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Crosspost from iflizwerequeen
To listen to some Ron Paul fans, one would think that he is in line right after Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
“Taint so” folks. Ron Paul is no different from the 44% of our Congress who are Wall Street multimillionaires. Like them, he too has gotten rich off the lives of workers from the 99%–not only in the USA, but the world.
But don’t take my word for it. Look up Ron Paul and his Wall Street investments in Open Secrets. Figure it out for yourself. It will have more meaning if you do.
Ron Paul increased his wealth from $3,930,000 in 2008 to $5,064,000 in 2009 – over a million dollars richer. Yep, Saint Ron Paul made over a million bucks in the Wall Street Casino at a time when millions of Americans were losing their jobs and homes. Ron Paul is no different from any other greedy millionaire Wall Street shyster that we have “representing” us in Congress.
You think Ron Paul cares about people? Think again. If he did, he would not invest in corporations known for murdering their workers.
Mr. Paul, a millionaire five times over, has several million of his assets invested in numerous mining corporations including three of the worst mining corporations in the world: Anglogold Ashanti Ltd $250,001 to $500,000 According to Forbes AngloGold Ashanti was accused in 2007 in Colombia for “murders of trade union and community leaders who opposed the company’s activities in the region”. Barrick Gold $100,001 to $250,000 Barrick Gold is known for its tactics in “suppressing dissident voices, dividing communities, and manipulating local and national politics”. And speaking of “Freedom”, Barrick Gold is famous for their lack of free, prior and informed consent for local people”. Newmont Mining $250,001 to $500,000 -In August 2004, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment filed a US $133.6 million civil lawsuit against Newmont, claiming the company’s Minahasa Raya mine contaminated local fish stocks, causing serious illness and death for nearby villagers.
Those from the 99% who think that Ron Paul represents them are at least as big of a fool as those who still buy into the myth of a two-party system.
We have a one-party Wall Street System in Washington DC today and Ron Paul is a player in that system–just like the majority in Washington DC.
Montana has the right idea. They are recalling their fakes. They are not waiting until November of 2012 to toss them out.
19 Comments
shhhh… people love Ron Paul.
I’ve often wondered why, if Ron loves freedom so much, when a working class individual goes to ‘lease’ his freedoms by working for someone else, Ron Paul wants t make sure they get as little compensation as possible for giving up thier freedoms.
That’s what happend when you work for someone else, you exchange your freedoms for thier money.
Ron Paul does criticize the war and the Obama Police State. But he is the father of Aqua Buddha who is a neo-con warmonger.
The use and disposal of cyanide solutions used to dissolve and extract gold is another environmental concern. Cyanide is a well known poison; hydrogen cyanide is acutely toxic to humans and, in its gaseous state, can be fatal at exposure levels of 100 to 300 parts per million (ppm). Cyanide is likewise harmful to wildlife such as mammals, birds, and fish which can have acute toxicity reactions to even low cyanide exposures. Cyanide does not, however, accumulate or biomagnify, so prolonged exposure to sub-toxic levels does not, in most cases, appear to pose health risks.
The most significant risk from use of cyanide solutions in gold mining is possible leaching into soil and groundwater. There exists the potential for catastrophic cyanide spills that could inundate an ecosystem with toxic levels of cyanide. In 2000, heavy rain, ice, and snow caused a breach in a tailings dam (tailings are the cyanide-treated ore wastes, from which gold has been removed) at a gold mine in Baia Mare, Romania resulting in the release of 100,000 cubic meters of cyanide-rich waste into the surrounding watershed. Drinking water supplies were cut off for 2.5 million people and nearly all of the fish in the surrounding waters were killed.
Mining operations in the U.S. and overseas now take additional precautions to prevent cyanide solution from escaping into the environment by containing the layers of ore and ground up rock in special leach pads lined with a plastic membrane to prevent leaching. The cyanide is also captured and recycled. In order to minimize the impact of cyanide not recycled, mining facilities treat the cyanide waste through several processes. They allow it to degrade naturally in sunlight (photodegredation), and through hydrolysis and oxidation, among other natural processes. Mine managers can also enhance the natural degradation, as well as use other methods to accelerate cyanide breakdown. Researchers continue to investige alternate methods of separating metals from ore, including the use of microorganisms. However, while these methods may show promise, many may work very slowly or impractical.
http://www.enviroliteracy.org/article.php/1120.html
A good question for Ron is does he think American production of Gold will jump after he does away with the EPA and all their costly environmental regulations.
Despite whatever quaint recall provisions certain states put in their constitutions, the fact remains that Senators and Congresscritters are federal officials, whose tenure in office is governed by the US Constitution. They are sworn into office in the US Capitol based on an oath in the United States constitution. Which, incidentally, has no provision for recall whatsoever.
Thanks for playing.
“A good question for Ron is does he think American production of Gold will jump after he does away with the EPA and all their costly environmental regulations.”
Holy shit: an actual, honest-to-God legitimate question. Has anyone ever asked it?
And yet, he’s the only one who will prevent the next 9/11 by ending the drone idiocy and the global military occupations. So, who ya gonna vote for? Crazy Man Obamney? Or Crazy Man Ron Paul? I’ll take the crazy doctor over the crazy Democratic Party any day.
Damn! A new reason to hate Ron Paul. He made money in mining stocks. I can understand hating him because he is a social conservative. But so are his opponents and we laugh at them while we are whipping and kicking Ron Paul. I think the real reason for the progressive hatred of Paul is that he is an anti-imperialist which goes against progressive love of centralized power. You are the folks who worked to elect Emperor Obama. Right? And rejected the anti imperialist Kucinich. Right?
Check Teddy’s comments above Liz. See what I mean about the love of central power?
I think Teddy was just pointing out the obvious, the fact that Americans haven’t got a clue about the way our government works.
> I think the real reason for the progressive hatred of Paul
> is that he is an anti-imperialist which goes against
> progressive love of centralized power.
As opposed to the feudalists’ love of their decentralized fiefdoms and “states rights”? You’re attacking a straw man. Progressives would of course have preferred Kucinich. And Ron Paul is not just a “social conservative.” I think he’s a death-worshipping Nazi pig in a folksy drooling and demented old hypocrite’s guise.
when Ron Paul starts talking about eliminating the corporation business structure (you know, the government intereference in the free market that allows corporate shareholders government granted limited liability, then we will know he is for a true ‘free market’.
If shareholders want to manage thier risk, they can buy insurance on the free market like people who would like to have health care.
You know who else lurvs Ron Paul? Bigoted assholes who advocate for executing gay people. But no doubt the Ron Paul fan club will just deny it and ridicule me for posting the link.
I get a kick out of the hilarious yet sad Ron Paul fantasy that goes “President Ron Paul will do __________ by executive fiat or whatever and the world will be a better place but Congress won’t allow Ron Paul to _____________, (batshit crazy things) because…..”? Ron Paul could single handedly change the way the MIC operates for example, (and of course would), but when it comes to his crazy, Randian ideas about the economy and his over the top, extremely prejudicial views about corporate regulation, OUR Congress is going to put a leash on him.
Right….
Paul’s price is just too high. “White-Lunch-Counters” Ron has some views I support on foreign policy and the Fed. End US imperialism; end the military-industrial complex… and overturn the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Ummmm… no thanks, Ron.
We hear so much squawking about Citizens United. Paul wants corporations to be able to do whatever they want to do. He sees it as their right.
Watch the John Birch video starring Ron “the-UN-is-going-to-prevent-us-from-practicing-our-religion” Paul and read Paul’s 2004 speech to Congress hosted, right now, on his own website. Here are the links:
Ron Paul’s John Birch Video
Ron Paul’s 2004 Speech
Thanks, Margaret, for putting what I think into such a simple construction:
As president, Ron Paul would have the power to bring all the troops home and end all our forever wars, but he wouldn’t have the power to (batshit crazy things) without the approval of Congress.
But you left part of it out:
The other possible president, Obama, would keep the killing going, and would cooperate with Congress to (batshit crazy things), as he has already demonstrated so successfully.
However, if President Ron Paul tried to (batshit crazy things), this country would erupt, while if President Obama gets a chance to continue to (batshit crazy things), the liberals will keep sitting on their stupid hands.
Therefore, voting for Ron Paul in the Republican primaries is the best antiwar demonstration we can participate in right now, and might save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Iran and Afganistan.
If, on the other hand, Ron Paul turns out to be as dishonest as Obama, nothing will change: the killing will continue, and so will the police state, the destruction of the environment, and the destruction of our lives. But at least we won’t have to listen to any more of Obama’s lying rhetoric.
Consider yourself ridiculed, Margaret.
Guilt by association is really low. The next step after that is collective punishment.
All the Paulbots just assume that given the power of the presidency, Paul would only implement – in an orderly fashion – their favorite policies. Another unspoken assumption is that he would go no farther than his campaign proposed. No need to worry about all those race warriors who support him now. They won’t expect anything.
Thanks. You made my point. Feudalists? Nazi pigs?
All of these comments are spot-on about Paul. He would be a disaster as president, but then I can’t seem to identify any of the candidates, including the Mighty Obamaz, that would not make a disastrous president. We all vote for whoever the uni-party bifurcation thinks is acceptable. That is, who can, at this moment, be most effective in maintaining the status quo and the advantage of the one-percenters. Obama has done his part and, judging by the motley bunch of idiots the Repubs are presenting, he has earned another 4 years to lead us down the yellow brick road, in the estimation of the plutocracy. But you all know that. Voting should not be seen anymore as a serious function, it represents merely the opportunity to inflict chaos into the system by recording protest votes, if voting machines will count them anymore.