“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.
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
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.
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?
Ron Paul is interviewed for about 18 minutes on Brian and the Judge on FOX News Radio. Judge Napolitano is the Judge and is obviously more supportive of Ron Paul than Brian. Great interview.
Ron Paul was on KDKA Pittsburgh again this morning following his longer and more in depth interview last night. The morning news program promoted his appearance by including him in their news reports at the top of each hour leading up to this interview.
The interview was short (about 7 minutes) and very general. The most interesting portion was when Ron Paul spoke of remembering the area where he grew up near Pittsburgh. This was great exposure during morning drive time.
We seem to be entering a distinct second phase of the Ron Paul Revolution. It is arguably the most important phase. At least that is how I see it. The Presidential campaign was the impetus for the explosion of ideas for true liberty in our lifetime. The upcoming release of Ron Paul’s new book, “The Revolution: A Manifesto“, is the mark of the longer, more tedious, but most important educational phase. In an earlier article we compared it to the release of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”. Even Lew Rockwell echoed those thoughts in his blog today.
As the movement enters this new phase, it is a good time to look back with a bit of humor and nostalgia at the Ron Paul campaign. No other aspect of the campaign was criticized more than the unfair media coverage. One of the most popular Liberty Maven articles was the satire piece, “The Official Media Guide To Attacking Ron Paul”. We reprint it below to give us some perspective as we witness mostly positive articles from the main stream media of late. This is a good sign that the potential exists for the movement towards freedom that Ron Paul sparked will survive. Look how far we’ve come.
The Official Media Guide To Attacking Ron Paul
Liberty Maven has uncovered a letter from the office of the “Main Stream Media Czar”. Unfortunately, the letter was not signed by name, only title. We didn’t even know there was such a thing as a “Main Stream Media Czar” prior to discovering this letter. My only reaction to this letter was, “it all makes so much sense now.” Here is the letter itself, transcribed word for word.
There is some beauty in the world as a result of the REAL ID Act. The beauty is in its ugliness for the Constitutional rule of law. We’ll get to the beauty in a moment. First lets check out the ugly. At this point I could go into a litany of “your momma is so ugly…” jokes, replacing “momma” with “REAL ID”. The truth is the ugliness of it is so awful that humor is entirely inappropriate.
Ron Paul, as usual, pulled the mask off of the REAL ID Act back in 2005 during the debate prior to passage. He railed against the violations of privacy, the first amendment, and the tenth amendment within the law.
This REAL ID Act establishes a massive, centrally-coordinated database of highly personal information about American citizens: at a minimum their name, date of birth, place of residence, Social Security number, and physical characteristics. The legislation also grants open-ended authority to the Secretary of Homeland Security to require biometric information on IDs in the future. This means your harmless looking driver’s license could contain a retina scan, fingerprints, DNA information, or radio frequency technology. - Ron Paul, May 2005.
If John McCain had his way a book released last month would be banned. “Who Speaks For Islam? What A Billion Muslims Really Think” analyzes the results of a 6 year survey (2001 - 2007) about what Muslims think about America and the West. The survey sample represents “more than 90% of the world’s 1.3 billion Muslims, making this the largest, most comprehensive study of contemporary Muslims ever done.”
To put it simply, the findings show that Ron Paul is right and John McCain is wrong.
Liberty Maven
“, is the mark of the longer, more tedious, but most important educational phase. In an 
