"The Revolution a Manifesto by Ron Paul"

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

My copy arrived today!!!

I cannot wait!

[John Adams]

Let us know what you think. I'm wondering if he'll have anything new to say (or if based on my Ron Paul addiction of the past year I've already heard most of it).

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

Something that I really like is this part:

"To my supporters;

I have never been more humbled and honored then by your selfless devotion to freedom and the Constitution. The American Revolutionaries did the impossible. So Can We."

[lundbaek]

I was happy to note that all 3 copies in our Mesa, AZ public libraries are checked out and booked out for some weeks. I had to settle for the CD audio recording.

[ROB GIBBSEN]

Read it.....it was good. I grew up in Houston I knew about Ron Paul all my life. I read or heard everything in the book before. It is a good "cliff notes" version of his overall point of view.

[masterdmjg]

Just finished reading this one. There's really nothing new here for me, since I have been following Ron Paul for over a year now. But for some reason, I still loved reading it, and every time I hear Ron Paul speak or write, I seem to feel more enthusiastic about freedom and liberty in general. I would have never realized many of these arguments he makes if it weren't for his presidential run. I wanted to share a quote or two that really stuck with me:

on income tax and welfare, p. 84-85
Charles Murray offers us a useful thought experiment that illustrates the welfare state's enervating effects on our communities and our character. Imagine that the programs that constituted the federal "safety net" were all of a sudden abolished, and for whatever reason could not be revived. And pretend also that the states chose not to replace them with programs of their own, which they almost certainly would. The questions Murray wants us to focus on are these: How would you respond? Would you be more or less likely to volunteer at a food bank? Would you be more or less likely to volunteer at a literacy center? If you were a lawyer or physician, would you be more or less likely to offer pro bono services?

We would all answer yes to these questions, wouldn't we? But then we need to ask ourselves: why aren't we doing these things already? And the answer is that we have bought into the soul-killing logic of the welfare state: somebody else is doing it for me. I don't need to give of myself, since a few scribbles on a tax form fulfill my responsibility toward my fellow man. Do our responsibilities as human beings really extend no farther than this?

Now I will make a confession. For most of my short working life, I have filed a 1040, but not because I was paying income taxes, rather because I wanted the tax rebates (especially after two kids showed up in my home). I never have felt at ease about this simple act of "wealth redistribution." I come from a family that says we are not supposed to depend on these government programs. Yet at the same time, my family has shrugged this off because my father pays a shipload of taxes, and the other excuse is, "when you get to a point where you make enough money, you'll pay more than enough to make up for it."

This may be true, but I think it is a contradiction, and it is one of the mindsets the government has instilled in us very well. Our taxes supposedly go to help those in need, so it is our responsibility to pay them, and if we need to take from the government, it's not big deal because we'll "pay it back in later." I guess I never realized how terrible the fallacy was here until I read those paragraphs from the book. Ron Paul just seems to have a way of expressing his ideas in a logical, easy to understand manner.

on 9/11 and the Patriot Act, p. 114-115
The biggest problem with these new law enforcement powers is that they bear little relationship to fighting terrorism. Surveillance powers are greatly expanded, and checks and balances on government are greatly reduced, "Sneak and peek" and blanked searches are becoming more frequent every day. Most of the provisions have been sought by domestic law enforcement agencies for years, not to fight terrorism but rather to increase their police power over the American people. The federal government has not shown us that it failed to detect or prevent the September 11 attacks because it lacked the powers over our lives that is was granted under the Patriot Act.

We now know that plenty of red flags that should have alerted officials to the hijackers' plot were ignored. That was a matter of government ineptness, not a lack of surveillance power. Our officials had the evidence. They simply failed to act on it. And they then turned around and exploited their own failure as an excuse to crack down on the American people, demanding new powers that would have done nothing to prevent 9/11.

I realize some of these things are probably obvious to all of you by now, and I also don't buy the government's explanation for 9/11, but I hadn't ever thought of why the Patriot Act was such a sham in quite this way before. Very great point, Ron.

I also liked the point where he referred to his scuffle with McCain in one of the debates last year, where McCain said Ron Paul's mentality was like those who helped Hitler rise to power. Only he didn't use McCain's name. I guess he was taking the "high ground." I'll never forget that exchange, though. Great moment in McCain-stupidity history, right next to his "Viagra" response a few days ago.

Anyway, great book. Like I say, I think I know all of Ron Paul's views by now, and I just checked this one out at the public library, but I might go buy it anyway as a handy reference tool for freedom and the Constitution.

[Proud 2b Peculiar]

I loved highlighting things so that when my children read it, they will know what things I stopped and pondered about. Strange to admit probably, but I hope that Ron Paul has an even stronger effect on them through me, since he really gave me direction. I was angry I was scared, I didn't know what I could do about it, and he showed me the strength and unity in liberty, and the way to restore it. And that was all I needed, along with the gospel, and things seemed pretty clear to me.