Ron Paul is the only Republican who can win

Here's an interesting post. The jist of it is that:

• 70% of the population is against the war
• Ron Paul is the only Republican candidate who opposes the war
• If any Republican besides Ron Paul wins the primary, 70% of the population will vote against the war candidate, which means that a Democrat will win the presidency.
• Compared to the Democrat front-runners, Ron Paul has always consistently been the peace candidate. He voted against the war even when Hillary voted for it.

http://ronpauldaily.blogspot.com/2007/08/vote-for-pro-war-republican-is-vote-for.html

Dog Attack Scare

My friend Bryon and I went for our normal 5:00 AM jog this morning. As we rounded the first curve on the road, the chained up dog in the front yard of somebody's house was a little late with his viscious sounding bark. He must have been sleeping or something. We joked about that, since he usually seems to be waiting for us and he barks at us every time we go by. We went another mile or so when out of nowhere, two pit bulls came running and growling and barking at us from an open field on our left. Bryon and I have been running together for over 25 years, and have been chased by a lot of dogs. We normally just yell at them if they get too close and they back off. If not, we might stop and start running towards them - that always makes them back off. We've also been known to pick up rocks from somebody's driveway and toss them in the general direction of the dog - that always scares them enough that they keep their distance. Well, this morning was different. These two dogs meant business. We tried all of the above and these dogs kept at us. You could tell by their bark and their attitude and aggressive movements that they intended to do us harm. Most dogs take a defensive stance after we've given them the scare by yelling or chasing them. These dogs just became more agressive. They worked well together as a team and definitely had me scared. Somehow I even fell down. I remember thinking that I was in deep trouble while on the ground and trying to get up. Just as I was falling, I saw one of the dogs circling around ready to pounce. Somehow Bryon kept the dogs off me while I got up off the ground. But they still would not back off. Finally I turned slightly away from them and started walking away. At that point they both went after Bryon. He nailed one of them with a small rock, but that just pissed the dog off more. So I went back next to Bryon and we both were yelling at the top of our lungs and keeping an offensive posture and making motions like we were going to attack. Once again, that just made the dogs more determined. Finally one of the dogs took a couple steps back and stopped barking. Bryon and I took a couple steps back and the other dog stopped barking. We started walking away (back the way we came from) and the dogs didn't come after us. We walked back to my house. Bryon drove home, but drove by the scene on his way. He saw the two dogs sitting in the front yard of the next house up (1020 Bonaire Way, Knightdale, NC). Apparently, they had been out playing across the street in that field and when they saw us running by, they came after us in an attempt to defend their owner's house. When I got home, I woke Carol up and asked her to help me clean the scrapes on my elbow, knee and hand from when I fell down. I was more scared than I was hurt. I actually thought of my Mommy! Really! Anyway, my wonderful wife Carol took care of me as she always does - even when I don't deserve it. Bryon and I will be carrying some self defense devices when we run Wednesday morning. I just did a quick Google search and found that taking a non-aggressive stance might be a better way to deal with these dogs. I once read an article by G. Gordon Liddy that explained how to deal with a dog attack. He said to offer the dog your left arm, which he will take a hold of. Once he has your left arm in his jaw (ouch!), you put your right forearm behind the dogs head. Then you lift up with your left arm and push down with your right arm. This will break the dog's neck. I've been running with confidence from this knowledge for many years. Now I think I'll bring a non-lethal weapon. I still love dogs in general.

Oligarchy? Puppet A vs. Marionette B?

I copied the following from http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig7/tonso5.html. It's actually a small part of a long open letter to Sean Hannity regarding his position on the war in Iraq. I found the oligarchy comment interesting. I didn't say I agree completely, but it's something to consider.

The following comments by LewRockwell.com blogger Steven LaTulippe, like [Ron] Paul a physician and former Air Force officer, might give you something to think about. That should be a new experience for you.

When evaluating his [Paul’s] chances, it’s important to accept one fact about contemporary America. This is not a democracy, and certainly not a constitutional republic. America is actually a carefully concealed oligarchy. A few thousand people, mostly in government, finance, and the military-industrial complex, run this country for their own purposes. By manipulating the two-party system, influencing the mainstream media, and controlling the flow of campaign finance money, this oligarchy works to secure the nomination of its preferred candidates (Democratic and Republican alike), thus giving a ‘choice’ between Puppet A and Marionette B.
Unlike the establishment’s candidates, Ron Paul is a freelancer running on three specific ideas:
The federal government must function within the strict guidelines of the Constitution.
America should deconstruct its empire, withdraw our troops from around the world and reestablish a foreign policy based on nonintervention.
America should abolish the Federal Reserve Bank, eliminate fiat currency and return to hard money.
This is not a political agenda. This is not a party platform. It is a revolution. The entire ruling oligarchy would be swept away if these ideas were ever implemented. Every sentence, every word, every jot and tittle of this agenda is unacceptable, repellent and hateful to America’s ruling elite.

Did you understand any of that, Sean? Who benefits from both open borders and the war? Not the American people. The various factions of our establishment aren’t concerned about us or our country; they’re interested in cheap labor (Indian, Chinese, Mexican, or any other), oil and other natural resources, manipulating our currency, selling expensive weapons systems, or implementing Utopian domestic or international agendas, etc., and maintaining social control through police-state methods and/or social engineering, primarily in order to acquire money/power for themselves and, in some cases, secondarily, for selected allies, associates, or clients.

Ron Paul sites

Here are some web sites that you can visit for more Ron Paul information. His platform is quite simple: Peace, Prosperity and Freedom. His principles and voting record are very consistent.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

http://www.dailypaul.com/

http://www.ronpauldaily.blogspot.com/

Update 8/27/07 based on comment from karl:

http://www.ronpaulforpresident2008.com/ (this is a great site)

Update 9/19/07:

http://www.paul4prez.blogspot.com/

http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul

First Post

I don't know exactly what to say on this first post. Random thoughts go through my head all day long. Hopefully, I'll be able to record some of them here. I'm interested in technology, business and politics. I'm a registered Republican and a card carrying Libertarian. I've been following the career of Ron Paul for quite a few years and am happy to see he's running for President of the USA. I'm sure there will be more on that subject in this blog.