"All men having power ought to be mistrusted." - James Madison

America's next president will inherit more than a financial catastrophe when he assumes office. He will also inherit a shadow government - one that is fully staffed by unelected officials, fully operational, and ready to take over the running of the country at a moment's notice.

Last week, I discussed the manner in which the federal government of the United States has taken over our economy, manipulated our money and credit, and turned our once-free nation into a second-class "welfare" state headed towards authoritarian dictatorship - and how our two major-party political candidates, McCain and Obama, are powerless to stop this advance due to the fact that they helped create it.

Are you mad as hell? You need to be; any citizen left in this country who doesn't have the soul of a slave ought to be screaming bloody murder.

"In America, the law is King. For as in absolute governments, the King is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other." - Thomas Paine

As usual, the contenders for the White House are making a lot of promises about what they will change if elected. They're singing the siren song all politicians adopt by telling us exactly what we want to hear: reduce taxes, lower gas prices, reform Social Security, and provide us with more and more benefits. In other words, they're going to give us something for our vote - maybe. But reading between the lines, it's what Barack Obama and John McCain aren't saying that should cause voters to pause.

It could be argued that the single most important act of the founders was to provide a sound monetary policy. Money must reflect real value. When a nation's money has no value, and it becomes fiat money, the people lose power; those who control the money control the government and, eventually, all of the country's institutions, including the media.