The Liberty Lamp: Libertarian News & Editorials

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Egold Gets Indicted by Federal Judiciary

The on-line payment system eGold has been brought to court by a federal Grand Jury and the Secret Service. The company has posted a press release defending itself:

"Dr. Douglas Jackson, Chairman and Founder of e-gold, speaking on behalf of his fellow Directors and both companies vigorously denies the charges, taking particular exception to the allegations that either company ever turned a blind eye to payments for child pornography or for the sale of stolen identity and credit card information.

Dr. Jackson states, "With regard to child pornography, the government knows full well that their allegations are false, yet they highlight these irresponsible and purposely damaging statements in order to demonize e-gold in the eyes of the public. During the Inquisition, accusations of witchcraft and heresy were used to sanctify torture and seizures of property. In post 9-11 America, child porn and terrorism serve as the denunciations of choice. e-gold, however, as a matter of incontrovertible fact, is the most effective of all online payment systems in detecting and interdicting abuse of its system for child pornography related payments. e-gold Ltd. is a founding member of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) Financial Coalition to Eliminate Child Pornography. e-gold is the only member institution to demonstrate with hard, auditable data a dramatic reduction of such payments to virtually zero, while billions of child porn dollars continue to flow through other (heavily regulated) payment systems. [Most members, that is, all the banks and credit card associations are utterly unable to even provide an estimate of the volume of such payments processed by their systems. eBay's PayPal subsidiary, who may have the ability to make such a determination, has refused to do so and has indicated they destroy payment records after two years.] What is worse, until August 2005 when NCMEC courageously broke ranks with US law enforcement agencies and began directly notifying e-gold of criminal sites via the CyberTipline, component agencies of the US Department of Justice purposely concealed their knowledge of child pornography abuses from e-gold's investigators, subordinating actual crime fighting to a policy agenda designed to dirty up e-gold."

A Series of Lawsuits

This legal attack on eGold is only the first of a series. As The Liberty Lamp reported last year, The Liberty Dollar suffered what amounted to a campaign of fear, instigated by the US Treasury Department, alleging that the private company's product was somehow a fraud. The Liberty Dollar responded by filing a lawsuit, which aims to force the federal courts to reaffirm previous statements by various federal agencies that attested to the legitimacy of this alternative currency. Both eGold and the Liberty Dollar have long histories of customer satisfaction, and the ability and desire to investigate crime far surpassing that of US law enforcement. The founders of eGold have run a very tight ship, so tight, that some privacy seeking customers have begun to look for other free market competition, such as the Panama based ePay. ePay accepts eGold as a funding method, so those who wish to can transfer out of eGold and to this new on-line payment system.

It's the Economy, Stupid!

The timing of these lawsuits and government intimidation campaigns comes at an interesting, if not somewhat suspicious time. According to the Free Market News Network (FMNN), The US Dollar isn't doing so well these days. Who'd have thought, right? In an unbacked, fiat currency system, the only way to keep individuals from switching to more useful alternatives is to force them to take the inferior "paper" money through threat of violence, whether it be death, imprisonment, or fine. With the US Dollar on its increased rate of decline due, in large part to the Iraq War and the "War on Terror" in general. All this spending is paid for by running deficits, though many Democrats allegedly would like it to be otherwise. The result? Increased inflation, as high as 8-10% by some estimates (see FMNN for info on this). It is the subtle, hidden tax that no one can get away from!

...Or can they? It is possible to avoid this hidden tax if you have gold. Goldcentral.com has f ree shipping with your first gold order.

Labels: federal government, liberty dollar, online currency, precious metals

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Liberty Dollar Sues US Mint, Needs YOUR Support

Test of Wills & New Defense Liberty Dollar

If you were one of the few who responded to our urgent call for a donation to help us fight the US government... THANK YOU! We greatly appreciate every dollar you sent... even if it was those dreaded, depreciating US dollars... every dollar counts!

This “test of wills” with the US government will not be decided overnight. The government now has 60 days to respond to our lawsuit. We don’t expect them to be in much of a hurry... as they have every reason to be slow. Then a schedule will be set for discovery, briefs, orals and finally a judgment. All this takes time and money...

Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my first announcement... “most people are not very responsive.” In fact, we even got some hate mail... from our own list when we announced the lawsuit!

So let me be blunt, honest and to the point: We need your help, please.

The US Mint would have us believe that it is illegal for Americans to exchange gold and silver (such as the Gold and Silver Eagles minted by the US Mint or any other gold and silver for that matter) on a voluntary basis between consenting adults. Just imagine that at a time when “consenting adults” can legally exchange “fluids” between themselves, the US Mint would have us believe that you and we cannot trade gold and silver between ourselves. This is ridiculous and an assault on the concept of a free market.

Make no doubt about it... The very idea of a free market is at risk due to the US government’s assault on our right to use anything of choice in the marketplace. While we have never asked for a donation in over eight years, we need it now. Donations are accepted in Liberty Dollars: metal, paper or digital, even those dreaded Federal Reserve Notes that pass themselves off as US dollars are accepted, and credit cards.

Yes, a special Defense Liberty Dollar will be sent to you for every $20 you donate... after we win. This Defense Liberty Dollar is only available to those who donate $20 or more. This special Defense Liberty Dollar will not be “sold.” If you don’t donate... you will not be able to get one. We really need your support, please.

NEW DEFENSE LIBERY DOLLAR:

Plus a specially hallmarked one ounce $20 Defense Silver Liberty is available for only $25 each plus S&H (while silver is under $15 spot). Each Defense Silver Liberty will feature two special hand stamped hallmarks: the “Scales of Justice” and my personal Mintmark. This issue is strictly limited to only those Defense Silver Libertys issued during this fund-raiser. They will not be available after we win...

And if you like gold... there is a special Defense Gold Liberty auction on eBay. Please click HERE for more info.

Again... my most heartfelt thanks for those of you who actually sent in a donation. You have been wonderful... and I only hope you might donate again. And for those who have not joined the party... we are only asking for $10, but you can send just a dollar from your eLD account. But remember... you will receive a special Defense Liberty Dollar for every $20 you donate while we fight for your right to use any money of choice in the marketplace.

Labels: legal, liberty dollar, us treasury

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Liberty Dollar Sues US Mint!

On Tuesday, March 20, the Liberty Dollar filed suit against the U.S. Mint in U.S. District Court in Evansville Indiana. The organization asked the court to declare that the use of the Liberty Dollar is not a 'federal crime,' as claimed by the U.S. Mint. And the organization further asked the court to enter a permanent injunction against the U.S. Mint requiring it to remove any reference that the use of Liberty Dollars is a federal crime from its website.

This is quite interesting, as I'd assumed that the issue had died. Now, it seems that The Liberty Dollar (formerly NORFED) is suing the US Mint in Federal court in order to get a solid ruling in favor of competing private currencies. On a similar note, I spent a $20 1oz silver Liberty piece at a handmade soap and beauty products store last week. The owner was very happy about this, and she asked if I wanted to "waste" it on something as "simple" as her products. I said, "yes"! I can't remember the exact name of the place, but if you're ever in Lynden, WA, be sure to have some Liberties with you! Lynden is a few miles North of Bellingham, WA, and is a cute little Dutch themed tourist trap and rural town. I highly recommend visiting (no sarcasm here).

Labels: federal government, liberty dollar, travel