The elephants and donkeys deserve the bird! Obama and Romney have forsaken the American Dream. They hardly disagree at all on the important issues. What will they debate?

A declaration is an affirmation. Independence means self-government. They could have called The Declaration of Independence, The Affirmation of Self-Government!

Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray are the only choice to Save the American Dream: Self-Government, freedom from big government tyranny and oppression.... and to Restore Justice, the guardian of Liberty! The people believe in self-government and self-medication.

All who follow a code of ethics or principles are self-governors. Our system is meant to protect the self-governors from those without ethics and principles, perpetrators of fraud, rape and violence. The state does not run the affairs of people in a free society. It upholds justice between people who conduct their own affairs.

Gary Johnson scores at 4% in CNN/ORC poll against Obama and Romney before his radio ads were even booked! "The survey marks the first time that CNN/ORC has included the Libertarian Party candidate in its 2012 presidential national polls." Thanks for all you do for reform: tweeting and other uses of the Internet to connect and spread the word about Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray! We can get them in the polls and the debates!

Judge Jim Gray gives one of the best arguments ever for legal marijuana. We will not find a better pair to vote into our top two offices, with both in strong support of legal marijuana, the free market and NOT policing the world. Issues not politics as usual may actually play an important part in the debates for this election.

Morally bankrupt financiers, empire builders and leaders in their pockets make capitalism abhorrent with their predatory or crony capitalism. Predatory capitalism due to big government interference and protection destroys people, benign or ethical capitalism, America's founders' vision of the free market, creates a world of abundance for all.

The Spirit of '76 was the Holy Spirit and is our true north! Our Founding Documents are based on principles that Christians and many other faiths hold dear. They are high moral principles agnostics and atheist also grasp and cherish.

Remember George Washington implored us to, "Labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire, called conscience."

The Holy Spirit lives in all of us, whether we acknowledge it or not! It is the part of us that is eternal and strives for good over evil. Death is the illusion, our undying spirit continues as part of the Holy Spirit. A definite case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts!

The Holy Spirit transcends cultural boundaries and is know by many names. "God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that," mused Joseph Campbell, a great student of myths and religions all over the world. He also said , "Follow your bliss!" Or as our Founders said, "Pursue your happiness!

Calling all patriots, all rebels with just cause! Whether you know yourself to be libertarian, liberal, conservative, democrat, republican, please refuse to be boxed in by the differences in these philosophies or any party. The issues we agree on unite us across these lines. We all want a safer, kinder, more secure world for future generations and our loved ones today. To achieve this transformation we must streamline the system. Uncle Sam has become a bloated evil doer, under the guise of good intentions, just as our Founders warned.

Cannabis medicines were once the “drugs of choice” in the United States. Until they were declared illegal, they had been used in about 30 prescription medicines for a 100 specific medical problems.

Profiteering has no place in medicine, which must be concerned with the well being of the individual not the bottom line. Patients testify to Cannabis' help in treating post traumatic stress, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, gastrointestinal (GI) tract disorders, Alzheimer's, Cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS and more! They swear it is an effective safer replacement for very dangerous pharmaceuticals.

Concerned citizens want a safer world. Put people in prison for violence and fraud but with compassionate treatment hopeful of rehabilitation for all but most hardened. Most people are responsible drug (including alcohol) users. Prohibition triggers a scary amount of collateral damage to our precious lives and resources.

Most substance abuse problems stem from traumatic life experiences. Science says all addicts have a genetic inclination and have suffered a trauma trigger. The drug war is a persecution of tortured children, a cultural inquisition! Drug abuse is a deficiency disease. People don't quit their drug of choice until the body is making the missing chemicals in sufficient quantities. Many marijuana smokers are like our friend, Willie Nelson, who admits he used cannabis to wean himself from the bottle.

Throughout history people have found ways to alter their consciousness. In primitive societies psychoactive plants were sacred and ingested with care, with supposed spiritual intent, but use was often limited to a corrupt powerful few who used fear and superstition to control the masses.

All the unnecessary deaths triggered by our drug policies are democide (death by government). Servants of tyranny play on our fears to make us more accepting of their waste of our precious lives and resources.

Deaths and needless injuries happen too often in botched paramilitary drug raids.

"In the course of researching paramilitary drug raids, I've found some pretty disturbing stuff. There was a case where a SWAT officer stepped on a baby's head while looking for drugs in a drop ceiling. There was one where an 11-year-old boy was shot at pointblank range. Police have broken down doors, screamed obscenities, and held innocent people at gunpoint only to discover that what they thought were marijuana plants were really sunflowers, hibiscus, ragweed, tomatoes, or elderberry bushes. (It's happened with all five.)" According to Radley Balko former policy analyst at CATO, specializing in "nanny state" issues and author of the study "Overkill: The Rise of Paramilitary Drug Raids in America."

Cato has an interactive raid map that plots examples of mistaken raids, including cases in which in innocent people and offenders with no history of violence were killed as well as cases resulting in the needless death or injury of a police officer. The map also shows other examples of paramilitary police excess and unnecessary, Un-American raids on doctors and sick people.

The cannabis plant has never caused an overdose death. It is definitely a safer choice, compared to tobacco use which is responsible for over a thousand deaths a day. It is safer than alcohol which is related to at least 300 deaths per day and alcohol makes domestic violence 8xs more likely, cannabis does not. Taking children out of homes of nonviolent cannabis users and placing them in homes in which alcohol is the drug of choice is policy bordering on insanity!

The UL model (the trusted source across the globe for product safety compliance) might work better to protect us from unconscionable medical profiteers. It is definitely safer to grow natural herb and vegetable gardens than to expect the government or a pill to solve all our ills.

Neither the USA Swim team nor Kellogg's Cereal and Munchie Company had a problem with Michael Phelps despite an alcohol-related arrest in 2004. Michael has nothing to apologize for but Kelloggs and the Swim Team should reconsider their decision to punish anyone for making a safer social and health choice to simply celebrate with friends.

Michael Phelps is our hero, a true American Patriot taking a stand for freedom against tyranny and injustice! Michael won 22 Olympic career medals and 18 were gold medals, making him the the most decorated Olympian in history! Last I checked, Phelps has broken 39 world swimming records (29 individual, 10 relay)!

People who use the term doper for individuals who make a safer choice are showing their ignorance. We can educate them. Thanks Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director for bringing these studies to our attention.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School performing magnetic resonance imaging of the brain found imaging displayed "no significant differences" between heavy cannabis smokers compared to controls. American Journal of Addictions. 2005

A year earlier, a study published in the Journal Psychological Medicine examined the potential long-term residual effects of cannabis on cognition in monozygotic male twins reported "an absence of marked long-term residual effects of marijuana use on cognitive abilities."

A meta-analysis published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society also "failed to reveal a substantial, systematic effect of long-term, regular cannabis consumption on the neurocognitive functioning of users who were not acutely intoxicated."

A clinical trial published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal determined, "Marijuana does not have a long-term negative impact on global intelligence."

The journal Archives of General Psychiatry found that long-term cannabis smokers who abstained from the drug for one week "showed virtually no significant differences from control subjects (those who had smoked marijuana less than 50 times in their lives) on a battery of 10 neuropsychological tests." Investigators added, "Former heavy users, who had consumed little or no cannabis in the three months before testing, [also] showed no significant differences from control subjects on any of these tests on any of the testing days."

Prisons propagate crime, violence and sexual deviance. Putting nonviolent offenders in this breeding ground is madness. We have better use for our taxes than to spend them having probationers pee in a cup, imprisoning them if they fail.

I am afraid! Violent predators roam free, rape kits go unprocessed, schools go under funded, roads need repair while our precious resources are depleted chasing nonviolent drug users.

Drug warriors can get their adrenaline rush chasing murderers and sexual predators.

Big business and big government have a scandalous mutually beneficial love affair going on! The Constitution doesn't authorize Congress to subsidize industries or grant special favors for particular businesses. Make Congress have an impossible time justifying special-interest legislation. Tell Congress to pass the Enumerated Powers Act

The tobacco, alcohol and prescription drug gangs cause more death annually than all illicit drugs! It is morally bankrupt to punish nonviolent adults for making a safer health choice, cannabis or marijuana, compared to other medicinal/social drugs. Less than 1% of US are actually addicted to any illegal drug.. Prison cost 7xs treatment. Show fiscal responsibility, demand morally correct policy!

Restore Justice, the guardian of liberty! Incarcerate more of those morally bankrupt, selling drugs to children or driving intoxicated. Save lives instead of ruining them. Get tough on violent crime!

Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Bradley Manning Support Network call on you to sign their petition to free Bradley Manning. It is not a crime to report war crimes. One of my 2011 Rebel with Just Cause portraits will be shared by Bradley Manning and Julian Assange: for posting the Afghanistan war diaries on wikileaks. It is not a crime to expose war crimes. Marc Emery is our hero and wins the other 2011 portrait for taking a stand for justice against a morally bankrupt, violence triggering, nightmare policy.

Since 2006 I have awarded two free portraits yearly, each dedicated to the freedom philosophy or the American dream. I call it the, "Rebel with Just Cause Award." It is given to true American patriots and others who stand for freedom against tyranny and injustice. The real visionaries, who laid down America's laws, those who defined what an American patriot would be, were rebels with just cause. It's not just our right it's an American's patriotic duty to rebel against big government tyranny.

Gary Johnson and Judge Jim Gray are the recipient of McCool's 2013 Rebel With Just Cause Award for their efforts toward saving the American Dream: self-government free of big government corruption and oppression and restoring Justice the guardian of liberty! Richard Lee will receive the other portrait for his trailblazing work, made in spite of great adversity, for drug policy reform. Richard has become one of the highest-profile, most sympathy drawing activists on this planet, a famous spokesman for self-government and ending cannabis prohibition.

One 2012 Rebel is journalist and poet Javier Sicilia, whose son was killed in drug prohibition-related violence inspiring him to galvanize Mexican society and awaken international debate. In the summer of 2011, tens of thousands marched across Mexico to protest the drug war and the 50,000 drug prohibition related deaths in the previous five years.

Americans are not the only rebels with just cause but it is our patriotic duty to rebel against big government corruption and oppression.

Kevin Zeese is the other 2012 Rebel for his tireless efforts for peace. He is the Executive Director and cofounder of VotersForPeace. He is an attorney, and a long time peace advocate.

I am behind on my portraits but will git-r-done. Look at an example! You'll find links from there to other past award winners.

"For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been'." - John Greenleaf Whittier Let's never say, The American Dream might have been!

We have the potent tool of nonviolent civil disobedience to effect positive change. True patriots are rebels with just cause. "Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today." - James Dean

Save lives instead of ruining them. Join LEAP! It is a LEAP year!! Join COP and DownSizeDC!

Get tough on violent crime! Restore Justice, the guardian of liberty!

"Strike the root!" Be brave, that's how we end terror. All we have to do is stop being afraid, and stop acting out of fear. True patriots never forget America is the home of the free and the brave.

Revolution is Easy! Exercising your political might is just a click away. Thanks for all you do for reform!

Track your Senators' and Representative's votes by e-mail.

Changing who's in charge will not affect much. The real cause of this huge quagmire of failed policy is the beast, big government, that money hungry beast, Uncle Sam! Ma Freedom tells it like it is! The beauty of it is when we focus on down-sizing our government we regain our roots of self-government and secure the blessings of liberty for future generations and ourselves.

Compiled and written by Colleen McCool