Liberty Maven

When I heard William “BJ” Lawson speak for the first time in person I said to myself, “This is the Ron Paul Republican who can win”. Then I checked out his opponent David Price and immediately thought, “I know Lawson can win.” At first glance, the problem is the heavily Democratic North Carolina district he is in, but if you dig a bit deeper, Lawson is the perfect candidate for a district of this kind. He is not your normal present day Republican. Lawson has the ability to attract those on all sides of the political spectrum much like Ron Paul did during his own campaign.

Below you will discover the Liberty Maven rankings for BJ Lawson on the Paul-O-Meter, where candidates and current lawmakers can be rated on how closely they are in line with Dr. Ron Paul on the issues. To learn about the Paul-O-Meter methodology please see this article. You may also assign your own rankings or request a candidate be added to the system.

Continue reading to see if BJ Lawson truly deserves the moniker “Ron Paul Jr.”

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After watching the first two so-called main stream party debates it is quite refreshing to hear a candidate give very direct answers to the questions he is asked. Bob Barr did that during his 6 minutes on NPR yesterday. Instead of talking around the problem and answering direct questions with subterfuge like McCain, Palin, Obama, and Biden, Barr answers with precision. That must almost be enough for some people to vote for the guy even if they disagree with him.

Check out the interview over at the Bob Barr campaign blog.

Note: This superb commentary regarding the current status of the two party system was submitted by Doug Lasken, an accomplished freelance author and English teacher in Los Angeles, California.

Where’s A Good Party?

by Doug Lasken

Perhaps the best adjective to describe our presidential conventions is “noisy.” You’d think, from the impact, that the noise was generated by a good percentage of the population, but the conventioneers at both events are just a tiny group that knows how to get heard.

One has to admit it’s been a good show this time because disapproval of President Bush is so widespread and profound that defeating his party is highly motivational, while die hard Republicans are motivated to salvage their banner. The fact is, though, that vast numbers of Americans view the two party system as a transparent scam, and they are looking for something better.

In a nutshell, the parties don’t stand for any clear-cut principles or practices.

The traditional wisdom, of course, is that Democrats hold the rich to their obligations to the little guy, oppose unnecessary war and want a sustainable, pleasant planet earth.

Republicans are supposed to believe in an independent mindset that thrives in a free marketplace unfettered by intrusive government. They are “fiscal conservatives,” advocates of a government run like a frugal household in which expenditures do not exceed income, and they believe in “family values” (a vague concept involving caring about one’s family).

It’s all bunk. Neither party represents any of those things.

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Listen, everyone, don’t let people distract you with nonsense about fiscal responsibility within the government or holding our leaders accountable. And definitely DON’T worry about the future of the U.S. Dollar. After all, the fundamentals of the economy are strong and we have REAL problems to worry about, such as imprisoning dangerous soda spillers, foreclosing on a disabled man who parked a car in his very own driveway, AND, most disturbing of all, people trying to peacefully exercise their freedom of speech!

Let’s start with the deadly soda, because we definitely all need to work together to proactively hunt down dangerous felons like this.  Let me paint the picture.  It’s an easy one.  We’ve all had parents, at least two, anyway.  And some of us have even cared for them when they got sick.  And most of us have had a soda or two in our lives.  So this should be pretty easy to picture.  Natalie Walters, a lady who routinely takes her father to the Boise Veterans Affairs Medical Center for treatment, also decided to callously take advantage of her right to travel, and regularly visited the cafeteria.  Her routine was to refill her mug with Diet Coke for anywhere from $1 to $1.50, depending on the cashier at the time and his or her ability to accurately type in the right codes and digits on a keyboard.  Well, imagine her surprise on Aug. 20, when Walters filled her mug with Diet Coke, [and] the clerk charged $3.80.

“I told her that cannot be right and asked to talk to the manager,” Walters said.

The manager told Walters the price is correct.

Walters decided she didn’t want to pay that much and offered to return the soda, she said. But the manager told her there was no way to accept the returned soda and Walters had to pay. Walters refused, and she said she was angry by this point, and she poured the soda onto the counter.

The manager banned Walters from the cafeteria.

But, wait, there’s more!  A LOT more!  Officials realized their debt to the safety of the community, and felt morally compelled to go through every piece of cafeteria and hospital videotape, tracking her insurgent movements, tracing her back to her ill father; going through his medical records; and justifiably upsetting him by interrupting him at his own dental appointment to let him know that Big Brother requested his daughter’s presence.

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Sarah Palin In The Land Of McCain's Oz

It is now time to rate the vice presidential candidates on the Paul-O-Meter. We start with John McCain’s VP pick Sarah Palin. The perfect strategic pick for McCain, Palin has little history. She’s been Governor of Alaska for less than two years, but now that McCain’s handlers are pulling Palin’s puppet strings it is difficult to see a difference between the two.

Here we examine Palin on 20 issues to see how she stacks up to Ron Paul. Hopefully this will help some see the lips through the lipstick.

If you’d like to see more ratings or rate Palin or any other candidate or lawmaker head on over to Paul-O-Meter.com and explore the possibilities.

If you want to delve into the question of whether Palin truly is similar to Ron Paul read onward.

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MIchelle Obama the wife of that candidate everyone’s been talking about for seemingly like 4 years now gave a rousing speech on behalf of her husband tonight. As this article points out she pledged that he will “end the war in Iraq, revise a sputtering economy and extend health care to all”. Apparently, those are the primary items on his Socialist Party approved honey do list. Where is Ron Paul or Bob Barr when you need them?

What will the Democrats say when/if Obama wins the election and brings our troops home from Iraq…. and then puts them on a plane directly to Afghanistan and/or Pakistan? “Yes we can… wait… WHAT?”

Obama is not advocating switching to a non-interventionist foreign policy. Neither is McCain, obviously. So what is the difference between the two on foreign policy? Nothing, except for the country they aim to occupy indefinitely. There is no fundamental difference between Barack Obama and John McCain on foreign policy. Saying Obama (or McCain) is better is like the difference between 5th and 6th place in the Olympics. Neither gets a medal. Both are still losers. Do you want to vote for a loser?

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Bob Barr

This afternoon WashingtonPost.com had a Q&A session with Bob Barr. I found it somewhat annoying that he didn’t answer all the questions (or they weren’t included in the transcript) when someone asked a two- or three-part question, but nonetheless it could serve well for those not too familiar with Bob Barr. Oh, and the closet Libertarian purist in me cringed when he called for “some form of a consumption type tax” in lieu of the IRS and payroll deductions.

Read it here.

The final Presidential candidate we will be rating on the Paul-O-Meter is the Green Party’s nominee, Cynthia McKinney. For a description of the Paul-O-Meter see this article. We have previously completed ratings for John McCain, Barack Obama, Bob Barr, Chuck Baldwin, and Ralph Nader.

You can get in the action too by rating the candidates using our Paul-O-Meter polling application here.

Listed below is our own ratings for Cynthia McKinney.

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It is now Ralph Nader’s turn to be viewed through the Ron Paul colored glasses of the Paul-O-Meter. The Paul-O-Meter rates the candidates on how closely they resemble Ron Paul on the issues. For a complete description and methodology of the Paul-O-Meter please see this article. Thus far we have rated Barack Obama, John McCain, Bob Barr, and Chuck Baldwin.

You can join in the rating fun by using our web based Paul-O-Meter application here. Feel free to check it out and submit your own ratings for all the Presidential candidates.

Find our own ratings for Ralph Nader below.

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D o w n s i z e r - D i s p a t c h

Overall, health care prices continue to rise faster than the rate of inflation, but there are exceptions. The cost of some procedures and drugs is falling, both in terms of time and money.

What happened? Did Congress pass a law or create a new program? No. Congress had nothing to do with it. Instead, it happened because of . . .
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