Third Annual Top 10 Political Halloween Costumes - 2012 Edition

We did this in 2010 on Facebook and 2011 on this blog. Back by popular demand, here is the 2012 edition of TOP 10 POLITICAL HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!!!!

10. Federal Candy Reserve - When the candy supply runs low, just print more. Continue indefinitely until bankruptcy.

9. Rick Perry - When the lady says trick-or-treaters get three pieces of candy, he asks for "a Hershey's, a Kit-Kat, and ... oops"

8. Mainstream candy media - Conveniently ignore "third-species" candidates for Gummy President. Claim that the only candidates are the bears and the worms. Au contraire! Sweet Emotions Candy in Storrs has a plethora of other candidates on the ballot, including the Spiders, the Octupi, the Fish, the Scotty Dogs, the Pigs, the Army Men, the Starfish, the Frogs, the Dinosaurs, the Pandas, the Whales, the Lobsters, the Alligators, the Centipedes, the Sandsharks, the Geckos, and the Clownfish. They're like the Colorado of Gummies!

7. Libertarian Party - give out a terrificly awesome candy that nobody has ever heard of. When nobody comes to your house because they don't know who you are, get revenge by eating all the terrificly awesome candy yourself. (Yes, this is similar to one of last year's entries. So sue me)

6. Mitt Romney - "My favorite candy is Hershey's." two minutes later "My favorite candy is Kit-Kats. I hate Hershey's and have never liked their products."

5. Fox News - "The White House is giving out Kenyan candy to trick-or-treaters!!!!!!"

4. MSNBC - "Production of the candy the White House is giving to trick-or-treaters has been outsourced to China! We must provide massive tax incentives to candy companies to keep jobs in this country so hard-working Americans can have jobs. We should also ignore the other industries, because candy is most important."

3. Candy Corn Subsidies - Pay people not to buy candy corn to give out to trick-or-treaters.

2. Joe Biden - "Halloween is a load of Mularkey. I don't know why anyone celebrates it.... Hahahahahaha"

1. The scariest Halloween Costume of all ... PRESIDENT OBAMNEY!!!!!!

Avoid PRESIDENT OBAMNEY. Vote Gary Johnson for President and Jim Gray for Vice President.

Libertarian Candidates in Connecticut

Dissatisfied with the status quo in Connnecticut? Tired of the Democrats and Republicans controlling everything? UConn students - are you concerned about where this country will be when you're an adult? Change has come.

In District 2 of Connecticut, there are candidates for U.S. House, Senate, and President, on the Libertarian Party who can bring real change to this country.

Paul Passarelli is running for US Senate and supports very limited government. He is a big advocate of individual liberty. He has a very realistic approach to running for office. Unlike other politicians, he does not deliver promises he cannot keep. He will support only a balanced budget. Does this mean an unbalanced budget won't pass? Of course not. He's not delusional. But he won't vote for it. He'll promise that.

Dan Reale is running for House in District 2, home of UConn and Eastern Connecticut State. He promises the "Reale Deal" in Washington. He recognizes that the economy and spending cuts are the real issue. To that end, he would implement healthcare reform, support a balanced budget, and drastically cut military spending. He too is exactly what this country needs. Without politicians like him, we'll be broke and doomed.

Finally, Gary Johnson is running for President. He will be on the ballot in at least 48 states. He can win this thing - he's the first third party candidate with executive experience since George Wallace. A former governor of New Mexico, Johnson has promised to submit a balanced budget to Congress his first year. Like Passarelli, he's not delusional enough to think they'll pass it, so he won't promise that. He would bring all the troops home and not get us into a war with Iran. He would end the War on Drugs, reducing our prison population and our spending. He's the President we need.

VOTE LIBERTARIAN in 2012!

And if you came here looking for Paul Fornica's House campaign site, learn how to spell your candidate's name. And don't think I'll tell you either. 

Ok, I'll be nice. It's Paul Formica. Click on his name to visit Paul Fornica's website, Fornica2012.com

I'm clever, right?

Libertarian Gary Johnson NOT Too Extreme to be President of the United States

A couple weeks ago, the Delaware Libertarian blog put together an excellent list showing that, in spite of what many people think, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is NOT to extreme to be the next President of the United States. I frequently hear this criticism for Libertarian candidates, but let's check out the facts.

Memorial Day Message: What ARE We Fighting For? Gary Johnson Wants to Know

And I watch the parades pass before me

And I see my old comrades, how proudly they march

Reviving old dreams of past glory

And the old men march slowly, old bones stiff and sore

They're tired old heroes from a forgotten war

And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"

And I ask myself the same question

- "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" by Eric Bogle

Gary Johnson is baffled by the
question "What ARE we fighting for?"
That's because it's a trick question.
There is no answer. 

Last year at Memorial Day, I made one of my first posts on this site. It was entitled "On Memorial Day: What ARE we Fighting For?". I looked at each of the wars America has fought and concluded that with the exception of the Revolutionary War, all of the wars in our nation's history were immoral.

So, why are we fighting them? Quite honestly, I still haven't thought of a satisfactory answer to that question. There is a very simple reason for that - there is absolutely NO justification for the wars we are currently fighting. We need a President who knows that. The only President who will end ALL wars is Gary Johnson.

Johnson is the former two-term Governor of New Mexico and is running on the Libertarian Party line. He expects to be on the ballot in all 50 states this November. On his website, he states

With Osama bin Laden now killed and after 10 years of fighting, U.S. forces should leave Afghanistan's challenges to the Afghan people.

A US military base in Berlin.
There was no reason for this
30 years ago, and there
certainly isn't now.

Governor Johnson knows we have no business being in Afghanistan. He also knows that "decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union ... it is time to reevaluate our deployments [in Europe]." We haven't been fighting in Europe for decades. We never should have had bases there to begin with. The Cold War only happened because both sides felt it needed to happen. They acted as if "neither could live while the other survives" and thus it was true. Unfortunately, it cost both sides massive amounts of money and led to several unnecessary wars. (On a side note, if this sounds familiar to Harry Potter fans, I don't think that's coincidental)

America needs to end their wars and Gary Johnson knows that. Not just the foreign wars, but the "War on Drugs", the "War on Internet Piracy" and every other declared and undeclared metaphorical "War" that we are fighting now. Not only would it make America a better place, but it would also cut a significant chunk of America's very excessive spending.

In the words of Gary Johnson,

“US military spending is more than that of every other country combined. There's a culture of waste, fraud, and abuse in defense budgeting we simply can no longer tolerate. Defense spending must be subject to the same scrutiny as other areas of the budget."

So, what ARE we fighting for?

 

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda

Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard

As you march by the billabong

Who'll come a waltzing Matilda with me?

(For a full explanation of these lyrics, see last year's post here)

Summary of Daily Campus Articles

Sorry that I've been delinquent with this blog. Here is a summary  of my Daily Campus articles from this year. For copyright reasons, I can only post a link and a short description. I'll post new articles to this blog soon.

Presidential Debate Structure Should be Altered: Include all candidates in debates. The "Gary Johnson rule" is detrimental to liberty. (March 18)

Voting for a Third Party Candidate not a Wasted Vote: Whether it's Gary Johnson, the Green Party, or any other third party, your vote is not wasted as long as you vote for someone who you truly support. (March 26)

Defining Marriage Outside the Realm of Government: The government has no legitimate reason to define "marriage". (March 28)

No Motive for Shooting Unarmed Man is Appropriate: George Zimmerman's motive for shooting Trayvon Martin was bad, but no worse than any other motive. (April 6)

US Should Adopt FairTax as Lesser of Several Evils: No tax is good, but FairTax is best. (April 16)

New Letter to the Editor in Poughkeepsie Journal: 2012 is Scary election, vote Gary Johnson

Today, I had a letter to the editor published in the Poughkeepsie Journal. You can view it here or read below. 

Libertarian Johnson is best for president

2012 is going to be a scary presidential election.

On the Republican side, Mitt Romney seems out of touch with the American public, New Gingrich appears crazy, and I believe Rick Santorum is an utter bigot. Obama isn’t much better. He finally ended the Iraq War three years after he said he would, and only after starting wars in Libya and Somalia. He authorized indefinite detentions under the National Defense Authorization Act. We should genuinely be scared. Unless Ron Paul gets the GOP nomination (which seems highly unlikely), it may seem like we have nobody to turn to. But there is hope.

The Libertarian Party, the third-largest party in America, expects to have ballot access in all 50 states. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is the clear frontrunner to get the nomination at the party convention in May.

Johnson would restore the civil liberties that both Obama and the GOP took away from us in a stunning display of bipartisanship. Johnson would also return all troops home from the wars abroad and lead America in a strict non-interventionist policy. The end result of this will be lower taxes, a balanced budget, and more freedom to live our personal lives as we choose. Polls currently show Gov. Johnson hypothetically polling at 10 percent against Obama and Romney. In order to be involved in televised debates, he needs to reach 15 percent. Don’t pick the “least bad” candidate. Pick a good one. Vote Libertarian in 2012.

Gregory Koch

Poughkeepsie

Is Ron Paul a Racist? Shocking Evidence!

Recently, I had a letter published in the Poughkeepsie Journal expressing support of Ron Paul for President. I shortly thereafter received an e-mail from a member of my synagogue saying she read some news in the Baltimore Sun regarding the Ron Paul racist newsletters. Her email read

“I love seeing your letters in the Poughkeepsie Journal (and the ones you've written in CT too).  However, I was surprised to read the recent one endorsing Ron Paul.  While you may agree with some of his thinking, did you know he's published anti-Semitic, anti-Black, and homophobic diabtribes?  I read a column in the Baltimore Sun last week (when we were, duh, in Baltimore) quoting from some of these writings, which he now denies but came out under his name a few years ago.”

However, while  I appreciate everyone’s concerns, Ron Paul is not a racist. Here is what I wrote in response:

I appreciate your concern regarding Ron Paul's newsletters. Ron Paul has denied those newsletters all along, but they just came to the forefront now. He has said he had a moral responsibility to read everything that was being published in his name, and failed to do so. But, he is not a racist at all. Aside from the fact that he didn't actually write the newsletters, he's spoken out against racism repeatedly. Look at this quote from Paul on Bill Moyers Journal on January 4th, 2008 ""Libertarianism is the enemy of all racism, because racism is a collectivist idea that you put people in categories. You say, well blacks belong here, and whites here, and women here and we don't see people in forms..or gays. You don't have rights because your gays, or women or minorities, you have rights because you’re an individual. So we see people strictly as individuals. We get these individuals in a natural way. So it's exactly opposite of all collectivism and it's absolutely anti-racism because we don't see it in those terms. "

Additionally, Paul has repeatedly opposed Constitutional Amendments to ban same-sex marriage, even when the Republican Party was pushing for them. As for Anti-Semitism, when Israel bombed the Iraqi nuclear plant in the 1980s, Congress voted to condemn Israel for their actions. However, Congressman Paul stood alone and supported Israel's right to make its own decisions as a nation. Wouldn't an Anti-Semite seize on any opportunity to criticize a Jewish state? Other than Israel, I haven't really come across a situation where Paul strongly opposed Anti-Semitism specifically, but he certainly doesn't support it. 

In his 2008 Book "The Revolution", Ron Paul wrote the following (emphasis added by me):

“No form of political organization, therefore, is immune to cruel abuses like the Jim Crow laws, whereby government sets out to legislate on how groups of human beings are allowed to interact with one another.

Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I support with every fiber of my being, can sometimes be necessary at any level of government. It falls upon the people, in the last resort, to stand against injustice no matter where it occurs.

In the long run, the only way racism can be overcome is through the philosophy of individualism, which I have promoted throughout my life. Our rights come to us not because we belong to some group, but our rights come to us as individuals. And it is as individuals that we should judge one another.

Racism is a particularly odious form of collectivism whereby individuals are treated not on their merits but on the basis of group identity. Nothing in my political philosophy, which is the exact opposite of the racial totalitarianism of the twentieth century, gives aid or comfort to such thinking. To the contrary, my philosophy of individualism is the most radical intellectual challenge to racism ever posed.

Government exacerbates racial thinking and undermines individualism because its very existence encourages people to organize along racial lines in order to lobby for benefits for their group. That lobbying, in turn, creates animosity and suspicion among all groups, each of which believes that it is getting less of its fair share than the others.

Instead, we should quit thinking in terms of race—yes, in 2008 it is still necessary to say that we should Stop thinking in terms of race—and recognize that freedom and prosperity benefit all Americans.”

When criticizing the War on Drugs, Dr. Paul has frequently pointed out the racist fact that while Blacks only make up 14% of drug users, they make up 36% of those arrested for drug use and 63% of those who eventually wind up in jail. Regardless of your opinion on drug legalization, this is obviously not the opinion of a racist.

In his 2002 article "What Really Divides Us", Ron Paul wrote "Liberty means free-market capitalism, which rewards individual achievement and competence, not skin color, gender, or ethnicity. In a free market, businesses that discriminate lose customers, goodwill, and valuable employees- while rational businesses flourish by choosing the most qualified employees and selling to all willing buyers. More importantly, in a free society every citizen gains a sense of himself as an individual, rather than developing a group or victim mentality."

Additionally, Ron Paul has adamantly opposed the racist "profiling" that occurs at airports across the country. "“We can think back no further than July of 1996, when a plane carrying several hundred people suddenly and mysteriously crashed off the coast of Long Island. Within days, Congress had passed emergency legislation calling for costly new security measures, including a controversial “screening” method which calls for airlines to arbitrarily detain passengers just because the person meets certain criteria which border on racist and xenophobic.”

Additionally, in November of 2008, shortly after Barack Obama was elected, Paul congratulated him, saying Martin Luther King would be proud. “With the election behind us, our country turns hopeful eyes to the future. I have a few hopes of my own. I congratulate our first African-American president-elect. Martin Luther King, Jr. certainly would be proud to see this day. We are stronger for embracing diversity, and I am hopeful that we can continue working through the tensions and wrongs of the past and become a more just and colorblind society. I hope this new administration will help bring us together, and not further divide us. I have always found that freedom is the best way to break down barriers. A free society emphasizes the importance of individuals, and not because they are part of a certain group. That’s the only way equal justice can be achieved.”

If you want a more expansive list of evidence that Ron Paul is not a racist, I invite you to visit http://www.dailypaul.com/195717/breaking-even-more-racially-charged-writings-by-ron-paul-uncovered or watch the Youtube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3EADdr-5AY  to see several more 

Yes, Ron Paul should have read everything that was written in the newsletters before they were published in his name. He has said so himself, and repeatedly apologized for his moral mistake. But making a mistake is not the same as being a racist. The fact is, many politicians don't read entire mailings that are published in their name. For that matter, I received a reply from the editor of the Poughkeepsie Journal prior to my letter being published saying "Please confirm that you sent this letter so we can publish it." There was an attachment called "letter". And this happens every time I send a letter in. And sometimes, I don't open the attachment. It's probably not a good idea, for the same reason it hurt Ron Paul. I generally send letters every thirty days, just as Paul's newsletters were published regularly. He'd just assumed it would be acceptable to him since it normally was. If 30 days from now, someone were to send a letter in my name, and I were to send a letter with my name and actual opinion, it's conceivable that the one I neither wrote nor agreed with would get published. Yes, I would share some of the blame, but that wouldn't make me agree with whatever I didn't say. It just means I would need to be more careful. And Ron Paul learned that he needs to be more careful. So he has been, and he will be.

I'm not sure if the question about what made me support Ron Paul specifically was only about why I supported him in spite of the racism, or if you want something more specific about him specifically. I've got to respond to other emails now, but if you want me to explain the latter in more detail, I will certainly do so. 

Thank you and Happy New Year!

-Gregory

Clearly, Ron Paul is not a racist. It really frustrates me when people don’t bother fact-checking before making claims. But that’s what’s going on with Ron Paul. Hopefully it doesn’t cost him the election. Tonight’s caucuses will be a big test.As for the email, I just received an email back saying that what I said makes sense, and she's glad to hear the Sun stuff isn't true. She does feel Paul never should have let this get in print, and I agree, but that doesn't mean he agrees with it. Anyway, less than 10 hours until the caucuses are called to order. Barely nine now. Let's go.