“The dollar has completely been removed from our oil trade ….Crude oil customers have agreed with us to use other currencies (in the trade),” Iran’s Oil Ministry official Hojjatollah Ghanimifard earlier today, although Iran had stopped selling oil in dollars in December 2007. America replied today by moving another aircraft carrier into the Persian Gulf, ostensibly not for further bombings of Iraqis. Asked if the carrier move went hand in hand with the rising U.S. rhetoric against Iran, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said, I don’t see it as an escalation. I think it could be seen, though, as a reminder
Preemptive warring against Iran will further secure Israel’s security and possibly America’s oil supply, both goals of which I reject as they just seem to be missing from the Constitution. The attack should secure the World versus America/Israel, possibly not a bad thing right now, as we continue attacking whichever country in the region at our pleasure. There is NO “AL-QAEDA” in Iran, they DO NOT HAVE nukes or “weapons of mass destruction.” And even if they did, or are trying, who could possibly blame them with a massive occupational army-with-their-deaths-written-all-over-it next door? And why aren’t we trying diplomacy? My expectations of my own country talking instead of threatening is very low, but how about China, Russia, Europe? Will they just let us have our way? Just like Chamberlain, Stalin, and Daladier let Hitler have his way.
Viewpoint
After the attack, America will be finally exposed as no better than Hitler’s attacks on Iran-Poland and Iraq-Czechslovakia. Our leaders will all be war criminals (or just committing another war crime, as you like). Our entire Congress, minus the Representative from Texas and a select few others, will need replacement. I voice doubt that there will even BE a vote of any type in Congress this time around, so powerless and spineless are the Pelosi Democrats of 2006 and the Bush die-hards.
As a former proponent of the FairTax I researched with great interest whether Ron Paul supported it or not. During one of the first television interviews of his Presidential campaign he was asked about supporting it. His answer was that he’d vote for it, but would not sponsor it. He is against taxes on principle, he said. I was happy that he said he’d vote for it, but annoyed that he wouldn’t sign on as a co-sponsor.
Since then I’ve come to rethink and research the FairTax and I am now in alignment with Ron Paul’s position. Today the Mises Institute released a daily article on the FairTax by Laurence Vance. It is more than an article. It is a book review of the latest FairTax book by Neil Boortz, a major proponent of the tax. It is also more than just a book review, it is a meaty treatise on why the FairTax may not be so fair after all.
As a critic of the national retail sales tax plan known as the FairTax, I take Neal Boortz’s new book on the FairTax very personally. The book is titled FairTax: The Truth: Answering the Critics. It is intended to be a sequel to The FairTax Book, published in 2005, that offers “eye-opening new insights not covered in the original book.”
Boortz is right. There are some eye-opening new insights unique to this sequel. Like the disclosure that you might “owe more in taxes in the first year of a FairTax system than you do today.”[1] Or the admission that “the FairTax could be even more progressive than our current system.”[2] Or the confession that the “implementation of the FairTax doesn’t mean complete annihilation of the IRS.”[3] Or the proposal that “a procedure should be set up in the Treasury Department to collect taxes on Internet and catalog sales, remitting the state and local governments’ share to them.”[4]
Ron Paul was interviewed on KTSA 550 (San Antonio) this morning. He promoted his book and discussed all the things he normally discusses. He did reference the recent McCain comment when McCain said he wanted to run against Ron Paul “because he is like a Democrat.”
This is an excellent interview with Ron Paul on NPR Radio’s “Talk Of The Nation” show. Ron Paul even used a little humor which is somewhat unlike his normal “serious talk” on the campaign trail
Bob Barr has officially entered the presidential race vying for the Libertarian Party’s nomination. I’ve written supportive articles of Bob Barr in the past and if he is the Libertarian nominee I’d happily vote for him. He certainly doesn’t have the unblemished record of a Ron Paul, but few do. Ron Paul is in a class to himself. So he’s no Ron Paul, but he now is a viable candidate running for President on the Ron Paul message. See his video message officially announcing his run for Prez below. He sounds like a Ron Paul clone.
The chief executive of the United States is no longer a mere constitutional officer charged with faithful execution of the laws. He is a soul nourisher, a hope giver, a living American talisman against hurricanes, terrorism, economic downturns, and spiritual malaise. He—or she—is the one who answers the phone at 3 a.m. to keep our children safe from harm. The modern president is America’s shrink, a social worker, our very own national talk show host. He’s also the Supreme Warlord of the Earth.
This messianic campaign rhetoric merely reflects what the office has evolved into after decades of public clamoring. The vision of the president as national guardian and spiritual redeemer is so ubiquitous it goes virtually unnoticed. Americans, left, right, and other, think of the “commander in chief” as a superhero, responsible for swooping to the rescue when danger strikes. And with great responsibility comes great power.
It’s difficult for 21st-century Americans to imagine things any other way. The United States appears stuck with an imperial presidency, an office that concentrates enormous power in the hands of whichever professional politician manages to claw his way to the top. Americans appear deeply ambivalent about the results, alternately cursing the king and pining for Camelot. But executive power will continue to grow, and threats to civil liberties increase, until citizens reconsider the incentives we have given to a post that started out so humble.
Readers of Liberty Maven know by now how much we adore Ron Paul and his message of freedom, prosperity, and peace. That does not mean we can’t be critical of him when circumstances call for it. Anyone who views the list of candidates Ron Paul has endorsed for office should notice something missing. He hasn’t endorsed a single candidate who is running against an incumbent Republican in a primary.
As a Ron Paul supporter of all the liberty minded candidates it greatly concerns me that Ron Paul has not endorsed some candidates who are close to 100% in line with his platform. A perfect example of this is the race in Virginia’s 10th District between Vern McKinley and incumbent Frank Wolf. Vern McKinley is about 90% aligned with Paul on the issues. Frank Wolf is an Iraq war supporter, who voted for both SCHIP and minimum wage increases along with the Democrats. Wolf voted against repealing the DC gun ban. Wolf voted for Bush’s prescription drug plan. Wolf just had a bill that he sponsored signed into law by President Bush that will make property rights advocates vomit.
I cannot be impartial when reviewing Ron Paul’s new book “The Revolution: A Manifesto“. I’ve spent over one year of my life thinking “Ron Paul” in almost every waking moment. More accurately I’ve thought about the potential for true liberty in my lifetime.
As a Libertarian voter since 1996 I’ve grown accustomed to losing elections. For me that did not matter. All that mattered was that I was voting for the person I believed would best uphold and defend the Constitution. Hope for winning was never an option. Then Ron Paul came along.
I knew of Ron Paul and was ecstatic to learn he was going to run for President. I liked that he was going to run as a Republican. That fact alone gave me hope. I didn’t realize just how hopeful I would become. Early in the campaign I did not have much hope. I said that he is the one with the right message but is the wrong messenger. I never expected for him to raise so much money and win the hearts of Constitutionalists everywhere.
In the sound bite world of TV news and politics Ron Paul sometimes comes off as extreme. He normally shines like a founding father in the longer more in depth segments, such as the interview he did on PBS with Bill Moyers. Then came his book. It demonstrates his expansive knowledge of history, the Constitution, the rule of law, and political psychology.
For someone who has studied Ron Paul for a year like a graduate course in liberty, the book started with the same principled Ron Paul. As the book developed it got better and more enjoyable. In the end it left me smiling on the inside, happy to be a member of the rEVOLution.
Many will likely see the book as the end of Ron Paul’s upstart campaign for President. Those of us who have been paying attention know better than that. In fact, the last words in the book demonstrate that this is only the beginning. There are Ron Paul supporters registering as delegates all over the country. The Meetup Groups are still meeting and strategizing. Ron Paul influenced candidates are running in states from Florida to Alaska.
The Republican Party is slowly being transformed back into the party of the “old right” in the name of Ron Paul. No one is aiming to crash the Party. The desire is only to blow out the candles of warmongering neo-conservatism and rekindle the flame of liberty. We owe it to ourselves, our children, and the founders.
Ron Paul’s “Manifesto” manifests uncompromising liberty. It is the bible of human freedom. It is up to each of us individually to spread this message. We must take action now so that one day in the future our children will not dust off a yellowing copy of the book and ask “Why didn’t we listen to this guy?”
NOTE: This article originally appeared on The Nolan Chart and is being reprinted here at the request of the author, Jake, The Champion Of The Constitution. Jake has also agreed to become a semi-regular contributing author to Liberty Maven. We look forward to more of his insight into liberty. In this article he demonstrates how the Iraq war may be more like Vietnam than many would care to admit.
Dare to believe that maybe 9/11 did not really “Change Everything” and perhaps we have done this all before. My premise is that there are eerily strange parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq Wars. This article is in 3 parts, a brief outline followed by its elaboration, then a digression on McCain in Vietnam.
“Let it not be said that no one cared, that no one objected once it’s realized that our liberties and our wealth are in jeopardy.” – Dr. Ron Paul.
“Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Communism:Terrorism. A Great Fear is used to Unify and Scare the American Public and Initiate the Wars. In Vietnam, Fighting on Asian Soil Prevents Communism from Reaching America (the Domino Theory). In Iraq, Fighting on Middle Eastern Soil Prevents Terrorism from Reaching America (more 9/11’s).
Gulf of Tonkin: WMD and Iraqi Support of Al-Qaeda. Lying was used to Initiate the Wars and Unify the American Public. In Vietnam, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, revealed as a false flag attack in 2005, made it seem as if North Vietnam was the Aggressor instead of the USA. In Iraq, the Bush Administration’s false claims of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and Al-Qaeda/Terrorist presence in Iraq were used to justify the Preemptive War by the USA.
Viet Cong : the “Insurgency”. The Single Enemy is another Lie. The American Public is Misled to Believe We are Fighting a Single Entity. In Vietnam, the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong were separate entities, but most Americans thought we were just fighting the Viet Cong guerrillas in the jungle. For the starting years of the Iraq war, the Media classified the Iraqi resistance as “Insurgents” or the “Insurgency,” while in reality it is a civil war between multiple Sunni and Shia factions, with dashes of other groups added for good measure.
The Diem Assassination : The Hanging of Saddam Hussein. Political Killings of Our Evil Ex-Ally Spreads Total Chaos.
Secret Bombings of Nation States completely WITHOUT Declaration of War or even Approval by Congress. In Vietnam, Nixon executed the Secret Bombing of neutral Cambodia during Operation Menu in 1969. In Iraq, Bush and Britain’s Secret Bombing of Iraq occurred in mid-2002, well BEFORE Congress gave a rubber stamp to Bush to launch the invasion on October 11th.
“We Must Stay the Course. Leaving Is a Huge Mistake.” Vietnam: Presidents Johnson and Nixon. General William Westmoreland. Iraq: President Bush. General Petraeus/Powell.
Initially, the First Instinct of the US President was Refusal to Attack. (surprised?)
America Commits War Crimes Against Humanity. The My Lai Massacre. Abu Ghraib. Gitmo.
Use of Real “WMD” Against Civilians. Biochemical or Radiation Warfare. Agent Orange. Depleted Uranium.
The Legacy of Colin Powell Will Be to Have Lied in Both Wars.
Lastly, Murder of American Students by the National Guard in America. Kent State. Jackson State. And where next?
Liberty Maven
