antiwar republican ron paul declares presidential candidacy

from dpa: Texas Congressman Ron Paul announced Friday his bid to gain the Republican Party nomination to challenge President Barack Obama in the 2012 election. Paul, 75, made the announcement on ABC Television's Good Morning America. A radical free-market libertarian, Paul was a fringe presidential candidate in 2008 whose small but loyal following raised unexpected millions of dollars for his campaign, though he fell well short of the conservative party's nomination. Opposed to nearly all foreign military deployments, Paul was one of the few members of Congress among the hawkish Republicans who voted against the 2003 Iraq invasion, and he has called for a US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Paul, a medical doctor by training, had already formed a presidential exploratory committee last month. Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, declared himself a candidate on Wednesday. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, another failed 2008 candidate, and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty have formed exploratory committees for their expected presidential runs.

related updates:
trump won't run for president*
huckabee rules out 2012 white house run*
re-election no joking matter for obama*

outside the box #250/251

outside the box #250
from blip.tv: Alex Ansary talks with Marc Delphine about his campaign to unseat Ron Wyden's and gain his seat in the Oregon Senate as a Libertarian candidate. Marc discusses our current economic system's problems with a Federal Reserve System combined with total lack of oversight or accountability.

drills held at dc transit station days before pentagon shooting

from kurt nimmo: Coincidence? Several days before John Patrick Bedell attacked two Pentagon cops and was killed, D.C. police staged a drill at the Friendship Heights Metro station in in Northwest Washington. “Metro police and other emergency personnel will descend on the Friendship Heights Station starting at 11:30 Wednesday night for an anti-terrorist exercise in which mock gunmen open fire, killing or wounding several passengers,” Ann Scott Tyson reported for the Washington Post on February 22. “Agencies responding will include the Metro police special response team, as well as fire, police and emergency medical personnel from the District, Montgomery County and the FBI, according to a Metro statement.” Prior to the Friendship Heights Metro station drill, on February 3, D.C. Metro Transit Police staged their largest anti-terrorism sweep ever, “some toting M-4 rifles and others guiding bomb-sniffing dogs,” according to the Post. “In coming months, they plan to hold similar drills for the effort, dubbed Blue TIDE (Terrorism Identification and Deterrence Effort).”

further complications:
let the spin begin:
bedell, 9/11 truth & the 'metro active shooter exercise'*
US hunts for citizens training with terror groups*
john patrick bedell:
welcome to the conspiracy theorist/lone nut era*
bedell, stack & von brunn: blame it on the internet*
soros-linked blog claims bedell a libertarian 'terrorist'*
pentagon shooting: now everyone's a terrorist*
pentagon shooting 'oddities' by legitgov.org*

ron paul: 'neocon influence' is infiltrating liberty movement

from raw story: In the face of several electoral challenges from tea party-connected candidates, Texas Republican Congressman Ron Paul cautioned in a recent interview that "neocon influence" is "infiltrating" the movement he is often credited for creating. Speaking to MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night, Paul first took up for the tea parties as a natural reaction of the people when they are unhappy with government. What they are not, he explained, are entirely adherent to his ideas. Paul suggested that the group only "sometimes" represents his views.

"My message is somewhat different," he said. "The message gets somewhat diluted" with large movements of this nature. "Everybody likes to join what looks like a popular movement, then they want to come in and influence that movement," Paul continued. His core issues, such as creating transparency at the Federal Reserve, recalling overseas soldiers and ending the drug war, are "not what is generally heard from the Republican party," he said.

taxday 2009 & the great american econocrash

white house locked down after threat from tea bag

2,000 crowd capitol 'tea party' to protest taxes
from oregonian: On a day already loathed by tax haters, 2,000 people crowded the Capitol steps to protest corporate bailouts, higher taxes and the state of government in both Oregon and in the United States. The demonstration in Salem was one of 20 scattered throughout Oregon on Wednesday, all modeled after the Boston Tea Party in 1773 when people dumped tea to protest British taxation. From California to New York, thousands of people joined in more than 500 such tea parties across the country.


and the rest of the updates:
natl guard on alert for tea party protests*
video: libertarians say republicans have hijacked tea party movement*
reckless spending & taxation prolonged great depression*
video: obama’s spending to result in mass protests*
more americans wary of the tax man this year*
republicrats determined to turn tea parties into circus sideshow*
perry fires up anti-tax crowd*
perry’s cynical effort to exploit the tea party & state's rights movement*
'grassroots' chicago tea party organized with help from right-wing heartland institute*
obamas report '08 income of $2.6m*
obama vows to reform 'monstrous' tax code*
fox-driven 'tea parties' fail to ignite popular uprising among US conservatives*

the masonic boston tea party
from copycat effect: Today is April 15th, and there will be "tea parties" throughout the USA. Few carrying out these 2009 symbolic acts understand the origins of the Boston Tea Party, which occurred on December 16, 1773. The Masonic background to the Boston Tea Party is part of the twilight history of the nation.



napolitano can’t say if illegals will get stimulus money

debtors' prison - again
from st petersburg times: In a little-noticed trend blamed on the state's hard economic times, several courts in Florida have resurrected the de facto debtor's prison — having thousands of Floridians jailed for failing to pay assessed court fees and fines. The shortsighted plan threatens to run afoul of the U.S. Constitution. It appears to generate little additional revenue relative to the misery it causes, and it should be stopped.

video: sacramento tent-city residents issued moving papers

goldman sachs tries to shut down financial blogger
from global research: Mike Morgan is a registered investment adviser and a scrappy shoot-from-the-hip guy who doesn't mince his words. Recently Morgan has come under fire from investment giant Goldman Sachs for his hard-hitting web site "Facts about Goldman Sachs". According to the U.K. Telegraph: "Goldman Sachs is attempting to shut down a dissident blogger who is extremely critical of the investment bank, its board members and its practices. The bank has instructed Wall Street law firm Chadbourne & Parke to pursue blogger Mike Morgan, warning him in a recent cease-and-desist letter that he may face legal action if he does not close down his website. According to Chadbourne & Parke's letter, dated April 8, the bank is rattled because the site "violates several of Goldman Sachs' intellectual property rights" and also "implies a relationship" with the bank itself. Unsurprisingly for a man who has conjoined the bank's name with the Number of the Beast – although he jokingly points out that 666 was also the S&P500's bear-market bottom – Mr Morgan is unlikely to go down without a fight. He claims he has followed all legal requirements to own and operate the website – and that the header of the site clearly states that the content has not been approved by the bank. On a special section of his blog entitled "Goldman Sachs vs Mike Morgan" he predicts that the fight will probably end up in court. "It's just another example of how a bully like Goldman Sachs tries to throw their weight around," he writes."

is goldman sachs running the plunge protection team?

23 banks closed in '09 & counting...
from bloomberg: Banks in Colorado and North Carolina were shut as rising unemployment and a loss of jobs shrinks household wealth in the deepest recession in a quarter century, pushing the toll of U.S. bank failures to 23 this year. New Frontier Bank in Greeley, Colorado, with $2 billion in assets and $1.5 billion in deposits, and Cape Fear Bank in Wilmington, North Carolina, with $492 million in assets and $403 million in deposits, were shut today by state regulators.

general motors told to prep for bankruptcy

lehman sits on bomb of uranium cake as prices slump
from bloomberg: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. is sitting on enough uranium cake to make a nuclear bomb as it waits for prices of the commodity to rebound, according to traders and nuclear experts. The bankrupt bank, in the throes of paying off creditors, acquired uranium cake “under a matured commodities contract” and plans to sell it when the market improves “to realize the best prices,” Chief Executive Officer Bryan Marsal said. Lehman, once the fourth-largest investment bank, has an estimated $200 billion in unsecured liabilities left to pay. The uranium, which may be as much as 500,000 pounds, might fetch $20 million at today’s prices of about $40.50 per pound, said traders who asked not to be named because of the confidential nature of the data. Marsal said the traders’ estimate of Lehman’s uranium holding is “reasonable,” while declining to be more specific. Uranium has dropped for five straight months from $55 a pound on Dec. 1 on concerns that countries including China and India would delay nuclear power projects because of the global economic crisis, and because Lehman might dump its radioactive material on the market, the traders said. More than 43 million pounds of uranium-oxide concentrate, or yellowcake equivalent sold on the spot market last year, more than doubling the 2007 trading volume, according to Roswell, Georgia-based Ux Consulting Co.

pets left homeless as owners face foreclosure

police state int'l: damage, drills, drug tests & demonstrations

'eastern shield 2009' tests emergency response in florida &
emergency crews converge for terrorism training

damage control: US army investigates deploying troops in samson
from kurt nimmo: CNSNews is reporting the U.S. Army has launched an investigation into the deployment of troops on the streets of Samson, Alabama, after a murder spree on March 10. The use of the troops in domestic law enforcement is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act substantially limiting the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement.

update: samson police chief called for troops
from chipley paper: Jerome R. Corsi of World Net Daily reports that Samson Police Chief Gary Weeks asked for Army help from nearby Ft. Rucker after the massacre that left 12 people dead. WND confirmed troops from nearby Ft. Rucker provided limited assistance after a request from the police chief of Samson, Ala. The Associated Press earlier reported that the Army launched an inquiry into the use of soldiers from Fort Rucker in the town of Samson after the south Alabama shooting massacre. The Army confirmed today that 22 military police and an officer were sent to Samson after the mass slaying of 12 people last week. The town's tiny police force and county officers were stretched to the limit after the shootings. Some have questioned why Army troops were sent to Samson, suggesting the move was a possible violation of federal law. An Army spokesman says officials with the Army Training and Doctrine Command are trying to determine what happened. Among the questions is why the troops were sent to Samson and what they did while there.

dangerous japanese 'detergent suicide' technique creeps into US

missouri report on militias/terrorists draws criticism
from ap: A new document meant to help Missouri law enforcement agencies identify militia members or domestic terrorists has drawn criticism for some of the warning signs mentioned. The Feb. 20 report called "The Modern Militia Movement" mentions such red flags as political bumper stickers for third-party candidates, such as U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, who ran for president last year; talk of conspiracy theories, such as the plan for a superhighway linking Canada to Mexico; and possession of subversive literature. "It seems like they want to stifle political thought," said Roger Webb, president of the University of Missouri campus Libertarians. "There are a lot of third parties out there, and none of them express any violence. In fact, if you join the Libertarian Party, one of the things you sign in your membership application is that you don't support violence as a means to any ends." But state law enforcement officials said the report is being misinterpreted.

video: florida sen. wants random drug tests for the unemployed

nsa offering 'billions' for skype eavesdrop solution
from the register: News of a possible viable business model for P2P VoIP network Skype emerged today, at the Counter Terror Expo in London. An industry source disclosed that America's supersecret National Security Agency (NSA) is offering "billions" to any firm which can offer reliable eavesdropping on Skype IM and voice traffic. The spybiz exec, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed that Skype continues to be a major problem for government listening agencies, spooks and police. This was already thought to be the case, following requests from German authorities for special intercept/bugging powers to help them deal with Skype-loving malefactors. Britain's GCHQ has also stated that it has severe problems intercepting VoIP and internet communication in general.

9/11 truth activist arrested in canadian bush protest

ron paul: 3rd parties, endorsements & more

ron paul rejects mccain campaign's plea for endorsement
from raw story: Ron Paul held a press conference urging voters to select a third-party presidential candidate instead of Barack Obama or John McCain. The Texas congressman said that he fielded a phone call from the McCain campaign on Tuesday asking him for an endorsement... This video is from CNN.com, broadcast September 10, 2008.


gramm pressured paul to endorse mccain
from thinkprogress: After former senator Phil Gramm said that America was a “nation of whiners,” the McCain campaign claimed that its top economic adviser would no longer be working with them. However, at a press conference today, Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) revealed that Gramm had recently called and pressured him to endorse McCain — an offer that he refused.

ron paul statement to the national press club
from campaign for liberty:

"The argument that the two parties should represent opposed ideals and policies, one, perhaps of the Right and the other of the Left, is a foolish idea acceptable only to the doctrinaire and academic thinkers. Instead the two parties should be almost identical, so that the American people can ‘throw the rascals out’ at any election without leading to any profound or extensive shifts in policy." - Carroll Quigley – Author of Tragedy & Hope

The coverage of the presidential election is designed to be a grand distraction. This is not new, but this year, it’s more so than ever. Pretending that a true difference exists between the two major candidates is a charade of great proportion. Many who help to perpetuate this myth are frequently unaware of what they are doing and believe that significant differences actually do exist. Indeed, on small points there is the appearance of a difference. The real issues, however, are buried in a barrage of miscellaneous nonsense and endless pontifications by robotic pundits hired to perpetuate the myth of a campaign of substance. The truth is that our two-party system offers no real choice. The real goal of the campaign is to distract people from considering the real issues.

ron paul, no longer a candidate, makes a run at third-party unity
from mcclatchy: Texas Rep. Ron Paul, whose antiwar campaign galvanized an army of young people during his Republican presidential run, is now something of a third-party power broker, with both the McCain team and the Libertarian Party vying for his support.

Paul held a news conference Wednesday to present a united front of minor-party presidential candidates — independent Ralph Nader, the Green Party's Cynthia McKinney and the Constitution Party's Chuck Baldwin — on issues important to him and to declare his preferred candidate, which turned out to be anyone but the Democratic or Republican nominees.

"Presidential elections turn out to be more of a charade than anything else," said Paul, adding there was no difference between the major-party candidates, Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama.

update: paul & nader on cnn

ron paul followers pose danger for mccain in west

from ap: Dueling delegations pitting Ron Paul's Nevada supporters against those of John McCain vow to take their fight to the Republican National Convention.

That's just one sign that the outsider, Internet-fueled movement led by the feisty Republican congressman from Texas remains afloat in the wake of McCain's victory in the GOP primaries.

In the libertarian-leaning West, where Paul's message of distrust of the federal government and ardent individualism played particularly well, there is talk of Republicans straying from McCain. Libertarian candidate Bob Barr has emerged as a favorite alternative for Paul activists, followed by Constitutional Party candidate Chuck Baldwin.

Even if the numbers of such dissenters are small, in tight contests in key Western states they could spoil McCain's chances, experts say.

"In Nevada, there's absolutely enough to have an effect on the election," said Chuck Muth, a leading conservative activist in a state in which early polls show McCain and Democratic candidate Barack Obama in a statistical tie.

ron paul to end campaign outside texas convention?

ron paul doesn't concede, but intends to lead


from latimes: The "Ron Paul Revolution" isn't over until Ron Paul says it's over. And he's not done yet. Amid reports that Paul would formally end his presidential campaign, the iconoclastic Texas Republican congressman instead told supporters Thursday night that he intended to lead a "Campaign for Liberty" movement to give libertarians a bigger say within the GOP.


from ap: Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul will end his campaign Thursday night and announce a new effort to help elect libertarian-leaning Republican to public offices around the country.

Campaign spokesman Jessee Benton said the announcement, expected during a speech outside the Texas Republican convention, was "not a disappointment at all. I think this is really exciting."

Paul's announcement will be a formality.

The 72-year-old Texas congressman won few delegates during the Republican primaries. But he raised millions of dollars online and developed a large, grass-roots following among those who backed his call for end the war in Iraq and smaller government at home.

Supporters have pushed for a speaking role for him at the Republican National Convention in September in St. Paul, Minn. Paul has said he won't endorse Sen. John McCain, the likely GOP presidential nominee. Benton said that was unlikely to change.


nancy pelosi pulled iran bill on orders of israel
from we saw that: In a speech given on 06 june 2008, in reston, virginia, at the hyatt regency, reston, to the future of freedom foundation, 'restoring the republic 2008: foreign policy and civil liberties' conference, congressman ron paul, tells how speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, acting on orders of israel and aipac, 'deliberately' pulled a supplemental bill requiring congressional approval for attacking iran.


paul rejects mccain ‘values,’ praises barr
from raw story: Rep. Ron Paul recently made waves when he announced his intention to stage a competing one-day mini-convention across town from the Republican National Convention next September... Paul spoke to CNN’s John Roberts on Wednesday about his plans for the gathering, insisting that he does not see it as a “mini-convention” but merely as a “rally” to celebrate his campaign.

revolution, assassination & the presidential selection

the ron paul revolution rages on
video: aimee allen's ron paul anthem*
ron paul: obama presidency will not bring change*
for paul, it ain’t over till it’s over*
libertarian dark horse is still kicking*
gop leaders struggle to contain ‘revolution’*
paul relies on family to staff campaign: report*
ron paul supporters, what are your plans?*
fox commentator: ron paul revolt could be 'disaster' for gop*
ron paul's forces quietly plot gop convention revolt against mccain*
ex-gop barr launches presidential bid*
ron paul's delegate wars (part5)*
no seats for paul fans at gop convention*

selection year politics
fbi recruiting infiltrators for gop convention protestors*
i'm not a superdelegate, but i play one on the internet*
the coming electoral college crisis*
evidence that bush will cancel elections & declare martial law*
US terror attack seen likely after election*

obama, kennedy & the assassination meme
bilderberg luminary to select obama’s running mate*
obama practices looking-off-into-future pose*
obama vows fealty to zionists*
obama discusses race, religion at jewish temple*
obama promises 'unshakable' support for israel*
obama is not jesus christ*
will obama fight for appalachia in the fall?*
obama & the war*
obama's race issue: uneasy topic*
obama's brain zbigniew says US suffers from iran paranoia*
camp memories: obama & reagan*
kennedy illness to impact US race*
obama compared to jfk, picks up more delegates*
obama picks up jfk's cause*
obama is jfk's 'inspirational' heir, says former jfk aide ted sorensen*
obama: weak like jfk*
should obama rethink jfk/khrushchev?*
what if the kennedys has lived?*
fox news jokes about obama assassination*
dutch journalist writes article 'obama assassinated'*
how will they do it?*

hillary hangs on
blow for clinton as florida/michigan delegates to get half votes*
clinton insiders suggest ‘open civil war’ over vp spot*
clinton makes last stand in final primaries*
clinton crime family body count*

mccain in the membrane
kristol: mccain may pick lieberman as running mate*
obama & mccain to attend aipac conference
hagee's apocalyptic support of israel*
mccain hits obama over lack of military service*
mccain picks former reagan official to head vp search*
mccain rejects endorsements of 2 televangelist pastors*
video: 'west wing' plot line predicts obama vs. mccain race*

aaron russo has passed away

Aaron Russo, producer of America: From Freedom to Fascism has passed away this morning, August 24th, 2007. A great American Hero and patriot. God Bless you Aaron! He fought his battle with cancer long enough to inspire and educate countless people to learn the truth about the globalist agenda...



from reason: Aaron Russo died today of cancer. Russo sought (but did not win, after coming in first on the first two ballots) the 2004 Libertarian Party presidential nomination. He was writer and director of the controversial, conspiratorial movie America: From Freedom to Fascism, aiming at the income tax system and the Federal Reserve.

Details at Steve Gordon's blog.

IMDB results detailing Russo's career as a Hollywood film producer.

My account of the 2004 LP convention and Russo's efforts there.

ron paul would 'reinstate the constitution'

from raw story: Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX), a 2008 presidential hopeful, has a "dream."

The longshot contender, who ran for president in 1988 under the Libertarian Party banner and has vocally protested the war in Iraq, believes that a Paul presidency would "reinstate the Constitution and restore the Republic."

"The competition isn't all that great to claim that title here in Washington," Paul said on Fox News Channel regarding his claim to be "the leading advocate for freedom in Washington today." ...

"I wanna be President because I have this dream, I'd like to reinstate the Constitution and restore the Republic," said Paul. "And I think the Republican party and all of Washington have lost their way."

Hemmer asked Paul why "sub" or "minor" candidates bothered running if they don't have a chance to win and have problems getting their message out, partially due to their problems at attracting wider media coverage.

"Well, there's something different today," Paul said, "and that's the Internet."

Paul said the Internet was where he was doing "quite well," although he believes that it's not fair that smaller candidates don't get the major network coverage that they're "entitled" to.

"You hear only one message," Paul complained, "and the message seems to be the same whether it's Republican or Democrat."

Hemmer sympathized with Paul's difficulties in receiving media exposure, and then ended the segment, which ran for less than three minutes in total.

click here for the video interview

ex-rep barr quits gop for libertarians

from abc news: A former Georgia congressman who helped spark President Clinton's impeachment has quit the Republican Party to become a Libertarian, saying he is disillusioned with the GOP on issues such as spending and privacy.

Bob Barr, who served eight years as a Republican congressman before losing his seat in 2002, announced Friday that he is now a "proud, card-carrying Libertarian." And he encouraged others to join him.

"It's something that's been bothering me for quite some time, the direction in which the party has been going more and more toward big government and disregard toward privacy and civil liberties," said Barr, 58, a lawyer and consultant living in Atlanta.
"In terms of where the country needs to be going to get back to our constitutional roots ... I've come to the conclusion that the only way to do that is to work with a party that practices what it preaches, and that is the Libertarian Party."

Barr said he has no plans to run for office. In his new role as the Libertarian Party's regional representative for the South, he will help promote the party's message and recruit candidates, he said.

Barr helped manage the House Republicans' impeachment case before the Senate in 1999.