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Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012 | 2:02 a.m.
Another view?
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The final speech by Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, on the House of Representatives floor about what we must do to get our country back on track was great.
Free market economics and individual liberty are solutions for having a prosperous and free country, unlike his colleagues’ ideas of more government or approaches to civil liberties that aren’t best to help citizens thrive.
Their solutions only bring us to a larger government and ultimately authoritarianism, which has never succeeded in the history of the world.
Paul’s libertarian principles of free markets and individuals described in his final speech should be food for thought to each person who wants true freedom in our country.
We have no privacy anymore
Why was Obama going through David Petraeus's e-mails. They never got a search warrant from a judge.
Obama fired David Petraeus as head of CIA for having sex. And Both Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelly were frequent guest in the WH.
We need to get the government out of our personal lives including our healthcare
Letter writer makes an excellent point about Representative Ron Paul. Paul consistently maintained a strong 10 plus percent of the electorate during the primaries and caucuses. And his positions and opinions won favor across party lines. I had hoped that Governor Romney would have invited Ron as a speaker rather than Rand to the GOP convention. And Ron would have campaigned for Romney. It may have influenced some libertarian GOP/Democrat voters who sat the election out to vote.
CarmineD
A hundred years ago Paul and his followers would have been labeled differently - as non-violent Anarchists.
"A hundred years ago Paul and his followers would have been labeled differently - as non-violent Anarchists." @Jim Weber
And one hundred years before that, we called them the American colonists.
CarmineD
Ah yes! Who doesn't yearn for those halcyon days of 1812.
Comment removed by moderator. - -
I agree with about 85% of what Paul stands for. But it's the other 15% that scare me and many others.
I would have preferred Ron Paul as the Republican candidate for President much rather than Mitt Romney. That is where the Republican party messed up. Will Ron Paul consider another round in 2016? Hope so!
Blessings and Peace,
Star
And I assume that Bill Miller believes that healthcare for all is a centerpiece of an Authoritarian Regime..Folks, one path to true Liberty is when you don't have to worry that one illness in your family will make you a slave for the rest of your life. Employers don't want you strong and self confident and confident in your future prospects, they want you weak and pliable so they can use this disadvantage in their negotiations with you.
Paul has put forth over 600 bills and only one has been passed to the best of my knowledge.
His campaign manager was an ardent follower. Read what happened to that poor guy!
http://gawker.com/5840024/ron-pauls-camp...
Thankfully we won't have to endure yet another Ron Paul presidential campaign. Sadly however, Ron spawned a younger version of himself who will carry on the futile family tradition of making a fool of himself while being thoroughly humiliated by the likes of a John McCain and Willard Romney.
Paul gets a nice salary, decent medical, and will get a good pension because of his years of service. It is OK for him but he doesn't want you or his campaign manager to have the same thing. Dead at 49 with $400,000 in medical bills. Go Ron!!!
Another classic hypocrite.
"Will Ron Paul consider another round in 2016? Hope so!" @Star
Don't think so. Too old.
CarmineD
"Paul gets a nice salary, decent medical, and will get a good pension because of his years of service." @Jerry Hageman
""Congressman Paul has always voted against congressional pay raises, and he not does participate in the lucrative pension program," said Jesse Benton, Paul's campaign chairman, in a statement. "Ron Paul understands that Washington has to tighten its belt just like the rest of America, which is why as president, he plans to take a salary of $39,336, which is approximately equal to the median personal income of the American worker."
The "lucrative pension" is FERS [Federal Employees Retirment System]. If he were covered, he would have 15 years government service [1997 to 2012]. He's not eligible for full retirement unless and until he has 30 years service [at full retirement he would receive about half of his current salary before a 10 percent annual deduction for survivor benefits for his wife and medical coverage]. With 15 years service, he's eligible for Social Security only, if as stated, he opted out of FERS. I have no reason not to believe he opted out of FERS.
CarmineD
The so-called republicans throw out the word "Freedom" without any definition and use it as an abstract vote getter.
The citizens need concrete solutions to our problems, not abstract words.
The election is over and yet the radical extremist republicans in Congress, especially the House of Representatives, are still are bent on their obstruction and are continuing on with witch hunt after witch hunt against President Obama and his administration, just like they did against President Clinton.
Those of you that support these radical extremist republicans in Congress should call your republican representative and senator and tell them to stop the shenanigans and get to work for the people.
You mean his new campaign manager. His philosophy killed his old one. His govt. career started when he was drafted into the military in 1963. He has held various govt. jobs on and off ever since. Being a doctor and politician isn't psychically demanding work. He will probably be in the public eye till he is 90.
Try to collect garbage or do construction work at that age.
Getting help from the govt. with education, food and medical care doesn't make the govt authoritarian.
My bet is that by retiring from Congress he's simply positioning himself for a full up WH run in 2016 (or maybe full up support for a Gary Johnson-Rand Paul run?) The country is going to have at least two more years of bipartisan gridlock, with an economy that looks increasingly fragile, making conditions ripe for the rise of an insurgent or third party beginning with the 2014 midterms. Ron Paul and his followers within the GOP, aligned with the the Liberterians, would pose a signficant threat to the establishments of both parties -- particularly west of the Mississippi where dissatisfaction with DC & gridlock run high. I doubt they could win the Presidency, but could win decisive roles in Congress if they can come up with credible candidates. They have significant vulnerabilities which could be exploited depending on candidates & platform, but with public dissatisfaction & frustration running high, they also have significant potential.
"His govt. career started when he was drafted into the military in 1963. He has held various govt. jobs on and off ever since. " @ Jerry Hageman
Paul was in the Air Force from 1963-1968, or 5 years. This service is probably covered by Social Security.
"Paul has served in Congress three different periods: first from 1976 to 1977, after he won a special election, then from 1979 to 1985, and finally from 1997 to 2012."
The first and second terms [1 year an 6 years] would have been covered by the old Civil Service Retirement System [CSRS]. Like FERS, since it is not 30 years, he is not eligible for a pension under CSRS. IF, IF, did I say IF, he transferred his CSRS service to FERS, that would give him 22 years of total government service. Still not enough to collect a pension other than Social Security. And we already know from his "Campaign Chairman" Paul opted out of FERS. So he gets notta from the Feds except SS.
CarmineD
I like that Paul actually believes what he says, and he says what he believes, even if it gets him boos at a republican primary debate.
However, he refuses to accept the realities of globalization. Isolationist policies will not bring about prosperity. They will diminish our competitiveness as a nation.
Comment removed by moderator. Same (or similar) comment posted on multiple stories.
http://www.opm.gov/retire/pre/fers/eligi...
Carmine...He was vested in FERS at 5 years and was eligible for pension benefits. You don't need 30 years to collect benefits. The longer you work the more you get.
When Paul hangs up his hat he will probably have close to some type of longevity record in terms of govt. service. In addition he will have the dubious distinction of decades of service and never getting a single piece of consequential legislation passed. He is currently approaching 700 bills and all he has to show for it is a library in Texas.
700 at bats and one base hit doesn't get you into the hall of fame.
Future: You start this thread by saying "Why was Obama going through David Petraeus's e-mails." Was he really? All by himself? He wasn't planning his tour of Asia or meeting with Union, business, and Congressional leaders, or anything else? I'd like to see your proof that Obama was actually doing this. And your proof that he was actually looking at Petraeus's copies rather than the copies sent/received by the other parties. At least one of those waived the need for a search warrant, agreeing to cooperate.
Bill......
Mr. Magoo had the recipe for failure.
This doctor was against health care reform.
Life without health care IS NOT FREEDOM!!!
Just more republican greed and ignorance.
"Carmine...He was vested in FERS at 5 years and was eligible for pension benefits. You don't need 30 years to collect benefits. The longer you work the more you get." @Gerry Hageman
First, that assumes his Campaign Chairman is not telling the truth when he says Paul opted out of the "lucrative pension." I think he is telling the truth.
Second, being vested in FERS does not mean a normal retirement and pension. It just means a partial payout based primarily on Social Security, if you meet SS eligibility. Under FERS, SS is one of the main components of the FERS retirement. The other 2 are the Thrift Savings Plan and FERS. Obviously, if you only have 5 years, or 15 years, or 22 years, it does not meet the requirement for a full pension with 30 years service. For every year under 30 years of the service, the FERS pension is reduced by 2 percent from the 50 percent level [full retirement level before 10 percent reduction for survivor benefits and medical coverage].
CarmineD
Both Pauls are just a little bit off kilter, which means they aren't playing with a full mental deck.
Why don't you go to the less government paradise: Somalia?