My top choice for the republican presidential primary is Ron Paul.  I am fairly familiar with his views on many issues based on interviews and other short pieces he has written.  I had yet to read any of his books but decided to pick up his latest book at the library.

In his book titled Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom, Ron Paul chooses issues that are affecting our country today.  Each chapter is a separate issue.  While it is best to read the whole book through, you could easily pick and choose the different chapters that most interest you.  You may not agree with him on all his issues, but he does a great job of explaining himself and giving you food for thought.

The great thing about Ron Paul is that all his views are in keeping with upholding the US Constitution and protecting the rights of the people and preserving the powers that are reserved for the states.  While many of the other presidential candidates this time around are also great in many of these same things, each have and issue or two where they are not so concerned with upholding the Constitution or protecting freedoms and instead would like to impose their personal views on the whole country.  While I would still support most of these candidates if they were to win the primary, the ideal candidate is Ron Paul.

Like I mentioned before, I already knew most of Ron Paul's views, but this book really went much deeper than I had expected.  He talked about abuse of power by the federal government and its many agencies, giving specifics that I was not aware of.  Overall, he really drives home the point that the federal government has really overstepped its authority in so many areas and we are less safe and less free because of it.

Anyone who wants to get a alternative perspective than you will get from the average liberal or conservative should pick up Ron Paul's newest book Liberty Defined: 50 Essential Issues That Affect Our Freedom.  I put it on hold at the library, so there was no need to dish out money for it, though it is not that expensive according to Amazon.com.  I found this book to be a very easy read and I had it read in less than 2 days.

The Runaway Slave movie is an attempt by a black American to lift up his fellow black Americans and to open their eyes that many of the policies that our government pushes are actually keeping them in a form of slavery.

From the site:

"Runaway Slave is a new documentary that exposes the economic slavery of the Black community to the Progressive policies of the US government and how Black Conservatives lead the fight so all Americans can be “free at last.” C.L. Bryant is a Runaway Slave.

Former NAACP leader and self-professed “Democratic Radical,” C.L. escaped from the bondage of Progressivism and the shackles of entitlements to secure the blessings of liberty guaranteed by our founding document, the US Constitution.

Follow C.L. as he traces the footsteps of runaway slaves through the Underground Railroad.  He travels into the heart of Black communities across the US  from the slave ports of New Orleans to Chicago’s Cabrini Green to Martin Luther King’s birthplace, Atlanta, on to Jefferson’s Monticello; the film explores how 95% support of the Democratic Party has impacted the Black community.

Through interviews with politicians and everyday Americans and footage from national events, the film seeks to answer the question: Is the Black community 'free at last?'”

I read many of the comments after the videos on youtube.com and many are calling this film racist and that it is stirring up race issues.  I think the only thing racist about it, is that it singles out black people as being affected by these policies, instead of saying that it is really all people that are affected.  I think though, that he has had an awakening on the idea of freedom and really wants to share it.  He likely feels that this kind of information is better coming from him, a black man, than from a white man, a white man would automatically get labelled as a racist for speaking about such things.

One of the questions the trailers asked was why are race issues still a problem in this country.  The movie looks like it speaks very well to this.  Hopefully I will get a chance to view it once it is completed.

Below are the trailers to the movie.  It has not been completely edited and they are looking for money to finish up the project.