U.S. Representative Ron Paul

Texas Straight Talk

A weekly column

Opportunities for Peace and Nonintervention

Last week I discussed our worsening economic situation and the fact that there are very few options for the new administration to improve things in the long run.  The same is not true on the foreign policy front.  Our interventionist foreign policy stands ready to be put on a new course with the new administration.  Unfortunately, it seems the new administration is likely to continue the mistakes of the past.  I've often discussed interventionist foreign policy and the resulting blowback.  The current administration's foreign policy, I'm afraid, has created a huge impetus for blowback against the United States.  However, [continue reading]

01-05-2009, 11:03 AM | 48 Comments

Transition and Hope

As another year draws to a close, there are some important transitions ahead of us.  Not just transitions to a new administration, but also economically, politically and culturally. Many hoped that the changes would signify overwhelming positive steps for our country, and that we would enter a new era, as promised during the campaign.  I would like for this to be true, but based on the continuity so far, I would not be surprised to see America stay on the same course of failed monetary and economic policies.  The course has been set for several decades, and in reality [continue reading]

12-29-2008, 02:27 PM | 89 Comments

Government and Fraud

Billions of dollars were recently lost in the collapse of Bernie Madoff’s self-described Ponzi scheme, in which too-good-to-be-true returns on investments were not really returns at all, but the funds of defrauded new investors.  The pyramid scheme collapsed dramatically when too many clients called in their accounts, and not enough new victims could be found to support these withdrawals.  Bernie Madoff was running a blatant fraud operation.  Fraud is already illegal, and he will be facing criminal consequences, which is as it should be, and should act as an appropriate deterrent to potential future criminals.  But it seems every [continue reading]

12-22-2008, 02:20 PM | 90 Comments

Economic Freedom or Socialist Intervention?

The freedom to fail is an essential part of freedom.  Government- provided financial security necessitates relinquishing the very essence of freedom.  Last week, the big 3 American automakers came back to Capitol Hill with their hands out to the government.  Congress spent this past week debating how much money to give them and what strings should be attached.  Though the bailout plan for the auto industry has suffered what I would call a temporary setback in the Senate, other avenues for public funding are being explored through the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department.  I am afraid the American [continue reading]

12-15-2008, 02:05 PM | 86 Comments

Gun Control: Protecting Terrorists and Despots

Tragically, over the Thanksgiving holiday, the world was reminded how evil and cruel people can be.  According to emerging accounts of the events in India, about a dozen well-armed and devastatingly well-trained terrorists laid siege on the city of Mumbai, killing almost two hundred people, and terrorizing thousands. Regardless of the reasons, the indiscriminate shooting on masses of unarmed and defenseless people is chilling and reprehensible.  How were these terrorists able to continue so long, relatively unchallenged, killing so many? India’s gun laws are her business, of course.  However, once the shock of these events and the initial reaction [continue reading]

12-08-2008, 12:35 PM | 186 Comments

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