[wvns] Ron Paul: Terrorism Prevention Act
Violent Radicalization & Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act, HR 1955
Before the US House of Representatives
December 5, 2007
Rep. Ron Paul, M.D.
http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2007/cr120507h.htm
Madame Speaker, I regret that I was unavoidably out of town on October
23, 2007, when a vote was taken on HR 1955, the Violent Radicalization
& Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act. Had I been able to vote, I would
have voted against this misguided and dangerous piece of legislation.
This legislation focuses the weight of the US government inward toward
its own citizens under the guise of protecting us against "violent
radicalization."
I would like to note that this legislation was brought to the floor
for a vote under suspension of regular order. These so-called
"suspension" bills are meant to be non-controversial, thereby negating
the need for the more complete and open debate allowed under regular
order. It is difficult for me to believe that none of my colleagues in
Congress view HR 1955, with its troubling civil liberties
implications, as "non-controversial."
There are many causes for concern in HR 1955. The legislation
specifically singles out the Internet for "facilitating violent
radicalization, ideologically based violence, and the homegrown
terrorism process" in the United States. Such language may well be the
first step toward US government regulation of what we are allowed to
access on the Internet. Are we, for our own good, to be subjected to
the kind of governmental control of the Internet that we see in unfree
societies? This bill certainly sets us on that course.
This seems to be an unwise and dangerous solution in search of a real
problem. Previous acts of ideologically-motivated violence, though
rare, have been resolved successfully using law enforcement
techniques, existing laws against violence, and our court system. Even
if there were a surge of "violent radicalization" -- a claim for which
there is no evidence -- there is no reason to believe that our
criminal justice system is so flawed and weak as to be incapable of
trying and punishing those who perpetrate violent acts.
This legislation will set up a new government bureaucracy to monitor
and further study the as-yet undemonstrated pressing problem of
homegrown terrorism and radicalization. It will no doubt prove to be
another bureaucracy that artificially inflates problems so as to
guarantee its future existence and funding. But it may do so at great
further expense to our civil liberties. What disturbs me most about
this legislation is that it leaves the door wide open for the broadest
definition of what constitutes "radicalization." Could otherwise
non-violent anti-tax, antiwar, or anti-abortion groups fall under the
watchful eye of this new government commission? Assurances otherwise
in this legislation are unconvincing.
In addition, this legislation will create a Department of Homeland
Security-established university-based body to further study
radicalization and to "contribute to the establishment of training,
written materials, information, analytical assistance and professional
resources to aid in combating violent radicalization and homegrown
terrorism." I wonder whether this is really a legitimate role for
institutes of higher learning in a free society.
Legislation such as this demands heavy-handed governmental action
against American citizens where no crime has been committed. It is yet
another attack on our Constitutionally-protected civil liberties. It
is my sincere hope that we will reject such approaches to security,
which will fail at their stated goal at a great cost to our way of life.
===
Ron Paul is least radical, most constitutional candidate
By ANDREW MEYER
http://www.alligator.org/articles/2007/11/30/opinion/columns/column2.txt
A political radical is "someone holding political views of far left or
right varieties, or simply of an extreme kind. They are so named
because they desire change at the 'roots' of society," according to
Wikipedia.
Ron Paul is not far left or far right. He is, however, a Libertarian.
I think most Americans would agree the state should have as little
power as possible over its people. The government is supposed to work
for us, not the other way around.
When Paul talks about abolishing the Internal Revenue Service, this is
exactly what he's talking about.
"Even today, individual income taxes account for only approximately
one-third of federal revenue. Eliminating one-third of the proposed
2007 budget would still leave federal spending at roughly $1.8
trillion - a sum greater than the budget just 6 years ago in 2000!
Does anyone seriously believe we could not find ways to cut spending
back to 2000 levels?" Paul said on his Web site.
The IRS is an institution we can do without. Abolishing the IRS isn't
radical - establishing it in the first place was.
The "mainstream" candidates, the ones promoting a fiscal policy that
will destroy the dollar and American jobs, the ones who promote war -
these are the radical candidates.
Paul supporters are constantly fired up because Paul promotes freedom,
truth, liberty and justice, the values America was founded on.
It isn't just college students. Millions of people love Paul because
he isn't lying. Most politicians are just that - politicians. These
people are professional liars hiding their true interests. They work
for the billionaires who fund their campaigns, who promote imperialism
and assassinations ("regime change") around the world.
Paul can win. His stance on abortion is the same as his stance on gay
marriage and the war on drugs.
These issues should not be the business of the federal government: The
government should work for the people, not police them. He represents
the change progressive Americans so desperately want and need.
America will not find peace by sending men and women with guns to
other countries.
Imperialism. Assassination. These are not words that should be
associated with America.
The media and the billionaires want you to believe Paul cannot win
because they do not want you to hope, to dream of a better world for
you and your children. They want all of the money and the power for
themselves. Turn off your televisions. The truth isn't on the boob
tube - it's on YouTube.
Paul will not only end the war in Iraq, he will bring the troops home
from around the world. Paul will stop the vicious cycle of inflation,
the devaluing of the American dollar and the destruction of American
jobs and lives.
Paul means peace.
As my favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle once said, "That's radical."
Andrew Meyer is a senior majoring in telecommunication.
===
Ron Paul: Right on Iran
http://www.ronpaullibrary.org/document.php?id=1009
Ron Paul Press Release
December 4 , 2007
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - The National Intelligence Estimate on Iran,
released yesterday, reinforces Ron Paul's position that a pre-emptive
attack on Iran – an option advocated by other GOP presidential
candidates – would be unwise and unwarranted.
Congressman Paul issued the following statement in response to the report:
"We needlessly and foolishly threaten Iran even though they have no
nuclear weapons. I find it incomprehensible that as the failure of our
Iraq policy becomes more evident, some want the same kind of policy
toward Iran. A policy of peace, trade and diplomacy, is superior."
The report's finding that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in
2003 supports Congressman Paul's view that military action against
Iran is contrary to American national security. The report found that
any Iranian nuclear weapon capability is not imminent, and noted that
the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research judges that
Iran is unlikely to have the capability to produce a nuclear weapon
before 2013.
"While candidates with virtually zero foreign policy experience like
Rudy Giuliani are advocating escalation, Dr. Paul – an Air Force
veteran and member of the House Foreign Relations Committee – has been
a staunch opponent of expanding war into Iran," said Ron Paul
spokesman Jesse Benton. "More than any other candidate, Ron Paul
understands that America cannot afford to make the same mistakes with
Iran that were made with Iraq."
===
The freewheeling tactics of his supporters have made the GOP candidate
an Internet sensation and an unlikely phenomenon.
By James Rainey, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
December 1, 2007
The late-fall night fairly crackled with energy -- from a persistent
Santa Ana wind, the high-tension power lines overhead and, especially,
from the crowd packed inside the living room of a ranch house at the
west end of the San Gabriel Valley.
Eighty people sat elbow to elbow on tight rows of folding chairs,
chattering with enthusiasm and ideas. They would produce wall
calendars and a concert. They would reenact the Boston Tea Party on
the Santa Monica Pier. They would write to every independent voter in
Iowa.
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The foot soldiers of the Ron Paul Revolution, Pasadena Division, were
only getting started.
Founded nine months ago by one of the first followers of the Texas
congressman and Republican presidential candidate, the Pasadena
"meetup" spawned more than 1,200 similar groups that claim nearly
77,000 members nationwide.
These fervent supporters and their freewheeling tactics have helped
turn Paul into, first, an Internet sensation and, now, this political
season's most unlikely phenomenon.
A 45-year-old artist and adventurer is bicycling from Santa Monica to
the Jefferson Memorial in Washington to raise awareness about Paul. A
Nevada brothel owner recently promised to take up a collection from
her customers. One Colorado backer quickly raised more than $350,000
online this week, with a plan to launch a Ron Paul blimp.
"It's bigger than one. It's bigger than a group," Juliet Annerino, a
Silver Lake fitness trainer and singer, said at the recent gathering
of the Pasadena group. "We are making history right now. Right here."
Paulites tend to be tech-savvy, tired of traditional politics and
suspicious of their government and the mainstream media.
But after that, they defy categories. A quick survey of the Pasadena
group found Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and Constitution
Party followers uniting behind some or all of the Paul libertarian
agenda -- ending the war in Iraq, abolishing gun control laws,
legalizing marijuana and dismantling big hunks of the U.S. government,
especially the IRS and Federal Reserve system.
"I think you could build a case that Ron Paul is part of a tradition
of those unhappy with the iron grip of the status quo, from Ross Perot
to Ralph Nader right back to Teddy Roosevelt and the Bull Moose
Party," said Bruce Buchanan, a professor of government at the
University of Texas at Austin. "What they all have in common is a
freedom from the normal tendencies toward caution and equivocation."
National polls and most political analysts still make Paul a long
shot, though he recently climbed into fourth place (with 8%) in three
surveys in the early primary state of New Hampshire.
His biggest splash before that came Nov. 5, when an online effort (in
web-speak, a "money bomb") brought in $4.2 million, one of the largest
single-day hauls in the history of political fundraising.
For months, the one-time obstetrician-gynecologist and Air Force
flight surgeon had been a growing phenomenon on the Internet; his
YouTube videos and website ( www.ronpaul2008.com) had become more
popular than any other presidential candidate's, Republican or Democratic.
Those were heady achievements for a campaign that did not exist until
January, when a handful of Paul enthusiasts -- two of whom met while
promoting a documentary on the government's failure to search for POWs
allegedly still held in Southeast Asia -- came together in Hollywood.
Over two days in a suite at a Comfort Inn, the organizers mapped out
the rudiments of Paul's website.
"Nothing was going fast enough for people," said Bill Dumas, who
participated in the early strategy sessions. "They were really excited
and wanted more ways to participate."
In particular, the Paulites wanted to organize and meet with each
other. Believing it would take too long to create an organization,
Dumas signed on with the social networking site Meetup.com.
He formed the Pasadena group for Ron Paul 2008 in March and put a link
on Paul's website to help others start meetup groups. "It was quickly
just bombarded," said Dumas, 51. "People began starting their own
meetups all over the country."
Paul said in a recent television appearance that even he was surprised
by the fervent response. "We are tapping into this sense of
frustration," he said.
At the recent Pasadena meeting -- held at the La Cañada Flintridge
home of Bill Johnson, an international corporate lawyer -- two young
men described their plan to send hand-written letters to Iowa's
700,000 independent voters, urging them to register Republican and
turn out for Paul at the Jan. 3 caucuses.
Annerino talked about two fundraisers she had on the drawing board --
a "Rock for Ron Paul" concert Jan. 17 in Hollywood and a "Hotties for
Ron Paul" 2008 wall calendar.
Yoga teacher Steven Vincent, 42, finished a brisk series of
announcements about his many initiatives for Paul (including video
webcasts he delivers each weekday from his Studio City living room at
ronpaulfreedommessage.com) with the coup de grace: a march on Dec. 16,
the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party.
Vincent beamed as he envisioned a procession through Santa Monica,
with participants toting mock tea crates, labeled "welfare state,"
"IRS" and such. (The event will coincide with another Paul money bomb,
which volunteers hope will raise $10 million online in a single day.)
He said the procession would continue to the end of the Santa Monica
Pier, where the symbols of government excess would be dumped into the
bay -- and immediately hauled out to prevent any pollution. Vincent
told the gathering: "It will be a great visual event."
Insurgent campaigns rely on such bursts of creativity to keep
enthusiasm high, said Zephyr Teachout, director of online organizing
for Howard Dean, the Vermont governor whose Internet fundraising
helped him leap to the front of the 2004 Democratic primary field.
"If you want people to do more, you have to break the stamp-licker
paradigm," said Teachout, meaning that volunteers should be allowed to
do more than get out the mail.
Unlike Dean, who had five organizers shepherd meetup groups with
agendas and regular conference calls, the Paul chapters are
"completely decentralized," according to Kerri Price, a Paul spokeswoman.
Paul volunteers take pride in making their own rules. "Authority,"
said one young man at the start of the Pasadena meetup, "will never be
true."
Paulites also don't hesitate to criticize the candidate's small
professional campaign staff, as evidenced last week when many
followers flamed fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak. The protesters,
calling Bydlak an "idiot," among other things, said his demand for
immediate contributions would steal attention from the Tea Party event.
Given the cacophonous voices gathered under the Paul tent, at least a
little dissension should hardly be surprising. At the recent gathering
in La Cañada Flintridge, Paul activists described voting in the past
for candidates ranging from President Bush and Democratic Sen. John F.
Kerry, to Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan and Ross Perot.
Yoga teacher Vincent, 42, was not the only one who said he had been
too disillusioned to ever vote before: "What's happening right now is
a paradigm shift in American politics. These divisions --
Democrat-Republican, conservative-liberal -- are breaking down . . .
because there is really no distinction any more between the parties."
Even as they have gained momentum and attention, Paul supporters still
believe they are a breed apart. They talk openly about how some
outsiders see them -- as obsessed and perhaps a little loopy.
"How many of you wear tinfoil hats and dance the macarena?" co-host
Don Mooney asked at the start of the recent Pasadena meetup. The crowd
laughed. Bryce Shonka quipped that the letters to Iowa independents
might include this line: "I'm a normal American. I'm not a fringe-er."
Most of the 20 Paul followers interviewed over the course of a week
hewed to the candidate's limited-government themes. But others
described Paul as the antidote to alleged conspiracies that ranged
from aerial spraying of toxic "chemtrails," to the coverup of the true
source of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center implosions to a plan to
force America into a single world government.
Columnist Mona Charen recently argued that, though Paul has not
directly supported such theories, he had not done enough to defuse his
"conspiracy-minded fans." She is one of many journalists who has been
bombarded with e-mails, sometimes angry and profane, after writing
critically about the candidate.
Paul supporters said in interviews they didn't condone harsh tactics,
but some in their camp had become bitter because of the short shrift
they said the mainstream media had given their candidate.
The Paulites remain stalwart. If their candidate doesn't win the
Republican nomination, many are determined to push a third-party run,
even though Paul has said he doesn't welcome it. They feel they've
already beaten the conventional wisdom and those who would belittle them.
Vincent concludes e-mails with a line from Mahatma Gandhi: "First they
ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
james.rainey @ latimes.com
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