Why we Homeschol

Oh...and why we support Ron Paul...

Political Science

Over at Laura's we've been discussing the dustup over Ron Paul's "acceptance" of the theory of evolution. It inspired me to fire off a piece about how science really doesn't belong in politics. Politics is a clumsy, brutal affair because it is essentially blunt force.

Color me suprised

The co-chairman of Guiliani's veteran coalition in New Hampshire has had to resign.

“I don’t subscribe to the principle that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims,” Deady said in the article. “They’re all Muslims.”

It's surprising to me that anyone expressed any outrage over such a statement. We're bombing muslims into oblivion in the middle east. Seems like this is our official policy.

As somebody with Native American blood, I find this statement in keeping with how my ancestors were treated up until very recently. "The only good Indian is a dead Indian" was a statement I've actually heard in my youth by people who meant it. I look white so it wasn't directed at me of course.

"Nits make lice" was uttered in a political speech by Colonel Chivington, the guy who murdered women and children at Sand Creek. Google "sand creek massacre" as I'm too lazy to include a link for you. :)

K.T. Tunstall: Wow

glumbert - One Woman Band

Tangled Webs

I have a new article up at Lew's. Tangled Webs: Don't Weave Them says Ron Paul

As usual, Ron Paul is right about foreign policy while his opponents mouth platitudes.

Huckabee: Sheer Genius

Never mind that he tried to turn a tragic event into a political opportunity. But Huckabee also misstated the number of Pakistanis who have entered the country illegally in a clear attempt to add more fear into the mix. I mean, nevermind that the U.S. has propped up a dictator who illegally took power in Pakistan, let's concern ourselves with the number of Pakistani nationals who are trying to come here, overturn our republic and install a Sharia-based, islamo-Fascist government. And with 660 of them so far (a made up number) we should be waking up any day now to blasphemy charges....

By the way, the article I've linked is a must read. It finishes pretty strong with CNN analyst Bill Schneider essentially calling Huckabee supporters stupid.

But CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider said the debate over whether Huckabee has command of the nuances of the Pakistan crisis would have little impact on his support.

"Mike Huckabee is a populist. His comments on Pakistan reflect a populist understanding of the crisis, which, is to say, not much," Schneider said. "Sure, the political establishment is snickering, but I doubt that his misstatements bother his supporters much."

2007: A Paulitical Odyssey

The fourth quarter of Ron Paul's run for the Presidency has surely been a whirlwind if not historic.

These past few months have seen a flurry of activities, all of which signify the steady, logarithmic growth of the Ron Paul campaign. Where other campaigns are peaking, or have already peaked, the Ron Paul campaign has maintained a consistent and steady upward pattern, all without any willing help from the Old Media. The Old Media has been covering the historic events as they occur with an obvious reluctance. The Ron Paul Revolution's methods and effects on the current status quo can be summed up in a single cinematic scene: H.A.L.'s breakdown in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

If you remember this classic, you remember H.A.L. putting up obstacle after obstacle only to have Dave Bowman finally prevail and shut down that which had become a sinister master to those it was designed to serve. The Revolution is doing the same thing: regaining control over a government that has become master rather than servant of the people. The usual excuses and obstacles are being respectively discarded and ignored. What's rarely noted is the symbiotic relationship between members of the Revolution and its courageous leader; a perfect give and take affair in which each victory by one side or the other, makes the whole stronger. Several examples stand out.

On December 17, 2007, Glen Beck interviewed Dr. Paul and gave him the entire hour in which to answer his questions. That Dr. Paul agreed to appear was an act of courage bordering on heroism. Only weeks earlier, Beck had circled the neoconservative wagons, inviting David Horowitz and Jonathan Sands on his show to smear Paul's supporters and accuse them of terrorism. I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade but I personally don't think that Beck's change of heart, if that is indeed what it was, had anything to do with ideology. The prior attack brought forth quite a few suggestions that Beck's sponsors be contacted. I'm quite sure that this call wasn't ignored. How else do you explain such a quick turnaround in programming; from a long segment attacking Ron Paul's campaign to a full hour interview?

Perhaps this also explains the reason for Beck's bizarre behavior. Ranging from strange sexual innuendo, to a very clumsy attempt at playing the victim, it looked like Beck intended to be mean but couldn't quite pull it off properly. His body language and speech suggested he wasn't truly prepared for what he was facing. He looked as a man suppressing confession. Or, maybe he was afraid of openly attacking somebody so obviously polite and honest. As Lew Rockwell said back on November 18, "Ron is so transparently decent that the libels of the haters rebound against them, undermining them rather than him." 

The decimation of another Old Media commentator came on December 19th, as Neil Cavuto became the latest victim. Cavuto decided to pose Dr. Paul as his analyst to comment on whether or not "warm and fuzzy" candidate commercials were effective and then brought up a three-month-old story about donations by questionable characters to the campaign, finally asking, "What are you going to do about that?" Dr Paul's answers were so perfect that by the end of the interview you can hear Cavuto groaning and mumbling; wishing that the pain and embarrassment would just stop. Listening to the final 30 seconds of that interview, I haven't laughed so hard in weeks.

Dr. Paul's increasing media exposure was made possible by the other half of the Revolution, those crazy supporters. Having raised 4.2 million dollars on November 5th, supporters were not content to rest on their laurels. That mark was shattered on December 16th when over 6 million dollars were delivered to the campaign, surpassing John Kerry's record of 2004. It wasn't nearly the whole story.

"My God, it's full of Ron Paul supporters..."

During this quarter:

·       Supporters launched the Ron Paul blimp, raising over 300,000 dollars to launch it.

·       Hundreds (over 400) are moving to New Hampshire in order to canvass for Dr. Paul.

·       A Letter writing campaign was initiated so that hand-written letters could be delivered to voters in every county in Iowa. Over 518,000 have been mailed.

·       Meetup groups all across the country have been training members how to get elected as delegates to the national convention. It's already having a disquieting effect on Republican carpet-baggers across the country.

·       Ron Paul's poll numbers, even though certainly under counted, have risen from 2% to 7% nationally. This represents a steady changing of minds, exactly what you hope for in a political campaign.

·       Rallies were held world-wide on December 16, to commemorate the latest fund-raising achievement as it happened including in Belgium and France. The movement is global.

In short, there is no stopping this Revolution. The Old Guard is H.A.L. The Revolution is Major Dave Bowman. The film, arguably Kubrick's most innovative, is essentially about awakenings. This modern Revolution is an awakening, The Dawn Of Man. A new generation and the remnant are picking up the bones and discovering that, indeed, they hold their own future in their hands. And like H.A.L., the Old Guard is putting up its obstacles but it will not succeed.

Also, like H.A.L. the Old Guard is artificial. The true power in government is derived from the people. What we’ve accepted for so long is an artificial construct, namely, that our safety and our rights are the government’s to manage. We are at a time when our rights are being ignored on the pretense that our safety is at stake.

In our story, the obelisk, an object which was placed as an experiment meant to advance mankind, is the constitution. Its creators were not aliens, but men who fought and sometimes died for the principles contained therein.

I estimate that we are at the point where David Bowman is trying to re-enter Discovery One and H.A.L. is revealing that he is on to the conspiracy. The result is just as inevitable. While now is not the time to celebrate victories, I do expect a party to rock the globe (without spending any tax dollars) on January 20, 2009. That will be the day to rest and assess what has been achieved. And a day where the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.

Ron Paul Tied for Third in Iowa

Laura posted the link to this and a video of the story. When I watched it I had to stop and rewind..."Did I hear that right?"

Apparently so.

Unlike other candidates consigned to the periphery, Paul has refused to go away. He is now in a tie for third in Iowa with supposed top-tier hopefuls.

Federal Reserve/Gold Standard and the Keynesian Kooks

There is a lot of activity today trying to dis' Ron Paul about his monetary policy statements. Megan McArdle over at the Atlantic is a kook though she claims that Dr. Paul is the kook.

For me, I'll take the word of a man who knows enough about the fed to accurately predict recessions over some hysterical journalist.

"..as we drive the economy this year and for next year's election you will see conditions improve, but sure enough you will see the consequence of the inflation that we have today; in a couple of years you will see the recession, if not the depression of '86 or '87. So it is for this reason, out of humanitarian concern for our people, that we must reject the notion of central planning in money; just as we reject the ideas of central planning in agriculture or steel manufacturing."

Ron Paul at a von Mises Institute sponsored debate between Dr. Paul and Federal Reserve Board Governor Charles Partee 1983.

Very good Ron Paul Ad

License to Thrive

I thought this was pretty funny.

Glen Beck Interview with Dr. Paul is Up!

Wow. I'm not a fan of Glen Beck. His hysterics regarding terrorism have been a consistent reason for me to turn him off whenever I've caught him on the radio. I don't have television so I've never seen his TV programs but WOAI out of San Antonio carried his radio show for a long time.

However, I think that Beck is ambitious and is one of the few media personalities who has recognized that the revolution is a seriously large and powerful demographic. After watching this, I'm convinced he's getting on board.

Thanks to Students for Ron Paul for getting this up so quickly.

I think that Beck wants it both ways judging by certain segments of the interview but thought better of it because he didn't get a fight. He really tried to play the guilt by association card, but I believe the man has a conscience and realized that it just wasn't going to look good for him if he kept pushing it. So, the net effect is that Dr. Paul got about 35 minutes to answer questions in-depth.

We'll see how Beck treats this going forward but he has already shown he doesn't want to anger Ron Paul's supporters.

The Constitution is Just a God-Damned Piece of Paper

The Bush/PNAC doctrine trickles down to other oath-takers with an "R" next to their name.

"Some people in this chamber love the Constitution more than they love the safety of this nation.

We should all send President bush a letter thanking him for protecting us." - Jeff Sessions - 12/18/2007

It's like they want to destroy the Republican Party. Thanks to Steve Gordon for bringing this to our attention.

Still Think Ron Paul's Ideas are "Fringe?"

Think again. Hillary unveiled her new stump speech in Iowa today.

With polls showing most Democratic voters eager for a new direction in Washington, Clinton, with her long record in public life, has been forced to battle the perception that Obama would be the more effective change agent.

"We are ready for a new beginning," she told an audience in Council Bluffs. "It all comes down to one question: who is ready and able to make the changes we need on Day One in the White House."

Now, really. Which candidate would actually bring change to Washington? Answer: Ron Paul.

We Just Passed Five Million

Not too bad and there are about three more hours left. Still possible to get six million. Watch the detractors (losers) next week tell us how this was a failure.

Doing My Part

The widget was the coolest thing anyone has ever done for a campaign website.

I've donated what I could afford so far. I plan on getting to the maximum but that is going to require that I sell a rare guitar. I'll let everyone know when I've finally put it up on E-Bay, but I have a 1963 Fender Stratocaster I'll be putting on the block for the Ron Paul cause. That might even make it so that I can donate the maximum for both my wife and I. Today, we approach 4 million with 7 hours to go. Very exciting. I hope that we can get a big push at the end and strike out towards 8 million.

Deliver Us

This is so far my favorite illustration. There is a very touching story to go with it and the young lady who created this, Leah Tiscione, is extremely talented.

Really? Hillary donated to Ron Paul?

From Ron Paul Forums comes this interesting image and it is a screenshot from the Ron Paul campaign ticker.

Some of the Dirt on Huckabee Clinton doesn't want to leak yet.

Very interesting information is available via a lawsuit filed against the state board of education and the governor of Arkansas in a dispute about district funding. This Arkansas Supreme Court Decision is a gold mine of information that utterly devastates Huckabee's self-promotion as the "education" candidate.

This is from the Supreme Court's Chief Justice (by the way, the "home schooling advocate" Jonell Caldwell, named in the suit and who claims to be a pioneer in homeschooling in AK and has a much viewed video in support of Huckabee is in fact the chairman of the Arkansas State Education Board)

Results of the State's own Benchmark testing for eighth grade students in April 2000 showed that only sixteen percent were proficient or above in math statewide, and in the Little Rock School District only nine percent were proficient or above.

With respect to Arkansas high school students entering state universities, fifty-eight percent needed remediation in either English or math. For the Rogers High School students entering a university (including some students with 3.0 grade averages), forty-four percent needed remediation in either English or math.

Judge Kilgore concluded in his 2001 order that the "State has a remarkably serious problem with student performance." We agree.

...

Do you remember the NEA convention speech where Huckabee is talking about making sure that teachers are valued by way of increased salaries? What an incredible, bald-faced liar. If he really thought this was a priority, perhaps he'd have pressured the legislature to increase teacher pay. Not that I am a fan of paying teachers who can only achieve a 9% competency rate amongst students in math, but it's clear that Huckabee plays very fast and loose with the facts.

Arkansas' entry level for teacher salaries is last when compared to our eight bordering states, and Arkansas spends twenty percent less than the national average for teachers across the board. The entry level salary for Arkansas school districts bordering Memphis, Tennessee was about $5,695 less than that offered in Memphis school districts, and for more experienced teachers the differential was almost $6,000. A similar disparity exists for beginning salaries between school districts in Texarkana, Arkansas and Texarkana, Texas. Arkansas school districts pay about $4,000 less than those in Texas.

HSLDA and Huckabee

Their endorsement of Mike Huckabee makes me sick to my stomach. Huckabee does not have a decent record when it comes to home schooling. My open letter to homeschoolers should be up at Lew's tomorrow is up at Lew's now

Seasons Greetings From Ron Paul and his Family

Makes you wish you were a part of this family. I wonder what it's like around the Giuliani clan at Christmans....

Vaccine Politics

I have been a bit slow in producing articles lately for Lew. My business has been taking off and I've been occupied with that. Vaccines are a subject of which I have always been fascinated. Back in the 19th century, some scientists thought that the theory behind vaccines was a "grotesque superstition."

I have been coming around to this view for several years now. My latest on the subject will be up at Lew's tomorrow. Here's a preview.

What has resulted from this unholy marriage of corporate interests and the government is not public health but political medicine. Both figuratively and literally, political medicine is poison that seeks to destroy common sense, customer choice and too often, lives. When it isn’t denying medication that has been proven useful to cancer patients, it is attempting to mandate medicine and ban food supplements.

If one didn’t know any better, one might conclude that the FDA and related health agencies of the federal government, want you to get sick.

Robert Ringer: Voice of Tyranny

Where does Joe Farrah find such idiots?

By square one, I am referring to the great paradox that few Americans are willing to face up to: In order to preserve freedom, some freedoms must be restricted.

Bob is convinced that every Muslim is going to kill us. The level of his hysteria would be hard to match even though he tries to voice his opinion as one who truly cares about freedoms. As in, I really care about your freedoms but you better just give them up because, "when someone points a gun at you and says he's going to kill you, you don't have time to engage in an intellectual dialog about free speech and civil rights. The first order of business is to kill the guy with the gun in his hand."

His logic doesn't get any better. I wonder if he would also have us all disarm as well. But his logic, and the logic of all the warmongering neocons is this:

Give up your rights, or die.

Now, it's pretty funny. The most fundamental right, is our right to life. So by giving up that right, you die. If you give up your rights, you die. That is why the founding fathers, and they weren't that original actually (see: Magna Charta), believed that the ownership of firearms was paramount to freedom.

Bob Ringer has it wrong as do the rest of his carpet-bagging, neoconservative brethren. Live Free, or die. If we alllow ourselves to be swayed by such illogic as his, then we don't deserve to be free anyway.

USA Today Ad Guy.

Writes a letter to explain why he supports Ron Paul. He also lays out the importance of December 16. Thanks to Laura for posting it at her blog

Bush: Security Genius, Isolationist.

A kid in Iceland somehow got a secret number into the White House and gave it a ring, posing as the President of Iceland, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson. The White House Staff had lots of tough questions to ask to prove he was the actual President of Iceland but he made it through their gauntlet because "I had Wikipedia and a few other sites open, so it was not so difficult really."

Agents were dispatched to give him a stern talking to and to make sure he knew he'd be on the "no-fly" lists of the TSA. The report didn't mention it but I have it on good authority that they promised his baggage would be lost too if he dared to come to the U.S.

With a crack team like this, it's a mystery how the events of 9/11 could have occurred.

Why do I get the feeling that if Ron Paul were President, he'd encourage him to visit the U.S. and wouldn't be alienating him?

Help! My Ron Paul Revolution Song needs Video

I can make music, but I am clueless when it comes to making video. I recently wrote and produced a Ron Paul revolution song and would love to see it put to video. If you are a person who can do this, I encourage you to download the song (located here and use this as the soundtrack.

The song is titled "I'm Alive". "I'm Alive" can refer to a lot of things but mainly it refers to "the remnant" of freedom advocates once believed to be all but dead until the Ron Paul revolution began. Non Serviam over at Ron Paul Radio has been playing this song daily on Ron Paul Radio. He is responsible for the mastering.

Shoot me a link if you decide to pick this up. And, for what it's worth, I don't have a huge readership here. About 1k visitors a month, so I'd be much obliged if you pass this around.

[UPDATE: Somebody suggested I checkout podsafe. Much cooler than Garage Band I think and gives me the ability to embed the player like youtube.

Hillary's Economic Cluelessness

I mean....really. On CNBC(HT Lew Rockwell) she gives her plan to bail out the poor, poor people who were "lured in" by apparently unscrupulous lenders. Her plan would freeze interest rates (confiscate property of the lenders) for 5 years.

The the interviewer's credit, she asked some very pertinent questions which leads me to the conclusion that Hillary hasn't got a clue. She called the Federal Reserve an "independent body" of which she would not be comfortable dictating a strategy. She either doesn't realize that it was the Fed's horrible monetary policies which created this crisis, or does and sees it as an opportunity to further control the market.

Actually, both are probably true. She views any crisis as an opportunity to send more jack-booted thugs out into our streets to dictate what happens to us.

When asked where the billions of dollars would originate to finance her plans, she glibly responded, "it comes from where it comes: the budget."

If that isn't the most vacuous and condescending (to the people who are being robbed)response ever ......ooooohhh I can't even finish this sentence properly it makes me so mad.

Couple that with some info that Laura posted today about the Fed allowing banks to get discount loans directly from the Fed, and you have all you need to know about these corrupt thieves who allegedly represent us.

Go Ron Paul Go....

Local News Coverage

My partner and I started DriveBuy Technologies back in August. We're now in 12 states and growing. The local news ran a story this morning about the technology we've developed.

[Update: picked up by MSNBC]

And the Polls are Accurate Now?

From a yahoo news article (Reuters) on polling:

"State polls may be even more valuable ultimately because that is the primary trail. They reflect the presence of very intense campaigning that other states are not getting," Miringoff said.

Even a month before the first votes, a state poll can be extremely misleading, Donahue cautioned. At this point in the 2004 race, Democrat Howard Dean had a huge lead over John Kerry in New Hampshire, where Kerry won. At this point in the 2000 race, Republican George W. Bush led Arizona Sen. John McCain in New Hampshire, but lost that primary by 18 points, she said.

"In 2000 and 2004, the polls were so incorrect at this point in time as to be completely meaningless," she said.

Why was McCain attacking Ron Paul in the last debate? Because he knows that Ron Paul is not a dark horse anymore, he's the front runner.

Look Ma! We're on TV!

Tomorrow, December 4, 2007, my company, DriveBuy Technologies will be featured on KXAN's morning news show here in Austin. The show airs between 5 and 7 AM. We develop SMS text messaging applications (cell phone) for real estate professionals and business owners seeking to expand their reach.

If you live in Austin, check it out. I don't have a television so I'll have to wait for the re-runs on You Tube.

Salon is the New New York Times

I remember the first time I actually read a NYT newspaper for the first time. Great writing is an understatement.

I also remember during Clinton's presidency when Salon was created. It wasn't very good but it certainly has come along. Greenwald is superb. Here's a great article about Ron Paul in New Hampshire and it is reminiscent of what made the NYT a great paper.

Ronmey's Money.

So, just how fiscally wise is it to blow 160,000 dollars on straw poll tickets so that some 100 or so attendees can vote 800 times between them and phony up the results? Isn't that an awful lot of money for something so trivial as a straw poll?

The local GOP organization made a bunch of money, but can the primary be bought in the same way? Are these events the way that the campaigns have traditionally won the state primaries? Is this entire primary thing just a sham?

The GOP needs a rude awakening. The end-run is to ignore the primary popular votes and stack the national convention with Ron Paul delegates. It can be done. Ron Paul doesn't have to win the primary votes outright. He only needs to have the delegates at the convention.

The Florida Meetup is PISSED

The meetup organizer lays it out. Apparently the local GOP chairman threatened to "hurt" one of the members if she didn't keep quiet about it. That didn't seem to scare her in the slightest. (HT: Laura)

Romney supporters voting multiple times....

Not a lot of press on this....I wonder why. Ron Paul came in second but only because his supporters voted once. This guy votes at least 5 times while the camera rolls.

Democrats Can't Debate without Hollywood Writers?

I've seen some pretty bizarre things but this one makes sense....

Found at the bottom of a St. Petersburg times news article about the Florida Straw Poll:

The Democratic National Committee has canceled a Dec. 10 presidential debate in Los Angeles because of a potential strike by CBS news writers.

God knows they don't want to utter any unscripted, straight answers.

Tea Party

David Dees is quickly becoming my favorite illustrator. My Tightens the Screws article for Lew featured a brilliant illustration by David and I get at least one a week from him, every one brilliant in its own way. David's a master at combining relevant themes and you can find an archive of his stuff at his site and over at Rense.com which has featured his work. The commercial projects he's been involved with will surprise you.