en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/3642311 Comments by vindex60 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment271431362 As a resident of California, I am deep deep behind enemy lines. Also, I see Ron Paul as the beginning not the end. The Law of Diffusion states you need 15-18% of a marketplace for a product to begin achieving mainstream success. Due to "doomed" Ron Paul, the Liberty movement is now in that area with Libertarians like Rand Paul, Mike Lee, Justin Amash, Gary Johnson coming to prominence. Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:22:03 +0000 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment271431362 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment270381390 As for disagreement on Point 3. Let me just say: Military Facts: The U.S. Navy is larger than the next 13 navies combined Military Facts: US Defense spending has increased by 85% since 2001 Military Facts: US Defense spending is $100 billion a year (in inflat-adjust dollars) above levels at height of Cold War Military Facts: US Defense spending accounts for 43% of all defense spending worldwide Military Facts: US Defense spending is 6 times the share of China, 12 times that of Russia Yes, it's wonderful we have such a strong military, but it's all Keynesian militarism, no different than social welfare Keynesianism the Left advocates for. It's unaffordable with such huge deficits and will bankrupt us just as easily as it crushed the Soviets. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:16:57 +0000 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment270381390 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment270374034 Yes, FL your points are all valid and I agree his age and speaking skills doom his candidacy for president. But many of his followers know that. What people continue to not understand is unlike Gingrich. Romney Santorum, we don't follow Ron Paul because he's a Republican, or a politician, or a 76 yr old doctor with a stilted, sometimes stumbling delivery. We follow his movement about an idea. That idea is liberty. Liberty is something both Democrats and Republicans have gradually walked away from in this country. That is why if Paul loses the GOP primaries, few of us will give our votes to another cookie cutter Republican or Democrat to advance the bankrupt welfare/warfare state. Liberty means you have a right your life, your body, your privacy, and the fruit of your labor. Liberty means living your life the way you want to as long as you don’t hurt other people. It means setting a good example is a far better way to spread ideals than through force of arms. It means aspiring towards a more free society, where individual rights are held in the highest esteem and the rejection of the initiation of force. It means profits that are honestly earned through voluntary exchange add value to the world while profits gained by violating the property rights of others through theft, pollution, or government bailouts and subsidies do not. And it means the rejection of wireless wiretaps, indefinite detention of US citizens and assassination of US citizens without due process. In the decade since Sept. 11, 2001, this country has comprehensively reduced civil liberties in the name of an expanded security state. Ron Paul may not win the presidency, but that doesn't mean the quirky, didactic, old man can't have a profound effect on American society when it comes to government debt, fiat currencies, the Drug War, the Federal Reserve, endless overseas wars, civil liberties and the militarization of the US police force. Whether its outlawing the selling of raw milk, sugary drinks in school, or the LA city council voting to require all adult film actors to wear condoms, people are getting sick of an overbearing, bankrupt nanny state. We don’t have two parties in this country we have one big government party— 1)a Republican wing that likes war, corporatism, deficits, assaults on civil liberties like marriage and drugs, and an expanded police state, 2)and Democrats that like war, corporatism, deficits, statism and redistribution. Sat, 21 Jan 2012 11:04:50 +0000 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment270374034 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment269038958 Twelve Reasons why I support that loony old goat Ron Paul: 1) Paul has worked to crack down and fully audit the Federal Reserve which is directly responsible for the U.S. debt, the perpetual deficits, and the advancement of the welfare/warfare state 2) Paul wants to actualy cut a $1 trillion dollars from the Federal budget unlike other GOP candidates who only want to trim baselines of expected spending increase for the next 20 years 3) Paul wants to reduce an out of control US Defense budget that exceeded $1 trillion in 2011 when you include "off budget" items and other categories of "defense" spending not covered in the Pentagon budget 4) Paul is against the NDAA and the right of the Federal government to indefinitely detain US citizens without due process and strip citizens of legal protections based on its sole discretion 5) Paul is against SOPA, the so-called online piracy act but actually an Internet death penalty that allows the Attorney General to disappear websites 6) Paul voted against the Patriot Act including warrantless surveillance and forcing companies to turn over information on citizens' finances, communications and associations 7) Paul is against the Obama administration's use GPS devices to monitor every move of targeted citizens without securing any court order or review 8) Paul believes the 50 states should be laboratories for democracy. If a state wants to legalize drugs, prostitution or gay marraige, it should be up to the people of that state and not the Federal government 9) Paul is against the right of Obama or any president to assassinate US citizens without due process 10) Paul is against the militarization of US police forces and the record amount of no knock raids by SWAT on non violent suspects 11) Paul wants to decriminalize marijuana and to dial back the worst excesses of the failed, trillion dollar drug war. 12) Paul has consistently opposed free-trade deals that have led to massive layoffs and factory closings in the United States Thu, 19 Jan 2012 22:32:26 +0000 http://FilmLadd.com/?TimeToConcentrate#IDComment269038958 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment261024438 This country is bankrupt and it's just as much the Republicans fault as it is the Democrats. The military budget has doubled since 2001. We spend more money on the military then the next 10 countries combined. And Europe and Asia laugh at us as they get a free ride on our military dime so they can spend money on free health care for their citizens We stupidly pay for their security and they all still hate us for it. After 4 trillion dollars blowing up mud huts with million dollar missiles you feel any safer? Is the Middle East in better condition after all that money? Read the papers. Iraq is falling into Iran's sphere and Afghanistan will collapse the minute we leave. Reagan said in his memoirs the biggest tragedy of his administration was getting militarily involved in Lebanon and the mess of Middle East politics. Too bad Conservatives listen to NeoCons now and not Reagan or Ron Paul. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:14:50 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment261024438 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260951254 Funny I dont understand the weird supporters for Romney/Gingrich/Santorum/Perry/Bachmann. Economy stagnating, industrial base eroding, national debt swelling, and they all want to increase the defense budget and start another bankrupting war. Just weird... Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:07:03 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260951254 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260949872 Look I'd be frustrated too if I was a Progressive neocon and knew Ron Paul of the Russell Kirk, WF Buckley, Goldwater wing of Conservative Party might be heading into the Republican convention with the second most delegates. Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:04:32 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260949872 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260946552 Spin neocons spin! You got first place with warmonger Ken doll Romney but second and third goes to anti-neocons. Are you a little worried that your big flip flopping candidate suddenly turns into a peace candidate when he sees the changing mood of the US public? Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:58:42 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/paul-claims-victory-for-the-cause-of-liberty/#IDComment260946552 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/01/06/boston-reporter-taunts-rick-santorum-for-his-social-views-youre-not-in-arch-conservative-iowa-anymore/#IDComment257585105 Man, this is like shooting fish in a barrel. I lay out several charges against Rick Santorum and not one is contested. Instead for some reason I'm called an anti-semite. Gee, isnt Rick Catholic? I didnt realize Bush and Cheney, the architects of the US debacle in the Middle East were Jewish either. For a Conservative site there sure are a lot of Progressives in the comments area since Progressives instinctively go to the race card when their views are challenged. I could talk about the US, Mossadeq and Operation Ajax, or Obama the GOP and the NDAA, but based on the intelligence level of the comments here it'd be like challenging banjo boy in Deliverance to a spelling contest. Hey, I'd be frustrated too if my Woodrow Wilson dreams of endless Progressive wars for Democracy and the encroaching US police state were being exposed to more and more Americans every day as a cancer on this country. The attacks on 9/11 supposedly cost less than $500,000. So for the $4 TRILLION you supported in fighting that terrorist act, what have you got to show for it? Ten years of preemptive wars, thousands dead and trillions borrowed from the Chinese and no end in sight. Afghanistan will fall apart the second US troops leave and Iraq is already falling into Iran's sphere. And how'd that $40 billion to propping up Mubarrek work out? How's Libya working out? Oh, and another generation of Muslims will hate us. (BTW there's 1.232 billion of them so good look killing them all). I tend to listen to people like Ronald Reagan who complained in his memoirs about the irrationality of Middle East politics and specifically on the 1982 Marine barracks bombing in Lebanon: "If that policy had changed to more of a neutral position those 241 Marines would be alive today." Hey, it was all worth it. We haven't lost much except for being groped at airports, right? Oh yeah, and the Patriot Act allows the government to spy on US citizens and monitor their activities, but so what. Oh, and the US government can now assassinate US citizens without due process, but they probably deserve it. Oh, and the military can now carry out detention of US citizens contrary to the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. So who needs the Fourth Amendment granting liberty from unreasonable seizures or the Sixth guaranteeing every U.S. citizen a trial in front of a jury, right? And BTW, Ronulans follow the Russell Kirk, WF Buckley, Goldwater wing of Conservative Party not the Progressive Neocon wing. Sat, 7 Jan 2012 11:10:08 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/01/06/boston-reporter-taunts-rick-santorum-for-his-social-views-youre-not-in-arch-conservative-iowa-anymore/#IDComment257585105 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/01/06/boston-reporter-taunts-rick-santorum-for-his-social-views-youre-not-in-arch-conservative-iowa-anymore/#IDComment257166941 Joel maybe as a conservative you could maintain your integrity by exposing the shameless homophobia, the shameless earmarking, the shameless big government, the shameless corruption, the shameless cashing in as an insider, and the shameless warmongering of Rick Santorum. Santorum's foreign policy consists of "We must maintain these pre-emptive, endless, bankrupting wars with Muslim countries or Muslims will set off nukes in US and state legislatures will proclaim Shariah law." Santorum’s politics are the essence of Bushism and we all know how that worked out. As long as people aren't swayed by reason and instead manipulated by emotion we will keep electing politicians like Bush, Obama, and Rick Santorum. Fri, 6 Jan 2012 22:53:13 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2012/01/06/boston-reporter-taunts-rick-santorum-for-his-social-views-youre-not-in-arch-conservative-iowa-anymore/#IDComment257166941 http://tv.breitbart.com/media-blackout-special-report-spotlights-ron-paul/#IDComment246498714 We have a stagnating economy, industrial base eroding, national debt swelling, but the neocons say let's increase the defense budget! Military Facts: US Defense spending has increased by 85% since 2001, US Defense spending is $100 billion a year (in inflat-adjust dollars) above levels at height of Cold War, US Defense spending accounts for 43% of all defense spending worldwide, US Defense spending is 6 times the share of China, 12 times that of Russia. If Paul's foreign policy is dangerous, how in the world do you describe the schizophrenic US foreign policy in the Middle East for the past 50 years? Depending on the year, Hussein, Gadaffi, Mubarek, and the Mujahadeen were either friends of ours or enemies to be disposed of. Ever hear of Operation Ajax? In 1953 the democratically elected Iranian prime minister Mosaddegh was removed from power in a coup organised and carried out by the United States CIA at the request of the British MI6. Why did they do that? Because the British were against Mosaddegh attempting to nationalize their oil industry. Guess who they put in his place? The Shah. The Shah then had a 20 year rein of terror and brutalized the Iranian people leading to the rise of fundamentalist Islam and Ayatollah Khomeini. Does this sound vaguely familiar? It is, because it's exactly what we did in Egypt by backing dictator Mubarrek who got rid of moderate opposition parties leaving the Islamic Brotherhood to be a big fish in a little pond. Now they are winning the elections. After Iran was radicalized you know who we covertly supported in a war with them? Yes, Saddam Hussein. Then we turned on him when he invaded Kuwait. Now we've spent a TRILLION dollars getting rid of him. Can we all agree it's never in US interests to financially back a dictator? Can we all agree there is such a thing as blowback? Can we all agree with Reagan who said his biggest mistake was putting troops in Lebanon and not realizing the insanity of Middle East politics? Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:35:21 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/media-blackout-special-report-spotlights-ron-paul/#IDComment246498714 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2011/12/24/attacks-on-ron-paul-mainstream-media-bait-and-switch/#IDComment246215365 I like you Joel, but get real. "While I agree with Paul’s ideals of limited government..." Do you really? We have a stagnating economy, industrial base eroding, national debt swelling, but let's increase the defense budget! Military Facts: US Defense spending has increased by 85% since 2001, US Defense spending is $100 billion a year (in inflat-adjust dollars) above levels at height of Cold War, US Defense spending accounts for 43% of all defense spending worldwide, US Defense spending is 6 times the share of China, 12 times that of Russia. Joel, lets just say you would be top of your class in Keynes School of Economics and you'd flunk out of the Austrian School. If Paul's foreign policy is dangerous, how in the world do you describe the schizophrenic US foreign policy in the Middle East for the past 50 years? Depending on the year, Hussein, Gadaffi, Mubarek, and the Mujahadeen were either friends of ours or enemies to be disposed of. Ever hear of Operation Ajax? In 1953 the democratically elected Iranian prime minister Mosaddegh was removed from power in a coup organised and carried out by the United States CIA at the request of the British MI6. Why did they do that? Because the British were against Mosaddegh attempting to nationalize their oil industry. Guess who they put in his place? The Shah. The Shah then had a 20 year rein of terror and brutalized the Iranian people leading to the rise of fundamentalist Islam and Ayatollah Khomeini. Does this sound vaguely familiar? It is, because it's exactly what we did in Egypt by backing dictator Mubarrek who got rid of moderate opposition parties leaving the Islamic Brotherhood to be a big fish in a little pond. Now they are winning the elections. After Iran was radicalized you know who we covertly supported in a war with them? Yes, Saddam Hussein. Then we turned on him when he invaded Kuwait. Now we've spent a TRILLION dollars getting rid of him. Can we all agree it's never in US interests to financially back a dictator? Can we all agree there is such a thing as blowback? Can we all agree with Reagan who said his biggest mistake was putting troops in Lebanon and not realizing the insanity of Middle East politics? Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:43:14 +0000 http://bigjournalism.com/jpollak/2011/12/24/attacks-on-ron-paul-mainstream-media-bait-and-switch/#IDComment246215365 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-says-he-cant-handle-the-controversy-to-come-out-about-the-truth-about-911/#IDComment244912901 Everyone knows Al Qaeda attacked us because we are free. They attacked us because we have Britney Spears and Regis Philbin. They attacked us for McDonalds and Microsoft. Al Qaeda absolutely will not stop until America is no longer free and submits to Islam. They say it in all their writings. Their only goal is to destroy American society and cover all our women with the veil. We have no choice but to invade their lands and occupy them until they start to think like us. For 100 years if necessary. This will cost thousands of lives and trillions of dollars, but we have no choice. Thu, 22 Dec 2011 22:51:48 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-says-he-cant-handle-the-controversy-to-come-out-about-the-truth-about-911/#IDComment244912901 http://biggovernment.com/scrowder/2011/09/28/ron-paul-supporters-and-the-american-empire/#IDComment200723125 Your advocating the US to stay until "we win" but winning is an illusion in Afghanistan and Iraq. Without half a million troops and political control in both countries, the Taliban will simply pour across the Pakistan border once we leave and Iraq will be a proxy state of Iran just like Lebanon is. We will NEVER be able to come to grips with the tribalism of the region without massive, bankrupting and bloody interventions that would destroy the US military. And for what? Oil? The US is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Ronald Reagan knew this about the Middle East and in his memoirs he painfully regretted putting troops in Lebanon. Like us, Imperial Rome learned the hard way about blowback and they were much more ruthless in dealing with insurgents than American will ever be. Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:52:01 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/scrowder/2011/09/28/ron-paul-supporters-and-the-american-empire/#IDComment200723125 http://biggovernment.com/scrowder/2011/09/28/ron-paul-supporters-and-the-american-empire/#IDComment200717123 Crowder can call US foreign policy mostly benign, but I would call US foreign policy in the Middle East inconsistent, confused and downright hypocritical. Keeping track of who is an American friend one day and an enemy the next will give you whiplash. Hussein, Gaddafi, Mubarak, the Taliban were all at one time allies of the US. In Gaddafi's case, he was an ally just a few years ago. All nations deal with other nations in a way that furthers their own interests. America has been successful in turning former enemies into friends when it comes to Germany and Japan. They also happen to be the only two countries that declared war on the US in the past 75 years. American foreign policy falls down when it tries to meddle in other countries elections or overthrowing their leaders. We're not very good at picking winners and the people of those countries always grow to dislike America. One has to wonder if our policies are so benevolent why is America so unpopular in Egypt, Libya, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon or Iraq? Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:31:28 +0000 http://biggovernment.com/scrowder/2011/09/28/ron-paul-supporters-and-the-american-empire/#IDComment200717123 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192876076 Right, and you trust leaders that spend 2.5 trillion dollars against a small group of terrorist who spent less than a million to knock down the WTC on 9/11. So you support the leaders on BOTH sides of the aisle who are sending this country into bankruptcy based on the welfare state and imperial overreach. I see. They are doing a better job of running the country. And people wonder why we're broke... Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:31:38 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192876076 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192862884 Where is this massive Muslim land army devouring freedom loving countries? Oh, that's right there isn't one. Most Muslim countries are either fat and lazy from oil or starving because of their tin pot dictator. Keep selling the big government militarism just another bloated government program Conservatives talk about ending but never do. I bet your first in line to pay extra taxes for all this spending on overseas deployments, ammunition and new weapons systems, right? I didn't think so. Ron Paul gets more donations from the military than all the other candidates combined. Tue, 13 Sep 2011 07:32:34 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192862884 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192853633 I hate to contradict all the foreign policy experts on here. You all so clearly understand that Al Qaeda has been attacking us for our "freedoms." Not sure why they're ignoring freedom loving counries like Canada, Germany, France, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Mexico, Brazil and a hundred more. I'll just quote former head of the CIA Bin Laden Unit Michael Scheuer: “On no other foreign policy issue since the Cold War’s end has the truth been so easy to establish on the basis of hard facts but so hard for Americans to see … that Muslim hatred is motivated by U.S. interventionism more than any other factor… Our growing number of Islamist enemies are motivated to attack us because of what the U.S. government does in the Muslim world and not because of how Americans live and think here at home.” Bin Laden made it perfectly clear in speech after speech — It was retribution for constant U.S. intervention in their “holy land.” Unfortunately, we are going to lose many more young men and women like in Vietnam because politicians and the public would rather support a bad policy then admit it was a mistake. The irony is watching so-called small goverment Tea Partiers support Republicans as they turn war into just one more big government program. Tue, 13 Sep 2011 06:49:29 +0000 http://tv.breitbart.com/ron-paul-loudly-booed-after-blaming-us-foreign-policy-for-terrorist-attcks/#IDComment192853633