Thursday, June 27, 2019
Anti-war Presidential Candidates
I have no illusions about the quadrennial American presidential election circus. The mainstream media and the major parties are very effective in marginalizing the voices of any candidates that even mildly name or challenge the military-industrial-(propaganda) complex. In the highly unlikely event that a principled peace candidate was elected s/he would be resisted, hamstrung, and/or assassinated.
Nevertheless, the circus does provide a small opening to speak against the war machine and expose the bankruptcy of American media/politics-as-usual. In that spirit I offer the following three presidential campaign videos, which are unlike anything you'll ever see from a "respectable" establishment candidate.
The first two are from 2020 campaigns. The third video is actually a very timely debate video from Ron Paul's 2012 campaign on the subject of Iran. Click on the post labels for Gabbard and Paul to see other videos or posts.
If you care about trying to make peace and war part of the 2020 presidential campaign discussion and can afford it then please consider making a donation to the Mike Gravel and Tulsi Gabbard campaigns.
Labels: Democrats, Iran, media, Mike Gravel, politics, Republicans, Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, United States, video, voting, War
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Warmongers in their ivory towers
She reminds me a bit of Ron Paul's 2012 campaign.
Labels: militarism, politics, Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbard, United States, video, War
Sunday, September 11, 2016
In Honor of Patriot Day
In 2001, Congress designated September 11th as "Patriot Day". In honor of the day here are some thoughts from one American statesman on patriotism,
war, and civil liberties:
The true patriot … rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state. Unquestioned loyalty to the state is especially demanded in times of war. Lack of support for a war policy is said to be unpatriotic. … Yet, it is dissent from government policies that defines the true patriot and champion of liberty ... we must not forget that the true patriot is the one who protests in spite of the consequences …
We are continually being reminded that 9/11 has changed everything.
Unfortunately, the policy that needed most to be changed, that is, our policy of foreign interventionism, has only been expanded …
The record since September 11th is dismal. Respect for liberty has rapidly deteriorated. Many of the new laws passed after 9/11 had, in fact, been proposed long before that attack. The political atmosphere after that attack simply made it more possible to pass such legislation. The fear generated by 9/11 became an opportunity for those seeking to promote the power of the state domestically, just as it served to falsely justify the long-planned invasion of Iraq …
Though opposition to totally unnecessary war should be the only moral position, the rhetoric is twisted to claim that patriots who oppose the war are not supporting the troops. The cliché 'Support the Troops' is incessantly used as a substitute for the unacceptable notion of supporting the policy, no matter how flawed it may be.
Unsound policy can never help the troops. Keeping the troops out of harm's way and out of wars unrelated to our national security is the only real way of protecting the troops. With this understanding, just who can claim the title of 'patriot'?
Before the war in the Middle East spreads and becomes a world conflict for which we will be held responsible, or the liberties of all Americans become so suppressed we can no longer resist, much has to be done. Time is short, but our course of action should be clear. Resistance to illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of our rights is required. Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes.
But let it not be said that we did nothing …
Source: US Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas). "Patriotism." Congressional Record 153:84 (May 22, 2007; 110th US Congress) pp. H5609-H5612.
The true patriot … rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state. Unquestioned loyalty to the state is especially demanded in times of war. Lack of support for a war policy is said to be unpatriotic. … Yet, it is dissent from government policies that defines the true patriot and champion of liberty ... we must not forget that the true patriot is the one who protests in spite of the consequences …
We are continually being reminded that 9/11 has changed everything.
Unfortunately, the policy that needed most to be changed, that is, our policy of foreign interventionism, has only been expanded …
The record since September 11th is dismal. Respect for liberty has rapidly deteriorated. Many of the new laws passed after 9/11 had, in fact, been proposed long before that attack. The political atmosphere after that attack simply made it more possible to pass such legislation. The fear generated by 9/11 became an opportunity for those seeking to promote the power of the state domestically, just as it served to falsely justify the long-planned invasion of Iraq …
Though opposition to totally unnecessary war should be the only moral position, the rhetoric is twisted to claim that patriots who oppose the war are not supporting the troops. The cliché 'Support the Troops' is incessantly used as a substitute for the unacceptable notion of supporting the policy, no matter how flawed it may be.
Unsound policy can never help the troops. Keeping the troops out of harm's way and out of wars unrelated to our national security is the only real way of protecting the troops. With this understanding, just who can claim the title of 'patriot'?
Before the war in the Middle East spreads and becomes a world conflict for which we will be held responsible, or the liberties of all Americans become so suppressed we can no longer resist, much has to be done. Time is short, but our course of action should be clear. Resistance to illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of our rights is required. Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes.
But let it not be said that we did nothing …
Source: US Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas). "Patriotism." Congressional Record 153:84 (May 22, 2007; 110th US Congress) pp. H5609-H5612.
Labels: 9/11, freedom, military, patriotism, quotations, Ron Paul, terrorism, United States, War
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
US Wars: Jeers to Cheers in 60 Seconds
Watch the video below to see how Ron Paul at a Republican Party presidential candidate debate last night takes the audience, in less than a minute, from jeers--when he prescribes Jesus' Golden Rule* for US foreign policy--to cheers--when he declares, "This country doesn't need another war, we need to quit the ones we're in. We need we need to save the money and bring our troops home."
Here's a transcript of his remarks:
"My point is, is if another country does to us what we do others, we're not going to like it very much. So I would say that maybe we ought to consider a golden rule in, in foreign policy. Don't do to other nations what we don't want to have them do to us. So, we, we endlessly bomb, we endlessly bomb these countries countries and then we wonder, wonder why they get upset with us? And, and yet it continues on and on. This idea that we can't debate foreign policy, that all we have to do is start another war? I mean, it's, it's warmongering. They're building up for another war against Iran, and people can't wait to get in another war. This country doesn't need another war. We need to quit the ones we're in. We need to save the money and bring our troops home."
* Matthew 7:12 - "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Luke 6:31 - "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you."
Here's a transcript of his remarks:
"My point is, is if another country does to us what we do others, we're not going to like it very much. So I would say that maybe we ought to consider a golden rule in, in foreign policy. Don't do to other nations what we don't want to have them do to us. So, we, we endlessly bomb, we endlessly bomb these countries countries and then we wonder, wonder why they get upset with us? And, and yet it continues on and on. This idea that we can't debate foreign policy, that all we have to do is start another war? I mean, it's, it's warmongering. They're building up for another war against Iran, and people can't wait to get in another war. This country doesn't need another war. We need to quit the ones we're in. We need to save the money and bring our troops home."
* Matthew 7:12 - "In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets."
Luke 6:31 - "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you."
Labels: politics, Ron Paul, United States, video, War
