Former Ron Paul Ally confronts Paul on double dipping on expenses

Proving my ever-growing suspicions on this guy:

In March 2005, David James called Rep. Ron Paul’s (R-Texas) Congressional office for some documentation.

James’s nonprofit group, the Liberty Committee, had paid for one of Paul’s flights, and James needed a receipt or boarding pass to document the expense. He’d been pushing Paul for the paperwork and now, on the phone, he was “putting his foot down.”

“So I called the office manager,” James recalled. “They knew me, like, as well as they knew Ron. And I said, ‘Liberty Committee is paying for this expense. I need to get the boarding pass or the ticket or something.’”

The office manager said Paul’s Congressional office no longer had documentation for that flight; Paul had sent it in to the House Finance Office for reimbursement. But Liberty Committee had already sent a check to American Express to cover the charge on Paul’s credit card.

“I don’t care what flights the Liberty Committee pays for,” James said, “because Ron never took enough in expenses to come anywhere near his value to us. And this was piddly. But it’s just what it was.”

James first thought it was accidental and faxed a letter to Paul’s office, requesting that its money be returned for the flight. Paul did repay the $403.70, but the episode strained their relationship and led to a falling out a year later.

In a subsequent conversation, James raised the issue, and Paul “was very curt, and he simply said, ‘Yep, well, happens all the time,’” James, 64, told Roll Call.

via Associate Confronted Rep. Ron Paul About Flights : Roll Call News.

Ed Morrissey also writes about this, and thinks that Ron Paul should come clean or face a house ethics committee hearing. I wholeheartedly agree. If you are going to pawn yourself off as the most honest person on capital hill; you should try actually being the most honest person on capital hill.  I have written on my previous blog about this man’s claims to be the most honest politician, and for a short time, I actually believed that, but as time wore on, I began to read about the stuff that Mr. Paul does and does not want his own followers really knowing about it.  But, I, as well as other bloggers have documented his antics for a while now.

While Mr. Paul might have some very good ideas on capitalism, free trade and our monetary system; his utter hypocrisy when it comes to issues like this and his utter idiotic ideas on foreign policy handicap him. Not only this, but his past writings that did have his name on them, and his associations with Jew haters, racists and other such sort of nonsense make him someone, despite what I said recently, which was honestly in jest; that I could never, in good conscience vote for in a million years.  All one would need to do is look through the archives of my previous blog to see all the stuff that I have written about the man over the past 6 years.

Again, while I can appreciate his opposition to Wilsonian foreign policy; something that I have spoken out against myself here, and I can and do agree with very much, as much as I agree with his idea of free trade, free markets and the gold standard. I cannot side with this man because of the rest of his problems.  As I have said on this blog and my previous blog many, many times; Ron Paul is NOT, nor has he EVER been the Messianic figure that many of his well-intentioned followers assumed him to be.  This proves that and if the Ron Paul crowd had any sort of common sense at all; they would back away from Ron Paul and support someone who could actually fix this Nation’s problems.

However, if I know the Ron Paul crowd like I do; they will simply dismiss this true story, as some sort of Jewish conspiracy by the Illuminati and the Bilderberg boys to keep him from winning the White House, which is pretty much par for their course. I could tell you stories of how when I, on my previous blog, would write something even remotely critical of Ron Paul; my inbox would overflow with Ron Paul supporters calling me everything from a Neo-Con (which is Jew in Ron Paul speak) to a Bush-lover. Once, though, one of them went over the line and sent a death threat via e-mail. I did report that to the FBI in Detroit. This is why I try to avoid writing about the man. Because his most devout followers are absolutely insane.

Trust me, when I tell you this; the left’s crazies, have nothing on Ron Paul’s crazies. 😯

More of that “Religion of Peace” at work.

Via Israel Today:

A mob of some 50 Palestinian Muslims stoned a group of Christian tourists atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount on Sunday morning. Three of the Israeli police officers who acted to protect the Christian group were wounded by the stone-throwers.

Police arrested 11 Palestinians, several of them minors, for their role in the attack.

The attack is believed to have been instigated by the former Muslim mufti of Jerusalem, Ekrama Sabri, who told Palestinian media over the weekend that Jewish groups were planning to break into the mosques that occupy the holy compound and desecrate them.

Sabri urged all local Muslims to protect the mosques from “the Israeli conspiracy against the city and its holy places.”

Muslim religious figures regularly claim that Israel is plotting to destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque to pave the way for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, which the Muslims now insist never previously existed.

Because of the constant threat of Muslim violence, and despite the fact that the Temple Mount is the most holy place on earth to Jews and many Christians, the Israeli police comply with Muslim demands for harsh restrictions on non-Muslim visitors to the site. For instance, Jews and Christians are forbidden to carry Bibles atop the Temple Mount or to utter even silent prayers within its walls. Jews and Christians are regularly detained for violating these conditions.

In other violence, Palestinian terrorists operating out of the Gaza Strip fired a Grad-type missile at the southern Israel city of Beersheva on Saturday. The projectile landed in an open area just outside Beersheva and did not cause any injuries or damage. Two more short-range rockets hit nearby Israeli towns.

Palestinian forces fired at least two rockets at southern Israel – one at the coastal city of Ashkelon – on Friday, again causing no injuries or damage.

But-but-but-but they’re just peaceful Muslims! 🙄

The same damned peaceful Muslims who did this:

Remember this?

and this:

............and this?

These are the men who did the above, and Shanksville, Pa:

We should never forget what these men did, we should never forget thier race, their religion and why they did it to us, ever!

They were acting under the command of this man:

The ringleader. Who is now dead.

The liberals in this Country want to flush this event down the memory hole. They would rather blame Bush and Cheney for the attacks; and not the incompetence of Bill Clinton, which was the real cause of 9/11. Like his incompetence in rigging the housing market to fail, like it did. This is why I no longer vote Democratic Party; because those bastards are the reason why we are living in the police state hole that we live in now.

Some people cannot see that; and that’s their own darned fault. I’m no fool and I see things for what they really are. Terrorism is a threat and these same people CLAIM to want a two-state solution! Which is a lie of the devil, they want to see Israel pushed into the sea and the Jewish race exterminated from the earth, kind of like Hitler.

Remember this come November and vote accordingly.

 

 

US and Britain hedging thier bets on sanctions on Iran

No sooner than I put out this blog entry here; this drops:

Jerusalem — The U.S. and Britain on Sunday urged Israel not to attack Iran’s nuclear program as the White House’s national security adviser arrived in the region, reflecting growing international jitters that the Israelis are poised to strike.

In their warnings, both the U.S. joint chiefs of staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, and British Foreign Minister William Hague said an Israeli attack on Iran would have grave consequences for the entire region and urged Israel to give international sanctions against Iran more time to work. Dempsey said an Israeli attack is “not prudent,” and Hague said it would not be “a wise thing.”

Both Israel and the West believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear bomb — a charge Tehran denies. But differences have emerged in how to respond to the perceived threat.

The U.S. and the European Union have both imposed harsh new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector, the lifeline of the Iranian economy. With the sanctions just beginning to bite, they have expressed optimism that Iran can be persuaded to curb its nuclear ambitions.

via U.S., Britain urge Israel not to attack Iran | The Detroit News | detroitnews.com.

I already covered a good deal of this, and you can go read it here. I just hope for all our sakes that Obama and Brits know what they’re doing.

War Drums: Iran Stops Oil exports to France, UK — still developing nukes; attack from US or Israel possibly soon says UK paper

Any other time, I would dismiss this as saber-rattling, but this first development here, has me very worried.

The first story via Reuters:

(Reuters) – Iran has stopped selling crude to British and French companies, the oil ministry said on Sunday, in a retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions on the Islamic state’s lifeblood, oil.

“Exporting crude to British and French companies has been stopped … we will sell our oil to new customers,” spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted as saying by the ministry of petroleum website.

The European Union in January decided to stop importing crude from Iran from July 1 over its disputed nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building bombs. Iran denies this.

Iran’s oil minister said on February 4 that the Islamic state would cut its oil exports to “some” European countries.

The European Commission said last week that the bloc would not be short of oil if Iran stopped crude exports, as they have enough in stock to meet their needs for around 120 days.

Industry sources told Reuters on February 16 that Iran’s top oil buyers in Europe were making substantial cuts in supply months in advance of European Union sanctions, reducing flows to the continent in March by more than a third – or over 300,000 barrels daily.

What this will cause is a spike in prices in the oil market; which of course, will cause gas prices to go up in the U.K. and in France.  The bad thing is, the U.K.’s and France’s gas prices are alright incredibly high, because of the high taxes that are being tagged on to the sales of gas. This, of course, is making United States and I would imagine international officials very nervous. So, talk of war is imminent.

Which brings us to our next story, which comes via the U.K. Guardian:

Officials in key parts of the Obama administration are increasingly convinced that sanctions will not deter Tehran from pursuing its nuclear programme, and believe that the US will be left with no option but to launch an attack on Iran or watch Israel do so.

The president has made clear in public, and in private to Israel, that he is determined to give sufficient time for recent measures, such as the financial blockade and the looming European oil embargo, to bite deeper into Iran’s already battered economy before retreating from its principal strategy to pressure Tehran.

But there is a strong current of opinion within the administration – including in the Pentagon and the state department – that believes sanctions are doomed to fail, and that their principal use now is in delaying Israeli military action, as well as reassuring Europe that an attack will only come after other means have been tested.

“The White House wants to see sanctions work. This is not the Bush White House. It does not need another conflict,” said an official knowledgeable on Middle East policy. “Its problem is that the guys in Tehran are behaving like sanctions don’t matter, like their economy isn’t collapsing, like Israel isn’t going to do anything.

“Sanctions are all we’ve got to throw at the problem. If they fail then it’s hard to see how we don’t move to the ‘in extremis’ option.”

The White House has said repeatedly that all options are on the table, including the use of force to stop Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, but that for now the emphasis is firmly on diplomacy and sanctions.

But long-held doubts among US officials about whether the Iranians can be enticed or cajoled into serious negotiations have been reinforced by recent events.

“We don’t see a way forward,” said one official. “The record shows that there is nothing to work with.”

Scepticism about Iranian intent is rooted in Iran’s repeated spurning of overtures from successive US presidents from Bill Clinton to Barack Obama, who appealed within weeks of coming to office for “constructive ties” and “mutual respect” .

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s claim this week that Iran loaded its first domestically-made fuel rod into a nuclear reactor, and Iran’s threat to cut oil supplies to six European countries, were read as further evidence that Tehran remains defiantly committed to its nuclear programme. That view was strengthened by the latest Iranian offer to negotiate with the UN security council in a letter that appeared to contain no significant new concessions.

If Obama were to conclude that there is no choice but to attack Iran, he is unlikely to order it before the presidential election in November unless there is an urgent reason to do so. The question is whether the Israelis will hold back that long.

I hated to quote so much of that; but I wanted see what it is that I am talking about.  Everyone that reads this blog for any length of time; knows that I am not a huge fan of so-called “Military Action.” I believe if we are going to have war with Iran, we need to formally declare war against Iran in Congress and then go fight the Iranians.  Not just have some sort of “Military Action.” Because as we all know from history, those “Military Actions” can turn into a meat grinder real quick; case in point, Iraq.

Also, if anyone who happens to read this, and is a Ron Paul supporter and thinks this is a big scam. (Update: Perfect example here!)  Check this report out via the Associated Press:

VIENNA (AP) — Iran is poised to greatly expand uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker to a point that would boost how quickly it could make nuclear warheads, diplomats tell The Associated Press.

They said Tehran has put finishing touches for the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges at the cavernous facility – machines that can produce enriched uranium much more quickly and efficiently than its present machines.

While saying that the electrical circuitry, piping and supporting equipment for the new centrifuges was now in place, the diplomats emphasized that Tehran had not started installing the new machines at its Fordo facility and could not say whether it was planning to.

Still, the senior diplomats – who asked for anonymity because their information was privileged – suggested that Tehran would have little reason to prepare the ground for the better centrifuges unless it planned to operate them. They spoke in recent interviews – the last one Saturday.

The reported work at Fordo appeared to reflect Iran’s determination to forge ahead with nuclear activity that could be used to make atomic arms despite rapidly escalating international sanctions and the latent threat of an Israeli military strike on its nuclear facilities.

Fordo could be used to make fissile warhead material even without such an upgrade, the diplomats said.

They said that although older than Iran’s new generation machines, the centrifuges now operating there can be reconfigured within days to make such material because they already are enriching to 20 percent – a level that can be boosted quickly to weapons-grade quality.

It is quite obvious the Iranians are not just bluffing when it comes to making nuclear warheads. The problem is that this puts the United States in a very difficult position. The United States and NATO got involved with Libya and that did not end very good at all. The United States has basically stayed out of the Syrian conflict.  If the Obama Administration does decide to act against Iran, its critics would savage the President for acting against an oil rich Nation like Iran, as opposed to coming to the aid of people being oppressed in a Nation like Syria.

The Obama Administration seems to be hedging its bets on sanctions on Iran and if there an attack that it would come from Israel. The problem with that is this; the President of Iran, quite bluntly, is crazy —- as in psycho kind of crazy. If Iran is attacked by Israel, they will most assuredly fire missiles at the United States, the UK and everyone else. So, there you have it. This is where we stand. The libertarian in me is praying someone in Iran blinks and backs off. However, the realist in me is not that optimistic. Something tells me that we are headed for another conflict, which saddens me greatly.

Because the question that Americans will have to ask ourselves and the Obama Administration will have to ask itself or if one of the Republicans just happen to win — they will have to ask themselves this question here: Would it be honestly worth putting our youngest treasures out there again to be turn into a meat grinder, just to put down another out of control Arab Country? This is the question that responsible people in all levels of Government have to ask themselves. We just do not need another Iraq again. We, as a nation cannot afford it monetarily, and our Military is still recovering from the last General’s war that was fought.

Something, somewhere has to give and for the sake of this Country — I hope it is them, and not us.

 

 


 

The Southern Avenger on American Empire and Israel

Note to all my readers: I am posting these videos here, because I happen to believe in a diversity of opinion and discussion. The opinions expressed in these video should NOT be considered an opinion of the owner of this blog. I simply believe that ALL VOICES, not just a collective few, should be heard in the continuing discussion that is post-Bush Conservative Politics.

—————

Transcript Here

Transcript Here

Good Sign: U.S. Finds Vast Minerals in Afghanistan

This could be a good thing…:

WASHINGTON — The United States has discovered nearly $1 trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously known reserves and enough to fundamentally alter the Afghan economy and perhaps the Afghan war itself, according to senior American government officials.

The previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and critical industrial metals like lithium — are so big and include so many minerals that are essential to modern industry that Afghanistan could eventually be transformed into one of the most important mining centers in the world, the United States officials believe.

via U.S. Identifies Vast Riches of Minerals in Afghanistan – NYTimes.com.

I just hope the Unites States and Afghanistan handles this the right way. This could end the drug trade over there and could also rebuild that Country.

Let’s hope, for the sake of the those people over there, at this works out — the right way.

Helen Thomas retires after fury over comments about Israel

A good ending to a bad story:

Helen Thomas, the longtime White House correspondent made famous for her no-holds-barred questioning of presidents, announced her resignation Monday following controversial remarks she made about Israel.

In a statement from Hearst newspapers, where she works as a columnist, she said she is “retiring, effective immediately.”

Thomas started at the White House as a reporter during the Kennedy administration but became more outspoken in recent years, when she shifted to column writing.

The reaction of most reporters, friends and former White House officials was that while the end to Thomas’s career is sad, it is hardly surprising.

“It really is sadness. She should have retired years ago,” one longtime friend said. “But I don’t think anyone is surprised at the anti-Israeli remarks. She has never made any secret of her animus toward Israel. I just hate to see her remembered for this instead of the pioneering work she did.”

Former White House press secretary Dana Perino said: “It’s a sad but appropriate end.”

via Helen Thomas quits after Israel remarks – TheHill.com.

Let this be a lesson to any leftest loon, who decides to be journalist. Keep your mouth shut and stick to your job; if you want to keep your job. Antisemitism is not cool, fashionable or any of the other stupid labels that they put on it. It is a sick disease and should not be in the public square.

Somehow or another, I somehow doubt that this was an accident, something tells me, that this woman knew who she was talking to and knew what sort of trouble it would cause. She wanted to retire and was looking for a way out and found it.

In case, you did not notice, I do have a ribbon on my blog now; and yes, I will say it. I do support Israel. The only reservation that I have, is that some of the players in Zionism sometimes resort to race or “Semite-Baiting”, but other than this, I have no issues with Israel and the Jews. America is the prosperous Nation that it is today, because of the relationship that it has with the Nation of Israel. God help this Nation, if we ever got the idiotic idea to abandon Israel or turn against her.

For more about how I feel about this issue. Please click and read this Gospel Tract. It will explain just how I feel about this whole thing. I may have had reservations about Israel in the past. But, that is all different now, I totally understand and believe, that Israel is God’s holy land and he will use it one day. You’ll see. Bush understood it, I understand it, and any Conservative who does not understand it, is not a Conservative and should not be calling themselves one!  Remember this, come 2010 and 2012.

Memorandum has the roundup.

May We Never Forget – 6/6/1944 – D-Day

God Help Us, if we ever forget this solemn day.

On June 6, 1944, The United States Armed Forces landed at Normandy Beach, to stop the tyrannical rule of Adolf Hitler.

May we never, ever forget…….

Living Proof that Ron Paul is a terrorist supporting jackass

(Via HotAir)

He’s also wrong. Gaza is NOT starving. He’s also been known to spin for Iran too.

AllahPundit Says:

It’s one thing to say our Iran policy is making things worse, it’s quite another to pretend that regional war, possibly with a nuclear component, in the Middle East wouldn’t much matter to America if we just hurried up and got our troops out. I can’t tell if this guy doesn’t realize or simply doesn’t care that opening up Gaza’s port will mean more arms in the hands of more fanatics, which means more of a chance of war and thus a more precarious position for U.S. interests. But let this serve as yet another reminder that, for all the grief we give The One on foreign policy, we can do much, much worse. And not just on the left either.

Amen to that. For all the grief that I give President Obama, I also know that it could be and would be much worse, if Ron Paul was the President. Also, about “AllahPundit,” before anyone says a damned thing in the comments section; was less than 10 miles from the World Trade Center, when it was hit in 2001. Hence his desire to see something done about the terrorists.

Ron Paul’s problem is, that he is shilling for the terrorists who want to destroy this Country and he is too stupid to know it.  Either that or he knows it and really does not care. Gaza starving; what idiotic bullcrap! 🙄 Only thing starving is Ron Paul’s brain.