January 12, 2012

Justice Fairness War and Peace - It's All Black and White to Ron Paul


By Diane V. McLoughlin

January 12, 2012

The following essay has been revised and updated, adding discussion of issues such as the Martin Luther King Jr., holiday. Readers are most welcome to access it, here:



http://mcloughlinpost.com/Justice-Fairness-War-And-Peace-Black-And-White-To-Ron-Paul.html

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I  came across this interesting investigative news clip regarding the Ron Paul newsletters, a few days ago:



Having watched the clip, I would say that the mystery of who wrote the offending lines in the newsletters is not completely solved, but it looks like progress has been made.  One learns that out of approximately 240 newsletters only a small percentage contain the inflammatory bits being hammered away at to discredit Ron Paul, and that the time period in question succinctly coincides with the time period when a particular writer was writing for the newsletter. I hope somebody in the media with the resources picks up the trail to find out wherever it leads.

However, while the jury is still out on the letters and who wrote them, there are quite a few things we do know about Ron Paul. Ron Paul trained as an ob/gyn. He has helped to deliver 4,000 babies.

Dr. Paul would donate his time in a Catholic hospital, working for $3 an hour. The YouTube Superpac -produced ad, 'The Compassion of Dr. Ron Paul'
[over 500,000 views]:





Military service:  When Ron Paul got married and started a family, he was called up, and he served during the Vietnam War.

The growing realization of the inequality and unfairness in American society:  Ron Paul once believed in the death penalty. Living in Texas, this would hardly be surprising. But, he changed his mind when he realized that justice was meted out differently toward those from poor and ethnic communities. There were, in fact, two justice systems. One for the rich, or White (or both.)  And, one for everybody else. Innocent people had been found guilty and been put to death - the worst injustice of all.

The War on Drugs is a war on people:  It is Ron Paul's intention that, should he be elected President, he would pardon all non-violent drug offenders.  Why?  Because the justice system is biased, again, against people who are poor, Black or Hispanic. 14% of drug offenses are committed by Blacks or Hispanics. Yet, over 60% of those imprisoned for drug offenses are from poor or ethnic communities. He deplores the fact that the so-called War on Drugs is a war on young people, a war which is unnecessarily devastating lives, families and communities.  Drug addiction is no different than alcohol addiction, according to Dr. Paul.  They are diseases to be treated medically, not punished with incarceration.

'Dr. No':  The establishment smears Ron Paul as an 'insider' - that's who they are talking about when you hear pundits argue the country does not need another 'Washington insider' leading the country - it's code. I could not disagree more. President Obama is a good man, I assume. But, he is relatively inexperienced even now on the devilishly intricate ways of politics; at least, that is my sense of things.  I suspect that it is this lack of experience that, at least in part, has permitted those with ulterior motives other than what's best for the country to hold sway in the back rooms and corridors of power in Washington D.C. Ron Paul, by contrast, is a twelve-term congressman. His nickname in Washington is 'Dr. No'. He has proven himself to be a man of principle who can not be bought.

The quest for empire always destroys the nation that seeks it:
Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul is adamant that these destructive, costly and unnecessary wars must end. They are ruining the lives, or taking the lives, of our young people - percentage-wise the poor, Black, and ethnic communities sacrifice more than their fair share. But no matter what community or strata of society they come from they are the best of us. How can we possibly count the cost of their loss to the nation?  Yet, while they are willing to serve and sacrifice they have been lied to about the real purposes of these wars. Furthermore, these wars are ruining the economy, diminishing our security, and destroying our civil liberties here at home. 

Iran is now on the radar:  Russia and China have both indicated that they will not be able to remain on the sidelines if we attack Iran.  Meanwhile, President Obama has just signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes the right to detain American citizens without charge or trial, indefinitely. 

President Obama did not start us down this wide path. But he has chosen, for whatever the reason, to continue taking the nation, and the Constitution, down a dark and perrilous road.

The attacks on Ron Paul are well-done and seemingly compelling. But they all look like a house of cards.  All guilt by association, or somebody said something about him, or claim they know something. I don't see any bullseyes that connect him to anything except love for his fellow man, love for liberty and a higher truth, and a fervent wish for peace, freedom and prosperity for his countrymen.  He is a man with the moral courage to propose forming friendly alliances, rather than waging endless war.  One might find it surprising to realize that not everybody in Washington D. C. or the media necessarily share his views, as can be seen in this YouTube (which will have the final word here) from the 2007 Republican leadership campaign [2,120,612 views]:









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