Pick Your Poison: Ron Paul

When Ron Paul uttered his rationale for the 9/11 attack on the U.S. (“They attack us because we’ve been over there; we’ve been bombing Iraq for 10 years.”) it may have woke up some Americans to the possibility that our country has done some very ill-considered things in the name of ‘making the world a better place.’ Some people, however, refuse to wake up! Look, for instance, at Rudy Giuliani’s reaction to Ron Paul’s statement: ” I don’t think I’ve heard that before, and I’ve heard some pretty absurd explanations for September 11th.” And, as unlikely as it seems, that may be the truth! Who, in Giuliani’s circle of friends and supporters, would even consider that saving the world from itself was not the correct thing to do and who among them would ever believe that someone could hate you and attack you for doing the right thing?

As I see it, Ron Paul is at least partially right; one of the basic principles of how the world works is: Every “good” act will be perceived as bad by someone!; but he is wrong to completely ignore the social, political and religious aspects of that hatred. In any event, creating an enemy is not necessarily a bad thing, but if you create enemies you must be prepared to deal with them.

Keep in mind that some things MUST be done in the name of survival and America’s involvement in the Middle-East just may have been one of those things. No one outside the ‘circle of power’ in the White House knows for sure but I’ve always assumed that we (the U.S. Government) had a very sound, strategic, survival-related reason for our active involvement in Middle-Eastern politics and I also assume that one day, when some dead politician’s memoirs are published, we will find out what that reason REALLY was. You can be sure, however, that whatever the reason we went into Iraq, we didn’t go into Iraq with a clear understanding of the consequences (the cost and the number of U.S. casualties).

Now Forget What You Just Read! It’s Not Relevant!

What IS . . . IS!

Today, it doesn’t matter WHY we got involved in the Middle-Eastern mess, all that matters is that WE ARE THERE and we have to take a next step.

Pick Your Poison!

In the very unlikely event that Ron Paul became president in 2009, assuming he sticks to his current ‘script,’ we will probably see a massive troop withdrawal from around the world. It is not likely we will go completely ‘isolationist. i.e., close all overseas military bases and completely abandon close allies, but you can be sure we will be out of the Middle-East and other war zones.

If one of the leading Democrats takes office in 2009 the result will be pretty much the same except that our withdrawal of troops will be limited, at least initially, to Iraq.

If one of the Republican front-runners becomes president we may stay in Iraq until the Iraqi government and military are strong enough to survive without us or, depending on which Republican wins, we may see a similar scenario as we would see under the Democrats.

Personally, I believe that, for our own safety and survival, the radical Islamist movement must be destroyed — IF we can do that without fighting them in Iraq, we must do it; IF it takes another five or ten years to do it, we must do it; IF we can do it diplomatically, without open warfare, we must do it — I’m not a military tactician but I know that however it can be done it MUST be done, simply because we cannot coexist with people who feel that they have an edict from their God to destroy everyone who does not worship as they do and we MUST elect a president that understands that!!

While picking your poison however, don’t forget that the United States has other very serious problems besides the Middle-East. We have a government that is spending OUR money at an alarming rate; an income tax system that is too large, too complex and too inefficient; government regulations that strangle the free-market; existing and proposed legislation that puts the government smack in the middle of our private lives and personal business; and, of course, a still-unimpeded invasion of illegal immigrants who are, according to current plans, going to be allowed to continue draining our economy and destroying our culture.

Which of the current crop of candidates for President is likely to correct some or most of these domestic problems and still focus on the major international threat to our safety?

If the election was tomorrow, I would have to say that Ron Paul had the best chance of meeting that challenge . . . but I’m glad the election isn’t tomorrow . . . that I still have nearly 18 months to pick my own brand of poison.

Links about Ron Paul

Houston Chronicle: Lake Jackson’s Paul stirs GOP presidential race

Free-Market News Network: Could Ron Paul Win in New Hampshire?

From the blogosphere:

Buttle’s World: Ron Paul Experiment

House of Chin: Ron Paul Lovefest

News and commentary by: Whymrhymer can also be found at the Blogger News Network and at The American Chronicle Family of Journals

May 1st: The Corruption of an American Holiday

It is perhaps a little known fact but it IS a fact that May 1st each year is a legal holiday (but not a “Federal holiday”) in the United States. Before becoming a legal holiday, May 1st had been known as “Americanization Day.” Americanization Day was started in the early 1920s as a response to the “May Day” holiday that was (and is still) celebrated in Communist countries to commemorate the “Haymarket Riots” of 1886. In 1958 May 1st became a legal holiday when the U.S. Congress passed Public Law 85-529 and changed the day’s name to “Loyalty Day.” The stated purpose of Loyalty Day, in the 1958 law, is to make May 1st “a special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom.”

Over the years, the Loyalty Day holiday has not been well observed and now, apparently, May 1st has been taken hostage by forces that represent the very antithesis of the intended ‘spirit’ of the American holiday; forces that are not loyal to the United States and plainly do not respect the American heritage — these are forces that want our National borders to disappear and want the laws that protect our sovereignty as a nation to disappear with them. The people behind this movement have bastardized May 1st into a day where nationwide immigration reform rallies are held — rallies that are supposed to give credence to the absurd notion that every immigrant who crosses into our country illegally has the same rights those immigrants who arrived here legally and even the same rights as those who were born here to American citizens. Saying it doesn’t make it so, but repeating it often enough makes it seem to many like it is!

Do those who champion an open door policy for our nation’s borders do the same in their homes? I certainly doubt it. If they did they would find far too many people willing to move into their homes, eat their food, sleep in their beds and drain their personal assets — soon the place they called home would cease to exist in any recognizable form. Why then are these same people so willing to have our country invaded and allow our country to be drained of its assets so that it eventually ceases to exist in any recognizable form?

Do those who want our laws diluted not raise their own children to obey all of the rules and laws that apply to them, and punish their children for infractions? I’m sure they do! So why then do they encourage others to break our immigration laws and then want to reward those same lawbreakers by granting them amnesty?

Could there be a double standard at work? You think . . .?

Surely rounding up all illegal immigrants and shipping them back home is an impractical idea — and it not even necessary. All that is necessary, as I pointed out in my recent post: “Border Security and Fences: ‘Window Dressing,’ Not Solutions,” is to enforce existing laws. That, however, is something that is apparently not considered in the halls of congress — at least not seriously.

One last thought: The protesters at the May 1 rallies are presumed to have the “right” to protest because, people say, this is a “free country” well I hate to burst any bubbles but it is American citizens and legal residents who have rights under the United States Constitution, not illegal immigrants. The only right the illegal immigrant has is the right to find his or her way back to where they came from and the right to apply to come back again some day, legally.

Links:

Bloomberg: U.S. Rallies Focus on Rights of Undocumented Workers

KGPE-CBS TV: Immigration reform marches and rallies take to NorCal Streets

Merry Beltane!: THE ORIGINS AND TRADITIONS OF MAYDAY

From the blogosphere:

Vox Ex Machina: What democracy looks like

Texas Hold ‘Em Blogger: A DAY WITHOUT ILLEGALS

News and commentary by: Whymrhymer can also be found at the My View from the Center and at The American Chronicle Family of Journals