I could not have said this better myself:
More Lies From Ron Paul
(February 2, 2012)
"I was active in the libertarian movement and Party for over twelve years. During my time spent among them I noticed that, in a general sense, libertarians have no problem questioning or taking to task society's inconsistencies. But when one of their own or an outsider questions or disagrees with them many times libertarians tend to refuse to believe they are wrong or even go so far as to angrily demonize the dissenter for pointing out their hypocrisy.
Overall, libertarians claim they want to find out the truth but when faced with the facts they cling to their philosophy or preconceived beliefs like a religion rather than accept reality. A mentality similar to what is seen among left wing academics. In many libertarian's minds they are never and can never be wrong no matter if the truth stares them in the face. They are in complete and utter denial not only about Ron Paul's character but also the lies and misrepresentations he spews despite evidence showing that he does."
Lies, damned lies, misrepresentations, conspiracies and 9/11
For example, during a 20/20 interview with John Stossel Paul was asked about his support of a border wall. He stated he didn't like amnesty but also didn't like the border wall. In order to stop amnesty, Paul claims, he voted for the bill. A claim vaguely similar to John Kerry being against the Iraq war before he voted for it. If Dr. No was against amnesty for illegal immigrants and the border wall, the logical step would be to vote against such legislation.
Ron Paul also lied about the Iraq war and the reasons the U.S. invaded the country. He recently made a disgusting claim that the Bush Administration was gleeful so they could use the event to justify an Iraq invasion and later use it as a precursor for an invasion of Iran. It was a mistake for the U.S. to side with Saddam Hussein in Iraq's conflict with Iran and I think Hussein kept some of the weaponry supplied. But the fact is Hussein did possess chemical and biological weapons along with yellow cake uranium and had the infrastructure that would have been used in the manufacturing of chemical or nuclear weapons of mass destruction (WMD's). Hussein also supported terrorist groups and harbored individuals that would have or already attacked the United States and our allies.
Contrary to what Paul and antiwar libertarians allege President Bush did not lie about the reasons for the Iraq invasion. It was not part of some grand conspiracy to lay the groundwork for an Iran invasion, snatch up Iraq's oil, nor the President finishing what his father had started. Bush made a mistake later expanding on the reasons for the war which sounded like he was trying to change the rationale. The President declared during an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001 that he would take the fight to terrorists and the countries that support them. The invasion of Iraq was consistent with the President's stated policy. Ron Paul has access to Congressional briefings and knew or had information available to him about the evidence of Hussein's support of terrorism and his possession of WMD's before, during, and after the invasion.
The 9/11 attacks occurred because of Islamic terrorism and not due to blowback resulting from U.S. foreign policy as Paul, some libertarians and hardcore leftists claim. It is wrong and immoral for them to resort to blaming America for such a tragedy and then accommodate scum like 9/11 Truth (so-called) organizations along with the conspiracies they further including praising traitors like Bradley Manning or publicity seeking, self-promoting, narcissistic manipulators like Julian Assange. It is a fallacious lie for Paul to deny he subscribes to conspiracy theories when he articulates such points essentially legitimizing them with his rhetoric. In addition to his gleeful statement, consider this quote from a fundraising letter sent to his supporters in 2007:
I don't need to tell you that our American way of life is under attack. We see it all around us — every day — and it is up to us to save it.
The world's elites are busy forming a North American Union. If they are successful, as they were in forming the European Union, the good ol' USA will only be a memory. We can't let that happen.
The UN also wants to confiscate our firearms and impose a global tax. The UN elites want to control the world's oceans with the Law of the Sea Treaty. And they want to use our military to police the world.
Individual rights, not state's rights
When it comes to gay marriage, Paul states that while marriage is a private matter he would leave such decisions on marriage to the states and supports enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act (a.k.a. DOMA). He knows full well that by denying gay couples the ability to legally marry, they would be unable to to use courts for divorce or inheritance resolution. A marriage license is the only document governments and insurance companies will accept for a marriage to be legitimate. Never mind that it is prohibitively expensive for couples (gay or straight) to establish trusts to legally protect their assets, wills or even signed agreements can be contested in a court of law. Oft times gay couples are subject to humongous tax rates in order for their partners to inherit the deceased loved one's wealth provided that a relative of the deceased does not challenge the inheritance.
The U.S. Constitution is designed so that all three branches of government exist equally to check one another's power. Limiting a federal court's ability to rule on cases related to liberty-infringing laws not only disrupts the checks-and-balances of the U.S. Constitution but is also an abridgement of individual rights. Paul's scheme results in people potentially being subject to a patch-work of state laws related to a variety of issues not only related to abortion, gay marriage, and sodomy but could include guns too. Imagine anti-gun politicians passing legislation limiting federal court jurisdiction on gun cases due to the precedent Ron Paul sets. Rights are for individuals not states and in our constitutional republic states are political subdivisions delegated certain powers greater than the federal entity. This is done in order to protect individual liberty when it is abridged in by said jurisdictions invalidating federal, state, and even local laws that do so. While the courts do not uphold liberty consistently, their decisions that do (such as Lawrence vs. Texas, Roe vs. Wade, and D.C. vs. Heller) should be cheered and not jeered.
The facts about Hamas, Gaza and Israel
Despite what Ron Paul and other critics claim, Gaza is not a concentration camp, Israel is not an apartheid state, nor did the country's government intentionally help spawn Hamas. Prior to Hamas taking power, Gazans could leave the territory to work or travel including to take trips or work in Israel. In addition to turning the Gaza Strip into a terrorist base, after obtaining power in 2007 Hamas initially sealed the Israeli-Gaza border. Presently, there are numerous bureaucratic hurdles erected by Gaza immigration authorities that make obtaining a passport almost impossible for most Gazans to leave in order to work or escape living conditions there. Not surprisingly, Gaza residents fake illness or pay bribes so they can obtain papers to get out of the Gaza Strip. Consequently, it is also very dangerous for relief organizations and reporters to enter and remain in the territory since to do so would put their well-being or lives in jeopardy.
Hamas (a group who openly calls for the death of all Jews and the destruction of Israel) is one of many organizations that is an outgrowth from the Muslim Brotherhood. The group's origin was the result of backlash from some Gaza Islamists who perceived Yasser Arafat as capitulating to Israel. When it was discovered by the Israeli military in 1979 Hamas presented itself as a charitable organization and Gaza occupation commanders did not consider the organization a threat at the time since the group was not involved in military-oriented activities. In addition to also being financed by Iran, Hamas was also involved not only in charity but also able to spread it's fundamentalist ideology via religious instruction. As a result of their activities Hamas was able to build support among Gaza Palestinians in order to eventually grab control of Gaza from Arafat's PLO. Israeli forces made a stupid mistake of not scrutinizing Hamas more thoroughly and not trying to take the group down when they tangled with Arafat's Fatah faction in the 1990's. It was then that Hamas had revealed their military wing but Israel's main focus was to halt terrorism and other terrorist activities undertaken by the Arafat's Fatah PLO faction who was their main rival at the time.
In Israel proper, any Israeli citizen (regardless of race, color, religion, or creed) enjoys rights and liberties protected by Israel's constitution. There is a semblance of corruption but, overall, according to the Heritage Foundation's Index of Economic Freedom, Israel is a Westernized country with a mostly free, strong economy along with institutions protecting economic and political freedom. If Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad did not sponsor or support terrorism, conduct missile attacks and were not supported by Islamist regimes (like Iran) Israel would not have to resort to stringent, bureaucratic internal security measures or to warfare which results in harm to Palestinian civilians. Hamas is responsible for the poor conditions in Gaza and it is they whom Palestinians need rescuing from. Hamas's support of terrorism and continuous rocket attacks result in the deaths of innocent Gaza and Israeli civilians. We also have yet to hear condemnations from Ron Paul and other Israel critics directed at Muslim states who have knowingly confiscated their Jewish population's money and property.
The Ron Paul Charade
Ron Paul puts on a convincing act of being a straight-shooting, kind, friendly, and honest man who is perceived by his supporters as being a maverick Congressman. However, if examined critically he is no different than the slick, two-bit politicians he claims to revile. Paul twists the truth, evades answering specific questions, or blatantly lies when he gets caught.
In the long run Ron Paul has shown himself to be nothing more than an abominable, silver-tongued siren of faux freedom who stalks around in the libertarian movement like a saint. It is time for libertarians to admit they have been had and that Ron Paul's campaigns for Congress and President are or have been nothing more than overblown self-promotion tours geared to enrich the candidate including those close to him.
It was wrong and immoral for Ron Paul to have pandered to racists and conspiracists using bigoted statements via his sleazy newsletters published with his business partner Lew Rockwell, and members of his family in which, despite his denials, he knew about them. Paul has a moral obligation to tell the truth not only about the economy (which he does very well), but also the newsletters published and signed in his name, and the issues he runs on as a candidate.
When it comes to their favorite Texas Congresscritter the question now comes down to which path will libertarians choose: the truth or mythology? If action is not taken their movement will continue to degenerate into a haven for bigots, racists, income tax cheats, self-promoting, paranoid conspiracy gurus, and anti-Semites resulting from Rockwellian influence. Ultimately, Paul's good points (if any) are overshadowed by the awful elements he attracts to his campaign that he either welcomes or is reluctant to kick out along with his lies and twisting the truth about issues.
Ron Paul should not be given the GOP nomination for President nor should any lover of liberty support him. Not only because of his ignorant and naive foreign policy but also due to his continuous lies and misrepresentations despite his image as an honest, maverick outsider.
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