Millions In Subsidies For Profitable Corn?

Taxpayers Spend $2 Billion On Automatic Payments To Farmers, Whether They're Needed Or Not

(CBS)  On Ken McCauley's Kansas farm, corn is starting to look a little bit like gold, reports CBS News correspondent Chip Reid.

"It's a good year," said McCauley, "we have good yields good prices"

Two years ago, corn was about $2 a bushel. This year it briefly soared above $4 and is still sky high, over $3 a bushel, which means the corn on a 3,000-acre farm like McCauley's is worth about $450,000 more now than two years ago.

The price is so high because corn is hot, not only as food, but as fuel.

McCauley sends all his corn to the local ethanol plant, where it's turned into fuel for cars as part of a massive federal effort to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Even dried-out corn is money in the bank for a farmer who sells it to an ethanol plant.

But what really has critics angry is that corn farmers are also still getting automatic subsidy payments from the federal government. Many get tens of thousands of dollars every year whether they need it or not.

The total cost to taxpayers is $2 billion a year.

Rep. Ron Kind says it's outrageous, and he's fighting to stop the payments. Many farmers, he says, are embarrassed to take the money

"A lot of my farm families and neighbors come up to me and say, 'Why are we getting these payments when prices are so good?' And I say, 'You're right, this is crazy.'"

But the corn payments live on because many members of congress insist they're still needed as a safety net.

Sen. Sam Brownback, who grew up on a Kansas farm, is one of them.

Asked how he can justify millions of dollars in taxpayer money going to corn farmers who are doing very well right now, Brownback says, "Because they were doing very poorly two years ago and next year they could do very poorly."

Brownback supports gradually moving toward a system where farmers get federal payments only when they need them, and Ken McCauley agrees.

"You'd be targeting the person who actually need the support," said McCauley.

But no one expects those tax dollars to stop flowing anytime soon.

[sageprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL

-- 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 erosion of Social Security to pay for militarization
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT (globalist trade cartels)
-- No more North American Union (loss of U.S. sovereignty)
-- 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 national ID cards (Real ID Act)
-- No more government invasion of your privacy
-- No more federal Laws which force you to take unwanted injections
-- 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! Find-out what CBS hides from you, and join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com

"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

[sageprophet]

RON PAUL RESISTS SPECIAL INTEREST
In Congress, Ron Paul is not only known for his lack of ego (a rare quality in D.C.), he''s widely admired for his resistance to the influence of special interest groups. Again. They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. He consistanly votes against pork-barrel spending. In a rice-growing, cattle-ranching district, Paul consistently votes against farm subsidies. In the very district where, in 1900, a storm destroyed the city of Galveston, and where repairs and refugees from Hurricane Katrina continue to exact their toll, he votes against FEMA (the poster child for inept agencies) and flood aid. In a district that is home to thousands of employees of the Johnson Space Center, he votes against financing NASA. Nothwithstanding this, his constituants in the 14th District of Texas continue to re-relect him. Why? You ask? I think one voter I talked to there summarized it nicely when she said, "We may not like his vote. But we trust his heart." Even Tim Delaney, the editorial-page editor of The Victoria Advocate, an influential newspaper in the district, which has generally opposed Paul, on the grounds that a lone wolf cannot get the homeland-security financing he says the district needs, says, "Ron Paul is a very charismatic person. He has charm. He does not alter his position ever. His ideals are high. If a little old man calls up from the farm and says, I need a wheelchair, he''ll get the *** wheelchair for him. Ron Paul is a man of integrity."

[sageprophet]

THEY DON''T CALL HIM "DOCTOR NO" FOR NO REASON
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.

[edward1975-2009]

There should be no excuse for farmers needing any subsidy from the government. With the development of E-85 no field should be left barren. Another form of welfare that is not needed.

[edward1975-2009]

I see the Ron Paul uninformed idiot is back and moronic as usual. Ron Paul, still minting his own likeness on currency?

[trillion1]

Just another layer of comfort for the rich corps.

[rudy654-2009]

Don''t you all love it????? We pay through are taxes so that they can charge us "sky high prices"!!!!!! We do this for both the petroleum companies and the farmers, who by the way, hire illegals.

[rudy654-2009]

Oh, and don''t accuse these people of being on welfare!!

[undermyboot]

Not enough of a "sage" to realize he''s turning people off Ron Paul with his massive SPAMMING. With "supporters" like this, Ron Paul does not need opponents. What a f''ing moron.

[whatithink-2009]

Some need to wake up. This is the type of welfare that is REALLY running rampant in our country. You''ve just been blinded by the truth.

[skeezix06]

And what have we learned children? Corn produced as food is cheap because its in so many ingredients that raising the price would cause wholesale inflation. On the other hand, we should expect corn raised as fuel to be profitable because fuel is profitable. The logic in this story is illogical.

And to Rudy. While its true corporate farmers hire illegals, what few small farmers who are left are pretty much solely a family operation. Of course, if they''re anywhere near a city, most of their children are busily parcelling out the land for home building. I wonder what we''re going to do for food soon.

Finally Rudy, if you want to look for illegals, I suggest you direct your attention toward places like the meat packing plants.

[alphaa10-2009]

Is Ron Paul the antidote to Bush? Better consider Paul''s attitude to democratic government, first.

Paul boosters struggle to find his positive points, because Paul is basically a Bush Republican who never endorsed all the neocon globalist thinking and money driving Bush. By any standard, this is only damnation by faint praise.

And while Bush and Paul differ here and there on foreign affairs, their policies at home are much closer.

Both Bush and Paul follow the Grover Norquist view that government is the problem. But like most Bush slogans, that doesn''t describe America or its challenges.

Both Bush and Paul are cheerleaders for lessez faire-- the policy that brought us everything from Enron to the still rampaging mortgage bust on Wall Street.

For example, it was private sector incompetence, not governmental health insurance which left America behind Cuba in infant mortality, which makes us pay 2.5 times more for healthcare than the EU, and with 47 million of us medically uninsured as "subprime" risks.

For another, it was a $40 billion private sector mortgage fiasco that dropped the DOW 250 points and left 650,000 Americans foreclosed out of their own homes.

Private sector corruption? A huge glut of no-bid, taxpayer dollars shoved at the private sector left New Orleans mired in waste and faulty construction by Bush cronies-- the city still exposed to the next Katrina.

Ron Paul, by his stated beliefs, endorses more of the same-- and America simply cannot afford another Bush.

[fstop100]

Is there anything that our government does that we can trust anymore?

[ewharper]

Here''s another example of waste in USDA. I work for USDA, I have a perfectly fast computer, but since it is 3 years old, I "have" to get a new one. On top of that, I have a 19" LCD monitor, and since it''s part of the "package", I will be getting a bigger monitor. You multiply that by every PC in USDA that is 3 years old. Wasteful, wasteful, wasteful!!

[afmca]

This is just another hypocritical example of corporate welfare at the expense of tax paying Americans. The Repubs will rant and rave about the poor unwed mother is the ghetto getting a subsidy of a couple hundred doallrs but not to profitable corporations making millions and billions. Demos are no better as they troll for votes in middle America using our tax money as bait. Our political system is broke.

[hypnotoad72]

And some people say regulations are bad. Surely the net cost of having a regulator audit which entities no longer need assistance outweighs putting on a big velour blindfold on and handing out money to anyone.

[prinzowhales]

Much of this money goes to the same large producers every year...Just as under the Internal Revenue Code, the corporations reap a bonanza from "tax expenditures" designed specifically to give them ways to pay less taxes.

The thing we overlook in considering our subsidies and tax expenditures to big business is the artificial distinction between "gross income" and "net income". As you can see just by looking at a corporate annual report...most of the income corporations receive is untaxes, while most of your income is taxes.

If I owned a trucking company earning billions a year, using the tax supported infrastructure of roads and markets of the US to earn this, I could end up paying taxes on only a few million dollars of "net income"...while the working people pay a much greater percentage of their incomes to the Federal Regime-- and get little or nothing for their money.

[omega39-2009]

And some people say regulations are bad. Surely the net cost of having a regulator audit which entities no longer need assistance outweighs putting on a big velour blindfold on and handing out money to anyone.
Posted by hypnotoad72

Well it''s not exactly "anyone" its more like big business. The politicians have no problem telling the poor and destitute to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

[prinzowhales]

Bush is anything but a supporter of free markets...and free markets should be distinguished from "Capitalist" or "Oligarchical" markets. The latter has a privatized monopoly credit creating mechanism which allows them virtually unlimited financing for centralization. There is competition in free markets...Both Rockefellar and Morgan spoke against the wastefulness of competition and looked to have monopolies...Just look at the GE-Westinghouse anti-trust suit of the 1960s...they divided up the market between them--and a few other suppliers--and instituted administered prices...This is precisely what is going on in the energy field.

Nixon beat down coal with the anti-pollution laws... the petroleum companies gobbled a lot of them up to create "energy companies"--prior to that electric train companies had been gobbled up and replaced by gas burning buses...now America is built around oil-centric internal combustion and they can raise the prices to whatever the market can bear.

If you want a free market, you can''t have it in a capitalist market--the laws, the credit, the organization is all set up to serve the interests of the few and take advantage of the many.

[prinzowhales]

Look at what Bush has subsidized to create hydrogen-- didn''t he want to burn hydrocarbons to produce hydrogen...They''ve increased the price of oil so that their cash flow won''t be diminished due to fuel efficiencies...actually, their profit margins will increase as the price increases while their inputs to produce that level of profit will decline as a percentage of the end price.

As you might have read, a gentleman working with what is essentially a Rife Frequency Generator-- decades old technology that was suppressed by the AMA, Sloan Kettering and the rest of what has been called "Rockefellar Medicine" in its medical applications (busloads of cancer patients bused to his clinic from a University Hospital in LA were cured)--this gentleman, was able to agitate H2O so that hydrogen wss released and would burn...With solar power this is something that should have been pursued immediatealy...but it would kick hydrocarbons in the butt, so it gets a few articles while the press concerns itself with the ''flavor of the hour'' in starlets.

The Capitalists, like the Communists believe in top down administration of the economy--billions are put into doing things a certain way...and when people like Raymond Royal Rife, this gentleman who ''burns water'', Nicholai Tesla and others come up with advances and alternatives that, in a free market economy, would be the deadliest of competition to the Capitalist, they get sat on, regulated, litigated, sabotaged, murdered...

[jerr11]

At least no American lives are not lost with these subsidies.

Unlike the trillion dollar subsidy we''re giving Halliburton in Iraq.

1.9 trillion down the ******** and 4000 American dead soldiers.

That''s what I call making a killing from a war.

[jerr11]

Coorection:

At least no American lives are lost with these subsidies.

[itgranny]

Any one that visits these comments section on CBSNEWS has probably seen the jerk''s comments on Ron Paul. I feel this is exploiting a loophole and Ron Paul (or the people representing him) must think it''s ok to take advantage of the system. I think it''s dishonest and reflects poorly on Ron Paul; not only on his campaign but his integrity.

[prinzowhales]

In Soviet economics it was noted that ag prices tended to divurge from industrial prices...it took more and more ''taters to buy goods, so to speak... this was know as "scissoring"...referring to the way that the blades of the scissors move away from each other when they open.

This is what happened in America--and the rest of the industrialized world where surpluses became the rule.
Farm subsidies were designed to correct this...a sort of Pareto-like solution because it allowed the Capitalist ''cheap food'' strategy to go forward...less pricey food, they figured, would help keep wage demands down...

The Corn Law repeal was a move to accomplish the same thing--cheap food to keep wages down...the power of the British Empire rested on its industrial might... let the Irish and the Americans grow the food and we''ll sell them the manufactured goods, they reasoned.
End part I.

[stevejk4]

just so you all know. Cannabis oil works alot better for ethenol then corn. it''s easier to grow, and can be grown just about anywhere in the US.

[glossypan]

The gaping hole in democracy in the United States. The US Senate. When Kansas and Iowa have as many Senators as California and New York, the concept of democracy is nullified. The 26 least populous states have only 11 percent of our total population. Ours is not a representative democracy.

[prinzowhales]

curse914--Absolutely...OTM..other people''s money...is how the Bushs operate....the S&L rip-off left the taxpayer paying while the crooks pocketed the loot and moved on to greener pastures.

Part II--Aside from feeding the tariff issue in America, where the South and West had food and the North had nothing but complaints about British imports fueling a demand for a tariff, this British Imperial strategy had a profoundly negative affect on British agriculture and village economy....just as it has had on small town America...and just as the centralization of production in America--combined with tax expenditures for transportation, mass marketing and all of the mechanisms of international business command and control--has destroyed many small and medium-sized companies--buying them and shutting them down, or otherwise, through government regulation, forcing them to close or sell out.

The subsidies will help keep production up--the exports will put increased pressure on grain producers elsewhere...but, there are costs involved in this that aren''t in the accounts...the nutritional value of the food has declined tremendously thanks to the farming methods used to increase production... trace minerals that make for health are used up... blown away in the dust of what was once robust, virgin top soil...washed away...this is not reckoned up in the Capitalist Accounting system...its like running a steam boiler beyond its recommended pressure levels and not servicing it...

[prinzowhales]

curse914--Have you any stats that take into account the "tax expenditures" that states--New York, for instance, receives in lieu of direct US expenditures to a state like--Mississippi? "Tax expenditures" have been ruled by the Courts to be treated just like other federal expenditures...The big difference is that these expenditures go to the private sector in New York, Connecticutt, etc....I read years ago that when these were included they far exceeded those going to ''taker States''.

[whatithink-2009]

This is another example of Republicans speaking out of forked tongues. Kansas and Iowa pretend to be some of the most LIBERTARIAN and FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE States in the Union. They tell the rest of us to "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps"; tell others to accept a free market; tell others that no handouts or bailouts should be allowed; whine about any child or woman who gets social benefits; crying for someone to cut their taxes :

at the same time they GET SUBSIDIES OUT THE WAZOO

that are NOT NEEDED!

Classic example of "do as I say, not as I do!"

[whatithink-2009]

"I also like to refer to this as Socialism for anti-Socialist.
Posted by curse914"

- LOVES IT!

[prinzowhales]

curse914--I''m thinking my info came from--I think-- A HISTORY OF THE INCOME TAX...but I''m not sure if it was that or something else I was reading at the same time...casting about for the volume now...

[glossypan]

curse914 wrote.."Have you heard of the concept of Taker States?"

The idea that states with few people and a large area must have federal help with transportation and communication needs is rational.
However, many Senators from sparsely populated states withhold their votes for projects beneficial to large numbers of people until pet pork projects are funded. The famous Alaskan "Bridge To Nowhere" is a classic example. I have no idea how to stop these practices. Robert Byrd and Trent Lott, for example, have brought home huge sums of federal money for their states. The voters love tham for it. We need Jimminy Cricket. Lawmakers without consciences can make life miserable for taxpayers. By the way, I live in a large state with a population smaller than a NYC borough.

[omega39-2009]

So when you city folk think its funny to tease and make fun of farmers, well, since its coming out of your pockets try to remember the old saying, "he that laughs last, laughs best."
Posted by Spectrum108

Except most of the money isn''t going to small family farms but to corporate owned subsides. Oh well, Haliburton, Betchel and Blackwater take our money and laugh at foolish taxpayer too.

[bcweitzel]

What they are failing to point out is that farm commodity prices have not kept up with inflation for over 20 years. Case in point- my family used to farm Alfalfa. Back in 1981 they were getting $80/ton for good hay. Jump forward to 2000 and they were getting $90/ton, despite the fact that on average the rate of inflation is 3% per year.

But our true rate of inflation is nowhere near 3% now, despite what they tell you on the evening news.

These subsidies go to offset the investment costs necessary to ramp up corn production for energy uses where investment capital is not available in the private sector. More corn? New $50k center pivot system, new pump. New set of hired help. More fertilizer needed. More to harvest, so $200k harvester. $450k goes away quickly when you start to realize the investment (and risk, where no bank will loan to a farmer for less than 4% over prime) that goes into the farm.

There is a reason why farms are collapsing, people, even during good times. It''s because it''s becoming economically, environmentally (in the political sense, not actual), and logistically impossible to operate a farm in the United States. And when you take away subsidies then be prepared to get more food contaminiation scares from other countries like Mexico.

[ubrew12]

It''s called ''welfare for cold-warriors''
Farmers and defense workers are some of the most reliant republican voters out there, constantly voting to keep Republicans in office.

Republicans respond by cash-cowing both farmers and defense industries, as well as cutting taxes on the rich, their other major supporters.

Lesson: If you vote Republican you''ll pay lower taxes and get government welfare, even when you don''t need it. Otherwise, its the shaft of YOU!

[denn034]

Pork spending like this really does need to end.

[whatithink-2009]

nonyabiz2,

Yadda Yadda Yadda. Everything you just said is SOCIALISM, plain and simple. Where is the free market part of what you just said? As long as the handouts are going to you it can easily be explained. Most farmers that get these subsidies are massive corporations that have the funds already to make the investments. Then, you have rich people who buy cheap farms and do not really tend to them that get farming subsidies for just living on a farm! Ridiculous!

[whatithink-2009]

ttinsly,

Well said. I am getting very tired of people whining about socialism and free markets and no bailouts and no universal healthcare at the same time they support the above and other handouts to rich people.

[likeablunchs]

'' .. math sucks not for mathematicians shoot birds and build airplanes, but answers are not looked up and dialed in as are phone #s .. ''

'' .. happiness is a penny from each of 32 with empty shelves & pockets to purchase from one with full shelves & pockets a loaf sliced 34 ways, at least in some porns happiness is such .. ''

'' .. to use market share to raise armys to make folk pay for lunch is to pay for lunch while enemys raise armys to make folk pay for lunch .. ''

'' .. they were nice, said don''t kill and feed the world, gave me oatmeal oatmeal pies green beens word puzzles, i hung their pictures on my walls, my heart snared to do so, but they betrayed me, as do those obsessed with don''t kill / feed the world, they killed and they taxed the world, i found refuge with their enemys, and more with enemys enemys (also their enemys), for enemys enemys built for them great bouquets in retalition for the hate of their great bouquets given to those that love such bouquets, when my flowers asked why i hung their pictures on my walls, i remembered it was not my hate what drove me so but my love, i found it was not them i loved: they were few cuttings in a endless buffet, and it was the buffets i truly loved, and not the cuttings what had lead me to the buffets, it was not the betrayal i hated, but rather the pictures on my walls that could never be replaced, so eternity asked of me, which came first: eternity or you? .. ''

[logicanada]

I wonder which Of Bush''s buddies got the contract for disbursement of these payments at ten times the normal federal rate?

[greatprophet]

WERE HAVING A TEA PARTY! YOU''RE INVITED
As we all know, freedom isn''t free in this country. Therefore, in the wake of our successful fundraising event of November 5th, in which we all came together to raise $4.2 million dollars for Ron Paul''s campaign, we''ve set yet another date for an even bigger fundraiser. This one will take place on December 16th: a very important date for people who love freedom and hate tyranny to ring the Liberty Bell, and let our sold-out, globalist, political ****** and their mainstream media enablers know that good Americans are mad as hell, and that we''re not going to take it anymore. December 16th is the 224th aniversary of The Boston Tea Party: an act of protest by the American colonists against the tyranny of Great Britain where the Sons of Liberty boarded British ships and dumped crates of tea overboard into Boston Harbor. It was a key event which helped to spark the American Revolution, and we hope this event will, likewise, add additional spark to our own 21st Century political revolution to restore peace, prosperity and freedom to our Republic by helping elect a President whose record of adherance to The Constitution is unmatched by anyone in American politics. Please join us this December 16th for the largest one-day political donation event in history. Our goal is to bring together 100,000 people to donate $100 each, creating a one day donation total of $10,000,000. The time to act is now. The time for Ron Paul is NOW! TeaParty07.com

[truthprophet]

RON PAUL WINS BIG IN NATIONAL POLL
The results of a nationwide telephone poll, announced by Zogby on November 19th, reveals that Americans want to vote for a candidate who protects liberty; who wants to shrink government; and who wants to immediately withdraw our troops from Iraq - positions of Congressman Ron Paul. As part of a blind-bio, spread poll, likely voters (from all parties) were provided with descriptions of four different Republican candidates and asked to choose who they would vote for based on each one''s resume and political platform. 33% of pollees chose Ron Paul, 19% chose Rudy Giuliani, 15% chose Mitt Romney and 13% chose Fred Thompson. The results clearly illustrate that the country is crying out for Ron Paul, which is why mainstream media has launched a public relations offensive to marginalize his accomplishments and suppress the Congressman''s name recognition. In a seperate question, over 49% of pollees said they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who would begin an immediate withdrawal from Iraq. In fact, Ron Paul won in every demographic of this poll including, but not limited to, religious voters, NASCAR fans, military families, African-Americans, etc..

[fairprophet]

ONLY RON PAUL CAN BEAT CLINTON
Zogby''s Director of Communications Fritz Wenzel said on November 20 that Paul is the strongest of the GOP candidates to run against Clinton. "Among the larger universe of voters," which includes all parties, "yes, Paul would be a much stronger candidate than any of the other three [Romney, Giuliani, Thompson]," Wenzel said. Zogby recently announced that Paul was their winner in a nationwide blind-bio poll which included voters from all parties. "He is anti-war and the majority of Democrats are anti-war, he has some other ideas and policies and stances on issues more attractive to Democrats, particularly conservative Democrats," said Wenzel. "Even among Independents, he is far and away a more attractive candidate," he added. Paul is the only GOP candidate who is not threatening war with Iran, whereas Clinton vowed to keep that option "on the table." Paul also voted against the war in Iraq, which Clinton has supported. Because Democrats outnumber Republicans, none of the other GOP candidates can win against Clinton, because they simply won''t be able to reach across party lines and attract enough Democratic and Independent voters to beat Clinton. Only Paul can do that. "He''s right on schedule," Wenzel said. "He''s making all the right moves, going in the right direction...at a time when other candidates are not moving." Wenzel based his analysis on recent polls that show Paul could win in New Hampshire and that his support nationwide is intensifying.

[greatprophet]

COULDN''T VOTE FOR A REPUBLICAN? REALLY?
Everytime I hear Democrats say "I hate the Republican Party. Look at what Bush has done.," I can''t help but think about all of Bush''s Democratic enablers in the Congress like Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, et. al. who made all of his dastardly deeds possible. They handed him every bit of legislation with which he has used to make himself the virtual dictator he now is on a silver platter. The Democrats in Congress don''t even seem to express any interest in investigating Bush for the crimes he and Cheney have surely committed against our country even though a vast majority of Americans think they should. What cowards! In fact, Obama and Clinton even voted in favor of legislation which actually allows Bush to pre-pardon himself and his administration for crimes dating all the way back to 9/11. What''s up with that? Look. Do yourself and your country a favor. Focus on the candidate, and the ideas and positions he or she represents, and then study the candidate''s track record of performance with respect to those positions. That''s all that really matters in the end. Elections are not a contest of two teams. Ultimately, It''s the politician who will either serve your interests or betray them while in office--not their party. Finally, Democrats, I ask you this: Would you have voted for Steven Douglas (a Democrat), who was ardently pro-slavery, against Abraham Lincoln (a Republican) simply because Douglas was a Democrat? I think most of you would.

[truthprophet]

RON PAUL RESISTS SPECIAL INTEREST
In Congress, Ron Paul is not only known for his lack of ego (a rare quality in D.C.), he''s widely admired for his resistance to the influence of special interest groups. Again. They don''t call him "Dr. No" for no reason. He consistanly votes against pork-barrel spending. In a rice-growing, cattle-ranching district, Paul consistently votes against farm subsidies. In the very district where, in 1900, a storm destroyed the city of Galveston, and where repairs and refugees from Hurricane Katrina continue to exact their toll, he votes against FEMA (the poster child for inept agencies) and flood aid. In a district that is home to thousands of employees of the Johnson Space Center, he votes against financing NASA. Nothwithstanding this, his constituants in the 14th District of Texas continue to re-relect him. Why? You ask? I think one voter I talked to there summarized it nicely when she said, "We may not like his vote. But we trust his heart." Even Tim Delaney, the editorial-page editor of The Victoria Advocate, an influential newspaper in the district, which has generally opposed Paul, on the grounds that a lone wolf cannot get the homeland-security financing he says the district needs, said, "Ron Paul is a very charismatic person. He has charm. He does not alter his position ever. His ideals are high. If a little old man calls up from the farm and says, I need a wheelchair, he''ll get the *** wheelchair for him. Ron Paul is a man of integrity."

[fairprophet]

RON PAUL IS THE TAXPAYER''S BEST FRIEND
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

[greatprophet]

RON PAUL TAKES-ON FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee Chairman, Congressman Ron Paul on November 8th, and had to face some tough criticism 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 inflation and devaluation of the Dollar. 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."

[truthprophet]

THEY DON''T CALL HIM "DOCTOR NO" FOR NO REASON
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.

[fairprophet]

HOPE FOR AMERICA: PRESIDENT RON PAUL

-- 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 erosion of Social Security to pay for militarization
-- No more U.N. (one world government) participation
-- No more NAFTA, CAFTA, WTO or GATT (globalist trade cartels)
-- No more North American Union (loss of U.S. sovereignty)
-- 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 national ID cards (Real ID Act)
-- No more government invasion of your privacy
-- No more federal Laws which force you to take unwanted injections
-- 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! Find-out what CBS hides from you, and join us in this 21st Century political revolution at ronpaul2008.com

"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

[greatprophet]

IS RUDY GIULIANI AL QAEDA?
How much exactly would it cost to get Rudy Giuliani to holster his overdone 9/11 sanctimony? The government for the tiny Persian Gulf nation of Qatar might have a good idea. Following earlier reports that Giuliani was still getting paid by a consulting firm he created, Giuliani Partners LLC, Mary Jacoby of the Wall Street Journal sheds light on some potentially problematic sources of Giuliani''s private income. Chief among them is Qatar, the U.S. ally that paid Giuliani Partners for "security advice" regarding their petroleum facilities. The article uncovers a "potential political pitfall" for Giuliani''s candidacy and image given Qatar''s poor record in fighting Al Qaeda, and addresses aspects of the business arrangement that could dog Giuliani during his quest for the presidency. Specifically, the ostensible chief consumer of Giuliani''s security advice in this case would be Qatar''s Internal Security Ministry, currently headed by a known Al Qaeda associate. As reported earlier this year, Qatar Interior Minister Abdullah bin Khalid Al-Thani has long had ties to top Al Qaeda operatives including Osama Bin Laden, and is believed by many U.S. officials to have personally arranged the narrow escape of Al Qaeda big-wig Khalid Sheikh Mohammed from U.S. agents in 1996, thereby ensuring his freedom to mastermind the 9/11 attacks. Giuliani has refused to release specifics of the case, and to-date remains on the firm''s payroll.