Why Ron Paul is all wet

Ron Paul's Dangerous and Naive Stance

While not a viable candidate in terms of electoral votes he has a dedicated following so I wanted to simply and briefly comment on his dangerous isolationist viewpoint...

The al Qaeda wasn't there then; they're there now. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Had nothing to do with 9/11.

This was from Ron Paul's statement in the Florida debate http://2partyreform.blogspot.com/2008/02/httpwww.html . But Ron, Al Qaeda is there now so how does completely withdrawing from Iraq make any sense whatsoever. Look, most sane people recognize that too many mistakes have been made in this war and some of the reasons for going were fabricated ( or if you prefer incompetently put forth then fine) but we can't walk away without serious consequences. It is widely thought Ron Paul wants all U.S. forces overseas brought home (couldn't find the direct quote) and that is simply an invitation for chaos. Like Al Qaeda would give up it's hatred for the U.S. if we just went home? They don't seem like the forgiving type. I can't in good conscience vote for anyone who supports immediate and full withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Iraq. Al Qaeda needs to be attacked on their home fronts and right now that's Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. I agree that we have too much military bureaucracy happening and no one seems to take on all these wasteful defense contracts and no one has had the fortitude to deal with it but we have much more than a war dragging out country down. George W Bush and both Republican and Democrat controlled Congresses have brought us from a 1 trillion dollar budget to a 3 trillion one and it goes far beyond the Iraq war costs. We need someone for the first time ever to get rid of wasteful pork barrel bills and riders and eliminate deficits and the debt for good.

http://www.2partyReform.blogspot.com/ finding practical ways to move from a republic towards a democracy and holding the media accountable for substantive, critical reporting of important issues....

[what:pittsburgh,reform,us,city,state,council,politics,political,primary,open,primaries,pa,riders,waste,accountable,govt,government,local,news,national,congress]
[where:pittsburgh,pa]

[category:news,politics]

Senator Obama and His Fans Get Weird and Off Subject: What does he really stand for?

http://www.2partyReform.blogspot.com/
finding practical ways to move from a republic towards a democracy and holding the media accountable for substantive, critical reporting of important issues....

blog/article on the Obama cult ( I'm still waiting for someone to tell me what Senator Obama's comprehensive plan is far as the financial picture and the Al Qaeda threats.... The answers I get range from "he stands for hope" and "he represents a positive future" to "that's a very good question".

http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/02/and-obama-wept.html

Joe Klein, writing at Time, notes "something just a wee bit creepy about the mass messianism" he sees in Obama's Super Tuesday speech.

"We are the ones we've been waiting for," Obama said. "This time can be different because this campaign for the presidency of the United States of America is different. It's different not because of me. It's different because of you."
Says Klein: "That is not just maddeningly vague but also disingenuous: the campaign is entirely about Obama and his ability to inspire. Rather than focusing on any specific issue or cause — other than an amorphous desire for change — the message is becoming dangerously self-referential. The Obama campaign all too often is about how wonderful the Obama campaign is. “

[what:pittsburgh,reform,us,city,state,council,politics,political,primary,open,primaries,pa,riders,waste,accountable,govt,government,local,news,national,congress]
[where:pittsburgh,pa]

[category:news,politics]

Allegheny County Pittsburgh Voting Machines have many serious security flaws

http://www.2partyReform.blogspot.com/
finding practical ways to move from a republic towards a democracy and holding the media accountable for substantive, critical reporting of important issues....

Allegheny County Pittsburgh Voting Machines have many serious security flaws

Security flaws with the technology, unguarded machines and election judges with criminal backgrounds! And county government aka Dan ILongToBeGovernor Onorato won't do anything without federal and state handouts. What has really changed in Allegheny County?

http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/15245889/detail.html

quotes from the article (check the link for the whole story)

"We'll do everything we have to do to make sure the vote is secure and accurate," said Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato.

But Team 4 found the doors to the warehouse where voting machines are stored wide open on several warm days. The county has installed security cameras over those doors, but a door in the back is not being monitored. It leads to a private company, whose employees often come and go, and that company sometimes leaves its loading dock door wide open.

...

People are watching over not just the Ivotronic voting machines but also the brains of those machines, which are cartridges known as "personalized electronic ballot" or "PEBs." If you get your hands on a PEB, experts said, you might be able to alter an election.

And here's something that hasn't been reported before. Last year, Allegheny County lost three of its PEBs.
"A judge of election in Mount Lebanon thought he returned them, but he never did," said Wolosik. "And we have never found them."

Here's another security problem. A week before each election, Allegheny County sends all of its electronic voting machines from the warehouse to hundreds of schools, churches and other polling places, where they sit, often open to the public. "It would be virtually impossible for us to have all 1,321 machines under 24-hour-a-day guard," said Wolosik.

So, what's the county's solution? It's a plastic, color-coded tie.

"They're sort of sealed in the sense that there's a little plastic zip tie thing with a number on it," said Dr. David Eckhardt of Carnegie Mellon University. "But that wouldn't defeat anyone motivated."
"Couple of screwdrivers and a little experience, and you can pop the seals and alter the machines," said Lynch.

... a December Penn State University study found a half dozen security flaws with the machine, including the ability to use a palm pilot to hijack the voting machine by fooling it into thinking that the palm pilot is actually the PEB cartridge. The study warns that "the ability to emulate a PEB enables a wide range of serious poll worker and voter attacks."

Team 4 found 13 judges of election, the bosses at polling places, who have criminal convictions.

"There are specific prohibitions where you cannot be an election officer, and being convicted of a crime is not one of them," said Wolosik.
Maybe not in the election code, but Pennsylvania's constitution says, "No person convicted of ... an infamous crime, shall be ... capable of holding any office of trust."

An Allegheny County Council advisory panel has issued a report, calling on the county to scrap the Ivotronic machines and replace them with electronic machines that also create a paper record, like ATMs.
Indiana County uses a machine that does both. But Onorato said he wouldn’t do that unless the federal or state government agrees to pay for it.

[what:pittsburgh,reform,us,city,state,machines,voting,problems,issues,security,concerns,council,politics,political,primary,open,primaries,pa,riders,waste,accountable,govt,government,local,news,national,congress]
[where:pittsburgh,pa]

[category:news,politics]

The AP cries to Save Wasteful Riders and Pork in General

http://www.2partyReform.blogspot.com/
finding practical ways to move from a republic towards a democracy and holding the media accountable for substantive, critical reporting of important issues....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080202/ap_on_el_pr/politics_of_pork

Oh this is rich... an article from CALVIN WOODWARD, an Associated Press Writer with the title, McCain's war on pork could cut services. Where to start? How about the title which to me using the term services implies regular services and programs from the federal government and entitlement programs like Medicaid and Social Security. But in fact riders and pork barrel legislation have nothing to do with government services so let's set the record straight. The AP article doesn't mention "services" again but goes straight to the propaganda with, Earmarks are only pork when someone else is feasting on them. On your plate, they're veggies. They are the train that takes you to visit Aunt Betty, or the health clinic down the street, or the waste treatment plant that makes your water safer to drink. But people who know about riders and pork spending know that riders are distinct from pork barrel spending. Riders are not even voted on by Congress and not signed in by the President. The language in the riders doesn't even rise to meet constitutional standards so they can't be in included in the legislation, they end up as memos to the executive branch which recommend where and how to spend the money. For reference on riders see http://2partyreform.blogspot.com/2008/01/truth-about-riders-aka-congressional.html . If the spending in riders is truly necessary and beneficial then they need to be part of the appropriations bills which are vvoted on by Congress and signed by the President. Clear and simple. Beyond the issue of riders is the issue of pork barrel spending in general. For instance The North Shore Connector, now being built in Pittsburgh is a result of so called vital federal spending, one which was a part of the 2007 Bush Budget voted into law by Congress. The Fed contributed 348 million dollars for an underground pedestrian tunnel which goes just across the Allegheny River to PNC Park. The price tag jumped to 435 million in one month from it's annoucement. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07045/761908-53.stm 435 Million dollars for an underground tunnel when we already have an above ground pedestrian bridge which allows people to walk across the Allegheny River. It is a pork project in which the region would either be able to spend the money on that specific project or lose it! This is exactly what's wrong with the federal government as well as the mentality of government in general.

More sources and quotes about the Fed and the North Shore Connector:

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-12660169_ITM
Fighting congestion on America's roadways is the goal of a massive new investment in subway, light rail and commuter rail projects, according to U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta, who today announced a plan to spend $1.5 billion on transit programs in cities like Dallas, Denver, Portland and Salt Lake City.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07045/761908-53.stm
The overall price tag has increased from $363 million to $435 million, she said. The federal government is paying 80 percent of the cost, or $348 million.
Under the plan, $355 million is available for two projects in New York City and Pittsburgh that are pending execution of FFGAs this year

[what:pittsburgh,reform,us,city,state,council,politics,political,primary,open,primaries,pa,riders,waste,accountable,govt,government,local,news,national,congress]
[where:pittsburgh,pa]

[category:news,politics]

Jan 24, 2008 Florida Republican Debate Transcript and Quotes

http://www.2partyReform.blogspot.com/
finding practical ways to move from a republic towards a democracy and holding the media accountable for substantive, critical reporting of important issues....

since various camps were claiming victory in the Florida Republican Presidential Debate I decied to look at the transcript and found some interesting quotes:

January 24, 2008 Transcript The Republican Debate

link http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/us/politics/24text-debate.html?pagewanted=print

quotes

Ron Paul:
And then there's never been a war fought without inflation and destruction and devaluation of a currency. And this is what we're doing today to ourselves, is we're literally spending ourselves into oblivion.
But nobody here is willing to even suggest that we cut something overseas. But we have to. We don't need to cut anything here at home. I'd like to see things frozen. I'd like to see massive tax cuts. But we need deregulation. I was one of three people that voted against Sarbanes-Oxley. I knew that would be a problem, and it is a problem for the financial markets.
So this is the kind of thing we need. We need the government out of the way, but it should have sound money, low taxes, less regulations, and a sensible policy where we're not wasting our money overseas.
moderator:I want each of you to take 30 seconds. Will you go to the country and say the war was a good idea worth the price in blood and treasure, and we will stay?
REP. PAUL: It was a very bad idea, and it wasn't worth it. (Cheers, applause.) The al Qaeda wasn't there then; they're there now. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Had nothing to do with 9/11.

.....

Congressman Paul, a question for one of your colleagues on stage.
REP. PAUL: My -- my question is for Senator McCain.
This is an economic question that I wanted to ask. It has to do with the President's Working Group on Financial Markets.
I'd like to know what your opinion is of this and whether you would keep it in place, what their role would be, or you would get rid of this group. And if you kept the group, would you make sure we would see some sunlight and know what they're doing and how they're being involved in our markets?
SEN. MCCAIN: Well, obviously we'd like to see more sunshine.
But I as president, as every other president, rely primarily on my secretary of the Treasury, on my Council of Economic Advisers, on the head of that. I would rely on the circle that I have developed over many years of people like Jack Kemp, Phil Gramm, Warren Rudman, Pete Peterson and the Concord group. I have a process of leadership, Ron, that is sort of an inclusive one that I have developed, a circle of acquaintances and people that are supporters and friends of mine who I have worked with for many, many years.
REP. PAUL: So you'd get rid of the group?
SEN. MCCAIN: You remember back in 1982 when Phil Gramm -- Phil Gramm and Warren Rudman and Gramm-Latta and all of those people got the first real tax cuts done, the real -- first real restraints in taxes. I was there. You were there. And I rely on those people to a much larger degree than any, quote, "formal" organization, although the secretary of Treasury is obviously one of the key and important posts that I would have.
(ref to the group i found here http://www.treas.gov/offices/domestic-finance/financial-markets/fin-market-policy/ Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Working Group includes the Chairs of the Federal Reserve Board, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
...
Giuliani to Romney:
MR. GIULIANI:
Now, you've said that -- I'm not sure exactly the position that you took on it, and you said you were going to talk to the insurance companies and get their advice. And I wonder if you have come to a position on it, because I think this is something that is important to the people of Florida. Do you have a position on the national catastrophic fund? Yes? No? And what qualifications?
MR. ROMNEY: The answer is yes, I do support some kind of national catastrophic effort to make sure that people can get homeowner's insurance that protects them against flood or hurricane or tornado or whatever natural disaster might occur, or man-made disaster in some cases.
MCCAIN: Now, the bill that passed through the House of Representatives was $200 billion -- no insurance reform whatsoever associated with it, no way to pay for it, and that burden is shared by everybody. We -- we can sit down together -- I will call the regulators, the governors and the legislators together, and we will work together, and we will provide every American that's in jeopardy particularly of hurricanes to have the insurance that they need and deserve. I'm confident we can do it together working with the insurance companies, not setting up another huge federal bureaucracy of $200 billion which still nobody has said how you're going to pay for.
....
MR. RUSSERT: Senator McCain, you are in favor of mandatory caps.
SEN. MCCAIN: No, I am in favor of cap-and-trade. And Joe Lieberman and I, one of my favorite Democrats and I, have proposed that it's, and we did the same thing with acid rain. They're doing it in Europe now, although not very well.

...

MR. TASH: Governor Huckabee, this question comes from David Haney in Spring Hill, Florida.
Chuck Norris, one of your most vocal supporters, recently said that at 72, Senator McCain would be too old to withstand the rigors of the presidency. Do you agree or disagree?
SEN. MCCAIN: Did you get my response?
MR. HUCKABEE: I did hear what Chuck said. I was standing with him and I didn't disagree with him at the time, because I was standing next to him. It's as simple as that. This is a guy who can put this foot on that side of my face, and there's nothing I can do about it. (Laughter.)
Now, I have said publicly, in fact, I think it was the debate we had, gosh, back in New Hampshire. And I publicly said and I have said it many times, I don't think that Senator McCain lacks the rigor and the capacity to be president. And I said, if you look at his mother and see her strength at 95, of all the things we can pick on Senator McCain for, that ain't one of them. (Laughter.)

....

MR. WILLIAMS:
Congressman Paul, the other campaigns have said to you that their worry is that you won't stick to your party; if you look at yourself and see yourself someday as unelectable, perhaps you would launch a third-party movement and hurt the Republicans.
REP. PAUL: My biggest concern is they won't stick to the party principles that Republicans stood for for so long, and, you know, being conservative and balanced budgets and limited government and individual freedom. No, I have no intention of going into another party. I've been elected 10 times as a Republican. I was from a Republican family. And no, I don't have -- I don't plan to do that. I wish they would worry about it, you know, just in case. But no, I have no intention of doing that, but it might keep them on their toes.
But no, I just think that the Republican Party has a problem because we don't act like Republicans. And we talked about this earlier; you know, that we're spending money that we don't have, we've run up these deficits. We -- you know, in the old days we used to be against the Department of Education; now we've doubled the size of it. No child Left behind. Even the Democrats are running against some of the things that we do. And they used to love that kind of stuff. And it used to be that we used to stop the wars. We stopped the Korean War. We were supposed to stop the Vietnam War the Democrats started. And here we're starting these wars. So that's why we've lost our way.

[what:pittsburgh,reform,us,city,state,council,politics,political,primary,open,primaries,pa,riders,waste,accountable,govt,government,local,news,national,congress]
[where:pittsburgh,pa]

[category:news,politics]