Ron Paul - A Disaster for America

Ron Paul's Ideas Illogical

It was when I first heard of Ron Paul rejecting the idea of international trade and wanting to block trucks coming north from Mexico from entering the country, which is now allowed, that I wondered why he would attempt to run for president.

I then heard him say that the Federal Reserve was unconstitutional, unnecessary, and the cause for the "worthless" dollar.  I say worthless because his statistic of the dollar being worth 4 cents for every 1920s dollar would make everyone think just that.

However, consider this.  We have all heard our grandparents tell of a bottle of coke costing $0.05 in 1920.  This is confirmed by most recorded accounts. (see http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodfaq5.html#cocacola)  

Sounds pretty cheap, eh?  Especially compared to the price of a similar bottle of Coke at $1 today.  However, further analysis proves sightly different.  Many analysts estimate the average wage in 1920 to have been somewhere around $30 a month.  So lets estimate that to $1 a day in 1920s dollars.  To buy a Coke, it took 5% of your gross daily income.  

In today's terms, let's use the minimum wage of $5.85 in today's dollars to compare to the daily wage of $1.  Working a full time job at minimum wage, you would earn $46.8 gross.  (It should also be noted that many workers in 1920 probably worked longer than 8 hours a day.)  So in those terms, the cost of a $1 Coke of today takes just over 2% of your daily gross income to buy.  In effect, the cost of a Coke today is 238% less than it was previously.

Which would you rather have?  A Coke for $0.05 costing 5% of your daily wage, or a $1 Coke costing 2%?

Another argument that Ron Paul brings to his campaign is the idea of doing away with the Federal Reserve.  Such a move would be ridiculous.  Since its formation in the post 1929 crash era, the Federal Reserve has insured that we have not suffered  a depression as the one experienced at that time.  This is even more important considering the 1987 Crash -Of which this current month is the 20th anniversary. 

The 1987 Crash was the worst in US history.  The Dow fell a whopping 23% in one day, out-shadowing the 1929 Crash.  However, the Federal Reserve was in large part responsible for keeping the economy from going into a depression.  In fact, if you were to have bought shares after the 1987 crash, you would likely be up ten fold today -A much different result than in 1929, when by July of 1932, the Dow had lost 89%, and did not close above the peak level in 1929 until nearly 25 years later in 1954.

How can someone who is running for president justify his stance on dissolving institutions such as the Federal Reserve?  And more disturbingly, how can even 1% of the Republican voters be following him? (according to the latest Fox News poll.)

I think the economy will develop into a very important issue for 2008.  I just hope that the rest of the 99% of voters, republican or democrat, will be more informed of the workings of economics.

Fwd: HUCKABEE IS THE RIGHT WING'S LAST SURVIVOR

Dick:  I read your newsletters religiously and tune into Fox News whenever you are featured there.  I respect your opinions and great knowledge of politics.  You state in your current newsletter, " The most recent polling suggests that while a majority of voters agree that "other Americans" would be amenable to a black or female candidate for president, only 36 percent feel that way about a Mormon. Unjustified. Unfair. Outrageous as it is — it nevertheless is."  I am a Mormon and I agree that it is unfair and prejudicial that people feel this way about Mormons.  But, why is this?  I must point out and I hope you will research this yourself is that for many decades Baptist Ministers, of which Gov. Huckabee is one, have preached to their congregations vile, hate, and lies regarding the Mormons and their beliefs about God, Jesus Christ, sacred temple ceremonies, and that Mormons are nothing but a cult religion.  Indeed, I had a close relative lynched and murdered while on a Mormon mission in the State of Georgia in 1880.  Is it any wonder then that so many people with so much misinformation and vile speech from these ministers of religion feel the way they do about Mormons? 

 

What I want to know and what every American should know about Gov. Huckabee is what has he said in the past about the Mormons as a Baptist Minister? I will be pleasantly surprised if he had anything good to say.  If Gov. Huckabee gets the Republican Nomination for President as you suggest that he should then I guarantee you his past feelings and comments about Mormons are fair game and they will be vetted by Mormons and Democrats alike.  Democrats will certainly vet him on this issue because they will want to convince Mormons that the party that rejected Romney as a candidate is not the party for Mormons to support with a nominee like Huckabee who trashed Mormons and their beliefs in the past.  Remember, Mormons have been the single largest religious group to support President Bush and is now the fourth largest denomination in North America.  I would suggest that you and others encourage Gov. Huckabee to come clean on the Mormon issue now and reveal what he has told and preached to other Baptists about Mormons and their beliefs. 

 

Thanks for your time.   Garth Limburg

 

I feel I must, once again, comment on your assessment of Romney.  Dick, he did not just "conveniently" become pro-life to join the frey to become a Presidential candidate.  As he has said publicly, he became solid pro life when he saw how the left was using the pro choice arguments for partial birth abortions and other extremist views and issues.  In his heart, he is and always has been pro life, which is the position of his Church that he is an ardent member of.  What is at the root of your dislike of Romney?  I have been trying to figure it out, as have members of my family who read your columns and newletters.  Did he anger you along the way sometime ago?  Did he turn you down as a consultant?  What is it?  Huckaby is a fine man, but he is not the only choice conservatives have.  Mitt Romney is a true conservative.  Look at his stand with gay marriage.  He led the effort nationally against it.  Even while he was still Governor.  Why have so many ardent conservatives, with true values as conservatives, given money to his campaign.  Mitt has raised more money that any other Republican candidate, and has thousands of volunteers on his team, who attest to his conservative values.  Please give him credit where it is due.  He will overcome the "mormon" stigma, already is.  Are you aware of just yesterday's announcement of a key endorcement of a major "born again" I believe So Carolina church leader?
 
Thanks for listening, Dick.  Please respond if you have time.
 
Nevin Limburg

Nevin Limburg, CEcD

 

 

HUCKABEE IS THE RIGHT WING'S LAST SURVIVOR

By DICK MORRIS

Published on TheHill.com on October 17, 2007.

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Peel them away and, underneath, you have Mike Huckabee, the last survivor in the elimination tournament of the Christian right. And they could do a whole lot worse!

Start with the dreams about Sen. George Allen (R-Va.), who became former Sen. George Allen before he could become a viable presidential candidate. Then go to Mitt Romney, his putative opponent for the designation of the right wing. But that was before he ran straight into a wall of bigotry against Mormons. The most recent polling suggests that while a majority of voters agree that "other Americans" would be amenable to a black or female candidate for president, only 36 percent feel that way about a Mormon. Unjustified. Unfair. Outrageous as it is — it nevertheless is. That prejudice and the justifiable cynicism that his flip-flop-flip on abortion engendered have held down his vote share despite massive advertising. (He was pro-life before he ran against Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) in Massachusetts, at which point he discovered a relative who died after an illegal abortion, which, convenie ntly, induced a change of heart. He remained pro-choice as a governor of the most liberal state in America until, as he contemplated entering the GOP primary for president, he realized that abortion had cultivated a contempt for life and so decided to become pro-life — equally conveniently.)

Whatever the reason, Mitt Romney's lack of appeal led conservatives to search under various other burning bushes (no pun) to find a new standard-bearer. Their choice became Fred Thompson. But then it turned out that he had actually accepted a fee to lobby for a weakening of anti-abortion regulations and had waffled on the issue in the '90s in candidate questionnaires. That fact, combined with his lack of knowledge of issues and his aversion to hard work, have sent his candidacy into a downward spiral. Voters on the right understand that Fred can't stand up to Hillary in a debate. Hey, he might not stay awake that long.

So it became "Where have you gone, Newt Gingrich? The nation turns its lonely eyes to you." But Newt took one look at Hillary and decided he really wanted to head a nonprofit foundation educating voters on solutions for America instead of being president of the Unit ed States, so he pulled out before he ever got in.

In the meantime, plugging away in the shadows, with no money and no political backing, an articulate, principled, knowledgeable, conservative Christian, Mike Huckabee, has been plowing the fields in Iowa hoping to catch a break. He is witty, sincere, dedicated and courageous in his own way. With a minus share of the vote, he kept at it and refused to pander on the one hand or give up on the other.

I first met Mike when I became his consultant in his race for lieutenant governor of Arkansas. He was a refreshing change from my previous Arkansas client, but you probably know that story. I was impressed when I first asked Mike about his views on parole for violent felons. I anticipated a standard right-wing response. Instead, he said, "Oh, no, the Christian concept of forgiveness requires that we allow parole. We just have to use it wisely." I was amazed … and sold.

What, I wondere d, would a right-wing Christian activist do as governor of a state? He would sign off on the death penalty, veto abortion, oppose gay rights and insist on the Pledge of Allegiance, but then what would he do for the balance of his term in office? Mike Huckabee answered the question. He set up programs to fight childhood obesity, reformed prisons to emphasize reforming inmates, put values back in education and became a highly popular governor.

Now he churns his way to the forefront of the pack in the Republican primary. He's still broke, but still finished a strong second in the Ames, Iowa, straw poll with 18 percent of the vote.

Now in Iowa polls he has moved ahead of McCain and, in some trial heats, ahead of Romney. Rasmussen has him rising to 7 percent nationally. (Full disclosure: If he breaks 10, I win a dinner from Bill O'Reilly.) But he has the best of all possible worlds: Rivals who are falling of their own weight. So here comes Mike.

Gore's Convenient Lie - Click Here Now!

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***Copyright Eileen McGann and Dick Morris 2007.  Reprints with permission only***




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Should Businessmen Go on Strike?

Ayn Rand Institute Press Release Should Businessmen Go on Strike? October 12, 2007 Irvine, CA--In a week characterized by important labor stoppages, Chrysler workers went out on strike in Michigan, British postal workers returned to work while threatening further walkouts, and registered nurses started a 48-hour strike in Northern California. "Job actions by employees are commonplace, yet we never see similar protests by the individuals who create jobs in the first place," said Thomas Bowden, an analyst at the Ayn Rand Institute. "In her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, published 50 years ago this week, Rand's fictional hero, John Galt, gave voice to the undeserved suffering of businessmen when he said: "There is only one kind of men who have never been on strike in human history. Every other kind and class have stopped, when they so wished, and have presented demands to the world, claiming to be indispensable--except the men who have carried the world on their shoulders, have kept it alive, have endured torture as sole payment, but have never walked out on the human race." "John Galt was defending the businessmen who create and operate the companies that generate steel, oil, medicine, computers, and all the other goods and services on which our lives and happiness depend," Bowden said. "The entrepreneurs, the executives, the investors and bankers, the top-level managers--these are truly indispensable men and women on whose creativity all other workers depend for their jobs." "Why," Bowden asked, "do so many of these capitalist heroes continue to toil away, creating jobs for a society that morally condemns their desire for personal profit as selfish and materialistic, and subjects them to government control as if they were beasts of burden? What keeps those individuals from going on strike? In Atlas Shrugged, Rand answers these questions, showing why nothing less than a moral revolution is needed to set businessmen free from the shackles of unearned guilt." ### ### ###

Copyright © 2007 Ayn Rand® Institute. All rights reserved. Op-eds, press releases and letters to the editor produced by the Ayn Rand Institute are submitted to hundreds of newspapers, radio stations and Web sites across the United States and abroad, and are made possible thanks to voluntary contributions. If you would like to help support ARI's efforts, please make an online contribution at http://www.aynrand.org/support. This release is copyrighted by the Ayn Rand Institute, and cannot be reprinted without permission except for non-commercial, self-study or educational purposes. We encourage you to forward this release to friends, family, associates or interested parties who would want to receive it for these purposes only. Any reproduction of this release must contain the above copyright notice. Those interested in reprinting or redistributing this release for any other purposes should contact media@aynrand.org. This release may not be forwarded to media for publication. ARI's media releases are solicitations sent to addresses obtained from individual subscription requests. You are subscribed as tijis2001@yahoo.com. If you prefer not to receive future releases, visit our Web site to change your email preferences. The Ayn Rand Institute, 2121 Alton Pkwy, Ste 250, Irvine, CA 92606

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The "Don't Tread on Me" Flag: The First Navy Jack is enjoying renewed popularity these days thanks to an order from the Secretary of the Navy that directs all U.S. Navy ships to fly the First Navy Jack for the duration of the War on Terrorism.