Good Man Ron Paul

After the GOP primaries in Nevada and SC I was curious as to how the campaigns would spin the results in their mass emails... While most candidates took the opportunity to ask for money and time, Ron Paul actually had something to say. Good man! Here is the text:

January 21, 2008

What a shot in the arm the Nevada caucuses were, where we took the silver as #2, beating McCain, Huckabee, Thompson, and -- of course -- Giuliani. We also got four more delegates. In South Carolina, we beat Rudy again. A big thank you to all our wonderful donors, volunteers, and voters. So many people worked so hard to spread our message of liberty, honest money, peace, and free-market prosperity. I owe you all my deepest gratitude. So do our fellow citizens. So do all future Americans. Most of the mainstream media continue to pretend that we do not exist. Yet soon the race will be down to four candidates-Romney, McCain, Huckabee, and me, and there is no stopping us, as Tim Russert grudgingly pointed out the other night. Thanks to you, we are in this all the way through a brokered convention.

Nevada, by the way, is known as the Silver State for a reason-its great mining industry produced the precious metal for the beautiful silver dollars minted at the fabled Carson City mint. These constitutional coins, include .775 ounces of silver, in accord with the Coinage Act of 1792. Today these coins, worth $1 in my father's day, have about $14 in silver. That is, the dollar is worth 1/14th of what it was, thanks to the counterfeiting Federal Reserve.

The Fed has again taken our country into a terrible crisis. Who else is talking about honest money that cannot be printed up at will by DC bureaucrats? My opponents in both parties are all some variety of print-and-spend Keynesians. Only we are telling the truth, about who is to blame for this recession, and how we can build real prosperity with sound money, no IRS, no deficit, and strict obedience to the Constitution. And, of course, no hyper-expensive, hyper-dangerous empire all around the globe.

When I met with some great ladies in Charleston, all of whom wore beautiful hats, I talked about the young people flocking to our banner. "Don't forget the young at heart," said one. Darn right! A youthful outlook, work ethic, and optimism characterizes all of us. Frederic Bastiat predicted many years ago that liberty would be saved by the young. He might have added the young at heart as well, and how right he was!

I continue to be astounded not only by all our revolutionaries, but by our fellow travelers. Democrats and even the workers for my Republican opponents come up to me to talk about our ideas. They are fascinated, and want to learn more. Reaching so many people doesn't necessarily mean a victory in the next primary, but it counts for the real changes we want in our country, now and for our children and grandchildren.

Of course, I am mainly paying attention to the next primary! We are working hard in Florida, in Louisiana for the caucuses, and then for Super Tuesday in more than 20 states. Meanwhile, the whole world is watching how we do tomorrow in fundraising, on a day dedicated to the memory of Martin
Luther King, the great champion of non-violence at home, peace abroad, and civil disobedience against tyrannical government.

Please make your most generous donation https://www.ronpaul2008.com/donate/ . We can't let this movement be stopped, nor slowed. I promise you that I will continue to pour all my heart and mind and strength into the battle. I know you will too. Let's work together for all we love, and all we hope for: freedom! Surely, it is worth all our efforts.

Sincerely,

Ron

Congolese Peace Agreement

There was an agreement reached today between General Nkunda's rebel forces and the Congolese government. The Congo War began in 1996 and has been responsible for the deaths of over 4 million people, mostly from disease and starvation. Though it officially ended in 2003, horrific violence has continued in Eastern Congo in which systematic rape has been a principal means of warfare. Fighting has pitted General Nkunda's rebel insurgency versus government-aligned militias and Rwandan-Hutu militia. One of the reasons Nkunda has refused to stand down is the perceived threat to Tutsi's from such Rwandan militias that were responsible for the 1994 slaughter of 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutu's. It is difficult to determine the extent to which the recent peace agreement will yield tangible results. Stay tuned for more and check out the NYTimes article for more detail.

Ethnic Shake-Up in Iraq

we have all heard about the decreased violence in baghdad as of late. it is important to note that much of the reason for this is the ethnic reorganization of much of baghdad wherein previously heterogeneous areas have become increasingly homogeneous. though not very up-to-date, the map above taken from General Jones' independent commission released in September 2007 illustrates the link between decreased violence and ethnic reorganization of neighborhoods. i bring all of this up because of a really great bbc article today that gives a personal account of one woman who returned to the home she had fled and her encounter with the new occupants.

kucinich is out

the nevada district court ruling that required nbc to allow kucinich in tonights debate was overruled by the state's supreme court. here is the link to the ruling.

Iraq Benchmarks - 1 down

The Iraqi Parliament on Saturday passed the Accountability and Justice Act, which enables former members of Saddam's Baath Party to resume jobs in government. It is the first of the so-called benchmarks to be achieved. NYTimes has got a good piece on it.

What About Michigan?

While the Republicans are all off campaigning in Michigan, there are a few recent developments with the Democrats.

Kucinich is the only candidate actively campaigning in the Great Lakes State. Both the Clinton and Obama campaign vowed to not campaign in Michigan in support of the DNC 's decision to strip the state of its delegates at the National Convention. This comes as a consequence for the MI legislature's vote to move the primary up to January 15. The candidates that remain on the ballot are Sen. Hillary Clinton, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Sen. Christopher Dodd, and Fmr. Sen. Mike Gravel.

While Kucinich attempted to withdraw his name from the ballot, his campaign failed to meet the guidelines for filing the affidavit with the Secretary of State.

Governor Jennifer Granholm has thrown her support behind Hillary Clinton and has asked Michigan Democrats to vote for her on the 15th. Kucinich will likely come in second place.

Why does this matter? Some think the DNC may restore some of Michigan's delegates closer to the date of the convention.

Campaign News

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is asking for a recount in New Hampshire challenging a discrepancy between the electronic and paper results.

January Endorsements:

Obama

Senator John Kerry
Fmr Senator Bill Bradley
Senator Tim Johnson
Rep. George Miller
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano
Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle

Clinton:

1/12 Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy
1/11 American Samoa Governor Tulafono
1/11 Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi
1/10 Henry Cisneros and Edward Romero (Previously working for the Richardson Camp)
1/10 State Senator Bob Coffin
1/10 State Senator Bob Coffin
1/9 Congresswoman Shelley Berkley
1/9 Delaware Governor Ruth Ann Minner
1/6 Former Biden Supporter State Representative Bill Hatch
1/6 Former Biden Supporter State Representative Jim Webber Endorses Senator Clinton for President
1/5 EL Mundo Endorses Hillary Clinton for President
1/5 McClintock, Domenech Endorse Hillary Clinton
1/4 Virginia Delegates Adam Ebbin and Jennifer McClellan

1/4 Former North Dakota Governor and First Lady, George and Jane Sinner
1/1 New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne