RON PAUL ON DRUGS WITH JOHN STOSSEL

Christmas Miracle? Ron Paul Blimp Close to Take Off UPDATE 1

Friday, December 07, 2007 - FreeMarketNews.com

Only yesterday, an innovative marketing vision supporting the presidential campaign of Ron Paul (R-Tex) was losing altitude faster than the notorious and tragic Hindenburg blimp. The grand vision of a vast hot-air balloon hovering over the Super Bowl asking the Randian question, “Who Is Ron Paul,” was seemingly deflated, a victim of unfilled pledges and generally slow fund-raising.

Twenty four hours can change a lot. Today, Friday morning (EST) with nearly $190,000 in actual donations, and more money regularly pouring in to www.RonPaulBlimp.com, it looks as if the vision of Trevor Lyman and his associates will soon achieve some sort of take off.

Lyman, the volunteer marketing guru for the presidential campaign of Jeffersonian conservative Ron Paul (R-Tex) will likely help Ron Paul raise up to $10 million by mid December through various “mass donation days,” and now his dearest brainchild is shaping up as well.

If it flies, as it seems to be on the verge of doing, modest Lyman, who only yesterday was “almost broke” according to friends, will thank thousands of Ron Paul supporters who decided the "big idea" of a high-flying blimp was impassioned as his fundamental belief in Ron Paul, which nearly led him to bankruptcy.

Only 24 hours ago, an impassioned and “grim” Lyman reached out to the Ron Paul community for help to salvage the blimp project, after certain pledges taken by the blimp site turned out to be bogus. The dire need was for $200,000 - and that seems almost achieved, as of this writing, Friday AM/EST.

But yesterday, friends carried the word to Ron Paul web sites and news networks such FMNN that Lyman was literally down to his last dollar and would be returning to his music marketing business. Now, the blimp looks likely to fly - as improbably as the limited government campaign of Ron Paul itself. Fund-raising will continue as long as Ron Paul supporters believe in it, according to sources close to the project.

These supporters add that the for-profit status of the project was invented purely as a legal response to FEC regs, and that Lyman himself is first and foremost - and always - a supporter of Ron Paul and his limited-government beliefs, and that has always been his sole motivation. He still, as of this writing, has not taken a penny of a modest blimp stipend, despite his circumstances. Likely he will have to, at some point, unless someone can lend him some money.

http://www.freemarketnews.com/WorldNews.asp?nid=52289

There are hurdles of course, as to be operating on anything but the proverbial shoestring, the project needs continued donations - and funding in excess of $200,000. But sources close to the project are betting that with the generous support of the Ron Paul community, the blimp will fly for weeks and even longer.

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UPDATE: A press release has been issued about the blimp as follows:

Presidential Candidate Ron Paul Has a Blimp

7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Supporters of Presidential candidate Ron Paul are excited to announce the launch of their very own privately funded Ron Paul blimp. In less than a month the idea has gone from a wishful post on a website to a full-blown and flying reality.

Launch date is set for the morning of December 11th from Elizabeth City, NC where the blimp will then fly north to New Hampshire with stops in Washington D.C., New York City and Boston. The blimp will be met at each stop by thousands of Ron Paul supporters who will come to cheer it on as it continues its journey while passing over stadiums, parks, highways and anywhere else people gather.

This is a historic event as no other candidate has ever had their own blimp, let alone one initiated by and paid for by their supporters. Paulites, as they are known, have pledged to donate over $420,000 to fund the blimp for as long as it is needed.

The blimp measures 197 feet long and over 66 feet high, making it one of the largest airships in the world. Along with two pilots the blimp comes with a ground crew of 15-20 that travel with the blimp and assist with landing and takeoffs. The gondola seats 12 passengers, plus the pilots. These seats will be made available to supporters, veterans, charities, dignitaries and the media.

The Ron Paul blimp plans to be in Boston for the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party on December 16th where it will join supporters on the ground who will be protesting the high level of taxation we experience. Weather permitting, plans have it in New Hampshire for as long as possible up until the New Hampshire primary at which point it will fly south to South Carolina and Florida.

Contact:
Bryce Henderson, Media Coordinator
Liberty Political Advertising, LLC
www.RonPaulBlimp.com

Ron Paul interviewed by Wolf Blitzer, CNN 12/2/07

Ron Paul is no longer a dark horse

CARLA MARINUCCI
San Francisco Chronicle

They were a lonely band of rebels until just a few weeks ago, backing the darkest of dark horse presidential candidates.

But with Republican Rep. Ron Paul's fundraising on the rise - $4.2 million raised on the Internet in one day this month - and his poll numbers jumping, the Texas congressman might no longer be a "who?" but a potential problem for leading Republican presidential candidates in key states such as New Hampshire.

And in California, the state where the 72-year-old doctor-politician has raised the most money, those who call themselves part of the "Ron Paul Revolution" couldn't be happier.

Paul's backers are people such as Brad Sanford, 29, a Silicon Valley tech worker who said he never had been involved in politics or campaigns until this year.

Sanford, attending a Paul campaign Bay Area "meet-up" event, said he first caught Paul's appearances on cable programs like "The Bill Maher Show," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" and "The Colbert Report." Since then, Sanford has registered Republican for the first time to vote in the California presidential primary on Feb. 5 while "maxing out" his political donation budget with $2,300 to Paul's campaign.

Sanford now is walking precincts for Paul because he said the candidate is strongly against the war in Iraq and can appeal to millions who believe that America has "strayed too far from our values" and fundamentals laid out in the Constitution.

"For young people, it's the war; for older people, it's a straight common-sense approach" to taxes, the economy and values, said Holly Clearman, California field coordinator for the Paul campaign.

Clearman said the life of a Ron Paul supporter used to be a lonely undertaking.

"I thought there were only 10 of us, and nobody I knew," she said. But that changed in recent months as the candidate raised $9 million this quarter, and "the cat is out of the bag."

Paul followers are buoyed by the latest polls from CNN and the New York Times showing that their candidate has jumped ahead of former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee in Iowa, the site of the nation's first 2008 primary on Jan. 3.

Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain still dominate the race in that independent-minded, "Live Free or Die" state. But Paul's recent rise has prompted pundits to acknowledge that the Texan - once dismissed as a fringe candidate - could have an impact on the presidential race.

Paul's eclectic mix of fiercely libertarian and conservative values has created a passionate support base that might be unlike any other candidate in the 2008 presidential race.

The former practicing obstetrician, who has served in the House about 20 of the past 35 years, is vehemently anti-abortion - voting against federal funding of abortion, stem cell research and even family planning funding in U.S. foreign aid - and strongly pro-gun rights. His views have gained him high ratings from conservatives and groups such as the Christian Coalition and the National Rifle Association. Paul also is seen as strongly anti-environmental by groups such as the League of Conservation Voters, which gave him just a 5 percent legislative rating on his voting record.

But Paul also appeals to progressives on a number of issues: He supports repealing most federal drug laws, including those against medical marijuana, is against the death penalty, vigorously opposes the war in Iraq and is against the Patriot Act and free trade agreements such as NAFTA.

Indeed, some political analysts suggested he is the 2008 campaign's political ink blot test - able to represent whatever voters see in him.

Stephanie Burns, 50, a construction manager from Sausalito, Calif., who helps arrange biweekly Bay Area meetings in support of Paul, said the Texas congressman's campaign - like Democrat Howard Dean's in 2004 - has skillfully utilized the Internet to reach out to voters who might otherwise never be connected. "And ever since the $4.2 million, it has changed things," she said. "There's a lot more recognition by the media."

Burns motioned around the room to some of the people the Internet has brought to Paul's cause.

"I've never even been interested in politics my whole life," Brandy Alexander, 34, a University California-San Francisco researcher, told the group.

But after she and her boyfriend, William Newby, 28, a computer programmer, watched Paul slam U.S. involvement in the Iraq war and expound on his views during the televised GOP debates, they were hooked.

Thanks to Paul, she said, "Now, I find myself borderline obsessed with it.

RON PAUL INTERVIEW ON IRAQ, BUSH, MONEY part 1&2

part1



part2

This is a message from Ron Paul..


December 3, 2007


Want to know a secret? There were two moments I especially enjoyed at the CNN/YouTube debate -- despite my frustration at some of the questions, and the maldistribution of time.

First, I was pleased at John McCain's attack, which he clearly had planned. Not because that sort of stream-of-consciousness nonsense about Hitler and WWII -- when the neocons openly want what they call WW IV! Are we to forget that the first war crime charged at Nuremberg was waging aggressive war?

I mean this: mainstream politicians NEVER attack an opponent they think is far behind. The McCain campaign, we've heard, is worried sick about New Hampshire, and they thought a slam at me would help. Ha! Of course,
it only strengthened our forces.

Then, after the debate, Rudy Giuliani walked up to me and said, "Oooh, you sure have a LOT of supporters." It's only the beginning, I told him.

Indeed, he could have told that by the crowd outside after the debate. Mitt Romney had a few people, but no one else did. We, on the other hand, had about 500 enthusiastic revolutionaries, plus a boat, a trolley, and two planes towing lighted signs. As I looked out at the crowd, I thought: the establishment has no idea of what they are facing. We have an army of freedom, prosperity, and peace. As the LA Times political blog noted the other day, the
British also thought they had no problem with the Americans--until Yorktown.

But we have an astoundingly short time before the first contests. The Iowa caucuses are on January 3, the New Hampshire primary is on January 8, and Nevada and South Carolina are both on January 19. We have only
30 days to stake our claim to the nomination, and to the new America that restores the ideals of the founders, and leads the world through free enterprise, a sound dollar, the rule of law, and peaceful example. Not through
inflation and bombs.

Help me surprise the neocons and all the establishment with our success. Help me build the foundation for the America we all want. Send your most generous contribution: https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate. The military-industrial complex, the biased media, the big banks, the Fed, the waterboarders, and the IRS don't like what we're doing. But every good American is applauding us, and daring to hope for a better future.

Please, help me give it to them, to us, to all Americans to come. Keep this revolution growing and winning:
https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate.

Sincerely,

Ron

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A Plan to Cut Antiterror Spending Is Criticized by State’s Leaders

A White House plan to slash antiterror grant programs by more than half would threaten the safety of American cities, New York politicians charged yesterday.
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Senator Charles E. Schumer blasted the Bush administration’s plan to eliminate some port and rail security programs and cut security grants for states and cities to $1.4 billion in 2009 from $3.4 billion in the 2007 fiscal year.

“To say, no port security, no transit security, when we know that our ports and transit lines are targets for terrorists makes no sense if you want to protect America,” Mr. Schumer said.

Other officials said the cuts would penalize a city attacked by terrorists on Sept. 11, 2001, and in 1993.

“It’s stunning that the federal government would consider cutting New York City’s homeland security funds from the already inadequate level that currently exists,” said John Gallagher, a spokesman for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

The federal government has given $23 billion in antiterror grants to states and municipalities since the Sept. 11 attacks, but some have criticized the programs as pork-barrel spending.

According to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press, the Bush administration is not convinced that the money has been well spent and thinks the nation’s highest-risk cities have largely satisfied their emergency need to improve security.

Officials with the White House Office of Management and Budget said the president’s budget proposals had yet to be completed. Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said Friday that the White House would strongly support any needed antiterror programs.

Still, Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s spokeswoman, Christine Anderson, likened the White House proposal to a “‘bean counter’ approach to protecting our homeland when sound policy is what’s required.”

Mr. Schumer estimated that if the cuts were accepted by Congress, New York City’s share of the aid might drop to $70 million or $80 million from $134 million.

Hillary presses for more fund for AIDS

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 - Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton on Thursday pressed for 50 billion U.S. dollars for treatment, prevention and care of AIDS by 2013.

Calling AIDS a "plague of biblical proportions," Hillary said if elected, she will double the HIV/AIDS research budget within the National Institutes of Health to 5.2 billion dollars annually, increase funding for the global HIV/AIDS fight to at least 50 billion dollars by 2013, raise funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative, and develop and implement a comprehensive national AIDS strategy.

She spoke at the third annual Global Summit on AIDS and the Church in Orange County near Los Angeles.

Hosted by pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling devotional book, "The Purpose Driven Life," and his wife, the summit was established to mobilize church resources to fight the disease.

"Around the world, AIDS remains a plague of biblical proportions," she said, "In too many places, ignorance about AIDS prevails and the stigma remains strong."

However, "we have come a long way," she added.

"Not only can we talk about AIDS in church, but churches are leading the way," she said.

Hillary's leading rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, have made similar proposals.

In a video appearance, Obama said, "This is no occasion to rest. Now's the time to step up our efforts so we can stay on the offense to eliminate this disease."

Also appearing via satellite video were three Republican candidates -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

Bush Keeps Up Pressure on Congress to Approve War Spending Bill

Bush Keeps Up Pressure on Congress to Approve War Spending Bill
By Margaret Besheer
Washington
01 December 2007


President Bush is urging Congress to pass several pieces of legislation when the lawmakers return from a long holiday recess next week. Among them, the president is pushing for funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. From Washington, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Congress returns Monday to what the president says is "a lot of unfinished business."

President Bush speaks as he and Japan's Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda make joint statements, 16 Nov 2007
President Bush, 16 Nov 2007 (file photo)
"Members of Congress now have only a few weeks left before they head home for the [Christmas] holidays," he said. "Before they do so, I urge them to do their job: fund our troops, protect our citizens, provide taxpayers relief, and responsibly fund our government."

In his weekly radio address Saturday, the president urged lawmakers to renew anti-terrorism legislation that allows U.S. intelligence agencies to monitor domestic phone calls without court permission, as long as one end of the conversation is reasonably believed to be outside the United States. The Bush administration also wants congress to protect telecommunications companies from lawsuits for having turned over telephone records of Americans.

Mr. Bush is also pushing Congress to pass bills that fund the daily operations of the U.S. government and limit the tax burden on middle class Americans.

But the president's top priority is to win congressional approval of his $196 billion request for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The money is for the 2008 fiscal year, which began October 1. The president and the Pentagon argue that further delays in approving these funds would force cuts in military operations across the United States and ultimately compromise the war on terror.

The Democrats have offered to pass $50 billion of the president's requested $196 billion, but on condition that most U.S. troops leave Iraq by next December. The president says he will veto any legislation linked to those terms.

Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat, just returned from a trip to Iraq. He told reporters Saturday that warnings about military cuts are just "gamesmanship" on the part of the Pentagon, and that there will be no negative impact if Congress continues the debate on the war funding bill for several more weeks.

"You are asked to appropriate programs that have not been debated, and they are all lumped together, and so supposedly you are shutting down the military men and women if you vote against anything that comes out of the administration," he said. "So you begin to understand the frustration in the Congress."

The Democrats have said they will not give the president a free hand to pay for the war.

Democrates at the Heartland Presidential Forum

The people got more microphone time than the politicians.

Five Democratic presidential candidates who spoke at the Heartland Presidential Forum Saturday in Des Moines could do little more than nod and listen as person after person – mostly out-of-state residents – shared emotional stories of perceived injustice.

And the audience of 3,600 did not hesitate to express emotion. As they listened to descriptions of loss of health insurance, the stench of a nearby factory farm, or a family split up by immigration officials, the crowd frequently yelled out: “That ain’t right!” and booed.

Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, felt the glare of their displeasure after Billy Lawless, a Chicago immigrations rights organizer, asked her if she’d commit to giving undocumented workers a path to citizenship in her first 100 days as president.

Clinton, who spoke via telephone after weather prevented her flight to Iowa, said immigration reform is a top priority.

But Lawless pressed her, asking if she’d do it in the first 100 days.

Clinton said it’s up to Congress to pass such reform, but as president she would do as much as possible.

The crowd booed, apparently upset that she wouldn’t commit to a 100-days promise.

Chris Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, was the next candidate to get that question, and he quickly answered: “Absolutely, absolutely.”

“One of the great sources of our wealth and strength of our country has been the diversity of our people,” Dodd said. “We’ve never done anything worthwhile as a nation when we’ve done it out of fear and hate.”

Saturday’s crowd was hardly just caucus-eligible Iowans. People were bused in from Missouri, Kansas, Illinois and Minnesota, and organizers said people from 33 states were represented as part of a kick-off to the Campaign for Community Values.

The forum was hosted by Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement and Campaign for Community Values, a movement that includes about 100 community organizations.

Only one Republican responded to the invitation – businessman John Cox - but the hosts’ lawyers advised against a solo member of one party because it would appear to be an endorsement.

Also in attendance were former North Carolina senator John Edwards, Illinois senator Barack Obama and Dennis Kucinich, a representative from Ohio.

Here's some of what they had to say:

EDWARDS: He listened to Virgene Martin of Bridgewater’s story about 400 people banding together to fight a factory farm. They failed, and the hog operation is now located next to Martin’s own family farm.

“What’s happening is these big corporate farming operations, and big multi-national corporations that are taking over farming in America, these corporate predatory lending operations, these big drug companies, big insurance companies, big oil companies, big banks, big gas companies we see what they’re doing to destroy our land,” Edwards said. “We see what they’re doing to destroy our people and take away our assets. How long are we going to let these people run the United States of America?”

Edwards, a former trial lawyer, said he beat those big corporations in the courtroom, “and I’ll beat ‘em again.”

KUCINICH: Irlanda Helgen of Marshalltown got teary-eyed telling Kucinich about a father of five children whose wife left for work one day and never came back because of an immigration raid.

“There are no illegal human beings,” Kucinich said in English and Spanish.

Deb Thomas of Wyoming told Kucinich that oil and gas companies that use hazardous chemicals in drilling are turning communities “into toxic wastelands.”

“We understand why we’re in Iraq, in a word,” Kucinich said and held out the microphone to capture the audience shout the word “Oil.”

Kucinich gave a fiery answer about his plan to move the country away from reliance on coal. He talked about a “full employment economy,” where everyone has a job, as well as health care for all, and education for all, from age 3 through college.

And he got wild applause when he said: “We must give those who come to this country a path to legalization.”

CLINTON: Patricia Divine Wilder of the town of Walla Walla in Washington state said she’s a small business owner who can’t afford health insurance. Her 36-year-old nephew also had no insurance, and by the time he went to the doctor for pain in his back and shoulders, his cancer was incurable.

“James died,” Wilder said, then paused to cry.

“Take your time,” Clinton said softly.

“James died,” Wilder continued, “just six weeks later."

“We have to have a better government safety net,” Clinton said, then gave a summary of her health care reform plan.

DODD: Emira Palacios, of Wichita, Kansas, told Dodd she came to the United States 22 years ago as an undocumented worker. She has spent over $15,000 during the process of becoming a citizen, and she and her 18-year old son will vote for first time in the next election.

“Take your time now,” Dodd said when Palacios became too emotional to speak.

Dodd said the country has to “have secure borders, obviously.”

Later, a moderator cut him off when his answer crossed the two-minute limit.

“I get more time here than I get at those debates, though, I can tell you that,” Dodd said, chuckling.

OBAMA: Deidra Lewis of Massachusetts said her daughter woke up with a burning feeling in her eyes one day. Lewis had to cut back her work hours to deal with her daughter’s rare eye disease. In January, she lost her health insurance.

But she enrolled in the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the public program made the difference between a child going blind or keeping her eyesight.

“Can you look into Alexsiana’s eyes and tell me don’t all God’s children deserve medical care?” she asked Obama.

Obama said yes. Alexsiana crossed the stage to hug him. The audience couldn’t hear what he whispered in her ear.

Obama vowed to have a plan in place for health insurance for all Americans by the end of his first term as president.

After a string of stories told by people from the Bronx, Cleveland, Mississippi, South Carolina and California, Debra Carr told Obama she is from Des Moines.

Obama immediately said: “I want you to caucus for me.”