contraband: “1913 only the rich owned homes”

Time to step back from the crack pipe.  My family were dirt farmers from Nebraska, as the majority of people were in the past, and surprisingly, or not, those folks “owned” their own homes.  Mortgages were for the most part unheard of, I believe it was like 3 percent used them, so was getting into debt up to your ears, and things were paid in cash.  Damn!  Imagine that.  They were never rich, never owned slaves, but they prospered enough to survive, and survive the did.  What Paul must be saying is that if you look hard enough there was a time when the Federal Behemoth didn’t call every shot, or toilet flush, in your life.

“women and children worked in sweat shops”

Really?!  Like ALL women and ALL children were in sweat shops.  I agree that was terrible, but what we have today is a situation where you can’t hire or FIRE anyone unless you’re prepared to pay through the nose.  You can take a gander at every twisted, paper pushing, legalized HR department in corporate America and see the fruit thereof.

“there was little if any economic mobility….. a libertarian’s dream.”

What the hell are you talking about?! Stop trying to push a 21st century socialist economic mentality on 19th and early 20th century people.  Good god all mighty!
 
“There’s one thing I’m sure of about Paul: when he ran for his congessional seat in 2006, he didn’t tell his constituents in Texas that the government should give everyone $45,000 as soon as we got out of Iraq.”

LOL!  Should or could have?  I’d rather that all Fed, state and local tax-sucking busybodies get their “consciousness-raising” tentacles out of my wallet to feed their ego driven guilt trip on the backs of the masses.  If YOU want to help someone then get off your butt and personally do it but don’t cover your thieving desires through a multitude of tiny thefts through taxes.  Anyone who wants to kill that beast and bring personal and civic responsibility back to where it belongs should be listened to.  If all you REALLY want to do is keep on keepin on with the same sad crew of thieves and liars, beat your chest in faux indignation at the outrages, just go back to what you do best….. SLEEPING!  Because a day is coming when you’ll be rudely awakened.

‘Contraband’ trots out the tired old canards.

It gets old refuting the same old fallacies.  I wish I could clear them up just once, but it appears they have to be redressed over and over.  As soon as we get past the red herrings we can have rational debate.

First, Jay Leno goes to the extreme of the argument, “well,how are you going to pay for roads?”  Okay, that’s fine.  Roads are the ultimate of public goods problems.  They would likely be some of the last things a libertarian who was king for the day would do away with.  Just not high on the priority list, especially in these turbulent times.  But as a thought exercise, it’s fine.  If you read Walter Block (and others I’m sure), there are many on the leading edge of libertarian thought that have plans to provide for roadbuilding and maintenance.  Roads were dirt way back when because we had a lot of land, and dirt was available. We still have a lot of dirt roads.  When it’s economically feasible to pave a road, they get paved.  Localities handle most road work.  They could handle it all.  It’s not rocket science. 

So, Ron Paul correctly points out we had roads before the income tax.  He could have just as easily pointed out that we have privately financed toll roads now.  No big deal.  Or, that we had the highway system before the income tax became such an onerous burden on the everyman.

By pointing out a fact that somehow we managed to make roads before the income tax, does not mean that Ron Paul prefers dirt roads, as is Contraband’s implication.  It means that we managed without the income tax, we can do it again.  It is such a stupid argument that by doing away with this tax, or that program, that everything would be just like it was a hundred years ago.  There are a lot of things that are better now than in 1913, and you don’t have to be a libertarian to recognize that NOT all progress is the result of growth of government and the growth of the burden of growth in government. 

There’s a few things, like, say technology.  And innovation.  And learning.  Learning from our mistakes.  Mistakes like letting Hillary or Rudy Giuliani past the post of dog catcher, but I digress.

It is most certainly not this libertarian’s “dream” that we would technologically regress back to the bad old days.  It is in fact, my belief that all this money that we’ve thrown down the domestic rat holes would have funded so much more progress if left in the hands of individuals.

Then ‘Contraband’ accuses Ron Paul of being a “flip flopper” and this is where he really shows his ignorance.  It’s entirely forgivable to not know much about Ron Paul, heaven knows the media isn’t helping, but in such cases it’s best to stay silent on the subject.  Better to keep your mouth shout and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt, as they say.  Ron Paul is criticizes for his dogged unwavering stands on principle, how can one now seriously criticize him for being “all over the board?”  One can’t.

Ron Paul’s comment that we could have given every family of four a check for $46,000 was not a proposal, as is glaringly obvious (as even the article above makes clear).  It was an analogy to help people understand the real cost, and opportunity cost of the war and bringing it down to the working everyman’s pocket book perspective.  This was an attempt to clarify and educate, unlike the other policians who scarify and obfuscate.

It is about opportunity cost, you know, that most annoying, unmerciful economic inevitability that politicians and the sheep who follow them don’t believe in.  By the way, it’s just as inevitable when a Democrat is in office, as are foreign wars.

Now I understand: when Ron Paul eliminates taxation we are going to buy health insurance for our neighbors with the money we save.  Got it.  Thanks guys.

On Ron Paul and global warming - I don’t thank more state interference is necessarily good for the environment. Just look at the debacle in the Soviet Union where they poisoned whole seas.

The real problem of climate change is that there are too many people on the planet.

Border enforcement against third world countries is our best chance here - something that mainstream left and rightt don’t seem to be able to do because they are captured by their paid constituencies.

If liberals and progressives can make Kucinich or Gravel their nominee, then they should do so. If they cannot, well… What are you going to do, vote for another war candidate because she or he has a D next to his/her name?

I’m constantly amazed how caught up people get with the labels Democrat and Republican. There are individuals, like you or I, who may identify somehow as “R” or “D”. Then there is the ruling class in Washington with the same labels, but they have nothing to do with what we care about. They are really just two branches of the “Boot On Your Neck” party.

Decide which of Gravel, Kucinich or Paul has the best chance to lead us out of this nightmare. Then work for him. Even if he’s got the “wrong” label next to his name.

Odd how people are making accusations of Dr. Paul that have no basis in fact or reality. Yeesh—if you are going to bash a candidate you have a right to your opinions but to qoute Pat Moynihan (now there was a smart effective NY Senator)—you are entitled to you own opinions but not your own facts.  Fact:  Dr. Paul not against abortion just against it being a federal matter.  Agains government programs not social programs to help unfortunate.  Did the editor from Stormfront give him money—sure so what? Hwo many racists and sexists gave money to Bush, Clinton or Obama.  Common.  Dr. Paul may not be everybodys cup of tea but on ethics and principle he stands above the herd.  Check his record damit not your perception of his image.

Ron Paul seems to be a genuine honest man who I think cares more for the country then 95% of the other congressmen. A lot of his ideals are worthy, especially his foreign policy notions.

Where he falls short in my judgement is his tax policies. He would do away with the progressive income tax, and replace it either with a flat tax ,or he would support a user tax. There’s no way he and Dennis K. could partner-up as a result of this major philosophical difference.

In addition he, Rep. Paul, would do away with Medicare, and Social Security insurance. This could altimently pit wealthy states against poorer ones to carry out programs for the poor and elderly.

Its a sad state of affairs, in this here America that we are so desperately searching for someone to speak truth to power, and both Ron Paul and Dennis K. accomplish that desire. Everybody both on the right and left are tired of the triangulation as presented by the current field of candidates.

gesellschaft: Paul did in fact say in an interview which I saw on you tube, that his goal was to eliminate taxation.  When asked by the interviewer - if I remember correctly it was Jay Leno - how we would pay for things like roads, etc. if taxes were eliminated, Paul responded by saying “Well, we had roads before 1913” [when the federal income tax was established].  I would like to say that, yes, we did have roads before 1913; they were dirt roads.  Does anyone want to turn the clock back to 1913?  In 1913 only the rich owned homes.  Home ownership was unheard of for most people who worked for a living; there were no labor laws; women and children worked in sweat shops; there was little if any economic mobility….. a libertarian’s dream.
There’s one thing I’m sure of about Paul: when he ran for his congessional seat in 2006, he didn’t tell his constituents in Texas that the government should give everyone $45,000 as soon as we got out of Iraq.  That’s even better than George McGovern’s guaranteed minimum income plan.  Paul is all over the board from reactionary to flaming liberal depending on the audience he’s speaking to.  How can you trust anyone like him?

From Ron Paul’s Website:
“I am also the prime sponsor of HR 300, which would negate the effect of Roe v Wade by removing the ability of federal courts to interfere with state legislation to protect life. This is a practical, direct approach to ending federal court tyranny which threatens our constitutional republic and has caused the deaths of 45 million of the unborn.”

To me that’s a bad idea wrapped in disguise of sounding good.  It sounds good because he wants to give states more control.  But that would allow numerous states to outlaw abortion, forcing people who are pro-choice within those states to travel afar to get an abortion.  It just doesn’t solve anything and creates more problems.

Sound reasoning power is not the forte of those who still see US politics in terms of Conservatism vs Liberalism or Left vs Right. Your black and white world is just as bad as the neocons’.

I’m supporting Ron Paul because of the big picture: endless war (he’s the only one courageous enough to question war mentality in this country-War on Terror, War on Drugs, etc.); the erosion of civil liberties (see his Naomi Wolf/ACLU supported American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007)and sound money (for the first time in history, the legitimacy of the corporate banking system known as the Federal Reserve was questioned in mainstream media).

Americans are split in the middle on the abortion issue. I don’t see this issue resolved in the near future with our current “us vs them” mentality. Yes, Ron Paul is personally pro-life. He’s quite consistent on this, as he is also anti-Death Penalty and anti-war. He wants to allow the states to decide on this issue according to the 10th Amendment. One may not agree with this, but it’s coming from Jeffersonian idea of decentralization.

And enough with the “guilt by association”, a favorite method of authoritarians Right and Left. For years, Ron Paul has mentioned Martin Luther King and Gandhi as his two biggest heroes.

I find this thread to be as telling as the article. Those for change cheer Mr Paul and the rest simply change the subject.

I dont know why anyone who visits this site would want to support a candidate that would reverse Roe V. Wade.  Whoopdidoo, Paul doesn’t support the war and wants to get out. Whoopdidoo, he says it’s more expensive than other estimates. Who cares? Most politicians want to end the war, especially democrats.  The fact that Paul says it costs more doesn’t really make him some Savior to me.  The better question is: what is his plan?  That’s where Joe Biden shines.  Until someone actually has a better foreign policy plan than Joe, I’m really not interested.

From what I’ve seen so far Ron Paul is just another Republican, only without the political camouflage.

No matter what you say about Ron Paul, you can’t say he’s not honest.  You know exactly what his views are, and you know they won’t change on a whim—-unlike most politicians.  I think the only major issue he’s had a change of heart on was the death penalty, he was for it, now he’s against it.

I don’t get why people get so upset that he doesn’t support abortions.  Roe vs. Wade lets doctors cut up babies legally right up to the day before birth.  I think his view of leaving it up to the states is reasonable.  Why should a person with deep personal and moral beliefs that abortions are immoral, have to see their tax dollars fund the mutilation of a baby in another state?  Ron Paul has made the point that it should be a local issue.

Accusations of Ron Paul’s racism are so superficial, it’s a little insulting.  Blanket accusations, don’t make them true.  Some people love to say Hillary is a career polititian that eats babies. Just because it’s easy, doesn’t make it true.  Really now, that’s just lazy.  It’s what Fox news does, Barrack Obama attended a Madrasa, and is a Muslim~ wooo.. scary..

Worried about your right to abort your baby? No worries, Presidents don’t write laws(unlike the courts, the IRS, and George Bush), Ron Paul knows he shouldn’t, and he won’t.  He’s principled.  He’ll do what the commander and chief does, command the military.  He’ll bring the troops home.

Ron Paul’s political positions are the same as they were in 1988.  And hell, they’re still relevant.  Go figure, right about what’s important for almost twenty years now.

american zionist jews truly have little to no shame…they pull out the anti semite card and use it as they see fit when anyone questions americas foreign policy towards israel.

criticism of israel is not anti semitism.
american support for israel should not be unconditional.

how many of those who try to associate ron paul with some nazi organization came out against horowitzs islamist awareness week.

remember that old saying…first they came for the islamist then theyll come after you.

My preference starts with Hillary~Obama, and Kucinich speaks to abuse of power of which our Nation name will be feared.

Questions I ask: 

Will this be another rigged election?

Will liquid $power$ prejudice elected oath taking officers of the federal government?

Will the benefits of science’s methods of enlightenment become known in time to avoid global demise?

Other than this, power to the people, speak and press on.

Best, rmuldavin

It’s embarrassing when only a Republican seems to be talking about the real costs of Iraq.

Take note Clinton and Obama.  If the Ron Paul was the Republican candidate versus you two, I would vote for him as long as he promised to fire everyone who had ever been appointed by Bush.

People who attack Paul often seem to be without enough time on their hands to learn; Contraband, for example, who doesn’t understand that elimination of the IRS isn’t to end taxation, rather it ends an unconstitutional and marginal tax.. the tax on money given to you in barter for your labor, bringing the governments budget to around 2002’s level, and in effect giving the poor and middle class (those who work for their money) an effective ~20% pay increase to buy their insurance, pay for school etc.  Stealing from the poor and middle class, to give to everyone.. especially the rich, is totally twisted.

The United States would be a far wealthier (and more peaceful) country if we passed a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget.  These unnecessary wars are made possible by deficit-spending. The problem is that NEITHER party wants to reduce federal spending and keep federal taxes low.

The Republicans love corporate welfare and foreign interventionism.  The Democrats love social welfare and foreign interventionism.

I agree with Ron Paul - return power to the states, and reduce the power of our GIGANTIC central government.  This is something that progressives should fully support, but many don’t seem to be able to separate themselves from party dogma enough to understand the opportunity.  When control over public policy is moved from the central gov. to state and local gov., the people are empowered and the corporations are disempowered - and the war-making (and profiteering) comes to an end.

Part of the problem I see when I talk to Democrats is that they equate FEDERAL entities (like the Dept. of Education) with STATE and LOCAL responsibilities (public education).  Ron Paul’s opposition to the former does not equate to opposition to the latter.  Get it?

I implore Democrats to turn away from the monstrosity of the central government and embrace more local control of our public policies.  We will be more prosperous, more free, and more peaceful if we do.

Out of curiosity, have any of these frothing at the mouth for Ron Paul supporters actually checked on his voting record?  Has he not, on most issues, been a member of the ‘rubber stamp Bush Republican Congress’ who gave us the worst mess our country has ever known?  Is he not another conservative from Texas, that great state noted for providing us some of the worst politicians in the history of this country?  But no matter what, he is a Republican and in case you failed to notice, there is something profoundly wrong with the Republican Party and until they get the mess sorted out in about twenty years, if it says Republican on the label, just flush!

I don’t get it; why we continue to debate all around the elephant in the room here.

The most important issue facing us is not Iraq nor even globalization, or any of these contributing factors to our real death knell: Global Warming.

Ron Paul continues to downplay this as hearsay, saying that scientists are in disagreement about it, and that it is all just a “ruse” made up to scare the people into giving up their polluting freedoms.

If he were to come to power his Libertarian ideology would displace the EPA in favor of complete free market capitalism.

I guess we are going to continue to ignore our coming end so that we can entertain ourselves with political intrigue and the romance of 18th century politics, embracing the industrial revolution to the very end.

If readers here are genuinely interested in living by the principles of freedom and liberty, then you must take a strong look at Ron Paul for president. Dr. Paul advocates a smaller government for the plainly simple reason that one cannot be free of the coercive force of the State and at the same time live under a vast, State-sponsored warfare and welfare apparatus. Mr. Scheer and the readers here are clearly opposed to warfare, but few consider that even a welfare state requires violence and force to sustain it. For example, every time I pay taxes, I am not doing so voluntarily. The State literally forces me to pay up under threat of incarceration. Moreover, if a portion of my income is extracted in taxes, then the State has in effect laid claim to my working life. How can one be free of coercion under such conditions?

Many liberals believe that it is civilized and humane to support welfare programs. This position is understandable, but I think that many have lost sight of the necessary violence against individuals and their liberty that must occur under a welfare state. Even Mr. Kucinich, who is fine, upstanding man, probably does not grasp the trade-off in liberty we must make as individuals each time a new social program is enacted. With each new program the government becomes all the more powerful and liberties weaker.  Given the expansion of the warfare/welfare State, it should not come as a surprise that our Constitutional right to hear in a court of law the charges levied against us by the State is no longer guaranteed. The State is far too powerful now. This is why I support Dr. Paul, the only candidate who has demonstrated time and again the he clearly understands what is at stake for each of us.

Robert Kennedy once said something like the following:
(sorry,I cannot remember the exact words)

“Some people dream and say impossible.I dream and say
WHY NOT”

Ron President and Dennis Vice President or Dennis
President and Ron Vice president may be,just may be
the best thing can happen to the American people at
this point of history.Perhaps and again just perhaps,
the Republicans and Democrats will start talking to
each other constructively for the common good of the
American people.PEACE.PEACE.PEACE…......
Sincerely,
Nabih Ammari
An Independent in Ohio.

If you like Kucinich and Gravel so much, then why aren’t more people putting their money where their mouths are and donating/volunteering for them, like they are for Paul?

Gravel sat by himself and basically live video blogged the last debate, he doesn’t have enough support to even get a debate seat anymore.  I respect both Kucinich and Gravel, but I support Paul.  I’ve given Paul almost $1500, I volunteer and go to meetup groups.  Why isn’t any of this being done for Kucinich or Gravel? 

Where are the MikeGravelForums and the DennisKucinichForums, and why aren’t they arranging money bombs like Paul supporters have?  And the fact is, every other candidate that has tried the “money bomb” technique has FAILED, COMPLETELY.  Obama raised a total of ~$4,000 from ~60 last Friday, lol.  Huckabee tried to have a money bomb yesterday, and Paul supporters got together and outraised Huck.  They are doing the same thing today with Thompson’s “bomb”. 

If eveyone is so gung ho about Kucinich and Gravel, show it.  Give him money (and the press from it), volunteer, get yourselves out there, because blogging on the internet about them isn’t cutting it, seeing as how Gravel can’t even get a spot in the debates anymore. 

Paul has real support from a lot of real people, and there are going to be some big surprises when they realize how many democrats and independents have registered as Rs and are taking teh primariez.

When you look at the Republicans’(Aka Conservative right wingers) track record the past 7 years you see hyper-inflation or deflation, war in Iraq, killings of thousands of American boy and girl soldiers, torture chambers. Huge tax cuts for the wealthy and fraudulent penny tax cuts for the average American. (All of this siphoned from their Social Security and as a result they will not have it in 2010 unless they tax the American people to make up the trillion dollar difference).  Killings and torture of Iraq women and children, 9/11 and the murder of thousands of American citizens, destroying of our basic freedoms since George Washington, destroying of our health care system (One hundred dollar for 2 aspirins), out sourcing of decent paying jobs to slave labor countries such as China and India, the insults to our Bill of Right and Constitution by the Bush Republicans (Aka Conservatives right wingers), insults to our basic intelligence by the right –wing traitors, lies that inflation is only 2%,lies as to possession of nuclear weapons by small countries, a corrupted stock market that has raped the poor Americans in a housing fraud, leading us into a depression that will make the 1930s look like an era of prosperity. How could any decent intelligent American vote for a Ron Paul or any Republican (Aka Conservative right wingers) in this fraudulent election we are now subjected to?

Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich on an independent ticket for ‘08.  They would compliment each other well.  They are in solid agreement about Iraq, if not foreign policy as a whole.  They are both big fans of the Constitution.  They both seem like reasonable people, i.e. they might be able to work together, finding compromise on issues which they personally disagree on.  And the biggest and best reason is that they would blow both parties apart at the polls.  They might even be able to get liberals and conservatives to see that they do have some things in common, and that they are able to work together.

“Outraged” says Ron Paul’s word is “utter fluff.”  But I think he is the most substantive candidate.  Look at his voting record and his positions. 

You can’t just be a character assassin.  Go to his website.  Check out his issues.  He would pull our troops out of Iraq and restore the rule of law in the U.S.  On his website he talks about:

1) Debt and taxes.  2) American Independence and Sovereignty 3) War and Foreign Policy 4) Life and Liberty 5) The Second Amendment 6) Social Security 7) Education 8)Racism 9)Environment 10) Health Care 11) Home Schooling 12) Health Freedom 13) Property Rights and Eminent Domain 14) Privacy and Personal Liberty 15) Border Security and Immigration Reform.

Ron Paul exposed the Bu$hCons nearly 5 years ago. Few listened:
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/document.php?id=630

But who really believes the GOP/DEM Siamese Twin will allow either Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich into power?

I applaud Scheer’s article.  For the people who are saying Ron Paul is against this war for political reasons, you need to look at his record.  He votes against programs he feels are against the constitution.  That’s why he voted against the Patriot Act.  That’s why he’s for Net Neutrality. 

Yes, he is against the Education Department.  But what does it really accomplish?  The politically correct platitudes that come from the department are as empty as they sound.  Don’t believe me, listen to a conversation with them sometime.  They say the same things over and over again.  I’m a teacher in an urban area, and I assure you that the current system, which many say helps the disadvantaged, does not.  It is not working and it is wasting huge amounts of money.  Look at the minority drop out rates and then give solutions like smaller class sizes.  Smaller than 30.  Yeah.  But right now, there are huge absence rates anyway.  Education must be an affordable privilege, not a right that’s looked at as joke, as it currently is in the cities.

Ron Paul is an essential candidate for both parties, which have gone astray.  The two important issues are 1) getting us out of Iraq, and 2) restoring the the Consitution (and rule of law).  You’re kidding yourself if you think any of the current Democratic candidates would do either in their first term.

Ron Paul believes in liberty, property, and peace.
Dennis Kucinich believes in peace overseas, but otherwise is a socialist, and thus believes that your wealth is his economy and the more you have earned, the less peaceful he will be about it.

As a quasi blogger, I marvel how anyone can turn out continually well focused news, so thanks to truthDig.

It may take time for us to realize, I have concluded, that our evolutionary origins were limited our abilities to solve global and local problems.

Our informational reach may have been extended, but falls short of what seems to be required, given the “liquid” power of paper money, for which Ron Paul has challenged decades ago.

Fortunately, from one perspective, there is some strength in a united nations, maybe for the simple reason that those people surviving within each nation that has lost so many lives from Wars and the products of their labors, are showing the USA peoples that the aggregation of Capital and its delivery systems and compliant robots for hire, can alter their behaviors.

The “No Left Turn” signs are down, there is two way traffic at the intersection, fortunately the road map is the Internet.  Wonder why the “top downers” haven’t closed this down, the good news is that we “bottomm uppers” are getting better and better than the former.

Best, rmuldavin

We should all get out for the Republican primary, impact on the Republican and Democrats would be immediate.

A republican ticket with Ron Paul and Kucinich as VP, is a progressive’s dream.

Our dearest Ron Paul is another cunning minion to smoke screen the horrors the Republicans (Aka Conservatives right wingers) have perpetrated on the American people. If you think the Republicans track record is bad you ain’t seen nothing yet. An intelligent person could see through them like a pane of glass. Bush is so hated by most Americans the Republicans (Aka Conservatives right wingers) try to disassociate from him by putting a fraudulent Bill Clinton picture super imposed with him. They didn’t rig the past election so the Democrats would win the majority. That way they can blame the Democrats for all of the Republicans’ (Aka Conservative right wingers) poop they have defecated on this country. They know that many “Democrats” are in reality Republicans (Aka Conservatives right wingers). If you count the true Democrats that want to better the life of the American people you will find they are a minority and have virtually no power.
The problem is that freedom democracy is totally incompatible with globalization. The two is analogous to water and oil. They can’t mix and never will. The only system that would work with globalization is a Plutocracy. This will mean the end of society as we now know it. Plutocracy will have to be dominant not only in the US, but in the entire world. It is already spreading its evil tentacles in China and India. The robber barons have set up their businesses in these countries for the slave labor there. Even if it will be successful, it is impossible to be successful for any length of time. The transition from a freedom democracy to a Plutocratic society will be horrifying. The political campaigning for the next president is a fraud, as was the election of the Democrats by the American people to change the horror that now exists in our society. The politicos are minions to the coming Plutocracy presided over by the British and European royalty and their right wing Benedict Arnold lackeys in this country. The British and European royalty will need the help of the religious devils to tranquilize the public. The “Reaganism” that destroyed the unions in this country (A must first step if you want a Plutocracy) back in the eighties is now going on in France.

Frankly, Mr. Scheer, I am disgusted that you would choose to back a person who is against the rights of women, against the equality of all people, and against a single payer health insurance for all citizens of the US.

Kucinich is the true progressive with a long, consistent record of voting for the people of this country.  Paul is collecting record amounts of money, something which should warm the cockles of his AMA infected heart.

You are definitely on the wrong track…throwing out the baby with the bath water.

VOTE KUCINICH….....for the man not the party!

Disaster Capitalists have found their man in Ron Paul.  People will have as much health care and other services as they can pay for.  Just keep telling yourself he’s against the war.

Ron Paul represents one of the most conservative districts in a conservative state.  He didn’t win that seat by talking about equality and fairness for all citizens.  If you abolish social security, the IRS and public education then only the rich will have services and education.  Paul’s position on all these issues is right out of Grover Norquist’s play book: “starve the beast.”  He’s getting the attention of the left because he is so stongly against the war in Iraq but he opposes the war because it costs money, not because it is morally wrong.

The hunger for an authentic voice in politics has manifested itself in support for Ron Paul.I do not think everyone is aware of all of Ron Paul’s positions.Irrespective of that the sense of the people of America wanting something different than what the major party candidates have to offer gives me hope that Bloomberg will get in.

Just had a BIG thought reading this article: If more disenchanted Democrats (not to mention Indies and those who previously never bothered to vote) decided to register as Republicans and vote for Ron Paul, what would happen? A total rethink of the Democratic Party. In fact, Ron Paul could save the Republic by crashing the Democratic Party and forcing it to rebuild from the ground up as an alternative to the current Tweedledum-Tweedledee faux democracy.

I’m not saying this will happen, but boy, if it did, it sure would be powerful for the whole country.

As I thought this, I reflected that this was dissing poor old Kucinich - the only true progressive along with Gravel who seems to have disappeared - but the fact remains: if they all voted for K, the DP would still stand as it is and they would find a way to torpedo him, smother him and so forth.

No, by switching OUT of the DP in the Republican Party, the DP would collapse, being revealed as a phony party, which it is.

That would be fun, now, wouldn’t it?

Good for you, Scheer! Partisanship is out the window here. It’s good to see a candidate, Paul, who’s not waving the flag for all the cameras in the room. In the next era, college types (whether machine or human), will be tilting their big brainy heads as they review the activities of our nation, baffled as to why we planted a nation-state flag on the moon instead of some uniting symbol. One of them will catch a glimpse of Scheer’s article and wonder how many others were alive at the time who also understood the unchanging virtue of non interference.

Thanks, Robert Scheer, a voice of sanity from the non-authoritarian Left. I, too, will be cheering for the true anti-war candidate, Ron Paul. While I don’t agree with him on quite a few issues, my main concern for the upcoming election is stopping endless war, restoring Habeas Corpus (check out the American Freedom Agenda Act) and making this giant private banking institution the Federal Reserve accountable.

Sensibility…WOW! My apathy may be cured.