Shocked I tell you, shocked!

I sit back and watch all the commercial media outlets stumbling over themselves in utter disbelief and shock that Ron Paul could raise so much money, and I have a laugh.

This is exactly the reason why there is such a broad base of support for the Paul campaign, because the NY to DC corridor of power is so out of the mainstream of the American mindset. I have watched over the past few months, the scant mention of Dr. Paul’s efforts passed off as fringe, anti-establishment, basement dwelling moonbat spammers, and my favorite, “out of touch” with the realities of the day.

Just who are these people that make such assertions and comments anyway? They are the behemoth of megalomaniac children of fortune that are the participants in the Federal government, they are the K-street lobbyist pushing agenda’s like used car salesmen, they are the pundits who have spent so much time playing newsreaders with the backdrop of catchy graphics that they haven’t a clue as to what the American peoples desires and hopes are. They are the people on the fringe, the ones who are out of lockstep with the national body.

The smell of fear that permeates in the air like a thick fog so dense one would have to use a chainsaw to cut it. These people who stand slack jawed in awe that such a slight man with a message greater than their understanding and the integrity to support it, amaze me that they lived in the bottle with the ship as long as they have. What is worse is that they still don’t “get it”, and if by some miracle they do, they once again try to pass it off as a dark horse anti-establishment fad.

We people that have set aside many of our own pet issues and differences, we conservatives, libertarians, moderates, liberals and independents have been telling you for quite some time but our concerns have fallen upon the deaf ears. Issues that concern those of us, whose backs have been the stepping-stones of the status-quo will be heard. More important than our political background is the quality of our lives. We are the workers in factories, the farmers in the fields, and the soldiers in uniform, we are Main Street.

So don’t act surprised that when a person comes along who actually addresses our thoughts and concerns becomes popular, it isn’t that hard of a stretch. It should however be a wake up call to let you know just how far out of touch with the very people you all are supposed to represent actually are. We see this, even if you don’t.

Whether or not Ron Paul gets elected as the next President of the United States or not, one thing is for certain, and that is the political landscape is about to change so take notice.

Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress: The Media Disenfranchising of Ron Paul

Paul Levinson's Infinite Regress: The Media Disenfranchising of Ron Paul

Why not Ron Paul?

Why does it seem each election we average folk are faced with the choice of the lesser of two evils instead of a candidate that you would be proud to say, “yeah, that’s the guy I voted for”? When a candidate that does arrive on the scene that resonates with average people they are often marginalized and touted as having a chance so far removed that even Barry Bonds couldn’t send a ball to them. Often it is that a rouge character, that quintessential underdog outsider always seems so attractive and often makes the most sense when standing next to the three piece Neiman Marcus mouthpiece holding a mouth full of smoke and wearing rubber gloves.

You realize that you are being herded towards a shoot by a cowboy named Rupert Murdoch to meet his other friend named, “thumper” that is there holding a large blunt club. As you fumble forward with an ominous feeling in your gut, you hear a voice in the back of your head telling you to run for it.

Enter today… We have an undeclared war raging in two countries in the Middle East, we are on the verge of a serious economic crisis, we have a health care system that is the mockery of the rest of the free world, we have skyrocketing gas prices, a government riddled with scandal, and a plethora of media snake oil salesmen trying to sell you an approved candidate that wants to keep things the same.

There is of course an alternative to this scenario; there is a way out. Now I normally don’t plug for one candidate or another on this thing, but I feel that it is one of those times when you must promote a good thing when you see it. This good thing is Congressman Ron Paul from Texas. He is a man who has the best voting record in Congress and would like to take America back to its fundamentals and to restore the liberties that others have infringed upon. Since he and I agree on many, but not all things, I am going to tell you why I support him.

In today’s world it is a bold concept to wish to return to the basic foundations and principles that led America from its humble beginnings to the greatest presence in the history of mankind. It is bold because our founding fathers could have never foreseen that their efforts to break away from the tyranny of a king and start a nation of free people would one day evolve into what it is today, an empire of true epic proportion.

Our Constitution laid down the basic laws of how a framework that denotes the citizenry as the primary focus is one that is both bold in concept and noble in principle. It set the example that for much of the 20^th century was the focus of emulation by many of the worlds other nations; it was what much of the rest of the world wanted to be.

The Bush administration, as well as many neoconservatives have used the concept of the Constitution being a living document to also mean that reality itself could not only be altered but entirely created. A recent statement by President Bush as reported in the NY Times:

''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued. ''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.’’ [1]

This should give pause to anyone, that if our government now believes it can create its own reality without regard, then what possibility of survival do the very laws and rules that have created and govern this nation have?

This egocentric and almost omnipotent view of our current government has left the rest of the world that is still grounded in reality, baffled, befuddled, and resentful towards a nation that it once viewed with admiration. Only a return to the very ideas and principles that created this admiration towards us in the greater world as well as gave its citizenry a feeling of fellowship and importance will restore that which we have lost.

The notion of returning to a stricter adherence of the United States Constitution and concept of, “We the People”, frightens most politicians, power brokers, and those who would seek to steer public opinion for their own designs as it strikes at the core of a system of cronyism and that most basic human element, greed. Ron Paul’s efforts to champion a return to a strict adherence to the Constitution will be met with great opposition as it is in complete contrast to the status quo of the day.

In today’s world, we are blessed with this modern marvel known as the internet. This technological wonder along with instant mobile communications has brought the possibility of a completely free and transparent government as well as the exchange of ideas and concepts of the people it serves. The internet is the only means available to counter an institution that is more concerned with profit and personal interest than it is for the welfare of the people they subscribe to it. It has been through the medium of the internet that today’s press and government have been caught red handed attempting to quash those people who are out of lock step with their view.

It is certainly no secret that the media of the past as well as today have used its ability to guide public opinion in a manner that is in contrast to the needs or desires of the general public. Many Americans still get their information from the mainstream news each night and by use of repetition and use of language it is still a formidable tool use to steer the public to what it chooses. Whatever the reasons may be, it is clear today that Ron Paul and people like him will not be discussed in the same manner or with the same repetition as those candidates that the media chooses as fit for its needs.

Ron Paul is the taxpayers best friend as well as one of the few champions of our founding principles that work on behalf of you and me, John Q Public. Ron Paul should also resonate with those American businesses that want to make money for their stockholders as well as understand that their employees are also their consumers and fellow countrymen.

America did not become great because it had the most missiles, tanks, and troops, it did not become great because it has the greatest economic resources or superior technology; America became great because of its idea’s and its principles that later spawned these things. The idea of a nation of free people bound by a Constitution and rule of law that guaranteed a set of rights that allowed its people to prosper and flourish. It is by this basic original system that our country was founded and one that Ron Paul wishes us to return and why he is so feared by the establishment today.

If you the reader wants to return to an open system of government that adheres to the letter of the law and understands that we the people are the ones they must answer to and you believe in the sanctity of life, freedom, and prosperity, then there is simply only one choice for President, Ron Paul.

[1] Faith, Certainty, and the Presidency of George W. Bush

By RON SUSKIND

NY Times Magazine

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/17/magazine/17BUSH.html?ex=1255665600en=890a96189e162076ei=5090

Flip

Fringe

“The reality on the ground”, this is a phrase you hear often in the press or from politicians that has been borrowed from military speak when trying to describe the difference between theory of policy and reality of what is happening as a result of it. The people in our government and our media still just don’t get it, despite the fact that all one has to do is hop online and see what America is screaming out for.
In a CBS article by David Miller that appeared on May 5th, it was mentioned that Mike Gravel is seen as a fringe or anti-establishment candidate and that Americans seem captivated by him. Of course Americans are captivated by him because he is the only person in recent memory to suggest actually empowering the American people in the political process on a daily basis and giving them some say in their lives. The press and the current offering of top-tier candidates as well as politicians in general will try and frame anyone who wants to change the current system in a poor light. They just don’t understand that mainstream America is now so far removed from their fanciful view of the country that we are seen as the “fringe”.
The average Middle American has to do more with less and less each day. We see our jobs being shipped overseas while hordes of illegal immigrants further burden our paltry services. We watch as politicians talk about being tough on terrorism and yet the Chinese army could march across the border and not be seen. Meanwhile granny is getting strip searched at the airport on her way to play black jack in Vegas. We are getting taxed into poverty which has risen for the 4th straight year while others who are making record profits can park their assets in the Cayman’s tax free while they lecture us. We watch each fall when we are told that gas prices are going up because of winter fuel oil demand, only to hear them say in the spring that gas prices are going up because of the summer driving season.

Our children can barely string together a sentence in English and few will be capable of calculating the interest on their mortgages. They take their chances of getting shot to pieces just getting on a school bus each day, only to get to school and be told they need to be medicated until they drool out of the corner of their mouth. No child left behind has resulted in an entire generation of children being left behind and left ignorant. Our youth are growing up in a world where we have become so politically correct and detached from personal responsibility, that in some instances we can not keep scores in games for fear of hurting their feelings when they lose. Their first experience with the concept of accountability will be when they start their first McJob and get yelled at for leaving the fries in too long.

Meanwhile we watch our government take us to war without end, a perpetual war in which our President and his band of hegemonic fundamentalist have taken great liberty with the liberties of the people. An unnecessary war that will continue to drain the life out of this nation and stain the desert crimson with the children of a people that no longer have a say. We see them, the politicians standing before us polished and smug, talking about a people they no longer even know or understand. So detached are they from the realities of most Americans lives that they still think the Middle Class own winter homes in San Diego.

When you in the press speak of fringe or anti-establishment, you should be referring to the American people. Yes, it is average Americans who are on your fringe, because we know what we want. We want our country back, we want a say and we want the truth. Too long have we sat and listened political system and its enabling media talk as though we don’t understand. We are sick and tired of the same ole same ole, from the department of redundancy department. So to all you media types and to all you cookie cutter plastic politicians, the reality of today is that it is you who are on the fringes of the real America that you no longer understand and have long since abandoned. Middle America is anti-establishment and we are angry, and we are speaking out.

Target Iran and the enablers

Have you noticed of late that despite the condemnation of the war in Iraq that the press is so eager to promote the grave danger of Iran and show how dangerous it is to the region? The talking points seem familiar to you because they are in some cases verbatim of the reasons we used to invade Iraq. So while they tell you how screwed up the war in Iraq is, they are openly offering vast amounts of airtime laying the groundwork of justification for an attack upon Iran. Was Iran the target of our foreign policy in the Middle East all along and the war in Iraq just the pretext to a larger goal? It has since been publicly stated that the Bush administration had war plans for the entire Middle East before we ever stepped foot in Iraq. Since Iraq was weakened by years of sanctions and a previous war, it would be the first domino to fall as it was the easiest target.

Some five years ago I recall the case being laid for the invasion of Iraq and I was skeptical from the onset. Amid the catchy graphics on the Fox and other news channels as well as the non stop spew of jingoistic rhetoric I was and still am stunned at the ease in which this war began.

During the lead up to the war we listened and watched as the Bush administration escalated the language, the fear and the need for immediate action as Iraq went from a defeated nation to one of immense power and capability. One that could strike the shores of our very nation with nuclear weapons and everyone bought into it. People really did believe that Iraq had WMD’s and was poised to use them, as this administration claimed it had evidence as well as come icing claiming that Iraq had a central role in the attacks on September 11^th. The famous State of the Union speech in which Bush claimed they had evidence that Iraq was attempting to purchase uranium from Niger was hoist before the American people as a fact. Already we were printing off, “support the troops” bumper stickers.

After the invasion and our subsequent victory celebrated on the deck of an aircraft carrier, it became clear that Iraq didn’t have any WMD’s but we discovered that the WMD’s were moved to Syria, another evil Middle Eastern nation. About this time, Paul Wolfowitz, the then Deputy Director of Defense for the Bush administration admitted publicly that the reason the US used the WMD theme was because it was the only thing they could all agree on for a pretext to invasion.

The reasons for our invasion suddenly shifted almost overnight, as we were then told that we were there to free the Iraqi people from an evil dictator. This bought the administration some time to devise another reason as it didn’t take long to capture Saddam and new justification needed to be found. The answer of course was that America was there to bring democracy and freedom to the oppressed people of Iraq and so began the downward spiral into chaos we see today.

During the 2004 Presidential elections, John Kerry asked a very good question during a debate, one that Bush didn’t answer and one that no media outlet has ever followed up on. Kerry asked Bush on national television why we were building permanent military bases in Iraq if we were only there to install democracy and free the Iraqi people. Some of these bases are the largest ever constructed in the region and would seem to indicate that America has intentions of staying permanently in Iraq. Was this the intention all along, and if so one has to ask why the US would want so many large permanent bases?

When we see the rising rhetoric and reasoning for justifying an invasion of Iran, the reasons for having such large bases in the region become a little clearer. If Iran is attacked it is only logical that they will retaliate and a large presence of troops would be needed. Troops stationed in bases in centralized Iraq, buffered by distance and in easy striking range of aircraft.

Do people really believe that a three day air-strike on Iran will make the Iranian people suddenly change their minds, lay down their arms and say, yes America you are right, overthrow their government, install a democracy and welcome us as liberators? This familiar sounding reasoning is being thrust upon us in the press on a daily basis but anyone with any ability for rational thought knows this won’t be the case. The Bush administration knows this, their enablers know this, but will it be enough to stop it before it begins?

I believe Congress knows this and this is why there is one of the greatest power struggles in our nation’s history taking place at this very moment. We have a President who claims to be, “The decider” and a Vice President who retorts his critics with statements like, “Well I’m the Vice President and they are not” in open defiance of Congress and the will of the American people.

We know why the Bush administration is pushing for war in Iran, as all one has to do is read the Project for a New American Century website, as the step by step plans for control of the Middle East are laid out. This leaves one to wonder why the press is so eager to promote a conflict with Iran when the majority of government and the majority of the American people are opposed to it, as it defies logic. Do you not wonder why they condemn the failure of Iraq while shoving Iran down our throat?

If Congress and the American people do not get this ideological zealot and his enablers under control, we will be at war with Iran within two years. If we are to prevent this we must take action and demand the return of sanity to the executive.

Flip

Courage?

In a rare moment in the Senate, republican senator Chuck Hagel, an outspoken maverick or some may say turn coat in the party issued a challenge to his fellow Senators. He asked all 100 members of the Senate to look into the camera and tell their constituents what it is they actually believe and pleaded them to take a stand on principle. In addition, he publicly admitted being wrong when the vote for the resolution to go to war with Iraq was given to Congress and the Senate, which is the kind of statement we rarely hear in politics.

This may just be grandstanding or the actual voice of a man with a conscience who truly wishes to take a stand that may or may not be political suicide. However, the bell has been rung and all that is left is to see just how many in our government will actually take a stand on the issue of Iraq and then actually follow through with it. Call it delusional optimism but I for one am anxious to see some positive results because I would love to know exactly how these people actually stand outside the polls.

I too would like to make a declaration of sorts and ask that my readers and my fellow Americans also take a stand and decide what course of action should be taken in Iraq. For far too long we have sat back and watched this administration slide directionless into madness while taking the good ship America down with them. If you truly care about whether our government is squandering the blood of our youth, the wealth of our country, or the reputation of this nation, then please do something about it.

We are no longer the benevolent empire that the world wishes to emulate as we have started down the path to the dark side. Our good name and standing in the world has eroded to the point that we can not convince nor bribe third world tin pot dictators to sign on to our agenda, let alone our long time allies. Our nation’s wealth has been squandered to the point that we now place the burden of our indulgence upon that of future generations who have no say in the debts they will receive from us. Our once proud heritage of leading the world in education and technology has been supplanted by the dogma of plutocracy and theocratic driven agenda’s that have us trying to catch up to nations like Brazil. One of the few things we actually do lead the world in is military spending and doctrine, and this is often the signs of an empire in decline.

We can change the direction we are headed and it is not too late to take a stand. Do not fall into the self fulfilling prophecy that you have no voice, because to believe so will only prove to end up true. We are a great nation of decent and well meaning people that have lost our way and come to believe that accountability is a shackle that binds us to embarrassment. Find the courage, take a stand, and most of all speak your mind without fear before fear of being wrong supplants our ability to take action.

Flip

Reprieve?

After the last Presidential speech in which Bush admitted to mistakes being made in our policy and methods in Iraq, I noticed a deeply disturbing focus on his statements concerning Iran.

I watched as the our engagement in Iraq morphed from weapons of mass destruction, to containment of Islamo-fascism, to liberation, to bringing democracy and a plethora of other various rationale. Amid statements of, “mission accomplished”, and “they will welcome us as liberators”, I have heard every possible angle on this war from this administration but sadly, not one single statement they have issued has proven to be true thus far. Yet our congress failed to take action and the people were slow to rise up and take note. Republicans out of political tradition just simply would not do what is right if it meant bucking the party line. Democrats used their minority status as a means of escaping the use of moral character and simply capitulated to the whims of the party in power. Meanwhile, the people steeped in jingoistic fashion, soaked up their nightly dose of Fox and CNN before turning back to the golf channel to see if Michelle Wie was going to attend Stanford in the fall.

Half a world a way, the war was grinding on, American soldiers were being stretched to the limits of human endurance, and the civilians of Iraq were caught in the middle of a wholesale slaughter of their fellow countrymen, some who resisted the will of the United States and others who were just faceless victims caught in the middle of a failed American policy that had no plan, direction, or goal. As time has marched on, the position of the public has changed and even though most Americans still feel that we should fix what we broke, many are coming to the sad realization that all the kings horses and all the kings men, may not be able to put Iraq back together again. Still, change was in the air.

After the people spoke and offered “their mandate” during the last election cycle, this administration still insisted its plan will work, even though there is growing evidence that no plan ever existed in the first place. Then President Bush finally stood up and admitted to America what we all already knew; that mistakes have been made and in the most gross of manners. Yet still, Bush now insists that Iran must be dealt with and my head began to swim. Is it possible our President is truly this ignorant or is he under the influence of medications unknown or maybe even the ideology of a bunch of zealots who are bent on widening the Middle East conflict to regional or even global proportions in order to satisfy the desires of our one alleged tiny ally in the region?

Thankfully there was a breath of fresh air yesterday as Senator Warner, a long supporter of this administrations effort, jumped ship and publicly begged that our President reconsider his position. In fact, in the past few days we have witnessed a growing number of the Republican Party in open criticism of this administration, many of which are even offering to sign non-binding bi-partisan resolutions supporting a freeze on deeper involvement and some even advocating de-escalation.

This turn of events makes me ponder a few things such as, are republicans doing this in hopes of salvaging something in 2008 or possibly that they too are so deeply concerned by the madness of king George’s statements on engaging Iran, that they are doing this out of preventative measure? It may be simply that they are concerned with expenditures which are now about 8 billion a month or a running total of 1.2 TRILLION dollars thus far. Who knows, they may actually even be concerned with the growing loss of life that this civil war of attrition has tolled upon the American solider. Whatever the reason or reasons, at least they are doing what appears to be what they should have been doing all along, their jobs.


Will we engage Iran in a military fashion and widen the Middle East conflict or will Bush do like Nixon did with China, Reagan did with Russia, and Jimmy Carter did in the Middle East and engage them in a diplomatic manner? We can say that former Presidents who opened dialog with adversaries had varying degrees of success, but all one has to do is look at Iraq or Vietnam to see the results of failing to do so. Amid the latest cries of nuclear weapons programs, I must say that I don’t wish to hear about our intelligence anymore, I want to hear and see the evidence for a change. Keep speculation, conjecture and theory in the realm soothsayers, mediums, and bookies and show me something a little more concrete. Americans are not buying this bovine excrement anymore so spread it on a different field.

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