The novel, trendy mystique of Ron Paul is gripping the Internet Nation. It is bringing attention to an otherwise dead field of condidates(Not Misspelled)in an otherwise boring primary season. So what's the attraction, how's he doing it? I'll tell you exactly how he's doing it. He's running on a grab bag of issues that appeal to the disaffected extremes of both the Right and Left. His subtle appeal to the relic segregationists on the right and the Anti war hippies on the left are the most obvious and extreme. We all forget the Ron Paul is a seasoned political genius arriving at the top of his game at just the right time. Yes, Ron Paul almost makes you forget that he is a calculating political animal no different from all the rest. He's just has found a seemingly credible on the surface, resonating niche for himself right now. I can't blame him for milking it for all it's worth, about 18 million or so in donations, so far
One positive is the bringing of people back into the political dialog. You can see even here at OpEd News all the new commenters weighing in on the Ron Paul Articles. Even my usually ignored articles have gotten huge Diggs, at least for me, and many comments more than I'm accustomed. I suppose that's a good thing, all writers like improved statistics. So let me acknowledge, welcome and thank all that have Digged my Ron Paul articles and left comments.
But Ron Paul has a stance on the Federal Reserve, inflation and money creation that needs exploring. Is he saying that the confluence of Fiat debt created money, inflation and Government Assistance programs are what perpetuate the Class wars and poverty in our society? I read where he said that he wants to return to a Gold standard but not quite a gold standard for our money system. I,as a political observer, love that position for it's shear tight rope walking and fence sitting, but as a man in the world using money as a tool to survive, I'm a little confused.
The problem is most Americans do not understand the Federal reserve and the whole Idea of debt created, fiat money. It's a secret. But clearly the Banks do though. It somehow always seems to work for them no matter the economic conditions at large. In fact there are those who say that the FED causes the high and lows in societal economic conditions with their money policy. But to simply blame everything on the Federal Reserve and the Congress would well be, I don't know, maybe that is where all the blame lies. But what is this culture of insulated speculators controlling the price of commodities, energy and real estate? Most call it free market economics, some might call it stealing. Yet somehow Ron Paul is appealing to both. Now that is political genius.
So go on and be fascinated by this maverick people's candidate. It's good for all Americans to get involved, but Americans are going to have to study up on this money thing. Americans are going to have to finally understand how the Fed, which was ostensibly created to keep money policy out of Politics, is in fact helping perpetuate the class divisions along with the help of our Government of course. Ron Paul like any other political shill is working his gimmick. It will be interesting to see if his gimmicky outsider thing holds up under the increased scrutiny coming his way. The thing about Ron Paul is, it was harder to figure it out his shtick than the other more obvious condidates(Again, NOT Mispelled)
http://blog.myspace.com/hosshoss777
I am a simple man of eclectic interests and tastes with no particular academic credentials. I still perceive, think, read and write somewhat. Writing music is a hobby of mine
Don't feel bad if you don't understand monetary theory. It's not something they teach in grade school or high school, though they really should. It's quite possibly the MOST important topic you will ever learn things about. The original purpose of the FED was to ensure full employment by ordinary citizens. The way it would accomplish this is in periods of unemployment it would make money available to banks, which would in turn lend the money to businessmen, creating jobs. On the face of it, this sounds like a very good idea, yes? Here's the problem - when they print that 'free money' there is then more money available in the economy for the same amount of goods and services. That causes INFLATION. Inflation means the money you earned no longer buys what it used to. People who work hard and saved or invested suddenly see their net worth grow smaller in real terms. The government is quietly stealing that money to loan to businessmen. I know they don't SAY that's what's happening but your purchasing power is less, right? and some other guy has a brand new loan, right? QED.
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Louis Nardozi (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 29 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 8:15:39 AM
Please don't confuse the Ron Paul campaign with the Ron Paul rEVOLution. The rEVOLution is composed of many non-partisan / Independents. I'm not going to register GOP, but I am contributing to the rEVOLutions fundraising for the campaign to support Ron Paul in the GOP primary nomination, encouraging those registered GOP to vote for Ron Paul, encouraging progressives to look at the Ron Paul rEVOLution as Indy, and if Ron Paul does not get the GOP nomination I am supporting him for president in an Independent Unity08 ticket with Kucinich. It's time for a regime change. Ron Paul is giving us the opportunity. Let's Rock the neocons and neolibs and their NWO OUT!
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Jeanette Doney (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 304 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 9:06:48 AM
Over the last several months I've read a few books on monetary policy and the nation debt. I am convinced it is the biggest threat to our national security. I find it disturbing that the other candidates bicker on the details of their government provided healthcare plans and other such things that our bankrupt government simply cannot afford. I mean really, tell me how Hillary is going to give us all healthcare as well as give us middle class people a tax cut? Absurd. For years, I've thought it would be great if the Congress would pass balanced budgets, but what we really need is a long string of government surpluses unless we want to spend all of our money just paying interest on the debt. The Federal Reserve enabled/created the dotcom bubble/bust and the current housing bubble/credit crunch. They are a private entity with very little oversight carrying out the constitutional responsibility of the Cangress.
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TJF (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 6 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 9:35:19 AM
Frankly, I'm willing to forego these pissant wedge issues and elect or vote for someone I disagree with on smaller, less important issues IN ORDER TO elect someone who will get rid of the largest threat to the health of our nation.... deficit spending and the federal reserve system.
It's amazing how many people focus myoptically on issues of such trivial concern. Abortion, for example. How many women does this really effect? And why can't we forego this issue to deal with the REALLY BIG issues - immigration, the economy, and the national debt. Church and state separation.... who cares? Who cares if there is a statue of the ten commandments on courthouse lawn? The ten commandments represent the religious beliefs of three major religions, probably representing more than 95% of Americans. The remaining Americans would do better to worry about how their next paycheck will be worth less than the one before due to inflation, which is being mis-reported by government and the media.
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Justin Green (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 22 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 12:39:45 PM
The Fed is the root of the problem. Its obvious if you look into it. I dont have vast knowledge of monetary policy or how banks work. I do have common sense tho.
Ill keep it short:
1. Our forefathers started the Revolutionary War over central banking. King George wouldnt allow the colonies to have their own currency, immediately putting the colonies into debt with England.
2. Thomas Jefferson warned us of central banking. "Banks are more dangerous to liberty than standing armies."
3. The income tax is unconstitutional for a reason. The income tax assumes the government owns all the fruits of your labor and lets you have a portion of your pay.
4. If the bankers who own the printing press, fund the government and also profit the most from war.. common sense dictates you will see more war.
My Diary On Ron Paul I think you will find what I consider possible in what I hear from Ron Paul, I also conclude pessimistically that he could never pull it off.
I conclude my diary with a possble way for real change to occur. I invite you to read it.
Hoss
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"Hoss" David P. (51 articles, 5 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 338 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 1:16:29 PM
Have you noticed the amount of hits you get when you post the words "Ron Paul"? Look at Rob Kall's Blogg. Look at his articles and the hits for years...today, he had more hits with "Ron Paul" than he had in the last three months combined, and I know I'm not the only Ron Paul supporter who contributed to Rob to express my appreciation of his opening debate on OpEdNews. Rob made it a nice place to visit for us. That is the "Ron Paul" Phenomenon in action.
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Jeanette Doney (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 6 diaries, 304 comments)
on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 12:42:58 AM
Ron Paul is just another politician running for President. Ron Paul got re elected to his Congressional seat the old fashioned way, HE BROUGHT HOME THE BACON!
I suppose being the Doctor that brought many of those in his district into the world didn't hurt either.
AND, I'll still be here observing Politics and writing articles long after you're gone.
But for now, Thanks for Commenting
"Hoss" David P
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"Hoss" David P. (51 articles, 5 quicklinks, 14 diaries, 338 comments)
on Saturday, December 29, 2007 at 6:14:03 AM
In addition to what has already been noted, the biggest single secret about our money system is that the debt to the central banks can never be paid.
All dollars are created by being lent out. The loan is payable with interest. The interest to pay yesterday's loan will not exist until it is borrowed today. So not only is the interest upayable, but it must by design increase exponentially forever. Since it can't do that, the scheme has to come to an end eventually.
Not being able to borrow the money to pay yesterday's loan will put you in default.
So at the end of the game, the bank which created the money from thin air gets paid back in dollars you had to earn, and upon your default, ends up with all of the money and all of the property, too!
The simplest illustration of the mechanics of our money system is available for viewing on Google video. Simply search for "Money As Debt". It distills many books' worth of knowledge in an easy to comprehend way -- the best I've seen yet.
All economic indicators now point to imminent financial meltdown. Perhaps the game of musical chairs can go on a while longer, but the fed is panic-pumping money into the system to prevent widespread bank failures even though the value of the dollar is tanking. They cannot allow the dollar to collapse, or it's game over. Look for sudden, sharp, panicky rate increases as soon as it becomes apparent that the banks caught with bad paper from the credit/housing bubble are solvent again. Then, consider that this sequence of actions is exactly what caught people out in 1929 when the Federal Reserve Bank caused the stock market panic, which led to further intervention in the market and draconian controls including the seizure of people's gold, which deepened and prolonged the depression.
Best not to be too non-committal over the monetary policy. If you live off government money, you will be safe until the dollar itself crashes. If not, you are on the brink of losing any dollar-denominated assets you have unless they are in your direct posession.
The most positive thing that is happening with Ron Paul's candidacy is that knowlege of this evil, pernicious, unconstitutional scheme is spreading all out of control of the government, its backers, and the media. And so when the financial meltdown arrives, which might be soon and sudden, a good number of people will speak up and act in opposition to what will be proposed next. For insight into this aspect, see Weimar Germany, and how the currency collapse conditioned that civilized society to accept increased government power, pre-emptive war, etc.
It can't happen here, as long as we stop it!
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John Danforth (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 93 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 2:01:51 PM
No nuance here, can anyone in their right mind support a candidate that doesn't support the scientific evidence on evolution?
I'll admit that this throw me for a loop. Many of Paul's stances I find to be attractive if only from a simplistic point of view, but one has to wonder how anyone can go through a high school science class and come away with Ron Paul's view on this. As far as I'm concerned this is Paul's Howard Dean moment. Paul is so far off base here that I can't imagine anyone but the dumbest of the dumb partisan hacks giving him credence of this issue. This sinks the Ron Paul ship for me. Anyone that doesn't support science should not be president of anything.
And please don't go off on the "well, they call it a "theory" to begin with" BS. Yes they do because there are no absolutes, but there is certainly enough evidence to support evolution that one would have to be way to out of touch with reality to make such a definitive statement as to outright reject the scientific findings. Gravity is still a "theory" because no one can prove what makes it work, but just because of that I'm not going to believe that something won't fall to the ground without support.
And then his statement about "the creator" ... maybe because I find it hard to believe that there's some guy-in-the-sky, all knowing, all powerful, being that watches everything we do and judges us and will condemn us to Hell or deliver us to paradise and that anyone actually believes this tripe is insane, that you might as well believe in Santa Claus, shouldn't be running for office anyway (which certainly trims the field down for me). Is it any wonder that most scientists and doctors, our most educated people, are atheists?
Paul is just another pandering politician giving the unwashed ignorant masses what they want to hear and qualifying the biggest lie ever perpetrated against the people of this world. All religions are man made imaginary farces to be used by those who would use religion to control the masses. And if you believe otherwise than I would ask you to please prove to me there is a God and that God isn't just a theory too.
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Mr M (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 12 diaries, 1401 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 3:23:55 PM
Ron Paul is no phenomenon. His economics are 18th Century and completely unrealistic and unworkable. His "sales tax" is, in fact, a regressive tax and will make worse a pernicious trend begun with Ronald Reagan's tax cut of 1982 --the rich will get even richer and the poor will be wiped out. You will find GRAPHIC proof and illustrations of this at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Census Bureau, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Income inequalities and disparities in America are ALWAYS worse under GOP regimes because of the regressive nature of their taxation policies. This is simply an irrefutable fact.
Secondly, Ron Paul is racist. He said recently that some 95 percent of black men are criminal. Absurd.
The only thing Paul is right about is the war.
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Len Hart (131 articles, 172 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 543 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 4:38:51 PM
The whole racism thing has been debunked thoroughly and for years. You are either dishonest and very misinformed. In either case, I hope you're honest enough to retract your statement.
In 2001, Paul took "moral responsibility" for the comments printed in his newsletter under his name, telling Texas Monthly magazine that the comments were written by a ghostwriter and did not represent his views. He said newsletter remarks referring to U.S. Representative Barbara Jordan (calling her a "fraud" and a "half-educated victimologist") were "the saddest thing, because Barbara and I served together and actually she was a delightful lady."[57] The magazine defended Paul's decision to protect the writer's confidence in 1996, concluding, "In four terms as a U.S. congressman and one presidential race, Paul had never uttered anything remotely like this."[32] In 2007, with the quotes resurfacing, the New York Times Magazine concurred that Paul denied the allegations "quite believably, since the style diverges widely from his own."[9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Paul
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Hugh Borg (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 5:19:26 PM
You are badly misinformed. Ron Paul wants to get rid of the income tax and replace it with nothing. You evidently have no idea what Ron Paul stands for.
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chessmaster (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 27 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 7:48:52 PM
Ron Paul Chris Mathews
Has anyone noticed how Chris Mathews goes out of his way not to mention Ron Paul on his show, or show his name on charts regarding polls (often showing ones where he scores lower).
If Ron Paul comes in 3 rd in Iowa I'm sure he will turn this into a two person race at that point. But what will Chris do if Ron Paul comes in 1st or 2nd? Let's see if the people in Iowa can get Chris Mathews to say "Ron Paul."
by (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 2 comments)
on Friday, December 28, 2007 at 8:57:47 PM
Yes, I have and show after show is anti-Hillary Clinton. I think Matthews has a secret fetish causing a mental disorder when it comes to Senator Clinton.
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pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 962 comments)
on Sunday, December 30, 2007 at 2:45:12 PM
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