In Ron Paul’s latest column, he points out a concern about how the land will be acquired for the Trans Texas Corridor. We know that a private foreign company will be partial owner/builder of the road. Ron Paul rightly points out the problem with taking private land by eminent domain laws by the government at the benefit of this private corporation. Yes. There is certainly something wrong with that.
One major concern I discussed a few weeks ago regarding the Trans Texas Corridor is where the land will come from. Another concern is where the money will come from. Official government websites for the TTC assure that public-private partnerships will shield the taxpayer from bearing too much of the cost burden, but a careful reading shows the door is definitely open to public funding sources, while at the same time there is no doubt of the intention to charge tolls on the road.
Taxpayers already pay for their transportation system through hefty gasoline taxes, vehicle registration fees, and other fees. They have every right to expect the roads they have already paid for to be properly maintained and toll-free.
It’s no secret that the folks that put out the Daily Reckoning are fans of Ron Paul. On Friday Ron Paul got another favorable mention by Bill Bonner in a fantastic “essay” called “When The Rock Began To Roll.”
Only one candidate for America’s highest office is a friend to capitalism – Dr. Ron Paul. Many people have never heard of him. To the voters, he is incomprehensible. To the press he is invisible. Winning candidates do not favor capitalism for a simple reason. Who benefits from the rough and tumble of real capitalism? Nobody in particular.
The Mises Institute’s Daily Article today is a must read. David Gordan examines the claims in the new and extremely popular book by Jonah Goldberg, “Liberal Fascism.” It was originally posted on 1/31/2008. Here is a taste:
Jonah Goldberg has ruined what could have been a valuable book. Goldberg has in the past treated libertarians with disdain, but here he offers an analysis of fascism that libertarians will find familiar. Goldberg has been influenced by John T. Flynn’s comparison of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal with Italian fascism; and he cites Friedrich Hayek with respect. He has learned from Murray Rothbard on the progressives as well. (He at one point remarks, “if libertarianism could account for children and foreign policy, it would be the ideal political philosophy” [p. 344].)
Fascism is usually counted a movement of the Right; but, as Goldberg notes, many leftists viewed Mussolini with sympathy. (Here Goldberg follows the important work of John Patrick Diggins, Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America.) H.G. Wells in a speech at Oxford in 1932 called for a “Liberal Fascism”; and Rexford Tugwell, a leading member of Roosevelt’s Brain Trust, said in 1934, “I find Italy doing many of the things which seem to me necessary…. Mussolini certainly has the same people opposed to him as FDR has. But he has the press controlled so that they cannot scream lies at him daily” (p. 156).
How is this possible? Leftists wish to reconstruct society along socialistic lines; fascists glorify the nation and militarism. How can leftists favor fascism? Goldberg readily resolves the difficulty. Precisely by importing the war spirit into domestic affairs, leftists hope to reconstruct society. In war, people unite to achieve victory; in doing so, they sacrifice their personal ends to achieve the common goal. The fascists took exactly the same view, and many leftists accordingly recognized the affinity.
I’ve been following the coverage by Radley Balko at Reason Magazine on the Ryan Frederick case. Ryan Frederick is accused of first-degree murder for shooting and killing officer Jarrod Shivers earlier this year in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Shivers was executing a “no knock warrant” on Frederick’s home. Frederick was home sleeping at the time. He stated in an interview following the event that he thought someone was breaking into his home. Apparently, someone had done so a few days prior.
The warrant was issued because of a confidential informant who told police that Frederick was “operating a sophisticated marijuana grow operation”. Later, it came out that only a small amount of marijuana was found in the home. And that Frederick was an avid gardener who raised japanese maples, which apparently look very similar to marijuana plants when young.
In this latest event, a father, husband, and police officer is dead. A man in his twenties is in prison, facing a lifetime of incarceration, or worse. Where does the fault lie? Does it rest with Frederick who believed he was defending his home from invasion. Does it rest with Shivers being negligible in the method of executing the “no knock warrant”? Or does it rest with the issuing of “no knock warrants” themselves?
Apparently, many in Frederick’s neighborhood have come out defending him according to Balko’s latest report on the case. It will be interesting to see how this case develops.
Today on “Meet The Press” Ralph Nader announced he is running for President. This will mark the third presidential election in a row in which he has decided to run. Many Democrats accuse him of handing George W. Bush the win in 2000 over Al Gore. The conventional wisdom is that he will hurt the Democrats again in this election.
“If the Democrats can’t landslide the Republicans this year, they ought to just wrap up, close down, emerge in a different form.”
More true words have never been spoken. It is my opinion that we will be swearing in President Barack Hussein Obama next January, even with Nader’s effort. If John McCain were to somehow win, the Democratic Party might as well shoot itself in the head. Their misery would be bottomless.
Of course, I’m always thinking how these developments affect Ron Paul and his decision to not run as an independent/third party candidate. This probably has no effect, but the outcome of his congressional race will be the true determinant. If he were to lose his seat, it opens up his decision a bit more. At this point, I don’t think he’ll be running on anything other than the Republican ticket. But as he has stated many times, there is no absolute in politics.
According to the Ron Paul campaign this event drew about 4000 people. This report (video) is from the local Austin FOX News affiliate about Ron Paul’s rally at the University of Texas in Austin yesterday. The local FOX affiliates across the country have been extremely fair with their coverage of Ron Paul. If only FOX News national acted the same way, perhaps we would be talking about Ron Paul instead of John McCain as the GOP nomineee. Naah… FOX isn’t that powerful. Or are they?
Every once in awhile a truly gem of a forum thread appears on Ron Paul Forums that I am forced to post here. Someone posted a thread asking how did you first hear of Ron Paul. I found the answers to be very interesting. Of course, I’m a sucker for nostalgia.
“Why We Fight” is a documentary that came out in January of 2005. I finally got around to watching it tonight. In my mind, this is right up there with the best documentaries I’ve ever seen regarding the Iraq conflict. It is especially interesting because John McCain appears a few times and makes comments that make one think he is more like Ron Paul than George W. Bush. Well, maybe not that drastic. His comments are the opposite of “straight talk”.
By far my favorite in the movie is Chalmers Johnson, author of “Blowback”. “Blowback” was one of the books suggested by Ron Paul for Rudy Giuliani to read to learn why we were attacked on 9-11.
If you haven’t seen this movie watch it. If you have seen it watch it again.
Liberty Maven
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