REPUBLICAN RENAISSANCE: If You’ve Ruled Out Ron Paul, You Ought to Think Twice

A great point by point on why Ron Paul shouldn't be dismissed so readily.

I'm surprised I haven't stumbled on this piece before.

The GOP establishment licks balls

In essence, according to this op-ed from "The Nation"

A little background first:

Under Georgia law, candidates of all parties run together in primaries to fill open House seats. Then the top two finishers -- no matter what their partisan affiliation --face each other in a runoff. In the overwhelmingly Republican district of the late Congressman Charlie Norwood, primary voting last month produced a run-off featuring two conservative Republicans.

Which led to this:

Given a choice between two conservative candidates, Georgia voters were asked: Do you want a candidate of the GOP establishment who promises to work with Republican leaders in Congress, or do you want an outsider who promises to go to Washington without strings attached?

The answer to that last question has always been to run for office as "the outsider". That ended up being the case here.

What piqued my interest, was the platform that the candidate who won ran on. Let's just say the newly minted Congressman's position could be considered remarkably similar to a certain Presidential candidate whose first name begins with "R" and ends with "n", and whose last name is also a first name...

As evidence of his independence, Broun emphasized a Ron Paul-like [campaign]committed to "work to restore government according to the Constitution as our Founders intended." While the Georgia[n] appears to be a more cautious constitutionalist than the maverick Texas congressman who is making a longshot bid for the party's presidential nomination in 2008, Broun borrowed one of the most popular of Paul's principles, promising that if elected he would assess any new legislation by first asking: "Is it constitutional and a proper function of government?"

People are realizing that the Feds have expanded their reach into citizens lives way beyond the scope of being a mere nuisance. And since I'm playing Nostrodamus with the economy, I'm going to make the call here on the 2008 presidential race.

It will be Ron Paul in a landslide.

As recently as yesterday, I was saying that "Dr. No" would probably, at most, be able to shape the debate for the GOP nomination. But, I think I've underestimated the power of Ron Paul's message.

Sean Hannity is a douchebag

The thing that has happened with Bill O'reilly has happened to Sean Hannity. When Fox News first came on the air, Bill and Sean were great. They asked good questions, they let the experts talk about their viewpoints, it made for interesting TV (to me, at least). What has happened in the last 5-6 years is that Bill and Sean have become insufferable egotists. They can't get out of their own way in fawning all over themselves. O'reilly is at least watchable (when he has people guest hosting) but Sean. He's a smaktard.

Cover Song of the Week

So the New York Post has a list of the top 100 coversongs ever, look at what's number one from Best Week Ever:


Dolly Parton with "Stairway to Heaven"



Cover Song of the Week Bonus:

The Bangles and Hazy Shade of Winter

The Coming Market Correction

I'm calling it right now:

So the Dow hit 14,000 a couple of times today. The exuberance in the stock market hides the reality that a correction is in the works, a major one probably in September or October.

Not that I have any evidence to back it up, but there is this:

The subprime mortgage market collapse.

The weakening dollar versus the Euro.

History: see Black Monday, Black Tuesday, and Black Thursday.

Black Monday is the name given to Monday, October 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell dramatically, and on which similar enormous drops occurred across the world. By the end of October, stock markets in Hong Kong had fallen 45.8%, Australia 41.8%, the United Kingdom 26.4%, the United States 22.68%, and Canada 22.5%. (The terms Black Monday and Black Tuesday are also applied to October 28 and 29, 1929, which occurred after Black Thursday on October 24, which started the Stock Market Crash of 1929.)

Where this happened:

After an amazing five-year run that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average
(DJIA) increase in value fivefold, prices peaked at 381.17 on September
3, 1929. The market then fell sharply for a month, losing 17% of its value on the initial leg down. Prices then recovered more than half of the losses over the next week, only to turn back down immediately afterwards. The decline then accelerated into the so-called "Black Thursday", October 24, 1929. A record number of 12.9
million shares were traded on that day.

Better get your shit ready.

Puppies are cute (part 4)

Ayn Rand interviewed by Mike Wallace circa 1959

This is part 3 of a multipart series on youtube. Mike Wallace smoking cigarettes on air. Ayn Rand railing against collectivism. Fascinating.

Update: Forgot to give a hattip to: http://www.myspace.com/heytammybruce

Ron Paul @ Google

A comprehensive interview with Dr. Paul at Google. One of the best interviews he has given so far.

Yoga with Models

Tara Stiles demonstrating partner yoga:

Beth and Val on Beer

http://video.dotcomedy.com/player/?id=127846

Cover Song of the Week

Kelly Clarkson going way back "Stuff Like that There"-

Admittedly, this was the first time I ever heard her sing and developed an instant crush.





It's amazing how much fatter she is now:




"Never had an album that's told a cohesive story?" Look at the success that R Kelly had with "Trapped in the Closet"

UPDATE: What Would Tyler Durden Do? has pictures of Kelly Clarkson at the beach: She looks like a "fat, gay, Brad Pitt"

The Transition to Legitimacy

First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.

So said Ghandi in his quest to gain independence from England.

It is in that spirit that Ron Paul's campaign has grown from a grassroots movement initially ignored and ridiculed as the den of conspiracy nutjobs, 9/11 truthers, tax protesters, John Birchers and assorted "fringe" groups. Dr. Pauls campaign has grown exponentially in the past few months since the airing of the televised debates.

This blog has never made a secret of which presidential candidate it endorses. But objectively, it is fair to say that Dr. Paul has the chance to, at the very least, frame the issues and shape the debate for the GOP nomination. Following are the Randolphus Maximus conventional wisdom talking points for and against Dr. Paul:

Pros:

Trackrecord - Dr. Paul has spent nearly 10 terms in Congress, with a track record of never voting for a tax increase, government spending increase, or anything that would expand the powers of the federal government

Message - the small government message still resides in our national character, freedom from government intrusion still resonates with the GOP base. Eight years of "compromise" have led to unprecedented increases in entitlements and spending, to the disgust of conservatives everywhere. His stance on illegal immigration and abortion fall into line with most traditional conservatives.

Supporters - Dr. Pauls supporters are enthusiastic about his message. They haven't seen a candidate like this in a long time. He brings out the passion in voters that has been lacking in recent elections. Personally, I know that George W has been a disappointment on a lot of issues. As a side note, I think that W's lasting legacy will not be the "War on Terror" it will be his Supreme Court nominations (the one campaign promise he has made good on)

Electability-

Dr. Paul's anti-Iraq war stance appeals to a lot of conservatives who thought going into Iraq was a bad idea (I don't like that we didn't declare war on Iraq, but that's a whole other issue). It also appeals to the Dems who feel the same way.

Cons

Message- does a small government message have any appeal anymore? Yes, it sounds good, but does that translate into votes on election day.

Time- Does Ron Paul have enough time to get enough name recognition? When will it be enough to register as a player on traditional polls?

Resources-

$100 million dollars is what's needed to get a job that pays a quarter of a million dollars a year. Ron Paul has $2.5 million cash on hand. Is it enough? It's at least more than John McCain.

Ron Paul's message is starting to make waves

From MSNBC-Joe Scarborough, Pat Buchanon, and a liberal compare and contrast Ron Paul and John McCain.



UPDATE:

Ron Paul from 1988 when he ran with the libertarians. The man is nothing but consistent!

Wow!

Some lucky guy gets to come home to her every night!

Puppies are Cute (part 3)

Cover Song of the week

Korn doing Pink Floyd:



UPDATE:

Behold the power of youtube, Johnny Cash doing "Ring of Fire"

Yoga with Tara Stiles, Ford Model

The first rule about Yoga Club, is there is no Yoga Club:





But what if you have to fight someone who knows kungfu?



UPDATE: Youtube is amazing, here's a one armed man fighting a yoga dude. From the movie "Masters of the Flying Guillotine"

The Top 10 Reasons Why America Kicks Ass

In honor of Independence Day, hattip to Gorillamask. The idea for this list was swiped from Uber:

We're the best. Everybody knows it and that's why they're so dang jealous all the time. Sorry if our chicks are easily the hottest and our cars totally kick ass. It's not our fault we rule and everyone else in the world sucks. If anyone's got a problem with us we kick their ass or bomb their shit. BOOYA!

I like the intro but the list itself is kind of weak. So here's mine, with video evidence where applicable of course:

10. Airwolf

What does an obscure TV show from the 80's have to do with why America kicks ass? Because TV shows about our high tech prowess and know-how and its application in fighting badguys and saving lives is uniquely American. From Star Trek, to Airwolf, to Bluethunder, to Knightrider, Streethawk, to MacGuyver to ER and CSI, we know how to make shows with gadgets.




9. Staples

Imagine a whole store devoted to office supplies! I love walking among the aisles of inkjet cartridges, reams of paper, and pens, lots and lots of pens. The fact that there is a market for a store that caters to people's need to find cases of 24lb. 92 brightness recycled ecofriendly laser printer paper shows that commerce is alive in America.

8. New York City

The greatest city in the world. Period. The museums, the sights, the clubs, the bars, and the food. Strapz reminded me of how many different languages that you can hear just walking around Times Square. I was out there for two weeks and I don't recall ever having even an average meal. The fact that the sticker shock of visiting Manhattan ($20 for a mojito? $45 to park your car for a day?!?) was quickly forgotten since I was elbow deep in models and model wannabes sort reminds me of Vegas...which brings me to number 7

7. Las Vegas

Let's see, gambling, world-class restaurants, prostitutes, drug dealers. Las Vegas is a city built on vice. It is also a city whose character is derivative of every other destination worthy place in the world. Want to see France? Don't want to be stuck with sitting next to dirty, stinky Frenchmen? Visit the Paris Hotel in Vegas!!! Want to take a gondola ride in Italy but don't want to sit in the dirty stinky water that plagues the canals in Venice? Visit the Venetian Hotel in Vegas!!! Never got laid in high school but think that the idea of meeting/getting intimate with a nice girl or two or three at the same time sounds neat? Stand at the corner of Las Vegas Blvd and Tropicana and grab the card from the Mexican who's sticking them into the holes of the chainlink fence surrounding the latest casino under construction.

6. I agree with Uber's listing at #6:

The Unholy Trinity (Paris, Lindsay & Brtiney) - They show their cooters and nipples like it's nobody's business. Screw reading the news, show me some celebrity beaver! Yeee Haw!

5. Uber's #2 : Morbidly Obese People

We're fat and we're good at it. Even though McDonald's was forced to get rid of super sizing and KFC's chicken now has 0 grams of trans fat, America will continue to find new ways to keep it's citizens fat as shit.




The top four admittedly take a turn away from the spirit of Ubers list, but I have to say that I've had more of a chance to reflect on the title and this is what I've come up with:

4. Milton Friedman

A diminuitive man whose gianormous intellect and personality propelled him to become an economic advisor to Presidents and other world leaders. His message about economic freedom and monetary policy literally changed the world and set millions of people free. I'd like to give some love and mention Hayek and the influence of the Austrian school but this is a list about why America kicks ass after all.



3. Ronald Reagan

The Gipper, along with Milton Friedman, make the top 5. He is America. A man who, over the course of his life, married, divorced, married again, had kids, adopted a kid. He switched careers a few times, got into acting, got into politics. Oh yeah, his vision as President toppled the Soviet Union and set millions free. Yeah world, you're welcome.




2. We Americans have a Tradition of Rebellion

So goes the subtitle of this blog. What's interesting is we tend to rebel non-violently. Of course, our country was founded on a violent armed conflict and there was the whole Civil War thing. But look at the great social movements in this country, most have happened relatively peacefully. Women's suffrage, desegration, prohibition. It's too soon to tell, but I think that illegal immigration, and the ending of the income tax can be put on that particular list as well. Anyway, the number two reason why America kicks ass is because rebelling is part of our national character. That we do it peacefully is even better.

1. The Constitution

“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!"

So said W when confronted by members of the GOP in talks about renewing the Patriot Act.

Yes, it's the same paper that's been around for a couple hundred years, the same piece of paper that W and everyone else in government swears to "protect and defend". It is also the same piece of paper that we can come back to when we've lost our way as a country.

The vision of Washington, Franklin, Jefferson, Madison, and all the other founding fathers has brought an unprecedented amount of freedom and wealth to us. How fortunate are we today that the phrase "you can't do that, it's unconstitutional" still carries at least a little weight with our government.

The Constitution is the number one reason why America kicks ass. There are many like it, but this one is ours. Happy Birthday America!

There used to be a tradition in this country of reading aloud the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at independence day celebrations around the country (at least that's what my "Little House on the Prairie" books used to tell me). I'm reviving that tradition this week.

A Little Too Much Democracy

Henry Lamb from Worldnetdaily.com writes an article that mentions two things that don't get talked about enough or not at all: the Electoral College and the 17th Amendment.

The Electoral College is an ingenious scheme to balance the power among small and larger states. Without the Electoral College, a few large states could elect the president, and the small states would be left completely out of the voting. But the wisdom of our founders foiled the monopoly of power for the big states.

Ahhh, brings us back to 2000. Was that really 7 years ago?

First encounter with the iphone

Cost of ditching work for an afternoon: $70

Cost of buying the latest and greatest cell phone: $600

The feeling you get opening the box for the first time: you know the rest