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Ron Paul...why the adulation?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Kaylee, Feb 13, 2008.

  1. Dangerous_K

    Dangerous_K Active Member

    I thought Ron Paul seemed OK from what little I knew of him a few months ago, due to his thoughts on war in the Middle East and the "war on drugs." Then I read some o f that early '90s pamphlet stuff. WHOA. I also started seeing a lot of stuff online from 9/11 conspiracy theorists blaming the government, "Jewish zionists," banks, etc. These people were heavily Ron Paul. Paul went from OK to awful in my book, in a hurry.
     
  2. SigR

    SigR Member

    lifted from the first place i found it: http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/jokes/bljokecowspolitics.htm

    A CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. You keep one and give one to your neighbor.

    A SOCIALIST: You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

    AN AMERICAN REPUBLICAN: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So what?

    AN AMERICAN DEMOCRAT: You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You vote people into office who tax your cows, forcing you to sell one to raise money to pay the tax. The people you voted for then take the tax money and buy a cow and give it to your neighbor. You feel righteous.

    A COMMUNIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

    A FASCIST: You have two cows. The government seizes both and sells you the milk. You join the underground and start a campaign of sabotage.

    DEMOCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government taxes you to the point you have to sell both to support a man in a foreign country who has only one cow, which was a gift from your government.

    CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

    BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE: You have two cows. The government takes them both, shoots one, milks the other, pays you for the milk, then pours the milk down the drain.

    AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.

    A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.

    A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them World-Wide.

    A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

    A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. They are mad. They die. Pass the shepherd's pie, please.

    AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.

    A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

    A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.

    A BRAZILIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You enter into a partnership with an American corporation. Soon you have 1000 cows and the American corporation declares bankruptcy.

    AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship both of them.

    A CHINESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported on them.

    AN ISRAELI CORPORATION: There are these two Jewish cows, right? They open a milk factory, an ice cream store, and then sell the movie rights. They send their calves to Harvard to become doctors. So, who needs people?

    AN ARKANSAS CORPORATION: You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute.
     
  3. JackS

    JackS Member

    Yeah, I became aware of him via an e-mail alternative health guru that has been endorsing him and made him sound pretty sensible on some issues. But then I saw him write off New Orleans during the Russert interview and now this newsletter stuff linked above is just "wow."

    Just shows you've gotta watch out for these guys who may sound sensible on a few things. You might miss the whole package.
     
  4. Ben_Hecht

    Ben_Hecht Active Member


    Two-thirds of the libertarian package is wonderful.

    The other third makes it impossible.

    Sort of like reading a Pat Buchanan book . . . makes a world of sense . . . until the last chapter, at which point you want to wash your hands and forget the whole thing.
     
  5. SigR

    SigR Member

    The final 1/3rd of the libertarian package is admittedly difficult to swallow for most. I think I'd put it this way: the final 1/3 of libertarianism is finally realizing that the path to hell is paved with the best intentions, and that in order that we don't continue on that path, we accept certain "necessary evils" in the world as a matter of principle. That we still pass judgment and say "that's bad", but, we refrain from making laws that aren't directly protecting individuals against force or fraud.

    Government ought not to be in the business of wilting to the demands of the majority. It's sole purpose and function ought to be protecting the rights of the individual. When that finally seeps into someone's consciousness, the libertarian sprout takes hold and from there all else falls into place. It's not easy defending certain positions when I think the position itself is immoral. But, libertarians understand that morality and government are unhealthy collaborators, and that if a relative "freedom" is going to continue to exist, individuals need to do what they can to fight the urges of the mass to do what's "right".
     
  6. "That is all my bum, said Brinsley."
    (Flann O'Brien, 1939)
     
  7. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    No offense, but you might as well cover yourself from head to toe in rams' blood and dance naked around a bonfire made entirely of back issues of Swank and exactly 37 copies of The Catcher in The Rye while the pounding drums of ABBA play in the background.

    It would make as much sense.
     
  8. SigR

    SigR Member

    That's some colorful derision. Reminds me of Johnny Cochran's famous Chewbacca Defense.
     
  9. SigR

    SigR Member

    The Chewbacca Defense
     
  10. zeke12

    zeke12 Guest

    Just letting you know how the other half lives... ;)
     
  11. DougDascenzo

    DougDascenzo Member

    I hate vast, all-encompassing generalizations.

    Every last one of 'em.
     
  12. KG

    KG Active Member

    I work with a guy who is a huge Ron Paul supporter. Same guy told me the other day that I need to wrap my cell phone in aluminum foil when I'm not using it to keep the government from tracking me at all times. Then again, the same guy also believes in aliens that are lizard people disguising themselves as humans by pressing a button on their belts. There's LOTS of stories where that one came from. Anyway, his support boils down to the notion of keeping the government out of the lives of Americans.
     
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