by Rand Paul
Acknowledgments
I could not even begin to acknowledge the debt I and all Americans owe to the men and women in this book. Many of them I have met personally. All of their stories have moved me and spurred me to greater action.
We all face intrusive government in our daily lives, from something as simple as the DMV, to the IRS, or the local zoning board. Those who stand up and fight against something as large and powerful as their own government deserve our thanks, and they deserve to have their stories be a catalyst for change.
I would like to thank my family for their ever-present love and support, and for tolerating the schedule and life of the U.S. Senate. Every week I leave my wife, Kelley, and our boys, William, Duncan, and Robert, to fight against a state that has created the stories in this book. I hope that, as they read them, they remember why this battle is so imporant. I know I remember why it is so important every time I look at them.
A thank you also to the family of my chief of staff and co-author, Doug Stafford, his wife, Elizabeth, and his four children, for putting up with even longer hours and work more than usual while working on this book.
To the best staff on Capitol Hill: I am humbled every day by your dedication to our cause and hard work toward our goals. There is no doubt I could not do this without all of you. Particular thanks go to Rachel Bovard, who spends much of her time fighting the EPA with me; and to Eleanor May, for her able research assistance and help putting together this book.
To Rolf Zettersten, Kate Hartson, and everyone at Hachette, especially Bob Castillo and his production team. It is always a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for your encouragement on the topic of this book, your guidance through the process of putting it together, and your patience in allowing us the time we needed to get it right with our busy schedule in the Senate. Thanks also to Jack Hunter for joining the team and adding his editorial help.
A special note of praise and thanks to the groups who fight alongside the men and women in this book. Many of them are lawyers who defended these heroes or activists who helped make sure fewer people have to fight in the future.
Among the groups I have gotten to know are Campaign for Liberty on issues like the TSA, Pacific Research Institute, Institute for Justice, the American land rights association in defense of property and individual rights, Freedom House and International Republican Institute, whose men and women were detained in Egypt for promoting freedom. All of you and many others not named here are on the front lines of this battle. I hope that by telling more of these stories, we can help make your job easier, and bring liberty to more people here and abroad.
To those who inspired me through their earlier works: Specific details are cited in the endnotes, but generally I wish to thank James DeLong, author of Property Matters and Out of Bounds, Out of Control. Thanks also to Gene Healey of Cato and Brian Walsh of Heritage for their work in the area of overregulation, especially the excellent resource www.overcriminalized.com Also to the following websites that report stories the mainstream media often passes by: naturalnews.com, mercola.com, worldnetdaily.com, campaignforliberty.org, and many others.
I urge those who read this book to keep up with those sites as well as our new www.governmentbullies.com site, to learn more about these and other stories.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Dedication
Foreword by Ron Paul
Introduction
Part 1:
Property Wrongs—EPA Bullies
1. Government “Wetland” Goons
2. Escaping Communism and Finding Tyranny in America
3. From American Dream to Nightmare
4. Living Every Day in Fear of Your Government
5. American Hero
6. More Heroes, More Horror Stories
7. How Can We Solve the Problem?
Part 2:
The Lacey Act—An Open License for Government Bullying
8. Leave American Businesses Alone
9. Stringing Up Gibson Guitar
10. Trapping Lobster Fishermen
11. Bureaucrats Destroy Caviar Dreams
12. How Can We Solve the Problem?
Part 3:
Enemies Foreign and Domestic—The TSA and Bullies Abroad
13. Touching and Squeezing America
14. How the TSA Terrorizes American Citizens
15. How Can We Solve the Problem?
16. Foreign Bullies
Part 4:
Keeping Us Safe? FDA and USDA Bullies
17. Paved with Good Intentions
18. Public Enemy No. 1: Amish Raw Milk
19. State and Local Bullies
20. Cute and Fuzzy Bunnies
21. How Can We Solve the Problem?
Conclusion
Appendix: Notes and Sources
Acknowledgments
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
Copyright © 2012 by Rand Paul
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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ISBN 978-1-4555-2276-7
