It was revolutionary! The real visionaries, who laid down our laws, those who defined what an American patriot would be, were rebels with just cause. They made it not just our right but our patriotic duty to rebel against big government corruption. Our founders knew big government would always mean a gang of evildoers.

They were good Christian men led by the holy spirit but money the root of all evil was part of it. They wanted to create the land of abundance. They knew ethics would have to rule for it to work. The Spirit of '76 is the Holy Spirit and our true north.

One of my 2008 Rebel with Just Cause Awards goes to Dr. Ron Paul for the Love Revolution he helped generate that is sweeping America, returning us to our roots of self-government, free of tyranny and big government oppression. Our founders believed the best way to spread the freedom philosophy is by being a shining example.

"I love every concept the Statue of Liberty stands for - that individual
liberty is held above the objectives of government - that, as Washington and Jefferson said, America imparts good will toward all and threatens no one - that this country is so big-hearted and prosperous it can welcome people from all over the world fleeing oppression or poverty. " - Harry Browne

Our flag is a symbol of liberty, justice and freedom! It is a beacon for hope in a troubled world. Don't let its reputation be tarnished by incidents of torture. Recapture the Flag by demanding a government that respects human rights, leadership that rejects all forms of corruption, and elected officials who fiercely challenge anyone who seeks to undermine the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Write your US Senators or Representatives.

After five years of war in Iraq, Army suicide rates have reached a new high. You can participate in the "Million Doors for Peace" coalition, an effort to end the Iraq occupation by community organizing. Join the grassroots effort, help build the type of movement we need to end the war and prevent future wars of aggression.

Freedom is Golden! "As the Olympics wind down, I am amazed at how things change every four years. Many Americans were glued to their televisions to watch the excitement from Beijing, and also heard announcers wax nostalgic with memories of times when the Soviet Union was the USA's biggest competitor for Olympic gold. There was a time when it was unthinkable that a government as powerful as that of the Soviet Union's could possibly crumble, yet crumble it did. The irony is that the strength of the Soviet government was also its weakness, as no country, no economic system can remain strong under the crushing burden that is central planning." - Ron Paul

Unlike Dr. Paul some politicians are like bad horsemen who are so preoccupied with staying in the saddle that they can't bother about where they're going. Some are outright servants of tyranny definitely not servants of the people. Can you tell the difference?

Will the 2008 election be an an exercise in futility? McCain is more of the same! Obama has picked a drug warrior vice president and his "change" about war also sounds wimpy now. Are they giving us anyone who can possible win who isn't just more of the same?

Here's a wakeup call for corruption! During a small 2003 protest in Manhattan against the fledgling Iraq war the ironfisted crowd-control tactics of the NYPD have cost them a cool $2 million court settlement. The department employed the same tactics in even more shocking mass arrests at the Republican convention in 2004. The moral of the story: "In the United States of America, you don't arrest people simply because they assemble to protest government policy." Warnings to convention city police this year.

Mexico's drug war violent blood baths are triggered by our insane policy. Prohibition creates the black market supporting blood thirsty terrorist, despicable people who sell drugs to children and recruit them to sell to their peers.

Save the children, just say NO to prohibition!

Trigger less violence, racism, tyranny and ruined lives!

Stories of violent attacks, hate crimes and murder fill the media. Two young women were found killed execution style in Granbury and three Dallas children were shot in the back seat of their mom's Mercedes recently.

Atlanta police killed 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston in a botched drug raid not long ago and the carnage continues. An Ohio SWAT team killed Tarika Wilson and shot her one-year-old son.

Prohibition's legacy is legend in the waste of our precious lives and
resources. Deaths and needless injuries happen too often in botched
paramilitary drug raids. Overzealous, unconscionable to the extreme,
situations are occurring!

Ashley Villarreal: in San Antonio DEA agents shoot innocent 14-year-old girl in the head, but deny any wrongdoing.

Rachel Hoffman: a young college grad, coerced by police to act as an
informant after she was arrested for marijuana possession and then killed by drug dealers following a botched drug sting.

We all want, "Resilient Teens, Empowered Parents, Strong Communities!" This is Joy Strickland's Mothers Against Teen Violence
organization's motto, following the tragedy of losing her son Charles
Christopher Lewis (Chris), 19, and his friend, Kendrick Demond Lott, 18, who were robbed and brutally murdered in Dallas. Joy believes the war on drugs undermines the safety of our children.

Over a thousand people die each day due to tobacco use! Close to 300 a day die from prescribed pharmaceuticals. The tobacco, alcohol and
pharmaceuticals gangs deal drugs that kill many more annually than all
illicit drugs. We tolerate their salesmen!

"Record numbers of citizens arrested for marijuana possession have been forced into treatment by the criminal justice system. The resulting
distortion of treatment statistics is used by shameless drug warriors to
make the misleading claim that marijuana is 'addictive'." - Robert Sharpe, Policy analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy

Science shows that withdrawal symptoms from caffeine are much worse than those for cannabis. Cannabis is one of the most benign chemicals we can ingest. Arresting nonviolent people for making a safer health choice in medicinal/social drug use is scandalous reefer madness.

The other 2008 portrait is awarded to Steph Sherer, the powerhouse Director of American's for Safe Access who organized protesters against the 2007 DEA raids of state sanctioned medical marijuana dispensaries. "We're patients, not criminals!" They chanted.

We are punishing people because servants of tyranny ignore science in naming their choice unwise when in fact it is a scientifically proven safer, wiser health choice, compared to legal alternatives. Taking children from the homes of parents who have made a safer health choice in medicinal or social drug use is insane policy.

Taking property from these same, destroyed by government families, is legalized extortion ! States seized $1.52 billion in 2007 End asset
forfeiture! We owe reparations to people for all this tyranny.

Research shows little or no overdose deaths before prohibition. Currently bodies pile up like cordwood or holocaust victims (more than 33,000 precious lives lost in 2005).

Treating AIDS is expensive, providing sterile syringes to addicts is a cheap and effective way to curb the epidemic. Yet, the United States has used its influence in the United Nations to prevent countries that receive UN aid from distributing sterile syringes for disease prevention.

We can see where our laws are causing more harm than good and change accordingly; with modern unbiased, science based statistical reporting.

Snipers, killers and violent sexual and other hate-filled predators roam
free, while we use up limited resources policing individual medicinal and
social drug use. Drug warriors don't have to look far for something better to do.

The countless daily injustices mean it's time to ramp up efforts to end the Drug War, repeal prohibition! European harm reduction policy works so much better than our current response.

US Representative Barney Frank has filed a bipartisan federal bill to
legalize "small amounts" of marijuana and make room for serious criminals. Representative Ron Paul is a cosponsor. This Texas straight talker says we are "politicizing pain." Visit Marijuana Policy Projects Legislation page to write your Congressperson about "The Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act"- HR 5843.

No Walls, No Fences, No Tyranny, No Propaganda, No Secrets, No Fear!

Leaders responsible for current quagmire will one-day answer to a higher power for their crimes against humanity. It's time to end the terror by changing our intrusive, big-bully policies, both foreign and domestic. The monetary and environmental costs are staggering and the human suffering unconscionable.

Join the brotherhood of the good, join the easy revolution. Stop war, save the American dream! Restore justice in the world; construct science based drug policies about saving and rehabilitating instead of ruining lives. Warriors can get their adrenaline rush increasing public safety; chasing murderers and violent sexual predators.

Compiled and written by Colleen McCool