gdp's Comments

Antiwar.com Original Articles : The Cycle of the State

Wed, 19 Aug 2015 03:17:16 +0000

I have to agree with the basic synopsis, but I don't agree with the description of Russia. Sure, things have changed massively since the fall of the Soviet Union and more free enterprise has sprung up, of course. Just like here, most of it is a facade of "freedom". But there is still a huge, all-consuming state apparatus in place in Russia and it, too, is a belligerent one exporting it's own aggression and internal tyranny. And it is still run by former Soviets who would like to revert back to either Soviet controls or some sort of a greater Imperial Russia pipedream.. The struggle for power and control is just as real there, too. And it's not pro-freedom.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Rand Paul: Fraud, Failure, Liar

Wed, 29 Jul 2015 16:15:26 +0000

"The market economy involves peaceful cooperation. It bursts asunder when the citizens turn into warriors and, instead of exchanging commodities and services, fight one another. What the incompatibility of war and capitalism really means is that war and high civilization are incompatible. In the long run war and the preservation of the market economy are incompatible. Capitalism is essentially a scheme for peaceful nations." -Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, pp. 817-828

Antiwar.com Original Articles : A Blank Check for War

Mon, 2 Sep 2013 11:25:27 +0000

Side note: Somewhat surprised that Justin of all people said, "the anti-climactic end of the Iraq war". Those renamed combat troops, ie. the Advise and Assist Brigades, have been driven so far out of sight and off the radar that even he thinks the Iraq war is over. July was the bloodiest, deadliest month for Iraqis since 2008 and that Vatican-sized embassy there still costs $4B a year to run before the paychecks go out. Reading the daily death counts on antiwar.com, it's fairly easy to see that war is far from over for the Iraqis.

Liberty Maven : Rand Paul is the purple pill

Sat, 9 Jun 2012 15:40:27 +0000

Well, now that Rand just endorsed Romney, I wonder how everyone feels about him now? Hmm, like the writing on the wall....

Antiwar.com Blog : Attacking Iran Would Bring Results Warmongers Supposedly Want to Prevent

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:49:48 +0000

Um, Ron Paul is the only candidate from either party who is staunchly anti-war... the broad sweeping brush doesn't fit.

Antiwar.com Blog : Rachel Maddow Supports Aid to Mubarak

Wed, 2 Feb 2011 16:30:42 +0000

Maddow's paycheck is signed by one of the largest gov't contractors of the military-industrial-complex... General Electric, who owns MSNBC.

KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio : Guns and Butter - "Obama\'s National Security State" with Michael Ratner - January 19, 2011 at 1:00p

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:51:45 +0000

@horse237 I don't know that it's a big zionist scheme per se, although they may be one cog of it. I do agree with you on the banks, the MIC and the corporations, however. Global corporatists, wherever they may be from, have been writing openly and candidly about it for years. See this: http://www.cfr.org/publication/9903/sovereignty_a...

KPFA 94.1 FM Berkeley: Listener Sponsored Free Speech Radio : Guns and Butter - "Obama\'s National Security State" with Michael Ratner - January 19, 2011 at 1:00p

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:45:01 +0000

@zeofredo... I'm with you on the coherence and relevance of comments... eeesh. Something I'd like to point out from this broadcast re: military tribunals. Military tribunals are only legal when war has been declared. The congress hasn't declared a war since WWII. Just calling it a war doesn't make it one, so technically military tribunals are null and void from a legal standpoint. Basically, a kangaroo court. Regardless, both the Bush &Obama administrations stopped playing by the rules a decade ago. The entire Bill of Rights is dead in the water.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : The War Party vs. Rand Paul

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 14:35:37 +0000

I'm skeptical of Rand Paul until the swearing in of the 112th and we see some actual proof in the proverbial pudding. Reading over Rand's issues pages on his website combined with his quotes in the media, I wouldn't be too quick to count my chickens on this one.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Lindsey Graham's Desperation

Mon, 8 Nov 2010 16:09:32 +0000

I'm agreed with Richard. I can't get past Rand's Gitmo/Afghanistan/Iran/military tribunals positions. A non-interventionist he is not. His 'terrorist' talk and belief in the official 9/11 narrative, verbatim, shows how super weak he is on foreign policy history. Rand would do well to read that booklist his father assigned to Giuliani. http://www.randpaul2010.com/issues/h-p/national-d... And just like Judge Napolitano pointed out.... military tribunals are only "legal" with a declaration of war...just calling it a war doesn't make it one. So even if it were possible to create military tribunals, they still wouldn't be legal. Not to mention that most people know the Gitmo 'thugs', as Rand calls them, were mostly people in the wrong place at the wrong time...handed over by war lords and neighbors for cash payments. US taxpayer cash payments. The 'terrorists' in Gitmo were bought and paid for. It doesn't warm my heart to hear Rand talk about the US government's "special relationship" with the Israeli government. As far as Iran, the US and Israel go, it was you, Justin, who summed it all up pretty well here: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2007/09/26/dre... Rand Paul has made it very clear, repeatedly, that he is not a libertarian. "Paul has lately said he would not leave abortion to the states, he doesn't believe in legalizing drugs like marijuana and cocaine, he'd support federal drug laws, he'd vote to support Kentucky's coal interests and he'd be tough on national security. "They thought all along that they could call me a libertarian and hang that label around my neck like an albatross, but I'm not a libertarian," Paul says..." http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,... Don't even get me started on his position of gays and lesbians, DADT, etc.. I wouldn't hold my breath or get my hopes up for Rand Paul. Heck, the guy hasn't even been sworn in yet. I'd be willing to bet that in time Rand becomes the new Scott Brown.

KOMO - Seattle, WA : Seattle officer punches girl in face during jaywalking stop | KOMO News - Breaking News, Sports, Tra

Fri, 18 Jun 2010 03:47:25 +0000

Jaywalking? Really. And to do this as an officer of "the law"? Just look at the authoritarian bootlickers trip over themselves in the comments above. Do you seriously want to live a life of petty authoritarian laws and cops enforcing them? Or a life of liberty? The choice is yours.

Liberty Maven : Rand Paul is the purple pill

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 12:23:28 +0000

"Give [insert politician-du-jour name here] a chance." Sounds vaguely like the same thing I heard from liberal friends about Obama and also the Scott Brown supporters. Rand Paul has made it very clear, repeatedly, that he is not a libertarian. "Paul has lately said he would not leave abortion to the states, he doesn't believe in legalizing drugs like marijuana and cocaine, he'd support federal drug laws, he'd vote to support Kentucky's coal interests and he'd be tough on national security. "They thought all along that they could call me a libertarian and hang that label around my neck like an albatross, but I'm not a libertarian," Paul says..." http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,... And I certainly know that getting libertarians to agree 100% on issues is like herding cats. But Rand's foreign & domestic policy declarations directly contradict my most basic fundamental principles about war and aggression and foreign entanglements and the War on Drugs, etc., etc. Rands positions - not all, but most - have the ringing sounds of status quo. Sorry, Rand, I cannot give you a pass on this. It's still too little, too late.

Liberty Maven : Rand Paul is the purple pill

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:59:54 +0000

If it were me, I would rephrase that the say "the governments of N. Korea and Iran" and "the governments of Israel and the US". This is all about governments and government power. In the days following the 9/11 attacks, tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran to hold a candlelight vigil for the vicims. The same goes for the Palestinians. http://groups.colgate.edu/aarislam/response.htm The day after the Gaza boat/Israel incident, Israelis took to the street to condemn what their government had done. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4fTl11s07Q It doesn't warm my heart to hear Rand talk about the US government's "special relationship" with the Israeli government. As far as Iran, the US and Israel go, Justin Raimondo sums it all up pretty well here: http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2007/09/26/dre... It seems as though Christian, Jew and Muslim citizens worldwide get along without too many serious problems. Problems only seem to arise when power tripping governments and their covert agents get in the way because of 'special relationships' and hegemonic interests.

Liberty Maven : Rand Paul is the purple pill

Sat, 12 Jun 2010 18:33:36 +0000

Yeah, I can't get past Rand's Gitmo/Afghanistan/Iran positions. A non-interventionist he is not. His 'terrorist' talk and belief in the official 9/11 narrative, verbatim, shows how super weak he is on foreign policy history. Rand would do well to read that booklist his father assigned to Giuliani. The CIA/Brzezinski/ Bill Casey/Charlie Wilson intervention, 1973-1992, in the middle east (Google: Operation Cyclone) is the root cause for their hatred, but try telling Rand that. It was only under Clinton that the CIA's policy direction was changed, but the Clinton administration determined that the Frankenstein (the MAK and the Taliban via the Pakistani ISI) we had created was now our enemy and no longer our tool. Billions of US taxpayer dollars spent over those two decades creating the very 'terrorist threat' we face today. And just like Judge Napolitano pointed out.... military tribunals are only "legal" with a declaration of war...just calling it a war doesn't make it one. So even if it were possible to create military tribunals, they still wouldn't be legal. Not to mention that most people know the Gitmo 'thugs', as Rand calls them, were mostly people in the wrong place at the wrong time...handed over by war lords and neighbors for cash payments. US taxpayer cash payments. The 'terrorists' in Gitmo were bought and paid for. As far as I'm concerned, Rand Paul is nothing more than the new Scott Brown.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Rachel Maddow, McCarthyite

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 03:30:29 +0000

This is the pitfall of thinking in terms of Left vs. Right and it's fairly clear and lucid were Rachel stands. She perpetuates the polarization, as do most MSM pundits. Red/Blue, Tea/Coffee, Us/Them, etc. I'm with Justin on this. ""The chief problem of American political life for a long time has been how to make the two Congressional parties more national and more international. The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps of the Right, and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead, the two parties should be almost identical so that the American people can 'throw the rascals out' at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy. The policies that are vital and necessary for America are no longer subjects of significant disagreement, but are disputable only in terms of procedure, priority and method..." -Carol Quigley, Tragedy and Hope [Page 1248-1249]

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Rachel Maddow, McCarthyite

Tue, 6 Apr 2010 03:16:00 +0000

Good points, both of you. And yes, Maddow is a tool... General Electric signs her paycheck.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Rachel Maddow, McCarthyite

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 14:20:06 +0000

Funny how Maddow and the Left quickly forget what might be considered "hate speech" (by their own definition), FROM the Left during the Bush administration. Here's a brilliant example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6b1VOAATNk http://brain-terminal.com/posts/2010/03/31/a-trip...