Slashdot Mirror

I guess I'd say that doesn't line up with my interpretation of his approach at all;

On borders, you've just got it wrong. He's for strong border security. In fact, his immigration policy is too restrictive for my tastes, but I'm still voting for him.

On international stuff, I can at least understand your concern, but I don't take it as a "head in the sand" thing at all. He accepts war is necessary in some cases and that a formal declaration of war can be a sound move. The key is to wage war only when it threatens our national security, or I suppose if the populous wants to intervene and congress authorizes it.

My take on his foreign policy is "if you don't go fucking with people, you don't have as many problems". And I wholeheartedly agree with this. A huge amount of our trouble is sourced to our arrogant meddlesome activities. Really it is: there's not a lot of serious disagreement about this. The only disagreement is whether the benefits of manipulating other countries outweighs the liabilities. I believe that the best approach is to be less meddlesome. It is, in fact, the democratic approach: the ideas of individual responsibility, even when the "individuals" are other nations.

Are there exception cases? Sure -- there always are. Yes, we needed to get involved in WWII. But that doesn't suddenly mean we need to get involved in every dispute around the globe, or topple governments that don't serve our national interest. It's a filthy business that builds enormous resentment. Paul is the only one who sees this, and it is the main reason I'm a supporter. Even if he loses the nomination, I'm just so inspired to see that other people are waking up to this idea -- that we don't have to micro-manage other nations. That we should tend to ourselves first.

Cheers, and please vote!

Ron Paul suggests the Federal Reserve causes inflation, but *his* plan is to have congress print money whenever they feel like it, as if *that* won't case the exact same problem even more so.

It is both a party bias and a media bias. And your reasoning for voting/not voting for him is scary.

What you believe is clearly based on the misinformation that the media has (and hasn't) fed you.

Ron DOES talk about methods, but because of the media bias, you don't get to hear it, or you only get to hear a rushed, 30-second snippet of it. One simple example: how many times did the media talk to the other candidates about the president's economic stimulus plan and what they would do in comparison to Ron?

Show me one TV interview that was played equally as much where Ron was able to talk about his own stimulus plan. You won't be able to do it, but he DID publish one, complete with a list of bills that have ALREADY been introduced into congress to help him achieve that plan. And it's the only NON-tax-and-spend plan I've heard of yet:

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/Prosperity

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. -- That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, -- That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

Known for drawing a hard line based on a strict interpretation of the Constitution, fiscal responsibility and libertarian ideology, Ron Paul is considered somewhat of a maverick - once described by current opponent John McCain as "the most honest man in Congress."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-treul/an-interview-with-ron-pau_b_71108.html

Brief Overview of Congressman Paul's Record:

He has never voted to raise taxes.
He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
He has never taken a government-paid junket.
He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

He voted against the Patriot Act.
He voted against regulating the Internet.
He voted against the Iraq war.

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.

Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about/

Alot of candidates in this race like others in each presidential race have promised change and many time and time again abandon promises and by doing so betray the American populace.

Regardless of issues you may have with Ron Paul he is by far the most honest of all the candidates and surely intends to do what he is talking about.

Remember to vote this coming November!

For example, how exactly is he going to move a $7 trillion economy back to the gold standard when there's less than $3 trillion in gold on the planet?

He doesn't want to go back to the gold standard. He wants to legalize competing currencies. If competing currencies were legal, the Fed wouldn't be able to inflate the currency at an irresponsible rate since people would switch to a currency that had a better inflationary reputation.

I agree with you on the pollution thing though, but he'd still make a better president than all of the other candidates in either party. Ending the unconstitutional power grabs by the federal government and returning that power to the states will make government more accountable and reduce the massive waste and corruption we have today.

Actually he said -

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/health-freedom/
I also opposed the Homeland Security Bill, H.R. 5005, which, in section 304, authorizes the forced vaccination of American citizens against small pox. The government should never have the power to require immunizations or vaccinations.

I'm not really sure I disagree with him to be honest. I don't like the idea of forced vaccination. More importantly, I don't think it would work. If people don't believe a vaccination is safe they'll find some way to avoid it. Personally I'd take the vaccination if some terrorist group weaponized it, but the pros and cons of doing so seem to be sufficiently well balance that I don't agree with forcing other people to do do.

E.g.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smallpox_vaccine#Post-eradication_vaccination
The vaccine consists of the virus which causes the related, yet far milder, cowpox disease; this virus is appropriately named vaccinia, from the Latin vaca which means cow. This vaccine has functional viruses in it which improves its effectiveness but, unfortunately, causes serious complications for people with impaired immune systems (for example chemotherapy and AIDS patients, and people with eczema) and is not yet considered safe for pregnant women. A woman planning on conceiving within one month should not receive the smallpox immunization until after the pregnancy. In the event of an outbreak the woman should delay pregnancy if possible. A small, yet significant, percentage of healthy individuals also suffer adverse side-effects which, in rare cases, include permanent neurological damage. Vaccines that only contain attenuated vaccinia viruses (an attenuated virus is one in which the pathogenicity has been decreased through serial passage) have been proposed but some researchers have questioned the possible effectiveness of such a vaccine. Others point out that mass vaccinations would probably not be needed to counter a bioterrorist attack if many millions of doses of the current (possibly improved) vaccine could be delivered to victims within several days of exposure. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC, "vaccination within 3 days of exposure will prevent or significantly lessen the severity of smallpox symptoms in the vast majority of people. Vaccination 4 to 7 days after exposure likely offers some protection from disease or may modify the severity of disease." This, along with vaccinations of so-called first-responders, is the current plan of action being devised by the United States Department of Homeland Security and FEMA in the United States.

And if you look at Gulf War I when soldiers were given masses of vaccinations, some of them developed Gulf War Syndrome. Now as far as I know the link between the two things is not proven, but I'd be very wary of a rushed max vaccination program in response to terrorist attacks. This MD certainly believes in a link -

http://thyroid.about.com/library/news/blsmallpoxthyroid.htm

Does anyone else think that our privacy outweighs the convenience that realtime navigation and itinerary interactivity could potentially provide?

Yes, Ron Paul does. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/privacy-and-personal-liberty/

Time to end the fun with this one, I suppose.

Oh, so Ron Paul doesn't support a return to the Gold Standard?

Or immediate withdrawal from Iraq?

Lordy, where could I have gotten those ideas?

Here's the secondary point - it's not that I don't know what Paul stands for. It's not that I'm an uneducated loon on the matter of international relations - frankly, a political science BA with an international relations focus is good for little else, and law school just might give me an edge on understanding, you know, the law. I know what he stands for. I've read his issue statements.

I just completely disagree with far too much of it to ever consider voting for him.

I know, I know. It's tough for you to comprehend. Your messiah came down and told you - promised you - that all you had to do was get the word out. Put up ugly signs. Vote in useless internet polls. Then, the people would flock to their Austrian economics, non-interventionist god. Of course, the millions given to him didn't hurt one bit, either.

But you failed. You didn't lose to a media conspiracy. You didn't lose to a grand assassination plot. You lost because his ideas resonate with, at best, a tiny minority of angry but ultimately impotent people who cannot possibly hope to accomplish what they want.

But here's the main point - you did nothing to convince me. Nothing. Look back at the previous posts - all of 'em. Where is the eloquent argument for Paul's policies? Where? It seems to me that we began debating a point of law. You lost, so we slid to something else, and the question became one of "why don't you support Ron Paul?", as if there was clearly some mental defect in me if I could not see the glory of the great messiah of the gold standard reigning down.

Well, with a top 6% score on the LSAT, the ability to speak 3 languages, fairly extensive overseas travel, a college degree and a graduate degree on the way, I may not be the smartest guy on the block - if law school teaches you anything, it's that you're not nearly as smart as you think you are - but I'm not the dumbest either. It's not that all those who dislike Ron Paul are stupid - it's that we just don't like him or can easily name a list of preferable candidates. And much of our dislike happens to come from the fact that we do, in fact, understand his policies.

To sum up, your entire argument has been, "why don't you love me?" This is not convincing. I let it go on for a while - curious to see if you would ever put up something other than a half-hearted defense, curious to know if you would ever at least attempt to grab the initiative. Unsurprisingly, you did neither. You're like the sad little ex-boyfriend who hangs around a former girlfriend, convinced the relationship is still on unless she can give him a reason for it to end. No courting, no schmoozing - just an obsessive, crazed hanger-on who, in the end, will probably brush himself off, curse the one who spurned him for being such a fool, and then wander off to find the next hopeless cause to pin his life to.

Sometimes, it's just over, usually because the groundwork itself was never laid. And now, it's over - quite literally for Paul.

Paul, rather unsurprisingly, lost miserably once again tonight in Maine, coming in behind McCain who, once again, barely bothered to campaign in that state. No, Ron Paul did not win in New Hampshire. No, he did not even come close to first in Nevada. He then failed massively in Maine. He possesses a whopping four ballots - less than 1/4 of one percent than that needed to take the nomination.

It's over. It never even began for Ron Paul.

I'm not sure who I'll vote for in November. Elections are - and always have been - about deciding between the lesser of a set of evils who must at least fall within a certain set of parameters to be palatable at all. I find little t

Following the Constitution will get the country on the right track; freedom from Big Government. Without the federal government in the way the nerds could make the internet shiney. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/ Be a patriot give 'till it hurts http://www.ronpaulmoneybomb.com/

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

Social Security: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/social-security/ (watch the embedded flash video)

Medicare: Ron Paul is a doctor who has experienced how broken the system is first hand, http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/health-care/

If you're concerned about senior citizens on fixed incomes you should be greatly concerned about rising inflation and the crashing dollar, which affects senior citizens and the middle class first: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/inflation-tax/

Social Security: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/social-security/ (watch the embedded flash video)

Medicare: Ron Paul is a doctor who has experienced how broken the system is first hand, http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/health-care/

If you're concerned about senior citizens on fixed incomes you should be greatly concerned about rising inflation and the crashing dollar, which affects senior citizens and the middle class first: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/inflation-tax/

Social Security: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/social-security/ (watch the embedded flash video)

Medicare: Ron Paul is a doctor who has experienced how broken the system is first hand, http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/health-care/

If you're concerned about senior citizens on fixed incomes you should be greatly concerned about rising inflation and the crashing dollar, which affects senior citizens and the middle class first: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/inflation-tax/

http://www.fiftyoneyears.com/

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ !

I have a theory on what caused it. The republicans are to elect who get to run as a republican presidential candidate soon. One candidate, Ron Paul, gets mutch of his support from tech people. Many tech people read Slashdot. About the same time as the racist comments started to multiply a campaign to label him racist started. The racist comments often mention this candidate. It could of course be a coincidence, but if not: Slashdot, meet politics. Politics, meet Slashdot!

Whatever. The only thing that is giving a voice to people like Don Black are comments like yours that keep bringing these smears up.

According to his campaign, Ron Paul had over 130,000 donors last quarter. Don Black's beliefs don't even register as noise.

Are you saying that Ron Paul should audit the beliefs of each donor to see if they meet your approval? If he did return Don Black's donation, should he have to return each donation from a donor that offends you?

I mean, they have opposable thumbs and all, but thats just for hanging from trees.

No, that's what their necks are for!

Congressman Ron Paul, MD
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Please forgive me for posting like this, but this is a dead-serious issue, so please, please,
please read on. This is a story that *has* to be told. So, I beg you: read this out before you hit the del button. If you do, Slashdot will be on CNN tonight and Bush will be out of the White House.
So please, give me the benefit of the doubt and read this trough before you hit delete.
--

Slashdot readers are smart people that can add one and one together. So, when they read why Second Life's supposed economy isn't a whole lot more than a typical pyramid scheme because the Linden company can print Linden dollars out of thin air at any rate they like, and can therefore buy and sell as much dollars at the exchange market as they like, so they can pretty much manipulate the whole SL economy as they please, they will also be able to figure out that the real US banking and monetary system can be manipulated at exactly the same way, because the Federal Reserve has enjoyed the absolute power to do literally anything it wants, which is probably why Henry Ford said he believed there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning if "the people of the nation" would "understand our banking and monetary system".

If they also read how the US corporations, owned by the same people that own the FED, systematically and consciously rape the poorest people of the world by using the trick of putting whole nations into debt to make them dependent and controllable by raising inflation tax, just as has been described in protocol number 6 of the so-called Zion protocols and continue reading that protcols, they would also understand why Henry Ford was a known anti-semite, as well as Winston Churchill, who wrote about a world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence, and impossible equality that "has been steadily growing".

If you believe, like Ford and Churchill, in the existence of such a conspiracy, Slashdot readers would not just take for granted that it was "the Jews", but look at the most logical place for the conspiritors, which would be at the top of the pyramid, for who wars are very profitable as well, as is also described in said protocols. So, When Slashdot reades also learn that following Hitler's money leads al but directly to the White House and that Al Qaida in a way can be more or less considered to be the last remaining and still active Waffen-SS Division, because there are pretty direct links to the Waffen-SS Muslim Devision hardly anybody knew existed, they will also be able to understand Multatuli's extremely inconvenient truth laying this all out in detail.

Then they will also realise that 911 was an inside job after all and never be able to trust anyone on the memberlist of the order of Skull and Bones. Since Ron Paul was on the video Multatuli watched to get insight into the workings of the Fed, he gave him the benefit of the doub

Why Slashdot will be on CNN tonight and Ron Paul will probably be the next US president.

and Ron Paul will probably be the next president of the United States.

Slashdot readers are smart people that can add one and one together. So, when they read why Second Life's supposed economy isn't a whole lot more than a typical pyramid scheme because the Linden company can print Linden dollars out of thin air at any rate they like, and can therefore buy and sell as much dollars at the exchange market as they like, so they can pretty much manipulate the whole SL economy as they please, they will also be able to figure out that the real US banking and monetary system can be manipulated at exactly the same way, because the Federal Reserve has enjoyed the absolute power to do literally anything it wants, which is probably why Henry Ford said he believed there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning if "the people of the nation" would "understand our banking and monetary system".

If they also read how the US corporations, owned by the same people that own the FED, systematically and consciously rape the poorest people of the world by using the trick of putting whole nations into debt to make them dependent and controllable by raising inflation tax, just as has been described in protocol number 6 of the so-called Zion protocols and continue reading that protcols, they would also understand why Henry Ford was a known anti-semite, as well as Winston Churchill, who wrote about a world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence, and impossible equality that "has been steadily growing".

If you believe, like Ford and Churchill, in the existence of such a conspiracy, Slashdot readers would not just take for granted that it was "the Jews", but look at the most logical place for the conspiritors, which would be at the top of the pyramid, for who wars are very profitable as well, as is also described in said protocols. So, When Slashdot reades also learn that following Hitler's money leads al but directly to the White House and that Al Qaida in a way can be more or less considered to be the last remaining and still active Waffen-SS Division, because there are pretty direct links to the Waffen-SS Muslim Devision hardly anybody knew existed, they will also be able to understand Multatuli's extremely inconvenient truth laying this all out in detail.

Then they will also realise that 911 was an inside job after all and never be able to trust anyone on the memberlist of the order of Skull and Bones. Since Ron Paul was on the video Multatuli watched to get insight into the workings of the Fed, he gave him the benefit of the doubt and linked to his site from his article.

Given the importance of this message, the chance that this will end up on the front page of Slashdot equals more then 99%, *IF* enough readers read this message. Since it will

and Ron Paul will probably be the next president of the United States.

Slashdot readers are smart people that can add one and one together. So, when they read why Second Life's supposed economy isn't a whole lot more than a typical pyramid scheme because the Linden company can print Linden dollars out of thin air at any rate they like, and can therefore buy and sell as much dollars at the exchange market as they like, so they can pretty much manipulate the whole SL economy as they please, they will also be able to figure out that the real US banking and monetary system can be manipulated at exactly the same way, because the Federal Reserve has enjoyed the absolute power to do literally anything it wants, which is probably why Henry Ford said he believed there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning if "the people of the nation" would "understand our banking and monetary system".

If they also read how the US corporations, owned by the same people that own the FED, systematically and consciously rape the poorest people of the world by using the trick of putting whole nations into debt to make them dependent and controllable by raising inflation tax, just as has been described in protocol number 6 of the so-called Zion protocols and continue reading that protcols, they would also understand why Henry Ford was a known anti-semite, as well as Winston Churchill, who wrote about a world-wide conspiracy for the overthrow of civilization and for the reconstitution of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence, and impossible equality that "has been steadily growing".

If you believe, like Ford and Churchill, in the existence of such a conspiracy, Slashdot readers would not just take for granted that it was "the Jews", but look at the most logical place for the conspiritors, which would be at the top of the pyramid, for who wars are very profitable as well, as is also described in said protocols. So, When Slashdot reades also learn that following Hitler's money leads al but directly to the White House and that Al Qaida in a way can be more or less considered to be the last remaining and still active Waffen-SS Division, because there are pretty direct links to the Waffen-SS Muslim Devision hardly anybody knew existed, they will also be able to understand Multatuli's extremely inconvenient truth laying this all out in detail.

Then they will also realise that 911 was an inside job after all and never be able to trust anyone on the memberlist of the order of Skull and Bones. Since Ron Paul was on the video Multatuli watched to get insight into the workings of the Fed, he gave him the benefit of the doubt and linked to his site from his article.

Given the importance of this message, the chance that this will end up on the front page of Slashdot equals more then 99%, *IF* enough readers read this message. Since it will be extremely cool, as a side-effect of sending the world's biggest war-criminals to justice, to

I like the quote from the one of your founding fathers. Sadly not enough people seem to be familiar with this or the only presidential candidate who seems to stand by them. I can barely find anything on our "impartial" bbc news pages relating to Ron Paul; I can imagine he gets pretty much blanked in the US media.

- The IRS raises much of the money the Federal government uses to fund the military, subsidize farmers, scientific research, college education (in the form of grants to Universities and subsidized student loans), etc. So how do you go about solving all of the problems such a drastic measure would cause?

Wrong the IRS only contributes a portion of the federal governments budget. The principle is not that there should be no government it is that taxes should be raised as local as possible. The further the money gets from the people the more it gets wasted. Why can't the federal government pay for only the military and science which benefits everyone directly while local government pays for education. The IRS is estimated to contribute 40% of the federal budget a major cut in spending would be a wash, while whatever spending needs to be replaced can be done at the local level where there is COMPETITION. Also remember that more and more of our funds are going to debt service anyway.

Abolish the Federal Reserve. What the heck would this accomplish? While they aren't great, they definitely serve the purpose for which it was designed--dampen market-driven cycles and try to minimize inflation. Do you wish for a return of runs on the market and severe depressions/recessions? I didn't realize this until I started reading up on congressman Paul, The FED is creating those bubbles and then trying to fix them!!!! The problem is that the more they try to fix it the worse it gets. It's like hard core drugs, more doesn't cure the addiction it just makes it feel that way for a while. Please read http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/255/the-maestro-changes-his-tune/ Even if you totally disagree at least understand the argument

Abolish the Department of Education Again the further the money gets from the tax payer the more of it disappears on the journey. Why can't all states pay for this.?

Abolish the FCC - agreed.

the policies can be debated for ever but the more you are able to do at the local level the better.

RP poses for pictures with anyone who asks for one. That nazi isn't wearing a swastika in that shot, is he? I find it rather unlikely, to say the least, that the guy said "Hi, I'm a nazi, how about a picture?"

Somehow, I find this man rather more credible on the subject of Ron's attitude towards racism than Charles Johnson and everyone in his echo chamber.

Then of course, there is what the man says himself.

Not to mention the fact Ron has published hundreds of essays and speeches, none of which are consistent with the views expressed in some of those newsletters.

Now, the main thing that convinces me that the man isn't a racist, is the fact that he's the only candidate in either of the major parties who has committed to ending the single government policy that does the most damage to minorities in this country. That is, the War on Drugs, which is a very handy tool for any actual racists who want to lock up blacks, hispanics, or anyone else they find offensive.

-jcr

NAACP leader says Ron Paul is not a racist.

Myth busted!

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Too bad Ron Paul doesn't believe in the separation of church and state: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/articles/?tag=Religion

For those curious, Ron Paul's response is here.

And he responded to the article on http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/125/ron-paul-statement-on-the-new-republic-article-regarding-old-newsletters

Also see: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/racism/

To summarize, the article was complete garbage and politically timed for the primary. Lame.

And he responded to the article on http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/125/ron-paul-statement-on-the-new-republic-article-regarding-old-newsletters

Also see: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/racism/

To summarize, the article was complete garbage and politically timed for the primary. Lame.

The only major candidate who wants to immediately withdraw from Iraq...
The only candidate who has a grasp of economics....
The only candidate who will protect social security for the elderly...
The only candidate who understands how to fight inflation...
The only candidate who understands if you give up liberty for security you have neither...
RON PAUL
www.ronpaul2008.com

Actually he's advocating the complete abolition of the legal and social framework and the US and the complete abolition of the Army

I have to wonder, why would you bother to make up such an outrageous lie, when it's so trivially disproven? Ron Paul advocates reducing the power of the federal government to that which is delegated to it in the constitution, which in case you haven't heard, is the legal framework of the United States.

his continued writing for white supermacist organisations

Like this? or this? or this?

Sorry, but your attempt to paint Ron Paul as a racist has failed. Feel free to play again, though.

-jcr

Dr Ron Paul will scrap the IRS, will let you have guns, will let you homeschool your kids, and will let you live in peace without crying over a killed relative in Iraq. Why you don't vote for him? Here in EU some are very jealous and we wish we had a politician like him. I can understand that you would be reluctant to vote for third party, but having such a man in a mainstream party and not voting for him makes me wonder. Why you don't vote for him?

Before 2007, I was doubtful about whether this country had any hope for change. Whether or not he wins, he represents what this country needs.

If you don't already know about him, his website is helpful: http://ronpaul2008.com/

Fortunately, you are not limited to two online identities (the real and the pen name.) You can have as many as you want, and use them in proper spheres. You can be one on /., another on music forums, yet another on car enthusiasts' forums, and yet another, the real one, for official use. This will allow you to separate your technical opinions from your political or musical interests, and to prevent cross-contamination of your opinion on Urusei Yatsura with your comments about Ron Paul, for example.

The great thing about the internet is that people *can* find you

Sure, they can find someone known as foobar123 on Ford forums just as easy as otaku456 on manga forums. Nobody needs to know more, unless you choose to tell someone.

"job security" has always been an illusion

Still there is no good reason to be a witness against yourself. In many cases if the real name of the poster is not known, it will remain not known (unless there is a really serious, legal or security-related need to find that out.) Besides, how does it matter to me what your real name is? Your name is whatever you tell me, and that's all I want to know. It's not like I'm planning to send you snail mail, for example. Your real name is of no use to me.

An ass is an ass, and no company wants to employ somebody like that.

In 99.999% of cases that person is bad at home and just as bad at work. If you can find someone who is Dr. Jekyll at work and Mr. Hyde at home, he is an exceptional actor. There are people like that, especially among criminals, but that's not what we are talking about here. If such a criminal is working as your cashier you won't hear a single bad word about him until he steals everything you have; he'd be excellent at work and at home until that last moment.

Of course, you can argue about moral standards, but if your company doesn't share your own moral standards, then maybe you shouldn't be working there to begin with.

Of course, it implies that you have to sacrifice your job just so you can openly display something that the company - an amorphous, amoral, collective entity - has no need to know to begin with. Sounds like a bad deal to me, in terms of gain vs. reward. When I work for someone I sell my labor, not my soul.

The Democrats and the neocon wing of the Republican party both want to restrict our civil liberties. I too voted for George Bush, but that was because I didn't know that he was going to turn out so bad. The only presidential candidate who has a consistent record of voting against more government intrusions into our lives is Ron Paul. He has been voting to protect our rights for about 20 years in Congress. He votes against regulating the internet, voted against the "Patriot Act", has never voted to increase power to the executive branch and consistently votes in a manner that supports and defends the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. As a parent, I don't want my kids playing video games with violent content quite yet, which is why I don't buy them those kinds of games. When I was a teenager, I used to enjoy playing Leisure Suit Larry and Duke Nukem, and yet I never acted like the main characters in those games. I have never donated money to a presidential candidate until this year. I sold some beautiful guns so that I could afford to donate money to the Ron Paul campaign. I had planned to leave them to my kids when I pass on, but freedom is more important to me. I have seen first-hand how scary the Department of "Homeland Security" can be. Just a little piece of advice I have to share is don't criticize the government (more specifically the alphabet agencies like the IRS, ATF, FBI, etc.) online unless you are living a perfect politically correct life, because if you have done anything which could be interpreted as possibly illegal, even if you've never harmed anyone, you will probably suddenly come under the scrutiny of "Homeland Security", and may get visited by some investigators wanting to search your home, etc. The government has become excessively large and has a lot of agents who really want to protect their jobs by protecting us from ourselves, even if we're not a threat to ourselves or others. Most of the candidates want to strengthen the government to protect us from imaginary terrorists. I want freedom, peace and prosperity, which is why I will be voting for Ron Paul. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

The best example of how messed up domain name registration has gotten on all fronts can be found in the US election right now. type: mittromney.org into any browser and say hello to http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ Last I heard Mitt had not endorsed Ron for president. The Ron Paul organization has rerouted every thing under to the sun to their pages all perfectly legal as far as I can see. A tax on registrations or other low cost mechanisms are not going to end this kind of abuse. I've got a bad feeling that after this coming election that we could see the kind of overhead found in trademarks taking over domain registrations.

if you're looking for an independent, check out Ron Paul. He's basically a libertarian running under the republican ticket. http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ Definitely worth a look if you are disenfranchised by the major parties.

But, seriously: www.ronpaul2008.com

Don't know if you can still switch parties at this point, but you should look into it. Anyone who has feelings about what the government "shouldn't be getting into" is probably a Ron Paul supporter who doesn't realize it yet.

I don't live in the US, but I have an interest in the US politics in the sense that US is in fact the only superpower and in our globalised (and Americanised) world, everything that happens in the US quickly spreads elsewhere as well because of the global interconnectedness and the special position of the US in the world. Of course there is a personal reason for my interest in the US politics as well, as it is a place I would enjoy living if it were run by a sane president (such as Dr Ron Paul).

Of much more relevance to geeks and nerds is to see who well-known free software and open source activists support. RMS, for instance, supports Kucinich (who is off the magazine's matrix, why? and by the way he is a candidate that I do not support, but I think that even those who I disagree with have a right to have their views heard) and the Green Party (on which I have a slightly positive opinion, but I haven't researched it much). However, he also partially supports the one and only candidate that I also support*, Dr Ron Paul , and he explains his reasoning here: "The only Democratic or Republican candidate, aside from Kucinich, that clearly stands for human rights, democracy, and an end to torture, secret prisons and the occupation of Iraq is Ron Paul. I urge Republicans to support him for that party's nomination".

* Saying "support" however must be understood as "support among the available and reasonable options", and I also generally believe that politicians in general are not the most ethical people of the planet, and I know that most of them change their ways after they get elected and don't carry out their programmes, but some are better than others, and I think Ron Paul is the best among all the candidates (albeit I have some disagreements over his positions on the UN), and I actually should also say that I like him as a person, at least based on his writings. Unfortunately I can't vote for him, as I am in EU and not an American, although if he wins and makes the US a reasonable country to live in and removes all stupid laws introduced by Bush et al, I would certainly consider instant relocation, as I regard US among the best places to run a business (especially compared to here in EU where entrepreneurship is many times seen with suspicion)... in fact the presence of Bush was one of the primary objections to me even visiting the US for travel or business, let alone living there. I have a special interest in the 2008 elections because these are the elections that will determine whether the fascist reforms introduced by the Bush administration are going to be repealed as a historical paranoid mistake or kept as the new gospel. Apart from Kucinich and Dr Ron Paul, the other candidates who are well-known and have a chance of winning are most likely going to keep a few or most of Bush policies. Kucinich and Dr Ron Paul are the two only candidates who are most likely to reverse the trends that currently destroy the American culture and civics, and I think the most sane choice among those available is Dr Ron Paul. By the way Dr Ron Paul supports homeschooling, which is the best way to educate gifted future geeks and nerds.

I don't live in the US, but I have an interest in the US politics in the sense that US is in fact the only superpower and in our globalised (and Americanised) world, everything that happens in the US quickly spreads elsewhere as well because of the global interconnectedness and the special position of the US in the world. Of course there is a personal reason for my interest in the US politics as well, as it is a place I would enjoy living if it were run by a sane president (such as Dr Ron Paul).

Of much more relevance to geeks and nerds is to see who well-known free software and open source activists support. RMS, for instance, supports Kucinich (who is off the magazine's matrix, why? and by the way he is a candidate that I do not support, but I think that even those who I disagree with have a right to have their views heard) and the Green Party (on which I have a slightly positive opinion, but I haven't researched it much). However, he also partially supports the one and only candidate that I also support*, Dr Ron Paul , and he explains his reasoning here: "The only Democratic or Republican candidate, aside from Kucinich, that clearly stands for human rights, democracy, and an end to torture, secret prisons and the occupation of Iraq is Ron Paul. I urge Republicans to support him for that party's nomination".

* Saying "support" however must be understood as "support among the available and reasonable options", and I also generally believe that politicians in general are not the most ethical people of the planet, and I know that most of them change their ways after they get elected and don't carry out their programmes, but some are better than others, and I think Ron Paul is the best among all the candidates (albeit I have some disagreements over his positions on the UN), and I actually should also say that I like him as a person, at least based on his writings. Unfortunately I can't vote for him, as I am in EU and not an American, although if he wins and makes the US a reasonable country to live in and removes all stupid laws introduced by Bush et al, I would certainly consider instant relocation, as I regard US among the best places to run a business (especially compared to here in EU where entrepreneurship is many times seen with suspicion)... in fact the presence of Bush was one of the primary objections to me even visiting the US for travel or business, let alone living there. I have a special interest in the 2008 elections because these are the elections that will determine whether the fascist reforms introduced by the Bush administration are going to be repealed as a historical paranoid mistake or kept as the new gospel. Apart from Kucinich and Dr Ron Paul, the other candidates who are well-known and have a chance of winning are most likely going to keep a few or most of Bush policies. Kucinich and Dr Ron Paul are the two only candidates who are most likely to reverse the trends that currently destroy the American culture and civics, and I think the most sane choice among those available is Dr Ron Paul. By the way Dr Ron Paul supports homeschooling, which is the best way to educate gifted future geeks and nerds.

From your link: "This is early-stage research. We should not abandon other areas of stem cell research. It's by no means certain they'll differentiate in the same way as a normal embryonic stem cell."

Additionally, you said:

I can't really picture the most conservative of conservatives being against it on this basis.

Based on his past statements, it is likely that Ron Paul would still oppose it.

Has anyone actually come out against stem cell research?

Democrats all seem to favor stem cell research. But among Republicans it's mixed:

• Giuliani favors expanding stem cell research.
• McCain and Romney oppose research using cloned human embryos but not embryos left over from fertility treatments.
• Huckabee only favors continuing research with existing lines.
• Hunter, Keyes, Tancredo, and Thompson oppose embryonic stem cell research.
• Paul opposes funding stem cell research (but for econo-libertarian reasons rather than religious/moral ones. If you generalize from his stated position about stem cells, he apparently would oppose most federal funding for science and medicine).

Source: The Pew Forum (except the Ron Paul parenthetical).

Vote for RON PAUL in 2008: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Be part of the Tea Party and Donate TODAY!!

Ron Paul has about 104,000 donors. His donor-feed is at:
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/webservices/REST/fundraiser?name=liberty

It's not clear to me [and I've searched a bit] if that number is total number of unique donors or total number of donations. Other articles touching on the subject are
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/us/politics/06paul.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/10/12/politics/horserace/entry3362383.shtml?CMP=OTC-RSSFeed&source=RSS&attr=Horserace_3362383

Now... has Ron Paul found the most donors? I don't think so. Barack Obama had 92,000 new contributors in the 3rd Quarter, and has had 350,000+ thus far
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-10-01-fundraising_N.htm

So in short, cut the crap. Regardless if you appreciate Ron Paul's unique perspectives or think he's a crazy foolish man, don't make things up. Use facts. The truth is out there ;), and in this case it makes it pretty clear that Ron Paul has not had more individual donors than any other candidate in the race.