different on weekends but it's still quite reasonable and it only takes about 24 minutes to get there. I think, if I go, that's how I'll do it.

This event's coming up on April 6th. Find out more by clicking here.

We've discussed the minimum wage on the show several times but it's worth revisiting, often. It doesn't help the people it's intended to help. That's not just me talking. This morning I opened my e-mail from Townhall.com and in it was a piece by Walter E. Williams entitled "A Minority View: Higher Minimum Wage." You can read his minority view by clicking here.

I'll be back Monday. See you then!

On my show yesterday Morty Morton was my in-studio guest. We discussed the Delaware Baysore Initiative and the National Park Service. U.S. Senator Tom Carper wants a National Park in Delaware, the only state without one, and has introduced legislation to that effect. It will include various properties/parcels in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties.

Morty is the president of the Delaware Mobile Surf-fishermen, Inc. A press release from that organization follows:

Delaware Mobile Surf-fishermen Inc. (DMS)

Press release

 2/20/2013

Delaware Mobile Surf-fishermen Inc (DMS) is STRONGLY opposed to Senator Tom Carper's recently introduced legislation for the “First State Historical Park Act of 2013”. DMS understands the importance of tourism into the state of Delaware, but the potential of long term effects to tourism, could be catastrophic to small businesses up and down the Delaware Coast, if this bill is passed.

As taxpaying citizens of the United States of America, “we the people” do not want to bear the fiscal burden of more draconian federal spending. Every day “we the people” see drastic budget cuts in programs like our military, education and many more, while taxes increase. DMS feels that our tax dollars can be better spent and refute the idea of a National Park in Delaware.

Officers and Directors

Delaware Mobile Surf-fishermen Inc. (DMS)