Help Ron Paul Break a cool Million in the Next Two Days!

The Ron Paul 2008 Campaign has been busy.

They gave us a challenge: raise $500,000 before the end of the 3rd quarter, so that the Ron Paul Campaign could report a big boost in funds.

Well, you responded. You raised $500,000 so quickly that Ron Paul has issued a bigger challenge: DOUBLE THAT AMOUNT TO $1,000,000!

If you haven't given a donation yet, NOW IS THE TIME.

If you have donated already, DONATE AGAIN!

Check out the campagin website for a real time count of the money. If you donate, you can see your name register on the site too.

You only have until September 30th to help him get over the one million dollar mark.

As of this posting the donation level is very close to $685,000. That means we only have to raise a few hundred thousand dollars to do this.

Let's send a message to the psudo-conservatives in the Republican party and in the elite media who have been so disrespectful to our candidate.

Let's send a message to the American People to take Ron Paul seriously.

Come on, let's DO THIS!

Go Ron Paul!

Laws passed to combat terrorism will be used against Americans

Ron Paul recently said this at the Values Voter debate. His point is that government is not our friend, it is not our benevolent savior, it should not be our "big brother."

Limited government is a central tenant of Catholic Social Teaching as the government has a duty to respect the dignity of persons and families and a host of intermediary organizations including the Church.

This news story covered by Drudge today speaks to the reality of a government with a bloated budget and nothing better to do than waste American tax payer's money. It also speaks to the reality that when we give up our liberties for security we do end up losing both.

Ron Paul is the only candidate raising these urgent issues in the campaign.

Go Ron Paul!

Ron Paul Roundup (9/24/07)

Stories and blog posts related to Ron Paul:

• LewRockwell: More Ron Paul Secrets Revealed
• BaltimoreSun: Anti-war Republican
• DetroitNews: "Texas Rep. Ron Paul may be barely showing a political pulse in state and national polling, but his message that the federal government has grown obese and unresponsive, and interferes with the daily lives of Americans, struck a chord at breakfast this morning with Michigan Republicans gathered here for at a pep-rally type conference."
• DetroitFreePress: GOP meets on island: "But the most surprising presence for conference-goers arriving on the island was the swarm of supporters of maverick U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, a libertarian-leaning congressman from Texas."
• Notice: Ron Paul will be in New York City on October 12th.
• Ron Paul’s Internet Blitz Continues: Campaign to Stream Live Video of Chicago Rally Saturday: "Paul has been routinely gaining crows over 1000 people at his events across the country. While placing an emphasis on Iowa and New Hampshire, Paul’s campaign appears to be already running a national campaign to some extent."
• Ron Paul in Mackinaw City, Mich
• DetriotFreePress: Get troops out of Iraq, let states decide marijuana issue, GOP candidate says (I just recently heard a priest who works in prison ministry complain that poor non-violent drug abusers are sent to jail while rich non-violent drug abusers are sent to rehab. That constitutes a problem I think).
• Ron Paul's sticky revolution: "America is better for having Ron Paul in the thick of its political fray. He is a man of intelligence and vision in a crowd of pretty faces and speeches. The geek may not get the girl in the end, but he can teach a thing or two to the jock. Here's hoping that the thorn in the side of the America's political establishment does a lot more damage before he's through."
• Free Republic Kick Out Ron Paul?
• Is Ron Paul Really Trying to Win?

Note, CFRP does not vouch for the objectivity of each source cited. Care and judgement, as always, are expected from our readership in these matters. Topics deserving their own post will shortly be discussed separately.

Ron Paul shows at Michigan GOP straw poll

A New York Times blog reports.

Giuliani's longest ferry ride of his life

Iza Ding reports:

It was the last ferry back from the island to Mackinac city. Nearly 100 Ron Paul supporters were waiting on the dock when they were surprised to see Mayor Giuliani appear with his bodyguards walking toward the ferryboat. The crowd started cheering Ron Paul’s name and Mayor Giuliani’s smiling face suddenly turned thunderstruck. Informed that it was the last ferry, Giuliani ended up boarding with those Ron Paul supporters and took the “longest” ferry ride in his life.

The ferryboat was going like the wind, cleaving the waves on the Great Lakes in the inky darkness, as if the Black Pearl in the movie Pirates of Caribbean. Giuliani was “hiding” beneath the window in the captain’s cabinet, with bodyguards standing around him to block the sight. The crowd kept cheering Ron Paul’s name again and again all the way, for almost 20 minutes, many of them were calling their friends and family to give them the play-by-play.

When the ferry reached Mackinac City, Giuliani went out of the captain’s cabinet with a cheering face and offered to shake hands with passengers sitting in the first row but they were reluctant to do so. Afraid of Ron Paul supporters’ enthusiasm, Giuliani got off the fore of the boat, instead of taking the normal path at the stern.

Also on board were FOX News reporters who covered the whole ride with their vidicon, but it wasn’t put on air.

Actually, from the comments section, part of it was:

CFRP Welcomes Dr. Christopher Manion

Catholics for Ron Paul is honored to add Dr. Christopher Manion to its growing list of regular bloggers who take Catholic Social Teaching seriously and are looking at the Ron Paul message for its compatibility with the Church's teaching.

Dr. Christopher Manion studied at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business and Notre Dame University, where he earned a Ph.D. in government. Since then, he has taught at various universities, spent six years as a subcommittee staff director on the Senate side of Capitol Hill, and helped found the political satire group The Capitol Steps. He has been a contributing editor and music critic for Saturday Review and High Fidelity magazines, and his op-eds and book reviews appear frequently in The Wall Street Journal. He is also the founder of Manion Music, LLC - which sells royalty free music.

Please give Dr. Manion a warm welcome.

Go Ron Paul!

Pope Benedict: "No one likes taxes!"

In an off the cuff statement on Wednesday, Pope Benedict the XVI made reference to the third-century revolt against excessive taxation saying, "some things never change."

Benedict was refering to the current Italian debates about taxation, but he could just as easily been referring to the Ron Paul Revolution.

Although the comment was a moment of levity, the Holy Father is pointing to an important principle. The Church's view of the State is that it is limited. Limited formost by the inherent rights of the person and family, and further by the legitimate role of intermediate associations and the Church, as well as by the most local level of government.

By its nature, the State seeks to absorb all power and authority to itself. Its natural tendency is to grow, become bloated and tyrannical with the illegitimate idea that the people exist to serve the State, rather than the State exists to serve the people.

A clear sign of this sickness of the State is over taxation.

And when you tax the people too much, you get a revolt.

Whether in third-century Rome, or the twenty-first-century United States, when the State opresses the people through excessive taxation, the people speak up.

This is one of the principles awakening the Ron Paul Revolutionaries - an inate desire for their inalienable Liberty from an opressive State!

Go Ron Paul!

"Bernanke Stumped by Representative Ron Paul"

Scott Reamer:

In today’s testimony before the house, Fed Chairman Bernanke was questioned by Representative Ron Paul in what was a remarkable exchange. Remarkable for how straightforward, lucid, and anti-statist the question was. In his questioning, Ron Paul stated:

"I want to follow up on the discussion about moral hazard. I think we have a very narrow understanding about what moral hazard really is. Because I think moral hazard begins at the very moment that we create artificially low interest rates which we constantly do. And this is the reason people make mistakes. It isn’t because human nature causes us to make all these mistakes, but there is a normal reaction when interest rates are low that there will be overinvestment and malinvestment, excessive debt, and then there are consequences from this. My question is going to be around the subject of how can it ever be morally justifiable to deliberately depreciate the value of our currency?”

His statements continued (about how much oil, gold, wheat, corn, etc. has gone up since the rate decrease) but the heart of his question was the following moral question: ...consciously depreciating the value of the USD has winners and losers (Wall Street/banks/the rich and everyone else), Mr. Bernanke. How do you constantly choose Wall Street over the rest of America?

I'd highly encourage CFRP viewers to read the rest here.

New Gallup Poll: Ron Paul tied with Huckabee!

--> The latest Gallup Poll is out. <--

My breakdown:

• Guliani still leads, but he is near a record-low
• Fred Thompson second, but not moving
• McCain has risen a bit to third
• Romney has fallen dramatically (to 7%)
• ... and fifth is Ron Paul, (only 3 points from Romney)!
• Huckabee is tied with Ron Paul at 4%
• Duncan Hunger/Sam Browback at 2%

I think Thompson will fade as he gets more exposure. Ron Paul continues to increase as more people a) hear about him in the first place and b) get past the misconceptions the media has made about his platform and views. Spread the word!

Jews for Ron Paul

The LRC Blog:

Jews for Ron Paul Offended by Dr. Paul's Exclusion From Debate; Calls for Jewish Republicans to Boycott "Republican Jewish Coalition"

Calling on the Republican Jewish Coalition to change its criteria for inclusion in its Victory 2008 Republican Jewish Coalition Candidates Forum, Jews for Ron Paul for President Executive Director Jim C. Perry asked Jewish voters to avoid joining the organization that purports to be representing Jewish Republican voters. "The Republican Jewish Coalition has decided to exclude Dr. Ron Paul from their 'debate', not because of any objective criteria, but because they disagree with Dr. Paul on issues of foreign policy," he said. [More]

Ron Paul Re-Introduces Ballot Access Bill

Ballot Access News:

On September 19, Congressman Ron Paul introduced a bill, outlawing restrictive ballot access laws for minor party and independent candidates for the U.S. House. He had previously introduced this bill in past sessions of Congress.

... Article One of the U.S. Constitution explicitly gives Congress the authority to override state election laws pertaining to Congressional elections.

The bill would make it easier for third-party canditates to campaign for office. Currently, state-level laws make it extremely difficult for thirty-party candidates to get on the ballot.

Constitution Party Endorses Ron Paul

Update: We should be precise. This is actually an endorsement from the CP presidential candidate from '04, not the CP party officially (thanks to NB):

I endorse Rep. Ron Paul for President. And I endorse him not because he is the lesser of two evils. A Christian can never endorse any kind of evil. I endorse Rep. Paul because — from a Christian/Biblical and Constitutional perspective – he is, by far, the best candidate running for President.

Rep. Paul takes his oath to God as a Congressman seriously and believes, correctly, that the Constitution is the highest man-made law in our land, that it severely restricts what the Federal Government can legally do, and it must be obeyed. This is why, as he states on his campaign web site, he has: never voted to raise taxes; never voted for an unbalanced budget; never voted for a Federal restriction on gun ownership; never voted to raise Congressional pay; never taken a government-paid junket; and has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

...He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program. He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.

Rep. Paul, again correctly, is truly pro-life and believes that there are no circumstances under which it is OK to murder by abortion any innocent unborn babies. Another admirable characteristic demonstrated repeatedly by Rep. Paul is that he speaks honestly and plainly.

... God bless you, sir, and your family as you proceed in this campaign. And God does bless us when we obey Him. Rep. Ron Paul is a real patriot who understands that true love of country requires, first, trusting in God’s Providence and next obedience to our Constitution. He is a man who rejects mindless jingoism such as “My country right or wrong.” Instead, he believes that when our country is wrong – as it is today in many ways — true patriots must work to set us right. As President, Ron Paul, I believe, would work Christianly and Constitutionally to set our country right. This is why, in good conscience, I endorse his candidacy for President of the United States. [source]

More on the CP at Wikipedia, that "it ranks third nationally amongst all United States political parties in registered voters, with 366,937 registered members as of November 2006."

Ron Paul & Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan recently published a book in which he "accused Bush of racking up big budget deficits, saying the president and Congress' former Republican leaders abandoned the party's conservative principles favoring small government" and also writes that he regreted each time when President Bush did not use his presidential veto power to address "out-of-control spending." (source: AP)

Today the Free Market News Network highlights three exchanges that took place between Alan Greenspan during his time as chairmen of the federal reserve and Dr. Ron Paul which demonstrate Ron Paul's long track-record for demanding fiscally-sound and sane federal monetary policies which defend freedom and avoid exploitation. A sample:

2/11/2004 — DIALOGUE TWO

(In which Ron Paul gets Greenspan to admit the Fed has ‘inordinate power.’)

Dr. PAUL: "Maybe there is too much power in the hands of those who control monetary policy, the power to create the financial bubbles, the power to maybe bring the bubble about, the power to change the value of the stock market within minutes? That to me is just an ominous power and challenges the whole concept of freedom and liberty sound money."

Dr. GREENSPAN: "Congressman, as I have said to you before, the problem you are alluding to is the conversion of a commodity standard to fiat money. We have statutorily gone onto a fiat money standard, and as a consequence of that it is inevitable that the authority, which is the producer of the money supply, will have inordinate power."

The Morally Obtuse "Values Voter"

If I weren't under tremendous pressure to meet a book deadline over the next couple of weeks I'd write a whole piece on the "values voter" debate the other night. Ron Paul did an excellent job, and refused to pander to the various interest groups demanding their federal goodies. (You'd think they'd at least respect him for refusing to pander.)

According to what "values," exactly, are we to devote all our energies to getting pornography out of hotel rooms, but be utterly unmoved -- and I mean unmoved -- by the completely avoidable deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq? Why is this not a moral issue, and why is the just-war tradition to be dismissed with such sneering contempt? And pardon my bluntness, but what kind of blockhead thinks you have to be a "liberal" to be outraged at this? What kind of religion do these people believe in? (Their definition of a just war seems to be a war waged by the U.S. government.)

As for Islam, the point is that U.S. policies do motivate people to join up with the radicals. Assuming arguendo that the radicals themselves would wish to wage jihad no matter what, the rank and file in these groups are --gasp -- human beings who respond to U.S. government policies that hurt them. How can you expect to play empire and not suffer the consequences?

Video: Ron Paul at the Value Voters Debate

After being treated rather unfairly at the Value Voter's Debate, Ron Paul composed himself and delivered this final speech. Note especially, at the end of this clip, his remarks about the "Christian Tradition of ... Just War" (which he apparently mentioned earlier in the debate). Ron Paul accurately understands, describes and applies it in the limited time he is allowed:

Alan Keyes makes 3rd bid for presidency

Associated Press:

Alan Keyes, a Republican whose two previous runs for president ended in failure, is making a third try for the White House.

... He joins a crowded Republican field of nine candidates and is scheduled to participate Monday night at a debate involving lesser-known candidates in Florida.

Iosue Andreas at The Western Confucian makes some interesting - albeit vitriolic - observations about a potential Keyes vs. Paul competition.

Casey Khan has posted on this same topic at greater length over at the LewRockwell Blog, saying he "can't help but think that Keyes was drafted after Ron Paul's defeat of Huckabee." Johnny Kramer, of the LewRockwell site proper, has a very extended analysis, which begins with the claim that "The Ron Paul campaign has the establishment running scared" and explains Keyes' late entrance to the race in that light.

Speaking personally, think Alan Keyes is probably more likely to draw-away Huckabee or Brownback supporters than those of Ron Paul, because Keyes shares H&B's pro-war stance, etc.

Ron Paul's views on homeschooling

Again, very complimentary with Catholic Social Teaching:

Many parents of home schooled children are likely wondering how the 2008 Presidential Candidates are feeling about the issue of home schooling. Many of the candidates have not made a formal statement regarding home schooling, perhaps because many of them think the issue is not as pertinent as other issues.

However, Ron Paul has voiced his opinion on home schooling. He calls it a “practical alternative” for families. He strongly supports the issue and option of home schooling in America and puts such a strong emphasis on it, one wonders why the other candidates haven’t mentioned their takes on this interesting educational issue ...

The reason Ron Paul agrees home schooling is an important part of American education is because he believes parents should have more control over the education of their children. He wants to take home schooling incentives even further by advancing tax credits via the Family Education Freedom Act. This would allow parents to use more of their own income for their home schooling efforts. He vows to protect home schooling parents by promising “federal monies must never be used to undermine the rights of homeschooling parents”. [source]

Ron Paul Roundup (9/12/07)

Stories and blog posts related to Ron Paul:

• New Hampshire State Representative Paul Ingbretson Endorses Ron Paul: "Congressman Ron Paul understands, like no presidential candidate in recent history, that the central purpose of government in America is to secure the liberty of her citizens," said Representative Ingbretson. "He has the unbelievable integrity and guts to speak out and vote the liberty agenda of the Founding Fathers-not once, or occasionally, but every time. Never in my lifetime have I seen anyone running for president so oriented and in these days of Patriot Act madness I endorse his candidacy unequivocally."
• Ron Paul Seen Winning Values Debate Poll (50%)
• Ron Paul raises $350,000 on West Coast Tour (not that he can't use more!): "Given the increase in fund raising and the size of the crowds Paul is attracting it looks like Paul’s Conservative/Libertarian message is likely to play out well in Western states."
• (old news, but not covered before): Ron Paul Wins New Hampshire Straw Poll (73%)

Note, CFRP does not vouch for the objectivity of each source cited. Care and judgement, as always, are expected from our readership in these matters. Topics deserving their own post will shortly be discussed separately.

Clinton: health care a requirement before work

The Associated Press reports:

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that a mandate requiring every American to purchase health insurance was the only way to achieve universal health care but she rejected the notion of punitive measures to force individuals into the health care system. "At this point, we don't have anything punitive that we have proposed," the presidential candidate said in an interview with The Associated Press. "We're providing incentives and tax credits which we think will be very attractive to the vast majority of Americans."

She said she could envision a day when "you have to show proof to your employer that you're insured as a part of the job interview — like when your kid goes to school and has to show proof of vaccination," but said such details would be worked out through negotiations with Congress.

...

Her health care plan would require every American to buy health insurance, offering tax credits and subsidies to help those who can't afford it. The mandatory aspect of her proposal, however, gets glossed over in the [telivision] ad.

The ad also continues her campaign's effort to appropriate the mantle of change away from rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards. The word change or its variations appears four times in the ad, which ends: "So, if you're ready for change, she's ready to lead."

The annual cost of this proposal? $110 billion a year.

... [Clinton] told the AP she relished a debate over health care with her political opponents, including Republicans "who understood that we had to reform health care before they started running for president."

I wonder if she would relish a debate with Ron Paul on this issue.

Here's what he had to say last year about requiring proof of health care before employment, and also what he thinks about universal health care initiatives (underlining is mine):

As a medical doctor, I’ve seen first-hand how bureaucratic red tape interferes with the doctor-patient relationship and drives costs higher. The current system of third-party payers takes decision-making away from doctors, leaving patients feeling rushed and worsening the quality of care. Yet health insurance premiums and drug costs keep rising. Clearly a new approach is needed. Congress needs to craft innovative legislation that makes health care more affordable without raising taxes or increasing the deficit. It also needs to repeal bad laws that keep health care costs higher than necessary.

We should remember that HMOs did not arise because of free-market demand, but rather because of government mandates. The HMO Act of 1973 requires all but the smallest employers to offer their employees HMO coverage, and the tax code allows businesses – but not individuals – to deduct the cost of health insurance premiums. The result is the illogical coupling of employment and health insurance, which often leaves the unemployed without needed catastrophic coverage.

While many in Congress are happy to criticize HMOs today, the public never hears how the present system was imposed upon the American people by federal law. As usual, government intervention in the private market failed to deliver the promised benefits and caused unintended consequences, but Congress never blames itself for the problems created by bad laws. Instead, we are told more government – in the form of “universal coverage” – is the answer. But government already is involved in roughly two-thirds of all health care spending, through Medicare, Medicaid, and other programs.

For decades, the U.S. healthcare system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high-quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor. Doctors focused on treating patients, without the red tape and threat of lawsuits that plague the profession today. Most Americans paid cash for basic services, and had insurance only for major illnesses and accidents. This meant both doctors and patients had an incentive to keep costs down, as the patient was directly responsible for payment, rather than an HMO or government program.

The lesson is clear: when government and other third parties get involved, health care costs spiral. The answer is not a system of outright socialized medicine, but rather a system that encourages everyone – doctors, hospitals, patients, and drug companies – to keep costs down. As long as “somebody else” is paying the bill, the bill will be too high.

[Ron Paul then lists several bills he currently supports in Congress.]

Ron Paul has a reasonable critique, personal experience and offers a concrete solution to America's health care crisis.

Clinton is serving up the same proposals that she did in the early 1990's. Is she really relishing a debate with Ron Paul, or instead, the other republican candidates? Who is truly about change?

"We are drifting into a Totalitarian State" - Ron Paul

Last night at the Values Voter Debate, Ron Paul expressed his profound concern at the erosion of our civil liberties in waging the so called War on Terror. He said that legislation that is created to fight this war will be used against Americans especially Christians.

This morning, Drudge Report, presented this video of a college student who was arrested for asked a question to John Kerry about his membership in the same secret society as George Bush. Regardless of one's opinion about this line of questioning, this American has the Freedom, protected in the Constitution, to ask any question he likes. The police, for some reason, acts as if he has no Liberty. They proceed to "taser" him - that is subject him to electric charges.

What is most disturbing about this video? The clear erosion of our Liberty in the face of a kind of police state action, or the way that the majority of the citizens sat back and let it happen?

We need Ron Paul to restore the Republic and restore our Liberties that are given to us by God, and protected in our Constitution.




Oh, and the justification for this man's arrest and public torture was that he was inciting a riot.

CFRP Welcomes Thomas Peters from American Papist!

Catholics for Ron Paul welcomes Thomas Peters of American Papist as a contributing blogger.

Thomas Peters recently completed his Masters in Theology at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and currently is pursuing higher studies at Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Catholics for Ron Paul is very pleased to add him to our growing group regular bloggers.

Values Voter Debate - Ron Paul Comes in 2nd

Tonight Ron Paul took part in the National Values Voter Debate.

Results:

1st Mike Huckabee at 63% and with 219 votes.
2nd Ron Paul with 44 Votes
3rd Alan Keynes

This straw polling was more sophisticated than other polls. They took a vote at the beginning and the end of the debate to see any shifts. Ron Paul lost 9 votes over the course of the debate. There were a number of issues where Ron Paul voted alone and contrary to the rest of the candidates but didn't take the opportunity to clarify his positions. This hurt him.

Ron Paul will have to do a better job of framing his positions vis-a-vis values voters on the difficult issues like drugs and pornography. He will have to explain his policies better within a Judeo-Christian Constitutional framework if he wants to win these voters.

After the debate, the organizers had a discussion in which Ron Paul's position on the war was kicked around and with it the classical Judeo-Christian principle of Just War doctrine. It was cheap and a deeply biased conversation where the Bible was taken out of context and Ron Pauls position as well to beat the drums for war. Ron Paul is right, using Christianity to justify our immoral and unConstitutional war is very dangerous. They paid lip service to Just War but immediately ejected it. The mixing of unbiblical rapture theology, eschatology and Middle East policy is very very dangerous. The comments of the post-debate seemed to have such a vision behind there comments.

Again, Ron Paul will have to better explain his positions using a Judeo-Christian Constitutional frame to draw more values voters to his message.

Here is a quick round up of his answers (grossly paraphrased, any errors are my own):

Marriage Amendment to the Constition as Man and Woman
Lead by example. 50 Years married. No to a Constitutional Amendment. Traditionally Judeo-Christianity sees marraige as under the jurisdiction of the Church not the State. The DOMA is enough to protect against Full Faith and Credit attacks on the State level. Should not concede this to the Federal Government. Look up the definition of Marriage in the dictionary - it is between a man and a women. We don't need the Federal Government to define this. This should be left to the States to decide.

Constitutional Amendment to protect Life from Conception to Natural Death
The Amendment process is too long and cumbersome, we have a process already provided for in the Constitution that is to remove this issue from Federal Jurisdiction. Why hasn't there been more Congressional support for my (RP's) Sanctity of Life Act? This is an immediate action that could be taken but isn't. We don't need an Amendment, the Constitution has the answer.

How will you protect America from Radical Islam?
Have to understand motives. They attack us because we are over there. Legislation that is used to fight Radical Islam will be used against Christians by the Government - we have to be very careful. The Answer is found by following the Constitution.

Talk about your faith.
Declared belief in Christianity. Up held Just War Doctrine against the unChristian aggressive doctrine of pre-emptive war. When when justify what we do by using Christianity, it is very dangerous. (Interestingly Brownback declared his belief that the war was a Just War, despite John Paul II's statement that it was not a Just War).

Security and Prosperity - Will you oppose a North American Union?
(Very strong answer from RP) Yes, and out of the UN, NAFTA, CAFTA, the World Bank, World Trade Organization; strong declaration of American sovereignty.

What do you intend to do to counter act the Homosexual Agenda?
Rights are based on the individual NOT based on groups, be they race, gender, sexual orientation. We have to influence through persuasion and Churches, but we can't use Government to force people to accept our values. This doesn't work. We have to eradicate the Hate Laws. The purpose of the Constitution is to protect individual rights, not groups. Advocate through persuasion and Churches and pass legislation at the State level.

Yes & No Round

Do you support impeachment for Judicial Activists? RP - NO.

Will you defund Planned Parenthood? RP - YES.

Does "multi-culturalism" (used by Liberals) weaken America? RP - YES

Will you oppose immigration until US youth unemployment is below 5%? RP - YES

Do you support personal retirement accounts for social security? RP - YES

Jude Roy Moore Question on supporting a protection to express religious beliefs (display the 10 Commandments)? RP - YES

Will you nominate textualist judges who will reverse non-textualist decisions to the Supreme Court? RP - YES

Do you support an executive order protecting Military Chaplians right to religious expression? RP - YES

Would you veto Fairness Doctrine legislation? RP - YES

Would you prevent socialized health care via government universal heath care coverage? RP - YES

Would you eliminate and block any Hate Crimes legislation? RP - YES

Would you work to eliminate the national debt? RP - YES

Would your policy be the same that caused a boarder patrolman to be sentenced to 11 years for wounding an illegal alien who was smuggling drugs? RP - NO

Terri Shiavo question: Would you support legislation that would protect cognitively disabled Americans from being killed through starvation and dehydration? RP - NO
(This question has to be explained better by Ron Paul. Because it was one where he was the only candidate who voted no.)

Would you prosecute white collar distributors of hard core pornography that violate our obscenity laws? RP - NO
(This too is an issue Ron Paul will have to better explain to the values voter.)

Would you support human embryo destructive research? RP - NO

Would you support academic freedom for researchers who are persecuted at the Universities for their work on creationism and intelligent design? RP - YES

Would you extend broadcast indecency laws to cable networks? RP - NO
(This is another issue where Ron Paul voted contrary to the pack. It is another issue that needs clarification.)

Would you support legislation that would cause forfeiture of funding to any federally funded schools that teach homosexual indoctrination? RP - YES

Would you place Abstinence Programs on equal funding levels as contraception education? RP - YES.

Would you work to establish a comission to eradicate slavery of Christians in the Sudan? RP - NO
(This is another issue that Ron Paul must take time to better articulate his position upon.)

Would you support legislation to protect Christian symbols across our country that are being attacked by the ACLU? RP - YES

Would you veto non-discrimination employment act that makes sexual orientation a protected class? RP - YES

Would you eliminate the gag rule on 501(c) 3 organizations that prevent them from endorsing candidates? RP - YES

Would you recind Bush's executive order that permits Mexican truckers to freely drive across America competing directly with Americans and making dangerous conditions on the roads? RP - YES

Will you stand behind Isreal to keep their land? RP - YES

Would you support private health care initiative that create incentives for leading a healthy moral lifestyle that leads to fewer health care issues? RP - YES

Would you endorse an autonomous region for Iraq Christians as possible in the Iraq Constitution? RP - NO. (He voted counter to the rest on this one).

There was a question by Voice of the Martyrs on visas, didn't catch it. RP - NO

Will you oppose the effort to make abortion a human right? RP - YES

Do you support school choice? RP - YES

Do you support the NAFTA Super Highway? RP - NO


Open ended direct question to Ron Paul on drugs.
States should regulate, these controversial issues were designed to be delt with by the States not by the Federal Government. The War on Drugs has been a colossial failure - Prohibition was a failure - when will we wake up and realize this, stop spending the money on a failed policy. Drug addiction is a health issue and should not be treated as a Federal criminal issue. When the Federal government acts it removes power from the States, you conceed power to the governement. The government can't solve these problems. We can't dictate our values. It doesn't work.

Ron Paul finished strong reiterating that Governement can't solve these issues and we shouldn't look to government to solve them for us. We are drifting into a Toltaritarian society with National IDs and laws that are made for the War on Terror but used on Americans. We have to restore haebus corpus and the rule of law. Jesus is the King of Peace, we are not entitled to use pre-emptive war to spread our Christian beliefs. We have to return to the moral justifications for war. Remember Jesus's message, which is a message of non-intervention, peace and turn the other cheek.

(Please forgive the mistakes and some missing questions which I didn't catch while watching the debate).

Libertarianism, Catholicism, and Ron Paul

InsideCatholic.com is the website that has replaced the print publication Crisis. They ran pieces this week called "Why I Am a Catholic Democrat" and "Why I Am a Catholic Republican." Mine, today, is called "Why I Am a Catholic Libertarian." It mentions Ron Paul more than once.

California Catholic Daily on Ron Paul

An even-handed piece on Ron Paul that discusses his views on trade, immigration, privacy, war, abortion, and more.

(Thanks to Chris Rhoades.)

The Message of Our Founding Fathers, the Message of Ron Paul

This video captures very well Ron Paul's message and links it directly to the principles of our Founding Fathers and the Constitution.

In the coming days, Catholics for Ron Paul plans to look at some of these issues in more depth to see how Catholic Social Doctrine sets out these same principles.

Big Government & Corportism = Abortion Fraud

This is the kind of thing that a Ron Paul Presidency would eliminate.

Planned Parenthood taking over $300 million of your tax dollars to perpetuate fraud, protect rapists, violate parental authority over their children, and make money off of the murder of pre-born Americans.

"Abortion is the ultimate State Tyranny!" - Ron Paul

Which Founding Father advocated a philosophy of government that says the State has an interest in funding abortions with public funds? None.

Which Founding Fathers advocated a philosophy of government that says the State is limited, most especially when compared to the inalienable right to life? All.

This is why our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are perhaps two of the most important legal documents for the Culture of Life.

Vote for Ron Paul to restore the Constitution and return America to a Culture of Life.

A National Strategy for Ron Paul

How A Dark-Horse Can Win The Nomination

Have a read of this article by prominant Catholic Thomas Roeser. He gives Ron Paul a strategy that could put him over the top in the primary. It is a well reasoned argument, and funny too.

Take Note HQ!

Go Ron Paul!

Thomas E. Woods Joins Catholics for Ron Paul

Catholics for Ron Paul would like to extend a warm welcome to Thomas E. Woods who will be a regular blogger. Among Thomas Woods achievements is the excellent book How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization. For those non-Catholic Ron Paul supporters who read this blog and think Catholicism (or religion in general) is an obstacle to liberty and peace - then read this book.

Welcome aboard Dr. Woods, we look forward to your contributions!

Go Ron Paul!!!

A short bio of Dr. Woods:

Thomas E. Woods, Jr., is a senior fellow at the Ludwig von Mises Institute. He holds a bachelor's degree in history from Harvard and his master's, M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University. His most recent book is 33 Questions About American History You're Not Supposed to Ask (Crown Forum/Random House); his others include the New York Times bestseller The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History (Regnery), How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization (Regnery), and The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy (Lexington). His critically acclaimed 2004 book The Church Confronts Modernity was recently released in paperback by Columbia University Press. Woods' books have been translated into Italian, Spanish, Polish, German, Romanian, and Chinese.

Woods' writing has appeared in dozens of popular and scholarly periodicals, including the American Historical Review, the Christian Science Monitor, Investor's Business Daily, Catholic Historical Review, Modern Age, American Studies, Catholic Social Science Review, Inside the Vatican, The Freeman (Foundation for Economic Education), Freedom Daily (Future of Freedom Foundation), University Bookman, Journal of Markets & Morality, New Oxford Review, Catholic World Report, Independent Review, Religion & Liberty, Journal des Economistes et des Etudes Humaines, AD2000 (Australia), Christian Order (U.K.), Crisis, and Human Rights Review. He is the editor of The Political Writings of Rufus Choate and of a 2003 edition of Orestes Brownson's 1875 classic The American Republic.

Woods won first place in the prestigious Templeton Enterprise Awards for 2006, given by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute and the Templeton Foundation, for his book The Church and the Market. He was the recipient of the 2004 O.P. Alford III Prize for Libertarian Scholarship and of an Olive W. Garvey Fellowship from the Independent Institute in 2003. He has also been awarded two Humane Studies Fellowships and a Claude R. Lambe Fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies at George Mason University and a Richard M. Weaver Fellowship from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

For eleven years Woods served as associate editor of The Latin Mass magazine; he is presently a contributing editor of The American Conservative and a member of the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Libertarian Studies. A contributor to six encyclopedias, Woods is also co-editor of an 11-volume encyclopedia of American history to be released in 2008.

Woods has appeared on Fox News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, Fox & Friends, and The Big Story with John Gibson, as well as on MSNBC's Scarborough Country and C-Span2's Book TV. He has been a guest on over 150 radio programs, including Fox News Live with Alan Colmes, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, and the Michael Medved Show. Published interviews with Woods have appeared in the Washington Post's Live Online, Washington Times, Our Sunday Visitor, the Pittsburgh Tribune, California Literary Review, Human Events, Italy's L'Avvenire, Spain's Alfa y Omega, Germany's Die Tagespost, and Brazil's Folha de S. Paolo.

"We have to change our foreign policy"

Ron Paul has been doing America a great service in reminding us of our recent history and the great principles our Founding Fathers gave us in our Constitution.

This video entitled "The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis," by Bill Moyers (1987), is extremely relevant to the debate that Ron Paul has raised on foreign policy.

The elite conservative media are trying to make Ron Paul seem crazy for his principled return to the Christian Just War doctrine and to the Constitution. They want him to seem hair brained for advocating a humble foreign policy based on the same non-interventionism (not isolationism as he is cast) recommended by our Founding Fathers.

Well, have a look at this documentary and you will discover why Ron Paul is winning so many hearts and minds in America across the political divide.

Thank you Dr. Paul for bringing this to the American people.


Go Ron Paul!