Jake of Nazareth Running for Congress

Until recently, Nazareth resident Jake Towne was an engineer in Shanghai. He now calls himself a "freedom writer" and intends to challenge Charlie Dent in the LV Congressional race. He tells me he is "unaffiliated and definitely not with either of the major parties." What this means is that he will lose.

This Nazareth High School and Lehigh University engineering grad explains why he's running.

"I have been personally outraged by what Congress, our Presidents, and the Federal Reserve has done over the last few decades and I deem their collective actions as oppressive and tyrannical. As there is no hope for my concerns and grievances to be addressed by the current government, I’ve decided to make myself available and talk and discuss ideas with whoever wants to consider me to represent them."

Jake appears to be a Ron Paul acolyte. He opposed Israel's recent military maneuvers in the Gaza strip, the result of constant missile attacks aimed at civilians. He supports an audit of the Federal Reserve. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest he probably opposes Obama;s stimulus package.

I hope to sit down with Jake soon and find out what is motivating him. In the meantime, he explains his campaign's principles in an email.

1. Government exists to protect liberty, not to redistribute wealth, nor to grant special privileges, nor to interfere with the lives of individuals and their actions. The government of a free country, properly speaking, rests not in its elected officials but in its laws.

2. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. Therefore, transfer of American sovereignty to supranational organizations, even if “benign,” is not permissible without a constitutional amendment.

3. The United States Constitution was written under the principle of "positive grant." This means the federal government is authorized to exercise only the powers which are specifically given to it by the Constitution, and nothing more.

4. Each individual is fundamentally equal under the law with all other individuals. The rule of law's framework of liberty ensures the greatest opportunity for individuals to explore their strengths and surmount obstacles.

5. A limited and decentralized government with inherent checks and balances results in more self-rule by local communities, and hence providing local diversity and overall greater satisfaction for individuals. Individuals can always vote with their feet, and move to areas not affected by laws they strongly disagree with.

6. Individuals have the right to live their own lives in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal rights of others.

7. The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights — life, liberty, and justly acquired property — against aggression.

8. Rights belong to individuals, not groups.

9. Rights are not privileges, they are derived from the natural state of being human.

10. The Constitution merely acts to forbid the infringement of the federal government upon these rights.

11. The government's monetary role is to mint money and maintain the integrity of the monetary unit, not to commit fraud by debasement or to substitute counterfeits of paper for the constitutionally-specified forms of lawful money, coins of gold and silver.

12. However, individuals should be free to trade and exchange as money any mutually agreeable commodity or item as they wish.

Jake also has a Facebook page.