Letters to the Editor
-
Thank you for your objectivity, Mr. Greenwald!
Once again, I must applaud you for so eloquently expressing ideas which should be second nature to all of us.
The ridiculous name-calling that passes for political is a treacherous phenomenon.
We must return to rational dialogue or this country will sink in a morass of authoritarianism.
-
Paul?
Paul may not be crazy
He may sincerely believe in his stuff
That doesn't make it any better
Most people who support Paul are doing it because of Iraq or his views on drugs
They are not interested or haven't thought about the implications of:
the gold standard
abolishing government-financed education
whether labor unions would be allowed
doing away with the IRS
abolishing Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid
and other libertarian concepts
this makes 2 columns on Paul and neither explore his views
A
-
@ Glenn
I haven't read Dave's post yet but I do wonder about this:
Glenn Greenwald... Rep. Paul thus introduced a Declaration of War in the House on the ground that such a Declaration was constitutionally required to invade Iraq -- and he then proceeded to vote against it (because, unlike Hillary Clinton, he actually opposed the invasion).
I was under the impression this never even came to a vote. Have you actually seen the roll call for the vote? If so, then that's one thing. Also, in the link to the press release, it seems as if he is really concerned about one of his major bugbears, the U.N.
"I don’t believe in resolutions that cite the UN as authority for our military actions," Paul stated yesterday after a committee hearing. "America has a sovereign right to defend itself, and we don’t need UN permission or approval to act in the interests of American national security. The decision to go to war should be made by the U.S. Congress alone. Congress should give the President full warmaking authority, rather than binding him with resolutions designed to please our UN detractors."
-
NH support for Paul
There are a lot of Ron Paul signs in people's yards here in New Hampshire. I think he's popular with Republicans who are looking for an actual Republican to vote for. A real straight-shooter, warts and all, instead of a phony one.
(For my own sympathies, please see Glenn's update!)
-
Defence of Ron Paul
I agree with Glenn that views such as those espoused by Ron Paul deserve a full and fair hearing in the marketplace of ideas. Glenn's defence is principled and well formulated. So at least are some of Ron Paul's views.
There must be some way to break through the bubble of beltway orthodoxy. I just hope it will not take some catastrophe for America.
-
LWM
You're right. He voted against the AUMF (one of only 6 House Republicans to do so). The War Declaration never came up for a vote, but he made clear he would have voted against it. He opposed the invasion. The way I had it worded was unclear (there was an indefinite pronoun refernece - "it" - which I've fixed). Thanks.
-
Ron Paul for Commander-in-Chief
Where his authority in that regard will be enough to get us out of Iraq and -- by then -- out of Iran. Since he does have the will to do so. Can the same be said of Hillary?
He may be anti-choice and several other things on the domestic front that I personally disagree with, but his presidential power domestically will be much more constrained.
Wouldn't it better to fight traditional left-right political battles at home in some environment of relative normalcy than continue into another eight years of catastrophic Empire-building and crashing?
-
I strongly disagree with Ron Paul ...
... on so many things that I'd be unlikely to vote for him, but I have to say that I strongly agree with him on other things, and I admire his consistency. Especially in comparison to most other politicians at his level.
The "weirdo" labeling is, indeed, a "slothful mechanism for enforcing norms". But it's also a tiresomely predictable part of the media scripting for presidential races. Ron Paul has been given that role for the Republican candidates, and Dennis Kucinich was a shoe-in for the spot for the Democrats.
(I suppose I should confess to having libertarian leanings on some issues, though I've never identified with the "big-L Libertarians". They seem so obsessed with the threat of government tyranny that they're totally oblivious to the the threat of corporate tyranny.)
-
And yes
I'm sure Dave Neiwert and I would argue about gun control for days or stupid laws restricting smoking in your own personal automobile. I still share many of his views. Perhaps I'm the nut. I share one or two of Ron Paul's views, and with firm caveats and conditions, but although I am a fan of liberty and the constitution, the constitution needs to be interpreted by lawyers appointed to the highest court in the land, not doctors in the legislative or executive branch.
As Marcuse observed in One Dimensional Man, even "...liberty can be made into a powerful instrument of domination.... Free election of masters does not abolish the masters or the slaves..."
-
Tyrant-speak
Yeah, and in USSR, those that dared speak out against the tyranical regime that hijacked the nation were called Enemies of the People. The Orwellian vocabulary is now firmly entrenched with our leadership. It's insidious and destructive, and like an oil spill may take decades to clean up, even if anyone tries. Unlike an oil spill, it doesn't make for heartbreaking images of tar-smeared cute birds which can spur the citizenry into if not action, then at least realization that what's happening is BAD.
On the other hand, let me ask you this, Glenn: how much more can we take of this crap until fatigue sets in and we can no longer act? We are assaulted by such a volume of lies that even normal speech becomes hard to handle. Instead of righteous indignation, what I felt upon reading your latest post was weariness. I just want to go home, curl up and let the world collapse. Perhaps that's what the neocons are banking on: even though hardly anyone believes them nowadays, the sheer volume of their crap will make people unwilling to listen to anything at all, reason, madness, sweet nothings.
Kudos to people like you, who have the stomach to read and listen to all this crap and then inform everyone else about the latest Bullshit from the Top.