Comments on: Is Waterboarding Torture? Mukasey Is Mum

Doubts Raised On Attorney General Nomination Following Tortured Testimony

[usaprophet]

Like Ron Paul, I believe the biggest threat to your privacy is the government. We must drastically limit the ability of government to collect and store data regarding citizens'' personal matters. We must stop the move toward a national ID card system (e.g., The Real ID Act). Under this new law, states are currently issuing new driver''s licenses embedded with standard identifier data (RFID chips). Although, some states like Montana are refusing to comply. A national ID with new tracking technologies means we''re heading into an Orwellian world of no privacy. Ron Paul was one of the few members of Congess who voted against the Real ID Act. Also, under current medical privacy protection rules, which Ron Paul also opposed, insurance companies and other entities have access to your personal medical information. Finally, there''s the so-called Patriot Act, which Congressman, Ron Paul also voted against. As originally proposed, it expanded the federal government''s ability to use wiretaps without judicial oversight; allowed nationwide search warrants non-specific to any given location, nor subject to any local judicial oversight; made it far easier for the government to monitor private Internet usage; authorized sneak and peek warrants enabling federal authorities to search a person''s home, office, or personal property without that person''s knowledge; and required libraries to turn over records of books read by their patrons. Ron Paul sponsored a bill to overturn the Patriot Act.

[usaprophet]

Here''s a book by Dr. Paul about how he would go about returning us to the Gold Standard, without the economic upheaval blogger, brianbwb was concerned expressed concern about (you can read it online FREE):
The Case for Gold: A Minority Report of the U.S. Gold Commission, by Dr. Ron Paul
http://www.mises.org/books/caseforgold.pdf

[sendreidpelo]

jerr,

thanks for proving my point - especially about brain dead nazis like yourself - or pu&ssy NOT Texan, only in the figment of his imagination unless he''s the b*stard son of Jim Baker and Natalie Maines...

LOL...

Go and hand your cowardly anal cavity over to Bin Laden, Jerr. He might spare a pissant devoid of any brain matter...then again, he might not.

At least you won''t be swinging from the gallows ala your fellow Hitler fan doo-doo.

[brianbwb-2009]

In a letter to Leahy released by the senator yesterday, Mukasey reiterated that he believes the Constitution and U.S. statutes are explicit in forbidding torture but are less clear on the boundaries of surveillance. "The weight of authority indicates that warrantless surveillance to collect foreign intelligence is not unconstitutional so long as it is otherwise reasonable," Mukasey wrote.

Guess Mukey forgot to read the fourth amendment, that is as obvious as a brick wall.

[brianbwb-2009]

Bradford A. Berenson, a lawyer who worked in the White House counsel''s office and who supports the nomination, said that "it''s just unreasonable to expect him to express a firm view [on waterboarding] one way or the other unless he''s more versed in the facts. It''s not as if he went in there and told them it wasn''t torture. He just wanted to be better informed."

Let him endure a few hours of it, then ask him.

[usaprophet]

Whatever you think Dr. Paul''s campaign is about, the main thing it has done thus far is to serve as a clearinghouse for voters like me who feel unrepresented by New World Order Neocons (mainstream Republicans) and their Socialist comrades in crime (mainstream Democrats). They''re actually one and the same. There is no real difference between the two parties. Most people, though, are too distracted, dummied-down, or outright brainwashed by mainstream media, which endlessly regurgitates scientifically-crafted streams of information and entertainment aimed at imprisoning their minds and keeping their eyes closed to the realities of the world around them, to recognize this. Those currently in power, and those being groomed to take [major] political power, are the global elite, and we are their "plebs." People on the right and those on the left have many differences, maybe irreconcilable ones. But they have a lot of common beliefs too, and their numbers and anger are of a considerable magnitude. No matter what happens in 2008, I personally believe Ron Paul will influence the national conversation about what the role of the federal government is, how much power should government have over our lives, how much liberty we should give up for security. These are important issues, and frankly, no one''s talking about them as seriously and sincerely as Ron Paul. What''s for sure is that his growing army of supporters will be a force to be reckoned with in 2008.

[brianbwb-2009]

To thefarrier

A return to the gold standard, while technically logical, presents a big problem, where and how does the US treasury get the gold? After Nixon abolished the last vestiges in 1972, most of the treasury''s gold was sold on the open market, not just to Americans, but to gold hoarders internationally. Who then, do you choose to deny the existence of economically, as there is not enough gold in the US to cover the current value of US assets.

A national sales tax will plunge those living one or two paychecks above poverty, down into two or more paychecks below poverty, as a greater percentage of their living expense is applied to other than life maintenance, while the rich, don''t spend the same percent of their income just maintaining life. How do you mitigate the socio economic disaster that such a move would unleash?

Nationalize the fed, not abolish it, just don''t charge interest on newly issued money, the debt will not grow.

There are other answers than Paul''s, and his alignment with the party of the racists, fascists and elitists, also assures he will not get my vote.

[usaprophet]

If he is elected President, Dr. Paul''s will work to abolish the Federal Reserve System as well as the IRS, returning return our country to the Gold Standard. And rather than our current, Personal Income Tax, which he views as unconstitutional, because it''s is a direct tax that is not equally apportioned as the Constitution requires. He beleives that if taxes are raised from private citizens, it should be done as the Constitution DOES require, in the form of a National Sales Tax. Under this form of taxation, the rich and powerful cannot avoid taxes through their artfully-crafted tax shelters. Everyone would be taxed EQUALLY. This system would benefit all of us, creating more individual wealth, and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives. Dr. Paul will also work to abolish the Federal Reserve, a group of private banks which loans our government money that they print out of thin air, making each dollar in your pocket worth less. The Fed is run by unelected officials who are not required to be accountable to we the people. Worse, our economy and our very independence as a nation is increasingly in the hands of foreign governments such as China and Saudi Arabia, which finance our runaway spending. If we don''t cut spending now, especially overseas military spending, higher taxes and economic disaster will be our future. The guidelines we need for governing taxation and spending is called the Constitution. Ron Paul has ACTUALLY read it! ronpaullibrary.org

[rowdytexan2]

Please forgive SendReidPelo, when the Plutonians secretly landed and kidnapped him, they hooked him to the same brain eating machine they hooked Dubya up to.

[brianbwb-2009]

For all the Bush supporters, your attempts to redefine the meaning of the word torture to exclude practices long accepted and included in the definition is incontrovertible proof that you are all the most base of cowards.

The point of whether it is wrong or right is moot, but if you are going to do it, don''t lie about it, then, when the lie is exposed, play semantics games in a retarded attempt to escape the responsibility of your decisions. Even the suicide bombers are braver than you, as they accept the immediate consequence of death as a result of their action.

If any US government official will authorize torture, then say so clearly, carry it out, then stand up for your convictions by accepting the penalty for breach of national and international law. To do less is proof of lack of honor, morals, regard for human life, integrity, and indicative of complete cowardice...