Responses to Comments IV

Keep 'em coming and we might have to make this a Sunday tradition!

Bob Barr – Right Time, Right Party, Wrong Man

***Rebekah said...
***I also think it's just a bit suspicious that a media which completely ignored Ron Paul would be giving him SO much positive coverage.***

I noticed that, but even when Barr gets all the good face time, he still looks like a tool. Thank God for the equalizing power of the internet.

***Chip said...
***I almost wonder if he planned it this way for all the extra media coverage he would get. I mean here we are after the press conference and what are we talking about, but Bob Barr who wasn't even there.***

Good observation, but I'm chalking this one up to ineptitude. (He did used to work for the CIA.) This is not the first time he has demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of the Freedom Movement and the libertarian philosophy.

***Stefan said...
***He and his running mate had the balls to ask RP to join them. That was a bold move of leaders; if RP accepted, the revolution would be coming much faster.***

Ron Paul had said repeatedly, even before Barr was nominated, that he would not run for a third party. It wasn't a bold move of leaders, it was a pandering move of calculating hacks trying to reach out to a demographic that is too smart to fall for it.

***Dave Nalle said...
***What Ron Paul did at his press conference was to endorse third parties which support everything from forced redistribution of wealth to giving up US sovereignty to foreign powers. It was a betrayal of everything the liberty movement has tried to achieve. Paul rendered himself irrelevant once and for all. Barr, on the other hand, did the right thing by not playing along with Paul's egotistical grandstanding and he deserves our support for putting liberty ahead of political opportunism. www.republicofdave.com***

Wrong! Ron Paul did not ENDORSE any of the other candidates. If the Freedom Movement wants to achieve anything, it needs to be willing to work around issues with allies of differing ideologies. I would even define the Freedom Movement to be as broad as anyone who would sign on to the four-point platform. “Egotistical grandstanding” for Ron Paul at this point would look like announcing an independent run for president, and holding his own press conference. Wait, isn't that what Barr did?

***Doob said...
***You are a true Patriot. I think Bob Barr is a plant who was meant to bring the LP down. Never again. By the way, your speech at the Rally in Minneapolis made me cry like a baby.***

As long as it makes you want to fight like a rabid wolverine!

***Anonymous said...
***Adam, thank you again for everything you have been doing since your return from Baghdad. I am not happy that you had to go thru this situation, however, if McCain wins, we all will have many many more 'situations' to go thru... Please, a vote for Obama may hurt, but hey, if Ann Coulter can stomach a vote for McCain, whom she loathes, surely you can spare a vote for the man who is promising to bring home our brothers and sisters.***

Damn! How many times do I have to say this: I cannot in good conscience vote for a pro-war candidate. Obama wants to keep 40k troops in Iraq indefinitely, on permanent bases, add more Blackwater mercenaries, and have a surge in Afghanistan. If that's not pro-war, I don't know what is.

McCain and Obama will both perpetuate the decline this country is on at about the same rate. The difference is that Obama will do it smoothly, sing you a lullaby, and after four years we might be more screwed as the public will be lulled into submission. McCain will do it erratically and clumsily, piss people off, and get more of the public engaged, if only because of their shared disgust for him. Both are “situations” that are not good for this country. I will be voting third party or writing in Ron Paul.

***Mike Blankenship said...
***I can't believe you're still running around with your IVAW t-shirt on acting like you're going to get anything accomplished in stopping the war in Iraq. We're on our way to Victory in Iraq, no thanks to any of you anti-war pukes. Or haven't you all figured that out yet?***

You'd better mother-f'in' believe it! Does it make “Victory” more likely when you capitalize it? Or haven't you figured out that you can't win an occupation?

***Doug Burlison said...
***Adam, I do not know you, you do not know me, but as a fellow lover of Liberty, I urge you to reconsider the status of your Barr endorsement. Granted, those of us in internet land are not as close to this issue as you are, and perhaps that gives us a different perspective about this whole matter. I am saddened by how things have transpired in both the Barr and the Paul camps, and I feel that in the interests of Liberty in America, it is time for some bilateral leadership from both sides. It seems that you are in a unique position to make this happen. . . . None of us are perfect, yet somehow, we need to come together. Can you help this struggle by providing that kind of leadership?***

I am also saddened by these recent developments which will harm the movement in the short-term and perhaps mid-term too, but in the long run, we are better off without Barr, and with a higher standard of leadership and cooperation.

If by “the Barr and the Paul camps” you mean their actual staffers, they represent only a minute part of this movement. We don't need “bilateral leadership” to unite these camps. We need leadership like what Ron Paul demonstrated by bringing some powerful people together on important issues. There is a lot still to be done, and I'm working on it!

***mariana said...
***I love Ron Paul. But he's just a man. An incredible man, but the idea of Liberty, now that's something you can't keep down. Liberty is an eternal principle, has no lifespan, and is only limited by *our resolve* to bring it to the fore. . . . I want maximum Liberty, maximum personal responsibility, and to be divested from a "Government" that uses the fruit of my labor to oppress, occupy and murder hundreds of thousands of people. Ron Paul came the closest, but I'm not giving up because I have no one to "rally under". . . . Don't get me wrong. I'll certainly promote candidates who support my dreams and vision for America (indeed, the world). But I won't blindly associate with a party (such as the Libertarian party), vote for a candidate as sleezy as Barr, just to assure ballot access for the LP candidate in four years. There's so many better ways to go about getting what we want. Campaign for Liberty supporters aren't lost if they associate their freedom with responsibility. They're only lost if they think they need Ron Paul to lead them or tell them what to do. I don't :) To quote an awesome bumper sticker, we don't need leaders, we need Liberty. I don't mean we shouldn't get behind those who stand a chance of representing us. I'm just never going to hand my power over completely to someone else and expect them to do the whole job. It's my job. It's your job. Jump in, the water's fine.***

F'in' a, right on! Thank you.

A Slap in the Face, Courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs

***SimonNolan said...
***I wish that every person who puts a yellow ribbon magnet on the back of their car would actually do something to support our soldiers-- at least write their congressman demanding reform. Otherwise that cheap magnet is nothing but a hollow platitude that only makes the owner self-righteous.***

You're not the only one who feels that way. A lot of vets get really pissed off when they see yellow ribbons because it's not even a message of support, it's a directive, an order, telling someone else to support the troops. One of my veteran friends hates them so much that whenever he sees one he takes it. He's got quite the collection on his fridge now.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who put comments of support on this post. It definitely helped to read them as I was still dealing with this. It's also beautiful to see that the brotherhood of veterans transcends politics. (Thanks TSO)

Pissing In McCain's Kool-Aid

***Pen said...
***Did you get wrapped up in the chaos in the streets of St. Paul, MN while you were sticking it to McCain? It was appalling. Nearly three hundred people: protesters, innocent bystanders, and media were rounded up like cattle, pinned to a bridge, and then arrested for unlawful assembly. Civil liberties out the door. Sickening. You made a guest star appearance in my tribute video to those who were braver than me to try to be heard. I hope that is okay? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp7AUQJMOKw***

I didn't see much of the chaos, since I was busy working from the inside. That video is more than ok, it's an honor to be included!

***Anonymous said...
***Right when McCain was speaking and I saw the cut to you holding the sign I literally spit out my pepsi all ovr the floor and scremed out "HOLY SHIT THATS ADAM KOKESH!!!" My finace jumped off the couch and got mad at me for screaming so loudly . . . After watching your speech at the March and at the Rally I think it is best for you to run for congress. If you do, i'll drop $2,300 in your campaign. :)***

I have heard a lot of stories like that and I'm glad that I achieved the goals that my sponsors in the soft drink and carpet industries laid out for me. I plan on running for Congress eventually, but you'd better send me some contact info or tell me the check is in the mail!

***Anonymous said...
***Sure would love a written transcript of the speech you gave last night....word for word. Can you post it on your site.***

It doesn't exist. That was straight off the cuff.

***DanDan said...
***How do you feel as a soldier who put his life on the line to fight for his country about people who burn the American Flag?***

The flag is just a symbol. Burning it is just symbolic. It saddens me that someone would do such a thing to trash our country, but it is no different than chanting “death to America,” and just as childish. I still consider it a means of self-expression, and the freedom of speech means nothing without the right to say what others don't want to hear, so I would never do anything to encroach on someone else's right to destroy their own property, or express themselves in whatever way they see fit so long as it doesn't interfere with anyone else's rights. In fact, I will still fight to the death to defend it.

***World Power Network said...
***I loved your speech. It was very enlightening that our troops swore to uphold the constitution, not the government. I would suggest that you lay off the take up arms against the government angle. That is liable to get you thrown in jail and we don't need to take up arms against the government. We just need the military to refuse to take up arms against US citizens and other things which violate the constitution. The fascist state rules through fear. If the members of the Military disobey orders, stand down and will not cause fear, the fascist will fold like origami.***

I agree, but I never advocated that we take up arms against the government. There may be isolated incidents of violence in our revolution, as there have been throughout our history, and we must be ready to defend ourselves, but when the time comes to physically challenge the government, I have no doubt that the troops will be on our side. The point is that we must bring the same dedication and commitment and be ready to make the ultimate sacrifice as undoubtedly, some of us will be called upon to do. Not ALL of the troops will be on our side, but we must have the courage to look them all in the eye just the same.