Drugs

Ron Paul Debunks The Drug War On CNN

April 15th, 2009 8:14 am  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Activism, Big Government, Drugs, Individual Responsibility, Market Regulation, Ron Paul, law  |  4 Responses

Ron Paul appeared on CNN American Morning today to discuss his views on legalizing drugs and the insane drug war. This time the host allowed Paul to answer the questions without interruption and Ron Paul did a pretty good job of doing so.

He did seem to avoid the question on introducing legislation to legalize drugs (all drugs, not just marijuana), but overall it was a good appearance. The clip cuts off the results of the CNN poll where 49% of those polled thus far stated they wanted all drugs to be legalized. This gives me hope that someday, maybe in my lifetime, the insane war on drugs will be abolished.

Enjoy Ron Paul making sense below.

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Prohibiting Guns and Drugs

March 26th, 2009 9:37 am  |  by Mike Miller  |  Published in Big Government, Civil Liberties, Clinton, Constitution, DownsizeDC.org, Drugs, Gun Control, Liberty, Politics  |  0

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Quote of the Day: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

There’s a civil war going on in Mexico. It’s the drug cartels, funded by obscene black market profits, versus the government, funded by obscene taxes.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Mexico this week. She’s from the U.S. Federal Government and she was there to help. She promised . . .

* More taxpayer money to fight Mexico’s war on drugs
* Gun control laws here in the U.S.A. . . .

. . .to stop the flow of guns to the Mexican drug cartels.

Ms. Clinton seems to think that gun prohibition is the way to enforce drug prohibition. She’s right about one thing. Drug prohibition and gun prohibition are the same issue.

Now, you might think drugs are bad. You might believe them to be so harmful you’d never use them. But you probably expect the politicians to keep their hands off your firearms.

On the other hand, you may think guns are evil. You might believe they’re so dangerous, you’d never own one. But you think you have every right to choose what substances you take into to your own body.

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John Stossel 20/20: Bailouts and Bull – Must See

March 14th, 2009 1:29 am  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Activism, Bailouts, Banking, Big Government, Drugs, Economics, Free Market, Individual Responsibility, John Stossel, Liberty, Market Regulation, Taxes, Television, government spending, national debt  |  3 Responses

I watched John Stossel’s latest wonderful 20/20 special on ABC last night. I can’t tell you how excited I get when I see libertarian views being expressed on a main stream media show like this.

These ideas should be commonplace, but over the years they’ve been usurped by statism–the belief that the government is the all-seeing, all-knowing, all-do-good god. But the devil is in the details and Stossel once again reveals the devil in statism

The show is in six parts.

  1. Economic crisis?
  2. Should roads be private?
  3. Should drugs be legal?
  4. Should the federal government (our tax dollars) pay for preschool for every child?
  5. Is combating illegal immigration doomed to fail?
  6. Is America still the land of opportunity?

Watch all six in the playlist embedded below. (Thanks go to youtube user wisted for uploading the videos)

Ron Paul Takes Down A Baldwin On Legalizing Drugs on Larry King

March 13th, 2009 9:48 pm  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Civil Liberties, Constitution, Drugs, Individual Responsibility, Liberty, Ron Paul, crime, rule of law  |  7 Responses

Ron Paul completely annihilated Stephen Baldwin over legalizing drugs tonight on CNN’s Larry King with Joy Behar filling in for Larry. Baldwin’s feeble attempt at supporting keeping drugs illegal were the same old trite things we’ve been hearing for years that have been refuted time and time again.

Not surprisingly, Ron Paul truly schooled him and the audience on why the drug war is horrid, marijuana should be legal, and he did it with a smile.

I loved the fact that Behar allowed Ron Paul to speak. In fact she allowed him to speak much more than Baldwin. Perhaps it was because Baldwin had nothing new to say.

Ron Paul’s appearance and words on this show should be played in court in any federal non-violent drug case, and there’s no way anyone would side with the prosecution. That is unless that person was lying to himself (or herself).

Watch Ron Paul break it down for the defense below.

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Ron Paul on HBO w/ Bill Maher

February 20th, 2009 10:48 pm  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Banking, Big Government, Drugs, Economics, Federal Reserve, Foreign Policy, Free Market, Liberty, Politics, Ron Paul, government spending  |  3 Responses

Ron Paul’s appearance on HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher is below.

They discussed free markets, foreign policy, and the drug war in the six minute interview.

The best part of the interview was Paul’s answer on the drug war which garnered the most applause.

Unfortunately, the panel following Ron Paul’s interview (not shown in the clip) was made up of socialist birds of varying degrees. Maxine Waters, one of the first law makers to push for bank nationalization said she liked Ron Paul, but he was a “true believer”.

I suppose having principles and sticking to them is completely foreign to most in government. Given what they are used to hearing that isn’t surprising.

Watch the Ron Paul interview portion below.

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Mexican Civil War could spill over into U.S.

January 21st, 2009 11:36 am  |  by Mike Miller  |  Published in Big Government, Blowback, Constitution, DownsizeDC.org, Drugs, Liberty, Politics, War, crime, foreign aid  |  1

D o w n s i z e r – D i s p a t c h

Quote of the Day: “All great truths began as blasphemies.” — George Bernard Shaw, Annajanska, 1919

Subject: Mexican Civil War could spill over into U.S.

You’re not hearing about it yet, but a civil war is raging in Mexico — between drug lords and the government. The Mexican government deployed 36,000 troops to fight this war in 2006, but the problem is getting worse. Here are the disconcerting results . . .

* There have been more kidnappings in Mexico than Iraq! 1,000 have been officially reported, but human rights groups estimate the real number at 3,000.

* Despite high-profile arrests but the bloodshed has doubled from 2007 to 2008, with between 5,300 and 5,700 dead in the past year from attacks related to the drug trade.

* The city of Ciudad Juárez ended the year with 1,600 of those deaths

Now this violence is threatening to spill across our border!

* The violence is so bad in Ciudad Juárez that the mayor and other elected officials have moved to El Paso, Texas, and commute to work from there.

* In October, Hidalgo County, Texas officials issued fully automatic weapons to deputies patrolling the river in the Rio Grande Valley. Sheriff Lupe Trevino has authorized his deputies to return fire across the border if smugglers or other criminals take aim at them.

* According to the Dallas Morning News, “A U.S. intelligence official based along the Texas border (has) warned that U.S. officials, American businessmen and journalists will ‘become targets.’”

* Mexican gangs have begun to expand their operations into several states, including some in the northern tier, such as Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota.

* Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has ordered plans for a “surge” of civilian and perhaps even military law enforcement. Even Chertoff concedes that his plan could cause the bloodshed to spill over into our country.

Why is this happening, and how can we stop it?

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Ron Paul Liberty Torch To Be Handed To Gary Johnson?

November 8th, 2008 1:53 pm  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Activism, Big Government, Civil Liberties, Constitution, Drugs, Economics, Election, Free Market, Libertarianism, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Politics, Ron Paul, Taxes, campaign for liberty  |  18 Responses

Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson

Make no mistake, Ron Paul lit the flames of liberty under a small but active percentage of the American populace about one year ago. At this point last year the Ron Paul faithful were drunk on hope after the first highly successful money bomb brought in millions of dollars in a single day. Now that Barack Obama is our President-Elect and Ron Paul is focused on continuing his freedom education and liberty activism effort through the Campaign For Liberty, talk of a 2012 Ron Paul Republican Presidential candidate has begun in earnest.

One of the most popular choices to carry forward the Ron Paul liberty torch is former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. There is certainly a lot to like about Gary Johnson and he may very well be the best choice for 2012. However, investigating Gary Johnson a bit deeper does reveal some cracks in his freedom armor. I don’t find these cracks significant enough for me to not support him, but then again I supported Bob Barr for President, so I’m used to “cracks”.

These cracks may cause some Liberty Maven readers to reject supporting him. We hope to rate Johnson on the Paul-O-Meter within a few days, so that will give a more complete picture of Johnson. Until then let us discuss some of his potential negatives to the cause of liberty and the viability of him running for the Republican nomination.

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The Ron Paul Paul-O-Meter: BJ Lawson Rated

October 10th, 2008 8:48 am  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Abortion, BJ Lawson, Big Government, Civil Liberties, Constitution, Debt, Drugs, Economics, Education, Election, Environment, Federal Reserve, Foreign Policy, Free Market, Gun Control, Health Care, Immigration, Internet Regulation, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Politics, REAL ID, Religion, Ron Paul, Ron Paul Republicans, Social Security, Taxes, War, energy, fisa, government spending, national debt  |  2 Responses

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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No Need For Drug Raid To Murder Pets

September 22nd, 2008 5:32 pm  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Civil Liberties, Drugs, Liberty, Maven Commentary  |  0

A few weeks ago we posted a story regarding a drug raid in Prince George’s County Maryland where the Mayor of Berwyn Heights had his two dogs shot and killed. Now, apparently there is no need for a drug raid to permit police to murder dogs. They just need to “show their teeth”. The lesson: Don’t smile at a police officer, you might get shot.

MOUNT OLIVE — It was just after 7 p.m. Thursday on West Main Street, a typically quiet stretch in Mount Olive. Sharon Kulers heard her Dalmatian barking outside, so she made her way to the back yard.

She saw a Mount Olive Police Department cruiser pull up to the house behind hers.

Then she noticed the shotgun in one of the officer’s hands, aimed at her neighbor’s 45-pound Labrador retriever.

“I said, ‘Please don’t shoot that dog. He won’t hurt you,’” Mrs. Kulers said.

The officer looked at her, then back at the dog.

A shot rang out — then, another.

“I said, ‘Why did you have to do that? You didn’t have to do that,’” Mrs. Kulers said. “He said, ‘It showed its teeth.’ He said, ‘We have a right to do this.‘”

Moments later, the same officer was dragging a plastic bag toward the road, the dog in it, witnesses said.

“That dog wouldn’t hurt a flea,” Mrs. Kulers said. “I know it is my word against theirs, but that dog was not being aggressive.”

Colby Mangum arrived home at 7:45 and was greeted by a note on her front door.

“It said, ‘Call the Mount Olive Police Department about your vicious dog,’” the 24-year-old Mount Olive College graduate said.

Words fail me. Read the full story here.

The Ron Paul-O-Meter: Under Sarah Palin’s Lipstick

September 17th, 2008 8:39 am  |  by Marc Gallagher  |  Published in Abortion, Big Government, Civil Liberties, Constitution, Debt, Drugs, Economics, Education, Election, Environment, Federal Reserve, Foreign Policy, Gambling, Gun Control, Health Care, Immigration, Internet Regulation, Libertarianism, Liberty, Maven Commentary, Neo-con, Philosophy, Politics, REAL ID, Religion, Ron Paul, Social Security, Taxes, War, energy, fisa, jobs, john mccain, law, national debt, rule of law, sarah palin  |  0

Sarah Palin In The Land Of McCain's Oz

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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