Little-Acorn
Well-Known Member
It's true that new information from Ron Paul will help strengthen people's views about him.
Paul made a statement in the last debate in Iowa, that I hadn't heard before. He was trying to maintain that we can avoid wars better by negotiation than by direct military action. And he stated that, at the time he was drafted in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis was fresh in everyone's minds, and that then-President Kennedy averted the crisis simply by picking up the phone and negotiating with then-Premier Kruschev.
Apparently Ron Paul's mind wasn't as fresh as it should have been, even then. Somehow he seems to have forgotten a few other things that had gone on in that episode.
Kennedy didn't just pick up the phone. He first sent reconnaisance aircraft over Cuba (no doubt in violation of Cuba's airspace or some such law) and took pictures that revealed the presence of Russian nuclear missile facilities, and Russian ships unloading more. And then he sent U.S. warships to blockade Cuba - an action usually only taken during wartime - and announced that all Russian ships approaching Cuba would be stopped, boarded, and inspected, and that if any were found to be carrying war materials, missiles etc., they would be SUNK.
In other words, in response to apparently warlike moves by the Soviets, Kennedy committed several direct, aggressive acts of war.
Only then did he pick up the phone and give his buddy Nikita a call.
It wasn't just a friendly phone call and some genial negotiations that averted the Cuban Missile Crisis and got Russia to remove its nuclear missiles off the shores of the U.S. It was DIRECT, AGGRESSIVE MILITARY ACTION, and the credible threat of more to come. And the only reason the threat was credible, was because WE HAD ALREADY TAKEN SOME OF THOSE ACTIONS.
The "new" information we have here from Ron Paul, is that he is apparently willing to rewrite known, documented history to try to pretend his views are valid, flying in the face of facts that demonstrate they are not. This "new" information does indeed strengthen my views about him... though perhaps not in the way hoped by his friends.
"Kook" is actually a rather mild word used to describe Ron Paul's beliefs and attitudes. I have stated before that some of the man's beliefs border on the insane. Here he has given us another such.
Ron Paul's attitude toward fiscal conservatism (as if there were any way to divorce fiscal concerns from the rest of conservatism, a common mistaken belief) are laudable, and his regard for the sanctity of the Constitution and its original intent place him far above any other candidate in these categories.
But his delusional foreign policy beliefs, some of which border on actual insanity, make him completely unacceptable as a President, regadless of his excellence on other important matters. And his supporters, with their equal willingness to disregard, ignore, and rewrite history in their desire to get the excellence in Constitutional fealty that Paul offers, are just as kooky. Again, to put it mildly.
Paul made a statement in the last debate in Iowa, that I hadn't heard before. He was trying to maintain that we can avoid wars better by negotiation than by direct military action. And he stated that, at the time he was drafted in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis was fresh in everyone's minds, and that then-President Kennedy averted the crisis simply by picking up the phone and negotiating with then-Premier Kruschev.
Apparently Ron Paul's mind wasn't as fresh as it should have been, even then. Somehow he seems to have forgotten a few other things that had gone on in that episode.
Kennedy didn't just pick up the phone. He first sent reconnaisance aircraft over Cuba (no doubt in violation of Cuba's airspace or some such law) and took pictures that revealed the presence of Russian nuclear missile facilities, and Russian ships unloading more. And then he sent U.S. warships to blockade Cuba - an action usually only taken during wartime - and announced that all Russian ships approaching Cuba would be stopped, boarded, and inspected, and that if any were found to be carrying war materials, missiles etc., they would be SUNK.
In other words, in response to apparently warlike moves by the Soviets, Kennedy committed several direct, aggressive acts of war.
Only then did he pick up the phone and give his buddy Nikita a call.
It wasn't just a friendly phone call and some genial negotiations that averted the Cuban Missile Crisis and got Russia to remove its nuclear missiles off the shores of the U.S. It was DIRECT, AGGRESSIVE MILITARY ACTION, and the credible threat of more to come. And the only reason the threat was credible, was because WE HAD ALREADY TAKEN SOME OF THOSE ACTIONS.
The "new" information we have here from Ron Paul, is that he is apparently willing to rewrite known, documented history to try to pretend his views are valid, flying in the face of facts that demonstrate they are not. This "new" information does indeed strengthen my views about him... though perhaps not in the way hoped by his friends.
"Kook" is actually a rather mild word used to describe Ron Paul's beliefs and attitudes. I have stated before that some of the man's beliefs border on the insane. Here he has given us another such.
Ron Paul's attitude toward fiscal conservatism (as if there were any way to divorce fiscal concerns from the rest of conservatism, a common mistaken belief) are laudable, and his regard for the sanctity of the Constitution and its original intent place him far above any other candidate in these categories.
But his delusional foreign policy beliefs, some of which border on actual insanity, make him completely unacceptable as a President, regadless of his excellence on other important matters. And his supporters, with their equal willingness to disregard, ignore, and rewrite history in their desire to get the excellence in Constitutional fealty that Paul offers, are just as kooky. Again, to put it mildly.
