Libertarians for Ron Paul

“Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine purports to be an exposé of the ruthless nature of free-market capitalism and its chief recent exponent, Milton Friedman. Klein argues that capitalism goes hand in hand with dictatorship and brutality and that dictators and other unscrupulous political figures take advantage of “shocks”—catastrophes real or manufactured—to consolidate their power and implement unpopular market reforms. Klein cites Chile under General Augusto Pinochet, Britain under Margaret Thatcher, China during the Tiananmen Square crisis, and the ongoing war in Iraq as examples of this process.”

“Klein’s analysis is hopelessly flawed at virtually every level. Friedman’s own words reveal him to be an advocate of peace, democracy, and individual rights. He argued that gradual economic reforms were often preferable to swift ones and that the public should be fully informed about them, the better to prepare themselves in advance. Further, Friedman condemned the Pinochet regime and opposed the war in Iraq.”

“Klein’s historical examples also fall apart under scrutiny. For example, Klein alleges that the Tiananmen Square crackdown was intended to crush opposition to pro-market reforms, when in fact it caused liberalization to stall for years. She also argues that Thatcher used the Falklands War as cover for her unpopular economic policies, when actually those economic policies and their results enjoyed strong public support.”

Johan Norberg subjects Naomi Klein’s “Shock Doctrine” to fact-based analysis @ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9384

“John McCain’s idea — now embraced enthusiastically by Hillary Clinton — to temporarily suspend the federal gasoline tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day is rich fodder for energy analysts. Even richer, however, is the somewhat curious response that the proposed “tax holiday” has provoked from political actors and policy pundits of various stripes. A quick tour of the issues in play is instructive.”

“First, if there is any math out there to refute Barack Obama’s claim that the proposed tax holiday would save the average driver a grand sum of $28 — “otherwise known as $9 a month” as he puts it, or the grand sum of one-half of a tank of gas — it has escaped our attention. Of course, even that calculation presupposes that service station owners will pass on the full tax cut to the consumer — which they most definitely would not. How much of that tax cut would reach consumers is unclear. What is clear, however, is that Sen. McCain’s claim that the tax holiday would provide a powerful stimulus to the economy is risible. Sen. Clinton’s claim that the savings represents “real money” to the poor, hard-trodden masses yearning to keep their heads above water is similarly hard to swallow.”

Jerry Taylor and Jagadeesh Gokhale analyse the latest energy proposal from John McCain & Hillary Clinton @ http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=9397 

“The chief executive of the United States is no longer a mere constitutional officer charged with faithful execution of the laws. He is a soul nourisher, a hope giver, a living American talisman against hurricanes, terrorism, economic downturns, and spiritual malaise. He—or she—is the one who answers the phone at 3 a.m. to keep our children safe from harm. The modern president is America’s shrink, a social worker, our very own national talk show host. He’s also the Supreme Warlord of the Earth.”

“This messianic campaign rhetoric merely reflects what the office has evolved into after decades of public clamoring. The vision of the president as national guardian and spiritual redeemer is so ubiquitous it goes virtually unnoticed. Americans, left, right, and other, think of the “commander in chief” as a superhero, responsible for swooping to the rescue when danger strikes. And with great responsibility comes great power.”

Gene Healy examines how America got the Imperial Presidents it wished for http://www.reason.com/news/show/126020.html

Newsweek Magazine reports that John McCain’s pick to manage the Republican National Convention is a lobbyist with ties to special interest groups of the type Sen. McCain has repeatedly denounced.

Doug Goodyear and his lobbying firm, the DCI Group, have represented General Motors, ExxonMobil and other corporate clients. More problematic, the firm was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma’s military junta.

Newsweek reports: “Justice Department lobbying records show DCI pushed to “begin a dialogue of political reconciliation” with the regime. It also led a PR campaign to burnish the junta’s image, drafting releases praising Burma’s efforts to curb the drug trade and denouncing “falsehoods” by the Bush administration that the regime engaged in rape and other abuses.”

Full story http://www.newsweek.com/id/136321

Upon publication of the story on Newsweek’s website, Mr. Goodyear resigned as GOP Convention Manager.

Allen Buckley is running an active campaign as the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senator from Georgia.

Mr Buckley touts himself as a fiscal conservative for today and tomorrow. He pledges to fight for fiscal responsibilty, and to challenge the deceptions that led America into its disastrous war with Iraq.

More info @ http://buckleyforsenate.com/

In the June issue of Reason, Rep. Ron Paul and six other commentators discuss the (sorry) state of the economy. Read it here http://reason.com/news/show/126021.html 

 - As Congress attempts to put together a farm bill stacked with subsidies and other expensive programs at the taxpayer’s expense, the Libertarian Party is calling for the bill to be scrapped completely.

“It’s absurd that we’re paying farmers billions of dollars during a time of soaring crop prices,” says Libertarian Party National Media Coordinator Andrew Davis. “Taxpayers should not be subsidizing farmers while paying higher prices at the grocery store.  Congress has a unique opportunity to put farm subsidies out to pasture once and for all by not renewing the farm bill.  Farming, like any other American industry, should be left to the forces of the market, and not to the influences of government intervention.”

Full release from The Libertarian Party http://www.lp.org/media/article_582.shtml