Sheldon Richman Interviewed on Independent Thinking

Prominent libertarian columnist, author, blogger, and editor of the Foundation for Economic Education's The Freeman - Ideas on Liberty Sheldon Richman appeared on Independent Thinking, a libertarian TV talk radio show hosted by John Caldara, president of the Independence Institute.

Here are the videos of Sheldon on the show in parts 1, 2, and 3:

Part 1:



Part 2:



Part 3:



Honestly, I believe Sheldon did an excellent job educating the masses on the importance of economic education from a libertarian perspective and the need for economic liberty.

Kudos to Sheldon for a job well done!

Ron Paul Drops Out of the Race

Ron Paul has decided to drop out of the race entirely. In his latest campaign report video (a running time of seven-and-a-half minutes long) issued directly to his supporters, Ron acknowledged that his campaign to run as a GOP candidate failed to secure the votes needed for the party nomination.

Although I'm not surprised that this has transpired, it was not unexpected either. Quite frankly, it was bound to happen, whether many of the supporters wanted it to happen or not.

Ron has certainly done a lot of good for the libertarian movement but the recent scathing events surrounding his campaign (the infamous newsletter scandal, for instance, which was stirred up in great part by the infamous New Republic piece by Rudy Ghouliani supporter James Kirchick) have also helped play a hand in sulling and marring the libertarian movement. That, and the stirring and scathing allegation prompted by Reason writers Julian Sanchez and Dave Weigel showcasing that prominent libertarian author, columnist, and blogger Lew Rockwell was the author of the newsletters tarnished the squeaky-clean image of the campaign as well.

I will offer a very thorough, objective (well, as objective as I can possibly be) analysis of the Ron Paul 2008: Hope for America campaign in the next day or so. I will be outlining the pros and cons of the campaign, along with the good and bad baggage that was attached to it.

Ask the Candidates How They Stand

From RADAR:

With the advent of YouTube, everything a presidential candidate says on the campaign trail is potentially important. As Big Media loses credibility and the homemade content of YouTubers and bloggers gains credibility, more and more people are turning to the Internet for news and information. Remarks that once went unnoticed are now fodder for online analysis and commentary.

The rise of alternative Internet media presents an opportunity for RADAR supporters to educate the nation about some of the problems with the domestic violence industry and where the various candidates stand in relation to those problems. RADAR has crafted two questions, one for Democrats and one for Republicans, that you can ask the candidates when they come to your area.

Democrats:	False allegations of domestic violence have become widespread in our country and disproportionately disadvantage minority communities. Restraining orders obtained through false allegations of domestic violence rip parents out of children's lives. If you are elected president, what will you do to stop these violations of civil rights?
Republicans:	Many believe domestic violence programs are weakening the traditional American family. For example, restraining orders obtained through false allegations of domestic violence rip parents out of children's lives. As president, what would you do to protect mothers and fathers from false allegations of domestic violence?

Please find out when and where a presidential candidate will be meeting with the public in your own state, and ask them a question. Don't forget to bring a friend who can videotape your question and the candidate's answer so you can post it on YouTube. Of course, if you do have the opportunity to ask a question of a candidate, please notify RADAR and provide the link to the video.

If you don't have a video camera or are unfamiliar with posting videos on YouTube, please ask a question anyway and let us know the response.

Now is the time to put the spotlight on the candidates--a time when your opinion is not only valued, but sought after. Please ask one of our questions and make a CHANGE for domestic violence victims ... and their children.

You can find out where the candidates will be appearing by going here: http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/tracker

Thank you!

Huckabee on Leno

Apparently, the Huckster appeared on last night's Leno, which, along with Dave Letterman, had been off the air for eight weeks due to the relentless, never-ending Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. It turns out that he had ticked off the picketing writers because he had crossed the picketing lines to get into the studio for his on-the-air appearance.

The Guild issued a very stern yet bold statement on its website regarding the incident. It stated the following:

"The Writers Guild is disappointed that Mike Huckabee crossed the WGA picket line today at NBC. We welcome the statements of support he has made for striking writers, but we ask him to respect our picket lines in the future and urge the media conglomerates to return to the bargaining table to make a fair deal that will put writers and the entertainment industry back to work."

As much as I despise the Huckster and his evil, lopsided -- not to mention misguided -- positions, he deserved a chance to be heard on the air as much as any political candidate, even if the strikers can't stand his wishy-washy positions on many issues such as the war, the declining U.S. dollar, the health care crisis, etc. Imagine if Ron Paul had crossed those picket lines. Wouldn't the strikers be saying the same thing? However, if it were Billary, Barack, or any of the Democrats appearing on Leno, would they be expressing the same viewpoint? Any chance of a clear case of hypocrisy showing on their political sleeves?

The idiotic strike itself is another story and will be noted here on the blog later. But, as much as I can't stand Mikey himself, he, like any other political candidate, has the right to be heard and has earned a chance to be heard by the public at large.

Ron Paul in Businessweek

Maria Bartiromo interviews Ron Paul:

Who are your economic advisers?

I don't have any. I read Austrian economics, which I've been doing for 30 years. So my advisers have been [von] Mises and Hayek and Sennholz.

Ron Paul's Stand on Iran, According to the Council of Foreign Relations (CFR)

The Council on Foreign Relations has put up a bio of Ron Paul on its website, purportedly trying to set a negative tone with regards to Ron's statements that the site quoted -- statements that sound as if Ron is for Islamoterrorists conspiring to attack our home soil at any given moment.

This is coming from the CFR:

In a speech before the House in April 2007, Paul (R-TX) criticized what he sees as neoconservative efforts to drum up support for military action against Iran. Paul said that although the country “is hardly a perfect democracy, its system is far superior to most of our Arab allies about which we never complain.” The Texas congressman warned that a war against Iran would be disastrous and dismissed the justifications for military action against Iran as “propaganda,” saying that “Iran doesn’t have a nuke and is nowhere close to getting one, according to the CIA.” Instead, Paul advocates a policy of non-interventionism.

Ron Paul Literature Drop in Des Moine, Iowa

A Backstage Experience with Ron Paul on the Set of the View

This piece by Z. Byron Wolf, who was in the backstage with Ron Paul for his appearance on "The View," is quite compelling and incredible.

Here's an excerpt from ABC News:

Told that a "View" co-host would ask him about China, Paul said, "China? Did something happen overnight in China? I would have guessed they would ask about Iran and the intelligence report," he said.

Paul has long been a critic of the Bush administration's foreign policy. At that moment the president was giving a news conference at which, despite evidence that Iran has abandoned its nuclear weapons program, he would not rule out a military strike against the Islamic country.

Paul considered China and what "The View" women could be preparing to ask him. Something about the dollar and how its weakening? His support for trade relationships? His aversion to economic sanctions? Lead in toys?

Ron Paul Appears on The View

This appeared in the Washington Post's blog today. Here's an excerpt of it:

Backers Anticipate Another Big 'Money-Bomb'

Rep. Ron Paul is poised to outraise the rest of the Republican field this quarter, fueled by his rock star status on the Internet.

As of Monday afternoon, he has clocked in $10.5 million, mostly through the Internet.

Such a showing for the Texas congressman has shocked other campaigns -- not to mention the media. Most spectacular was the $4.3 million Paul raised on Nov. 5. But the dollars have continued to roll in: Last week, following the Republican CNN/YouTube debate in St. Petersburg, Fla., Paul amassed another $531,000 on Nov. 30.

Compare that to former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), whose shrewd tapping of the online community raised a total of $751,000 online during the whole of November.

Paul's supporters are planning another "money-bomb," as the candidate's one-day fundraisers are called, for Dec. 16, the 234th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, which helped spark the American Revolution.

"Dec. 16th is going to be bigger than the Nov. 5th money-bomb," Jim Forsythe, a former Air Force pilot who leads Paul's New Hampshire MeetUp group, predicted.

What has been most impressive about Paul's online popularity is how it is translating to offline, on-the-ground operation. Forsythe helps organize door-to-door canvassing, while Vijay Boyapati is trying to recruit 1,000 volunteers from across the country to help canvass for Paul through OperationLiveFreeorDie.

Boyapati, a 29-year-old engineer, packed his bags and moved to New Hampshire a few weeks ago to create the online initiative after quitting his job at Google.

That's a little nuts, isn't it, The Trail asked him.

"I get that reaction a lot," Boyapati responded. "It's a little freezing out here, I have to admit. But I feel very strongly about helping the campaign."

A newly naturalized American citizen -- Boyapati was born and raised in Australia -- he hadn't heard of Paul until last year. Boyapati said that Paul's message of limited government and, especially, his vote against the war in Iraq,
drew him to the obscure obstetrician-turned-congressman. Boyapati has recruited more than 400 volunteers so far for OperationLiveFreeorDie.

He is also urging the Paulites, Paul's intensely loyal, Web-savvy supporters, to donate $5 on the site FiveForFreedom.com on Dec. 5 to help house the 1,000 volunteers across New Hampshire.

Pew Primary Preview Reveals Ron to Be at an All-Time High of 9 Percent in NH

This latest interesting poll showcases Ron at 9 percent in NH, 5 percent in Iowa, and 6 percent in SC.

Government Thugs a.k.a. Police Tase Deaf Man in His Bath Tub

Here's an excerpt of the story:

Hearing Impaired Man Tased by Police

Posted: Dec 3, 2007 10:35 PM

Updated: Dec 5, 2007 12:35 PM
by Michael Schwanke
by Michael Schwanke

(Wichita, KS)

Donnell Williams had just gotten out of the bath tub, wearing only a towel around his waist, when he turned the corner to see guns pointing right at him.

"I ain't never been so scared," says Williams.

Police forced entry into Williams home while responding to a shooting, but it turned out to be a false call. They had no idea at the time the call wasn't real and that Williams is hearing impaired. Without his hearing aid he is basically deaf.

"I kept going to my ear yelling that I was scared. I can't hear! I can't hear!"

Officers were worried about their own safety because at the time it appeared Williams was refusing to obey their commands to show his hands. That's when they shot him with a Taser.

The state's own thugs "were worried about their own safety"? Please don't make me regurgitate!!!

Sesame Street: "Adults Only" and Not for Children

An Australian newspaper reports that classic episodes of Sesame Street on DVD are now labeled "adult only" because they are not suiting the needs of today's generation of preschool children. The Cookie Monster is viewed as vile and rotten for his promotion of bad habits (like devouring cookies) that may encourage obesity in young children. Alistair Cookie is "smoking a pipe" and "eats" it (horrors!). And the klutzy Mr. Snuffleupagus epitomizes delusional behavior. Oh, and let's not forget that Oscar the Grouch is terrible for children because of his "blatant bad manners and questionable [physical] hygiene."

Here's an excerpt of the piece in question:

The 'tut-tut' police keep us on the street and narrow

Melissa Kent
December 2, 2007
Advertisement

SESAME Street is now brought to you by the letter P and the letter C — for political correctness, that is.

The fun police have slapped an "adults only" warning on a new DVD of classic episodes, which featured a world in which children played in the street, a monster gorged on cookies and a bad-tempered puppet lived in a bin.

The episodes, made between 1969 and 1974, have been released in the US with the caution: "These early Sesame Street episodes are intended for grown-ups and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child."

Topping the list of furry villains is the Cookie Monster, whose penchant for devouring cookies and the odd plate or two is no longer deemed appropriate behaviour for modern children.

His alter ego, Alistair Cookie, host of MonsterPiece Theatre, "modelled the wrong behaviour" by smoking a pipe and eating it, according to Sesame Street producer Carol-Lynn Parente.

Back then, Big Bird's bumbling friend Mr Snuffleupagus was still imaginary, which might encourage "delusion behaviour". And trash-loving Oscar the Grouch has been targetted for his blatant bad manners and questionable hygiene.

"We might not be able to create a character like Oscar today," Parente told The New York Times.

Like the whitewashing of Enid Blyton books, the move has sparked howls of protest and charges of political correctness sucking the fun out of childhood.

Children's book author Andy Griffiths, creator of the popular "Bum" series, said children loved dark, mischievous characters such as those who lived on Sesame Street.

"Kids love seeing their primal desires acted out in the form of things like gluttony or violence, and literature or TV is a place they can safely experience these desires," he said.

"I think it's an entirely healthy and appropriate thing for a children's TV program to be doing."

7-Month-Pregnant Woman Tasered by Cops, Thrown on Ground

And she gets no medical help from the authorities either.

Ron Paul Supporters Taking the Streets of Manchester, New Hampshire

Ron Paul supporters are out on the streets of Manchester, New Hampshire, according to the Christian Science Monitor.

Here's an excerpt of the piece:

Adroit online, Ron Paul backers hit the streets of N.H.
'Paulites' see the first primary state as fertile ground for their candidate's iconoclastic political views.
By Ari Pinkus | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

Manchester, N.H.

They're coming from Miami and Seattle, from the "big sky" state of Montana, and from close to home here in New Hampshire. They're coming to help political iconoclast Ron Paul get elected president – many as campaign first-timers who, characteristically independent, may not even feel obliged to tell the Paul camp what exactly they're planning to do on the candidate's behalf.

The Paulites' push for old-style, on-the-ground politicking in New Hampshire, coming just five weeks before the primary, marks a change for a support network that has always relied on websites and online fundraising. They're here now because they see the Granite State – with its reputation as antitax, anti-big government, and pro-individual freedom – as especially fertile ground for a libertarian-leaning Republican candidate like Mr. Paul.

"New Hampshire is really important because it's the first primary and it sends a message to other states about who's viable and who the leading candidates are. There was all this Internet enthusiasm, but we didn't have enough boots on the ground," says Vijay Boyapati, a Google engineer who recently left the Seattle firm to work on Paul's campaign.

Mr. Boyapati arrived Saturday in Manchester, N.H., to head up a project of his own invention: Operation Live Free or Die, named after the state motto. His aim is to bring 1,000 volunteers to New Hampshire to canvass for Paul. He calculates that if each volunteer, working seven to eight hours a day, meets 100 people daily, then the project can reach out personally to almost all 100,000 residents of Manchester before the Jan. 8 primary.

Then there's Linda Lagana of Merrimack, N.H. Using her graphic-design talent and a small print shop, she has been creating Paul-for-president ads and fliers for months on the cheap. Her materials have ended up in the hands of voters across the state – and are even preferred to official campaign literature. Her highest-profile project so far: designing an advertisement published in USA Today the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.

Trevor Lyman, an online music promoter, already helped raise $4.2 million for Paul in a one-day Internet event Nov. 5. Two weeks ago he moved from Miami to Manchester, where he lives in a "frat house" with seven bedrooms, he says. He spends his days and nights working on other "money bomb" campaigns for the GOP candidate. At 37, Mr. Lyman plans to cast his first vote ever – for Paul on Jan. 8.