Iran, Ron Paul, and What's REALLY the Cause of the 'Crisis'.

By: Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.


Much is being written about what is snarkily referred to in the media as Presidential Candidate Ron Paul's 'dangerous' foreign policy. Most are using the current 'bad actor' on the World stage, Iran, as their favorite sounding board to misrepresent, then knock down the 'Straw Man' creation that they unfairly allege represents Ron Paul's foreign policy. Most times, they fail to interview or even QUOTE Ron Paul or his campaign, then proceed to present a near-total fabrication as if even remotely resembled Ron Paul's ACTUAL Foreign Policy! We are told that 'Iran wants to attack the U.S. (and, of course, Israel), and closing the Strait of Hormuz is an 'Aggressive' and 'antagonizing' act of defiance (and of course, that Ron Paul would 'do nothing'). While the policies and tactics of the Iranian Regime are despicable in so many ways As are many of the regimes in the Middle East- many of them our 'close allies!), when you strip away the domestic American political rhetoric from this story, and examine it purely from a geopolitical, diplomatic and strategic viewpoint, an entirely different story emerges.


In most accounts of this situation in the American Mainstream Media, you consistently seem to only hear the standard political talking points about 'Iranian Aggression', most always calling it 'unprovoked'. But what they intentionally (or incompetently) always forget to mention is the most important geopolitical action that has precipitated this whole 'Strait of Hormuz' incident. This entire 'confrontation' in the Strait of Hormuz has been spurred primarily by one event: The European Union, backed by the United States, has threatened a 'Death Penalty' sanction on the Iranian Central Bank (as part of the Massive National Defense Authorization Act or NDAA) in response to it's Nuclear Program'. Even Conservative Republican sites like www.gopusa.com agree with Ron Paul's view on the nature of this crisis, and how dangerous it is for the US to engage in economic and military brinksmanship like this. By taking this serious economic action, the US and it's allies will effectively shut down Iran's ability to not only sell oil, but will effectively make it impossible for Iran to maintain ANY banking relationships on the world markets- precipitously collapsing the Iranian Economy, and forcing their hand militarily. Threatened with this economically unacceptable possibility, most informed observers find that Iran has responded in a predictable and wholly understandable (and economically balanced) manner to this overt (let's put it bluntly) act of Economic War. In essence, the Iranian Regime said that if The West cuts off their ability to sell oil, they will respond in like kind by shutting off the straits of Hormuz, so NO ONE can sell oil from the Gulf. SO this 'confrontation can actually be seen as a DEFENSIVE measure in response to the overtly aggressive economic threats made by the U.S. and it's European allies.

Strip away the emotionalist sabre-rattling and American Political manipulation of this story, and you can boil it down to cold-hard geopolitical and economic facts, backed by predictable diplomatic and military strategies and outcomes. Unfortunately, most in the press are pliantly following the Propaganda lead of the Establishment War-Monger/Profiteers and are using their fear-tactic talking points to demagogue this story in an unfairly manipulative and emotional way in order to further THEIR interests- which are at odds with the interests and safety of the American People, who oppose unnecessary and dangerous wars of aggression. Many Americans are listening to Ron Paul, who accurately points out that these Unconstitutional, undeclared wars and 'conflicts' benefit not the American People, but instead those like the manipulative Internationalist Banksters and the War-Profiteering Military/Industrial Complex.  These people and entities- and NOT the American People- are the ONLY ones who benefit from War, the Instability and distortion of markets and economies, and the pre-emptive use of force to insure that their interests are pre-eminent, if not moral or even lawful. 




In the coming days and months, Americans are being asked to answer one question: Are you going to believe the demagogues running for the GOP nomination who use emotion-heavy and fact-light arguments like 'they hate us because we're free' and other simplistic bumper-sticker Foreign Policy statements designed to inflame emotions and obscure or stifle rational debate? The ones who viciously and personally attack ONE other candidate by misrepresenting his ACTUAL policies and positions? Or are you going to LISTEN to Ron Paul, who looks at foreign policy as a STATESMAN, refuses to engage in personal attacks, but instead forcefully highlights policy differences and factual differences between himself and his GOP opponents, and (in the specific case of the 'Iranian' situation, as with all foreign policy decisions) would, coolly and rationally taking into account all the underlying facts and motivations of ALL the players, then making an assessment based on NOT not what's best to advance his own political future, but instead what's best for AMERICA'S future? 


Just make sure you make an INFORMED decision. Ron Paul ALWAYS does.

Media 'Acknowledge' Ron Paul IS a 'Contender'

By: Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.


A story by Peter Wallsten in today's Washington Post comes with the headline: 'Ron Paul becoming serious contender in Republican presidential race' Shouldn't the headline read: 'Media and Party Elites FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGE that Ron Paul Is A Serious Contender'? The Washington Post and the rest of the media are  apparently finally catching up to what is happening outside of the media and political bubbles in NY and DC! The grass roots support has ALWAYS been there for Ron Paul, but the media and the Party Bosses have been suppressing this information, along with any mention of Dr. Paul himself. Through selectively worded and carefully sampled polls (many of which are STILL being foisted on the public as 'scientific'- though their accuracy and methodology is dubious at best), Ron Paul's ACTUAL support among the American electorate has been minimized and disregarded- even to the point where, when he breaks through even the most biased polls, the media either simply omits him, or else ignores it's OWN data- instead perplexingly talking about those finishing just above and even BELOW him! 
 
Since it has now become impossible to ignore Ron Paul and his obviously growing support, and the tactic of dismissing him and his supporters through condescendingly snarky reporting has backfired, the media and GOP knives have been sharpened, and the REAL attacks have begun. Phony racist charges from 20+ years ago that have been thoroughly and publicly disproven and debunked time and time again seem to be the only 'dirt' that the yellow journalist mafia can dig up about the good Doctor. But that isn't stopping them from attacking, as many articles making outrageously unprovable or easily disproven charges are now floating around in the media like scum rising to the top of a fetid pond.  
 
Unfortunately for Ron Paul's detractors, since there isn't any REAL evidence, and since the public's regard of the Media's integrity hovers somewhere between Congress' and Serial Killers', the false charges and accusations are actually ADDING to Ron Paul's strength, as most people who are undecided read or see these scurrilous accusations and say: 'If the media and the Party Establishment hate this guy THAT much, I need to find out more about him!'. That inevitably leads to a sort of revelation of the fact that most of the media is either clueless about, incorrect on, or  shamelessly actively working against Ron Paul. 
 
Ron Paul is doing all Americans a great service, whether they like him or Hate him, as his campaign has exposed (and continues to expose) the hypocrites, liars, sell-outs and the clueless in both the media and in the Political Arena. Among those who are not actually consciously attacking him, it seems that many are truly confused and bewildered by Ron Paul. Maybe they don't know how to respond to a public figure that; tells the truth, even when people don't want to hear it; is consistent on (and actually HAS) his principles, and remains so after 30 years in public life; doesn't seek power for power's sake- even to the point of campaigning to DIMINISH the power of the Presidency and the Federal Government in general; and (most importantly) actually UNDERSTANDS the vital issues of our time, being able to expound at length on ANY subject without benefit of a teleprompter; talking points, 'handlers' or safety net of 'crisis managers'. 
 
Ron Paul is every bureaucrat's nightmare, and every crony capitalist's nemesis, as he threatens to derail the twin Social Welfare/Corporate Warfare-Welfare Machine that has been draining the life out of the American economy for so long.  Alone among all the Presidential contenders, the is proposing ACTUAL budget cuts- not merely the sleight of hand 'cuts' that only reduce the rate of growth, and in many cases don't take place until 5, 10 or more years into the future (in the altered reality of Washington that = NEVER!). Ron Paul, alone among the contenders proposes REAL regulatory reform, and not the phony reform that allows lobbying mega-corporations to 'buy up' regulations (and regulators!) in order to squeeze consumers and the American taxpayers even tighter. Finally, Ron Paul threatens the Military  Industrial Complex, who, through a combination of scare tactics, a rigged contract bidding system and crony capitalist lobbying, maintain a 'perpetual warfare' state against a vague and ever-shifting enemy. This profitable swindle has enriched the coffers of the very few, while actually weakening America's REAL defense by expending Blood and Treasure abroad in never-ending and wasteful adventurist follies.


What the Crony Capitalists, and their proxies in both wings of the Washington MONEY party (along with their surrogates in the media) are most afraid of the American people seeing clearly for the first time how big business, hand in hand with big government, are raping our rights and freedoms, looting our economy, and turning most Americans into virtual wage-slaves, unable to achieve the American Dream when they are shackled to strategy of mere subsistence.


Ron Paul represents REAL change- and that SCARES those who profit from the corrupt status quo!

TIME Magazine's Squatter of the Year Award

By Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.


TIME Magazine, in their annual propaganda issue- er... 'Person Of The Year' Issue, has named 'The Protester' as their choice as the most influential individual of the last 12 months. While it is hard to disagree with the choice of the brave individuals in the Middle East and elsewhere who have stood up against tyrannical dictators by risking their very lives, TIME Magazine does a brave disservice to these courageous men and women by conflating their bold efforts with the largely unfocused, disorganized and ultimately ineffective 'Occupy Wall Street' protesters here in the United States. The OWS Protesters perhaps risked their lives by creating many unsanitary and potentially hazardous conditions for themselves, but to equate protesting torture, execution and subjugation by your government with complaining about your student loans, whining about others being richer than you are, as well as  'Climate Change', Animal rights and heaven knows what else is insulting to the very nature of the valid human rights protests in other countries. 


While the OWS protests started with some very basic and arguably sound issues, such as the failure to prosecute ANYONE responsible for the Financial Collapse of 2007-08, and the oversize influence of the corrupt Financial industry, it's unfocused nature has simultaneously allowed it to  devolve into the twin-headed monster of both an anti-capitalist protest, and it's capture as a vehicle for both the Democratic National Committee and the Obama Presidential Campaign to advance their Class-Warfare theme for 2012. Moreover, the OWS protests' failure to even QUESTION- let alone focus on- Government's role in the current crisis, let alone the corruption stretching from Capitol Hill and the White house through K-Street directly to Wall Street undermines and bankrupts and Moral or logical high ground the protesters may have tried to claim. As Napoleon the Pig said in Orwell's 'Animal Farm'- "All animals are created equal- some are just more equal than others". TIME seems to have adopted this theme as their template for reporting on the OWS protests! 


Another of Orwell's books '1984' accurately defines the media reportage on this 'protest', as the 'Doublespeak' on the reporting of the unruly, unlawful and generally confused OWS protests seems to be using a wholly different criteria than that used by most outlets for the orderly, law-abiding and focused Tea Party protests in 2007-2010. Many of the 'People's Microphone' tactics seem to eerily echo the 'Two Minutes Hate' tactic that Big Brother used to channel public outrage into 'acceptable' outlets, while the early Tea Party Protests were quite egalitarian in allowing anybody and everybody to have their say, even if their was disagreement with a particular viewpoint.  Of course, the label 'Tea Party' has become somewhat muddled, as Big-Money GOP interests have insinuated many Neo-Con 'Wolf' Organizations in Tea Party 'Sheep' clothing since the 2010 elections, and many supposed 'Tea Party' events now more resemble GOP fundraisers and Party-Line echo chambers than the original open-mic Tea Parties of the early days. 


Giving credit where credit is due, the DNC moved more swiftly and efficiently in it's infiltration (and instigation of) many OWS protests than the GOP Elites did in their attempted co-option of the Tea Party. It is truly contemptible, and unbelievably transparent the way the White House and the DNC have used the OWS protests to further their agenda, taking an amorphous and unfocused protest and seemingly 'channeling' their message of class warfare, Government entitlements and hatred of the Capitalist system as the 'face' of this movement. The pliant Progressive media also seems to be marching to the Progressive drum circle beat in eerily pushing the same 'talking points' propaganda themes about OWS in unison. More troubling, however, is their deliberate ignoring of the darker side of these protests- the disregard of private property rights, the open flaunting of public laws regarding protests, public health and even rape, robbery and illegal substance abuse. 

Everything the Progressive media (unfairly) accused the Tea Party protesters of has unfortunately been the hallmark of many of the OWS protests. Many of the incidents of racism, violence against women, incitement to violence and other heinous things at the OWS protests that the Media were NEVER able to find evidence of at the Tea Party gatherings (though not for lack of trying or even fabricating!) were on open display at many OWS gatherings,(But curiously were ignored or downplayed in reporting!). In many cases, if you look in-depth at the reportage of the OWS protests, the terminology, optics and tone used by the sympathetic media types were similar to the coverage of a 'garden party' or an ice cream social. Coincidentally, while there were some incidents of Police over-reaction to protesters, many of the 'incidents' of 'police brutality' were a direct result of the tactics of provoking such incidents by protesters who took 'classes and instruction from groups like the Marxist 'Working  Families Party' who actually recruited, trained and paid many of the protesters.

When TIME Magazine refused to even ACKNOWLEDGE the Tea Party protester as one of their 'top stories of the year' in 2009 it was flabbergasting, as the Tea Party Movement turned out to be one of the largest populist political movements in the last 50 years! Of course, when they even covered it at all during that year, it was through the filter of a progressive East-Coast Media elite viewpoint, where massive anti-government protests in 'flyover country' are viewed as mere distractions, while smaller protests for the 'correct reasons' are magnified and shouted from the rooftops of their penthouse coktail parties on Manhattan's upper east side. So it is no surprise that TIME now overemphasizes what is actually a smaller, less focused and more 'astroturfed' (as Nancy Pelosi would say) protest movement as it's 'Person Of The Year'. One thing you can say about TIME Magazine and much of the insular Establishment Progressive Media: they certainly ARE consistent- in their biases.

It is no surprise to anyone except the true believers in the Progressive cause that the readership and confidence (if any) in 'Old' Mdia such as TIME Magazine continues to plummet, as their increasingly insular and warped world view is rejected by those with even a minimum of critical thinking ability. With every article published, and every misguided analysis, it would seem that TIME has adopted as their motto "Who are you going to believe, US, or your own lyin' eyes?"

The NEW Media Tactic to Marginalize Ron Paul

By Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.


In this piece by Gerald F. Seib in the Wall Street Journal, the media unveils it's newest tactic to combat the continuing growth in popularity of Ron Paul's Presidential Campaign. Since the policy of ignoring him completely failed, then the tactic of dismissing him and his supporters as a 'fringe movement' has been eclipsed by his mainstream successes, the MONEY Party elites and their toadies in the corporate media are now attempting to marginalize Ron Paul and his supporters by backhandedly 'accepting' his successes, while relegating him to a 'spoiler' role.


In his article, Mr. Seib still manages to hit all the major GOP Establishment 'talking points' to minimize and demean Ron Paul and his supporters. However,  in what now appears to the new strategy of 'damning with faint praise' has been passed around for mass consumption (since the previous strategy of totally ignoring him has proven unworkable, and his supposed 'ceiling' of support has moved higher- first it was 5%, then 10%, then 15%). Now, it seems, Ron Paul doesn't have 'supporters' like other candidates, he has 'followers'- so you can isolate and mock them as if they are not expressing their Right to support a candidate like every other American. He is a 'spoiler' and not a 'contender'- since he 'spoils' the establishment's strategy of putting in yet another corporate, big-government shill like Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc.. When other candidates (insincerely) advocate 'small government', it is praised- with Ron Paul, it's a 'Gospel of small government and hard money'- as if this is some 'cult' idea, not actually what mainstream America identifies with- as Mr. Seib hypocritically  points out later in the very same article! If Ron Paul wins Iowa, it's not a 'win', but an 'inconclusive outcome', 'muddying the waters' and a 'boon to Romney'. Kind of strange how a loss by a candidate who has spent a lot of money is a 'boon', and a win by a media and establishment underdog is not actually a 'win'!


Later in the article, Mr. Seib states:  "If Mr. Paul really exceeds expectations in Iowa, that also might set the stage for him to break away from the GOP down the road and mount an independent presidential run. After all, he ran once before as a Libertarian Party candidate, in 1988." Really? Whose expectations? The Media Pundits? The Party Establishment? Surely not the 'expectations' of the electorate, since we have yet to cast the first ballot, and the process is designed to vet candidates, not handicap it like a horse race. Because many reputable and respected news outlets, some nationally but many INSIDE Iowa are now saying that Ron Paul has the most support in both breadth and depth, the best organization and the best chance of winning, most GOP Party apparatchiks and their surrogates in the Media will now continue to bring up the despicably crass propaganda theme of a Ron Paul 'possible third-party run'- in the hopes of dissuading undecided primary voters and caucus-goers, and soft supporters of other candidates from voting for Paul by unfairly smearing his consistently Conservative Republican reputation. This tactic, which includes calling him a (Big 'L') 'Libertarian' instead of a REPUBLICAN as much as possible, is clearly a media-driven theme, as it totally discounts the fact that Ron Paul is a long-time elected REPUBLICAN who is in the Top Tier of candidates in most reputable polls, and actually has a shot at winning the nomination (highlighting another tactic of constantly calling him a 'long-shot' and always saying 'but of course he has NO CHANCE of winning').


Constantly citing Polls that show his 'support is primarily among young people' is another propaganda tactic of trying to marginalize him. Disregarding the fact that Polls can be easily manipulated in numerous ways (and usually ARE), even by these flawed means of measuring support Ron Paul surely DOES attract a large number of young people. But the propagandistic pundits and selectively deceptive polls conveniently fail to mention he also attracts a lot of middle-aged, retiree and young adult supporters as well as Students and new, young voters. More over, Ron Paul- more than ANY other GOP contender- attracts overwhelmingly more independents and even DEMOCRAT supporters than any of his competitors! That fact alone- if it applied to any of the other GOP candidates-  would have ANY of his rivals being declared by the media and the party as the odds-on favorite to win the nomination and beat Obama. But of course, it's 'Ron Paul', who isn't in the pockets of the K-Street Lobbyists and the Goldman Sachs Mafiosos who suck up Government money and power like mother's milk! So instead, it's called an 'abberation', and thus makes him 'less Republican'.


No, Ron Paul is NOT the 'Wild Card' in the race as Mr. Seib painfully tries to assert... He is actually the Republican Party's 'Ace-In-The-Hole'- if they truly wish to defeat Barack Obama. Compared to Ron Paul, his broad and deep support base, and his record of consistently Conservative positions, the other candidates are merely flawed contenders with a strong but limited appeal. Most importantly, the GOP Leadership seems to want to ignore the fact that the DNC and the Obama Campaign will have a field day tearing Gingrich, Romney and the others to shreds in the General Election- simply by using their own words and record to do so. 


It's time for the GOP Leadership and the Media to stop treating Ron Paul and his supporters as the pariahs of the GOP. Remember in 1976 and 1980? The Republican establishment and the media all treated Ronald Reagan and his supporters EXACTLY the way Ron Paul and HIS supporters are being treated now. Remember how THAT turned out? The 'washed-up actor' and his 'band of fringe conservatives' won the election by the biggest landslide in modern American political history. Whether The GOP Elites and the media like it or not, Ron Paul and his supporters represent the future of the Republican Party. He alone brings new and youthful (and middle age and retiree) blood back into the party. He does that by returning to the basic policies and ideals of small-government and individual liberties that USED to define Republicanism. The American people are also realizing that Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate who will truly turn this country away from the corporatist corruption that has insinuated itself into the core of BOTH parties.


Republicans now have a choice: reinvigorate the party with a return to it's Core Principles that Ron Paul espouses, or go the way of the Whig Party, which (after dominating politics for decades) decided it would ignore it's grass roots supporters, discard it's core principles and attempt to impose it's 'preferred' candidates upon the electorate in 1856 in a desperate attempt to maintain it's power in Washington. By 1860, the once-dominant Whig Party was gone... Replaced by the upstart and grass-roots responsive- REPUBLICAN PARTY! Ron Paul is pointing the way to a new era, not only for the Republican Party, but for ALL Americans! It is time to cast off the jaundiced eyepiece of the corporate media, ignore the sour siren's song of the corrupt and morally bankrupt politics of the past, and to embrace a return to the basic principles and policies that made America the Greatest Country on Earth. It is time to elect President Ron Paul.

Are you a Con Man, or one of the conned?

By: Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.


In an article in TIME MAGAZINE, Massimo Calabresi puts forth the proposition that the Federal Reserve 'Saved The World Economy' by bailing out all it's member banks and their affiliates by creating tens of Trillions of dollars, then paying themselves off with it!  Maybe the Fed 'Saved the World' for the Uber-Large International Banking Cartel and those FInancial services companies well-connected to it, , but in doing so it has nearly destroyed the American economy. While you sit in your ivory tower,  Mr. Calabresi, those of us in 'Flyover Land' have had to deal with our savings' and investments' value being wiped out, our home values being decimated, and we are just now beginning to deal with the incipient runaway inflation. No, not the phony 'government statistical' inflation, the REAL WORLD inflation of energy, food, health care and housing that the government 'conveniently' omits from it's fantasyland figures. Likewise, the REAL WORLD unemployment rate remains at over 20%- not the relatively rosy 9% or so that the government concocts by only counting those on the dole, and not those who no longer qualify, or are what is so Orwellian-ly termed 'under-employed'. 

There has been no 'recovery' since 2007- despite the flat-noted trumpeting of such an occurrence being regularly broadcast every quarter since the downturn began. We've been 'right around the corner' so many times that the entire block has been worn smooth, and now most pundits and economists are reduced to running in circles of logic around it when explaining away what is obvious to everybody else. TIME, like the rest of the captured corporate media, is reduced to the role of a cheerleader in a prison camp. Nobody believes what they are pushing, but everybody is either too afraid to speak out, or else stifled from stating what is clearly obvious to everyone: America is Broke; the International Banksters and their revolving-door allies the Government Bureaucrats are looting the economy; and no one in the Media. government or industry (is there a difference anymore?) is willing to level with the American people.

Articles like this one are being taken in three ways by the American Public: They are swallowed whole by the sheeple who are trained to believe whatever anyone 'in authority' tells them; They are believed on faith by those who have been bathed in ignorance for many years by the education system and the government schools; or else they are derided as outrageously bombastic propaganda by those who have enough critical thinking skills to figure out a con job when they see it.

The only question is, Mr. Calabresi: Are you one of the con men, or one of the conned?

Don't Go Down the Chute at the Charnel House!

By Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.

I post, comment and generally spout off on a LOT of message boards and news sites- from international Media Conglomerates all the way down to the Little Blogs That Could. In my travels around cyberspace, I see a lot of anti-intellectual arguments about Ron Paul, such as "OMG, the Paulites are out tonight", "what a Paultard" and on and on ad-nauseum. Many posters (and even journalists) then proceeded to 'add nothing to the debate' with dismissive (and inaccurate) comments about things like the ridiculously inaccurate "Ron Paul's an isolationist" neo-con talking point, or just plain rude and sophomoric name-calling. This is (unfortunately) typical of much of what Ron Paul and his supporters are up against. Even if you wikipedia the vast difference between 'isolationism' and 'non-interventionism' (apparently many MUST get their info from there!), it's easy to dissemble that argument, and quite frankly, most of the simplistic and fallacious arguments against Dr. Paul.

Meanwhile, Ron Paul's supporters (most of them) soldier on through the ad-hominem attacks, the glittering generalities, the straw man attacks and all the other dishonest propaganda tactics, and continue to ask the hard questions in a reasonable manner. They also persist in deflecting and destroying the jingoistic bumper-sticker neo-con big government talking points thrown at them that are the only intellectual (!) ammunition many opponents seem to have against Dr. Paul.

Denigrating a candidate or his supporters in a simplistic and non-productive way is not 'debate'. It is propaganda. But it IS effective in deflecting the debate away from the issue being argued, and causing the attackee to either defend himself, or go back at the attacker in a similar manner. This is EXACTLY the purpose of such attacks- just ask Saul Alinsky! We, as supporters of Ron Paul and even more importantly, advocates of the principles that he espouses, must resist the temptation to respond in like fashion to the puerile attacks that we continually endure.

Instead, we need to continue the REAL debate and wake people up to how they are being robbed, jobbed and lobbed into the flaming pit of economic serfdom! We need to keep alive debate about the REAL issues facing America; the horrible cost in both lives and economically of the 5 (at least)  wars; the downward spiral that crony capitalism and corruption in D.C. have put this country into both economically and socially; the deleterious effects of the 'War On Terror' and War On Drugs'- whose only REAL effects seem to be the enrichment of those well-connected to the government (crony capitalism) and the massive consolidation of government power at the expense of the wealth, welfare and Civil Liberties of the vast majority of Americans; the phony and destructive 'efforts' of Congress and the President to negotiate a budget (none for three years now!) and the even more ridiculous Kabuki Dance about 'cutting' the budget that doesn't even use real or real-time numbers- let alone accomplish anything within the realm of reality!

Now, they may call us 'Paultard' or say how 'loony' these ideas are.... I welcome such attacks! They only serve to prove the points I have outlined above, and to put lie to the empty arguments being used against the fight for Liberty. When we respond in a rational and calm manner (yet still forceful and determined), we begin to win the argument by staking out the moral and intellectual high ground, and refusing to climb in the quicksand pit of emotional propaganda.

We need to wake up America- or else we will ALL continue to be led like political sheeple down the chute at the Government Charnel House.

Listen to the good Doctor and take your medicine, America.

Listen up, America. I've heard the criticisms of Ron Paul. No, not the irrational name-calling, weird 'conspiracy' and carnival-mirror characterizations of his policies or the Mainstream Media deliberate ignorance. No, I'm talking to the "I like Ron Paul, but..." segment of those with actual critical thinking skills who've actually read his policies, but have doubts based on either the part of his postition they disagree with, or the irrational 'he's unelectable' argument that is the fallback slam of a lazy, bought-and-paid-for corporate media.


You like Ron Paul. You say he is straightforward, intelligent, and understands limited government philosophically and practically better than all his opponents. But you are also saying that in order for Ron Paul to be taken seriously as a Republican, he has to sacrifice his principles, intellectual honesty an credibility on the altar of 'Party Loyalty'?

That's the problem with American Politics in general and Washington D.C. in particular- too many people sacrifice their principles to 'get along' and just 'get something passed'. That's how we end up with abominations like the bloated debt and spending morass we are now in, as well as the total inability of the Federal Government to even function in a realistic and rational manner! Compromise on tactics and implementation is one thing, but compromising basic ideals and principles amounts to a slow (or not so slow) societal suicide.

So many Politicians, pundits and bureaucrats have bargained away their core principles to 'go along and get along' that they can't even comprehend RIGHT and WRONG anymore- economically, socially or morally. When someone like Ron Paul comes along, they are confused because he doesn't fit in any of the standard ethically-challenged boxes that most politicians gladly slide into. Maybe the politicians, pundits and bureaucrats need to wake up, as many of the American people have, to the fact that 'Business as Usual', and the culture of morally relative compromise are not 'ideals' for politicians in D.C. to aspire to, but the CORE PROBLEM that has caused America's major crises in the present day.

Ron Paul isn't afraid to be brutally honest- about America's problems, their root causes, and the painful steps needed to solve them. Too many people seem willing to accept comfortable lies that dig us deeper in the hole, rather than confront the hard truths about our situation. Only Ron Paul has a record of stating honestly (if sometimes un-popularly) what our misguided policies will lead to. Many of those in the GOP who now echo Ron Paul's cautionary explanation of our predicament are the same ones who only a few short years ago either excoriated or laughed at him for stating the very same positions they now purportedly espouse!

The time is getting very late America, and we are now peering over an economic and societal tipping point. Our choice is clear: Do we want to continue the failed policies that have led to our current crisis, hoping for a different result? Or do we need to listen to the man who who has warned over the last 30 years that these policies will lead to the very dire situation that America now finds itself in? You may not like the taste of the Medicine that Dr. Paul is prescribing, but if you are fully informed, you will know that it is necessary. Your choice is do you want to swallow the economic and policy potions of the usual snake-oil salesman, hoping that THIS time the cure will work? Or do you want to listen to REAL Doctor, and take the medicine that will make America Healthy, Sound and whole once again?

Ron Paul 2012.

Listen to the good Doctor and take your medicine, America.

The Insidious Nature of the 'Flat' and Fair' Income Tax

'9-9-9'? A flat 20%? On the face of it, they both sound good. Catchy, simple- and grossly unfair when you scratch below the surface! How about 0-0-0? Or a REALLY flat 0%? Ron Paul says that the income tax is the Government saying it OWNS you, AND your income- 'graciously' allowing you to keep a portion after it takes it's big cut off the top. What most of these candidates fail to mention (as well as most of the media), is that '9-9-9' or a flat 20% is so regressive- in that both tax schemes unfairly take from the poor and the middle class a larger share of their income than either does from the moderately rich or the very wealthy. If you make $20,000,000 a year, 20% is $4,000,000. That's a hefty sum, but you STILL have $16 mil! If you make $30,000 (and are trying to raise a family!), that's $6000, leaving you with only $24,000 for food, shelter, energy, education, clothing and other necessities. 

But the solution is not the job-killing and also patently unfair 'soak the rich' plan that so many Big-Government Progressives favor. Even if you make $1,000,000, if you're a business owner, you likely don't BANK all your income, but re-invest it in your company. That $4 mil the gov't takes is $4 mil that you WON'T be using to hire new employees, expand your business creating new jobs or investing in plant and equipment that also create jobs. And the VERY wealthy ALWAYS will find a way to hide, stash or (most destructively) EXPORT their income overseas. Again, money being taken out of the U.S. economy that could be put to productive job-creating investment here at home.

When you eliminate the income tax totally, with he revenues STILL there from the remaining revenue streams, you will only go back to about 2002 revenue levels. The government ran without too many problems w-a-a-a-a-y back ten years ago, so why can't it now? Too many bureaucrats trying to protect their useless jobs, too many individuals and corporations feeding off of the government trough, and too many lawyers, lobbyists and crooks siphoning taxpayer money out of the government that could be better used in the private sector to create REAL jobs! Ron Paul proposes paring down the total workers, eliminating useless and counter-productive agencies (while still rolling their USEFUL programs into more streamlined agencies), and getting America back to work by getting the Federal Government Monster off the backs of every American, out of their wallets, and out of the job of micro-(mis)managing every economic decision that every small, medium and large business makes.

A message for Big Government Demopublicans AND Republicrats: Quit hiding behind 'the children', first responders and other vital parts of LOCAL and STATE governments! The Federal government should NOT be funding those jobs in the first place! State and local governments, while not perfect, are more responsive to the needs of their constituents, and FAR more responsible in utilizing those dollars. All the Federal Bureaucrats and their enablers in D.C. do is take our state and local money, then dole a PORTION of it back to us, and tell us we 'can't get along without Federal dollars'! What a joke. How about leaving ALL of our money at the state and local level- without the strings, unfunded mandates and ridiculous and counterproductive Federal rules and regulations that go along with it?

Thaddeus S. Kaczor, Jr.

xtrabiggg.blogspot.com

Blame America? NO! Blame American Foreign Policy!

American support of murderous dictatorial regimes is the ROOT CAUSE of much of the Terrorism in the world today. This is not what the uninformed or hopelessly indoctrinated call 'blaming America', nor is it a 'conspiracy theory'- it is simply rationally assessing the cause and effect of over 100 years of adventurist American Foreign Policy, and the myriad unintended consequences of that flow from the policy of interference in the internal affairs of other nations. Most times, 'Vital American  National Interests' have nothing to do with American support for the Worst Of The Worst, though vital ECONOMIC Interests of the International Banksters, the Military Industrialists, and their proxies in the Government most assuredly DO!

Clockwise, from left: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan

Examples? Shah Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Augusto Pinochet of Chile, General Suharto of Indonesia, Anastazio Somoza of Nicaragua, Saddam Hussein (yes!) of Iraq, Fulgencio Bautista of Cuba, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Muammar Khadaffi (yes!)- and that's just the SHORT list from the PAST of murderous dictators supported, encouraged or actually put in power by America! How did all of our support for THOSE thugs work out? Just look at how the people of those countries feel about America to this day. Many of the people in those countries harbor a deep-seated hatred for America, in what CIA Analysts call 'blow-back'- a hostile retaliation motivated by a deep-seated resentment toward US Policies and support of Dictators. Blow-Back invariably leads individuals and groups to strike out at American Interests. That is not justification for the heinous acts of criminals and madmen, but goes a long way to explaining the motivation and reasons behind peoples' intense hatred that drives them to murder and mayhem. 

In today's American-supported rogue's gallery of murderous dictatorships, we can include King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan, Teodoro Mbasogo of Equitorial Guinea, the current and former regime in Pakistan- and the list (and the murders, torture, rape, looting and exploitation) go on and on! How many of the current dictatorships we support around the world are currently provoking people to attack America and Americans for simply our government's supporting those who attack, exploit and murder THEM? How much of this could have been prevented by the U.S. simply NOT interfering in the internal affairs of other sovereign nations? There always seems to be some justification for interference- usually 'American Vital Interests' are cited, or some large threat that invariably turns out to be inflated or wholly bogus- but there is ALWAYS someone or some group that profits from such interventionist foolishness. All you have to do is 'follow the money' to get to the basic motivation behind the continually beating war drums- something the American press seems to have forgotten how to do (or is prevented from doing by someone 'above their pay grade'!).

If you choose to ignore history, as well as the reality that exists in U.S. Foreign Policy to this present day, it is a comfortable ignorance to believe that they 'hate us for being free', or that 'we have to fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here'. But it is foolish to not listen to what our own CIA has found, as well as countless respected experts who study terrorism, international relations, the sociology of oppressed people and the origins of terrorist thought and action. It most certainly is NOT a 'conspiracy theory' or 'anti-American to say that America's foreign policy actually CREATES anti-American terrorism- if it can be backed up so easily with readily available and openly discussed FACTS!  Turn a blind eye to what our government actually does abroad, and you will NEVER understand the root causes for the intense HATRED many feel for the American Government (Note- NOT the American PEOPLE!).  


Or maybe, just ask yourself a simple question: How would you feel toward those responsible if you were an innocent bystander, and death rained down upon you or your family members? The root cause of most terrorism is not ideological- it is personal, visceral, and deeply emotional. America's failure to recognize this basic fact will only lead to more hatred, more attacks, and more Americans unnecessarily wounded and dying.