RedStateEclectic

The Tale of Two Pauls: The Apostle and the Doctor

Chris Van Landingham discusses the irony of the question "What Would Jesus Do?" being asked at the Republican debate.  His suggestion, in a nutshell, is that with the exception of Ron Paul, the Republican candidates are largely hypocrites for courting the Religious Right, claiming to be followers of Jesus, and then promoting war and the death penalty:

Would Jesus use the death penalty? Mike Huckabee cleverly dodged the question by stating that Jesus is not a politician. After all Huckabee, who does support the death penalty, is a Baptist minister who ceaselessly touts his devotion to Jesus’ teachings. Yet any Christian who has bothered to read any of Jesus’ word would realize that Jesus would not support the death penalty. I am sure we are all glad, as Huckabee pointed out, that Jesus is not a politician because chicken-hawks, such as Huckabee, probably would not vote for him.

He goes on and reads the words of Paul in the Second Letter to the Corinthians 10:3-4, and thinks that Ron Paul is he only one who is really proposing a policy which would be consistent with the teaching of Christ. He concludes:

We should take the advice of both Pauls when dealing with foreign policy. We should set a good example at home, and spread our ideals of freedom through peaceful means, not bombs falling from the sky. None of the other Republican candidates endorse this view. Even Huckabee who, like President Bush, wears his faith on his sleeve to make sure everyone knows that he is a Christian.

LLE

Half a Million Plus

While Politico is calling today's "money bomb" for Ron Paul a "dud", it's important to remember that this is all relative.  Yes, the $500,000+ that has come in so far (with about 1 1/2 hours left in the day) is well below the $4.3 million raised on November 5, but it's still a significant sum of cash when you consider two thing: 1) this particular money bomb got a late start on promotion--it was thrown in as an "extra" between the November 5 event, and the upcoming December 16th "Tea Party" event; 2) the AVERAGE donation size today, to this writing, has been $79/person, with about 6400 people having donated so far.

While, sure, it would be great fun to have multiple million dollar money bombs, the reality is that this one didn't have the time or the buildup that others have had, and to be frank, a "Rudy's Reading List" money bomb doesn't sound nearly as much fun as either the November 5th ("Remember, Remember") or the Tea Party "bomb."  Boosting the campaign coffers by half a million is significant, especially considering that it was booste by relatively small donors.  And they came through, once again.  It would be virtually impossible for Paul's fundraising goal of $12 million for the quarter not to be met; indeed, if I were going to bet, my bet would be on a quarter that exceeds $15 million.  I suspect that the Tea Party day will be a big one, and if it gets anywhere close to November 5th's numbers, and if money keeps trickling in at its usual rate, this will be a good quarter for the Paul campaign heading into those early primary states that I talked about in some detail the other day.

LLE

How Real is the Revolution?

Via Lew Rockwell, Joe Murray of The Bulletin of Philadelphia asks that very question.  Murray suggests, as many of us have, that the Republican Party has lost its way, and that the only one who can return the Party to its foundation is Ron Paul.

The Republican Party is in a state of disrepair. Burdened by two terms of George W. Bush and still feeling the sting of being evicted from majority status in 2006, the Republican Party is a party without a compass. It is a party that has lost touch with its soul.

And then:

It is said that a person cannot know who is he is until he knows where he has been. The same is true for a political party.

Since the days of Lincoln, the Republican tradition has been to put country before commerce and American interests before all others. The party, until recently, has adhered to George Washington's warning against foreign entanglements and committed itself to a non-interventionist foreign policy.

And finally:

The electorate is as volatile as it has been in years. Frustrated by illegal immigration, tired of fighting a war it did not want and disgusted with the establishments of both parties, Dr. Paul's day has come.
The revolution is real, and those in the ivory tower had better start digging a bigger moat.

Be sure to read the rest.

LLE

Huckabee's Phone Call

Guess Rudy wasn't the first to take a phone call during an event.  From 2004.  He's a showman, I guess, but this is an interesting invocation.  Via Andrew Sullivan.

School Funding Problems

So now it's come to this! (Yesterday I go grocery shopping)

Underfunded Schools Forced To Cut Past Tense From Language Programs

WASHINGTON—Teaching students how to conjugate verbs so that they can describe events that have already occurred is a luxury many schools cannot afford.

Ron Paul Battle Wagon

That's pretty serious:

Feed My Family!

They're getting tired of pizza and leftovers.  Dar has the solution--only you can help!

LLE

Over Ten Million!

Laura already mentioned that contributions to the Ron Paul campaign are over $10,000,000 for the quarter. So, uh, I'll mention that I got over ten million hits when I searched for "Ron Paul" on Google! Oh, I can't help it. I'll talk about money.

The Rudy's Reading List drive is underway, and what would be more appropriate than beating Rudy's contributions for the last quarter, $10,258,019? Well, I think that might happen in an hour. Cool, huh? And in two months!

Ron Paul contributions for the last two months are well over the contributions for all of the previous months of the year. I'm hoping that the contribution pace increases and we can say $19 Million so far for the year! There are about five hours left in the day, so it is also reasonable to get a cool million for the day!

The theme of the effort is foreign policy and being well read on the subject. So, today would be a good day to get copies of Ron Paul's book A Foreign Policy of Freedom.

And now the most important reason for contributing right now. I have promised to share with all Ron Paul supporters a recipe for ham-apple pie that my family serves on December 5, the birthday of Rose Wilder Lane (freedom fighter), if the effort meets some goals. Well, Laura has mentioned that she looks forward to serving this ham-apple pie on the 5th using that same recipe. So, unless you come through, a family we all appreciate will be stuck with leftovers! Yes, leftovers!

Hostage Situation at Clinton HQ in New Hampshire

A man with a bomb-like apparatus has taken hostages at Hillary Clinton's New Hampshire office.  Live video here.

Dying of Remorse and in Penance

OK, be forewarned, this isn't a happy Ron Paul post.

Combat veterans are returning to civilian life after combat that all too often involves assuming that everyone you see is the enemy, and the cleaning up after battle involving noncombatants, women, children and the elderly. They are committing suicide in unprecedented numbers.

It is my intuition that, absent an official and societal expression of their authentic remorse and desire to make some sort of restitution for war's horrors, this trend will continue. Psychology/Psychiatry has ways of helping, as does religion, but neither seems to be applying themselves to the task at hand in anything like the appropriate degree of intensity, given the situation.  Will society only wake up and care for the wounded PTSD suffering veterans when they go postal on us here at home? As with Vietnam Vets, I'm afraid that's what may happen.

Help a vet today. Listen to their story, Help them get help, both professional and sacerdotal. What happened to them shouldn't happen to anyone.

QUOTE  Bush has also expressed the opinion that suicide bombers are motivated by despair, neglect and poverty. The demographic statistics on suicide bombers suggest that this isn't the necessarily the case. Most of the Sept. 11 terrorists came from comfortable middle- to upper-middle-class families and were well-educated. Ironically, despair, neglect and poverty may be far more significant factors in the deaths of American soldiers and veterans who are taking their own lives.

Consider the 25 percent of enlistees and the 50 percent of reservists who have come back from the war with serious mental health issues. Despair seems an entirely appropriate response to the realization that the nightmares and flashbacks may never go away, that your ability to function in society and to manage relationships, work schedules or crowds will never be reliable. How not to despair if your prognosis is: Suck it up, soldier. This may never stop! UNQUOTE

Iraq Veterans Against The War