The Freedom Bulletin

Photo by Gage Skidmore

Now that Ron Paul is finally considered a legitimate presidential contender in the top tier of candidates, people are naturally looking for any way they can to tear him down. Apparently, the best thing they could find, and the thing that a disturbing number of people are starting to make a big brouhaha about, is several newsletters from the 1980s and 1990s, called the Ron Paul Survival Report, Ron Paul Freedom Report, and Ron Paul Political Report, which contained some arguably racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic comments.

Among the contents of these newsletters were things like “95 percent of black males in that city are semi-criminal if not entirely criminal,” and “it sure burns me to have a national holiday for that pro-communist, philandering Martin Luther King,” and “I’ve laid bare the coming race war in our big cities, [and] the federal-homosexual cover-up on AIDS.”

Now, I have heard and read things that are more bigoted than anything in these newsletters. The newsletters do not, to my knowledge, actually state anything to the effect of, “black people are inferior to white people.” But the main problem with the Paul-bashing is that Paul consistently denies knowing the content of these newsletters, let alone writing them. Not exactly known for being phony, he has never, as far as I have heard, said anything even remotely racist in public. Or, says his former aide for 12 years, Eric Dondero, has he ever said anything racist in private. Dondero split with Paul because of disagreements about foreign policy and has been very critical of him on his blog, so if he had any bias it would be against Paul.

Plus, Paul’s policy positions – based on the belief that people should have the freedom to live as they please as long as it does not violate the rights of others – are friendly to people of all races, religions, and sexual orientations. Paul believes that the government should treat people equally without regard to the demographic groups to which they belong, and that people should be free to form any relationships that they wish to, without government labels or licenses. As Wes Messamore points out at the Daily Caller, Paul has denounced overzealous law enforcement, mandatory minimum sentences, and their effects on African-Americans, and mentioned his friend, African-American economist Walter Williams, as a possible running mate. When it comes to homophobia, certainly it would make more sense to pick on Republican candidates Rick Santorum (who supports anti-sodomy laws) or Michele Bachmann (whose husband allegedly believes in “curing” gay people of their gayness) than Paul.

As an example of how widespread the anti-Paul bias is, a surprisingly ignorant and illogical CNN blog entry (or at least an ignorant and illogical headline) interprets a book that Paul actually did write, “Freedom Under Seige,” as “criticiz[ing] AIDS patients, minority rights and sexual harassment victims.” In the book, Paul writes that people with AIDS often have AIDS because of their own decisions, and that they do not have the right to force other people to pay for their treatment. This is completely true, and completely consistent with Paul’s libertarian ideology. He also writes that federal laws against sexual harassment are unnecessary because employees are free to quit their jobs. I do not agree with this, but it is completely consistent with Paul’s central belief that the government should be small and allow free markets to solve problems whenever possible. And Paul decries the tendency to create separate sets of rights for different groups, such as racial minorities, children, employees, and the homeless, pointing out that, “White people who organize and expect the same attention as other groups are quickly and viciously condemned as dangerous bigots. Hispanic, black, and Jewish caucuses can exist in the U.S. Congress, but not a white caucus.” Far from “criticizing minority rights,” this statement sums up the very essence of both libertarianism and diversity – the rights of all individuals to be accepted, treated equally, and treated as individuals.

Yet even though there is nothing homophobic, anti-Semitic, or racist about Paul, far too many people speak of him as if he is the leader of the KKK or the National Vanguard or something. Those who declare their support for Paul are treated as if they made an embarrassing faux pas. And as Salon’s Steve Kornacki describes, nearly all of his campaign rivals have made despicable comments about him in recent days, with Bachmann and Mitt Romney saying he will not be allowed to become the GOP nominee, Newt Gingrich saying he might rather vote for President Obama, Santorum saying he would have to take “a lot of antacid” to vote for him, and Jon Huntsman running an ad about him entitled “Unelectable.”

When Kelly Clarkson announced her endorsement of Paul on Twitter, people responded by saying inaccurate, condescending, and just plain rude things like:

• “Now THAT is how you get someone to unfollow you on Twitter…and in your career.”
• “its good that you dont want women to have the right to choose & think ppl should die in the ER”
• “oh my god I’ve never been more disappointed I thought you were smarter wow”
• “It does concern me a little that you support Ron Paul given his hateful views towards Jews…it did kind of rub me the wrong way”

Fellow singer Michelle Branch bravely agreed with Clarkson, and she was met with a storm of similarly obnoxious comments, such as…

• “ron paul is a homophobe! how could you EVER support him? when you used to sell records, you had so many gay fans. #sad.”
• “supporting ron paul means supporting racism and homophobia, you both need to stop.”

It is beyond me how people can find it sad or disappointing that someone endorses a pro-liberty politician. Even if a celebrity endorsed a politician I hated, I wouldn’t personally attack them or insult their intelligence. And, if I disagreed with someone’s opinions, I would criticize those opinions, using logic and reasoning. But I guess that takes more effort than calling someone a homophobe, an anti-Semite, and a racist.

The other day, I found this great article by Celia Larkin at the Irish Independent, explaining why Anne Sinclair deserves respect:

“Shame on those who criticise the readers of Terrafemina for selecting Anne Sinclair, Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s wife, as France’s Woman of the Year. Shame on those — particularly women — who condemn her for staying with him.

It’s outrageous, this idea that if a woman, of her own free will, stays with someone widely regarded as a sexual philanderer, then she must have something deeply wrong with her. Anne Sinclair is a smart, decisive woman. Not a victim. She is not a person whose future career or financial security depends on the man in her life. She is truly an autonomous individual who has chosen to stay with the man accused of sexual misconduct. An affront to feminism? Not at all.”

Read the rest at the Independent.

I completely agree that self-proclaimed “feminists” are wrong to look down on Sinclair and that, in general, a lot of people who call themselves feminists have anti-feminist ideas about the DSK case. Some people argue that Christine Lagarde, Strauss-Kahn’s replacement as boss of the IMF, should have won the Woman of the Year poll because she achieved success without relying on the men in her life. But the same thing is true of Sinclair. She was a highly successful journalist before she even met DSK, is more wealthy than he is, and was better-known than him for much of their 20-year marriage.

To be a feminist means to fight against stereotypes and social rules that treat men and women differently, such as the belief that women are weak and vulnerable and should be protected and doted on by men. To assume that any man who is accused of sexual assault is automatically guilty is anti-feminist (and wrong), because it is based on the assumption that women are inherently vulnerable to rape, and men are inherently predisposed to be sexual aggressors. On the other hand, for a woman to financially support her husband, help him with his career, and bravely fight on his behalf when almost everyone else condemns him, is exactly what feminists should respect and admire.

The Freedom Bulletin wishes you a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever holiday you may celebrate!

Photo by Gage Skidmore

It looks like former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson is going to run for president as a Libertarian. On December 28, he will formally announce that he is quitting the Republican primary and seeking the Libertarian Party nomination.

This isn’t surprising since, sadly, the media and the GOP establishment never really gave Johnson a chance. I don’t know how this will turn out as a strategic decision – the Humble Libertarian, for example, says that it would have been better if he remained a Republican and ran for his state’s open Senate seat – but I know that I really like Gary Johnson and his ideas. The Republican Party, and America, needs more people like him, people who don’t just use the rhetoric of freedom, but truly believe in it. It’s a shame that he was forced to leave the party because no one realized this.

Guess who was recently in Beijing to give a speech on the European economy? None other than Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who chose today to make his return to the world of economics after his career and presidential hopes were derailed by (ultimately dismissed) sexual-assault accusations in May. In a 35-minute address at a business conference hosted by internet company NetEase, he said that European leaders are in denial about the severity of the financial crisis, that countries need to work together more, and that his former rival, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel don’t really understand each other. According to news reports, he received a warm welcome, and Chinese economist Li Daokui told him that many people in China love and support him. He looked and sounded just like his old self. Although DSK’s politics may be different than mine, I am so glad to see him back.

In related news, DSK’s wife, Anne Sinclair, was named France’s woman of the year on the same day by the magazine Terrafemina. The magazine cited her loyalty and courage and called her “both a heroine and a kind of anti-heroine.” I also was impressed by her support of a man who was hated and presumed guilty by so many. In my opinion, it is Sinclair, and not those who jumped to conclusions based on sexist and racist stereotypes, who was the true feminist throughout Strauss-Kahn’s ordeal. Although there have been rumors in the past month and a half that she might be thinking of leaving him, this seems to be false for now (knock on wood), as they were recently seen visiting Israel together and later celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. As long as Sinclair doesn’t end up ditching her husband in the midst of his continuing legal and reputational struggles, I’d say she deserves this title for sure.

And finally, another surveillance video from the Sofitel hotel was published by French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. It shows Brian Yearwood, the technical director of the hotel, following DSK around, perhaps a little suspiciously.

Sources: AFP, AP, Financial Times, IBN Live, News.com.au, RFI, Telegraph, Wall Street Journal

If you missed Ron Paul’s appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, you can watch the whole thing on YouTube or below:

This was one of my favorite Ron Paul public appearances ever. First of all, the audience absolutely loved him, cheering when Leno mentioned Paul during a joke in his opening monologue, giving him a standing ovation when he was introduced, and erupting in applause throughout the interview whenever he said something they liked (which happened often). Additionally, instead of getting only 30 seconds or a minute to answer a question, as he does in debates, Dr. Paul got to elaborate as he saw fit and struck a more conversational tone. He was very candid, sometimes a little controversially so. At one point, Leno asked Paul what he thought of each of the other Republican candidates. Of Bachmann, he said, after a perfectly timed pause, “She doesn’t like Muslims.” Of Santorum, he exclaimed, “Gays and Muslims!”

Dr. Paul got along really well with Leno, who expressed his respect for Paul’s consistency. The second guest, Fear Factor host Joe Rogan, came in wearing a Ron Paul t-shirt and talked about how much he liked Paul almost as much as he talked about his own show!

The Middlesex County D.A.’s office filed their brief in the appeal of Neil Entwistle, the British man convicted of killing his wife and baby daughter in 2008. They tried to refute the claims that Entwistle made in his appellate brief, arguing that police acted reasonably by entering his Hopkinton, MA home without a warrant and that pretrial publicity did not bias the jury selection process.

The Boston Herald has the full text of the prosecution’s brief here.

You can read more from the Herald and the MetroWest Daily News.