I almost lost faith in Rand Paul. For awhile there, he seemed to be siding with the histrionic GOP establishment in the worst way, reaching his nadir, in my opinion, when he signed the famous letter to Iran. I started to wonder if Rand had gotten a taste for power and, like every other sitting politician on the national stage I can think of, was willing to do whatever it took to get and use that power. However, one nagging thought kept me from giving up on Rand: How could someone who was raised by Ron Paul, who had shared an apartment with him upon arriving in DC, be just another self-serving senator? I couldn’t imagine it. Just being exposed to Ron Paul from afar gives me the courage of my convictions, I couldn’t imagine that living with him, being his son, wouldn’t give a man enough courage for a lifetime. Fortunately, as Rand’s campaign unfolded, my faith was restored, and today, as he withdraws from the presidential race, I see him serving the greater purpose I had hoped he would.
Ron Paul spent many years shouting into the wind, or so it seemed. Possibly the best-ever Saturday Night Live skit
In answer to Whoopi’s question as to why anyone would ever need to own a semi-automatic weapon, I wish Rand had quoted Luby’s massacre survivor Suzanna Gratia-Hupp’s Congressional testimony in which she explains that in the LA riots where the police abandoned entire neighborhoods, at least one individual was on his store’s rooftop protecting his … Read more
Above is a picture of the two suspects. I had seen another picture of the woman in which she looked westernized as in this one. Since then, however, all pictures show her looking scarier and scarier and more and more foreign. But the most disturbing picture I have seen so far–and be forewarned, it’s VERY … Read more
Above is a picture of the two suspects. I had seen another picture of the woman in which she looked westernized as in this one. Since then, however, all pictures show her looking scarier and scarier and more and more foreign. But the most disturbing picture I have seen so far–and be forewarned, it’s VERY … Read more
This clip of Luby’s Massacre survivor Suzanna Gratia Hupp testifying before Congress always chokes me up. Boy, does this chick nail it. The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting. And I know I’m not going to make very many friends saying this, but it’s about our rights–all of our rights–to be able to protect ourselves … Read more
This clip of Luby’s Massacre survivor Suzanna Gratia Hupp testifying before Congress always chokes me up. Boy, does this chick nail it. The Second Amendment is not about duck hunting. And I know I’m not going to make very many friends saying this, but it’s about our rights–all of our rights–to be able to protect ourselves … Read more
RETRANSMISSION OF OSS102 TO PROVIDE DIFFERENT CROP – In this photo provided by the Vatican paper L’Osservatore Romano Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014, Pope Francis is placed a lamb around his neck as he visits a living nativity scene staged at the St. Alfonso Maria de’ Liguori parish church, in the outskirts of Rome, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. The Epiphany day, is a joyous day for Catholics in which they recall the journey of the Three Kings, or Magi, to pay homage to Baby Jesus. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, ho)
In the interest of full disclosure, I will tell you, I am a practicing Catholic and I raise my children Catholic, but I’m not a great Catholic. I follow the rules of the Church to the best of my ability and try to live by the spirit of Christ’s teachings, but I struggle with faith and am not versed in every nuance of the Church’s tenets. I do, however, respect those Catholics who still keep the faith in the same tradition my parents upheld and I benefit greatly from the culture they create in the Catholic community. For this reason, I never want my skin-of-the-teeth Catholicism in any way to diminish the Catholic culture or reflect poorly on it, so I try to stay away from public discussions on religion. Recently, however, many people of different creeds and political stripes have asked me what I think of Pope Francis, and I’m happy to respond, but I must emphasize, this is, of course, only my opinion. I’m not trying to represent the Church or libertarians, or preach or criticize–I’m just recording my observations for those interested in reading them.
I always give the Pope the benefit of the doubt, but boy are my doubts mounting! Here are the main issues I have with some of the positions the Pope is reported to have taken….
Redistributing Wealth
Not too long ago, I sifted through all the relevant writings I could reasonably assess in order to see if any Pope had openly advocated for government redistribution of wealth. From what I could tell, many had come close but no Pope had gone all the way–until now.
This alarms me. The modern state’s use of violence and the threat of violence to take property from its rightful owners (assuming there are any objective laws left in this world, there are clearly defined rightful owners at least of the fruits of their labor) and give it to someone else not only breaks the sixth and eighth commandments, but also makes it impossible for able-bodied producers to live Christ’s exhortation to charity as well as reduces the poor from a default state of virtue (assuming money really is the root of all evil), to being receivers of stolen goods.
As progressive taxation comes closer to absorbing all surplus wages and putting them at the disposal of the modern state, even the highest earners may no longer have the means to engage in meaningful charity. And with what result? The governments in the United States, for example, spend approximately 40% of the country’s production (GDP), the vast majority of which is redistribution of wealth.
I’m worried that the atmosphere created by the attack of a Mohammed-drawing contest in Garland, Texas, will add to the complacency with which we are accepting a renewal of the unconstitutional USA Patriot Act this month–14 years after 9/11. The contest was organized by Pam Geller who claims she is taking a stand for the First Amendment. My fear is that she has undermined it instead. Of course I defend her right to free speech, but I question whether her stated purpose will really be served. Listen to the show to get all sides of the story.
Don’t these guys look more like Blackwater than “SWAT”? Are they Garland SWAT? If so, why was a Garland Traffic Cop and an unarmed Garland School District Security Guard the ones to face and take down the two jihadis wearing body armor and firing assault weapons mere hours after the FBI warned them to be on the lookout for one of these guys? (But see Texas police deny specific threat warning from FBI at cartoon contest shooting.)
Favorite quote of the show:
“All your words are like flowers that make a beautiful sausage.”
Favorite tweet of the show:
@MonicaPerezShow Monica, this may very well be one of your best show. So much to weigh and think about.
Here is an interesting conversation between James Corbett and Alfred Adask on the Constitution. Their conversation touches on the most interesting sticking points in thinking about the Constitution and it addresses them well. https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1030-financial-survival-the-constitution-and-other-legal-fictions/ As a short introduction to the debate, I offer a few words on the differences between the works Conceived in Liberty, … Read more
