George Bush’s comments yesterday about the Iraq war were laughable. I suppose he wasn’t joking though. He said, “No one would argue that this war has not come at a high cost in lives and treasure, but those costs are necessary when we consider the cost of a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq.” Over the course of the last five years in Iraq the United States has paid with the immeasurable cost of the blood of her sons and daughters in order to, as Bush says, protect against “a strategic victory for our enemies in Iraq.” How nice that must make those of us feel who have lost loved ones to the war. No wonder Bush’s approval rating is the lowest it has ever been.
It has become cliche to criticize Bush for Iraq, but Congress is equally to blame. From the beginning they broke their oath of upholding the Constitution by voting to turn war declaration authority over to George Bush. In later years they continued to vote to fund the war because they feared by not doing so they would be accused of not supporting the troops. This is hogwash. You would think their own penchant for wanting to “take care of the children” would apply to bringing our slightly older children home from Iraq and out of harm’s way. Once again the game of politics usurps the hard truths of compassion.
Last week an amazing 60 second promotional ad was released and reported by Liberty Maven and other sources. Since then the ad has become extremely popular. An effort is underway to get the High Tide Promo ad on the air in Pennsylvania prior to their primary on April 22nd. Donations are being accepted via a “chip-in” on the High Tide Promo web site.
I encourage everyone to support this effort to get this masterpiece on the air. Just getting it on the air in Pennsylvania will probably get Ron Paul more media attention. It is certainly unlike any other political ad you have ever seen.
To watch the promo check out the High Tide Promo site.
Ron Paul is using his over 800K voters throughout the country to seek change within the Republican Party. There is an excellent article on the topic from the Washington Times today. It seems Ron Paul’s strategy going forward is starting to be revealed a bit. Many wish he would run as a third party or independent candidate, but from the looks of it that will not happen. He is utilizing his donor list and his many voters to push for a voice within the GOP.
He is doing it passive aggressive style by saying things like “I guess the GOP doesn’t want the more than 800K supporters who voted for me to be included in helping the party move forward.” His actual words were “I don’t think they want them.” This is a slippery slope for McCain and other neo-conservative GOP’ers. If they continue to ignore Ron Paul their numbers will continue to shrink. If they somehow come out and support Ron Paul and seek the support of his supporters they will be forced to change their positions on some fundamental issues. That is unlikely.
If Paul’s estimations are correct that his supporters make up about 10% of Republican voters, it would behoove the McCain camp to at least give Ron Paul a voice at the GOP Convention. They certainly don’t want that 10% to vote Libertarian or even Democratic in the general election. If McCain loses the election with less than 10% of the vote without courting Ron Paul’s support he has only himself to blame for his loss.
Everyone has weighed in on Barack Obama’s former Pastor, Reverend Wright and his inflammatory words both after 9/11 and more recently. Typically, conservative talk show hosts are condemning Obama and liberal hosts are defending him. For me, the only thing Wright was guilty of was being politically incorrect. His words have no bearing whatsoever on whether or not someone should vote for Obama or not. They are not Obama’s words nor his beliefs.
One pundit even compared Wright’s words with those of Ron Paul. I assume he means Paul’s anti-Iraq-war rhetoric. The meaning of Wright’s words are similar to Ron Paul’s assertions about Iraq. The actual words chosen by each were very different though. Both Reverend Wright and Ron Paul are merely echoing what is contained in the 9-11 Commission report and in books like “Imperial Hubris” by former CIA and Bin Laden expert Michael Sheuer.
It seems to me that Reverend Wright was doing his job, and doing it fairly well, in delivering his emotional rhetoric to the people of his church. He did nothing wrong. He said nothing wrong. And Obama should not be seen any differently just because he is a member of that church.
Here’s an idea for those of you condemning Obama… Listen to what the man himself says and has said over the years. Don’t associate his beliefs with an aging former pastor who’s job it is to deliver emotional charged speeches to keep his congregation interested in the service. There is no guilt by association here.
Obama has called Reverend Wright a friend and a part of his family. Do you agree with everything your friend says? Do you agree with everyone in your family politically? I certainly don’t. I’m guessing you don’t either. I’m also guessing Obama doesn’t.
Until you hear Obama say things like “God Damn America” cut him some slack. John McCain is currently getting a media free pass. He must be grinning from ear to ear about it. McCain has uttered racist and ageist remarks over the course of his political career. He committed adultery and then married his mistress one month after divorcing his first wife. He has a history of changing his position on several issues (Immigration, Foreign Policy, Taxes). He was a primary participant in the “Keating Five” Savings and Loan travesty.
Instead of attacking McCain with the large amount of verifiable evidence that calls into question his motives for being President, the media is manufacturing a story by trying to project one man’s opinions on to another man.
The saddest part is, many Americans will believe it just because the “news” says so. It is getting ever closer to the point in America that the word “news” should forever be enclosed by quotes. FOX “News”: We Distort. You Abide.
I stumbled upon an ad on Yahoo.com touting their candidate badge graphics. I clicked on it assuming I wouldn’t see one for Ron Paul. Surprise! They have one. How very democratic of Yahoo.com. The badge is below.
Ron Paul supporters swarmed to the GOP Missouri county caucuses over the weekend. There were internet reports of varying degrees of success in passing resolutions consistent with Ron Paul’s true conservative platform rather than the typical neo-conservative platform. The most interesting story covered by the Kansas City Star involved a protest walkout led by the Jackson County Republican committee chairman.
It is stories like these that give one hope that someday, perhaps soon, our country will be restored to its Constitutional roots, where it belongs.
Beginning today the US Supreme Court will hear arguments in the DC Gun Ban case. A final ruling is not expected until June or July. This is a landmark case. The last time a gun control case was heard in the Supreme Court was 1939. The court will rule on the 2nd amendment directly. The conventional wisdom is that there is a somewhat decent chance that the gun ban in DC will be ruled unconstitutional creating a precedent for reexamining gun control laws in other states.
McCain has come out in support of the challengers side. Obama and Clinton have stated they believe in the second amendment, but also believe the federal government has the power to make gun control laws. I wonder how they interpret the phrase “shall not be infringed”?
JP Morgan bought Bear Stearns for $2/share yesterday. It was trading around $150/share a year ago. Last Tuesday Jim Cramer came out bullish on Bear Stearns on his Mad Money CNBC show. Don Harrold of DonHarrold.net had a few choice words to say about Cramer on Sunday night.
He then followed that up with some more this evening.
Now the Fed is set to cut interest rates yet again today by between a half and full percentage point. Are we headed for an economic armageddon? Who knows, but one thing is for sure… things aren’t looking good.
Awhile ago I thought of the idea of creating a web site showing the time line of the Ron Paul campaign. I guess I’m a sucker for nostalgia. In any case, someone has already made that idea a reality. To relive not just the Ron Paul campaign, but from the day Ron Paul was born until the end of February (currently) check out RonPaulTimeline.com.
Watching the excellent first two episodes of the HBO miniseries “John Adams” started me thinking about Ron Paul. Ron Paul has said that Adams was his favorite founding father. I was confused by this because of Adams’ Federalist history. I can only assume Ron Paul chose him because he was really one of the biggest players in the movement towards the American Revolution in the name of liberty.
The miniseries depicts Adams as somewhat of a war monger beginning with the First Continental Congress right on through to the Declaration of Independence. I guess it would be more accurate to say he was a liberty monger, but everyone knew what demanding independence meant. It meant certain all out war with Britain.
Liberty Maven
” by former CIA and Bin Laden expert Michael Sheuer.
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