SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT TEXAS CONGRESSMAN, RON PAUL! (R)
(the things in bold i'm NOT too happy about)
--pro-life (he's an OB/GYN) Paul calls himself "strongly pro-life,"[131] "an unshakable foe of abortion,"[84] and believes regulation of medical decisions about maternal or fetal health is "best handled at the state level."[132][
--as on OB/GYN he delivered 40-50 babies a month, refused Medicaid payments, preferring to work pro-bono
--Paul also spends extra time in his district (an area larger than Massachusetts) to compensate for "violat[ing] almost every rule of political survival you can think of".[34] He often logs over 300 miles (500 kilometers) daily, and attends civic ceremonies for veterans, graduates, and Boy Scouts, often accompanied by his grandchildren. His staff helps senior citizens obtain free or low-cost prescription drugs through a little-known drug company program; procures lost or unreceived medals for war veterans; is known for its effectiveness in tracking down Social Security checks; and sends out birthday and condolence cards.[34][69]
--Paul continued delivering his constituents' babies even while serving in Congress. In 2001, he was one of only eight doctors in the House; even fewer continued to practice while in office. He is occasionally approached by younger area residents to thank him for attending their births.[34]
--was drafted and served as a military surgeon in Korea
--anti-Iraq war, wants to end Iraq war and bring troops home
--he's the only Presidential candidate NOT to vote for the Iraq War Resolution of 2002, but he did vote for military action in Afghanistan
--has a non-intervention foreign affairs policy
--anti-Patriot Act: Civil liberties concerns have led him to oppose the Patriot Act, a national ID card, federal government use of torture, domestic surveillance, presidential autonomy, and the draft.
--because the 300 pg Patriot Act was voted on without being read by anyone in Congress (it was handed out and had to be voted on immediately), he institute "daylight legislation" which means 72 hrs must be given from the handing out of something that needs to be voted on to the actual voting
--called "the most honest man in Congress" by McCain
--he was an early Reagan endorser
--Paul supported his children during their undergraduate and medical school years, preventing their participation in federal student loans because the program was taxpayer-subsidized. He has rejected a Congressional pension for the same reason
--he was married in the Presbyterian church and his five children were baptized Episcopalian
--he always votes for things that foster education, libraries, homeschooling
--advocates withdrawing from the UN and NATO for resasons of maintaining strong national sovereignty
--founding member of Congressial Wildlife Refuge Caucus
--96% of his campaign funds come from individuals, not big business
--sued Clinton (with 17 other members of Congress) for unConstitutionally bypassing Congress when ordering air strikes in Kosovo
--tons of grassroots support on internet, youtube
--on Dec 16, 2007, broke the record for campaign fundraising by raising $6mil in one day online
--has authored 6 books on economics (he favors some kind of "standard" for our money. not exactly a return to the gold standard, but....well, it's really complicated and i don't get it, but it sounds good)
--he supports free trade but rejects NAFTA and the WTO as "managed trade" (this basically means that he is against lots of government regulations which are actually regulations that line the pockets of special interest groups and the rich, eliminating the middle class, and really bad for the poor) Sr. Helena: NAFTA is very bad news all around!
--he is for tigher border control, against welfare for illegal immigrants, against birthright citizenship, voted for the Secure Fence Act of 2006. (My question here is does he strong support immigration reform???)
--he regularly votes against new government spending, taxes
--supports right to bear arms (anti-gun control), freedom of the internet, habeas corpus for political detainees
--He also opposes federal regulation of the death penalty,[132] of education,[137] and of marriage. He has voted against federal funding of joint adoption by unmarried couples (including same-sex adoption); he also supports revising enforcement of the military "don't ask, don't tell" policy to focus on disruptive behavior and include members with heterosexual as well as homosexual behavior issues.
--He also opposes the federal War on Drugs, wishing to leave the decision on whether to regulate or deregulate drugs, including medical marijuana, to the states. Paul advocates for the elimination of federal involvement and management of health care, which he argues would allow prices to drop due to the fundamental dynamics of a free market.
--he basically wants to leave much more to the states rather than federal government
--don't know where he stands on universal healthcare.....
check out the lengthy Wikipedia entry from whence I got all this:
Good morning Sister,
ReplyDeleteWhile we do agree with Ron Paul on a number of issues here at the "bird's nest", we can't bring ourselves to fully support him due to his extreme libertarian viewpoint on a number of issues.
For instance, I saw that you were unsure about Congressman Paul's record on Universal Health Care. It's my understanding that he's dead set against Universal health Care because it's not an appropriate task for government in his eyes.
Seeing that you are from Chicago, I am surprised that you are not part of the Barack Obama bandwagon that seems to have "infected" your state. Is it his stance on abortion? Certainly he's for Universal Health Care. Barack, like Ron Paul, offers a new vision for Washington DC, and he's not an extreme right winger (please excuse the bird pun).
Foghorn
of the 3LB collective
the3lb.com
I don't mean to be a bother or a pest, but I did have a question, if you would allow me. . .
ReplyDeleteIsn't the true "pro-life" position also one that's against the death penalty?
Should not the death penalty should be abolished since it is contrary to to the word of God, literally against His Commandments?
No matter how heinous the individual or their acts, I personally cannot see any justification for a society to kill a criminal. The death penalty is nothing more than state sponsored murder, in my eyes, and such punishments certainly don't seem very Christian to me.
Can you justify why the Federal Government (a la Ron Paul's belief) should not step in to prevent state sponsored murder?
Most of the rest of the civilized world is in agreement with me on this issue, but there in the US you seem determined to play not only Judge and Jury, but also executioner.
Ron Paul's newsletter reveal decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays. In short, they suggest that Ron Paul is not the plain-speaking antiwar activist his supporters believe they are backing--but rather a member in good standing of some of the oldest and ugliest traditions in American politics.
ReplyDeleteRead here about Paul calling MKL a gay pedophile.
http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=e2f15397-a3c7-4720-ac15-4532a7da84ca
huh. So he's pro-life and anti-war...but also anti gun control and abolishing the death penalty?
ReplyDeleteLast I checked, guns--especially handguns kill people on a regular basis, and so does the death penalty.
Internet freedom? Sure, but let's make sure those freedoms don't apply to 'cyber bullying', which can lead to severe emotional distress and sometimes even suicide in young people (there's that pesky life issue popping up again)
You call that a strong pro-life candidate?
I go to school in the states, but I often thank God I am Canadian, and don't have to worry about my health, safety, and schools negatively impacted by NCLB.
Unfortunately, we Canadians are all too often affected by the American political climate, which has become far too right-wing crazy for my liking (Just look at our Prime Minister).
If I were an American, I think that any name followed by TX, (R) would be suspect to me for quite some time :oP