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By: Douglas French | Guest columnist
Published: February 20, 2012 Updated: February 20, 2012 - 6:00 AM

Alabama’s primaries are March 13, and this year the race is competitive, and it will matter.

When the talking heads on TV wanted to anoint Mitt Romney as the Republican nominee, Newt Gingrich won in South Carolina. When it looked like Gingrich had the upper hand, Romney won Florida and Nevada. When it’s declared a two-man race, Rick Santorum ran the table, winning Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado. In the meantime, Ron Paul continues to quietly pick up delegates.

So while many voters don’t want to “waste their vote,” who can properly judge whether a vote for this one or that one is a waste? The Opelika-Auburn News recently ran a Doonesbury comic strip concerning Ron Paul’s campaign. Paul is famous for wanting to end the Fed, return to gold, and bring home the troops. His preferred income tax rate is zero.

“The fact is your philosophy is pure utopianism,” says Gary Trudeau’s cartoon TV talking head. “No modern society could function under a libertarian government, which is why none exists.”

But as far out as the mainstream media wants to make Paul’s ideas, all Dr. Paul advocates is a return to the Constitution. No war has been declared in the Middle East, so in Paul’s view these current wars are illegal. Money coined by the United States government is to be gold and silver. The Constitution makes no provision for a central bank and fiat money.

Modern political commentators make the founding fathers out to be lunatics or maybe just naïve country bumpkins who didn’t know any better. But Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin are said to have both had IQs of 160. The idea of personal freedom, property rights and sound money wasn’t crazy to them but something to fight for.

The founders viewed government with suspicion for good reason. But now it is individuals who believe in freedom that are viewed with suspicion. Reuters reports that the FBI is keeping its eyes on “extremists, sometimes known as ‘sovereign citizens,’ (who) believe they can live outside any type of government authority. “The extremists may refuse to pay taxes, defy government environmental regulations and believe the United States went bankrupt by going off the gold standard.”

These individuals who believe that nobody has the right to take their property and that money should be gold and silver are considered dangerous by the FBI. "We are being inundated right now with requests for training from state and local law enforcement on sovereign-related matters," said Casey Carty, an FBI supervisory special agent.

“Sovereign members often express particular outrage at tax collection, putting Internal Revenue Service employees at risk,” reports Reuters.

The founders of this nation weren’t utopians, but they weren’t keen on forming a government that would confiscate their property via taxation. Thus, there was no income tax until much later — 1913, the same year the Federal Reserve came into being.

When you think about it in light of the facts, a vote for Paul is not a waste, but sends a message that freedom is to be celebrated and encouraged, not viewed with suspicion and stifled.

Douglas French is president of the Mises Institute in Auburn.

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Freedom should be celebrated, not stifled

Preparers Escambia County

? Bayview Senior Center: 2000 E. Lloyd St., noon to

4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

? Felix Miga Senior Center: 904 N. 57th Ave., noon to 4 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

? Wesley Haven Villa: 111 E. Wright St., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Saturday.

? Southwest Region Library: 12248 Gulf Beach Highway, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday.

? St. Luke United Methodist Church: 1394 E. Nine Mile Road, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

? "Red" Vickery Community Center: 2130 Summit Blvd., 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

Santa Rosa County

? Avalon Beach Fire Department: 5428 Mulat Road, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday and Wednesdays.

? Gulf Breeze Library: 1060 Shoreline Drive, 9 a.m.

to 1 p.m. Monday and Wednesdays.

? Milton Library: 5541 Alabama St., 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesday; and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays.

? Navarre Library: 8484 James M. Harvell Road,

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday and Saturday; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday.

Taxpayers must bring Social Security card, picture ID, last year's tax return, and receipts for credits they wish to claim.

For details, call AARP Taxaides at 396-5494.

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Tax-Aide offering free help

ASUNCION, Paraguay - A stray dog is getting credit for thwarting a prison break in Paraguay.

Officials say three dangerous inmates dug a tunnel about 26 feet (eight meters) from their cell to the street, and were about to break free just before dawn when the dog began to bark and alerted a guard.

Authorities at the Tacumbu prison on the southern edge of the capital dragged the unlucky prisoners before the media on Friday to tell the tale.

"Because of a stray dog we couldn't escape," complained Hilario Villalba. "When I reached the street, sticking my head out, the stupid dog barked and alerted a guard."

Villalba, who is serving a 30-year double-murder sentence, vowed in his native Guarani language that he'll keep keep trying to escape because he said his sentence isn't fair.

Meanwhile in neighbouring Argentina, a yellow labrador named Tiza alerted border guards to a motorist trying to smuggle $110,000 in $100 bills into Uruguay. The driver denied carrying any money, but the dog sniffed out the bills hidden in the glove compartment, another compartment and inside the rear seats, Argentina's tax collection agency announced Friday.

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Stray dog foils prison break by inmates who tried tunneling to freedom in Paraguay

WASHINGTON ? Rick Santorum preaches Made in America, but, according to his tax returns, he was driving a German-made luxury car just a few years back.

Santorum, now vying with Mitt Romney for frontrunner status nationwide and leading in the race to win the Feb. 28 Republican presidential primary in Michigan, has made American manufacturing a major theme of his campaign. He has called for tax breaks for U.S. manufacturers and one section of his campaign website is called ?Made in America: Empowering American Families, Building Economic Freedom.?

But his 2008 tax return, released along with three other years Wednesday night, showed he was started driving an Audi A6 that year as part of his consulting business, putting nearly 12,000 miles on the car. He claimed $241 in depreciation on his assets that year. The website Politico posted the tax returns Wednesday evening.

The Audi A6, manufactured in Germany, listed for $42,950 in 2008.

During the Iowa caucuses, Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, drew attention as he crossed the state in a 2006 Dodge Ram pickup belonging to a campaign aide and dubbed the ?Chuck Truck: for aide Chuck Laudner. As was reported by the website autoguide.com earlier this year, ?Whether or not it was intentional, the Dodge Ram has become a symbol for Santorum to prove that he?s hardworking and has spent the time to travel across the state.?

The Santorum campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

The auto industry has been a sore point for Romney as well, as Democrats have hit him for opposing President Barack Obama?s 2009 rescue of General Motors and Chrysler. Romney has argued that a privately financed managed bankruptcy would have been preferable ? even though experts including the head of Obama?s auto task force, Steven Rattner, say there was no private financing available at the time. Without government help, they say, the companies could have slid into bankruptcy.

The Free Press had earlier asked the Romney campaign for information on the former Massachusetts governor?s cars and was told he drives a red 2005 Ford Mustang and his wife Ann a gray 2010 Cadillac SRX. They also have a 2007 Cadillac SRX and a 2001 Chevrolet pickup truck.

Romney acknowledged owning a vehicle other than one built by the Detroit Three ? Chrysler, Ford and GM ? in the last 10 years following a meeting with the Free Press editorial board, but he did not provide additional details.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, another Republican candidate for president, has also released his tax return for 2010 but it did not include any vehicles. U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, also in the race, has not released his tax returns.

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Santorum drove Audi A6 in 2008, tax returns show

Posted: Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:19 pm | Updated: 10:35 pm, Thu Feb 16, 2012.

ECONOMY — Can a municipality secede from a school district?

People in Economy, upset with property taxes and school debt, have begun talking about the possibility of leaving Ambridge Area and merging with neighboring Freedom Area.

The topic has been raised by residents at consecutive Economy Council meetings, and in telephone and Facebook conversations.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with people who think we need to explore our options,” Mayor David Poling said.

However, Ambridge school board members did not even mention the proposed secession at their Thursday night meeting.

The school tax rate in Ambridge is 69.83 mills, highest in Beaver County, and the school board has a proposed preliminary budget that requires an 18-mill hike. Freedom’s current rate is 44 mills and its preliminary budget requires no tax hike.

Poling said “there was complete outrage in Economy” when Ambridge Area revealed the possibility of an 18-mill hike after a 6.5-mill hike a year ago.

In January, Poling called Freedom Superintendent Ron Sofo to inquire about the possibility of merging, and the Freedom school board authorized solicitor Matthew Hoffman to prepare a report on the “law and procedures” that apply to a secession and merger. Sofo said the solicitor’s report, which has been shared with Poling, should not be viewed as the district’s commitment to the proposal.

“Our board has made no formal decision,” Sofo said. “We need to explore how this works. We need to learn more about the process.”

Sofo, after reviewing Hoffman’s 17-page report, said “it is not an easy, simple thing to do” and would probably be a 12- to 16-month process.

The process involves petitions signed by a majority of Economy’s taxable residents, a review of the petitions by Beaver County Court and a review of the impact on both school districts by the state Department of Education, according to Hoffman’s report.

“We need to do this. We can do this,” resident Jo Ann Borato said during the public comment portion of the borough council meeting this week. “I think you’ll start to see petitions start to be circulated soon by residents like myself ... Either (school board members) serve the people, or people leave your jurisdiction.”

Poling wants Economy Council to create an exploratory committee, but council President Larry Googins said he thinks the possibility should remain “a resident initiative.”

Some residents suggested launching a new school district.

“That’s almost an impossibility,” Poling said. “It’s more realistic to merge with Freedom.”

Poling said he has heard from people who think he should not get involved with school-related issues.

“I’m the mayor of Economy and I’m looking to see what’s best for Economy Borough,” he said.

“I think we should get behind the mayor,” Borato said. “This impacts all of our properties.”

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Economy may seek Freedom from Ambridge