What's Ron Paul been up to?

From my inbox today:

Over the past 17 months you and I delivered a message of freedom, the likes of which American politics has not seen in decades. With the primary season now over, the presidential campaign has come to an end. But the Revolution has only begun.

Today I am happy to announce the official launch of the Ron Paul Campaign for Liberty. Please visit our new website and join us: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/

Over the next few months I will be developing a program, assembling a team, and announcing new and exciting projects. We will have a permanent presence on the American political landscape. That I promise you.

Right now, I need your patience and support. I want the Campaign for Liberty to be a grassroots campaign; so your energy, your creativity, your feedback, and your participation are essential.

Together, we will educate our fellow Americans in freedom, sound money, non-interventionism, and free markets. We will write commentaries and broadcast videos on the news of the day. And I'll work with friends whom I respect to design materials for homeschoolers.

Politically, we will expand the great work of our precinct leader program. We will make our presence felt at every level of government. We will keep an eye on Congress, and lobby against legislation that threatens us. And we will identify and support candidates who champion our great ideas.

"In the final analysis," I wrote in my new book The Revolution: A Manifesto, "the last line of defense in support of freedom and the Constitution consists of the people themselves. If the people want to be free, if they want to lift themselves out from underneath a state apparatus that threatens their liberties, squanders their resources on needless wars, destroys the value of their dollar, and spews forth endless propaganda about how indispensable it is and how lost we would all be without it, there is no force that can stop them."

Our time has come to act on these words.

May future generations look back on our work and say that these were men and women who, in a moment of great crisis, stood up to their politicians, the opinion-makers, and the establishment, and saved their country.

For liberty,

Father's Day Ideas

Okay, Brian, my love, you can go away now.

Now we can talk.

So, in case your the last minute type too, here's some inspiration:

1. Start coloring now and you'll have plenty of signs to decorate with by Sunday.
2. Make a T-Shirt for Dad, or better yet, go to church wearing matching t-shirts declaring your love.
3. Have your little ones make this mini book, let the slightly older try this one, and the self-motivated can go all out.
4. Create a decorative license plate.
5. Print some coupons.
6. This tie takes the cake.
7. But my kids' Reese's loving dad is getting these.
8. Hijack his desktop and give him some new wallpaper.
9. Get some minor league baseball or monster truck tickets for dad, grandpa, and the kids.
10. Build a picture frame - nifty!
11. Or a business card holder from his best golfin' buddy.
12. And, if your crazy like us, why not sing him a song? I wrote this chart-topping song many years ago and enlisted one of my siblings help in distributing the copies to the kids still living at home, and we sang it to my dad together. We may have to do a reunion tour - what'd'ya say, Hannah?

"DEAR OLD DAD" - (sung to the tune of the Mickey Mouse Club - my dad and I have a long history with this song) - and yes, we are weird, and so is our sense of humor

Who's the leader of the home that's made for you and me

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Hey! there, Hi! there, Ho! there We're as happy as can be

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Dear old Dad (He's so swell!) Dear old Dad (We know it well!)

Forever loving him until we die (Die! Die! Die!)

Come along, and sing a song and join the family

D-E-A-R O-L-D D-A-D-D-Y

Popping in

We had a great trip to PA to visit my fam and then on the way home (sort of)we spent a couple of idyllic days on Chincoteague and Assoteague Islands, VA. We even got to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on the way home (yeah, a 19 mile bridge and tunnel system - and I'm not too crazy about either, but it wasn't too bad and actually kind of fun, but I didn't say that).

Trip highlights (off the top of my head)

1. Visiting my sister and her beautiful new home in VA (and my brother-in-law Joseph who is the king of the grill). My sisters and I enjoyed and long and enthusiastic Broadway piano and singing time, my daughters and their aunts made a fairy house, and my son was captivated by Joseph's huge Transformers collection. Oh, and my dad did a great lip sync to "You've lost that lovin' feeling".
2. Getting together with my childhood friend Lisa. We talked for hours. I wish we'd had days.
3. Watching the birds that built a nest on my mother's deck. I named the parents Mary Jane and Clark. Their eggs hatched while we were there and we enjoyed listening to and watching Juju, Tootsie, Dot, Nerd, and Baby Ruth.
4. Getting to know my cousin Angie's new husband Shaun, and playing a great game of Mafia with them, Uncle Joe, and the rest of my family
5. Anna's first real roller coaster rides - in threes, on the Comet and in the front row of the Super Duper Looper. Rosie had to settle for the tame coaster, but she is rarin' to go.
6. Meeting my parent's neighbor Jade. She was four when I met her, but told me that on May 28 she was going to be 55 (a conspiracy of my dad's based on her wearing her grandma's high heels). She was a gem and my girls loved playing with her at their found and cleaned up (and perfect and beautiful) kitchen play set.
7. My daddy and Ethan trying on a Jack Sparrow hat and wig at the Disney Store outlet - oh, and I got wicked good deals there too.
8. All of our trip to Chincoteague. It was wonderful there. Captain Barry's boat ride, a family size ice cream sundae (five scoops we all picked one - cream cheese snickers, oh my word!), Anna Kate's perfect birthday pics at the beach, the kids playing in the surf, Rosie digging, a super high kite, a fantastic fresh seafood dinner on the bay, my kids falling in love with Misty's descendants...

Now I've unpacked the clothes, but still have clutter to clear, and I'm focusing on parenting other household stuff.

I read a great book on my trip (and Brian did too - it's great to be on the same page) - To Train Up a Child. It really connected all of the dots for me, in wanting to be consistent and Biblical, but not overbearing. And we are already seeing the results. (Updated 5/1/15 - Parenting is a journey that sometimes takes you 180 degrees from where you were.  I would no longer in any way recommend this book or any book that recommends spanking/corporal punishment.  We were never good at it thankfully because it never felt right, but it was what we were taught that good parents did.  We're now on a much happier journey in positive parenting.)

I'm not planning to post as frequently for a while at least. Computer time is really consuming more than its fair share and I want to be fully present here where I am. So we'll see. I do love you all and want to visit with you as well. :^)