Daily Archives: April 18, 2013

By Julie Ershadi Posted at 7:31 p.m. on April 17

Reps. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., and John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., and ex-Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, will help steer the direction of the newRon Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity as members of its board, they announced Wednesday at a Capitol Hill event.

Its a natural instinct for people to want peace and prosperity, ex-Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, the institutes CEO, said during the event. The institute is a nonpartisan educational organization aimed at capitalizing on the groundswell of young people who have supported Pauls presidential bids and anti-war position.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who also spoke at the event, counted himself a member of that young population and said Pauls appeal stems from his honesty and principles, particularly in the votes he took as a congressman.

More than once weve stood on the floor, I think, since Congressman Paul left and wondered, What would Ron Paul do in this situation? Massie said.

Duncan discussed the pressure he faced to vote for authorization of the invasion of Iraq in 2003, including a White House briefing with then-National Security Adviser CondoleezzaRice, CIA Director George Tenet and CIA Deputy Director John McLaughlin. Duncan said that at the time, they could not convince him that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States.

I think it is so sad what weve done through the years, so Im in very strong support of what Dr. Paul is trying to do here, he said.

Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute and foreign policy adviser to Paul during his time in Congress, said the institute will monitor lawmakers votes and issue assessments in the form of a Peace and Prosperity Scorecard.

The institute will also award student writing on foreign affairs and hopes to launch a Peace and Prosperity summer school, McAdams said.

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Bipartisan Anti-War Lawmakers On Board at New Ron Paul Institute

Did anyone notice anything strange at the Ron Paul speech Monday night?

Although I appreciate Accent for bringing the former congressman to UF, I am a little concerned about the way the event was structured.

I admit that I havent attended too many Accent events during my time at UF, being a graduate student and all, and Ive never attended one in the Stephen C. OConnell Center.

However, I have a few questions I would like to ask Accent about this event.

Whats up with the exclusivity?

There was plenty of room for more chairs on the floor of the OConnell Center, yet it seemed only members of Accent, Student Government and what I assume was Florida Blue Key sat at ground-level for the event.

Yes, because Accent sponsored the event, they should have had seats closer to Paul. But its not like they worked extremely hard to raise all of the money necessary to bring him to UF we paid the fees Accent used to pay Paul to come.

They could have fit at least 50 to 100 more chairs on the floor instead of making all of us lowly, regular (unconnected) students sit in the stands. Of course, not everyone would be able to sit on the floor for the event, but it should have been first come, first served.

Admittedly, I probably would not have been able to sit on the floor given the time I arrived, but I would have rather seen more enthusiastic students who actually wanted to see Paul speak seated there.

Instead, many of the students sitting on the floor appeared to be disinterested in what the speaker had to say. A few even left before the Q-and-A portion of the event.

More here:
Ron Paul event raises some concerns

During the heated Republican primary and caucus season in the spring of 2012, an incident in St. Charles County, Mo., led to the arrest of a Ron Paul delegate at a local caucus. Brent Stafford is now suing the city of St. Peters, Mo., and police officer Tim Hickey over his incarceration of March 17, 2012. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Eastern Missouri filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday on behalf of Stafford. The plaintiff seeks remediation for his incarceration, which he feels violated his First Amendment rights to free speech.

* The 13-page legal complaint in U.S. District Court demands a jury trial against the city and Hickey. Five points are brought against the defendants, including false arrest and malicious prosecution.

* Stafford led Paul's campaign for St. Charles County last year. He was also a member of the county's Republican central committee. It was this central committee that hosted the caucus at Francis Howell High School.

* The plaintiff alleges two police officers, hired by GOP leaders to provide security at the meeting, were told to "expect 'trouble'" from Paul supporters. Stafford claims in his complaint that the "'trouble' ... was that Ron Paul would win."

* Stafford also contends he would have been elected the caucus chair had Eugene Dokes, chairman of the committee, run the meeting according to proper procedure. The plaintiff alleges nominees for the chair of the caucus were closed after a single nomination.

* The plaintiff alleges he was arrested for trespassing even though dozens of people remained in the high school gymnasium after being ordered to depart or face arrest. Stafford was arrested on a public sidewalk outside the building. A video of Stafford's arrest, labeled Exhibit 1 in the filing, shows the events as they unfolded outside the school. Several other videos of the caucus exists even though caucus leaders tried to ban video and audio recordings of the event.

* The Associated Press reveals the plaintiff was acquitted of his trespassing charge by a municipal judge in St. Peters. Stafford was jailed for three hours following the failed caucus.

* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the city had not received a copy of the lawsuit as of Monday afternoon. City officials have not yet responded to the lawsuit.

* The plaintiff believes his rights under the First and 14th Amendments were violated, his person was unreasonably searched without a warrant, his liberty was deprived without due process and his liberty was deprived for three hours.

* In addition to attorney's fees, Stafford seeks unspecified monetary damages. Five counts are brought against the city including violations of rights, false arrest, malicious prosecution, false arrest under state law and malicious prosecution under state law.

Link:
Ron Paul Delegate Sues City of St. Peters Over Caucus Arrest

Ron Paul's new think tank will offer summer school classes for aspiring non-interventionists.

As part of his new think tank, Ron Paul, the former twelve-term Republican Texas congressman, will open a summer school to teach non-interventionist foreign policy to college and graduate students.

[PHOTOS: Ron Paul on the Campaign Trail]

"We have to reach the young people and change the people's attitudes," Paul said at an event Wednesday to launch his Institute for Peace and Prosperity. "But I am optimistic... I haven't had a young person come up and say: 'We need more war.' Young people are instinctively opposed to this."

Daniel McAdams, Paul's former congressional foreign policy aide and the head of the newly formed think tank, told Whispers that the summer school would likely launch next year, but that events for young people would happen sooner.

[READ: Ron Paul: Bradley Manning Promotes More Peace Than Obama]

The school is being modeled after the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Ala., a libertarian school of economics that holds summer lectures, reading groups and social functions every year. McAdams tells Whispers that nearly a dozen professors and scholars have already been recruited to develop curriculum for the school and serve on the faculty. Paul will also address the students at the end of the summer.

For clues as to the curriculum, look no further than Paul's non-interventionist policies. At the event Wednesday, the former Congressman described the briefings he received while in office as events that "aren't giving you information" but instead "war propaganda."

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Ron Paul To Launch Non-Interventionist Summer School

Ron Paul skirted around potentially controversial issues and was met with respectful enthusiasm at a lecture Tuesday night in Salomon 101. Sharing his views on a plethora of political issues, Paul punctuated his lecture by voicing his distrust of politicians and government, at one point saying he wanted to neuter lobbyists.

The bigger the government, the bigger the lies, the less liberty we have, the former congressman told a packed house.

Paul highlighted what he described as the plights of big government in policy areas ranging from the economy to international relations, calling big government the root of the nations problems.

Once the only OB/GYN in his town, Paul said he was not interested in becoming a politician until then-President Nixon ominously took the United States off of the pseudo-Bretton Woods gold standard in 1971.

Since then, the government has continued to grow, the economy has become overregulated and the United States has ceased to produce tangible goods, Paul added.

Paul cited the end of the gold standard and the increasing power of Federal Reserve monetary policy as the causes of the recent economic crisis.

In the 50s and the 60s when we were graduating from college and medical school, there was never a question about jobs, Paul said, but now even graduates with advanced degrees face serious challenges finding work.

Paul condemned the Feds response to the recent recession as an example of what he called the corruption of big government.

The Fed came in in secret to the tune of trillions and trillions of dollars to bail out all the banks and all the major corporations, he said. What happened to the people who were supposed to be helped?

Large banks and corporations also profit from government welfare programs, Paul said, arguing that the programs do not actually benefit the poor.

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Ron Paul espouses wary view of big government

Ron Paul made an impassioned plea for shuttering Guantanamo Bay Wednesday at a launch event for his new Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.

Just hours earlier, his son Rand Paul said he does not favor closing the prison.

The generational split highlights the conflicting goals between a politician on the make and an ideologue riding off into the sunset.

I dont talk to him in detail for the precise reason that Im not looking to sort that all out, Ron Paul said. He has his opinions. Youll have to ask him where he disagrees. Not me.

A background sheet distributed at Wednesdays roll out said the older Paul, 77, has been unshackled by the restrictions of government service as if that ever posed a problem for the iconoclastic libertarian during his decades in the House.

The younger Paul, 50, is open about his designs on the Republican nomination in 2016. Recent moves to present his foreign policy vision as in the mainstream have showcased a desire to expand from his fathers base. He was notably absent from the program to honor his dad and will not be on the new groups advisory board.

Ron Paul recalled getting booed during a Republican debate last year when he called for a Golden Rule on foreign policy. He noted that many voters told him in 2012 they agree with his positions on everything but national security.

Rather than emphasize those views that might be broadly popular, Paul is creating the new group to educate a younger generation on the merits of avoiding conflict overseas and protecting civil liberties at home.

He stressed that his interest isnt in advancing the Republican Party.

Instead of being obedient to the party, we have to be obedient to the truth, he told a crowd of about 70 at the Capitol Hill Club.

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Ron Paul Institute opens amid split