Ron Paul
Six Stars for Ron Paul's Consistent Constitution–50 one liners, May 10, 2011
I have read and reviewed earlier books by Ron Paul, such as The Revolution: A Manifesto and A Foreign Policy of Freedom: Peace, Commerce, and Honest Friendship. This book moves into a higher class (only 10% of the books I read and review get 6 Stars, see all my reviews in 98 categories at Phi Beta Iota the Public Intelligence Blog). I decided in this instance, thinking of Ron Paul as a viable Presidential candidate for the first time, to deconstruct the book down to 50 one liners. I offer these as a short form of the book, not a substitute for the real deal, but intended to help inspire more people to either buy the book, or absorb this free summary as we all try to break free of the corrupt two-party tyranny that fronts for a neo-fascist state.
Bottom line: liberty is a human condition diminished by a leviathan state.
Below: one line summary of each of the 50 chapters. See also the review by A. Maheshwari that I liked so much I cross-posted it to Phi Beta Iota for others to appreciate.
Abortion is an act of violence against a living defenseless human–and for states to legislate.
Assassination is immoral and illegal–everyone should have a right to public trial.
Austrian Economics focuses on individual, is opposite of central state-centric economic control.
Bipartisanship perpetuates bad ideas that favor the corporate state.
Business Cycle is mis-directed, mis-led, by Central Bank manipulation of interest rates.
Campaign Finance Reform is a side show–the real challenge is reducing size & scope of government.
Capital Punishment should at least be up to each state, and ideally set aside in favor of life punishment.
Central Intelligence Agency has a mostly failed record, $80 billion for IC not worth it, need to “re-set.”
Civil Disobedience as long as it is non-violent is an essential check on power, especially on war matters.
Conscription is not in the Constitution, can never be fair, is de facto slavery, leads to totalitarianism.
Demagogues are nurtured in political systems that reward co-manipulation of truth with the media.
Democracy is not same as a Republic; majoritarian rule can be totalitarian and unconstitutional.
Discrimination is not ably-addressed by laws–egalitarianism should be left to the social domain.
Education is USA is bankrupt–government presence unconstitutional–should be locally controlled.
Empire is when a lot of people hate us for invading countries, supporting dictators, starving people.
Envy is a driving force for encouraging government intervention against the rich. No mention of fraud.
Evolution versus Creation should be local state issue. Empire and global death hardly reflects evolution.
Executive Power stems from corruption of the Constitution and includes granting of dictatorial powers.
Foreign Aid fosters corruption by the government intermediaries. We should only export ideas.
Four Freedoms (speech, religion, want, fear) actually foster government growth toward Empire
Global Warming is not something bureaucrats can manage, very skeptical, leave this to the market.
Gun Control is a precursor to genocide. Gun-free zones harmful. Armed society is a polite society.
Hate Crimes is another area where government intervention is harmful, a mis-use of the law.
Immigration arises as an issue in part because of government-mandated mistakes and free services.
Insurance is not insurance when government provides it–grossly misleading, corporate welfare.
Keynesianism has been used by governments to grow and manipulate economies including inflation.
Lobbying is in the Constitution as “petitioning” but sharply limiting size of government contains damage.
Marriage should be interpreted as a First Amendment right, be tolerant of varied definitions.
Medical Care “insurance” is a guarantee, unaffordable. Need to increase doctors, get corporations out.
Monetary Policy is inevitably speculative excess, government manipulating is harmful. Choice needed.
Moral Hazard occurs when belief in reimbursement increases risky behavior. Defines big government.
Morality in Government virtually non-existent. Connection between means, ways, and ends lost.
Noble Lie is not noble, and all too characteristic of the neo-conservatives and other grand schemers.
Patriotism demands honesty–lying is not patriotic. Useless unjustified wars are not patriotic.
Political Correctness is a form of thought control–thought police embedded in government.
Prohibition not compatible with free society. Government regulates everything. Relax on drugs.
Public Land inevitably is dominated by special interests. One third land mass is federal. Should not be.
Racism is used to shore up government power, leverages personal prejudices for political effect.
Religion and Liberty go together–secular dictators and democracies far more oppressive.
Security is destroying liberty. Patriot Act a terrible misdirection of government.
Slavery is about ownership and control of one by another. Government is enslaving all of us.
States' Rights–Americans disgusted–increasing talk of nullification and secession. Taxes not working.
Statistics need validation by other parties–they encourage “control” meme and that is bad.
Surveillance by government is out of control. Would be nice to have a monitor on every bureaucrat.
Taxes from 16th Amendment gave government a claim on individual productivity. Need to turn back.
Terrorism is a tactic and a response to foreign incursions by the USA and US support for dictators.
Torture is sadistic cruelty, ineffective, and contagious. Torture is wrong and should not be condoned.
Trade Policies include sanctions and blockades and are a form of asserting empire. They do no good.
Unions should be voluntary, not mandated, and government should not be in wage business.
Zionism has been a cultural blessing for Israel and the Jewish faith, but tough on US and Palestinians.
The chapters on Empire, Executive Power, Immigraiton, and Religion & Liberty were longer than most other chapters. I will mention that Mike Huckabee lost me completely when he so very ignorantly came out in favor of waterboarding and torture, while Ron Paul nails it in his own chapter. I am a former spy, and proud to have been among those–including Stansfield Turner–who signed the letter to Senator John McCain against torture. On that one issue, Huckabee shows himself to be out of touch with reality, while Ron Paul is firmly grounded in both reality and the world of ethics.
Here are eight other books–within the Amazon limit of 10 links in any given review–that I recommend in addition to this one.
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
1776
The Thirteen American Arguments: Enduring Debates That Define and Inspire Our Country
What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States
JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters
An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King (Updated)
The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship
The End of America: Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot
All of the books I have written are both here at Amazon and also free online. See especially ELECTION 2008: Lipstick on the Pig, including the chapters on the substance of governance, the issues, and legitimate grievances. The US Government is “out of control” in every possible sense of the word, our electoral and governance systems are completely lacking in ethical or intellectual or strategic integrity, and the time has come, I personally believe, to reject the two-party tyranny and demand restoration of a small government Of, By, and For We the People. The ONE issue I have with Ron Paul is that he refuses to embrace Electoral Reform 2.2 (9 points, 1 page) and confront the fact that across all 50 states, the electoral system is rigged to block out Independents, Libertarians, Greens–anyone not “blessed” by one of the two criminally-oriented parties that have shut out the other 63 parties from public service. Love the book, admire the man, hoping for the best.
