DEFENDING THE AMERICAN DREAM SUMMIT – JANUARY 26, 2008 – ORLANDO, FL

Good afternoon.

I wish to thank Adam Guillette and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation for the invitation to speak with you today.

I have a bet with a friend that I cannot complete a speech without a quote from the late Harry Browne or the late Ronald Reagan, let's see how I do.

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” - is that the American Dream? John Locke would have said it a bit differently, “no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.”

Sadly, we have seen our nation's commitment to these principles deteriorate over time.

Perhaps your definition of the American Dream would best be summed up: two kids, two cars, a dog and a house with a white picket fence.

If you ask a collection of Democrats their definition might be free universal health for all.

I think I prefer John Locke's version the best. It is hard to improve on: “No one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions.” I think we can all agree this is an excellent premise to live our lives and more importantly – to demand from our government. If this is your idea of the American Dream – then you are not alone. You may not have realized it until today, but you may very well be a Libertarian.

Ladies and gentlemen...we have somehow gotten away from this simple but important ideal. How telling it is we stand here today at an event to “Defend the American Dream” instead of being at an event called “Celebrating the American Dream.” We have lost our way ladies and gentlemen – we have lost our way.

Today more Americans vote for their 'American Idol' or who should win 'Dancing with the Stars' than participate in our national elections. They forget the most important aspects of our government that indirectly, strongly affect their lives. We are living in an oblivious nation.

Meanwhile, the American dollar has declined over 20% since 2002. Does the average American understand the consequences of such a decline? No! But anyone who traveled abroad in the last few years would have discovered what a terrible situation America is in. Here at home people suddenly have discovered that they can no longer afford what they could afford just a few years ago - and most of them have no clear understanding why.

Most Americans do not understand what the Federal Reserve does, how it works, or even that it is in fact a private bank.

You may have heard this week our federal government is preparing to throw BILLIONS of dollars ( or should I say Federal Treasury Promissory Notes? ) into the hands of individuals, businesses and municipal insurers. Does anyone ask where this money comes from? It is not coming from you or me, it is simply being created out of thin air. But guess what? There is a catch...and that catch is debt – further exasperating the problem....delaying the problem further down the road, making us feel nice and cozy now, but making it all that much worse. It is no different than an individual unable to pay his or her credit card bills, so they take out another credit card to pay off the earlier ones. It is a scheme that cannot last forever and it is threatening the American Dream.

Most Americans do not understand the costs associated with the heavy regulation imposed on individuals and business.

Let me illustrate my point: Ask any homeowner who has wanted to put up a simple fence in their yard. They will tell you about the difficulties that they have faced – spending more time and money on permit applications and satisfying conflicting legal requirements than on the actual fence itself.

Now multiply that hassle & cost by the hundreds of millions and you will realize what a monster our government has become.

Are we truly a free society?

In the United States of America, you cannot get married without permission from the government. You cannot open a business without permission from the government. You cannot go hunting or fishing – even on your own property - without permission from the government. You cannot drive without permission from the government. And with each of these comes a bill, a charge, a tax, a filing or processing fee.

I could go on and on however have you ever stopped and wondered why? Do I need to prove to the government that I am a good husband, or a good person for that matter before I get a marriage license? Do I need to prove to the government that I am proficient in hunting or know how to fish before getting a fishing license? Even a driver's license, which we all take for granted. Certainly, initially, I needed to show that I know how to drive and know a few of the laws however I haven't had to do that since I was 16 years old. You may not realize how often we actually ask the government permission to just live our lives.

This “free” society is getting more and more expensive each day the legislature is in session and it is costing us all the American Dream.

Total government spending has increased to well over 48% of the national income. Just complying with governmental regulations costs the private sector in excess of $450 billion annually. That is $450 billion each year that could potentially go into savings & investments making this a more prosperous nation.

Is this the direction the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote that we had 'unalienable rights' that the government was designed to 'uphold'? It is important for American citizens to stand up for their rights when they see them being eroded as we have seen them erode these last many years. It may be happening slowly; however, it IS happening. Like the gradual erosion of a hillside, that suddenly becomes apparent, people are starting to recognize now how far we have come and have begun asking how we got here. The answer is simple: too many of our elected officials have failed their Oaths of Office and continually vote against our Constitution. And we have stood idly by.

Ladies and gentlemen, our legislators have violated our trust. We entrusted them to protect the Constitution and they have broken their promise and violated their Oaths. What does America have, if she cannot rely on the representatives we put in public office? What does America have if our representatives continually ignore and deface our Constitution? Are you going to continue to let them get away with such a travesty or do you simply not care anymore? Are your reality TV shows more important than your own liberty?

More important than asking how we allowed this to happen is to realize that we have an opportunity – all of us – to stop the process and reverse the shameful decline in our freedoms. We, as Americans, have a duty. It is the same duty that the founding fathers accepted when they wrote that 'whenever the government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.'

The American Dream is under attack, and it is only through your participation in the political process will we be able to make a change to the American Dream our founding fathers had in mind. It is only through your participation in the political process will we be able to turn the tide from political rhetoric to effective change. Ladies and gentlemen, the American Dream needs your help.

Libertarian ideals were instrumental in the birth of our country, and they can inspire a return to the individual initiative, responsibility, and prosperity that were once part of the American dream.

You will not find these ideals in the platform of either of the two major parties. Instead, you may find a 'lip service' and perversion of libertarian ideals, but the very principles on which America was founded can be found solely with the Libertarian Party.

I am pleased to say that for the millions of Americans who search in vain only to discover that neither political party reflects their values, their needs and their desires – we have a choice. The Libertarian Party is not only the third-largest party, it is also the fastest growing party in the United States.

I hope that you will join us, in the Libertarian Party. Together we stand for a strong, proud America – one that reflects the principles and values that our founding fathers would recognize with pride, and one that in which we can once again be proud ourselves.

Thank you.

Operation Magnum Force is a Farce

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA, June 5, 2006– Today Karl Dickey responded to the recent effort by various local and Federal law enforcement to arrest 23 suspects in Palm Beach County for consipiracy to produce and distribute drugs.

Karl Dickey said, "It sounds fantastic that our law enforcement is keeping us safer by keep drugs off the street, especially with operational names such as Magnum Force. But let's looks at the facts. The idea the DEA has eliminated a drug ring is ludacrous as another drug gang will quickly move in their place. The net effect to secure our neighborhoods is zero. They claim to be about zero tolerance, however it is really about zero effect. The only success the DEA has had is with qualudes, outside of that one drug, the DEA has been DOA (dead on arrival)."

Perhaps a better use of our tax dollars and the use of our talented law enforcement officers would be to go after violent crime and theft of property. Law enforcement will say that these issues are the result of "drug-related" crime. What they do not tell you is that it is actually the direct result of drug prohibition - similar to what we saw with alcohol prohibition decades ago. We finally saw the results of such prohibition and made alcohol legal once again, we need to do the same with drugs today. Drugs were not always illegal and it was not until they became illegal that they became the huge problem we are dealing with today.

Karl Dickey added, "Drug abuse is bad, but the drug war is worse. We need innovative solutions to this issue as what we have been doing and been spending the last three decades has been obscene."