Butler Shaffer comments on Ron Paul exclusion

Butler Shaffer posts some nice comments on the LewRockwell.com blog:

Why is anyone surprised that the upcoming "debate" in New Hampshire - co-sponsored by the GOP and Fox News - would exclude Ron Paul? Such a decision only adds evidence for the proposition that the major political parties and mainstream media are a unitary system employed by the corporate-state establishment to maintain its authority over the nation. Their function is to generate support for an ever-increasing array of "problems" to be addressed by ever-expansive state powers; their role is not to question the arrangement. In furtherance of this singleness of purpose, political parties have embraced the virtue of "bipartisanship," while the media boast of their "responsible" forms of journalism.

Boobus Americanus could be counted upon to reject the inclusion of so-called "third parties" into political debates - ignoring the fact that the Republican Party, historically, was the most successful of third party offerings. Thus were the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, etc., kept in the wings; their alternative policies and philosophies marginalized. Tweedledum and Tweedledummer were the only voices allowed to be heard in a supposedly "democratic" system.

But how do the practitioners of the unitary mindset deal with a member of one of the major political parties? The quadrennial candidacy of Harold Stassen could be tolerated for much the same reason as comedian Pat Paulsen's "run" for the presidency: a welcome form of comic relief. But Ron Paul's candidacy is of serious proportions. His is a campaign directed to principled minds that value peace, liberty, and reason; the kinds of people the political establishment does not want to see energized. Even in the debates in which he has been allowed to appear, his presence is visually marginalized by keeping him at the far end of the stage.

And, so, use Ron Paul's exclusion not as an opportunity to complain about "unfairness," but as an example of what all of us are up against. Imagine that the Soviet Union was conducting an election for president, and that the Communist Party's Central Committee was co-sponsoring with Soviet-owned television a "debate" among the candidates. Imagine, further, that Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn had declared himself a candidate. Do you think he would have been allowed to participate in the debate?

Great Ron Paul article!

The Christian Science Monitor has written a great article on Ron Paul! It starts like this:

Ron Paul still looks surprised when his calls to follow the Constitution and restore a sound currency set off whoops of approval at a campaign stop.

The 10-term GOP congressman from Texas has been making these points for 30 years, with little to show for it beyond hundreds of House votes on the short end of 434 to 1. Critics called him a crank.

But lately, his views and values – the product of a lifetime of intense, self-directed study – are finding an audience. His message is basic: freedom and limited government. Repeal the welfare-warfare state. Get out of Iraq, now. Abolish the income tax. End the war on drugs. Put the dollar back on a more solid footing.

"Unlike some others, I wasn't really anxious to run for president," he tells supporters at Tea Bird's Café and Bistro in Berlin, N.H. "I didn't believe the country was ready for a strict constitutionalist."

When he says "strict," he means it. As a member of Congress, he refuses to vote for any bill not explicitly set out in the Constitution, earning him the nickname "Dr. No." He routinely votes against new taxes, deficit budgets, government surveillance, gun control, war funding, and the war on drugs. He would abolish the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Reserve, the US Departments of Education, Energy, and Commerce as well as other "unconstitutional domestic bureaucracies." He has called for America to withdraw from the World Trade Organization and the United Nations.

At the heart of Paul's worldview is a conviction that people are born free and should govern themselves – and that free markets make better decisions than governments do.

"Some people think I don't love governing, but it's different," he says in a Monitor interview. "I believe in self-governing and family governing. The responsibility is put more on the individual than on some huge monstrosity in Washington."

Continue reading the article here

More on Ron Paul and the Fox forum

Press release issued by the NH GOP:

Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, issued a press release this afternoon about Fox News' presidential candidates forum scheduled for January 6. His release is below.

We thank Mr. Cullen for his statement today and for his efforts with Fox News.

*****
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: December 31, 2007

Contact: Fergus Cullen, Chairman, New Hampshire Republican Party

NH REPUBLICANS: DON’T LIMIT DEBATE PARTICIPANTS

CONCORD – New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen releases the following statement regarding primary weekend debates:

“Limiting the number of candidates who are invited to participate in debates is not consistent with the tradition of the first in the nation primary. The level playing field requires that all candidates be given an equal opportunity to participate – not just a select few determined by the media prior to any votes being cast.”

“Therefore, the New Hampshire Republican Party calls upon all media organizations planning pre-primary debates or forums for both parties to include all recognized major candidates in their events.”

“The New Hampshire Republican Party has notified FOX News of our position, and we are in ongoing discussions with FOX News about having as many candidates as possible participate in the forum scheduled for January 6.”

Ron Paul and the Fox mystery forum

The details are far from clear about Ron Paul's supposed exclusion from a Republican forum on Fox. Here is another official press release:

On December 27, the Associated Press reported:  "The New Hampshire Republican Party is sponsoring a forum for Republican presidential candidates on Jan. 6, two days before the state's first-in-the-nation primary."  Later in the article, the AP stated:  "Participating in the forum will be Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee, John McCain,  Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson."

On the evening of December 28, Jared Chicoine and Jordan Brown of our New Hampshire campaign staff met in person with Fergus Cullen the New Hampshire GOP chairman to discuss whether or not Dr. Paul would be invited to participate in the forum.  Mr. Cullen confirmed there will be an event on January 6, but he could not confirm whether or not Dr. Paul would be invited. We also learned the event would not be a debate with an audience, but instead would be a forum in a closed studio with the candidates questioned only by Chris Wallace of Fox News.

A few hours after that meeting, we contacted Fox News seeking clarification.  Later that night, we issued a press release while waiting to hear from Fox News.

On December 29, the Baltimore Sun featured a report by Jason George. Mr. George reported, "Calls and emails to Fox News spokespersons by the Tribune were not returned Saturday evening.

"An official at the New Hampshire GOP, which is co-sponsoring the event with Fox, said that Paul might still be included, but the planning for the debate was still coming together and it was ultimately Fox's call."

As of late afternoon today (December 30), we have nothing more to report.

Kent Snyder
Chairman, Ron Paul 2008

Chuck Baldwin endorses Ron Paul

A few days ago I posted an article by Chuck Baldwin; in case it wasn't obvious who Pastor Baldwin is supporting, here is a video where he officially endorses Dr. Paul:

Ron Paul on taxes

A great primer on Ron Paul's view on various taxes!

http://ronpaul.cc/images/RonPaulOnTaxes.pdf

This was done by a Ron Paul supporter - do you know of any other candidate who has volunteers willing to spend the time and effort to put something like this together?

(file requires Adobe Acrobat)

New Ron Paul ads

New ad by eLIB3RTY:

And one from the campaign:

Ron Paul excluded from forum?

He is polling higher than some of those apparently invited to a Republican forum on Fox News January 6, and has raised a LOT more money. This story is being investigated, but it shows how "fair" and "balanced" Fox News really is.

Press release from the Ron Paul campaign (source):

December 28, 2007 10:39 pm EST

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – According to the New Hampshire State Republican Party and an Associated Press report, Republican presidential candidate and Texas Congressman Ron Paul will be excluded from an upcoming forum of Republican candidates to be broadcast by Fox News on January 6, 2008.

“Given Ron Paul’s support in New Hampshire and his recent historic fundraising success, it is outrageous that Dr. Paul would be excluded,” said Ron Paul 2008 campaign chairman Kent Snyder. “Dr. Paul has consistently polled higher in New Hampshire than some of the other candidates who have been invited.”

Snyder continued, “Paul supporters should know that we are continuing to make inquiries with Fox News as to why they have apparently excluded Dr. Paul from this event.”

Andrew Napolitano on Lincoln

Fox News analyst and judge Andrew Napolitano includes some strong opinions on Lincoln during his speech at the Reason in DC event in October:

More Ron Paul reaction to Pakistan situation

And some sage foreign policy advice:

More Ron Paul reaction to Bhutto assasination

Interview with Wolf Blitzer:

Ron Paul reacts to Bhutto assasination

From iowapolitics.com:

He called Bhutto’s assassination an utter tragedy, but not totally unpredictable because of the U.S. involvement in Pakistan. For several years, the U.S. has been trying to establish a “puppet government” with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, Paul said. He added that the Pakistani people should be able decide what kind of government they want.

“He gets support from 8 percent of the Pakistani people,” he said. “How much money of your money did he get from you and your family over the last eight years? Ten billion dollars for a puppet government in that region of the world ... some people thrive on chaos and that was what was created today because they don’t like the type of government there.”

He said the government's handling of Pakistan needs work.

“We either seem to have only two choices in this country,” he said. “We either pick a puppet and support them and send them all our money, or if he doesn’t do what we expect and disapprove of then we start bombing them.”

Paul warned that the country keeps doing the same thing over and over again when it comes to foreign policy.

“Every great nation, every great empire has always been brought to their knees -- not by a foreign adversary, not for military reasons,” he said. “They are brought to their knees because of financial reasons, and that is what we are facing today. A financial crisis in this country because we overspend at home, we overspend overseas, we have less friends than ever before and more enemies.”

More on the Lincoln controversy

Here's the video Thomas DiLorenzo blogged about:

Dr. Paul also mentioned Lysander Spooner's "No Treason," which you can find here. It was written 140 years ago, but is still well worth studying!

Ron Paul and the Cult of Lincoln

A lot has been made on the talk shows about how Ron Paul said that the Civil War was not necessary to free the slaves, and that Lincoln went to war for other reasons. Of course, this has been vilified because "Honest" Abe cannot be questioned. Well, more and more people are finding out the truth behind Lincoln and his war, and much of the credit can be given to Thomas DiLorenzo, who wrote this blog entry concerning the media attacks:

Joe Scarborough's stand-in on the "Morning Joe" television program, David Shuster, once again has tried to smear Ron Paul, and once again reveals his ignorance in doing so. This morning Ron called in to correct the lies that various neocons like Shuster have been spreading about what he said to Tim Russert about Lincoln and his war. Shuster adamantly claimed that Ron had "embarrassed himself" by claiming that Lincoln did not invade his own country to free the slaves. But it is Shuster who is embarrassingly ignorant of his own history. In fact, it would be hard to find a single American historian with any credibility who would argue that in 1861 an invasion of the Southern states was launched to free the slaves. Shuster is not only unaware of what is written in my book, The Real Lincoln, but also of what is in almost all other books on the war.

Read the rest here

The Economic Lessons of Bethlehem

Lew Rockwell explains the role of economics (and the state) in the birth of Jesus:

At the heart of the Christmas story rests some important lessons concerning free enterprise, government, and the role of wealth in society.

Let’s begin with one of the most famous phrases: "There’s no room at the inn." This phrase is often invoked as if it were a cruel and heartless dismissal of the tired travelers Joseph and Mary. Many renditions of the story conjure up images of the couple going from inn to inn only to have the owner barking at them to go away and slamming the door.

In fact, the inns were full to overflowing in the entire Holy Land because of the Roman emperor’s decree that everyone be counted and taxed. Inns are private businesses, and customers are their lifeblood. There would have been no reason to turn away this man of aristocratic lineage and his beautiful, expecting bride.

Read the rest here

Common Sense 2.0

Lawrence Lepard is back at it! After running a full-page ad in USA Today, Mr. Lepard is following it up with another ad, this time in the New York Times! It's basically an edited version of the open letter he wrote a couple of weeks ago, and is a powerful endorsement of Dr. Paul. Thank you Mr. Lepard!

In Defense of Scrooge

One of the most popular tales at this time of year is Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol. And each year we get to boo mean old Ebeneezer Scrooge....right? Well, maybe he has some good points after all, if you set aside his questionable persona! Check out this article:

It's Christmas again, time to celebrate the transformation of Ebenezer Scrooge. You know the ritual: boo the curmudgeon initially encountered in Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, then cheer the sweetie pie he becomes in the end. It's too bad no one notices that the curmudgeon had a point—quite a few points, in fact.

Read the rest here

A season of peace, even in war

Here's a story that you won't read about in the history books. Soldiers today should take heed and follow this tremendous example. During the Christmas season of 1914, many British and German soldiers on the western front stopped killing each other for a few days and found the other side to be human just like they were. Today, it is known as the Christmas Truce. John Denson wrote about the truce:

The Christmas Truce, which occurred primarily between the British and German soldiers along the Western Front in December 1914, is an event the official histories of the "Great War" leave out, and the Orwellian historians hide from the public. Stanley Weintraub has broken through this barrier of silence and written a moving account of this significant event by compiling letters sent home from the front, as well as diaries of the soldiers involved. His book is entitled Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. The book contains many pictures of the actual events showing the opposing forces mixing and celebrating together that first Christmas of the war. This remarkable story begins to unfold, according to Weintraub, on the morning of December 19, 1914:

"Lieutenant Geoffrey Heinekey, new to the 2ND Queen’s Westminister Rifles, wrote to his mother, ‘A most extraordinary thing happened. . . Some Germans came out and held up their hands and began to take in some of their wounded and so we ourselves immediately got out of our trenches and began bringing in our wounded also. The Germans then beckoned to us and a lot of us went over and talked to them and they helped us to bury our dead. This lasted the whole morning and I talked to several of them and I must say they seemed extraordinarily fine men . . . . It seemed too ironical for words. There, the night before we had been having a terrific battle and the morning after, there we were smoking their cigarettes and they smoking ours." (p. 5)

Continue reading the article here

And for a great review of the book, click here

Ron Paul Rising

It's Christmas, and Ron Paul is Rising!

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Concert

On another note, I was listening to Minnesota Public Radio, which played the "Christmas Concert" by Giuseppe Torelli; I was blown away! See another orchestra play it here:

Merry Christmas!

Lew Rockwell comments on Russert interview

Some insightful stuff from a leading proponent of liberty in the world today, Lew Rockwell:

This was an historic day. One man stood against a powerful TV newsman, his show and all its researchers, and triumphed. Watch it and here’s the transcript.

Tim Russert is known as an hard questioner, by establishment standards, but even when he is actually being tough—as with Rudy Giuliani—the guest gets some softballs, and plenty of time to answer the hardballs.

Ron Paul got no softballs, and little time, as Russert asked him question after question after qurstions, fed to him by his staff, with only a few moments for Ron. Yet he swatted the arrows away.

Originally, Russert had announced that Ron would be on for an hour. Then just before airtime, he said 16 minutes. Yet Ron was on for more than twice that, with no commercial breaks. Obviously the director knew hot television when he saw it. He also knew that this show marked a ratings-high for Meet the Press, at least in the Russert era.

Read the rest of Lew Rockwell's commentary here

Ron Paul on Meet the Press 12/23

Ron Paul takes on Tim Russert! Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Part 4:

Ron Paul video on Iranian TV!

Pretty cool! Story at http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/12/prweb591281.htm.

We're the Government -- and You're Not

A great satirical video on how we can all be Good Americans (thanks LewRockwell.com for the link):

Best political video of all time!

This was made several years ago, but is still the best produced political video I've ever seen!

Best Ron Paul TV ad yet!

Ron Paul, Defender of Freedom:

Supporters at Giuliani event

Only not supporters of Giuliani. Can you guess whose supporters were there? :-)

Ron Paul, Jedi Knight

I came across this on the LewRockwell.com blog

Chuck Baldwin article

Here's a great Ron Paul article written by Pastor / talk show host Chuck Baldwin:

According to the Associated Press, "Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul's supporters raised over $6 million Sunday to boost the 10-term congressman's campaign for the White House."

The AP report also said, "The [Paul] campaign's previous fundraiser brought in $4.2 million."

According to the Paul campaign website, "In a 24-hour period on December 16, the campaign raised $6.026 million dollars, surpassing the one-day record of $5.7 million held by John Kerry.

"During the day, over 58,000 people contributed to Dr. Paul's campaign, including 24,940 first-time donors. Over 118,000 Americans have donated to the campaign in the fourth quarter.

"The $6 million one-day total means the campaign has raised over $18 million this quarter, far exceeding its goal of $12 million."

Now, if one listens to most of the political pundits in the major media, Ron Paul is some kind of "kook," and his supporters are also a bunch of "kooks." So, the question must be asked, Just who are these kooks that are supporting him, and why are they giving Ron Paul all this money?

First, let's take a look at this "kook" who is receiving all this money. Ron Paul was born the third son of Howard and Margaret Paul, and was brought up with a work ethic in which one worked six days a week and went to church on Sunday. His first job was at age 5 helping his uncle wash bottles. He worked all the way through his youth mowing lawns, delivering newspapers, working in a drug store, delivering furniture and laundry, etc.

In high school, Ron was a track star, winning state as a junior in the 220-yard dash and running 2nd in the 440. His time in the 100-yard dash was 9.8. That's pretty good. I was never able to break 10-flat in the 100. Although, I bet I could have beaten him in the 50-yard dash. He also wrestled in high school. Coincidentally, so did I. But here Ron leaves me: he was president of the student council and an honor student. I never accomplished that. I was just glad to get promoted to the next grade. Even as a senior statesman, Ron Paul keeps himself in terrific shape. Have you seen him lately? He still maintains a rigorous exercise regimen.

Ron's two brothers are both ministers, and he became a medical doctor. He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine. When the Cuban Missile Crisis arose, Ron became a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force. He also served in the Air National Guard.

As an OB/GYN physician, Dr. Paul has delivered more than 4,000 babies, and he and his wife, Carol, have been married for more than 50 years. They have 5 children, 18 grandchildren and 1 great-grandchild. Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term as a congressman from Texas.

As a congressman, Ron Paul has never taken a government-paid junket. He is not accepting a government pension. He returns a portion of his office budget every year to the taxpayers. As a member of Congress, he has never voted a raise for himself. Do you know any other member of Congress that can make such a claim? Of course you don't, because Ron Paul is truly one-of-a-kind.

READ THE REST HERE

Full Ron Paul video with Glenn Beck

Here's the entire interview in one video; hopefully it won't be deleted like the Stossel interview I posted!

Ron Paul on Glenn Beck

[EDIT] Post removed because post above has full interview

Awesome show of support

Have you seen any other candidate with this kind of support? That's a rhetorical question, of course!

Ron Paul delivers the gift of liberty

Here's a fantastic picture I found linked on Daily Paul:

A picture is worth a thousand words, isn't it? Click the picture to read the story behind it.

Tea Party coverage

Jack Cafferty from CNN has a nice report on the Tea Party:

On another note, after all my work on that Stossel interview, it was pulled by Google, which is odd because the interview is split into parts on YouTube, which is also owned by Google, and those have had many more hits and are still allowed to stay posted. Go figure.

What a day!

The Tea Party was a huge success! Here's my 12:00 EST screenshot:

Giving an unofficial total of $6,427,595.14! However, their website listed this as total for the week:

Maybe the larger total included offline donations. Regardless, what a day!

Also check out this Ron Paul infomercial!

Part 1:

Part 2:

Comparison with November 5

It looks like the total will be more than Nov 5!

Tea Party has begun!!

Start donation amount on my computer screen:

See current donation:

Ron Paul on Mad Money

Jim Cramer is pretty wild, but he has a way of making his point clearly! This focuses on one of Jim and Ron Paul's big issues: the unaccountability of the Federal Reserve:

More Ron Paul

I have three items for this blog post. First, I decided to dive into uploading videos! My first go is the Ron Paul interview with John Stossel on ABC's 20/20. In ABC's great wisdom, they decided that it would be best to make the video "internet only" and not put it on the air (click here if you'd like to tell them you disagree with that decision). It was broken up into six parts, and I decided to put them together using free tools on the internet, which turned out to be more challenging than I expected, but I got it done. The quality is somewhat low, but the interview is an excellent primer on Ron Paul's philosophy of liberty. Here it is:

[EDIT] Video deleted by Google - sorry!

The second item is that the PBS show Now aired an episode about Ron Paul last night! You can view the episode here, and you can see an extended Ron Paul interview here.

Lastly, just a reminder that the Tea Party is tomorrow!

The blimp is aloft!!

The Ron Paul Blimp finally made it off the ground! The plan was to be in Boston to celebrate the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, but Mother Nature had other plans. So the current plan is to be in South Carolina by Sunday for a rally there.

Here is the liftoff:

Tea Party this weekend!!

Just two more days until the Tea Party!!

Tea Party in three days!!

The huge fundraising effort on the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party is only three days away!!

Christmas Greetings from the Ron Paul Family

Tax Hike Mike

Are you a Mike Huckabee fan? Perhaps this will cure you! Tax Hike Mike may not be as "fiscally conservative" as you thought. From their introduction:

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has taken to calling himself a “fiscal conservative,” but who ever heard of a fiscal conservative who raised taxes and spending through the roof while governor of Arkansas? Mike Huckabee is also calling himself “a different kind of Republican,” but that’s just a codeword for a big-government Republican who wants to cover up his tax-and-spend record with folksy talking points and one-liners. Sorry Tax Hike Mike. No dice.

Tax Hike Mike

"Why I Support Ron Paul"

Lawrence Lepard, a man who recently dropped big bucks on a full-page Ron Paul ad in USA Today, has written an open letter on why he supports Ron Paul:

I recently spent a significant sum of money running a full-page advertisement in USA Today supporting the candidacy of Ron Paul for President of the United States. Several people have asked me why I did it, so I have decided to explain my reasoning.

I believe that as American citizens we stand at an important crossroads in history. We are faced with a very important decision that will have repercussions for many, many years. We need to make a decision as to what we want America to represent, and to become. History will record the outcome of our decision. If we blow it, many more innocent people will die, and history will not be kind. As I say to my closest friends, I do not want to have to explain to my grandchildren that I was one of the "good Germans."

Let me state it clearly. The America that I grew up in believed in the rule of law, not men. The America that I grew up in believed in telling the truth. The America that I grew up in believed in following Judeo/Christian values, and yet made room for those of different faiths and backgrounds. The America I grew up in had a religious flavor, but we were wary of those who wore their religion on their sleeves. The America that I grew up in believed in the golden rule: treat people the way we would like them to treat us. The America that I grew up in believed that you did not lie, cheat or steal. The America that I grew up in believed in the inherent goodness of most men, but recognized that evil exists. Nevertheless, the America that I grew up in did not believe in an eye for an eye. It believed in protecting oneself from evil, but in the process of doing so we were cautioned not to become what we were protecting against. In short, the America that I grew up in was a place where one could be proud of one’s country, and thankful to the men and women who had sacrificed so much in the past to give us this heritage.

Read the rest of the letter

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! Here, I will write my thoughts about liberty and freedom, among other things, and give links to things I find interesting. And one of those other things I want to tell you about is Ron Paul! He is running for president in 2008, and would like the United States to go back to following the Constitution. What a concept! Here's a nice video showing what he is about: