Ron Paul Make Sense?

I came across this...

http://www.care2.com/news/member/544256115/461413

It's a great message! I was all set to say "I made a mistake" when I called him a "crackpot" but then the fantasy wore off and common sense came into play.

See. Ron speaks a great line... "Let's make it all real simple..." (like it was in 1850). There was no "big gobment". There were no foreign wars. There were few constitutional questions. There was a gold standard and we only printed as much money as we had in gold. There was no federal income tax and no IRS. There was no "welfare" (even to corporations)! The states generally did what they wanted and the federal government just stood around looking pissed.

Here's the problem, Ron. This is 2007 and slavery is no longer legal. The globe is so small that an astronaut circled it in a matter of minute. Commerce is world-wide and global now. We chat via the internet with people who don't even live in the same hemisphere with us! The Civil War decided that it was not a question of "State's Rights" anymore. We have been the United States of America --- a Federal Republic --- for over 150 years! There are Constitutional issues that are still being debated as times move forward (aka "Progress") and there will always be issues that must be decided by the Supreme Court. It's hardly time to shut it down.

Ron would like us to remain stuck in the past but, trust me, the past ain't all it's cracked up to be! I'm just over a half century old and even I recall separate drinking fountains, bathrooms, and waiting rooms for white and "colored". I recall white sheriffs who ruled entire counties like fifedoms. I recall state governors who barred the door of black students trying to attend schools and state govenments blocking free elections (worse than Florida and Ohio!). I recall the Federal Government having to post National Guardsmen to protect the rights of citizens against state despotism. I recall people being denied jobs and education because of race and sex!

Sure, I'd like to go back to some point in the past. I'd be younger, healthier and a lot smarter. Perhaps I'd meet Ron Paul and convince him that America is not such a bad place that we have to put out the chonological anchor to some other century.

He's well meaning. He's a doctor and surely would like to cure all our ills. But putting our head in the proverbial sand won't accomplish much. After all, Ron, like many other Repugnicans is running on the platform that we should get rid of the Federal Government. I question the sense of electing someone to lead the Federal Republic who wants to destroy the Federal Republic!

So, as much as Ron almost seems sensible, he's hardly that. He's contrarian and anachronistic. As President, he'd be almost as bad as Bush! Naive and demented! I guess I was right then after all in my initial assessment. He's a "crackpot".

Sticks and Stones...

From Ron Paul's website, concerning the Hate Crimes bill that would include sexual orientation and violent acts...

"Last week, the House of Representatives acted with disdain for the Constitution and individual liberty by passing HR 1592, a bill creating new federal programs to combat so-called “hate crimes.” The legislation defines a hate crime as an act of violence committed against an individual because of the victim’s race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. Federal hate crime laws violate the Tenth Amendment’s limitations on federal power. Hate crime laws may also violate the First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech and religion by criminalizing speech federal bureaucrats define as “hateful.”"

So, killing a person with a knife or gun while you scream "Faggot!" is an exercise of the First Amendment!? Then, as if that wasn't enough, Ron climbs further up Mount Stupid, and says the Federal Government shouldn't be in the business of protecting civil rights! Then he stands on the summit and proclaims for all those looking up at this feat of idiocy, that "violent acts" are part of one's Freedom of Religion!

Jesus, Ron, what are you mixing in with your morning cereal? What "religion", besides cannibalism, encourages violence against people and can still call itself a "religion". Sorry, dude, that's not anything most people worry about on Sunday morning. I can imagine your ride to church... "Well, children, today's lesson will be how to kill and maim Gay people. Won't that be fun? We'll learn from the sermon how Jesus called His believers to slay anyone they think might be committing something that looks like love but is really a sin. Won't that be informative?"

Ron, baby, read the law... you said it yourself... "The legislation defines a hate crime as an act of violence committed against an individual because of the victim’s race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability." It's not a matter of Religious expression or Freedom of Speech or State's Rights. It's a matter of Civil Rights guaranteed by the US Constitution. It's not saying you have to be gay or disabled or Catholic or Mexican. It's just saying you can't perpetrate a violent crime upon someone who is, for that reason. If you do, it's a Hate Crime. You can still Hate just as much as you like and you can even encourage your children to Hate as much as you like. BUT, you can't act on that Hate and hurt someone in self-righteous justification thereof! Ok? (And the people of Texas continue to vote for you?! It's hard to imagine how they look at themselves in the mirror without gagging.)

-Devon