12/31/2011

Glenn Greenwald represents the very best of what journalism ought to be


In this fantastic piece, Greenwald analyzes the rift between Ron Paul and Progressives. While he explicitly does not endorse Ron Paul, his honesty and clarity are much appreciated talents; especially now when they are becoming increasingly scarce.

Ron Paul’s candidacy is a mirror held up in front of the face of America’s Democratic Party and its progressive wing, and the image that is reflected is an ugly one; more to the point, it’s one they do not want to see because it so violently conflicts with their desired self-perception.
Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing here: http://www.salon.com/2011/12/31/progressives_and_the_ron_paul_fallacies/singleton/

12/28/2011

Is Ron Paul the most pro-minority politician alive today?

The facts and his voting record sure seem to indicate so...

Or put another way, what is more important to you: An out of context sentence from a 30 year-old newsletter, or the ending of a racist program that disproportionally sends black males to prison for non-violent crimes?

Update: Stefan Molyneux passionately makes the case that Ron Paul is the most anti-racist politician in America today.

12/25/2011

Actions are more important than words.


Reason.com continues to relentlessly produce new articles and blog posts on the Ron Paul newsletter, the latest of which is both factually inaccurate on numerous accounts as well as openly biased. I would posit that no other news organization has birthed more separate reports on this topic, with little to no substantive new material to report on, than has Reason.

The last blog post seems to suggest why; their goal is not merely to highlight the newsletters, it is to tarnish The Mises Institute. I will address this shortly. First, I must address some horrifically stupid statements from a brilliant man and someone I consider one of the best advocates of liberty alive today, Steve Horwitz. Reason's Dalmia quotes him here:
Even in 2008, he refused to return a campaign contribution of $500 from the white supremacist group Stormfront.  You can still go to their site and see their love for Ron Paul in this campaign and you can find a picture of Ron with the owner of Stormfront’s website.  Even if Ron had never intentionally courted them, isn’t it a huge problem that they think he is a good candidate?  Doesn’t that say something really bad about the way Ron Paul is communicating his message? 

No and no. Ron Paul has raised tens of millions of dollars from individual donors over the course of his multiple presidential campaigns. Liberty is a system that will benefit all people. This is something I do not think Dalmia or Professor Horwitz would contend. To suggest that because out of the millions of dollars raised, a few hundred came from despicable persons, has any meaning at all, is an enormous lapse in logic, at best, and deliberately malicious, at worse.

If you are using the fact that a handful of people, out of the millions, who support him, is evidence of the "really bad" way in which Ron Paul is communicating his message, it portrays a failure to grasp basic mathematics and statistics, not some novel insight that the messenger is tainted.

Steve breaks my heart when he writes, as Dalmia quoted him, here:
Paul also maintained his connection with the Mises Institute, which has itself had numerous connections with all kinds of unsavory folks: more racists, anti-Semites, Holocaust deniers, the whole nine yards. 
He added that it was ably documented, but did not supply us with even one specific example of this documentation, preferring instead to link to a site that does that for us. There is no question Steve has a much better knowledge of the history of these people and institutions than I do. I did not come to The Mises Institute until late 2008, and yes it was as a result of my exposure to Ron Paul, from earlier of that same year. Yet, it would appear Steve's superior knowledge of the past is serving as a hindrance, to seeing what is.

The implication that the Mises Institute is racist or anti-Semitic etc. is absurd on its face. Mises was Jewish. So there's that...

But more importantly than defending the Institute is pointing out the tragic flaw Steve and Dalmia continue to make. And ironically, it is a flaw that goes against all that libertarianism represents. It is precisely what The Mises Institute, in their superior stewardship of the principles of liberty, first brought to my attention - the evils of collectivist thought.

I have visited Mises.org virtually everyday for the past four years. I have attended their conferences, followed the personal blogs of the most featured writers there, had direct correspondence with some, and even met some scholars and former students in person. I have poured through their archives amassing a personal library that serves as a physical manifestation of their online bookstore, yet not once was I ever exposed to the type of racist thought that they are implicated to be sympathetic towards by Steve's comments above. Not once.

You discredit yourself when you judge the character of others based on their readership. If Reason were to be judged based on the type of people it attracts in their comments section one could quite reasonably conclude the very worst of them. Yet, that would be absurd. Reason can not be held accountable for the vile that spills forth daily in the comments section of their site, anymore can The Mises Institute henceforth be labeled as X, merely because unsavory types have found their teachings beneficial.

I have no doubt that Steve is correct about the past. Yet, if the people and message of that time are no longer a part of The Mises Institute, it is a grave error to forever label the institution and those very good and decent people working there, as co-conspirators and guilty by association. This is made most clear by my own personal experience with The Mises Institute. If someone who follows them intimately every day for four years has not seen a whisper of that which they stand accused of being guilty by association, it is because it does not exist. To instead ignore the reality of what is, preferring to remain forever trapped in the past of what was, is the only way one can sensibly maintain such characterizations. What is denying that which is in front of you in favor of that which once was, if not a form of madness?

Dalmia's slime continues as they write, "cheering him on as he walks off TV interviews and so on." This is a lie. The quote implies Ron Paul regularly walks off "interviews" (plural) when being asked to address this question. That is a blatant lie. It is such a blatant lie that when Ron Paul did walk off, it made headlines, precisely because it was so shocking and had never happened before! Well it turns out it still has never happened. That famous CNN clip of him walking out, turned out to be nothing more than a masterful, deliberately misleading editing job by CNN's video team.

Finally, let us pause and appreciate the hypocrisy of all of this. Ron Paul has done more for libertarianism and thus the potential the benefits such a system will bring to all people, than any of the other parties involved. Not surprisingly his support is the most diverse and widespread of any political candidate. While other candidates have perfected the art of polite speech, while condoning the most anti-human and racist institutions imaginable, (the war on terror, war on drugs, prison system, and the patriot act, just to name a few!) Dr. Ron Paul will actually work to end these programs and the injustice that they represent and inflict on a daily, recurring basis. Truly, there has never been a greater advocate for a moral and just society in my lifetime.

Yet, the response to this from those professing to be advocates of libertarianism is to drag down this champion of liberty and shout to his millions of followers that what we see in front of us is a mirage, and the truth can be found not here and now, but in the past plans of men from a different time. The past is important and has its place. Ron Paul has addressed this issue, apologized for it, disavowed them, and even remarked that he is not perfect and this example represents that.

But to continue to ignore that which exists today, to ignore that which will be done, in favor of that which was merely said, is nothing short of madness. Tragically, it is this delirium that will be far more destructive to the cause of liberty than any unearthed newsletter.


12/20/2011

Some useful links to deal with the coming smear campaign against Ron Paul


Please let me know if you have any good resources to add to the above list. After Ron Paul wins Iowa the avalanche of smear attacks is going to be massive!

And to add my own two cents, why is it that the only ones who lobby this racist charge are rich white people? Do they feel that those whom Ron Paul is allegedly racist against are incapable of realizing it? How horribly racist of them!

I mean the guy has been in public office for over 30 years and has run for President of the United States three times! He has appeared countless times on television already. He's known for specifically always speaking his mind and failing to give the rehearsed, scripted answers that is the hallmark of typical politicians. It's not exactly hard to find out where this guy stands.

Perhaps the elitist white people who feel compelled to define a man by the writings of someone else, written decades ago, as having more significance than the actions and character he has exhibited over his lifetime, should shut their mouths and stick to reporting the facts. The people can decide for themselves.

Update:

I have to quote from E.D. Kain here, because it's that good:

This is silly. I care more about actions than whatever Ron Paul’s newsletter once published ages ago. Has Paul espoused any of those views himself? Not that I can tell. Do his preferred policies lead as much killing as the preferred policies of Obama or Romney or any of the other candidates currently swarming about? No, they don’t. Do you think the children we blow to shreds with our aerial drones care if Ron Paul’s associates published a racist newsletter in the 90′s or do you think they care more about being blown to shreds?
Paul obviously should not have allowed things like that to be published under his name and I completely and utterly condemn that newsletter and those behind it. It’s just not as big a deal to me as the aforementioned wars and assassinations under this president.
What’s more important to your idealism – words or bombs? What is more liberal? What is more progressive?
I see it as a matter of life and death. I know you see it as a matter of Your Team vs. The Others. But that’s just not enough for me.



12/18/2011

We made the Sunday edition of the Las Vegas Review-Journal!

A truly fantastic piece on our Ron Paul billboard project and Ron Paul generally. Check it out here!

Someone in the comments section wrote the following:

"Doesn't anyone worry about those like Fellner who "voted for Obama in 2008 and was a Democrat until he switched to the GOP so he could back Paul." Could this fervor be a ruse to dilute the GOP vote or even split the party by running third party? How does one go all the way from Democrat to Libertarian in three years."

I posted the following reply there, but the formatting in the comments section is not great and it bears repeating. My answer:

Education, commitment, and passion to the philosophy of liberty.

Four years ago I was 23. The average 23 year old, hell the average person, does not come to their political views by value-free analysis and education. They tend to just adopt the views of those around them (family, friends etc) without really analyzing why. 

When I was exposed to Ron Paul around the age of 23 I began to analyze and think deeply about politics and political theory in general. I no longer simply adopted the views told to me by my teachers, friends, news media, etc.

I researched and studied the philosophy of liberty as well as economics. Once you undergo this process, liberty grabs a hold of you. You realize that you have been lied to. You realize the answers are there if people could just become awakened to grasp them. A fervent passion develops. I have no idea what you are talking about by being a "ruse to split the vote or the gop" and so on. I am voting for liberty.

If my transformation in 4 years is hard to believe, your head would probably explode if I introduced you to PhD educated, wealthy, middle-aged businessmen who 18 months ago were socialist-progressive and after daily emails from yours truly, are all libertarian Ron Paul supporters.

You may think 3-4 years is too short to change your mind; I think 3-4 days is far too long to remain trapped in a false ideology once you have been exposed to sound economics and the philosophy of liberty!


12/13/2011

Ron Paul Billboard is Up!



I want you guys to know how much I appreciate your donations and the trust placed in me that came with them. I have retrieved data from an independent marketing company who assesses the value of outdoor advertising space. The data provided for this billboard is that it is seen by over 125,000 people a week! That means there will be over 1 million views of this over the duration of our buy. I hope you consider that to be a great value for the money we spent. But wait, there's more!

The whole goal of getting a billboard is to generate publicity and awareness for Ron Paul, right? So how awesome would it be to get a news story about the billboard?! Well, after some more hard work by yours truly, we can expect just that! I will update this page when the stories are published online.

Thanks again to all those who donated!

Feature in Vegas Seven Magazine about this project is now online! Check it out here!

12/07/2011

A follow up on the Quail Hollow Farm fiasco - published in the Nevada Journal!

I wrote about this incident last month right here on Grim's Grumblings in a blog post titled, "A shocking example of government run amok, is it time to re-think the role of government?"

I did a follow-up report that revealed the whole "I have no choice - my hands are tied" excuse given by the health inspector's supervisor was basically total BS. It was just published by the Nevada Journal! Check it out here: http://nevadajournal.com/2011/12/07/total-lack-common-sense-health-district/

12/05/2011

Latest poll highlights Ron Paul's significant advantages over the rest of the field.


The headline reads, "Gingrich emerges as clear front-runner in Iowa", but within the story are some very revealing pieces of data. 

First we see:
of six attributes tested in the poll, the only one where Gingrich is not first or in contention for first is on being the most honest and trustworthy. On this score, it’s Paul with 23 percent and Bachmann with 17 percent, followed by Gingrich with 13 and Romney with 12, among likely caucus-goers.
Naturally, it is impossible for the inherently biased mainstream media to appropriately lead into these results with something like "On this score, Paul is in a strong first place with 23 percent", but nonetheless the numbers speak quite loudly for themselves.

And while it is disheartening that the man overwhelmingly considered to be the most honest and trustworthy is not also the top choice for President, a strong 2nd at 18% is an extremely solid showing. I would expect Paul's supporters would be even more energized by such a strong placing. This is sure to serve as even more motivation and I expect their final push towards the finish line in Iowa will result in a campaign presence substantially greater than anything the other campaigns are able to produce.

The following is even more encouraging in my view:
With 33 percent support among likely caucus-goers in the new poll, Gingrich runs well ahead of his two main rivals, Romney and Paul, a libertarian whose passionate following and anti-government rhetoric have made him a durable force in the race. Both are at 18 percent.
But Iowa Republicans are far from decided. More than six in 10 potential caucus-goers say they could change their minds, and even among the likeliest attendees, fewer than half say they have definitely chosen a candidate.
Of the top three, Paul’s supporters are the most solid, followed by Gingrich’s and Romney’s.

This poll clearly shows that Ron Paul's support has been steadily growing (while his rivals have all risen quickly, only to then later flame out) and that support is by far the most solid and unlikely to change their minds. This is extremely encouraging news. As the official Ron Paul campaign ramps up their efforts in Iowa and NH buoyed by the efforts of grassroot projects like The Ron Paul Brochure mass mailing, the prospect of a Ron Paul victory in Iowa is becoming a very real possibility.



12/04/2011

Newt Gingrich epitomizes all that is wrong with America today.


More accurately, the American people's reaction (or lack thereof) to Newt Gingrich's foreign policy views is the epitome of where this country is today. And that is significantly closer to Nazi Germany than the beacon of freedom and liberty America used to represent so many years ago.





12/03/2011

What the TSA really symbolizes

Is the total lack of power the people have over "their" government. I came across another TSA horror story just now. This time they force an 85 year old woman in a wheel-chair to be strip searched etc. As disgusting as this is for me to say, there have been so many cases of similar stories like these right now, I won't bother you with the details. The point I want to make is how virtually unanimous the response from the people has been.

I pay very close attention to the pulse of the people. Tracking comments on various article from different types of news sites, is a fantastic way to do this. So for instance you want to read the comments of sites like foxnews.com as much as you do Paul Krugman's blog, MSNBC, etc. What I find truly fascinating is that there has been a steady and growing movement amongst the public as a whole, that is totally outraged and appalled at the existence of the TSA.

More and more, it is not merely "that agent should be fired", instead as the futility of seeing case after case of abuse go on unpunished, the calls now are for "The TSA should be sued" "The TSA should be abolished" "The TSA is scum". Now all of those things are completely true. But being true, doesn't necessarily make people believe those things. So, it is facinating and excirting to see the overwhelming majority of the American people begin to unite in their rightful disgust and call for their termination and subsequent arrest of the TSA and the criminals who work there.

Now to the point of this blog post. Look how free and "representative" this God That Failed you of Democracy is. The intrusive measures to which we are now all standing united in opposition against, not to mention the TSA itself, were all appointed and crafted by bureaucrats. In this supposed system of "voting makes things right", I don't remember being given a vote on this? How about the policy maker that is the head of the TSA, John Pistole. How many votes did he win by? Oh, that's right, he is an appointed official whom you have no power to remove, vote on, or do any of the illusory activities that those who support Democracy believe give you power.

How about the politicians themselves, let's just vote them out and replace them with anti-TSA ones! Well, an overwhelming majority of the populace seems to be against the TSA (as they have been against the Drug War for 25 years now) how is that working out for us? When you go into the voting booth are you presented with the question "Abolish TSA - Yes or No?" I'm sure not! Anyways, I could go on ranting like this for days. The only point I want to make is to emphasize just how weak the system of Democracy leaves those whom are ruled over, despite all the claims to the contrary. That even when unelected bureaucrats literally declare sexual assault is legal for them and only them, and even after the majority of the people wake up to what total bullshit that is, here we stand. The TSA grows stronger by the day, repeated cases of abuse are whisked away by decrees from the unelected commissars as "having followed proper TSA procedure". If Democracy is a system that is a reflection of the will of the people, how does one reconcile the foreign hand grabbing your genitals that seems to say quite the opposite?




Safety Vs Liberty

We are witnessing a dramatic decline as America plunges from a once greatly respected and proudly free country, into something far, far worse. The justification most often given for each removal of liberty is the concept of safety. It must be stressed that absolute safety is a nonsensical and self-refuting concept when applied to a world of human action. Additionally, the ultimate end of any just political philosophy must be liberty. There is no life without liberty in the eyes of the libertarian. It is this concept I try to explain in the video below!