Joseph Kexel's Blog

The End of the Road

2010-10-29T21:24:00.000-07:00

As everything has a beginning, everything has an end. We are approaching the end of the 2010 election cycle and I wish to thank those who assisted me in my efforts. The Libertarian Party of Southeast Wisconsin members were great. I really have to thank my wife and kids, George Meyers, Daane Hoffman, Anthony DeCubellis, Keith Deschler, Jim Sewell and many others in getting my campaign on the map. I would like to thank both Paul Ryan and John Heckenlively for participating in the process. It was a polite, gentlemanly campaign as the citizens of the First District deserve.

This year we got some good press and some less than good press. I even got an actual sound bite to a few media outlets regarding "tripartisanship". I was actually recognized publicly, so the Libertarians are making a difference. I think our widespread effort that had multiple visible candidates across the first district made things better. I have a feeling that our effort made Chris Wright show up to a forum that he would have otherwise skipped. I feel Daane's campaign made Barca toss up signs "just in case". It is great that every party sees us in their rear view mirrors now!!!

The recent endorsement of Paul Ryan by the Kenosha News is easy to brush aside, but they implied that my campaign was not good enough to be taken seriously. I am insulted by that.

I was invited to 2 forums. I attended both.

Paul Ryan only attended one of those.

I was asked by WPR to do an interview. I obliged.

I was asked by WPT to do a candidate address.

I drove to Madison to do it.

I was asked by WisconsinEye to do an interview.

I drove to Milwaukee to do it.

I was asked by WRJN to do an interview

and take callers questions. I did it.

I spoke with the Kenosha News.

I spoke with the Journal Sentinal

I was asked to respond to many surveys

and I did most of them. Paul Ryan

apparently refuses to answer them.

I was at the Racine County Fair on 3 days

to work the booth, presenting myself

as a candidate.

Using the signs I recycled from the 2008 campaign,

I got some signs out around the 1st District.

Private citizens requested information using the

email address from my website. I replied.

I personally distributed over 2000 pieces literature,

going door to door.

I spoke to all those who wished to discuss

the issues with me.

As I did not seek donations for my campaign, I ended up far below any level which would need to be reported. My campaign was funded by myself, with the exception of a very small unsolicited contribution from a good libertarian friend. It was much less than the amount that I would have had to record any information on it. After the expeditions to Madison and Milwaukee, I spent under $100 for fuel and some simple flyers. I have to say I feel good about my effort. I did everything a candidate should do with the exception of taking millions of dollars of donations and pimping myself like a box of laundry detergent. Of course, area newspapers would have enjoyed the ad money.

My only regret is far too many surveys are Y/N type which do not allow me to put the reasoning behind my responses. If your favorite survey was not completed, it may be that is was the Y/N type. I avoid those unless I know I am in full agreement of that group where little explanation would be needed. It is the NO replies that usually need some room to put my views.

Another situation is where I may not get a survey until it is too late to reply or I just cannot get to it. As the only person in this race with a private sector job, I think I did pretty good.

As a libertarian, I feel that the voters need to do their own research. I must be available to inquiry and I was. I am not required to make apathetic voters excited. I am certain that I am not on the take and I didn't throw mud.

For those who may not have had the time to look up my campaign efforts, I will offer some below.

AAUW Forum

Stephanie Jones article.

WGTD Forum Podcast

Racine Post Coverage

WPR Interview with Ben Merens (Real Player required)

WPT Candidate Comments

WisconsinEye Interview (Real Player required)

JSOnline Interview

Vote Smart Courage Test

Wisconsin Coalition to Normalize Relations to Cuba Survey

Organic Consumers Fund Question

Campaign for Liberty Questions

If that is not enough, let Google help you.

Thank you everybody.

Liberty, Peace and Prosperity!

Joseph Kexel

Libertarian Candidate for Wisconsin's First Congressional District

2010-09-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Constitution Day!

That should be a bigger celebration than it is. The Declaration of Independence is great document that we should celebrate dearly, but the acceptance of the Constitution created a government that would support liberty into to the future. We should have fireworks and parties for Constitution Day as well.

I participated in such a celebration yesterday. I joined a group of people, from children to those in their 70s celebrate the founding documents of our nation. It was a great event and I hope it is the beginning of a long line of celebrations of our Constitution.

The event was well planned. We began with a reading of the Declaration of Independence, which must be considered an important introduction of our nation's Constitution. It clearly stated why we started the journey to become a sovereign nation.

Next, we marched to a park where we read the Bill of Rights, which we know does not create such rights, but simply states that they exist and the federal government must keep their hands off them.

At the next stop in the march, we had a speaker explain separation of powers and shared the importance of the Federalist Papers in understanding the meaning of the Constitution.

We ended up at Milwaukee's War Memorial. We had a great introduction to the Oath Keepers and a great closing speech by Ken Van Doren. Both made it clear it was up to us to see that the Constitution is the law of the land. The Constitution is merely ink on paper. It is "We The People" that make it real. "We the People" must enforce it, even while our government denies its existence.

For those who missed Constitution Day, make it a point to celebrate it next year.

Special thanks to Stacy Kaat for organizing this event. To all who supported her to make it possible, THANK YOU!!!

The Wars

2010-08-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

A recent news article stated that Wisconsin Congressional candidates websites do not address the wars. It is pretty clear from my site that I oppose the wars and feel we must bring the troops home. The single-most reason is that the wars are not declared.

To be honest, my site only mentioned Iraq by name, but I did say wars in the text portion. That was from 2008 when Iraq was in the limelight more that Afghanistan.

To make my position more clear, I will not vote for any bill or budget that funds an undeclared war. If we have not used our Constitution to declare the conflict, then the Congress is not authorized to fund it.

Wars are not productive. They do not add to our economy. If you imagine all the money spent on the wars spent on domestic industrial production, though we would still be in debt, every family would have a new car, their house payment halved and at least one critical surgery available for them when they needed it. I am not promoting socialism, but the fact that instead of anything tangible we have broken nations in need of expensive repair.

I have little faith that Iraq will not collapse in the future under the pressure of religious and cultural differences. Does anybody truly feel that thousands of years of conflict is now erased due to American influence? The Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds remained in a single nation solely due to the iron fist of Saddam Hussein. The withdrawal from Iraq which is now beginning will not remove all troops. We will be stationed there forever as we have been in Germany, Japan, Korea and countless other nations.

Afghanistan has even more severe obstacles to stability, they are truly a third world nation without any real exports other than opium. Without firing a single shot, we could have disabled them forever by giving our citizens more freedom. With the legalization of drugs, aside from saving hundreds of billions domestically on enforcement and incarceration, the price of opium would drop to the point Afghanistan would lucky to feed themselves and could no longer fund terrorism around the world.

Now, be clear that legalization does not mean endorsement of drug use. I only support that the free American people be allowed to make their own personal value judgments. I, also, think a drastic decline of the effects of the black market drug trade would be a beneficial to our domestic situations of gang violence and gun crime. There would even be a benefit to the international issues of Mexican drug gang violence and the funding of terrorism.

I will reiterate that I will not support funding the current wars. I will support bringing all our troops home from around the world. Our troops should only be stationed or actively in combat when in immediate defense of our nation and when we have a Constitutionally declared war.

Wars should be rare and be backed by the people. It is their liberty and property on the line, we must never keep the people out of the loop.

Ballot Access and Questionnaires

2010-07-21T17:29:00.001-07:00

Now that we have completed the push to get signatures, I may enter campaign mode. Aside from myself, we got 3 Libertarians on the ballot for state assembly in the Kenosha/Racine area, George Meyers, Anthony Decubellis and Daane Hoffman.

I am both willing and eager to push for access to newspapers, TV and such. However, I believe I will need to make a stand this year. Some of these questionnaires are sickening. I will not name names, but I find that most special interest groups seem to despise the states. They want this national law or that national law.

The worst seems to be pro-life groups that I would love to support, but their views are tough for a libertarian to manage. For example, early on they ask in a questionnaire if I feel that abortion is wrong except in the case of saving the mother's life, rape or incest. I can agree with those positions.

Then they will ask if I support overruling Roe v. Wade. I agree with that, but at that point I am done as a federal candidate. Once abortion is in the hands of the states, the feds need to back the heck off!

However, they want all sorts of federal intervention into the states' business even if Roe v Wade is made void. Their position is completely inconsistent with the Constitution. If you accept states have the power, I agree. However, you cannot pick and choose when to follow the Constitution in order to get your agenda completed.

I will offer that I will resist any effort for federal funding of abortion. I find that is abhorrent in the most basic sense. You cannot tax people to pay for the activities of others, let alone taxing people to fund activities they find morally offensive. The government does not have any power that individual citizens do not have. A woman does not have the right to barge into a church and rob a person at gunpoint to pay for her abortion. Similarly, the government cannot use it's force to make that same church going citizen pay for another person's abortion.

The pro-gun lobby is a little better, but they have to throw in the idea that a federal law must be passed in order to force other states to allow concealed carry for residents of other states with possibly very different criteria for concealed carry. I would never expect a foreign nation to accept Wisconsin's open carry rules, why should I expect other states to? Concealed carry is the same thing. I would love to see states have reciprocal laws, but that is something for the state legislatures to hammer out. That decision must not come from DC.

As for guns, the 2nd Amendment is pretty damn clear.

“

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

”

The key thing to remember is that the Constitution limits the federal government, not the states. The only real issue is how far does the 14th Amendment go in making states buckle under the authority of the federal government?

Is a permit infringing? I may feel so, but different states may have different rules. Obviously infringing in my view would be banning, limiting the types of firearms, impossible paper work ( too difficult for most to comply ) or any fees that make it prohibitive to own firearms.

I feel that the 14th Amendment is there to keep the states from becoming tyrannical towards their entire population or specific groups. The clear reason for the 14th Amendment was the fear that blacks would be second class citizens and I agree with that point of view. I do not, however, want the states to be mere puppets of the federal government. As long as a state makes their rules uniform and do not pass laws that make a owning guns impossible due to regulation or expense, I feel the federal government should stay out of it. I do agree with the recent Supreme Court rulings that a city cannot simply ban a class of weapons completely, leaving their citizens ripe for abuse from the criminal element.

Liberty, Peace and Prosperity
Liberty + Peace = Prosperity

Repeal 1913!

2010-07-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Today, I will discuss my platform for my run for Congress. Aside from obeying the Constitution, I believe that 1913 was a disastrous year for our Constitution and I wish to see that year repealed. That one year saw both the 16th and 17th Amendments passed. Those amendments bypassed the state governments in taxation (16th Amendment) and in representation in Congress (17th Amendment).

The states were, in effect, neutered. Without the 16th Amendment, the federal government would only be able to receive income from tariffs and excise taxes. When additional money was required the federal government would have to bill the states apportionately. The states would then need to implement taxation upon their citizens to get their share of federal tax bill. The key part is without the 17th Amendment, the states would be able to nip most spending programs in the bud with their Senators. I believe the states would resist having to be the bad guy taxing people while Uncle Sam wins brownie points with the people by providing handouts.

The states were actually a check on the people. I think the founders understood that the states as sovereign governments would have goals that may not necessarily correlate with federal power grabs or citizens trying to raid the treasury that ultimately the states would be obligated to pay for.

As we look at the system today, we see the population robbed before they even get their paychecks. Uncle Sam gets his before you get yours! Your state then needs to beg the federal government to get the money back that you provided the federal government due to the 16th Amendment. Often the feds use the money like doggie treats to get the states to perform the tricks (actions) they desire from them.

If the 16th and 17th Amendments were not bad enough, we added the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. That act pretty much was Congress giving away their power to manage the money supply to a private group of bankers. That system allows the bankers to invent money out of thin air to lend to the government (National Debt) and private concerns (Housing Bubble). The federal government uses that as a credit card. That line of credit has allowed our government to grow far beyond its means and has indebted every person in the United States to at least $350,000.

My opponents will offer their prescriptions to manage the symptoms of an over-reaching federal government. I offer you the cure to an over-reaching federal government, sovereign states with their Senators back, sovereign individuals not taxed by the IRS and cutting up the federal government's credit card (Terminate the Federal Reserve).

Join me and let's REPEAL 1913!

The Magic of Socialism

2010-06-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

First I will need to clarify the only difference between fascism and socialism is that a fascist state will let you own capital (on paper) and allow you to keep a larger piece of the economic action. The problem with fascism is the extreme regulatory system prevents a high level of prosperity.

Pure economic liberty has not been tried for any significant length of time. At some point members of the society will notice that some unfairness occurs, even if slight and demand tweaking from a free system to one a little less free. Then it is only a matter of time before fascism occurs. It is inevitable for the purely free economic system is labeled unworkable and the only direction allowed is towards more and more regulatory control. This regulatory control leads to poor decision making and large amounts of inefficiency which creates poor economic performance. Today, the United States is fascist state.

Since a system of pure economic liberty is not acceptable due to dogma and the fascist system is unable to provide enough prosperity to be labeled successful, even more control is demanded from the public leading to the government taking ownership. Please, keep this clear the government owns it, not you. If you owned it you could quickly decide GM is a poor investment and divest yourself of stock on the open market. Do not think Government Motors is going public anytime soon with the government's shares of the company. The government gets power over the entire industry for they will ultimately demand Ford and others follow their rules or else GM will get special favors from the government.

I hope this explains how socialism is inevitable once you eliminate economic liberty from society. Now I will explain to you the magical power that socialism has. It is a very amazing power.

We can look to the USSR to help reveal to us this power socialism has. A nation which spanned 7 time zones could not make enough toilet paper for its people. In the USSR, the grandparents' job was to stand in line in hope of finding food and other products to survive. They were not even shopping, but grabbing anything that by some stroke of luck made it before them. In fact, defectors from the USSR to the United States were so impacted by this behavior that they had a difficult time shopping in an American store. We had so many choices they couldn't handle it.

When buying milk was as simple as buying anything resembling it, whether or not it was rancid or curdled, a modern supermarket could be intimidating. Just look at milk aisle in your local store and you see whole milk, 2%, 1%, skim, chocolate flavored, strawberry flavored, banana flavored, egg nog, cream, half and half, buttermilk and more. That is pretty impressive, yet you still need to determine what size you want like half-pint, pint, half-gallon, gallon or 2 gallon multi-packs. When you add into the mix the 3 or more different brands each selling that massive array of milk products you have a mind boggling amount of choices. Prosperity does that. (Note: We are living off the prosperity of the past. Consolidation of most industries is occurring at a rapid pace. At some point we will have only a few companies doing dairy for the entire nation. That is much easier for the government to control. Maybe a monopoly will be allowed to occur before the nationalization of the industry, but that is inevitable in this system. Like I said socialism and to a lesser extent fascism is destructive to the economy, but as momentum in a physical system takes time to overcome, wealth takes time to disappear. Do not be mistaken the economic engine in the US is dying.)

Before the US was the bread basket of the world, the Ukraine was. When the Soviet government grabbed the farms, grain production dropped so severely that the ultimate economic result of the USSR was sealed. They went from having a surplus to sell the world, to needing to borrow money to buy grain from the world. The downward spiral was begun and collapse was impossible to avoid. Socialism killed the economic engine of the USSR immediately. It just took over 60 years for the USSR to die from that mortal wound.

Seeing what was going on in the USSR, China chose to turn away from socialism in order to save its people, but they merely moved back to a position of fascism. At some point, the people may demand socialism again unless they see a completely free economy as the good it truly is.

Europe is going broke. The United States is going broke. Central America and South America are going broke. All are debt ridden from socialist and fascist policies which destroy their economies.

What is the magic power of socialism and to a lesser extent fascism? Socialism has the power to impoverish an entire planet! It has failed the world over, again and again.

If socialism is inevitable in the absence of pure economic liberty and socialism creates poverty, then the only rational choice is pure economic liberty.

I will end this with a quote I find so revealing of the ultimate nature of socialism.

"We are not without accomplishment. We have managed to distribute poverty equally." -Nguyen Co Thatch, Vietnamese foreign minister

The End of Virtue

2010-04-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

The number one failure of our society is the reduction of virtue. At the core, I see our socialist and fascist government programs as the cause of this trend. How can a government program destroy virtue?

Let me show you.

When people behave charitably, there is one inherent element that is so basic to that social transaction that to ignore it is obscene. That element is choice. Without voluntary action charity cannot exist. Giving to a charitable organization or directly providing charity is a sign of personal virtue.

To a socialist, charity is the transfer of wealth from a rich person to a poor person, regardless of how or why that transaction occurs. To a socialist, robbing the wealthier person with threat of financial penalties or jail time and offering that money to the disadvantaged is still charity. The perversity of that position continues when the receiver thanks the socialist for the gift by re-electing them into office.

There is absolutely no virtue in that transaction. One man is robbed, another takes the money while ignoring the crime and the remaining participant gains power over both.

As if the forced donations were not bad enough, the real damage occurs later. When citizens are forced to provide to others through taxation the virtue of charity is discarded. People do not feel any satisfaction at tax time. The satisfaction is not really the reward as much as a natural response to aiding another human being. We are social creatures and the vast majority of us respond favorably to the needs of our brothers and sisters.

Gratitude disappears, too. Another virtuous behavior is thanking somebody when they help you. The person getting the check from the government doesn't thank those who are productive enough to pay a tax, but instead are grateful to the government.

At this point, it should become clear that the social interactions of helping others and showing gratitude are completely destroyed. This is the toxic result of a 3rd party, aka government, butting into an area where it doesn't belong. True charity is not a social evil resulting from income disparity, but a social good which brings the community together.

The most severe repercussions of this social decay develop over time. When such a system of taxation and handouts lasts several generations, you get the entitlement syndrome. It is when those who receive the gifts from government no longer see it as a gift nor a privilege, but a right. They no longer recognize the theft from their neighbors.

Even the productive members of society get warped. Soon, they see problems in need of a response and they wonder why their tax money hasn't been used to fix it. From potholes to broken people, it becomes harder to respond. When they see government, with all that money at its disposal unable to solve these problems, it is little wonder they feel powerless.

The downward spiral is complete.

We must reject this ideology. We must trust ourselves to help others without force. Benjamin Franklin suggested that only a virtuous people could be free. I offer that the corollary is equally true, only a free people can be virtuous.

2010-04-15T11:38:00.001-07:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joseph Kexel
(262) 694-7746
liberty4you@josephkexel.com
http://www.josephkexel.com

Joseph Kexel Announces His Bid for United States Congress, First District

Joseph Kexel is running for Congress in Wisconsin's first district. He is running as a Libertarian. He hopes to be successful and move America back to the traditional values of limited government.

Kenosha, WI, April 15, 2010 – Joseph Kexel has filed his Declaration of Candidacy for the office of Representative in Congress, First District. The primary position he hopes to promote is that the Constitution must be followed.

Kexel sees the Constitution as the very definition of a government that would support a successful society and people. He believes that through personal liberty every citizen can realize their full potential. Kexel said, “You want to know my platform? It's all here in the U.S. Constitution.”

Another issue important to Kexel is the size of the federal government. He considers Washington a monster devouring the virtue of the American people. “As the federal government takes over, the states and the people become weak, unable to care for themselves.”, he said.

Kexel opposes the Patriot Acts I and II. “FISA is all we need. If, we need more clerks and judges to keep up with the demand, then doing so would be far better than tossing our liberty into the dumpster.” he said.

Joseph Kexel supports the right of every American to be the sovereign owner of their own bodies. He states that this right clearly allows everyone to use any nutritional supplement, herbal remedy or physician of their choice. He continued, “It is hard to separate those activities from the unalienable right of self-ownership. If, we accept that the government has the power to limit access to medical treatments, limit the use of nutritional supplements, suggest treatments or keep detailed records of our medical histories, then we are accepting that the government owns us, body and soul.”

Kexel is eager to unseat the incumbent and work hard for a strong America rooted in personal liberty.

About Joseph Kexel:
Joseph is a lifelong resident of Kenosha minus 10 months early in his marriage to his wife, Julie. They have been married 15 years and have two daughters. Kexel is a self-employed IT consultant.

###

Hello, again!

2009-05-19T21:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the delay, but I needed some time to get my bearings post election.

I have been working on some other projects. One is the Belleporte Institute. It is a local policy think tank focusing on liberty.

I have also made a website to assist Kenosha's citizens save money in this harsh economic climate. The site is Kenoshare.com.

I hope to have my josephkexel.com converted away from my congressional bid soon.

With all the web sites and my business, I am pretty busy. I am looking forward to 2010, though.

Thank you, everyone!

2008-11-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, taking on an incumbent is very difficult. Yet, I offer my gratitude to all those who voted for me. I beg everyone who voted for me to continue the fight by contacting me at liberty4all@josephkexel.com, ASAP. I am not sure how long the website will be up, so I would like to receive contact information, soon.

We have a lot of work to do resisting the socialism which Obama and Congress will soon be pushing upon us. History is on our side. Socialism always fails for it removes the incentive to work and to produce, leaving no wealth to redistribute. Socialism is a dead end. Only together can we protect liberty. I ask for contact information, so we may continue our efforts to return our nation sound constitutional governance.

I have not decided to run in 2010, yet. Another run will depend on people like yourselves keeping the pressure on in pursuit of liberty. If, there is some support for it, I would likely run, again. Hopefully, with your encouragement, we can scale it up a bit!

I certainly intend to keep my blog going in support of liberty, so check back. This domain will be redirected to my blog, eventually.

Liberty, Peace and Prosperity to all!

Joseph Kexel

Economic Update

2008-10-29T20:11:00.000-07:00

My apologies, I have been busy with forums and client requests.

Here is my latest press release:

Kexel for Congress Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Joseph Kexel
(262) 694-7746
liberty4you@josephkexel.com
http://www.josephkexel.com

Kexel Discusses Economic Plan

Joseph Kexel, running as a Libertarian for Representative in Congress of Wisconsin's First District, offers a rebuttal to Ryan and Krupp on economic policy.

Kenosha, WI, October 29, 2008 – Joseph Kexel, Libertarian candidate for Congress of Wisconsin's First District, was disappointed he was not invited to the forum hosted at Carthage College on Tuesday evening. “If, you truly wish to see a diverse set of ideas over economic policy, bring a Libertarian to the table.”, said Kexel.

Kexel has an economic plan for America, that is as simple as it is bold. Kexel continued, “My economic plan is to follow the Constitution. We have been ignoring that important document for far too long. We must get back to sound constitutional governance.”

“Only by reducing the federal government to its correct role in our society, will we be able to reap the economic benefits our constitution guarantees for us. Liberty is a winning solution to our economic woes.”, Kexel said. Kexel sees his plan's huge reduction in federal spending putting real money into the hands of every American, stimulating our economy.

To start, he calls for a tax rebate that does not add to the budget deficit. “I want to see a rebate that is completely offset by permanent budget cuts, so the tax break will be perpetual, boosting our economy forever.”, said Kexel.

Removing the federal government from the markets is a very important part of Kexel's plan. Kexel explained, “We have seen the result of intrusion into the financial markets by our government. It has brought about the near destruction of our economy. The federal government is responsible for most of the credit crisis, for they created the Community Reinvestment Act, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which are well known to be at the center of this mess. They, also, refused to rein in the Federal Reserve which led to an inflationary monetary policy. The CRA, the secondary mortgage market and the wild and loose Fed, all managed by our federal government, caused this problem.”

“The free market would have prevented bad loans for banks would have had to live with them, so they would have resisted offering them. With a wise monetary policy, the housing bubble would have been impossible for it would have been starved of the Fed's unlimited credit. We must remove the federal government from our economy. The free market works, if we only let it.”, said Kexel.

“Returning to a limited federal government will force consumers to return to their role as the regulators of business. Businesses do not fear the government, for they know enough lobbying will get them some relief. A smart consumer is the most powerful force in our economy. A smart consumer will not go against his own needs and values. Those smart consumers must be in control of the fruits of their labor, so they may make economic decisions on their own behalf. We must cut spending, pay our debt and eliminate taxes. I want to see tax freedom day pushed back, way back, to January 1st from its current April 23rd date.”, Kexel said.

Kexel concluded, “It really is simple, we return our economy back to the people. We embrace liberty and our constitution. The rest will work itself out as the free market returns to functioning normally, without federal interference. Americans are a strong, industrious people and it is time to get back to work. With liberty and the fruits of our labor, there is no limit to the heights our economy will reach.”

About Joseph Kexel:
When elected, Joseph Kexel will work on getting the federal government back on track as a constitutional republic. The Constitution is the centerpiece of Kexel's campaign.
###

The Bailout and Inflation

2008-10-07T20:16:00.000-07:00

I would not have voted for the bailout for one simple reason. We have, as a nation, borrowed too much and have severely inflated our monetary system. The bailout plus the sweeteners will demand a $850 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. Without deducting any numbers from anyone's account, they have still robbed America by devaluing the dollar. The banks will be able to loan over $6 trillion once they sell off their bad loans.

We must be clear that continuing on this course will drive the dollar into the toilet. That flushing sound is the US dollar taking the economy with it.

Another real concern is the banks are not going to sell the valuable loans first, they will unload the worst of the worst upon the American people. To believe we will get our money back is naive.

I know by voting no, I would have risked a dramatic downturn in the economy. I would stand by that for I feel the devaluation of the dollar will create a more disabling effect on the economy than any short term credit crisis. It was a choice of taking a sucker punch in the gut today versus taking a bullet to the chest in the future. I truly believe it is that grave of a situation.

Unfortunately, the vote won out and we will have to live with the consequences. I suggest looking for good deals on canned goods and buying in bulk. Your wallet is going to be getting additionally devalued dollars, soon. I recommend everyone view "Money as Debt". You can find it here: http://josephkexel.com/Links.html

Hell NO! Call your congressman and senators today!

2008-09-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

The bailout contains the following text:

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

This is not acceptable. Period! The Bush administration seems hell bent to destroy all the checks and balances afforded to us in the Constitution. Call everyone you know ASAP!

My goodness!!! $1,000,000,000,000 bailout!!!!!!

2008-09-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

The biggest joke regarding this fiasco is that few people in power are willing to accept blame for this. The CRA, Community Reinvestment Act, from the Carter administration created a system whereby banks would be coerced to make bad loans in order to be "fair" to those unable to secure a traditional loan. The banks did as the act demanded and soon held a lot of bad debt.

Fortunately, our friends Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were there to help those banks out by buying those loans and repackaging them as investments. Soon, brokerages were buying them and the loose monetary policies (low interest rates) of the Federal Reserve fueled the whole mess to the stratospheric heights from where we see it come crashing down. This was not a regulatory failure. Our government made a system of the CRA, the secondary mortgage market and the Federal Reserve which fueled the sub-prime (ill advised) mortgage market. It was not a lack of oversight by our government, but the creative intervention by our government to make the mortgage market into something it was not supposed to be, a social engineering program.

NOTE:
* Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are private corporations created by Congress to create the secondary mortgage market.

* The Federal Reserve is a privately owned banking cartel sanctioned by our government to create dollars out of thin air.

Kenosha and Racine Listening Sessions

2008-09-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

I have formally announced the Kenosha and Racine sessions. They will also be food drives for area food pantries. See http://josephkexel.com/Sessions.html for details!

Thanks everyone and I hope to see you at these area listening sessions.

Election Results

2008-09-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

It appears it will be Ryan, Krupp and Kexel for the general election.

I thank everyone who voted for me. Running unopposed, I know that there was no reason to show up and by voting Libertarian you took yourself out of local races like County Clerk, Register of Deeds and District Attorney. Even with all those limitations, around 100 people voted for me. That's great. I did not get totals from the municipalities in Milwaukee County, though. I just could not find the sources for those.

I wish Fox 6 News would have mentioned that Krupp would be running against me, too. With the millions of dollars those two will spend on this race, Fox News could at least throw me a bone with the official announcement tonight. Media sure tries it's best to keep 3rd parties invisible. The Republicans and Democrats get tons of free publicity as it is. Please, contact Fox 6 News, if you think that was not fair.

Thanks again!

Joseph Kexel

Signs for the Lake Geneva Area

2008-09-08T22:38:00.000-07:00

I recently received a request for a sign from someone in Lake Geneva. Anyone else interested out there? I hope to drop off signs in that area Thursday, September 11.

Email me at liberty4all@josephkexel.com

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

2008-09-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Simply this bailout fails to put the risk of these loans onto the investors as required for a free market to work. This money will be borrowed and will put further inflationary pressure on our economy.

Yes, there would be pain, if we let them fold. We will have pain by bailing them out, too. In fact, the chance of future bailouts in other industries will increase and that just makes the average American the chump who gets stuck with the bill while others play.

We need to return to a free market and government intervention must be eliminated.

Pell Lake Forum

2008-09-07T08:15:00.000-07:00

I was the lone congressional candidate at the Pell Lake forum on Saturday. It was a nice group and I spoke to several for quite some time. I, even, received a request for a sign.

Slacking a bit.

2008-09-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry, it got quiet for a while. I have been busy getting my kids off to school and all that entails.

I wish to let everyone know that I am seeking a venue in Walworth County for a listening session. I hope to get the going tomorrow.

Thanks to those who recently requested signs. It is great to get them out. I hope to hear from everyone. I have plenty left and let's not leave any in the box this election!

Liberty, Peace and Prosperity. Or, as I am now leaning

Liberty + Peace = Prosperity!

Forum Update: Rochester Town Hall

2008-09-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

They are hosting a forum with a large number of candidates in Rochester. It will be mostly an introduction type event. It will be at 203 West Main in Rochester.

The Philosophy of Liberty

2008-08-28T18:35:00.000-07:00

This great video is just fantastic. If, you truly wish to know what liberty is all about this is a wonderful introduction. I found this last year and remembered it last night. I feel every one must see this!

The Philosophy of Liberty

Wow! What a great night!

2008-08-27T20:56:00.001-07:00

We had a great forum tonight. It was Marge Krupp, Paulette Garin and myself. I am planning on another forum next Tuesday. That one may be a hard one to get to. It is at the Rochester Town Hall in Rochester, 203 West Main. I may need to figure out a very early dinner with my daughters that evening. Being the first day of school, I do not wish to miss the dinner time debriefing.

Forums

2008-08-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Had a great forum in Somers last night, I have another one tomorrow at the Racine Urban League at 6pm-8pm (Wednesday the 27th).

Hope to see you there, I need support with some good questions on how to fix our country.

Get Out the Vote

2008-08-21T20:34:00.000-07:00

Please, I ask every supporter to look into voting for me in the primary election on September 9th. I understand that I am asking a lot for more races will exist in the Democratic and Republican primaries.

However, I am technically still in the primary and I do need some votes to insure that I will be there come November.

For all those who do not intend to vote in the primary, you have nothing to lose and I hope you will come out to vote for myself and other Libertarians! In Racine, you will have both George Meyers and Keith Deschler to vote for.

Thanks to all and please contact me to get yourself a sign for your yard!

Kenosha Listening Session

2008-08-15T09:38:00.001-07:00

I have set up meeting rooms at Gateway's Kenosha and Racine campuses. I will have more information on my website. See here.

Georgia-Russia War

2008-08-14T21:54:00.000-07:00

The best course of action for the United States regarding the Georgia-Russian War is to stay out of it. The relationship between those two nations is going to have to worked out eventually. There has been problems going back to the czars and further. Any artificial conclusion mandated by the UN or the US will only postpone the inevitable. It is clear that nations will wage war over century old, even millenium old, disputes.

It is none of our business and we should listen to the founders and avoid foreign entanglements. We must quit NATO, the UN and end all of our trade agreements. We can behave appropriately towards foreign nations without giving up our national sovereignty.

Is the United States a Communist country?

2008-08-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Well, I will let you decide this one.

Check out how we have implemented the 10 planks of the communist manifesto.

http://www.laissez-fairerepublic.com/TenPlanks.html

Check out other cool links about my philosophy HERE!

Signs are here!!!

2008-08-08T18:42:00.000-07:00

Surprise delivery today! My signs are in. Please, call to get one.

Treasurer?

2008-08-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone out there capable of being a treasurer for my campaign? If, not this year, two years from now? The key thing is you must be confident you can manage all the federal rules.

The only thing limiting any campaign is how much money they can collect. I am at a chicken and the egg situation. Collecting donations will need a true campaign committee and a great treasurer. However, I do not need any of that, if I never collect money. At this point I am looking for someone who may need to be available this year, but at this moment is not needed.

Please contact me, if you can help.

Thank you

Joseph Kexel

Signs. Signs. Everywhere a sign!

2008-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Good News! We are ordering signs and hope to have them for placement, soon. They are a bold red. I suppose we need to be bold when trying to bring liberty back to America and unseating a 10 year incumbent!!!

Mortgage Bailout

2008-07-29T21:33:00.000-07:00

The mortgage bailout that is passing with great haste is an insult to every American who has done his/her homework and chosen good loans for their homes. This bailout just reassures banks that no matter how poor their decisions to loan money, the federal government is good for a bailout. The sad thing is that the very people who work hard and make good choices will pay for this bailout in both higher taxes and inflation. No congressman should have voted for this debacle.

Racine County Fair

2008-07-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

It has been great meeting people at the fair. I was amazed at the amount of support I have received. I find it very reassuring that we have so many people that have realized we need real change and that change is as simple as using our Constitution.

Thank you for taking the time to speak to me and I hope to be there to close out the fair Sunday evening. I wish I could have spent more time over the weekend, but like most dads, I had events planned with my family which made it impossible.

Even though I may not be there, please, visit the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin booth in the commercial building. It is the red, white and blue building in the center. We have two candidates for state assembly, George Meyers and Keith Deschler, too. You may be able to catch them there.

Have a great time at the fair!

Introduction

2008-07-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

Hello, welcome to my blog. I hope to explain the world through my eyes, so those who are in a position to vote in Wisconsin's 1st District will have a better understanding what I am about.

First, as a libertarian, I believe we must follow our Constitution. It is a wonderful document for freedom, yet we do not embrace it enough. Many of the issues we have today were first faced by our founders. They saw needless wars waged. They worried about theocracies. They were extremely concerned about basic human rights, too.

Understanding that makes the Constitution more clear. They wanted a limited government, big enough to do things like keep the peace domestically or wage war when it cannot be avoided. However, they never conceived a state so intrusive that farmers would need permits to own livestock or having search warrants shown after they kick your door in.