[lbo-talk] Donate to Wall Street protesters

ken hanly northsunm at yahoo.com
Tue Sep 20 19:57:09 PDT 2011


  True he is not consistent but consider this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul

PATRIOT Act Paul broke with his party by voting against the PATRIOT Act in 2001; he also voted against its 2005 enactment.[168] He has said, "Everything we have done in response to the 9-11 attacks, from the Patriot Act to the war in Iraq, has reduced freedom in America."[70] He has spoken against federal use of what he defines as torture and what he sees as an abuse of executive authority during the Iraq War to override Constitutional rights.[169]

Marijuana Paul favors the right to use marijuana as a medical option. He was cosponsor of H.R. 2592, the States' Rights to Medical Marijuana Act.[249] He is currently a supporter of the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008.[250] Paul has joined prominent Progressive Democrats in urging that states be allowed to permit farmers to grow industrial hemp, which currently is defined as a controlled substance.[235] He contends that this would help North Dakota and other agriculture states, where farmers have requested the ability to farm hemp for years.[235] In 2005 and 2007 he introduced the Industrial Hemp Farming Act "to amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, and for other purposes";[251] it currently has eleven cosponsors. This bill would give the states the power to regulate farming of hemp. The measure would be a first since the national prohibition of industrial hemp farming in the United States. The Economistwrote that his support for hemp farming could appeal to farmers in Iowa.[252] [edit]Drug prohibition Paul contends that prohibition of drugs is ineffective and advocates ending the War on Drugs.[253][254][255] "Prohibition doesn’t work. Prohibition causes crime." He believes that drug abuse should be treated as a medical problem, "We treat alcoholism now as a medical problem and I, as a physician, think we should treat drug addiction as a medical problem and not as a crime." The Constitution does not enumerate or delegate to Congress the authority to ban or regulate drugs in general. Paul believes in personal responsibility, but also sees inequity in the current application of drug enforcement laws, noting in 2000, "Many prisoners are non-violent and should be treated as patients with addictions, not as criminals. Irrational mandatory minimal sentences have caused a great deal of harm. We have non-violent drug offenders doing life sentences, and there is no room to incarcerate the rapists and murderers."[256]

________________________________ From: Seth Kulick <skulick at seas.upenn.edu> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 7:17 PM Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Donate to Wall Street protesters

Message: 11
> Date: Tue, 20 Sep 2011 08:40:51 -0400
> From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Donate to Wall Street protesters
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Message-ID: <5046B421-B196-4A10-87D2-AACE0A13477A at panix.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
>
>
> On Sep 19, 2011, at 10:53 PM, ken hanly wrote:
>
>>   He may be a libertarian but as with many libertarians for example those associated with antiwar.com he is an avid anti-war activist much more so than many Obama liberals. He is often outspoken in his support of civil rights too.
>
> Ron Paul?
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Ron_Paul#Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964

There is also this charming statement by Ron Paul from his 1988 book "Freedom Under Siege":

Victims demand health care as well and scream "discrimination" if insurance companies claim they have a right to refuse to issue a policy to someone already infected with the AIDS virus. The rights of the insurance company owners are not considered, while legislation is passed forcing insurance companies to provide the insurance demanded by the victims. The individual suffering from AIDS certainly a is victim -- frequently a victim of his own lifestyle -- but this same individual victimizes innocent citizens by forcing them to pay for his care.

http://mises.org/books/freedomsiege.pdf chapter 1

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