Ron Paul – Zombies Uncensored

Remember the First Time Social Security went Bankrupt?

Ron Paul vs Chris Matthews on Hardball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpchEdtS0e4

Listening to Ron Paul and Chris Matthews debate the virtues of Social Security brought back memories of my grandmother and the first time Social Security went bankrupt. I remember my grandmother being glued to the news for several months as she nervously followed the developments in Washington D.C.

I was a kid and didn’t really understand my grandmothers concerns and frustration at the time. The thought of my grandparents not receiving Social Security would have meant they would move in with us. I loved my grandparents and relished the idea of living with them.

One day, Grandma was very upset. She threw up her hands, shook her head, and said, “They just mailed out the checks; they have no money, but they mailed the checks anyway.” Grandma thought it was incredible the government could function that way.

Grandma angrily went on. “Social Security, Social Security! They said, ‘You don’t have to worry, because you’ve got Social Security.’ We would have never sold our business if we’d known this was going to happen.”

They had sold their small business to their son-in-law, and at the time, it made perfect sense. My grandparents would have their needs taken care of by Social Security, and the business would still be helping to support their daughter’s family.

I saw firsthand how government programs create dependency and the resulting fear, frustration, and anger caused by mismanagement. I still resent the government for the suffering caused by catching my grandparents in their “security net.”

Sometime in the near future, millions of Americans will be reliving the pain my grandparents went through. On the plus side, there may be some very happy grandkids.

Remember the First Time Social Security went Bankrupt?

Ron Paul vs Chris Matthews on Hardball

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpchEdtS0e4

Sometime in the near future, millions of Americans will be reliving the pain my grandparents went through. On the plus side, there may be some very happy grandkids.

Republican Does Not Equal Conservative

Southern Avenger Jack Hunter: Conservatism in Exile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uwotApGcrE

Simple explanation of why Republican does not equal conservative. Jack Hunter makes clear and concise points about the how the Republican establishment is not only similar to the Democratic party in terms of trending towards socialism, but in some ways worse.

If the goal is to reduce the size and scope of the government, voting Republican simply isn’t going to work.

Republican Does Not Equal Conservative

Southern Avenger Jack Hunter: Conservatism in Exile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uwotApGcrE

If the goal is to reduce the size and scope of the government, voting Republican simply isn’t going to work.

Libertarian Values: Not Mainstream Just Yet

From Chris Stirewalt’s piece titled “Hating the government finally goes mainstream” at the Washington Examiner. Emphasis added to illustrate libertarian values aren’t described as mainstream in the mainstream media.

Three years ago, the Republican establishment piled scorn on the presidential candidacy of Ron Paul.

Today, he is in a statistical tie with President Obama in 2012 polling. His son, an ophthalmologist who has never run for elective office, is well ahead of not only the GOP’s handpicked candidate for Senate in Kentucky but also both Democratic contenders — all statewide officeholders.

What happened? Did America sudden develop an insatiable appetite for 74-year-old, cranky congressmen from Texas? Is the gold standard catching on?

Paul will not likely be the next president. And his son still faces the most arduous part of his journey as Democrats spend millions to paint him as soft on defense, lax on drug enforcement and too radical on welfare programs.

But there’s no doubt that hating the government and the powerful interests that pull Washington’s strings has gone from the radical precincts of the Right and Left to the mainstream.

…Libertarian sentiment has finally gone mainstream.

Libertarian values haven’t gone mainstream just yet. You’ll know when those values have hit mainstream when they aren’t described with negative connotations. Once a political perspective goes mainstream, it’s described with positive adjectives.

With abortion, the sides are generally described as pro-choice and pro-life. If the sides in abortion were described as baby-haters or choice-haters, it would sound as if they are against something rather than for something. Part of the reason for using the pro-adjectives is both positions are mainstream, in that both groups represent a large number of people.

It’s polite to refer to these groups in a positive sense of what they favor rather than pointing to what they oppose. Referring to others in the positive terms they prefer shows your respect, even when it’s a view you don’t share.

Libertarian values are often not shown the same respect as other views, because they are described as haters, radical or cranky. If others valued or respected those views, they would be framed in a more positive light.

For those who are not trying to alienate others, here are a few suggestions for how to refer to those with libertarian views in a more respectful and polite manner.

Liberty-minded
Pro-freedom
Libertarian
Limited government advocates
Individualist
Fiscally Conservative – Socially Liberal

To other liberty minded individuals out there, if there are other terms you prefer, just leave it in the comments and I’ll update the list; thanks.

Happy Hour for the Pauls, and for Freedom

Congressman Ron Paul on Happy Hour April 14

Happy hour sums up how I feel about Ron Paul today. First there was Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.

Pit maverick Republican Congressman Ron Paul against President Obama in a hypothetical 2012 election match-up, and the race is – virtually dead even.

Also today, Ron Paul introduced the “End the Mandate Act,” to take out the mandatory portion of the new health care law.

Madam Speaker, today I am introducing the End the Mandate Act. This legislation repeals the sections of the recently-passed health reform bill that forces all Americans to purchase federally-approved health insurance plans.

Forcing every American to obtain health insurance is a blatant violation of the Constitution. Defenders of this provision claim the Congress’s constitutional authority to regulate “interstate commerce” gives Congress the power to mandate every American obtain a federally-approved health insurance plan.

However, as Judge Andrew Napolitano and other distinguished legal scholars and commentators have pointed out, even the broadest definition of “regulating interstate commerce” cannot reasonably encompass forcing Americans to engage in commerce by purchasing health insurance.

And wait-there is more: Retiring Senator Jim Bunning named Rand Paul (Ron Paul’s son) as his chosen successor today.

“Dr. Paul will be his own man in Washington, not beholden to the special interests and beltway insiders who come looking for handouts on a daily basis,” Bunning said. “Instead, Dr. Paul will be a strong voice and advocate for the people and values of Kentucky.

Normally I would complain about media bias for the “I think I love him” comment at the end of the clip. I can tolerate my own bias pretty easily, so I’ll let it go, and just say its happy hour for the Pauls and happy hour for freedom.

Ron Paul SRLC highlights

Ron Paul at Southern Republican Leadership Conference

Just a couple of ideas from Ron Paul I’d like to hear more politicians promote.

No matter how badly you would like to have them, all empires end, not because they’re defeated militarily, all empires end for financial reasons.

We can do better with peace than with war.

Unintended Consequences of Listening to Ron Paul

What do the following radio and TV hosts have in common?

Rachel Maddow
Glenn Beck
Larry King
Tucker Carlson
Jim Cramer
Alex Jones
John Stewart
Andrew Napolitano
Neil Cavuto
Bill Maher
David Asman
Montel Williams
Ed Schultz
Joe Scarborough
Stephen Colbert

These are the people I tune into to find out their political views. Its a very diverse group. They don’t share the same views, and often attack each other. How did this happen? You’d have to be schizophrenic to listen or understand this group as a whole. I didn’t start out seeking a wide perspective for political views, it happened quite accidentally.

During the 2008 Presidential election, I was following Ron Paul. Whenever Paul was on TV I tuned in regardless of the network or host. I paid attention to how Paul was treated by the host. If the host let Paul speak and didn’t interrupt and interacted with Paul, I started tuning into their shows more often. The issue was not if the host agreed with the views of Ron Paul, but if they gave him a chance for his views to be fairly expressed.

There are some big names not on the list, like Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly. Keith Olbermann I don’t listen to because Paul is basically nonexistent to Olbermann; O’Reilly kept interrupting Paul and not letting him finish a thought. Ron Paul is one of the most polite people in politics; it says a lot about someone who is rude to someone as humble and polite as Paul.

Ron Paul was the person in the news that came the closest to representing my views. If the host was showing politeness and respect to Ron Paul, then I felt they deserved the same politeness and respect from me. Ron Paul has often spoken of unintended consequences of government policy; one of the unintended consequences of following Ron Paul has been a much broader view of politics.

Ron Paul and Shameless Media Bias

Here is Ron Paul on CNN’s Broken Us Government with Jack Cafferty

The shameless bias is near the end when Cafferty tells Paul that he wishes he’d run again….and I loved every minute of it.

Rand Paul and Ron Paul on compromise

Rand Paul and Ron Paul are questioned by Anderson Cooper about congress and compromise.

Ron Paul “they compromise on the welfare state, they compromise on the warfare state, they compromise endorsing the monetary system”

Rand Paul “we are compromising, but we are compromising for more spending”

Congress should be willing to compromise on what gets cut from the budget, but cutting the budget should not be compromised.