GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 8, 2007
Fred Thompson Talks About His Diet
Candidate Says Weight Loss Is Due To New Diet: "If It Tastes Good, Don't Eat It"
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Republican Presidential hopeful, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson speaks to supporters during a campaign stop at Tommy's Ham House in Greenville, S.C., Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. (AP)
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Play CBS Video Video Republican Race Wide Open At the moment any Republican candidate could conceivably clinch the nomination. Nancy Cordes takes a look at why none stand out yet.
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Photo Essay Fred Thompson He has played the role of the president in several films. Now he is running to be it for real.
"But doggone, they brought me in a fruit plate," Thompson said to laughs at Tommy's Country Ham House.
The former Tennessee senator has said his wife, Jeri, and others have talked up watching his cholesterol and weight, and to exercise more. He has said his visible weight loss is not health-related, and he's following a new eating plan at home: "If it tastes good, don't eat it."
Apparently the new diet extends to the campaign trail. Thompson said he would take that up with his staff.
Gazing across plates with the remnants of grits, sausage, bacon, biscuits and pancakes, Thompson said in his trademark drawl, "mighty good to be back in God's country."
"Folks knows what goes into a good breakfast," the TV actor said.
During the stop, he also repeated his criticism of rival Rudy Giuliani's support for sanctuary cities and the former New York mayor's fight against legislation he backed in the Senate.
"While I was voting and working for the passage of a bill that outlawed sanctuary cities, Mayor Giuliani was going to court to overturn the bill that we had just passed," Thompson said as he wrapped up a two-day swing through early voting South Carolina.
It was the second day Thompson has denounced leading Republicans on illegal immigration. He also erroneously repeated a claim that all of his opponents had supported a failed overhaul of the nation's immigration laws in the Senate this summer. Sen. John McCain of Arizona was the legislation's chief supporter.
In fact, none of the other Republican candidates supported McCain's immigration bill this year, with top candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney criticizing the measure at various debates and campaign stops. Thompson's campaign said both supported Senate versions of the legislation before 2007.
On Wednesday, Thompson also expressed his support for a tough immigration measure sponsored by Iowa Rep. Steve King that would punish companies that hire illegal immigrants.
Under the measure, businesses could not take a tax deduction for wages paid to an illegal immigrant, a step Thompson said he supported "because it provides a disincentive to employers who hire undocumented workers."
King, a favorite with Iowa conservatives, has described torture at Abu Ghraib as "hazing," argued that living in Iraq is safer than in Washington and derided President Bush's guest worker immigration program as amnesty.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Like Ron Paul, I share our Founders'' belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms. They ratified the Second Amendment knowing that this right is the guardian of every other right, and they all would be horrified by the proliferation of unconstitutional legislation that prevents Law-abiding Americans from exercising this right. Congressman, Paul has always supported the Second Amendment and these are some of the Bills he introduced in the current Congress to help restore respect for it: H.R. 1096 includes provisions repealing the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act and the Federal Firearms License Reform Act, two invasive and unconstitutional Bills. H.R. 1897 would end the ban on carrying a firearm in the National Park System, restoring Americans'' ability to protect themselves in potentially hazardous situations. H.R. 3305 would allow pilots and specially assigned personnel to carry firearms in order to protect airline passengers, possibly preventing future 9/11-style attacks. H.R. 1146 would end our membership in the United Nations, protecting us from their attempts to tax our guns or disarm us entirely. In the past, he introduced legislation to repeal the so-called assault weapons ban before its 2004 sunset, and he has opposed all attempts to reinstate it. Congessman, Paul also recently opposed H.R. 2640, which would allow government-appointed psychiatrists to ban veterans experiencing any form of PTSD.
If he is elected President, Ron Paul will work to abolish the Federal Reserve System as well as the IRS, returning our country to the Gold Standard. He believes, as I do, that our current Income Tax System is unconstitutional, because it is a direct tax that is not equally apportioned as The Constitution requires. Whenever taxes are raised by the federal government, it should be done as The Constitution does require--in an indirect way, which is equally apportioned. This system would benefit all of us, creating more individual wealth, and allowing us to make more decisions for ourselves about our lives. As President, Ron Paul will also work to abolish the Federal Reserve, a group of private banks, run by unelected officials, which loans our government unbacked money which they are allowed to essentially print out of thin air, making each dollar in your pocket worth less all the time, and increasing our national debt to these banks. Worse still. Most of our debt is owned by China (25%) and Saudi Arabia who finance our runaway military spending overseas. This is a threat to our nation. We need to bring our troops home from overseas, and use the trillions we would save thereby to reduce our debt, and to re-invigorate our currency. We can use this money to ensure that Social Security and other essential programs will still be solvent in the future. Vote for Ron Paul. He''s published three books on the topic of sound economics. ronpaullibrary.org
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee Member, Congressman Ron Paul on November 8th, and had to face some tough criticism from Paul concerning the fact that the Fed has been increasing the money supply while at the same time refusing to raise the Prime Interest Rate in order to curb deflation. Paul accused the Federal Reserve of "robbery," telling Bernanke, "There''s a dollar crisis out there and people''s money is being stolen," Paul said. "People who have saved, they''re being robbed. I mean, if you have a devaluation of the dollar at 10 percent, people have been robbed of 10 percent." Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke attempted to dispel that notion by explaining, "If somebody has their wealth in dollars and they''re going to buy consumer goods in dollars, then the only effect it has on their buying power is that it makes imported goods more expensive." Paul disagreed, reminding Bernanke, "Yeah, but not if you''re elderly and you have your wealth in CDs. Their cost of living is going-up no matter what your CPI says," adding finally, "Their cost of living is going up, and they''re hurting. And that''s why the people of this country are very upset."
Congressman, Paul never votes for any Bill which he feels is not authorized by The Constitution, regardless of what it might be named. He feels most Laws should be made at the local or State level: the way our Founders intended. We are a Republic, and we have plenty of State lawmakers who are more than willing to make Laws which best serve their constituents. "Ron Paul is one of the easiest people in Congress to work with, because he bases his positions on the merits of issues," says Barney Frank, who has worked with Paul on efforts to ease the regulation of gambling and medical marijuana. "He is independent, but not ornery." Paul has made a habit of objecting to things that no one else objects to. In 2001, he was one of only three House Republicans to vote against the USA Patriot Act. He was the sole House member of either party to vote against the Financial Antiterrorism Act. In 1999, he was the only naysayer in a vote in favor of casting a medal to honor Rosa Parks. Nothing against Rosa Parks. Paul also voted against similar medals for Reagan and Pope John Paul II. He did, however, offer $100 of his own money to help pay for Reagan''s medal, and invited others in Congress to match his offer, but not one Member took him-up on it. Instead, Congress spent YOUR money. He not only routinely opposes resolutions that are unconstitutional, he votes against Bills which presume to advise foreign governments how to run their affairs.
The main thing Ron Paul''s campaign has done thus far is to serve as a clearinghouse for voters like me who feel unrepresented by the Fascisct (globalist Republicans) and their Socialist comrades in crime (globalist Democrats). They''re actually one and the same. It''s all a phony, poorly staged left-right paradigm. Most people, though, are too distracted, dumbed-down, or outright brainwashed by mainstream media, which endlessly regurgitates scientifically-crafted streams of information aimed at keeping their eyes closed to the realities of the world around them, that they fail to recognize this. Those currently in power, and those being groomed to take [major] political power, are preselected by the "global elite," and whomever is eventually elected, will ultimately, serve their will, and not ours. 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 the government should have over our lives and how much liberty we should give up for security. These are issues that, frankly, no one else is talking about as seriously and sincerely as Ron Paul. What''s for sure is that his growing army of supporters like me will be a force to be reckoned with in 2008.
-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more torture prisons
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT
-- No more North American Union
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more unlimited federal government
They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. The Doctor is in! Join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com
"Liberty, when it takes root, is a plant of rapid growth."
- George Washington
"Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must...undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
"Ron Paul doesn''t represent your Father''s school of political thought. He represents your Founding Fathers."
- Me
I agree with Ron Paul about the issue of illegal immigration. The talk must stop. We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked. Ron Paul has a plan: (1.) Physically secure our borders and coastlines. We must do whatever it takes to control entry into our country before we undertake complicated immigration reform proposals. (2.) Enforce Visa rules. Immigration officials must track Visa holders and deport anyone who overstays their Visa or otherwise violates U.S. Law. This is especially important when we recall that a number of 9/11 terrorists had expired Visas. (3.) No amnesty. Estimates suggest that 10 to 20 million people are in our country illegally. That''s a lot of people to reward for breaking our Laws. (4.) No welfare for illegal aliens. Americans have welcomed immigrants who seek opportunity, work hard, and play by the rules, but taxpayers should not pay for illegal immigrants who use hospitals, clinics, schools, roads, and social services. (5.) End birthright citizenship. As long as illegal immigrants know their children born here will be citizens, the incentive to enter the U.S. illegally will remain strong. (6.) Pass true immigration reform. The current system, and those proposed by ALL other candidates, is incoherent and unfair, and would allow up to 60 million more immigrants into our country.
What we need is a President who will show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW way. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50+ years. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of the Middle-East, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas of Presidential candidate, Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. He''s an intellectual who''s published four books, three of which are devoted entirely to sound economics and one to foreign policy. He was raised on a dairy farm in Pennsylvania as a pious Lutheran, but now he attends a Baptist church. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. Whenever he recollects the helicopter pilots he treated as an Air Force Flight Surgeon (Captain) during the Vietnam War, a war which he now says was "totally unnecessary and illegal," he laments, "They were gung-ho. I''ve often thought about how many of those people never came back." Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and proven track record of adherence to The Constitution, Congressman Paul has always demonstrated only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky.
-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more torture prisons
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT
-- No more North American Union
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more all-powerful (Orwellian) federal government
They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. The Doctor is in! Join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com
"Liberty, when it takes root, is a plant of rapid growth."
- George Washington
"Those who expect to reap the blessing of freedom must...undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
- Thomas Paine
"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
- Mahatma Gandhi
All of the trade deals and world government organizations, which all of the presidential candidates support (except Ron Paul), such as the ICC, NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA, are all a major threat to our nation''s sovereignty. They transfer power from our government to unelected foreign elites. The ICC wants to try our soldiers as war criminals. Both the WTO and CAFTA could force Americans to get a prescription to take herbs and vitamins. The WTO has forced Congress to change our laws to meet their needs, and not our own. If anything, the WTO makes trade relations worse by giving foreign competitors a new way to attack U.S. jobs. The NAFTA superhighway, being built by a Spanish company, is just one part of a plan to erase our borders and create the North American Union, a single nation State like the EU, out of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, with a new, unelected bureaucracy and money system. Forget about controlling immigration under the NAU scheme. There won''t be any borders anymore, or a free America. Our limited, constitutional government will be gone forever. Let''s not forget the UN either. It wants to impose a direct Carbon Tax on us. Ron Paul successfully fought this move in Congress last year, but if we are going to stop ongoing attempts of this world government body to rule over us, we need someone in the White House who knows how to say "No." We must withdraw from any organizations or treaty that infringes upon our nation''s sovereignty.
Ron Paul must think...out of site out of mind.
I''m sorry but just ignorning the problems in the world and withdrawing from international organizations is irresponsible and would place the US on an Island by ourselves with no friends.
If he is going to eliminate Fed Reserve who or what is he going to put in place to manage the money in the country.
How will he enforce these immigration laws, how will he round up the millions of illegal immigrants here?
Its nice to say all these things but you have to do more than just say it, you have to have a plan to put in place, America doesn''t want another dictator, we want someone that will bring the US back in good standing with other countries in the world, reduce the national debt, bring our troops home, tackle imigration (inact enforceable laws) We want a president that is going to work on problems at home but not forget about the problems abroad.
I want to hear how this old grandad managed to seduce a young chick like Jeri!
Fred, you cradle robber you!!
LOL
- by topprophet November 8, 2007 5:39 PM EST
- RON PAUL SETS NEW GOP FUNDRAISING RECORD
- Reply to this comment
See all 17 CommentsFreedom is apparently popular, folks. I''m glad it is. In just 24 hours (on Nov 5, 2007), he raised over $4,200,000 in grass roots donations from his supporters nationwide, beating Mitt Romney''s previous one-day (Republican) record of 3.1 million Dollars. Do the math, folks. Ron Paul certainly isn''t getting any money from the bankers or the military industrial complex like all the sold-out NWO candidates both on the left and the right who pretend to be his equal. He''s getting support from millions of REAL people who share in his Hope For America:
-- No more meddling in other country''s political affairs
-- No more aggressive military actions overseas
-- No more pseudo-wars like the "War on Drugs"
-- No more IRS and unconstitutional income taxes
-- No more Federal Reserve (the group of private banks which owns our government)
-- No more U.N. participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT
-- No more North American Union
-- No more federal gun control laws
-- No more illegal aliens pouring-in over our country''s borders
-- No more illegal aliens allowed to roam freely in our streets
-- No more federal Laws which are not authorized by The Constitution
-- No more federal erosion of State sovereignty
-- No more all-powerful federal government
They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. The Doctor is in! Join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com
Remember, folks. Freedom isn''t free.