I NEVER thought the day would come that I'd cheer on Ron Paul

[Matariki]

http://fdlaction.firedoglake.com/2010/11/18/ron-paul-introduces-american-traveler-dignity-act-encourages-tsa-opt-out-day/

Ron Paul introduces legislation that aims to “protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by Federal Transportation Security Administration employees”:

The argument from the executive branch is that when you buy a ticket you have sacrificed your rights, and it’s the duty of the government to make us safe. And that isn’t the cases. You never have to sacrifice your rights. The duty of the government is to protect our rights.

From the floor of the House, he blasts the TSA and Michael Chertoff for lining people’s pockets at the public’s expense:

We are not safer, and we also know there are individuals who are making money off this. Michael Chertoff! I mean here’s the guy who was the head of the TSA selling the equipment. And the equipment’s questionable. We don’t even know if it works, and it may well be dangerous to our health.

[notadmblnd]

1. he hasn't ascended to the throne yet

how can he be introducing bills?

[pepperbear]

2. uh uhm er.....

that might be rand you're thinking about.

[notadmblnd]

4. you're right. thanks

[Matariki]

3. You're confusing him with his son, Rand Paul n/t

[w8liftinglady]

5. ron Paul supporters were in Ft Worth in 2005 protesting the Repub party..anti-war to the max

He has always been a little different.At one time,He was a Libertarian,one of the few that ever was elected in Texas.

[Matariki]

8. Refresh my memory - he said some provocative things in the 2008 primary?

Or am I thinking of a different Republican?

By provocative, I mean things that many folks at DU cheered him on a bit for.

[reggie the dog]

31. yes here is the good and the bad

the bad, he is morally opposed to abortion except in cases of rape and when the mother's health is at risk and thinks it should be a states right issue, the good he respects rowe v wade and as a physician would not refuse to perform an abortion

more good, he wants to legalize drugs, not just marijuana, all drugs to break the mafia and increase the health of users (he is a doctor)

EVEN BETTER HE VOTED AGAINST THE PATRIOT ACT AND PATRIOT ACT II

HE ALSO VOTED AGAINST WAR IN AFGHANISTAN AND AGAINST THE WAR IN IRAQ!

he is also AGAINST corporate welfare on many occasions he explains that if we cut corporate welfare we could use the money to give welfare aid to our own people

he is also opposed to the idea that corporations are "people"

he also wants to go back to the gold standard and dismantle the "federal reserve" which as he explains is just a private bank....

if i am not mistaken he opposed gay marriage but supported a similar contract which had all the same benefits but did not use the word marriage but i could be wrong about that one

he is pretty damn good at defending our liberties with the large exception of NOT defending the right to abort.

[NuclearDem]

44. He was the one who mentioned blowback in the Repub primary

And the idiots in the audience cheered when Guiliani brought up 9/11 to shut him down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD7dnFDdwu0

There's the excerpt.

[Warpy]

6. Ron Paul is the archetype of the stopped clock

He's right twice a day. He's right about pulling out of foreign bases, he's right about cutting the Pentagon budget, he's right about declaring victory and ending Stupid's wars. He's right about hazing airline passengers. The would be bombers who have carried explosives on their persons have been caught by observant fellow passengers, which is where the real line of defense is and always has been.

Groping anyone's genitals is inappropriate. Groping a child's genitals is unconscionable.

[marmar]

7. De acuerdo.

:thumbsup:

[durkermaker]

9. i dont agree with some of his positions, but he's been consistently anti-war

and against creating our own problems in the middle east

[Matariki]

11. You're right. I forgot about that.

I like the legislation he introduced today, I like what he said, and I like that he called out the profiteering aspect of the scanners on the House floor.

[reggie the dog]

32. dont forget

he is against corporate welfare and corporate influence in government and wants to legalize drugs

[superduperfarleft]

10. He's an old school libertarian/paleocon.

Think Republicans who smoke dope.

His opposition to this is more of an objection to government as a whole, not some brave stand he's taking for the benefit of the American people.

[durkermaker]

14. his linking of terrorism as 'blowback' for cia stunts like 1953 iran coup took guts

when he mentioned it in a republican debate to a group of neocons

[superduperfarleft]

15. And I agree with many libertarians on foreign policy, especially in that instance.

It's the logical conclusion of their philosophy that I want no part of, therefore I'd be hesitant to "join forces" with someone like him.

I oppose most foreign interventions out of human rights concerns. Libertarians oppose foreign intervention because they don't want to pay for it. That's the difference.

[reggie the dog]

35. it is not just the money

some libertarians are like that but others simply think that it is none of our business and that we should not meddle in the affairs of other countries.

[reggie the dog]

34. he does not smoke dope

but thinks it should be legal for people like me to do it, he also favors ALL drug legalization...

[leftstreet]

12. BREAKING: A Libertarian advocates private contracting and union busting

Paul says the solution to security problems at US airports is to allow the private sector to provide their own security instead of using a government bureaucracy.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/ron-paul-introduces-american-traveler-dignity-act/

How shocking.
Somebody get me some smelling salts

[Chulanowa]

16. Why should government get an exclusive pass for sexual assault?

[Matariki]

19. I wish people would stop turning this into an either/or issue

You are probably correct about the union busting, BUT that doesn't negate the serious issues of a government agency gone to far in it's assault on rights to privacy and dignity.

[leftstreet]

23. But the answer to the problem isn't to punish the workers

You're absolutely correct that citizens should be interested in human rights. But privatizing this agency won't exempt it from the same search procedures they're using now.

It just tosses 50,000+ workers into the minimum wage pool and hands millions to the shareholders and officers of a private security firm

[Matariki]

27. Where, for instance, is Ron Paul's legislation suggesting punishing TSA workers as a whole?

He's trying to establish a level of accountability and end a policy that in any other situation would be sexual abuse or harassment.

[leftstreet]

28. He plainly states his 'solution' is to turn to the private sector

That destroys his credibility

When law enforcement harasses and abuses citizens, this same crowd of Libertarian nuts doesn't start screaming for privatization.

[bluetrain]

39. I believe the term is: sexual battery

[elehhhhna]

29. He thinks the airlines and airports should pay for it -- not the taxpayer.

Can't say it's a horrible idea. It has some merit.

[leftstreet]

30. You mean the way Halliburton, Boeing, McDonnell/Douglas pay for the war?

And not the taxpayers?

You can't be serious

[elehhhhna]

38. say what? IIRC he thinks we should cut the above companies off

knock off this perpetual world-cop/warmaker stuff, and close the offshore bases. (Over 100 in Germany, alone.)

He has about 3 good points which he then ruins overall by being an idiot about the rights of women.

I don't get your analogy. Long day.

[walldude]

48. TSA is a private company.

So is the company that makes the scanners, which Chertoff is now the spokesman for after he gave them the contract while he was Homeland Security Secretary.

This is a big scam. There is no "safety" involved, it's nothing more than an ingenious way for us to pay a private company to invade our privacy.

[HuckleB]

51. What do you mean that TSA is a private company?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_Security_Administration

[csziggy]

13. During the election on of Rand Paul's campaign guys was harassed by TSA

When flying with donations in a locked metal box. I can't find the link now, but he refused to tell them where they money came from and was threatened with arrest when he kept responding to the question with a question of his own, "Am I legally obligated to answer that question?"

So not surprising that Ron Paul is pushing back against the TSA. More power to him - TSA has gone beyond what should be permitted to happen in this country. Since the Democratic Party will not fight for our rights, let the Libertarians do it.

[the redcoat]

17. He's nothing like his son.

I may not agree with him 100%, but I respect him more than I do some democrats. Definitely a man of principle.

[W_HAMILTON]

18. It's nice to see there's apparently something Democrats and Teabaggers can agree about...

...even though I disagree with both.

I don't see the problem with the TSA. A quick pat down is not the end of the world, people.

I don't see why people are getting so up in a tizzy over this.

[leftstreet]

20. Last Friday the FLRA decided TSA workers can vote on union representation

That's part of it

Although the capitalist class has been waging a steady assault on privatizing ALL govt agencies and services

[W_HAMILTON]

21. Well, now that makes sense...

...I was wondering why the hell this has become such an issue over the last couple of weeks.

[Matariki]

22. The issue is a whole hell of a lot MORE than 'a quick patdown'.

I'm not even going to bother, there are about a kabillion articles on DU alone that you can read to educate yourself as to why so many people are 'getting in a tizzy'.

[Matariki]

24. PS - reading your post as you disagree with both Democrats and Teabaggers

All Democrats?

[yawnmaster]

25. I don't know that its the teabaggers we can agree with...more like libertarians. eom

[reggie the dog]

36. we will see how you feel when they are groping

your teenaged daughters tits and rubbing her between the legs and feeling your little boy's balls an cock, or when they are grabbing at your girfriends tits or your dick (reverse of course if you are a woman

[Pacifist Patriot]

46. If you don't see the problem and still think it's a quick pat down you aren't paying attention.

[KillCapitalism]

26. 25% of his views are alright...

the other 75%, just plain crazy & teabaggerish.

Personally, I love the way he slams Bernanke and the Fed over QE. More of our elected officials need to be denouncing the Fed.

[hlthe2b]

33. Ron is the real deal (though I disagree on most things)...

not a blatant idiot like his son. :thumbsup: Ron

[GSLevel9]

37. He's good on a few issues...

In fact he's better on THOSE issues than those in the Admin.

[LLStarks]

40. Ron is amazing in small doses.

I have a very short list of Republicans I respect and he's consistently at the top if you ignore the stupid stuff he says when he's not a personal rights or anti-war hero.

[Raine]

41. He's an ass but still I have to agree with him on this. nt

[sabrina 1]

42. I cheered him on during the Bush years many times when he was

the sole Republican to speak out against war and consistently voted against funding wars. He is also the only person, Republican or Democrat I have heard question whether our foreign policies over the past six decades might have been wrong. He gave a speech titled 'What if we were wrong' in which he questions our policies during the fight against Communism.

I often wished I would hear some Democrats speak out as clearly on when this country should engage in foreign wars.

On the security issue I would have expected him to speak out as it is consistent with his views on the destruction of our Constitutional rights. Again, I hope we will hear Democrats speak out as strongly on this issue also.

[Codeine]

43. Ron Paul is a whacko racist libertarian piece of rancid shit

and we needn't give his filthy musings credence even when it's one of those once-in-a-million moments where you may agree with him.

[Matariki]

49. See post above yours...

I don't see how his speech defending privacy rights is 'filthy musings' :shrug:

Maybe there's just too much knee-jerk hate in the body politic?

[NNN0LHI]

45. Look you agree with the teabaggers too

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9582326

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. Well he IS a one trick pony

Albeit an important one. Realize part of his goal is that the private sector does this better.

And yes I have cheered him on as well, on the war he's right.

[Matariki]

50. I agree with you completely about the private sector aspect of this, however -

he is also addressing the POLICIES themselves - not advocating that private companies would do the groping better.

Now, the question is, does his piece of legislation merely address the scanners and groping, or does it also include privatization?

[nadinbrzezinski]

52. Here is what NOBODY in power is really addressing

that this security theater doesn't work. He knows that this goes too far, so he sees this as a chance to move this to the private sector, never mind the private sector would still be required to do this.

I called my congress critter today.

Here are some things to point out.

1.- This was actually voted down in the Congress, yet they got the stim money? How?

2.- This violates the fourth amendment.

3.- Security theater does not work.

4.- Other nations are laughing at us, not with us.

and finally.

5.- Time to finally reach for those who have been doing this effectively with few (yes they do have them) civil rights violations. That means using the Israelis, and swallow our damn pride... for deep cultural reasons we like to invent the wheel every time.

We really need to put pressure in more ways than one. Oh and as my hubby pointed out, do call an airline or two and point out why YOU ARE NOT traveling, assuming you are not, or reducing it to the absolute minimum, if you still have to. (I suspect go to meeting will get a boost in bidness, just saying)

[avaistheone1]

53. Great post nadinbrzezinski

:kick: