Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 2622

How To Steal the Caucuses?

Claim to be hacked, and then "reconstruct" the vote. (Thanks to Jay)

Ron Paul for Food Freedom

That's "offbeat," says Bloomberg. It is also, as they note, winning. (Thanks to Travis Holte)

Ron Paul, the Anti-Bullying Candidate

Writes Brian Watkins:

"To my fellow LGBT brothers and sisters and all peace-loving Americans,

"For decades now, the LGBT community at large has blindly followed the Democratic Party. Despite years of violent, pro-war policies, and a complete disregard for domestic and international laws, never once have we collectively voiced opposition to the harmful and unjust positions of the left.

"In a world where violence against LGBT individuals has become common place, and bullying is a national epidemic, we still unquestionably give our allegiance to a party that believes in aggression by force, limited individual rights, assassination, and the destruction of liberty. Obama, now in office long enough to answer for his own record, voted for and expanded the wars (something he ran against as a candidate), and he unilaterally launched new military conflicts in once-upon-a-time sovereign nations. His administration continues to detain, indefinitely, Bradley Manning, a gay American citizen who has never been found guilty of a crime. Obama unapologetically ordered the assassination of American citizens, including a child, despite the fact they were never given a trial. And, he extended the Patriot Act; a bill so hideously detrimental to liberty that it should shock the conscience of every freedom loving American. Yet, despite his bully policies and positions, we still voice no objection.

"We have become a society that promotes, encourages, and delivers violence around the world. Our foreign policy is one of a military empire that believes it is "our way, or the highway", and we have little to no concern for anyone who stands in our way. Countless innocent civilians, women and children included, have died in the Middle East and around the world by our bombs, our guns, and even by the physical hands of our most violent soldiers. We have raped, pillaged, and stolen, but still, we, as a community, do not object.

"The most damaging thing, however, is the result these policies must have had on our children. For nearly a decade now, they have grown up in a society where war and violence is the norm. Stories of war crimes, death, and gruesome injury are so common place, that even we adults have grown desensitized to them; the impact on the impressionable minds, and therefore behavior, of our youth must be even more severe. We, as a nation, are proudly the biggest aggressor in the global school yard. We spend trillions more than any other nation on our military dominance, and we scoff at the idea of reducing that budget. We invent the most stealth, deadly, and effective weaponry humanity has ever seen, and we are carelessly quick to use them. Yet, we expect our children to behave differently? We are violent, and we are bullies. Our kids are simply following the example we have set.

"If we are serious about ending the life threatening bullying and violence directed at gay youth and LGBT individuals around the world, then we must take a pro-peace, anti-war position. It is the only honest and logical conclusion. To say we stand against bullying and violence directed at children in our schools, while at the same time standing in support of violence and war in other countries, is a morally bankrupt position. Supporting Obama's violent policies makes us all hypocrites.

"The Democratic Party is a violent party (yes, so is the Republican Party, but practically none of us belong to it). They support and encourage war, death to others, and the destruction of sovereignty, on both the individual and national level. Similar to bullies in school, they completely disregard the rights of individuals, in our country and abroad, to a peaceful, free life. But do we object? Not even in the slightest.

"Raising our children in a society where violence is rejected and peaceful friendships are the go-to foreign policy position will result in entirely new behaviors from all of us. Violence breeds violence, and hate breeds hate. For far too long now, our children have grown up seeing violence and hate distributed from our own hands. What did we expect to happen? Bullies are simply a byproduct of our violent, war-based society, and we must not confuse the two as separate things. Violence is bullying, and bullying is violence.

"In order to truly reject bullying, we must reject all violence, which means we must reject Obama. We, as a community, are grossly guilty of doublespeak by supporting a violent president whose illegal and deadly war policies stand at odds with the peaceful, violent-free hopes we now claim to have for our children.

"But, if not Obama, than who? Here's my test: I look for the candidate who, above all, will bring peace (not Obama). I look for the candidate who has a long history of standing against war and in favor of individual rights (not Obama). I look for the candidate who believes in liberty and will uphold the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which are our greatest protection as a minority (not Obama). I look for the candidate who believes that war and violence should be rejected and replaced with friendship, communication, and trade (something every bully could learn from; and also, not Obama). And, lastly, I look for the candidate whose policies are not based on political positioning, but instead on principles and a philosophy (definitely not Obama)

"Brace yourself... it's Ron Paul.

"Ron Paul may have positions some of us do not like, but he is the only candidate who will bring peace, which should be our number one priority considering the environment in which LGBT youth now find themselves in our country. He wants to end our military occupation of the world and has been starkly opposed to the violence we spread through our conquests. Yes, he is a Republican, but Republicans and Democrats are, in practice, the same exact thing. They, as parties, are both pro-war, big government, in favor of limited rights, and promoters of violence. Ron Paul, however, stands out as the only candidate who truly rejects the status quo of both parties.

"Ron Paul is a man with a philosophy and principles that align directly with our community: peace, acceptance, and the rights of every individual to choose what is best for their life, liberty, and prosperity. He approaches every issue, socially/legally/internationally, from a liberty perspective. Whatever most protects the liberty of the individual is his position, which fits perfectly with the anti-bullying, anti-violent desires we have for our children.

"Most in our community are turned off from Ron Paul simply because of his party. As a registered Republican (which I admit is only so I can vote for Ron Paul, otherwise I would be Independent), I have been called self-hating, a psycho, a crazy person who doesn't live in the real world, and a long list of nasty adjectives I am pretty sure I'm not supposed to publish. Hateful, hateful things. The irony alone kills me, as there is nothing more grotesque than crying out for the hate against LGBT to stop, all the while spewing hate at fellow LGBT who don't fit inside the tiny box in which we all seem to reside.

"What if instead of rejecting someone out-right based on their party affiliation, which is embarrassingly something our community generally does with pride, we started looking at candidates on an individual level? Especially considering that both parties support violence and war. And, while we can look past Obama's policies that we don't agree with (he is not for marriage equality, which is something many do not seem to get), why can we not do the same with Ron Paul (he wants the government out of marriage all together, making it a personal decision each individual has the right to make)? If we want people to respect us on an individual level, I think we should start doing the same. As an individual, Ron Paul is by far the person with the honesty, integrity, and principles we should look for in our president. Something no one can effectively argue for Obama.

"Obama has proven he is for violence and war. Ron Paul, on the other hand, has proven he is for peace and friendship. Just imagine the example that would set for our children! In a world where violence has become the norm, peace and friendship would be real "change", and one I think we, as a community, should start wholeheartedly supporting. Supporting Obama is supporting violence, and supporting violence is supporting bullying. No way around it.

"We, as a group of individuals, through the sad and disturbing events that have happened to LGBT worldwide, have become all to aware of the horrible consequences of violence, and supporting a violent president should no longer be acceptable to us.

"In 2012, I, as a proud, self-loving gay man, urge you to vote for peace and the ending of violence toward us, our children, and people around the world. Vote for real change. Vote for peace. Vote for Ron Paul.

"Sincerely,

Brian Watkins

P.O. Box 691491

West Hollywood, CA 90069

brianwantspeace@gmail.com

310.999.1438"

Ron #2 in NH, on His Way to #1

Latest poll:

Romney 35%

Paul 21%

Gingrich 16%

Huntsman 13%

Bachmann 4%

Perry 2%

Santorum 1%

(Thanks to Johnny Kramer)

Tears for the Dear Leader

Writes Carl Vassar:

"They're crying in North Korea. But plenty of Americans cried when FDR died, too.  I guess there's just no dictator like your own dear dictator."

War Is Hell

Ron Paul is the anti-Hell candidate. (Thanks to Brad Funkhouser)

Even Karl Rove

Agrees that Ron will surpass his poll numbers in Iowa. (Thanks to Brad Funkhouser)

Ron Victory in Iowa

See the London Telegraph. (Thanks to Brad Funkhouser)

Pay No Attention to 'Renegade Ron'

Says the NH newspaper stupid enough to have endorsed Newt. So funny to see the establishment and its running dogs running scared.

David Frum vs. Ron Paul and Libertarianism

Frum fails, says Conor Friedersdorf.