Click stamp to enlarge.
30 January 2012
28 January 2012
the Ron Paul newsletters / using racism, homophobia and antisemitism as money-making tools
Well, this is where I say farewell to Ron Paul.
As I wave goodbye, I can't do it without repeating my admiration for his promise -- if elected president of the United States -- immediately to end both the US war in Afghanistan and the US war in Iraq. In 2008, only Paul and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Democrat from Ohio) made that promise. In this campaign, Paul is the only candidate to make that promise.
But as Paul has shown surprising strength and popularity in his presidential campaign, the media has, very naturally and appropriately, looked deeper into the life and career of the Congressman from Texas -- nominally a Republican, but perhaps the most famous and most politically successful Libertarian in the USA.
Is he an anti-black racist? Is he antisemitic? Is he a homophobic gay-basher?
This very interesting and detailed history by The Washington Post suggests he's something else, something even more distasteful and more troubling.
Ron Paul is a guy who uses anti-black hatred, fear and bigotry, and antisemitism, and homophobia as resources, as tools to make money.
There was never a snowball's chance in hell that Ron Paul would win the Republican presidential nomination, and never a snowball's chance in hell that Ron Paul would become president of the United States.
But he has effectively stirred passions -- backed by an astonishing success at fund-raising, all of it
in small donations from ordinary citizens -- and forced his presence into a high position in the 2012 presidential race.
If The Post account is to be believed, Ron Paul seems to think that honesty and truth are less important than campaign success and whipping up a fear- and bigotry-driven environment to make his endeavors flourish.
African-Americans, homosexuals, Jews -- well, Ron Paul certainly didn't invent using them as
political scapegoats.
But his actions and his words put decent Americans (of any political party) on one side of a clear line, and Ron Paul very sadly and shamefully on the other side of the decency boundary.
As his nature and beliefs become clearer to the public, what should Ron Paul do?
That's not the question.
As I wave goodbye, I can't do it without repeating my admiration for his promise -- if elected president of the United States -- immediately to end both the US war in Afghanistan and the US war in Iraq. In 2008, only Paul and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Democrat from Ohio) made that promise. In this campaign, Paul is the only candidate to make that promise.
But as Paul has shown surprising strength and popularity in his presidential campaign, the media has, very naturally and appropriately, looked deeper into the life and career of the Congressman from Texas -- nominally a Republican, but perhaps the most famous and most politically successful Libertarian in the USA.
Is he an anti-black racist? Is he antisemitic? Is he a homophobic gay-basher?
This very interesting and detailed history by The Washington Post suggests he's something else, something even more distasteful and more troubling.
Ron Paul is a guy who uses anti-black hatred, fear and bigotry, and antisemitism, and homophobia as resources, as tools to make money.
There was never a snowball's chance in hell that Ron Paul would win the Republican presidential nomination, and never a snowball's chance in hell that Ron Paul would become president of the United States.
But he has effectively stirred passions -- backed by an astonishing success at fund-raising, all of it
in small donations from ordinary citizens -- and forced his presence into a high position in the 2012 presidential race.
If The Post account is to be believed, Ron Paul seems to think that honesty and truth are less important than campaign success and whipping up a fear- and bigotry-driven environment to make his endeavors flourish.
African-Americans, homosexuals, Jews -- well, Ron Paul certainly didn't invent using them as
political scapegoats.
But his actions and his words put decent Americans (of any political party) on one side of a clear line, and Ron Paul very sadly and shamefully on the other side of the decency boundary.
As his nature and beliefs become clearer to the public, what should Ron Paul do?
That's not the question.
The question is: What should American voters do?
They should dump Ron Paul like radioactive slime. They should stop sending him money. They should stop voting for him.
Me, I'm not sorry I've praised his Stop The Wars Now promise. The wars suck, they're foot-shooting and hopeless, they're catastrophically expensive, they've killed thousands of our neighbors' children and maimed many thousands more. But almost no mainstream politicians with any national stature have had the courage to say it.
We need someone with character, with courage, with scrupulous honesty to help America shut down the Afghanistan War.
Someone with decency and character, someone with honesty -- so that lets Ron Paul out.
===================
The Washington Post
(USA daily broadsheet, Washington DC)
Friday 27 January 2012
Paul pursued strategy
of publishing controversial
newsletters, associates say
by Jerry Markon and Alice Crites
Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian, has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged newsletters to make money and spread his ideas, said three people with direct knowledge of Paul’s businesses.
The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views.
But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day.
“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product ... He would proof it," said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman’s.
The newsletters point to a rarely seen and somewhat opaque side of Paul, who has surprised the political community by becoming an important factor in the Republican race. The candidate, who has presented himself as a kindly doctor and political truth teller, declined in a recent debate to release his tax returns, joking that he would be “embarrassed” about his income compared with that of his richer GOP rivals.
Yet a review of his enterprises reveals a sharp-eyed businessman who for nearly two decades oversaw the company and a nonprofit foundation, intertwining them with his political career. The newsletters, which were launched in the mid-1980s and bore such names as the Ron Paul Survival Report, were produced by a company Paul dissolved in 2001.
The company shared offices with his campaigns and foundation at various points, said those familiar with the operation. Public records show Paul’s wife and daughter were officers of the newsletter company and foundation; his daughter also served as his campaign treasurer.
Jesse Benton, a presidential campaign spokesman, said that the accounts of Paul’s involvement were untrue and that Paul was practicing medicine full time when “the offensive material appeared under his name.” Paul “abhors it, rejects it and has taken responsibility for it as he should have better policed the work being done under his masthead,” Benton said. He did not comment on Paul’s business strategy.
‘I’ve never read that stuff’
Mark Elam, a longtime Paul associate whose company printed the newsletters, said Paul “was a busy man” at the time. “He was in demand as a speaker; he was traveling around the country," Elam said in an interview coordinated by Paul’s campaign. “I just do not believe he was either writing or regularly editing this stuff."
In the past, Paul has taken responsibility for the passages because they were published under his name.
But last month, he told CNN that he was unaware at the time of the controversial passages. “I’ve never read that stuff. I’ve never read — I came — was probably aware of it 10 years after it was written," Paul said.
A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said.
“It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government," said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this stuff. It was good copy. Ron Paul is a shrewd businessman."
The articles included racial, anti-Semitic and anti-gay content. They claimed, for example, that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “seduced underage girls and boys"; they ridiculed black activists by suggesting that New York be named “Zooville” or “Lazyopolis”; and they said the 1992 Los Angeles riots ended “when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
They should dump Ron Paul like radioactive slime. They should stop sending him money. They should stop voting for him.
Me, I'm not sorry I've praised his Stop The Wars Now promise. The wars suck, they're foot-shooting and hopeless, they're catastrophically expensive, they've killed thousands of our neighbors' children and maimed many thousands more. But almost no mainstream politicians with any national stature have had the courage to say it.
We need someone with character, with courage, with scrupulous honesty to help America shut down the Afghanistan War.
Someone with decency and character, someone with honesty -- so that lets Ron Paul out.
===================
The Washington Post
(USA daily broadsheet, Washington DC)
Friday 27 January 2012
Paul pursued strategy
of publishing controversial
newsletters, associates say
by Jerry Markon and Alice Crites
Ron Paul, well known as a physician, congressman and libertarian, has also been a businessman who pursued a marketing strategy that included publishing provocative, racially charged newsletters to make money and spread his ideas, said three people with direct knowledge of Paul’s businesses.
The Republican presidential candidate has denied writing inflammatory passages in the pamphlets from the 1990s and said recently that he did not read them at the time or for years afterward. Numerous colleagues said he does not hold racist views.
But people close to Paul’s operations said he was deeply involved in the company that produced the newsletters, Ron Paul & Associates, and closely monitored its operations, signing off on articles and speaking to staff members virtually every day.
“It was his newsletter, and it was under his name, so he always got to see the final product ... He would proof it," said Renae Hathway, a former secretary in Paul’s company and a supporter of the Texas congressman’s.
The newsletters point to a rarely seen and somewhat opaque side of Paul, who has surprised the political community by becoming an important factor in the Republican race. The candidate, who has presented himself as a kindly doctor and political truth teller, declined in a recent debate to release his tax returns, joking that he would be “embarrassed” about his income compared with that of his richer GOP rivals.
Yet a review of his enterprises reveals a sharp-eyed businessman who for nearly two decades oversaw the company and a nonprofit foundation, intertwining them with his political career. The newsletters, which were launched in the mid-1980s and bore such names as the Ron Paul Survival Report, were produced by a company Paul dissolved in 2001.
The company shared offices with his campaigns and foundation at various points, said those familiar with the operation. Public records show Paul’s wife and daughter were officers of the newsletter company and foundation; his daughter also served as his campaign treasurer.
Jesse Benton, a presidential campaign spokesman, said that the accounts of Paul’s involvement were untrue and that Paul was practicing medicine full time when “the offensive material appeared under his name.” Paul “abhors it, rejects it and has taken responsibility for it as he should have better policed the work being done under his masthead,” Benton said. He did not comment on Paul’s business strategy.
‘I’ve never read that stuff’
Mark Elam, a longtime Paul associate whose company printed the newsletters, said Paul “was a busy man” at the time. “He was in demand as a speaker; he was traveling around the country," Elam said in an interview coordinated by Paul’s campaign. “I just do not believe he was either writing or regularly editing this stuff."
In the past, Paul has taken responsibility for the passages because they were published under his name.
But last month, he told CNN that he was unaware at the time of the controversial passages. “I’ve never read that stuff. I’ve never read — I came — was probably aware of it 10 years after it was written," Paul said.
A person involved in Paul’s businesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid criticizing a former employer, said Paul and his associates decided in the late 1980s to try to increase sales by making the newsletters more provocative. They discussed adding controversial material, including racial statements, to help the business, the person said.
“It was playing on a growing racial tension, economic tension, fear of government," said the person, who supports Paul’s economic policies but is not backing him for president. “I’m not saying Ron believed this stuff. It was good copy. Ron Paul is a shrewd businessman."
The articles included racial, anti-Semitic and anti-gay content. They claimed, for example, that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. “seduced underage girls and boys"; they ridiculed black activists by suggesting that New York be named “Zooville” or “Lazyopolis”; and they said the 1992 Los Angeles riots ended “when it came time for the blacks to pick up their welfare checks."
The June 1990 edition of the Ron Paul Political Report included the statement: “Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities.”
It is unclear precisely how much money Paul made from his newsletters, but during the years he was publishing them, he reduced his debts and substantially increased his net worth, according to his congressional and presidential disclosure reports.
In 1984, he reported debt of up to $765,000, most of which was gone by 1995, when he reported a net worth of up to $3,300,000 . Last year, he reported a net worth of up to $5,200,000 .
The newsletters bore his name in large print and featured articles on topics ranging from investment advice to political commentary. Frequently written in first person, they contained personalized notes, such as holiday greetings from Paul and his wife, Carol.
The Washington Post obtained dozens of copies of the newsletters from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Texas news outlets wrote about them in 1996, and the New Republic published extensive excerpts in 2008.
The issue resurfaced late last year, when Paul’s presidential campaign picked up momentum. The extent of Paul’s involvement and his business strategy had not been known.
Paul’s publishing operation began through a nonprofit organization he created in 1976, the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, which advocates for limited government and a free market. The group, founded the year Paul entered Congress, published Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, mostly a collection of his congressional speeches and commentaries.
Direct-mail, extreme views
In 1984, just before losing a Senate bid and leaving Congress, Paul formed Ron Paul & Associates. He soon began publishing the Ron Paul Investment Letter, initially offering mostly economic and monetary information. Texas tax records listed Paul as president of the business; his wife as secretary; his daughter, Lori Paul Pyeatt, as treasurer; and a longtime Paul associate, Lew Rockwell, as vice president.
Ed Crane, the longtime president of the libertarian Cato Institute, said he met Paul for lunch during this period and the two discussed direct-mail solicitations, which Paul was sending out to interest people in his newsletters. They agreed that “people who have extreme views” were more likely than others to respond.
Crane said Paul reported getting his best response when he used a mailing list from the now-defunct newspaper Spotlight, which was widely considered anti-Semitic and racist.
Benton, Paul’s spokesman, said that Crane’s account “sounds odd” and that Paul did not recall the conversation.
At the time, Paul’s investment letter was languishing. According to the person involved with his businesses, Paul and others hit upon a solution: to “morph” the content to capitalize on a growing fear among some on the political right about the nation’s changing demographics and threats to economic liberty.
The investment letter became the Ron Paul Survival Report -- a name designed to intrigue readers, the company secretary said. It cost subscribers about $100 a year. The tone of that and other Paul publications changed, becoming increasingly controversial. In 1992, for example, the Ron Paul Political Report defended chess champion Bobby Fischer, who had become known as an anti-Semitic Holocaust denier, for his stance on “Jewish questions."
Paul has said he wrote portions of the economic sections. The people familiar with his business said there was no indication that he wrote the controversial material.
Rockwell was the main writer of the racial passages, according to two people with direct knowledge of the business and a third close to Paul’s presidential campaign. Rockwell, founder of a libertarian think tank in Alabama, did not respond to phone calls and e-mails requesting comment. In 2008, he denied in an interview with the New Republic that he was Paul’s ghostwriter.
Paul “had to walk a very fine line," said Eric Dondero Rittberg, a former longtime Paul aide who says Paul allowed the controversial material in his newsletter as a way to make money. Dondero Rittberg said he witnessed Paul proofing, editing and signing off on his newsletters in the mid-1990s.
“The real big money came from some of that racially tinged stuff, but he also had to keep his libertarian supporters, and they weren’t at all comfortable with that," he said.
Dondero Rittberg is no longer a Paul supporter, and officials with Paul’s presidential campaign have said he was fired. Dondero Rittberg disputed that, saying he resigned in 2003 because he opposed Paul’s views on Iraq.
The 15 July 1994 issue of Survival Report exemplified how the newsletters merged material about race with a pitch for business. It contained a passage criticizing the rate of black-on-white crime when “blacks are only 12 percent of the population." That was accompanied by two pages of ads from Ron Paul Precious Metals & Rare Coins, a business Paul used to sell gold and silver coins.
“The explosion you hear may not be the Fourth of July fireworks but the price of silver shooting up," said one of the ads.
Hathway, the former Ron Paul & Associates secretary, said: “We had tons of subscribers, from all over the world ... I never had one complaint" about the content.
Paul a ‘hands-on boss’
Hathway described Paul as a “hands-on boss” who would come in to the company’s Houston office, about 50 miles from his home, about once a week. And he would call frequently. “He’d ask, ‘How are you doing? Do you need any more money in the account?’" she said.
The company also had an office in Clute, Texas, near Paul’s home, which it shared with Paul’s foundation and his campaigns at various points, Hathway and Dondero Rittberg said.
In 1996, as Paul ran for Congress again, his business success turned into a potential political liability when his newsletters surfaced in the Texas news media. Paul was quoted in the Dallas Morning News that year as defending a newsletter line from 1992 that said 95 percent of black men in the District are “semi-criminal or entirely criminal” and that black teenagers can be “unbelievably fleet of foot.”
“If you try to catch someone that has stolen a purse from you, there is no chance to catch them,” the newspaper quoted Paul as saying.
Paul won reelection, then dissolved Ron Paul & Associates in 2001. His nonprofit foundation is still in operation.
Staff researcher Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
© The Washington Post Company
- 30 -
===================
from Wikipedia:
===================
Ron Paul newsletter controversy
On January 8, the day of the New Hampshire primary, The New Republic published a story by James Kirchick quoting from selected newsletters published under Paul's name.[67] The publications had various names bannering "Ron Paul" prominently in the title, such as The Ron Paul Survival Report. Kirchick said that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry", and were "saturated in racism", charges echoed by Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog.[68] Kirchick noted that one article referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups and advanced various conspiracy theories.[69]
In 1996 the media inquired into these passages, having been brought to light by Paul's congressional opponent Charles "Lefty" Morris; Paul's congressional campaign countered the statements were taken out of context, and Paul responded by adding "If someone challenges your character and takes the interpretation of the NAACP as proof of a man's character, what kind of a world do you live in?" [70].[71] The newsletters, attributed to Paul, made statements such as "opinion polls consistently show only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions," "if you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be", and referring to Martin Luther King as a "pro-communist philanderer" and to Martin Luther King Day as "hate Whitey day."[72][73] An issue from 1992 refers to carjacking as the "hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos."[74] In an article title "The Pink House" the newsletter wrote that "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."[73]
In 2001 Paul gave his own account of the newsletters, stating the documents were authored by ghostwriters, and that while he did not author the challenged passages, he bore "some moral responsibility" for their publication.[75] Paul's 2008 presidential campaign repeated these assertions when the challenged passages resurfaced again in Kirchick's January 2008 article.[76] Paul "never uttered such words and denounced such small-minded thoughts," saying Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks were personal heroes because they stood for individual rights, and that he had spoken highly about Parks in a 1999 floor speech in the House of Representatives.[77] Paul took the position that the Kirchick story was a "rehash" of a political attack received during his 1996 campaign.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals, not as part of collectives. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Blitzer stated that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, as they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign.[78]
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), also defended Paul, though not in his official capacity under the NAACP: "Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that ... so I think it's very easy for folks who want to take his position out of context, and that's what I'm hearing."[79]
Reason magazine contributing editor Matt Welch found numerous references to the newsletters in news coverage of the 1996 race, many showing a defense of the newsletters by Paul and his campaign.[71] But in 2001 Paul claimed he only said otherwise in 1996 because it was too confusing to explain in the fervor of a campaign.[75]
In 2011 Ron Paul again ran as a GOP presidential candidate, placing third in the Iowa caucuses and 2nd in the New Hampshire primary. Before the Iowa caucuses a variety of government officials, including Bush speech writers Michael Gerson and Marc Thiessen, Clinton advisor Dick Morris, and Bush United Nations ambassador John Bolton all appeared on FOX News or wrote op ed pieces for the Washington Post decrying Ron Paul as dangerous and crazy. James Kirchick, still affilated with The New Republic but now primarily employed by Radio Free Europe and also a fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which was also affiliated with a competing GOP presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, revisited the Ron Paul newsletter controversy in articles in The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, and the New York Times. Kirchick's associate at The New Republic, Jonathan Chait, also wrote articles critical of Paul based on the original newsletter story published in The New Republic and New York magazine. One of the original contentions was that the newsletters contained no bylines other than the collective mast head of "Ron Paul Newsletter." In January 2012, a television reporter, Cincinnati FOX19's Ben Swann, looked into the newsletters in a regular fact checking series called "Reality Check." Swann discovered that of the over 240 newsletters published, only 9 had racially inflected offensive language, and much of that was in one newsletter. That newsletter had been posted online by The New Republic via internet links for readers to peruse, but with half a page cut off. When Swann investigated it turned out that the omitted half page contained a byline by another author, James B. Powell. Attempts by Swann to contact Kirchick were initially ignored. It appears that Kirchick and The New Republic have not contacted or interviewed James B. Powell.[80]
It is unclear precisely how much money Paul made from his newsletters, but during the years he was publishing them, he reduced his debts and substantially increased his net worth, according to his congressional and presidential disclosure reports.
In 1984, he reported debt of up to $765,000, most of which was gone by 1995, when he reported a net worth of up to $3,300,000 . Last year, he reported a net worth of up to $5,200,000 .
The newsletters bore his name in large print and featured articles on topics ranging from investment advice to political commentary. Frequently written in first person, they contained personalized notes, such as holiday greetings from Paul and his wife, Carol.
The Washington Post obtained dozens of copies of the newsletters from the Wisconsin Historical Society.
Texas news outlets wrote about them in 1996, and the New Republic published extensive excerpts in 2008.
The issue resurfaced late last year, when Paul’s presidential campaign picked up momentum. The extent of Paul’s involvement and his business strategy had not been known.
Paul’s publishing operation began through a nonprofit organization he created in 1976, the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education, which advocates for limited government and a free market. The group, founded the year Paul entered Congress, published Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, mostly a collection of his congressional speeches and commentaries.
Direct-mail, extreme views
In 1984, just before losing a Senate bid and leaving Congress, Paul formed Ron Paul & Associates. He soon began publishing the Ron Paul Investment Letter, initially offering mostly economic and monetary information. Texas tax records listed Paul as president of the business; his wife as secretary; his daughter, Lori Paul Pyeatt, as treasurer; and a longtime Paul associate, Lew Rockwell, as vice president.
Ed Crane, the longtime president of the libertarian Cato Institute, said he met Paul for lunch during this period and the two discussed direct-mail solicitations, which Paul was sending out to interest people in his newsletters. They agreed that “people who have extreme views” were more likely than others to respond.
Crane said Paul reported getting his best response when he used a mailing list from the now-defunct newspaper Spotlight, which was widely considered anti-Semitic and racist.
Benton, Paul’s spokesman, said that Crane’s account “sounds odd” and that Paul did not recall the conversation.
At the time, Paul’s investment letter was languishing. According to the person involved with his businesses, Paul and others hit upon a solution: to “morph” the content to capitalize on a growing fear among some on the political right about the nation’s changing demographics and threats to economic liberty.
The investment letter became the Ron Paul Survival Report -- a name designed to intrigue readers, the company secretary said. It cost subscribers about $100 a year. The tone of that and other Paul publications changed, becoming increasingly controversial. In 1992, for example, the Ron Paul Political Report defended chess champion Bobby Fischer, who had become known as an anti-Semitic Holocaust denier, for his stance on “Jewish questions."
Paul has said he wrote portions of the economic sections. The people familiar with his business said there was no indication that he wrote the controversial material.
Rockwell was the main writer of the racial passages, according to two people with direct knowledge of the business and a third close to Paul’s presidential campaign. Rockwell, founder of a libertarian think tank in Alabama, did not respond to phone calls and e-mails requesting comment. In 2008, he denied in an interview with the New Republic that he was Paul’s ghostwriter.
Paul “had to walk a very fine line," said Eric Dondero Rittberg, a former longtime Paul aide who says Paul allowed the controversial material in his newsletter as a way to make money. Dondero Rittberg said he witnessed Paul proofing, editing and signing off on his newsletters in the mid-1990s.
“The real big money came from some of that racially tinged stuff, but he also had to keep his libertarian supporters, and they weren’t at all comfortable with that," he said.
Dondero Rittberg is no longer a Paul supporter, and officials with Paul’s presidential campaign have said he was fired. Dondero Rittberg disputed that, saying he resigned in 2003 because he opposed Paul’s views on Iraq.
The 15 July 1994 issue of Survival Report exemplified how the newsletters merged material about race with a pitch for business. It contained a passage criticizing the rate of black-on-white crime when “blacks are only 12 percent of the population." That was accompanied by two pages of ads from Ron Paul Precious Metals & Rare Coins, a business Paul used to sell gold and silver coins.
“The explosion you hear may not be the Fourth of July fireworks but the price of silver shooting up," said one of the ads.
Hathway, the former Ron Paul & Associates secretary, said: “We had tons of subscribers, from all over the world ... I never had one complaint" about the content.
Paul a ‘hands-on boss’
Hathway described Paul as a “hands-on boss” who would come in to the company’s Houston office, about 50 miles from his home, about once a week. And he would call frequently. “He’d ask, ‘How are you doing? Do you need any more money in the account?’" she said.
The company also had an office in Clute, Texas, near Paul’s home, which it shared with Paul’s foundation and his campaigns at various points, Hathway and Dondero Rittberg said.
In 1996, as Paul ran for Congress again, his business success turned into a potential political liability when his newsletters surfaced in the Texas news media. Paul was quoted in the Dallas Morning News that year as defending a newsletter line from 1992 that said 95 percent of black men in the District are “semi-criminal or entirely criminal” and that black teenagers can be “unbelievably fleet of foot.”
“If you try to catch someone that has stolen a purse from you, there is no chance to catch them,” the newspaper quoted Paul as saying.
Paul won reelection, then dissolved Ron Paul & Associates in 2001. His nonprofit foundation is still in operation.
Staff researcher Lucy Shackelford contributed to this report.
© The Washington Post Company
- 30 -
===================
from Wikipedia:
===================
Ron Paul newsletter controversy
On January 8, the day of the New Hampshire primary, The New Republic published a story by James Kirchick quoting from selected newsletters published under Paul's name.[67] The publications had various names bannering "Ron Paul" prominently in the title, such as The Ron Paul Survival Report. Kirchick said that the writings showed "an obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry", and were "saturated in racism", charges echoed by Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly's Political Animal blog.[68] Kirchick noted that one article referred to African-American rioters as "barbarians" and suggested that the Los Angeles riots of 1992 only stopped when it came time for "blacks to pick up their welfare checks". Other issues gave tactical advice to local militia groups and advanced various conspiracy theories.[69]
In 1996 the media inquired into these passages, having been brought to light by Paul's congressional opponent Charles "Lefty" Morris; Paul's congressional campaign countered the statements were taken out of context, and Paul responded by adding "If someone challenges your character and takes the interpretation of the NAACP as proof of a man's character, what kind of a world do you live in?" [70].[71] The newsletters, attributed to Paul, made statements such as "opinion polls consistently show only about 5% of blacks have sensible political opinions," "if you have ever been robbed by a black teen-aged male, you know how unbelievably fleet-footed they can be", and referring to Martin Luther King as a "pro-communist philanderer" and to Martin Luther King Day as "hate Whitey day."[72][73] An issue from 1992 refers to carjacking as the "hip-hop thing to do among the urban youth who play unsuspecting whites like pianos."[74] In an article title "The Pink House" the newsletter wrote that "Homosexuals, not to speak of the rest of society, were far better off when social pressure forced them to hide their activities."[73]
In 2001 Paul gave his own account of the newsletters, stating the documents were authored by ghostwriters, and that while he did not author the challenged passages, he bore "some moral responsibility" for their publication.[75] Paul's 2008 presidential campaign repeated these assertions when the challenged passages resurfaced again in Kirchick's January 2008 article.[76] Paul "never uttered such words and denounced such small-minded thoughts," saying Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks were personal heroes because they stood for individual rights, and that he had spoken highly about Parks in a 1999 floor speech in the House of Representatives.[77] Paul took the position that the Kirchick story was a "rehash" of a political attack received during his 1996 campaign.
In an interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Paul asserted that racism is incompatible with his beliefs and that he sees people as individuals, not as part of collectives. He also dismissed the attack as an attempt to accuse him of racism by proxy, claiming that he has collected more money among African-Americans than any other Republican candidate. Blitzer stated that he was "shocked" by the newsletters, as they did not seem to reflect "the Ron Paul that I've come to know, and the viewers have come to know" over the course of several interviews during the campaign.[78]
Nelson Linder, president of the Austin chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), also defended Paul, though not in his official capacity under the NAACP: "Knowing Ron Paul's intent, I think he is trying to improve this country but I think also, when you talk about the Constitution and you constantly criticize the federal government versus state I think a lot of folks are going to misconstrue that ... so I think it's very easy for folks who want to take his position out of context, and that's what I'm hearing."[79]
Reason magazine contributing editor Matt Welch found numerous references to the newsletters in news coverage of the 1996 race, many showing a defense of the newsletters by Paul and his campaign.[71] But in 2001 Paul claimed he only said otherwise in 1996 because it was too confusing to explain in the fervor of a campaign.[75]
In 2011 Ron Paul again ran as a GOP presidential candidate, placing third in the Iowa caucuses and 2nd in the New Hampshire primary. Before the Iowa caucuses a variety of government officials, including Bush speech writers Michael Gerson and Marc Thiessen, Clinton advisor Dick Morris, and Bush United Nations ambassador John Bolton all appeared on FOX News or wrote op ed pieces for the Washington Post decrying Ron Paul as dangerous and crazy. James Kirchick, still affilated with The New Republic but now primarily employed by Radio Free Europe and also a fellow at The Foundation for Defense of Democracies, which was also affiliated with a competing GOP presidential candidate, Newt Gingrich, revisited the Ron Paul newsletter controversy in articles in The Weekly Standard, The New Republic, and the New York Times. Kirchick's associate at The New Republic, Jonathan Chait, also wrote articles critical of Paul based on the original newsletter story published in The New Republic and New York magazine. One of the original contentions was that the newsletters contained no bylines other than the collective mast head of "Ron Paul Newsletter." In January 2012, a television reporter, Cincinnati FOX19's Ben Swann, looked into the newsletters in a regular fact checking series called "Reality Check." Swann discovered that of the over 240 newsletters published, only 9 had racially inflected offensive language, and much of that was in one newsletter. That newsletter had been posted online by The New Republic via internet links for readers to peruse, but with half a page cut off. When Swann investigated it turned out that the omitted half page contained a byline by another author, James B. Powell. Attempts by Swann to contact Kirchick were initially ignored. It appears that Kirchick and The New Republic have not contacted or interviewed James B. Powell.[80]
07 January 2012
Ron Paul (sort of) moves on to the USA's first presidential primary in New Hampshire
CBS News (USA television network)
Saturday 7 January 2012
Is Ron Paul
in it to win it?
by Stephanie Condon
[photo: Ron Paul supporters Gigi and Ken Bowman of Long Island, N.Y., hold signs in support of Rep. Ron Paul outside an event for Mitt Romney, Jan. 7, 2012, in Derry, New Hampshire.] (Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Is this Ron Paul's moment? Does he want it to be?
Fresh off a strong, third place victory in the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul promptly ... took a break. The Texas congressman raised some eyebrows when he paused his campaign this week rather than carrying his momentum straight to New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary on Tuesday.
To be sure, his rival Mitt Romney -- former governor of neighboring state Massachusetts -- has a hefty 20-point lead in New Hampshire. Still, there's potential for Paul: He's the only other candidate to break 20 percent in recent polls, and the "Live free or die" state -- where independents can vote in the primary -- is a natural fit for the libertarian-leaning candidate.
But while some may think Paul's time off suggests he's not serious about his campaign, it belies the fact that, aside from Romney's, Paul's campaign is the best prepared for a long nomination contest, with a large war chest and the organization to get on the ballot in states where other candidates couldn't. In New Hampshire, Paul has the support of around 30 New Hampshire state legislators, and he's campaigned in New Hampshire about as much as he has in Iowa.
And then, of course, Paul arguably has the most ardent supporters of any GOP candidate. But at times, his supporters seem to want a Paul presidency more than he does.
While other candidates have tacked their professionally-made signs into the ground across the Granite State, it's not unusual to see homemade Paul signs fluttering from highway overpasses, or Paul supporters in what appear to be homemade T-shirts. And while other candidates have been confronted by unimpressed voters -- see Romney's or Rick Santorum's recent uncomfortable moments -- Paul's crowds are typically enthusiastic and friendly.
When Paul showed up in Nashau on Friday, a crowd of hundreds was waiting for him, cramped in a small airplane hangar at Boire Field Airport. Buzzing with excitement, the group at times started spontaneously chanting "Ron Paul! Ron Paul!"
Ron Paul's son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, dressed casually in a turtleneck and sweater, greeted the audience. "People ask me, 'Is campaigning fun?'" he says, loosening up the crowd. In the frank and honest style both Ron and Rand are known for, he answers that question by relating a time a woman grabbed him by the head, tugging to find out whether his curly tuft of hair was real.
Perhaps it's those trying moments that prompted Paul to lay low for a few days. But after the rally on Friday, Paul told the press, "I don't know if we took a couple of days off as much as we just stuck to our plan. We had a plan we would be here our last five days."
Breaks from the campaign trail may do minimal damage, when voters can so easily learn about candidates through other means. But there's no denying that shaking a few more hands could secure a few more votes. Brett Ferrell and Ryan Hall, both 20 years old, went to Paul's Friday event without much of an opinion about the congressman. They said they could be persuaded to vote for either for Paul or Romney.
What's more, after Paul canceled an event with college students scheduled for Friday morning, it left some wondering whether Paul is running a serious campaign or simply trying to shape the dialogue within the GOP.
Paul spokesman Gary Howard dismissed that notion. "No one has campaigned harder or smarter than Dr. Paul," he said. "We have a comprehensive plan to win the delegates necessary to be the nominee and have been working that plan hard. We will be campaigning hard through Tampa and beyond."
For Paul's most ardent supporters, his candidacy certainly isn't just about making a statement.
"If we want to get our country back on track, we need a president like Paul for at least 10 years," said Ed, a Manchester resident who declined to give his last name. "It is difficult to elect a libertarian president, but I think his showing has been very impressive. It shows a lot of people are thinking about the fiscal health of the country."
===========
COMMENTS
===========
by wirelessjohn January 7, 2012 5:39 PM EST
The magic Paul has is the voice of the people. When we elect him president the congress will know that we are paying attention and they better respect us and our constitution. Ron Paul will be the next president of the USA and together with congress and our voices this country will be much better.
by VeteranCarl January 7, 2012 5:36 PM EST
Why does the media keep asking Dr. Paul if he will run as an independent or a democrat? That is an insane question to a GOP candidate that is doing VERY well in the polls.
Dr. Paul IS running for president which means that he WANTS to win. I know this because the man doesn't lie or mislead people. If the media's talking heads had 1/10th the integrity of Dr. Paul, he'd be our president right now. CNN changed poll results on the internet and got caught, FOX got busted changing the audience audio track track of one of his debate answers from cheers to boos. I can't understand why someone didn't go to jail for that???
And if I hear another pundit say the word "un-electable" in reference to Congressman Paul (who has been elected 12 times) I'm gonna...ugh, I don't know what I'll do. To the media pundits, you don't get to decide elect-ability, that is the job of us voters. So butt-out and stop trying to give me my opinion.
This country spends twice as much annually as it takes in revenue! There's one guy (only one) running for president who wants to fix that.
by ChiasmataX January 7, 2012 5:34 PM EST
Youtube: Judge Napolitano: What if they're lying to you about Ron Paul? - Fox Business
by MacDerb January 7, 2012 5:28 PM EST
He's another Ross Perot - Texas oil money...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot
No Texan.
They "surge" us into ruin.
by mstirner January 7, 2012 5:24 PM EST
Well, I disagree that Ron Paul appeals only to the young... I'm an old geezer, and I'm going to vote for him... He's the only one who will keep our nation from falling for the neocon lies (remember the WMDs that pushed a weak President into a mindless, bloody and unconstitutional war with Iraq?). Only Paul has the courage and the will to stop the crazy desire of the corporate neocons for war with Iran.
by cntrygirl3 January 7, 2012 5:15 PM EST
Dr. Paul is 70 years old, did it ever occur to anybody he needed a little rest. This is the most support he has ever had within the republican party but he still can't win the nomination. However this time he is strong enough for a third party run, probably his last shot. What is truly amazing with the tepid support for Romney (likely nominee) and at times for Mr. Obama (certain nominee) he might just be able to throw the next election into congress, now wouldn't that be interesting.
by josephle2k January 7, 2012 5:15 PM EST
"No System of Government Last, without the True Voices and supports of its People..." -Unknown
Through Dr. Paul "We the Peopl"" Will Prevail...
While Establishmentarians attack and ignore the good Doctor out of fear of losing government-sanctioned power over its own People they supposedly represent. The Doctor continues on being, well the "The sound Doctor".
Completely ignored by the corrupted Medias and the establishments are a salient, this should be a Warning Bell to Every American of great concerns.
One way or another, their powers will come to an end. The Establishments should start taking notes when Dr. Ron Paul speaks, because the day of reckoning is on near...
by mt3355 January 7, 2012 5:12 PM EST
Well done Stephane. Your story was fair and informative. Something Dr Paul doesn't see much.
by LeeMcD22 January 7, 2012 4:59 PM EST
See Ron Paul in...Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bank?: An Uncensored Investigation of the US Federal Reserve Banking Cartel--one of the most controversial institutions of our time...(Self-Serving its Country Since 1913)...
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?feature=mhee#p/u/12/_M_Rh_fgKEQ
Try SubPrimal Scream Therapy:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/4/Ec3E0YLwcSU
Also see: The Real Housewives of Tent City (A Hot New REALITY Show---Global Depression Edition) (Spoiler: This is about what the Federal Reserve has done--not the housewives! --watch to the end)...
http://******/uCH1NY
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/2/NH_WqjgoJLY
Or you might like Banking On It (New Republican Seinfeld-esque Comedy Series):
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/3/4gV_1rbOMWo
And: this [short]: Neverminditol-The Great Recession Depression Drug and then get up and JOIN those not against capitalism but against rigged capitalism...
http://******/rSlTi5
Or at least see Chitty Chitty Bank Bank:
http://******/cpptOf
Important to consider Leveraged Buyouyts --LBOs vs jobs --Wall St Banks and private Equity firms that enacted a large scale Leveraged Buyout of America. See Lady Gaga Does LBOs [short]
http://******/dV2BjA
...Lady Gaga reveals Private Equity and Investment Banking's upcoming Financial Tsunami (caused by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital along with other PE firms like KKR and Goldman Sachs--and the pending LBO credit crash and its impact on the US economy...then join those standing up for you and genuine capitalism--not rigged capitalism and all this cheating and looting of our economy for short term gain.
And if you just want someone to blame, try The Blame Game:
http://******/sQEwDD
But if you want to return our crap money to its source, try fast free online game "Take That: A Federal Reserve Crap$hoot Stress Relief Game":
http://******/gIHiYw
http://www.baitandswitchtv.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127&catid=46&Itemid=26
Reply to this comment
by toadaleigh January 7, 2012 4:51 PM EST
What the GOP needs to realize is if Ron Paul is not the nominee, Barak Obama will be president. They need to decide if they want Paul or Obama as president. The reason being is because 80% of Paul supporters will not vote for any nominee except Paul. That is a big chunk of voters. They will either write him in or vote Gary Johnson or Buddy Roemer.
Saturday 7 January 2012
Is Ron Paul
in it to win it?
by Stephanie Condon
[photo: Ron Paul supporters Gigi and Ken Bowman of Long Island, N.Y., hold signs in support of Rep. Ron Paul outside an event for Mitt Romney, Jan. 7, 2012, in Derry, New Hampshire.] (Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Is this Ron Paul's moment? Does he want it to be?
Fresh off a strong, third place victory in the Iowa caucuses, Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul promptly ... took a break. The Texas congressman raised some eyebrows when he paused his campaign this week rather than carrying his momentum straight to New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary on Tuesday.
To be sure, his rival Mitt Romney -- former governor of neighboring state Massachusetts -- has a hefty 20-point lead in New Hampshire. Still, there's potential for Paul: He's the only other candidate to break 20 percent in recent polls, and the "Live free or die" state -- where independents can vote in the primary -- is a natural fit for the libertarian-leaning candidate.
But while some may think Paul's time off suggests he's not serious about his campaign, it belies the fact that, aside from Romney's, Paul's campaign is the best prepared for a long nomination contest, with a large war chest and the organization to get on the ballot in states where other candidates couldn't. In New Hampshire, Paul has the support of around 30 New Hampshire state legislators, and he's campaigned in New Hampshire about as much as he has in Iowa.
And then, of course, Paul arguably has the most ardent supporters of any GOP candidate. But at times, his supporters seem to want a Paul presidency more than he does.
While other candidates have tacked their professionally-made signs into the ground across the Granite State, it's not unusual to see homemade Paul signs fluttering from highway overpasses, or Paul supporters in what appear to be homemade T-shirts. And while other candidates have been confronted by unimpressed voters -- see Romney's or Rick Santorum's recent uncomfortable moments -- Paul's crowds are typically enthusiastic and friendly.
When Paul showed up in Nashau on Friday, a crowd of hundreds was waiting for him, cramped in a small airplane hangar at Boire Field Airport. Buzzing with excitement, the group at times started spontaneously chanting "Ron Paul! Ron Paul!"
Ron Paul's son, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, dressed casually in a turtleneck and sweater, greeted the audience. "People ask me, 'Is campaigning fun?'" he says, loosening up the crowd. In the frank and honest style both Ron and Rand are known for, he answers that question by relating a time a woman grabbed him by the head, tugging to find out whether his curly tuft of hair was real.
Perhaps it's those trying moments that prompted Paul to lay low for a few days. But after the rally on Friday, Paul told the press, "I don't know if we took a couple of days off as much as we just stuck to our plan. We had a plan we would be here our last five days."
Breaks from the campaign trail may do minimal damage, when voters can so easily learn about candidates through other means. But there's no denying that shaking a few more hands could secure a few more votes. Brett Ferrell and Ryan Hall, both 20 years old, went to Paul's Friday event without much of an opinion about the congressman. They said they could be persuaded to vote for either for Paul or Romney.
What's more, after Paul canceled an event with college students scheduled for Friday morning, it left some wondering whether Paul is running a serious campaign or simply trying to shape the dialogue within the GOP.
Paul spokesman Gary Howard dismissed that notion. "No one has campaigned harder or smarter than Dr. Paul," he said. "We have a comprehensive plan to win the delegates necessary to be the nominee and have been working that plan hard. We will be campaigning hard through Tampa and beyond."
For Paul's most ardent supporters, his candidacy certainly isn't just about making a statement.
"If we want to get our country back on track, we need a president like Paul for at least 10 years," said Ed, a Manchester resident who declined to give his last name. "It is difficult to elect a libertarian president, but I think his showing has been very impressive. It shows a lot of people are thinking about the fiscal health of the country."
- 30 -
===========
COMMENTS
===========
by wirelessjohn January 7, 2012 5:39 PM EST
The magic Paul has is the voice of the people. When we elect him president the congress will know that we are paying attention and they better respect us and our constitution. Ron Paul will be the next president of the USA and together with congress and our voices this country will be much better.
by VeteranCarl January 7, 2012 5:36 PM EST
Why does the media keep asking Dr. Paul if he will run as an independent or a democrat? That is an insane question to a GOP candidate that is doing VERY well in the polls.
Dr. Paul IS running for president which means that he WANTS to win. I know this because the man doesn't lie or mislead people. If the media's talking heads had 1/10th the integrity of Dr. Paul, he'd be our president right now. CNN changed poll results on the internet and got caught, FOX got busted changing the audience audio track track of one of his debate answers from cheers to boos. I can't understand why someone didn't go to jail for that???
And if I hear another pundit say the word "un-electable" in reference to Congressman Paul (who has been elected 12 times) I'm gonna...ugh, I don't know what I'll do. To the media pundits, you don't get to decide elect-ability, that is the job of us voters. So butt-out and stop trying to give me my opinion.
This country spends twice as much annually as it takes in revenue! There's one guy (only one) running for president who wants to fix that.
by ChiasmataX January 7, 2012 5:34 PM EST
Youtube: Judge Napolitano: What if they're lying to you about Ron Paul? - Fox Business
by MacDerb January 7, 2012 5:28 PM EST
He's another Ross Perot - Texas oil money...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot
No Texan.
They "surge" us into ruin.
by mstirner January 7, 2012 5:24 PM EST
Well, I disagree that Ron Paul appeals only to the young... I'm an old geezer, and I'm going to vote for him... He's the only one who will keep our nation from falling for the neocon lies (remember the WMDs that pushed a weak President into a mindless, bloody and unconstitutional war with Iraq?). Only Paul has the courage and the will to stop the crazy desire of the corporate neocons for war with Iran.
by cntrygirl3 January 7, 2012 5:15 PM EST
Dr. Paul is 70 years old, did it ever occur to anybody he needed a little rest. This is the most support he has ever had within the republican party but he still can't win the nomination. However this time he is strong enough for a third party run, probably his last shot. What is truly amazing with the tepid support for Romney (likely nominee) and at times for Mr. Obama (certain nominee) he might just be able to throw the next election into congress, now wouldn't that be interesting.
by josephle2k January 7, 2012 5:15 PM EST
"No System of Government Last, without the True Voices and supports of its People..." -Unknown
Through Dr. Paul "We the Peopl"" Will Prevail...
While Establishmentarians attack and ignore the good Doctor out of fear of losing government-sanctioned power over its own People they supposedly represent. The Doctor continues on being, well the "The sound Doctor".
Completely ignored by the corrupted Medias and the establishments are a salient, this should be a Warning Bell to Every American of great concerns.
One way or another, their powers will come to an end. The Establishments should start taking notes when Dr. Ron Paul speaks, because the day of reckoning is on near...
by mt3355 January 7, 2012 5:12 PM EST
Well done Stephane. Your story was fair and informative. Something Dr Paul doesn't see much.
by LeeMcD22 January 7, 2012 4:59 PM EST
See Ron Paul in...Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Bank?: An Uncensored Investigation of the US Federal Reserve Banking Cartel--one of the most controversial institutions of our time...(Self-Serving its Country Since 1913)...
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?feature=mhee#p/u/12/_M_Rh_fgKEQ
Try SubPrimal Scream Therapy:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/4/Ec3E0YLwcSU
Also see: The Real Housewives of Tent City (A Hot New REALITY Show---Global Depression Edition) (Spoiler: This is about what the Federal Reserve has done--not the housewives! --watch to the end)...
http://******/uCH1NY
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/2/NH_WqjgoJLY
Or you might like Banking On It (New Republican Seinfeld-esque Comedy Series):
http://www.youtube.com/user/BaitAndSwitchTV?%20%20feature=mhee#p/u/3/4gV_1rbOMWo
And: this [short]: Neverminditol-The Great Recession Depression Drug and then get up and JOIN those not against capitalism but against rigged capitalism...
http://******/rSlTi5
Or at least see Chitty Chitty Bank Bank:
http://******/cpptOf
Important to consider Leveraged Buyouyts --LBOs vs jobs --Wall St Banks and private Equity firms that enacted a large scale Leveraged Buyout of America. See Lady Gaga Does LBOs [short]
http://******/dV2BjA
...Lady Gaga reveals Private Equity and Investment Banking's upcoming Financial Tsunami (caused by Mitt Romney's Bain Capital along with other PE firms like KKR and Goldman Sachs--and the pending LBO credit crash and its impact on the US economy...then join those standing up for you and genuine capitalism--not rigged capitalism and all this cheating and looting of our economy for short term gain.
And if you just want someone to blame, try The Blame Game:
http://******/sQEwDD
But if you want to return our crap money to its source, try fast free online game "Take That: A Federal Reserve Crap$hoot Stress Relief Game":
http://******/gIHiYw
http://www.baitandswitchtv.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=127&catid=46&Itemid=26
Reply to this comment
by toadaleigh January 7, 2012 4:51 PM EST
What the GOP needs to realize is if Ron Paul is not the nominee, Barak Obama will be president. They need to decide if they want Paul or Obama as president. The reason being is because 80% of Paul supporters will not vote for any nominee except Paul. That is a big chunk of voters. They will either write him in or vote Gary Johnson or Buddy Roemer.
on-line ad for Ron Paul accuses Huntsman of 'Chinese values," features Huntsman's adopted Asian daughters
The Associated Press (USA newswire)
Friday 6 January 2012
'ghost' pro-Paul ad
attacks Huntsman's
'Chinese values'
by Holly Ramer, Associated Press
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman, who often speaks movingly of his adopted daughters while on the campaign trail, said Friday that Ron Paul's supporters were out of line in using the girls to argue that he is un-American.
An online ad posted by "NHLiberty4Paul" includes video footage of Huntsman, the former USA ambassador to China, with daughter Gracie when she was an infant. It also shows Huntsman holding Asha shortly after she was adopted from India.
"American values? Or Chinese?" the ad asks, ending with "Vote Ron Paul."
A message sent to the ad's creator was not immediately returned. Paul's New Hampshire spokeswoman, Kate Schackai, said Friday she didn't know who was behind the ad, but it wasn't anyone affiliated with the campaign.
"The video was utterly distasteful and no one who actually supports Dr. Paul's principles would have made it," she said.
In Concord, Huntsman said it was "stupid" to allege that he has Chinese values because he lived overseas and speaks Chinese.
"If someone wants to poke fun at me, that's OK," said Huntsman, whose campaign has posted several online ads attacking Paul as unelectable. "What I object to is bringing forward pictures and videos of my adopted daughters and suggesting there's something sinister there."
Huntsman and his wife have seven children, including Gracie, 12, who was abandoned at a Chinese vegetable market at two months of age, and Asha, 6, who was left to die on a roadside in India the day she was born.
Speaking to New England College's "College Convention," he called the two girls "a daily reminder that there are a lot of kids in this world who don't have the breaks that you do."
Huntsman, who skipped last week's Iowa caucuses and is counting on a strong finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary to continue with his campaign, also was asked by an audience member whether the other candidates have "clawed their way to the right," leaving him as the centrist in the race. Huntsman didn't accept the label but called himself a realist instead.
"We have to draw from ideas that are doable and not so outlandishly stupid that they create a lot of political infighting and finger-pointing and never, ever in 1000 years are going to get done," he said.
Despite his focus on New Hampshire, Huntsman still lags far behind front-runner Mitt Romney. Huntsman has been making the case that Romney lacks a "consistent core," a point he underscored Friday without mentioning Romney's name.
"I don't like to spend a lot of time posturing and being one thing during the pre-primary phase, then during the primary phase then the general (election)," he said.
He took another jab at Romney when an audience member asked "Are corporations people?" In August, Romney told an Iowa crowd, "Corporations are people."
Huntsman ignored the question and launched into a long answer to the second part of the man's question, which was about energy policy. But the next person he called on promptly reminded him that he hadn't answered in full.
"I think that's so self-evident, I'm not sure that needs to be answered," he said, then quickly continued as audience members groaned. "Of course corporations are not people. Who would say such an outlandish thing? I can't imagine anyone running for president would say something like that."
While Huntsman has been emphasizing his commitment to grassroots campaigning, television appearances and other media interviews consumed most of his day Friday. He was heading to northern New Hampshire in the evening for a house party and Chamber of Commerce dinner.
© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Friday 6 January 2012
'ghost' pro-Paul ad
attacks Huntsman's
'Chinese values'
by Holly Ramer, Associated Press
CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE -- Republican presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman, who often speaks movingly of his adopted daughters while on the campaign trail, said Friday that Ron Paul's supporters were out of line in using the girls to argue that he is un-American.
An online ad posted by "NHLiberty4Paul" includes video footage of Huntsman, the former USA ambassador to China, with daughter Gracie when she was an infant. It also shows Huntsman holding Asha shortly after she was adopted from India.
"American values? Or Chinese?" the ad asks, ending with "Vote Ron Paul."
A message sent to the ad's creator was not immediately returned. Paul's New Hampshire spokeswoman, Kate Schackai, said Friday she didn't know who was behind the ad, but it wasn't anyone affiliated with the campaign.
"The video was utterly distasteful and no one who actually supports Dr. Paul's principles would have made it," she said.
In Concord, Huntsman said it was "stupid" to allege that he has Chinese values because he lived overseas and speaks Chinese.
"If someone wants to poke fun at me, that's OK," said Huntsman, whose campaign has posted several online ads attacking Paul as unelectable. "What I object to is bringing forward pictures and videos of my adopted daughters and suggesting there's something sinister there."
Huntsman and his wife have seven children, including Gracie, 12, who was abandoned at a Chinese vegetable market at two months of age, and Asha, 6, who was left to die on a roadside in India the day she was born.
Speaking to New England College's "College Convention," he called the two girls "a daily reminder that there are a lot of kids in this world who don't have the breaks that you do."
Huntsman, who skipped last week's Iowa caucuses and is counting on a strong finish in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary to continue with his campaign, also was asked by an audience member whether the other candidates have "clawed their way to the right," leaving him as the centrist in the race. Huntsman didn't accept the label but called himself a realist instead.
"We have to draw from ideas that are doable and not so outlandishly stupid that they create a lot of political infighting and finger-pointing and never, ever in 1000 years are going to get done," he said.
Despite his focus on New Hampshire, Huntsman still lags far behind front-runner Mitt Romney. Huntsman has been making the case that Romney lacks a "consistent core," a point he underscored Friday without mentioning Romney's name.
"I don't like to spend a lot of time posturing and being one thing during the pre-primary phase, then during the primary phase then the general (election)," he said.
He took another jab at Romney when an audience member asked "Are corporations people?" In August, Romney told an Iowa crowd, "Corporations are people."
Huntsman ignored the question and launched into a long answer to the second part of the man's question, which was about energy policy. But the next person he called on promptly reminded him that he hadn't answered in full.
"I think that's so self-evident, I'm not sure that needs to be answered," he said, then quickly continued as audience members groaned. "Of course corporations are not people. Who would say such an outlandish thing? I can't imagine anyone running for president would say something like that."
While Huntsman has been emphasizing his commitment to grassroots campaigning, television appearances and other media interviews consumed most of his day Friday. He was heading to northern New Hampshire in the evening for a house party and Chamber of Commerce dinner.
© Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
- 30 -
03 January 2012
Fer de lance and 1766 naval flag of Martinique / Lanzenschlange / Bothrops lanceolatus
l'image de clic pour agrandir
(robot job)
(robot job)
1st Day Issue / Postalo Vleeptron: Indian Pudding / Animal Fat / Sugar / African Slaves / Grandma's Molasses / Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with Slaves / Screech Rum / Fer-de-lance
Click stamp to enlarge.
Postalö Vleeptron / First Day Issue
Indian Pudding
Regardless of what your heart and diabetes doctors and your dentist say, people in horribly cold places have always fought winter with Animal Fat and Sugar. At the emergency winter homeless shelter, we purposely cook unhealthy food -- the guests must spend the day outdoors in bitter cold, and the big doses of fat and sugar the guests crave help them survive the winter. For the homeless, Winter in New England is not a Heart-Smart veggie Mediterranean Diet season. They focus on living until March, and pay little heed to living until 2044. Some of them will be lucky to see who wins the November 2012 USA presidential election, Obama or the surprise winner of the Iowa Republican caucus, PeeWee Herman.
New England's First Peoples may have invented this dish and passed the recipe to the Puritan European settlers. (Bad navigation -- no one could determine Longitude in those days -- landed them in Massachusetts; they had contracted for a voyage to the much warmer Virginia colony, but the Mayflower captain refused to take the angry Puritans 600 miles south).
On a freezing winter evening, this stuff, served piping hot, is unimaginably delicious, and even brings happiness and fun to a bitter winter evening. It takes all day to cook, and fills the house with the most rich, delicious aroma.
This is not a haute-cuisine dish. It's very earthy, crude and primitive, from Grandma's kitchen wood stove. Restaurants don't serve it much because if cooked properly (very slowly), it hogs up the oven all day. But many New England restaurants and diners do make it a weekly special, and the folks really appreciate the rare chance to eat these concentrated toxins in January.
Today molasses and coarse-ground corn/maize meal are hard, but not impossible, to find. Corn meal is ground superfine in modern industrial mills, and only specialty firms use old millstones
- ... Promise was that I
- Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver;
- Ask for this great deliverer now, and find him
- Eyeless in Gaza at the Mill with slaves ...
to grind the corn. (But they turn the old millstones with electric motors, not with slaves or water wheels.)
Molasses was an intermediate product of the 17th-18th century Atlantic trade of sugar and African slaves, who harvested the Caribbean sugar cane. (Rum -- fermented sugar cane juice -- was also a very popular product of the Triangle Trade. Keep your eye out for Newfoundland's "Screech" rum. You can run your lawnmower with it.) Tea with sugar had become a hugely profitable import industry in Europe. The sugar fields of one sugar island -- maybe Martinique -- is infested with the Fer-de-lance, one of the most poisonous snakes on Earth.
In an electric slow-cooker/crockpot, you can prepare this stuff the night before or in the morning, turn the crockpot to LOW, then leave the house to go to work, and your Indian Pudding will be perfectly cooked for dessert that night, and house will not have burned to the ground in your absence. Pick up a quart of vanilla ice cream on the way home.
I made some and we ate it New Years Day! And we're still nuking it and eating it! I gave myself extra insulin!
* * *
Hey RevJJ! Of course I did not delete a Comment of yours! Did you have more venom and spleen to aim at the the wicked loony Ron Paul? (I put in the Washington Post fact-checker article about Ron's old bulletins. Ron's excuse for these bulletins earns him 3 Pinocchio Noses, which I gather is less than the gold standard of politician Truthfulness.)
So whom should I vote for to end these Asian wars? (The African Sky War seems to have ended, but don't bet the farm on it.) Search Google News for Syria, Iran and Yemen for a whiff of the near American future.
I confess, I've become a Single-Issue Whore. I'm sick of dead and maimed American soldiers and dead and maimed Third-World civilians. T'ain't Christian. T'ain't rational.
I confess, I've become a Single-Issue Whore. I'm sick of dead and maimed American soldiers and dead and maimed Third-World civilians. T'ain't Christian. T'ain't rational.
Last election, only Kucinich and Ron promised to end these wars immediately. This year, only Ron is standing in an Iowa corn field with a sign that says
I WILL END FOREIGN USA WARS.
He's probably a terrible human being to have to be stuck with on a long bus ride.
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