Kevin : As sometimes happens when I make sweeping generalizations pangs of conscience kick in and it becomes important personally to look into a question. Hence various e-mails this AM. Of course, keep in mind my objective : Choose the good things in libertarianism but toss out the other things. This presumes that there are other things, some of which don't work or have negative but unrecognized consequences. Think I have hit upon several. All of this prompted by a number of exchanges with Constitutional scholar Jon Roland recently. He is a Libertarian. His "brand" of Libertarianism is different than your's or David's but there are a number of common themes. Billy ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- 11/21/2011 4:45:42 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
Hello Billy: You've got a lot of all or nothings in your post. Libertarians believe faith and love, unencumbered by government intrusion is truer. They believe social justice is an abomination. Voluntary charity is pious. Paul has never accepted Medicaid at his private practice. Instead he volunteers at a local free clinic. A lot of nominal Christians aren't Christians anymore because of the supremacist admonitions like the one your referenced below. That's why we need a Christian Identity Party that would eventually melt away, leaving a more attractive conservative expression. Paul is the kind of Christian I can still like. Jesus also had an attitude. Speak your truth and if it doesn't stick, move on to another village. Coercion was never part of his shtick. I agree with you about Paul's overstatement regarding US blame in the world. I wish he would use more systemic language. Kevin Ron Paul is a "Christian" ? Well, if not giving 2 cents for Biblical morality means being a believer, guess so. As Jesus said, "go out into all the world," etc, the great call, and convert the multitudes, including convincing them of the actual rightness of Christian morality. Not as Paul sees, it since in his translation of the Good Book what Jesus really said was "don't tell anyone what to believe and don't insist on any morality." May as well ask the question : How can a Christian, an actual Christian, not talking about the so-called "liberal churches" like the UCC or the Unitarians, also be a serious libertarian ? From my perspective the two views are in direct conflict. This aside, Paul also takes a leftist view that all the Muslim animosity toward America in the world has nothing to do with Islam and is close to 100% the fault of US foreign policy. Then there is his love affair with laissez faire, viz, outsourcing millions of US jobs, massive technology transfer, financial market speculation gone wild, and blame all of our problems on Uncle Sam. True, Sam deserves a good portion of the blame, something significant, yes, but, much as I actually admire business capitalism, to sing hosannas for financial market capitalism strikes me as being willfully misleading if not perverse.. Thanks, but I prefer leaders who actually think that morality is a good idea and that hollowing-out the US economy is a horrible idea. There is a reason why Paul appeals to libertarians and just about no-one else. How many states would he carry if he was nominated ? Best guess, the results would be a dead heat with Mc Govern in 1972. But Paulism is a religion which Paulistas deny is a religion. But its still a religion. At least according to scuttlebutt he is keeping it an option to run as a third party candidate in 2012. Didn't he try that once before ? Billy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 11/20/2011 11:23:40 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes: The bad stuff about News is coming out, probably from the Paulinistas. David "Anyone who thinks he has a better idea of what's good for people than people do is a swine."--P. J. O’Rourke -------- Original Message -------- Subject: ON NEWT GING-GRINCH-- This is good Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:26:23 -0600 From: Dick Mills _<[email protected]>_ (mailto:[email protected]) Organization: Keep The Republic To: 'Dick Mills' _<[email protected]>_ (mailto:[email protected]) November 20, 2011 Dear Friends of the Republic: When will Americans finally take the time to learn the truth about the politicians they want to adore? Many will remember that Newt Gingrich started his political career as a liberal Nelson Rockefeller devotee, a member of what we called the Eastern Liberal Establishment. However, because he could never get elected to Congress, he decided one fine morning that he would be a “conservative.” Whatever that means! He began to mouth things that sounded good to “conservative ” Republicans, and lo, and behold, got himself elected to Congress. The rest is history. A long-time member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a small private, elite clique bent on establishing the “New World Order” and “making an end run around sovereignty”—their own words—Gingrich has consistently done the bidding of his handlers and worked against the interests of the American Republic. Now, he is mouthing things that he thinks “conservative” Republicans want to hear…not what he truly believes. His record is clear and no one receiving this newsletter has an excuse for being deceived by this charlatan wolf in sheep’s clothing. Beware!!! And again, I say Beware!!! America may have only one more chance to change the course of American history back to the sound principles of limited, Constitutional government, and restore our devastated currency to soundness. The Federal Reserve, created by the New World Order thugs for their own purposes, has diminished the purchasing power of the U.S. Dollar to less than $ .04 since their inception in 1913. As always, actions and the record speaks louder than words. As Cain falters and Romney fails to gather a following, the danger is that Republicans and Independents may erroneously turn to Gingrich. He’s smart; he’s smooth; he’s somewhat charismatic—but he’s a thorough scoundrel!! Please take the time to read what follows and pass it on to your sphere of influence. Then, take a long serious look at Ron Paul, his record, his faith as a solid Christian with a moral backbone, and the only real champion of liberty and the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The controlled media—dominated by Council on Foreign Relations members—cringes and bites their tongues whenever they are forced to even mention Ron Paul’s name. This, despite the fact that Paul is solidly at the top of the running in Iowa and New Hampshire. But they never fail to tout Gingrich and even give serious time to Bachman, even though she barely has a percentage point or two. Ron Paul is not only a fine, patriotic American, he is a personal friend of mine and I would trust my life and the future of my children and grandchildren to his care…and that of the Republic. This is probably Ron Paul’s last run for the Presidency—if Americans fail to act now, it may be reminiscent of Israel rejecting the only One who could deliver them. For Constitutional Government, Liberty, and Accountability. Dick Mills Editor Keep the Republic Newsletter Founder: Ron Paul Friends USA HERE'S A RECENT BLOG POSTED ON NEWT...CHECK THE FACTS FOR YOURSELF AND DO NOT BE DECEIVED!!! · “You're right, I should have substantiated what I said. Here you go.” 04/02/1987 - He cosponsored the 1987 Fairness Doctrine 10/22/1991 - He voted for an amendment that would create a National Police Corps. 03/--/1993 - He voted for sending $1.6 Billion in foreign aid to Russia. 11/19/1993 - He voted for the NAFTA Implementation Act. 11/27/1994 - He supported the GATT Treaty giving sovereignty to the U.N. 08/27/1995 - He suggests that drug smuggling should carry a death sentence. 04/25/1996 - Voted for the single largest increase on Federal education spending ($3.5 Billion) 04/10/1995 - He supported Federal taxdollars being spent on abortions. 06/01/1996 - He helped a Democrat switch parties in an attempt to defeat constitutionalist Ron Paul in the 1996 election. 09/25/1996 - Introduced H.R. 4170, demanded life-sentence or execution for someone bringing 2 ounces of marijuana across the border. 01/22/1997 - Congress gave him a record-setting $300,000 fine for ethical wrongdoing. 11/29/2006 - He said that free speech should be curtailed in order to fight terrorism. Wants to stop terrorists from using the internet. Called for a "serious debate about the 1st Amendment." 11/29/2006 - He called for a "Geneva Convention for terrorists" so it would be clear who the Constitution need not apply to. 02/15/2007 - He supported Bush's proposal for mandatory carbon caps. 09/28/2008 - Says if he were in office, he would have reluctantly voted for the $700B TARP bailout. 10/01/2008 - Says in an article that TARP was a "workout, not a bailout." 12/08/2008 - He was paid $300,000 by Freddie Mac to halt Congress from bringing necessary reform. 03/31/2009 - Says we should have Singapore-style drug tests for Americans. 07/30/2010 - Says that Iraq was just step one in defeating the "Axis of Evil". 08/03/2010 - Advocates attacks on Iran & North Korea. 08/16/2010 - Opposes property rights of the mosque owner in NYC. 11/15/2010 - He defended Romneycare 12/05/2010 - He said that a website owner should be considered an enemy combatant, hunted down and executed, for publishing leaked government memos. 01/30/2011 - He lobbied for ethanol subsidies. 01/30/2011 - He suggested that flex-fuel vehicles be mandated for Americans. 02/13/2011 - He criticized Obama for sending less U.S. taxdollars to Egypt. 02/15/2011 - His book said that he believes man-made climate-change and advocated creating "a new endowment for conservation and the environment." 03/09/2011 - He blames his infidelity to multiple wives on his passion for the country. 03/15/2011 - Says that NAFTA worked because it created jobs in Mexico. 03/19/2011 - He has no regrets about supporting Medicare drug coverage. (Now $7.2T unfunded liability) 03/23/2011 - He completely flip-flopped on Libyan intervention in 16 days. 03/25/2011 - He plans to sign as many as 200 executive orders on his first day as president. 04/25/2011 - He's a paid lobbyist for Federal ethanol subsidies. 05/12/2011 - He was more supportive of individual health-care mandates than Mitt Romney. 06/09/2011 - His own campaign staff resigned en masse. 07/15/2011 - His poorly managed campaign is over $1 Million in debt. 08/01/2011 - He hired a company to create fake Twitter to appear as if he had a following. 10/07/2011 - He said he'd ignore the Supreme Court if need be. 11/16/2011 - Was revealed he actually received 1.6 million from Freddie Mac, vs. his previously stated $300,000 - Gingrich voted for an increase in the debt ceiling in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1984 - Gingrich voted to permit the Federal Reserve to purchase Treasury Debt - Bailed out savings and loan institutions in 1991. $40B Bank bailout - Gingrich voted to strengthen the federal home loan agencies - Gingrich voted for increased powers to the FDIC to bail out struggling savings and loans through reorganization, purchase of bad assets, or recapitalization. - Gingrich voted in favor of the Chrysler Bailout in 1979 - Gingrich voted for an oil windfall profits tax in 1979, which was signed by Jimmy Carter. - Urged the House to repeal the War Powers Act and give the Presidency more power. - Urged Clinton to expand military presence in Bosnia. - Gingrich voted against a provision requiring congressional approval prior to deployment of U.S. troops into Central America in 1983. - Gingrich voted to increase CIA secrecy and against any requirement that the President report covert activity to congress before it is initiated. - Gingrich voted for Jimmy Carter’s “Energy Mobilization Board.” - Gingrich voted for an increase in taxes on coal producers in 1981 - Gingrich voted for a 5-cent increase in the gas tax to fund highway and other mass-transit projects. - Gingrich was one of the few who voted against the 1984 bill requiring the President and Congress to submit a balanced budget - Gingrich voted for a congressional pay raise - Gingrich voted against a bipartisan 1% cut to the Department of Defense budget for 1983 - He was a draft-dodger during the Vietnam War, yet pushed aggressive foreign interventionism his entire political career, and did say that Vietnam was the "right battlefield at the right time." "The idea that a congressman would be tainted by accepting money from private industry or private sources is essentially a socialist argument." - Newt Gingrich · -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: _http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism_ (http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism) Radical Centrism website and blog: _http://RadicalCentrism.org_ (http://radicalcentrism.org/) -- -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
