Talk Block with Ron Paul

I recently was sent the Foreign Policy Statement from the Ron Paul Campaign by a friendly Ron Paul supporter.

My Response:
"all those points are very good ones and even the ones I disagree with have merit behind them.

I WANT to discuss those issues. Discuss them with you, with Ron Paul, and with the rest of the LP and the wider libertarian movement.

And yet, there's the rub.

When people Ron Disagrees with want to discuss Foreign Policy, for example, he gets all wound up and angry. He uses terms like "neocon" in an inappropriate and insulting manner, and frankly a clearly incorrectly.

I don't appreciate him shutting down discussion by calling anyone names, much less calling me a "neocon".

I also don't like him calling me a "Zionist" in an inappropriate and derogatory manner.

You see, through decades of being a leader and activist in the California LP and the wider libertarian and freedom movement of Southern California, I've become allergic to that.

For too many years, the Ron Paul disciples have all spoken to me, and about me in this kind of derogatory manner.

And you know what? After a while I realized I didn't have to keep my head down and take it anymore.

It cost me a few elections, but so what?

If I were President, and I never will be, I would not only want a Donald Rumsfield as a foreign policy advisor, but I would also want a Ron Paul type. He'd have to deal with the racism problem first, but certainly his type of philosophy.

You see, I'm all for being careful about spending money overseas in any way, and doing as little as possible, if in fact doing it not at all could be achieved, so much the better.

Ron Paul accuses me of being a profligate spender of the lives of young Americans. And it's just insulting.

He shuts me and anyone else down before we can even discuss the matter with him and frankly, I'm tired of having a conversational partner that doesn't want to converse.

I feel the same way about Israel and Hamasbollah.

Ron Paul doesn't care what I say or what my concerns are.And that's my problem with him on Foreign Policy.

I'm 100% good with his positions, minus the racism, to be worthwhile points that MUST be considered before we send children and rifles overseas to settle my personal interests.

I still want to know more about Newslettergate.

I have problems with the racist comments, the racists supporters, the racist newsletters, the meetings for lunch on Tuesday at Thai food or whatever it was that Doctor Paul has never denied meeting with these people for.

I want to know about his relationship with William Carto.

I want to know why he thinks Hezbamas and Iran are morally equivalent and even superior to Israel and for him to explain how Israel ripped anyone off, much less any Palestinian Arabs.

But it all comes back to the fact that Ron Paul and his staff, supporters and friends all call me names.

I don't appreciate the Jew Zionist Neocon crap every time I say I'm concerned about some Foreign Policy Issue.

And every time Ron Paul does so, I'm going to cry racist.

Keeping the Pressure Up on Iran.

This picture is considered hilarious by the average
Iranian, showing the luxury the rulers live in.

Keeping the Pressure Up on Iran.
An inside glimpse at why we should not quit.

Bruce Cohen

The cracks are starting to show in the Iranian Regime these days.

People are freely telling jokes about the corruption and ineptitude
the Mullahs and Ahmedinijad display for all to see.

Iranians email each other pictures poking fun at the luxury the
elites live in, while Ahmedinijad preaches to the rest of the country
about how and why the US is to blame for things are getting worse.

Yes, Iranians are very, very proud at the beauty of their country.
They glow when speaking of their modern skyline and capital.
Iranians speak of how well the expat community is doing with
pride to any outsider.

But, get very far off the main drag, you'll see the poverty
and squalor creeping in.

Prices are skyrocketing on everything from food to fuel.

There is a severe electricity shortage, not to mention gasoline.

And, not so strangely, the average Iranian wants the US
to stay in Iraq, at least until Iraq is stable, and the current
Iranian regime is replaced with a democracy.

The average Iranian, not to mention the educated middle
class, all realize how Jimmy Carter set the stage for their
current predicament, the lack of freedom and prosperity.

The religious police roam the streets, bullies, looking for
anything to cause trouble, anyone to push around.

The government is so corrupt, it makes Russia seem nearly
as honest as the United States.

I just 'spoke'* with one of my sources deep inside the Iranian
government. He told me they are very concerned with the
shortage of electricity. When I asked him what the plan
was to address this issue, he said laughingly, and I quote:
“economize”.

* Google Messenger

Now, this guy gets it. He sees things as they are, not as he
wishes they would be, or how he's told they are.

He went on to parody the government's attitude towards
things by making this statement, and I again quote verbatim:
“ahmadinezhad should pay money to make turbulence in
other countires likw Iraq , Lebenon ,....” (sic)

Then he laughed again.

I concurred that their current policy doesn't make sense.

He responded to me this way, “if Iran delete from middle
east , i think this place will get silent”.

This is quite telling.

Iran is on the brink. And we don't even need to nudge
them, we just have to not back down, and there will
be an internal revolution.

The conversation closed after I agreed with his statement,
with his closing comment: “iran is as same as a naugthy
guy in a class , who doesnt let anybody concentarate on
lesson!!!!!!!!!”. Again, verbatim.

Practically speaking, Iran is politically analogous to
Jimmy Carter. The ruling junta has evil in their hearts.

While the Chinese and Russians are bad, they are more
along the lines of the Clintons. Their lust for power and
gratification take up enough of their time to where it's
hard for them to cause real trouble.

If Iran reforms, the situation in Israel stabilizes, there
will be peace and stability in Iraq. At the same time, the
price of oil and food internationally will drop dramatically.

While I do want our troops to come home, now is not the
right time.

Our exit strategy in Iraq must account for its effect on
Iran, and frankly, increasing the pressure on the current
regime will also have a side effect almost everyone will like.

Done properly, we can clean up in Iraq and get out much
faster, more safely and not leave things a mess, like we
did in Vietnam.

Code Pink be damned, more people will die if we leave now.
Ask a US Marine, and Dollars to donut holes, he'll say the
same thing, and he'll say it will be US troops dying when
they have to go back.

Copyright May 2008, Bruce Cohen