Hotties4RonPaul

There is a calender that is debuting this weekend along with the teaparty in support of Ron Paul. Hotties4RonPaul is the place you can order it. Liv is in it, as well as this grandmother who appeared on Tucker's show a few months back.



Check out her blog here.

Knight Rider is coming back

NBC will premier the show on February 17th. This show and "Airwolf" were two of my favorites when I was a kid.





Pilfered from Ace

Ron Paul Blimp Pics

Top secret classified pictures of the Ron Paul blimp in its hanger while banners are being hung on its side:





Pilfered from ronpaulforums

Lew Rockwell Explains the Mortgage Meltdown

Lew Rockwell lays it out:

The sea of inflationary credit is the core problem behind the falling dollar, the subprime crisis, the housing meltdown, not to mention the rise in the national debt and a thousand other problems.

And how do they deal with it? More credit and more calls for controls. No one in Washington seems to understand the reason for the crisis, much less how to fix it. The markets go for this stuff for a while until it looks like Washington is in panic mode. Even Wall Street is starting to sense that something is very wrong.

A good indication is President Bush’s freeze on subprime mortgage rates. It is a classic case that provides serious lessons for all of us. It shows the political penchant for intervening in the market, the market response, and the further interventions that are called forth when the first round doesn’t bring the utopia they imagine.

Here is the great mortal threat that intervention poses to the economy: not the first round, not even the second round, but the relentless dynamic of political rescues that drive us further into the pit of state planning. Under Bush's solution, rate freezes kick in next year and subsidize only part of those affected. His plan is under fire, not for being an intervention but for not bailing out every living soul.

If you aren't worried, you should be.

Read the whole thing here.

Ronald Reagan Crackin' the Jokes

Pilfered from ronpaulforums.com

Hitchens: Dump the Central Intelligence Agency

Update and Bump: Ed Morrissey proposes a solution:

It's time to reconceive intelligence in a post-Cold War world. Given that it serves to defend our nation, it should fall under military command. That may not be the most elegant solution, but clearly the supposed benefits of civilian management have not made themselves apparent in either accuracy or efficiency. The laws that govern military intelligence and covert operations would therefore extend to all of our efforts, and failures to abide by those laws would have secure methods of correction.

I don't know if that would be the best solution, I'm still stuck on trying to tear down the CIA with a wrecking ball. On one hand, there is already an intelligence gathering arm in the military already. On the other hand, who's to say that the same inefficiencies and politics that have sprung up with the CIA wouldn't happen if the military's role were expanded?

Christopher Hitchens unloads over at Slate:

And now we have further confirmation of the astonishing culture of lawlessness and insubordination that continues to prevail at the highest levels in Langley. At a time when Congress and the courts are conducting important hearings on the critical question of extreme interrogation, and at a time when accusations of outright torture are helping to besmirch and discredit the United States all around the world, a senior official of the CIA takes the unilateral decision to destroy the crucial evidence. This deserves to be described as what it is: mutiny and treason.

Someone's head should roll for this:

Despite a string of exposures going back all the way to the Church Commission, the CIA cannot rid itself of the impression that it has the right to subvert the democratic process both abroad and at home. Its criminality and arrogance could perhaps have been partially excused if it had ever got anything right, but, from predicting the indefinite survival of the Soviet Union to denying that Saddam Hussein was going to invade Kuwait, our spymasters have a Clouseau-like record, one that they have earned yet again with their exculpation of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

That's what really gets me. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on our intelligence apparatus and it seems like they are always wrong. This is bad.

This whole Great War on Terror reeks. Not because terrorists who want to harm us shouldn't be dispatched as quickly as possible, but because the Faustian bargain that has been made means we have given up our soul.

Kate Beckinsdale is sexy

Let's see:

1. Sexy English accent: check
2. Knows how to dress when leaving the house: check
3. Isn't a spendthrift and likes to save some money by shopping at Target: check
4. TRO keeping my distance to 500 feet away from her expired: check

Doesn't everyone have that fantasy of shopping at Target and being locked in the store with Kate Beckinsdale after closing time and not being able to leave. Then you're forced to work together for your own survival because no one's coming to the rescue. Then she sees how resourceful and smart you are at assembling tents and gathering canned food and she begins to fall in love with you like you knew she would.

What about cellphones you say? Yeah, thanks for ruining my dreams. Bastards.

For more pics of Kate go to What Would Tyler Durden Do?

Baby Jesus

Update and BUMP: In keeping with CMStrapz comment, RightwingSparkle has this post:

According to the women security guard who shot the shooter of the Church in Colorado Springs yesterday, Jesus was in her gun.

Given that Mike Huckabee is a man of the church, his response to this high schooler's question is interesting:



Wasn't Jesus a man when he performed that particular miracle? Maybe Huckabee just likes Baby Jesus, like this guy:



Pilfered the Huck clip from lewrockwell.com

Private Firefighters in Southern California

It's a billion dollar industry:

After the Great Fire of London in 1666, insurance companies started issuing plaques to show private fire brigades which homes to save--and which to let burn. Insurers organized their own firefighting companies. Not having a plaque didn’t mean your home went totally ignored, but it certainly didn’t help.

Today, a decline in public funding for firefighting services has sparked explosive growth in the private sector. The world’s largest insurance company – American Insurance Group – now has “Wildfire Protection Units” in 150 US zip codes. During the 2007 California wildfires, AIG’s firefighters saved homes in wealthy areas, while less fortunate neighbors were left with rubble. A trade group for private firefighters founded in 2000 now represents 10,000 private firemen.

A Way to Stop Abortion

It's not a Constitutional Amendment, and it's not waiting for another opening on the Supreme Court so that a strict-constructionist can get appointed to overturn Roe vs. Wade. Phyllis Schlafly wrote about it in her book "The Supremacists" and there is actually a bill in Congress that was introduced that utilizes her strategy.

What is it? Have Congress pass a law that takes away the ability of the federal courts to rule on state laws that protect life. HR300 is also called the "We the People Act":

We the People Act - Prohibits the Supreme Court and each federal court from adjudicating any claim or relying on judicial decisions involving: (1) state or local laws, regulations, or policies concerning the free exercise or establishment of religion; (2) the right of privacy, including issues of sexual practices, orientation, or reproduction; or (3) the right to marry without regard to sex or sexual orientation where based upon equal protection of the laws.

Allows the Supreme Court and the federal courts to determine the constitutionality of federal statutes, administrative rules, or procedures in considering cases arising under the Constitution. Prohibits the Supreme Court and the federal courts from issuing any ruling that appropriates or expends money, imposes taxes, or otherwise interferes with the legislative functions or administrative discretion of the states.

Wow, take away subject matter jurisdiction and leave it to the states to decide. How come this has gotten no press at all? Probably because it would never pass in Congress. The reason why Congress would never pass legislation like this is because it would take away power at the federal level and return it to the states. Government has a hard time letting go once it gets a grip, whether it's our dollars or our civil liberties. Yuck.

Tara Stiles says Merry Christmas

No yoga, just her wishing everyone a happy holiday.



One of my favorite yoga chicks. Evah.

The Weekly Buchanan: Video Edition

Pat's book "Day of Reckoning" is out and he's on Lou Dobbs talking about it:



I agree with nearly everything Pat talks about here, except for the issue of trade.

The 9 Most Unnecessary Greatest Hits Album: Nelson makes Number 8!!!

Cracked magazine has it. My favorite entry:

The second sentence of Nelson's Wikipedia entry perfectly sums up the total lack of need for this "best of" collection to even exist: "They had a No. 1 hit in the United States with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" during the week of September 29, 1990." Yep, for one fucking week, these dudes were kings!

To honor that devoid-of-talent week in 1990, someone decided to do the years of research required to come up with 10 other Nelson songs possibly worth hearing and gather them together on The Best of Nelson: The Millennium Collection. To think, while Y2K paranoia had us celebrating the millennium hunkered down in a bomb shelter scared that a rogue ATM was going to burst through the door at the stroke of Midnight, we could've spent it with this collection of non-hits, celebrating both the coming of the 21st century and Matthew and Gunnar Nelson's glory days. All seven of them.

Vietnam Veteran lauds female Guard who shot Gunman

The Colorado church shootings from the perspective of someone who was there:

Larry Bourbonnais, a combat-tested Vietnam veteran, said it was the bravest thing he's ever seen.

Bourbonnais, who was among those shot by a gunman Sunday at New Life Church, watched as a security guard, a woman later identified as Jeanne Assam, calmly returned fire and killed the shooter.

"She just started walking toward the gunman firing the whole way," said Bourbonnais, who was shot in the arm. "She was just yelling 'Surrender,' walking and shooting the whole time."

The whole piece is here.

Wired Mag: RP Supporters Hack Campaign Finance Laws

Wired Magazine writes:

What makes the effort special (aside from the whole blimp thing) is that it's not being run by the Ron Paul campaign, nor is it funded by a tax-exempt "527" group, nor by a political action committee, or PAC. Instead, it's spearheaded by a newly formed for-profit corporation named Liberty Political Advertising. That for-profit status means that donors are really "customers" and thus can seemingly contribute as much money as they want, irrespective of the $2,300 annual limit on individual contributions to a primary campaign. They can also disregard the $5,000 limit on contributions to a PAC promoting a candidate.

I've never been a fan of the FEC or anything at all regarding campaign finance regulation as long as there's transparency on where the money was coming from and where it was being spent. Since political speech should be the most protected form of free speech. Spending limits should be the first thing to go.

That we have essentially a 2 party system and incumbents have a hard time leaving office should tell you something about how thoroughly inept and corrupt our government is.

I mean really, for taking half of everyone's paycheck, are we getting our money's worth?

This guy came within yards of the Von Maur Gunman

Joe's Crabby Shack: Firsthand account of the Von Maur shooting

NW came within yards of the gunman at the Von Maur shooting last week. He posted his account at Joe's Crabby Shack. The whole story is pretty good. But this struck me as the most honest observation by NW:

...I am not trying to be a hero and say that I would have tried to save lives. I am saying that I was trying to save my life, and if my family was there, their lives as well. There is nothing "hero" about what I am saying, it's about survival.

I feel that I am alive today because of luck. I chose to run, but it was not a choice. I was forced to run. Many will say that is the right choice. I say it is the choice that requires luck. ALOT of luck with the position I was in.

Use of deadly force at times may also require luck. But, it also depends upon skill, awareness, and practice. These are things I can control, and these are things I trust far more than luck...

The GOP Univision Debate

UPDATE: Youtube of Dr. Paul's questions and answers (in Spanish) I've always had a thing for the Latinas and moderator Maria Elena Salinas is hot! For those looking for the full debate transcript (in English) the WSJ has it here.






Rolling Stone has this blurb from tonights debate:

I’ve been watching the Republican Univision debate broadcast from Miami — centro del universo anti-Castro — and he just went there:

“We talked to Stalin, Kruschev, and Mao. We’ve talked to the whole world. Actually I believe we’re at a time where we ought to talk to Cuba, open travel with Cuba, trade with Cuba. We create the Castro’s and the [Hugo] Chavez’s of this world by interfering and creating chaos in their countries, and they respond by throwing out their leaders.”*

Needless to say he was almost booed out of the building.

The look on John McCain’s face during a cut-away was absolutely priceless.
*The quote’s not quite exact as I’m having to re-translate the voiceover translation that is drowning out the original English answers.

-- Tim Dickinson

Which led to this comment from member Goldwater Conservative at ronpaulforums:

For the record, whenever McCain comes down here, he gives us the same anti-Castro verbal reach-around Republicans have been giving us for decades. They know how to keep the Cubans in line, which is why other Hispanics are becoming more important to them.

Dr. Paul doesn't pander that's for sure. It's interesting because follow blogger and occasional poster here CMStrapz and I had a discussion years ago about lifting the trade embargo with Cuba and trying diplomacy with Castro. Needless to say, I argued that trading with Cuba isn't in the United States' best interest. Of course, immediately after that exchange I went and did research on the topic.

Based on what I've found, I've switched my position on trade embargoes in general. While they seem like a measure that would be an effective tool against regimes we don't like. Who do embargoes like the one we have with Cuba really hurt? Mostly the poor and the middle class. Embargoes are an artificial way to create shortages of goods and services. Scarcity raises the price of said goods and services and puts it out of the reach of everyone except the wealthy. Castro isn't hurting for medical care, or food, or anything else. But him and the rest of the elites are the only ones.

Don't Vote for Ron Paul

Should You Vote For Ron Paul? (satire) - video powered by Metacafe

I pilfered this from Brits4RonPaul

What do you mean my money's no good?

Iran drops the dollar:

Iran has completely stopped selling any of its oil for U.S. dollars, an Iranian news agency reported on Saturday, citing the oil minister of the world's fourth-largest crude producer.

The ISNA news agency did not give a direct quote from Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari. A senior oil official last month said "nearly all" of Iran's crude oil sales were now being paid for in non-U.S. currencies.

For nearly two years, OPEC's second biggest producer has been reducing its exposure to the dollar, saying the weak U.S. currency is eroding its purchasing power.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, has called the U.S. currency a "worthless piece of paper."

Is there any greater indication on how far the dollar has fallen that even our "enemies" don't want it? The dollar has lost nearly 40 percent of its value in the past 7 years and the smoke and mirrors that the government has been using (not publishing m3, central bank bailouts, etc.) to mask that fact are not going to work. Our fundamentals are unsound.

The questions remain who are the people going to blame? What direction are we going to go to solve the problem?

Newsweek: Ron Paul on abolishing the IRS

Pilfered from Redstateeclectic:

Howard Fineman of Newsweek continuing his interview with Ron Paul

Bin Laden found!

That's the buzz about the latest film by Morgan Spurlock, the guy who did "SuperSize Me". From MSNBC:

Rumors are flying that filmmaker Morgan Spurlock of "Super Size Me" fame may have done what the United States government has failed to do for the last six years — find Osama bin Laden.

The speculation first began at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, where Spurlock showed a select group of potential buyers 15 minutes of footage from his new documentary, "Where in the World Is Osama bin Laden?" The film follows Spurlock through the Middle East in his search for the elusive leader of al-Qaida. According to Slashfilm.com, The Weinstein Co. quickly snapped up the picture after seeing the clips.

The CIA Destroyed Interrogation Tapes

I haven't been following the story of the CIA destroying videotapes of interrogations involving waterboarding. But, on its face, it reads like one of those stories where the cover up will be worse than the waterboarding. From Ed Morrissey:

Those who are inclined to shrug this off should rethink their positions. The action of the CIA not only shows disrespect to Congress, the only real check on potential abuse, it may have provided the basis for overturning an important conviction in the war on terror. In a nation based on the rule of law, we cannot allow government officials in positions of power to make up their own rules as they go along. We certainly cannot abide them disseminating false information as Hayden apparently has.

This has my attention now, though we probably won't get the full story before a new administration is in office. We should be fully aware of what is being done in our name. The Bush administration has always said that they don't torture. But with video evidence being destroyed the credibility of those claims certainly should be called into question.

Ron Paul Blimp Charts New Territory

UPDATE: From Reason's blurb in the comments section (addressing the FEC concerns):

I half-ignored the blimp talk, because I thought the blimp was a waste of money relative to buying radio or TV time independently, and I thought it gave Wonkette too many opportunities to make fun of Ron Paul.

But adding the "Fuck you FEC! Come and get us, motherfuckers!" element to the blimp makes this damn near a revolutionary act.

It would have been TRULY revolutionary to simply ignore the FEC altogether. But inventing a form of organization designed to make them irrelevant, and bury their bureaucracy in paper while doing it, is a nice second best.

UPDATE: The blimp will fly this weekend. ABCnews has a good write up about it.

From Politico.com:

If a whimsical publicity stunt goes as planned, a blimp hyping the long-shot Republican presidential campaign of the Texas congressman will launch next week.

The Ron Paul blimp is set to fly from North Carolina, over Washington, New York and Boston, before heading to New Hampshire, where the Jan. 8 primary offers the iconic libertarian perhaps his best chance of translating his zealous Internet support into votes.

Like the unprecedented online fundraising behind Paul’s bid, the blimp effort, which appears on pace financially, isn’t affiliated with the official campaign and pushes traditional political conventions.

I like this part because I think campaign finance laws are a big sham:

...the outside lawyer retained by blimp backers is former Federal Election Commission chairman Brad Smith, who is advising former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s rival bid for the GOP nomination.

Smith is among the leading opponents of campaign finance laws, and the blimp plan offers common cause on that front with Paul’s anti-regulation supporters, as well as an opportunity to set potentially far-reaching FEC precedent.

Further down:

As for the money floating the blimp, Collette and Smith have developed a detailed business plan carefully structured to avoid Byzantine campaign finance laws.

They shunned traditional mechanisms such as creating an independent non-profit group under section 527 of the IRS code — like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the other groups that spent millions on ads in 2004 — or a political action committee — like EMILY’s List. Instead, they went an almost unheard of route, establishing a for-profit company: Liberty Political Advertising.

Check out www.ronpaulblimp.com for their revamped site and you can view in realtime how much money they have raised.

Romney and "The Speech"

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivered the speech yesterday, allegedly to address concerns about his Mormon faith. Whether to make it or not has been subject to internal debate for awhile. I haven't watched it, because it's not an issue to me. But apparently it's enough of a concern to enough GOP voters that the campaign went with it. You can view the speech here.

The reaction to it by the punditocracy was what caught my attention. Hugh Hewitt gushed:

Mitt Romney's "Faith in America" speech was simply magnificent, and anyone who denies it is not to be trusted as an analyst. On every level it was a masterpiece. The staging and Romney's delivery, the eclipse of all other candidates it caused, the domination of the news cycle just prior to the start of absentee voting in New Hampshire on Monday --for all these reasons and more it will be long discussed as a masterpiece of political maneuver.

Which led to Bryan at hotair.com commenting:

I liked Romney’s speech quite a bit, but Hugh is making out like it was the St. Crispin’s Day speech as delivered by Winston Churchill in the Sistine Chapel on the first Christmas with Nazi bombers overhead.

Either that or the declaration of independence speech by President Whitmore on July 4th before he hopped into his airplane to attack the giant flying saucers.

With apologies to Shakespeare a bit of this masterpiece of snark from one of the readers at hotair:

Journalist nor pundit, shall over free men
Be by flowing words a common will deny.
This civic will the good man teach his son;
And Election Day shall ne’er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be triumphant,–
We Free, We Happy Free, We Americans.
For we that day that cast our votes in free
Rule we together; be we ne’er so vile,
This day shall our wisdom show forth:
And “Great Men” in our land now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurst they were not there;
And hold their statecraft cheap whiles any speaks
That voted with us upon Election Day.

Yoga with Tara Stiles Ford Model

This week: This is the routine I try to do 2-3 times a week. It's constant movement and you can add variations that make it really challenging.

Check out Tara's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/tarastiles

Trump tips pretty well

From WWTDD (the post is NSFW for language, the rest of the site is NSFW for language, adult subject matter, and adult images, in other words it's a website I visit everyday and it cracks me up)

My friend works at the Buffalo Club in Santa Monica. A couple days ago Donald Trump came in and left him a $10,000 tip! My friends think he's just trying to promote his celebrity Apprentice but whatever. He told me Donald hardly even talked to him until the end when he asked, "What's the biggest tip you ever got?" I guess Jerry Bruckheimer comes in a lot and once tipped him $500 on a $1000 tab. Trump just wanted to show he's got the biggest dick!

Click on the link to see what Donald Trump eats for lunch.

The Gathering Storm

An academic predicts that 2008 is going to be a rough year:

Why a devalued US dollar is bad for exports:

First, the bulk of crude oil purchases takes place in dollars; a falling dollar translates into still higher crude oil prices. Second, the U. S. dollar is the major reserve currency of the international monetary system and dollar-paying investments (such as U.S. Treasury bills and bonds) are held in massive amounts by foreign banks and governments. Dollar devaluation makes these investments less attractive and any disinvestment in these areas would sharply drive bond prices down and increase interest rates.

The third reason why dollar devaluation makes recession more likely is that it effectively prevents the Federal Reserve from pushing U.S. interest rates much lower. Any additional Fed easing (inflation) would be seen as a signal of even further future dollar devaluation and even higher dollar prices for oil. Unfortunately, we will not be able to "inflate" our way out of this recession this time. We will simply have to take our lumps and let market forces liquidate the bulk of the malinvestments caused by the unprecedented Greenspan money bubble. This liquidation process will not be pretty but it is necessary to restore a sustainable economic recovery in the years ahead.

Needless to say Professor Armentano is not really optimistic about the economy in 2008. The rest of his column is here.

The Cause of Big Government

Ron Simpson over at Cluttered Eclectic Mind writes:

To justify more people, you need to offer more product, or in government's case, more services. It leads to the system to find other needs it can fill. This is known in corporate world as "growing the business." It is also the cause of the "Nanny State" mentality.

The other part that Ron didn't mention that I would add is the incentives of losses in the private sector that aren't a factor in government. In business, if a product is offered that nobody wants losses indicate that that business should stop offering that product. Otherwise, the company may face loss in profits, or even bankruptcy. There is no such incentive in government. In fact, once a government program gets started, it is, to paraphrase Reagan the nearest thing to eternal life on earth.

Ron Paul on the Religious Litmus Test

Pilfered from RedStateEclectic:

Howard Fineman of Newsweek interviews Ron Paul on Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee



More to come, I'll post as I find them.

Ron Paul Micro Blimp

I don't know if the site is a goof on the real one but the video is hilarious. It's the Ron Paul Miniblimp Donate Today!!!:

Scandal!!! at GOP Strawpoll in San Francisco

UPDATE: Thanks to anonymous for posting the youtube!



This is actually a pretty funny story because it shows you how much of a sham the whole political process is. The fact is, these Ron Paul supporters did exactly what the organizer of the dinner asked so that they could have a vote in the straw poll. That the vote was canceled because the results weren't going to be to the liking of the organizer reflects poorly on the organization itself. Why take a vote at all? In this case they didn't. This story is going to get more press than if the vote were carried out and Ron Paul was declared the winner.



Not really, but an interesting story that I found a blurb about on LewRockwell.com:

Scores of Ron Paul supporters showed up to the San Francisco Republican Alliance dinner, where they were treated to an hour and a half of speeches for Fred Thompson. When Ron Paul supporters asked to speak, they were told that time had run out and they held a raffle. After the raffle, the organizers announced that the rest of the program had been cancelled.

I found this detailed eyewitness account of the dinner at this thread at ronpaulforums:

The San Francisco Republican Alliance’s Common Sense Supper Club announced that local Republicans were invited to attend a holiday buffet party and Presidential straw poll vote on the evening of Tues. Dec. 4. On the morning of the event, a Ron Paul supporter spoke by phone with the chairperson and hostess. The supporter was told that if he and any other Ron Paul supporters wanted to attend, they could either participate in both the buffet starting at 6:45pm and the later straw poll for $33, or come later at 8:15pm solely to vote in the straw poll for a discounted entrance fee of $5, provided they did not eat any food. The Ron Paul supporter then posted the event on Meetup, and we ended up with a huge crowd of Ron Paul supporters arriving at the event. At least 15 or more of the 80 guests seated at the buffet were Ron Paul supporters, while those who came at 8:15pm solely to vote for Ron Paul numbered an additional 40. These 40 people were forced to wait outside of the event standing in the lobby for at least an hour until 9:30pm or later. Finally, the 40 people were allowed into the event room after paying the previously-quoted entrance fee of $5. The total of approximately 55 or more Ron Paul supporters, who wore Ron Paul buttons and carried Ron Paul signs, made it clear to all in the room that the Ron Paul supporters outnumbered supporters of all other candidates. As a side note, the Fred Thompson supporters had during the entire event posted a huge Fred Thompson sign on the wall inside the event, and had distributed Fred Thompson campaign literature at every place-setting at every table.

There are pics, and allegedly video. Quick search on youtube didn't yield anything.

I think this story is friggin hilarious, who knew there were 55 Republicans in San Francisco?

This Means War

UPDATE and BUMP: Copied this from the comments from RightwingSnarkle -

...Founders were concerned about (this) - that a single person (or small group) could commit the country to foreign entanglements. That's why congress alone has the authority to declare (and fund) war. It's not something to be taken lightly, or done without thorough deliberation.

Which reminds me that Congress abdicates that responsibility every time it issues an AUMF.

Over at RedStateEclectic, Laura comes up with the best analogy for the importance of declaring war as defined by the Constitution:

Say what you will about the assorted "authorizations to use force"--the difference between those and a formal declaration of war is somewhat akin to the difference between a teenager telling a girl that he really, really loves her on the one hand, and marrying her on the other (to use what is, I guess, sort of an outdated analogy in many circles). It's the difference between taking an action and hoping for good results, absent commitment--and commitment no matter what the results, to the bitter end.

Similar to the way Roe vs. Wade made abortion legal, I've always thought that AUMF's were in the same vein. A workaround, a way to get a desired result without meeting the high threshold that following the Constitution would require.

Would George Bush have been able to get a formal declaration from Congress back in 2003 to conduct a preemptive war against Iraq? Based on what evidence we had, there being a GOP controlled Congress, and it being 2 years after 9/11. Probably. Why he didn't he?

Ron Paul Linkorama

The Ron Paul Blimp is scheduled to launch next week. There was a tiny blurb about it in the Advance Press:

One of the largest blimps in the world will be launched in Weeksville on Monday promoting Republican Ron Paul’s presidential bid.

The blimp tour supporting the Texas congressman’s presidential campaign is slated to formally kick off next week out of Airship Management Services’ office in Weeksville.

A revamp of the site ronpaulblimp.com will include a way to track where the blimp is via GPS in real time as well as a way to purchase advertising while the blimp is flying over events.

----------

Vijay Boyapati left a job with Google to head up Operation Live Free or Die. He wants to get a thousand volunteers to move to New Hampshire and campaign on behalf of Dr. Paul. It looks like he'll be getting around that many in next couple of weeks.

----------------

Finally, Wolf Blitzer had a nice segment on Ron Paul and did an interview with Pat Buchanan immediately afterward




Finally (really) Dr. Paul made an appearance on "The View", Conservative Belle has the video

Shep Smith

I had Fox in the background earlier and this made me look up and laugh when Shep unloaded. I'm glad someone youtubed it (pilfered from HotAir):

Der Spiegel: Why America's Currency is the World's Problem

This is an in depth and excellent piece from the German mag that explains the fall of the dollar and how it's losing its place as the world's reserve currency. It's a good history of how the United States went from being the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation. Finally, it explores the role of China and what it means when people say they are our banker:

A key role now falls to China. Ironically, this (officially) communist state now has the power to determine whether the bastion of capitalism will implode. If China were to unload even just a portion of the dollar reserves it has accumulated over the years onto the market, the dollar's exchange rate would crash.

But in doing so China would inflict great harm on itself. Its remaining reserves would be almost worthless, and who would be able to pay for the vast quantities of consumer goods its factories pump out every day? Both sides, the Americans and the Chinese, benefit from the current system, which provides the former with cheap consumer goods and the latter with dollars in abundance.

Nevertheless, this mechanism appears to be reaching its limits. Recognizing this, Western politicians have been urging the Chinese leadership for years to abandon the artificial undervaluation of its currency, but with little success. Aside from a few minor revaluations, nothing has happened so far.

Question: At some point, China may decide it's in its best interest to dump the dollar, take the hit on what it can't sell off and go to some other currency as its reserve. Whom among the current presidential candidates is even talking about this? Duncan Hunter? Ron Paul? Those are the only ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Read the whole article here.

Casualties of War

The Army charges an Iraq vet over a self-inflicted gun wound.

This story caught my eye because the mental toll of combat is so much harder to evaluate.

On the Precipice

Is a dollar sell off inevitable?

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article2988001.ece

Rolling Stone: How America Lost the War on Drugs

This is a pretty good overview of the "War on Drugs" since the 80's. It's long, but worth the read:

All told, the United States has spent an estimated $500 billion to fight drugs - with very little to show for it. Cocaine is now as cheap as it was when Escobar died and more heavily used. Methamphetamine, barely a presence in 1993, is now used by 1.5 million Americans and may be more addictive than crack. We have nearly 500,000 people behind bars for drug crimes - a twelvefold increase since 1980 - with no discernible effect on the drug traffic. Virtually the only success the government can claim is the decline in the number of Americans who smoke marijuana - and even on that count, it is not clear that federal prevention programs are responsible. In the course of fighting this war, we have allowed our military to become pawns in a civil war in Colombia and our drug agents to be used by the cartels for their own ends. Those we are paying to wage the drug war have been accused of ­human-rights abuses in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia. In Mexico, we are now ­repeating many of the same mistakes we have made in the Andes.

The problem with our strategy in fighting the "War on Drugs" is that it is fundamentally unsound. The common thread, regardless of the administration in charge, is the emphasis on the supply side of the equation. Has this strategy been the best use of our tax dollars? Using our military to cut off the drug supply may be politically palatable, but not really effective. Our plan of stopping suppliers by military force isn't just applicable abroad, we do it here as well.

It's clear that when small town PD's utilize tactics that might be taught at Fort Benning, there has been a shift in law enforcement techniques that lean towards militarization. If you watch footage from Iraq on night time raids of suspected terrorists homes by our army, you won't find it much different than something a SWAT team would do in serving a warrant.

That may change if more and more innocent people become casualties of the drug war. 92 year old Kathryn Johnson was killed a year ago in a botched police raid:

It was one year ago this week that narcotics officers in Atlanta, Georgia broke into the home of 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston.

They had earlier arrested a man with a long rap sheet on drug charges. That man told the police officers that they'd find a large stash of cocaine in Johnston's home. When police forced their way into Johnston's home, she met them holding a rusty old revolver, fearing she was about to be robbed. The police opened fire, and killed her.

Shortly after the shooting, the police alleged that they had paid an informant to buy drugs from Ms. Johnston's home. They said she fired at them first, and wounded two officers. And they alleged they found marijuana in her home.

We now know that these were all lies. In fact, everything about the Kathryn Johnston murder was corrupt. The initial arrest of the ex-con came via trumped-up charges. The police then invented an informant for the search warrant, and lied about overseeing a drug buy from Johnston's home.

Ms. Johnston didn't actually wound any of the officers. They were wounded by fragments of ricochet from their own storm of bullets. And there was no marijuana. Once they realized their mistake, the officers handcuffed Ms. Johnston and left her to bleed and die on the floor of her own home while they planted marijuana in her basement.

Sunday Afternoon Time Waster

A fun zombie shoot-em up for a Sunday afternoon (warning - very addicting):

http://www.deadfrontier.com/

Pilfered from the Junkyardblog.

Ron Paul Radio: Andrew Napolitano phone interview

Over at Liberty Maven, they have a 50 minute interview that Judge Andrew Napolitano did at Ron Paul Radio. He talks about his great new book "A Nation of Sheep", the erosion of civil liberties, and of course, Ron Paul. Among the highlights:

His anecdote about the unnamed Congressman who voted for the Patriot Act, without even reading it.

The "satanic" bargain (yes, he uses that word) that the federal government poses to us.

The difference between "natural" law and "positive" law.

His take on the Terri Schiavo case.

The use of the Authorization of Use of Military Force (AUMF) and its dubious constitutionality.

This interview has a permanent place on my hard drive and my phone it's so good.

Chicks digg Ron Paul

Yes, Donna D'errico is endorsing Ron Paul. So is this girl, these redheaded girls, and this girl (whose working on a calender titled "Hotties for Ron Paul". Hopefully, PJ O'Rourkes hot chick theory holds true for Ron Paul's campaign.

If I could only convert her and her over to Ron Paul I could die a happy man. lol

In the meantime here's Tara's latest yoga video "Girl on Girl Yoga" (unfortunately for me, the title is the most provocative thing about the vid):

Conservative Belle: The 2nd Amendment Question You Did Not See

Over at Conservative Belle, there is a good discussion about this youtube vid:




Well, now that I've watched it a couple of times, I still don't get the question. Besides, my fists, Thunder and Leroy are my weapons. They dispense justice 24/7!!

CB's response is so much more coherent than mine was just now. Check it out.

Mike Huckabee

Given that Mike Huckabee is, according to one poll, leading in Iowa, and since I'm not really enamored with Huckabee. I thought I would post throw this bit up about Huck by George Will:

Mike Huckabee's candidacy rests on serial non sequiturs: I am a Christian, therefore I am a conservative, therefore whatever I have done or propose to do with "compassionate," meaning enlarged, government is conservatism. And by the way, anything I denote as a "moral" issue is beyond debate other than by the uncaring forces of greed.

Further down:

Huckabee combines pure moralism with incoherent populism: He wants Washington to impose a nationwide ban on smoking in public, show more solicitude for Americans of modest means and impose more protectionism, thereby raising the cost of living for Americans of modest means.

Then there's this (pilfered from Hotair)

Eight solid minutes of video here and the closest we come to a specific reason is that Huck has “integrity” and could be “the people’s president.” Didn’t he read his own WND column?

LA Times: Foot soldiers for the Ron Paul revolution

Pretty accurate write up from the LA Times of the freaks, truthers, neo-nazis, John Bircher cranks, isolationists, pot-smokers, peace lovers, hippies, tax protesters, constitutionalists, freedom lovers, anarchists, and weirdos that populate the meetup groups:

Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and suspicious of their government and the mainstream media.

But after that, they defy categories. A quick survey of the Pasadena group found Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Constitution Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian agenda -- ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws, legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government, especially the IRS and Federal Reserve system.

I've attended a couple of meetups in Southern California, and you will never meet a group of people who are more informed, more creative, and more motivated than these people. They are savvy, have resources, and are very upset about the status quo. They don't like Bush, they REALLY don't like Hillary, and they think the rest of the candidates are more of the same. Oh yeah, and their numbers are growing.


But why? Why Ron Paul? I wrote this way back in May (new and improved with better formatting!):

Why him? Hope. History is littered with the wreckage of failed empires, the map of which our country is following. Entangling alliances, oppressive government policies on it own citizens, failure to protect and defend its borders, continued currency devaluation. It’s all there. I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ron Paul gives me hope that it is not too late. That the ills our country faces in the near and long term can be cured. That the constant and increasing intrusion of our government into our lives can be stopped and the correlating freedoms that have been stamped out can be restored.

He gives me hope because he knows that the map to restoring our greatness exists, it is tried and true and it will work.

When I say greatness, I don’t mean having the biggest and best military, we have that. There is greatness in the people that make up this country; for the most part we are generous, hardworking, optimistic, law-abiding citizens. When I talk about restoring greatness to this country, I am talking about setting its people free.

Free to pursue our dreams, free to think what we want, free criticize our government, free to defend ourselves, free to choose how we live and free to fail and accept the consequences of that failure.

That is what America is about, choosing the path that makes the most sense to us. The audacious idea that each and every one of us has the ability to choose the life they want to lead because we know what’s best.

That is what attracts people to us. That is why we won the great war against communism. That is what made my parents move half a world away with only each other to build their life around. That is what will save us from an economic and political meltdown.

Here we are 8 months later, and I'm more optimistic than ever that he will win the nomination. (Eat it Stephanopolous)

Ron Paul on track to be biggest GOP fundraiser

From Politico:

Ron Paul may not win his party’s primary, but he is on track to capture another big title: top Republican fundraiser for the final quarter of the money-obsessed 2008 presidential primary.

In the first two months of the quarter that began Oct. 1, Paul already has raised more than $9.75 million (ed. he is at $10.3 million), putting him easily within range to best the amount rival Mitt Romney received from donors during the entire third quarter.

There was another "moneybomb" scheduled for today (which will probably net an additional $600k by the time everything is said and done), but is nowhere close to the November 5th total collected of $4.3 million. The good news is this particular one was put together in a week.

The bad news (for the other candidates at least) is that the big one is scheduled on December 16th. I'm predicting between around $8 million for the new teaparty. By the end of this quarter, Dr. Paul should have raised around $16-$20 million.

Viva le Revolucion!

Ann Coulter mentioning Ron Paul and Neville Chamberlain:



Ron Paul post debate spin room interviews



The audio is ok, but the speech is great and the crowd is LOUD:

The Weekly Buchanan: Blowback from Moscow

A brilliant analysis by Mr. Buchanan on what our policy of "interventionism" has wrought with one of the world's most powerful countries:

The nationalism and anti-Americanism rife in Putin's Russia is blowback for our contemptuous disregard of Russian sensibilities and our arrogant intrusions into Russia's space. How did we lose a Russia that Ronald Reagan and Bush I had virtually converted into an ally?

We pushed NATO into Moscow's face, bringing six ex-Warsaw Pact nations and three ex-Soviet republics – Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia – into our Cold War alliance and plotted to bring in Ukraine and Georgia.

We financed a pipeline from Baku through Georgia to the Black Sea to cut Russia out of the Caspian oil trade. After getting Moscow's permission to use old Soviet bases in Central Asia to invade Afghanistan, we set about making the bases permanent. We pulled out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty over Moscow's objection, then announced plans to plant ABM radars in the Czech Republic and anti-missile missiles in Poland.

Putin has now responded in kind, and who can blame him?

What's interesting is that Putin's view that the United States has used the "War on Terror" to gain geopolitical advantage is the same as his political adversary Gary Kasparov (interview with Bill Maher here). The question must be asked: Has our foreign policy post 9/11 lead us into another Cold War?

Read Pat's column here.

Let's Bring Em Home

I stumbled across this on my daily hourly jaunt through the interwebs. This is a phenomenal idea for a way to support the troops. Let's Bring Em Home is an organization that is going into it's 7th year. What they do is take donations and use the funds to purchase plane tickets for junior enlisted personnel and have them home with their families for the holidays. From their website:

We are not for the war in Iraq, nor are we against it. We are not Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green or Independent. Our motives serve not to change world events, or your perception of them. Our mission is as simple, as it is noble. All we want to do is unite a few military families for the Christmas holiday. That's it. No hidden agendas, no political speeches. We just buy plane tickets for troops. Period.

If you travel alot you can even donate your frequent flier miles! If you have a chance check their website out and donate if you are so inclined.

Randolphus Maximus

Au H2O

"The turn will come when we entrust the conduct of our affairs to the men who understand that their first duty as public officials is to divest themselves of the power that they have been given. It will come when Americans, in hundreds of communities throughout the nation, decide to put the man in office who is pledged to enforce the Constitution and restore the Republic. Who will proclaim in a campaign speech: 'I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel the old ones that do violence to the Constitution, or that have failed in their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is “needed” before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents’ “interests,” I shall reply that I was informed their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.'”

Barry Goldwater, The Conscience of a Conservative, 1960: Victor Publishing Company, Shepherdsville, Ky., p. 17.

Wow, just wow.

Pilfered from LewRockwell.com

Glenn Beck and an Open Invite

As big a gift horse as you can have:

Debate! The Musical!

These guys are funny:



“and then somebody gave the gay general a microphone. Never give a gay general a microphone. He just went on and on with that gay general talk for like 14 extra gay general minutes. he just kept going on and on. I thought he was about to get everyone singing a Judy Garland singalong. This ain’t a piano bar, gay general. Sit your gay general ass down.”

Keep in mind that last night did open with a musical number. Somewhat of a surprise, no reaction to Romney and his Confederate Flag response.

Pilfered from the comments at Hotair.

The Onion: Romney is Candidate Most Voters Want to Get into a Bar Fight With

Poll: Mitt Romney Is Candidate Most Voters Want To Get Into Bar Fight With

Yoga with Tara Stiles Ford Model

This week: Thanksgiving yoga!

Check out Tara's myspace: www.myspace.com/tarastiles

Is it a conspiracy?

Michelle Malkin has a post on the CNN debate last night. Apparently, the gay retired general wasn't the only one with Democratic party sympathies. There were 2 John Edwards supporters and one Barack Obama partisan who got to ask the GOP candidates questions. CNN has some explaining to do.

Ron Paul Commercial

Ron Paul's campaign commercial created by a supporter and aired at the end of the debate tonight. I really liked this one:



There were nearly 90 entries that Dr. Paul's campaign reviewed. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Reagan inspired: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFsGzUqCMio

This one has a Christmas theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE3NHHyjoA4

You can view all of them here: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?p=r&user=RonPaulAdCompetition&page=1

LA Obama Supporter makes the Switch

I had heard about this story awhile back. It's not that big of a deal, people change their minds all the time. What is interesting is this particular Barack Obama supporter was one of his first grassroots supporters. He created a website (previous version here) that served as a hub of Obama campaign activity. In an email exchange, the supporter, Marc Whittemore, wrote this (pilfered from Isilion):

Never having been involved politically I just happened to anticipate his move of running for president and managed to start the first Obama for President meetup.com site. By virtue of that excellent timing along with my substantial internet and design (Art Director) experience I slaved away as the Director for ObamaLA literally putting in 40 to 70 hours minimum for months and months (on top of a full time job) to build the ObamaLA website (old site: http://obamala.com/index_old.html ), fill it with content, all the while brain-storming with other key people that came forth to volunteer trying to come up with an infrastructure that worked and could support a full scale grassroots campaign of several thousand volunteers. I designed the coolest website.. unique t-shirts… ( http://www.cafepress.com/aworkofmarc ) gorgeous buttons — the whole branding, the entire look and feel —ALL of it. It was truly a very professional looking grassroots campaign.

The rest of his email is very compelling. Go to the link there to read the rest of it. But before you do, go to www.obamala.com to see who he's supporting now and why.

Ron Paul Linkorama

It looks like the Ron Paul blimp is going to fly. As of this morning, there are $383,000 worth of pledges at www.ronpaulblimp.com , they were looking to raise $350,000.

Dr. Paul interviewed on Fox and Friends this morning (talking about the Bunny Ranch endorsement): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noyTu_Wgse0

He also was the subject of a CNN piece this morning as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1iFfAvM6jc

A column by Michael Scheuer, author of the book "Imperial Hubris". His column is called "What the World Could Expect from Dr. Ron Paul's Non-Interventionist America" The title of the column is longer than his book. But the whole piece works to explain our history on non-interventionism and what it would mean if America truly went to war (emphasis mine):

Going to war would once again require a formal, constitutional declaration by the U.S. Congress; the world would see America involved in far fewer wars, and none started by the whim of a single man and the foreign-influenced ideological clique around him. And when war was declared, America’s foes would absorb an application of U.S. military force that would both utterly destroy them and their supporters, and serve as a warning to other miscreants bent on doing America harm.

The whole column is here

The CNN/Youtube Debate for the GOP is on tonight at 8 pm EST and 5 pm out here in Cali. watch the live stream at cnn.com, Michelle Malkin is liveblogging it, as well as Conservative Belle, Red State Eclectic will have live chat. I'll be lurking at those spots as well as at Ron Paul forums, and Ron Paul Radio.

I'm guessing this will be the night where people really start swinging hard at each other. Hopefully there will be tough questions asked about the economy, inflation, the falling dollar, and the volatility of the stock market.

Finally, TNR has an article broaching the subject of what our world would be like without a central bank:

Some of the country's greatest economists, including Nobel Prize winners, have been saying for years that the Federal Reserve has probably caused more problems than it has solved since its creation in 1913. Its role in the last century's boom and bust cycles is a matter of record; it looks as though it played a similar role in the current housing market crisis too.

Could it be possible to eliminate the Fed? Only if a certain OB/GYN gets elected. He's the only candidate talking about it.

Is there a land shortage in Thailand?

A train runs through a Thai market. Or is it a market is built around train tracks?



Pilfered from Lewrockwell.com

Real Life Super Powers

I feel like I need to take a shower after that last post. So here is a link to 10 people with extraordinary talents or abilities. There's even a real life "RainMan" on the list:

Daniel Paul Tammet is a British high-functioning autistic savant gifted with a facility for mathematical calculations, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy. Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but the detail and specificity of Tammet's mental imagery of numbers is unique. In his mind, he says, each number up to 10,000 has its own unique shape and feel, that he can "see" results of calculations as landscapes, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful. Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but also creates artwork, particularly watercolor paintings, such as his painting of Pi.

Tammet holds the European record for memorising and recounting pi to 22,514 digits in just over five hours. He also speaks a variety of languages including English, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic, Welsh and Esperanto. He particularly likes Estonian, because it is rich in vowels. Tammet is creating a new language called Mänti. Tammet is capable of learning new languages very quickly. To prove this for the Channel Five documentary, Tammet was challenged to learn Icelandic in one week. Seven days later he appeared on Icelandic television conversing in Icelandic, with his Icelandic language instructor saying it was "not human.

Video and the rest here.

That which doesn't make you throw up makes you laugh

There are lots of top 10 lists out there, but I have never seen a list that was dedicated to videos of people watching a video. Unibrow has one based on peoples reaction to a video that is making the rounds right now. Youtube has over 5000 videos similar to the one embedded below.

WARNING extremely NSFW based on subject matter, language, some nudity. the link itself is relatively tame (for me) and the reactions from watching said video is pretty entertaining. But you may get your curiosity piqued on what it is these people are watching. Why are they laughing uncontrollably? What makes those other guys jump out of their chair? What is causing that guy to dry heave? I cannot be responsible for that (apparently unibrow felt the same way) you'll have to google to find the vid like I did.

Here's one reaction (rated PG-13):



Here's the link to the rest of the list

Judge Napolitano should be nominated to the Supreme Court

Judge Andrew Napolitano monologuing on Fox News talking about his book "A Nation of Sheep".



I don't know why the poster of this clip felt the need to zoom in on the picture and add echo (an effect that reminds me of a commercial for a monster truck rally) but I'm too lazy to look for a different version.

Ref gets it right

I usually don't have posts about sports, but this clip pilfered from the sportsblog "With Leather" is an exception.

ACC ref Ron Cherry calling a penalty that, if you're a strict constructionist judge, wouldn't be found in the rulebook.

Breaking: Senator Trent Lott puts in his 2 week notice

Well, he's leaving the Senate anyway. Conservative Belle has the run down with updates and links to blogosphere reaction (he won't be missed):

It seems there is no love lost for Mississippi's native son. Arguably Lott has done a lot for Mississippi - but perhaps too much pork (i.e., the train to nowhere), the Shamnesty legislative support, and his outspoken remarks about talk radio running America have caused the tides to turn. I think if Mississippi would ever promote self-induced term limits on their elected officials, there would be representation in the Beltway. No one ever runs against the incumbents in that state and succeeds in unseating them, no matter how hard they may try. This applies to Democrats and Republicans

What would Huckabee do?

UPDATE: Hotair has some additional youtube debate questions

The most important issue in 2008

The most pressing issue that this country faces (I've said this for awhile) is not the threat of terrorism. It is the economic and monetary collapse that while not inevitable, is looming. I wouldn't be surprised if this was brought up in the GOP debate this Wednesday.

In the mean time, watch this vid:

Pat Buchanan has a new book coming out

Not quite siren-worthy from Drudge, but Pat Buchanan has a new book coming out. Day of Reckoning: How Hubris, Ideology, and Greed Are Tearing America Apart will be released on January 8th.

From the Drudge link:

• Bush’s invasion of Iraq was a product of hubris and of ideology, a secular religion of “democratism,” to which Bush was converted in the days following 9/11

• Torn asunder by a culture war, America has now begun to break down along class, ethnic and racial lines.

• The greatest threat to U.S. sovereignty and independence is the scheme of a global elite to erase America’s borders and merge the USA, Mexico and Canada into a North American Union.

Huckabee vs. Paul

Jonah Goldberg on C-span talking about his article earlier this week on what's wrong with Mike Huckabee, and why Ron Paul isn't the Jew-hating, anti-Israel, neo-nazi, 9/11 truther that his attackers say that he is. I've heard that Dr. Paul eats babies for breakfast. True story!

It's not about money, it's about respect

His campaign has raised $9 million so far this quarter. With a little over a month left before the end of the quarter and another "moneybomb" set for Dec 16th, Dr. Paul should exceed his $12 million by at least a couple million dollars.

UPDATE: Looks like the campaign thinks the same thing.

The Weekly Buchanan: Democracy vs. Security

Pat opines on the following question:

Which is more critical to the United States in the Islamic world -- that a government be democratic, or that it be a friend and ally in the war against al-Qaida and Islamic extremism?

Our policy of making the world safe for democracy has given us less than optimal results:

Pursuing it, Bush and Rice demanded elections across the Middle East. What did they produce? Victories for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Palestine, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Moqtada al Sadr in Iraq and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran.

Postscript - Thanksgiving

I hope everyone out there had a great Thanksgiving! I'm actually indulging in a late night refrigerator raid right now and enjoying a piece of cake.

For the past 3 hours I've been watching watching the Sci-Fi Channel. They've been running a marathon of a show called "Ghost Hunters". Out of 3 shows, the only thing remotely eerie was video of a door opening and closing by itself. Don't get me wrong, it was kind of spooky, but the rest of it was standard cable tv show fare (low budget, contrived, and not quite ready for primetime). Yep, I'm still watching it.

UPDATE: Scifi is showing the "Ghosthunters" episode that takes place in a sanitarium right now. This looks like the spookiest place of all.


The Sci Fi channel has been promoting a show called "Battlestar Galactica: Razor" and a retelling of "The Wizard of Oz" (which looks pretty interesting) preview below:

Cops using non-lethal force

Pilfered from Hotair:




Maybe the consequence of having "non-lethal" methods of subduing citizens is that cops are more likely to resort to using that more quickly than having lethal force only and making life or death decisions (and being held accountable for those decisions). It's easier to tase somebody because it's not gonna kill them. Protocol shmotocol, you're not listening to me "zap".

The Chattering Classes are Starting to Understand

Over at RedstateEclectic, Laura makes the observation that the MSM (well, Jonah Goldberg of National Review, and Ross Douthat at The Atlantic) are finally starting to get what Ron Paul is about:

For me, the bottom line is this--there are now folks in the "mainstream" media who are recognizing that while Ron Paul may be saying something "different", what he's saying and the way he says it isn't nearly as bizarre as some have sometimes suggested.

Which is exactly what I've been saying. It's good to see Goldberg finally acknowledge that (and get a couple of licks on Huckabee as well, Chuck Norris be damned).

The Second Amendment and College Students

The Second Amendment will be a topic of discussion at Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow with the Supreme Court choosing to hear a case that may finally answer the question of whether gun rights are applicable to the individual or are "collective". Then I find out today from Ron Simpson over at the Cluttered Eclectic Mind Blog that there are a group of college students who are looking to be able to carry firearms on campus.

What's happening at colleges nowadays? Ron Paul does a rally at the University of Michigan and 2000 students show up to support him. He gets his biggest cheers when he talks about fiat money and getting rid of the Federal Reserve Bank (the students end up burning dollar bills as a sign of protest). Now these kids are looking to be able to carry on campus? Is knowing and studying the Constitution next?

When I was going to college, the easiest way to get laid was a 12 pack of Coors Silver Bullet and the latest Hootie and the Blowfish CD and my charm ("Why yes, that BodyGlove T shirt would look much better on my floor"). I guess nowadays pillowtalk consists of why the 17th amendment should be rescinded and reverting the election of the Senators back to the state legislatures. Which, now that I think about it, is pretty hot. Hold me.

Breaking: SCOTUS to hear DC Gunrights case

UPDATE: Breitbart has the first story on it. Here's MSNBC. Conservative Belle has a post on it, and Reason has a blurb and links to other links. From Reason:

Here is the way the Court phrased the granted issue:

“Whether the following provisions — D.C. Code secs. 7-2502.02(a)(4), 22-4504(a), and 7-2507.02 — violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes?”

Just heard about it on MSNBC. The Supreme Court will hear the case that was appealed by officials from Washington DC. More to follow.

New Story in WaPo about "Liberty Dollar"

The Washington Post has a new story on the Fed's raid on the "Liberty Dollar":

In fact, the lack of confidence that many Paul supporters have in U.S. currency may well be one reason why they are sending so many of their greenbacks to Paul's campaign, and thereby making his outsider libertarian bid for the Republican presidential nomination a force to be reckoned with. For sound-money supporters who fear a coming collapse in the value of the dollar, it makes eminent sense to send a few hundred dollars to the one candidate who is arguing for a monetary revolution, instead of simply watching that money rapidly crumble in value.

Read the whole thing here

Why I'm not moving to England

Maxim covergirl Sophie Anderton has a story about her in an English (link NSFW for adult subject matter and video!) paper that talks about the trials and tribulations of being a model in England:

Money is never far from her mind. She moaned about how there isn't as much money in modelling as there used to be. "The industry now is Russian girls who are willing to do it for £500 a day. So to pay for my fees a lot of people aren't willing to do so," said Sophie.

"I can command 25 grand a day, one shoot without all the advertising and stuff. But that's quite rare.

"For catalogues it used to be £10,000 a day and now its about £4,000 or £3,000. Then there is 20 per cent for the agency and 40 per cent for tax. It goes down rapidly."

Forty percent is what they take for taxes in England! No wonder the sun finally set on the British Empire, its citizens are being strangled by taxation and overregulation. As an interesting economics side note, it's also interesting to note the economic effect that competition (from the Russian models) has in bringing prices down.

Oh, and most of the story is about how she charges $20k (seriously) a night to have sex with her, that she has a regular coke dealer, and if she brings another girlfriend it's extra. But she also says that she'll include "the new 3rd base" for free if she's in the mood.


Pilfered from wwtdd.com