The Whiskey Rebellion 6/15/2010

We'll be talking about the A-Team movie, possibly the AZ Senate law 1070, Conservative Economist Walter E Williams VS Reality, more on our impending economic disaster, and (file this under the enemy of my enemy is my friend) Saudi Arabia gives Israel clear skies to attack Iranian nuclear sites. Call in and we'll tackle it all plus there's new music!

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

The Whiskey Rebellion Podcast 6/8/10

Our first broadcast.

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

Listen to internet radio with Mark Radulich on Blog Talk Radio

REV JOHN: On Journey and Huckabee...

You know my thing aboot Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'," right? This morning I was at Mike Huckabee's MySpace page, and noticed they had "Nothing Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship playing. So I posted the following comment:

"Gov. Huckabee, I'd love to vote for you, but you have got to do something about that Starship song. I don't think I can support a candidate who wants to make anything associated with the movie "Mannequin" part of his campaign.

Have you considered Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'?"

By lunchtime, they had the song playing when you visited the page, as well as the following blog post:

Now your's chance to suggest a song (or some songs) to be used here on Mike's official MySpace page. Right now, we have up "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey. Post your comments here as to what you think would be a good tune that would represent the Official Huckabee for President MySpace Page!

There's even an article on Townhall.com called "Don't Stop Believin' in Journey."

America - it's just a small town girl living in a lonely world.

TODAY on PCLIVE!

CLiCK HeRe To LiSTeN!!!

Mark is dreaming of a world where parents took care of their children, Iran was wiped off the map, and his family would leave him alone. Rev. John is dreaming aboot Jessica Alba. WAKE UP!!! It's time for the hottest show on the internet since (wait for it) 2006....PCLIVE!

And unless our mothers make us go to brunch with the family for Father's Day, here's what we're going to break off for ya...

Conservatism: Like the Message, Hate the Messengers

The 3rd Party: Bloomberg, Hagel, Gore, et al.

Plus, the specialist BUCGAW Report of all time! It's all THIS MORNING at 10:00 AM EST! If you'd like to join us (and if you don't, you hate poultry) all the info can be found at Blog Talk Radio.


Find out what grinded Mark's gears this week:
http://blog.myspace.com/punkrockconservative

And hey look, Rev. John has a blog too:
http://blog.myspace.com/brodigan2016

REV. JOHN: Random Thoughts for 6/15

This Sunday on PCLIVE! we'll be looking at "Conservatism: Like the Message, Hate the Messengers" and "The 3rd Party: Bloomberg, Hagel, Gore, et al." If you're free Sunday morning, stop by and say hello.


It's funny, but if the media keeps hammering Mike Huckabee over evolution and keeps trying to create an issue where there isn't an issue, it'll probably actually help him gain traction with primary voters and raise money.


I wasn't much of a fan, but the last episode of The Sopranos was brilliant. More importantly, did you hear the song at the end? FUCKING JOURNEY, MAN!!! You know you heard that song and though of your friendly neighborhood eReverend. What do I keep telling you? America isn't aboot "democracy" or "freedom." It's all aboot Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." Even Tony Soprano gets it.


Fantastic Four 2 is this weekend. I'm going into the movie with cautious optimism. The second movie is usually the best one - Spiderman 2 was my favourite, and X-Men 2 I thought was flawless. Unfortunately there's still trepidation, because lately going to see the comic book movies is kind of like being in an abusive relationship. You know it's going to hurt, and deep down you know better, but you keep going back anyway.


When you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair talking to some rich folk that you know, I hope you won't see me in my ragged company because you know I could never be alone. Take me down little Susie, take me down. I know you think you're the queen of the underground. And you can send me dead flowers every morning, send me dead flowers by the mail, send me dead flowers to my wedding and I won't forget to put roses on your grave.


I wonder if people realize that when people ban Fox News from their movie premiere, or boycott their debate (after sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing), they only make Fox News stronger.


One of my associates had thought that that former Senator Bill Frist was going to get the Republican nomination in 2008, and it's beginning to look like he's right. The only difference is the role played by Bill Frist, formally played by Bill Frist, will now being played by former Senator Fred Thompson. Where Democrats fall in love with whoever tells them what they want to hear (Buck Fush), Republicans are apparently looking for the Manchurian Candidate. Before it was Frist, it was former Senator George Allen.


I've made all the Presidential candidates my friends on MySpace. I figure that, at least for the candidates who are fully utilizing it, I'd be able to keep up with what t hey have to say, where they're saying it, etc. And when there are 800 people running for President and national security is so important, I find it funny that someone hacked into Duncan Hunters MySpace page. I suppose there's a chance that he really has fifty free ringtones to offer me, but I doubt it.


Angelina Jolie is an idiot.

REV JOHN: Random Thoughts for 6/1

So I'm reading "The Reagan Diaries," and the most interesting thing so far is his relationship with Tip O'Neil, who for those of you playing the home game was the former Speaker of the House and one of them Massachusetts Democrats the GOP love oh so much. They were political rivals and they had to play there role when the cameras were on. But when the cameras were off, you got a feel for the respect and admiration they would have for each other. I'm only up to July of 1981, and there's already been seven of eight entries aboot how "Tip" was over for dinner, or how they'd be hammering out a deal/compromise on whatever the issue of the day was. That's fascinating when you compare it to today's political landscape. I just can't picture George Bush chatting away with Nancy Pelosi on the phone, or Bill Clinton having Newt over to the Oval for a few drinks.

Rule #87: As long as you aren't looking at jail time, they aren't too young for you.

Apparently the GOP is turning the primaries into the Final Four. You have Fred Thompson vs. Mitt Romney in the "Real" Conservative bracket, and John McCain vs. Rudy Gulianni in the Moderate bracket. Thompson beats Romney (who probably flip flops back to being pro-abortion and pro gay marriage and tries to run as a Democrat). McCain probably squeeks by Rudy in overtime. Then in the finals, people realize that McCain and Thompson are the same person, except that Thompson changed his Immigration position when he decided to run for President. Plus he's the one with the southern accent, so he probably wins.

She's gone. I admit I was wrong, but I can't quit thinking about how good our love used to be. And the whiskey numbs the pain. In the morning, when I wake, I'll be hungover hanging on to a memory. So I'll order one more round. Lose the Coke and keep the Crown. Just drown my misery. And I blind myself with liquor and neon lights, alone and stoned out of my mind. If you think I'm flying high as a kite, you damn right.

Did you know that apple fritters from Starbucks have 0g of transfats per serving? That makes them mad healthy.

There should be an amendment to the Immigration Bill that says anyone who opposes any kind of reform needs to disclose who does their gardening.

You know what makes America totally rule school? It's the fact that no matter what we celebrate - the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters, telling England to go fuck themselves, the parents are out of town, etc. - we do it with beer and BBQ. That's what America is all aboot. It's not gay stuff like "democracy." It's all aboot the Bubba Burgers, the Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'." That's what America means to me. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!

Politics, Pop Culture, and Pugilism...

Welcome to your weekly dose of Politics, Pop Culture, and Pugilism. If you want the poultry, you have to wait TWO weeks. We're taking next week off so that Mark can celebrate his birthday and Rev. John....well, he'll probably just be passed out in the yard somewhere.

That doesn't mean we're not preparing for future shows, and this is where you come in. We've been tossing around a few topics, and wanted to know your thoughts on any of them.

Decleration of Independents: A Thrid Party?

Fred Thompson: Shit or Get off the Pot

What's Left for the Bush Administration to drop the ball on?

Hillary Clinton's entrence music...we've got ideas...

What's left to do when your enemies keep coming at you and you don't want to kill them?

We welcome the feedback. Now here are a few links...

POLITICS
Obama's HillaryCare
Russia Says New ICBM Can Beat Any System
Bush Takes On Opponents of Immigration Deal
U.S. Rejects EU-Asia Emissions Reduction
GINGRICH ASSAILS BUSH, ROVE FOR REPUBLICAN 'COLLAPSE'...
McCain to Rivals: Where's Your Immigration Plan?
Fred Thompson will run, advisers say
Thompson on the Run



POP CULTURE
Viewers Demand Imus
NJ starting agency to battle obesity...
Wendy's Manager Shot Over Chili Sauce
Laptops are crippling millions with back problems
Writer-Director (and Geek God) Judd Apatow Invites You Into His Mind
Country Music Hall of Fame Spotlights Big & Rich
'Donkey Kong' Record Holder Says New Flick Settles His Score


PUGILISM
FIGHTER SALARY BREAKDOWN FOR UFC 71
DANA WHITE: "WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THEM ALL"
As UFC rises, is boxing down for the count?
UFC 71 gives us yet another surprise
WEC to make televised debut on Versus this weekend
UFC Explodes in Popularity

RADULICH: Fact or Fiction

Every week 411Mania offers a debate column called Fact or Fiction which features a statement that the writers respond to. In said writer's opinion, the statemen is either a fact or it is fiction and then they explain why. Occasionally I contribute to the debate. Here is my latest contribution)

1) The media is biased. Outlets are more concerned with picking and presenting news Their Way as opposed to being objective and impersonal.

Fact - and I'm not going to bother with liberal or conservative slants because that's pointless. It's more about the news being owned by corporations. Corporations have one goal, make money for their investors. The news makes money by being content in which to install expensive commercials. Period. Whether it's CNN or FOX, O'Reilly or Olberman, it doesn't matter so long as people are turning in long enough to be convinced to buy the car, drugs or whatever is being advertised. It's the same thing with print media and radio. These outlets may have a political slant but that's secondary to the belief that whatever content they've chosen is a money maker so that's what gets produced. It's liberal or conservative slant is more a of a reflection of the content producer himself and less of media bias as a whole. As long as the show makes money, that's all the bosses care about. As far as being objective and impersonal, years ago somebody figured out that to get Americans to turn into the news en masse, you had to put on shows that were attractive to mass audiences and not confusing or complex, thus car chases overtook intellectual presentations and analysis. This actually started with the vision of bodies being brought back from Vietnam but that's a story for another day.

2) There is a culture war in this country (note: this term was used before Bill O'Reilly made it recently popular, so don't say Fiction just cause you hate him).

Fact - of course there's a culture war. It's a war between those who don't want to be judged for any behavior and for those that believe restrictions on behavior is a good thing. People like to lay this conflict at the feet of solely the secular progressives because typically they are the ones who are for lowering standards of behavior and making arguments for normalization of all behavior, deviant or otherwise but the far right is just as bad. The far right doesn't want to be judged for its radical behavior either. The culture war goes beyond progressive vs conservative and is really a battle between the selfless and mature vs the selfish and immature. Selfish people care only about themselves to the exclusion of all else and they can be either liberal or conservative. Selfish people are the ones lowering the debate to the benefit of themselves without thinking about the consequences for others. Selfish people do all of this without wanting to be confronted because rationally they have no leg to stand on. That's the culture war in a nut shell and it's been going on since the necessity of having to tolerate your neighbor or family member was replaced by the well-meaning but utterly disastrous notion that the government is responsible for caring for individuals.

3) It really doesn't matter who we vote for, or if we vote at all. Politicans are pretty much all the same.

Fiction - some are smarter and more thoughtful than others. Some are dutiful while others simply seek a kingdom to call their own. Some politicians are guided by their personal ethics while others only act in defense of their own elite position. The system balances things out making some politicians less or more effective than others but ultimately if you don't see the difference between Newt Gingrich and Nancy Pelosi and how they affect Washington differently then you are not really paying attention. Now, do all of these have personal foibles? Of course they do as they are human afterall. But that doesn't mean that all politicians are the same just because they are all fallible. Those are two different issues.

4) Having more than just 2 dominant political parties to choose from is one primary solution to our nation's plights.

Fact - If the Europeans do anything right, it's their electoral process. I like having lots of candidates to choose from with more than one decisive election to determine who should be the main leader. I think the run-off elections are a capital idea. I think people like Ralph Nader and Ron Paul should be viable options for American voters rather than having to choose between two lite brands or safe choices (John Kerry I'm looking in your direction). If the CT election of 2006 is any indication, Joe Lieberman shows us that in today's political culture, there is room for independants in the electoral process. Nowing, establing a viable third party than adequately threaten the big two will be a feat considering both are loathe to give up their dominance.

'08 Candidates Look for Boost From Ads

By JIM KUHNHENN
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Using humor, attitude and the occasional put-down, some presidential candidates are filling the airwaves with ads to stir activists and create an early, positive brand for their campaign.

Mitt Romney has assembled a narrative with nearly $4 million in ads this year that have helped propel him from near obscurity to the top of GOP public opinion polls in two early nominating states, Iowa and New Hampshire.

Democrat Bill Richardson, perhaps drawing confidence from Romney's experience, is buying significant advertising time in those states. He is running ads that spoof his second-tier status in the field despite a resume with extensive government experience. His poll numbers also have improved.

Those ads, as well as smaller buys of air time by...click here for more.

REV JOHN: Big & Rich and Memorial Day

I thought I'd introduce everyone to Big & Rich this week. They're the ones who renewed my love of country music, but more importantly, their song "8th of November" is apropos to the holiday.

To our brothers and sisters who have seen combat and who are in combat, and to their family and friends, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your service and sacrifice to our county.



FISHER HOUSE - Supporting America's military in their time of need, we provide "a home away from home" that enables family members to be close to a loved one at the most stressful time -- during hospitalization for an illness, disease or injury. Learn more.

INTREPID FALLEN HEROES FUND - The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund is a leader in supporting the men and women of the Armed Forces and their families. Begun in 2000 under the auspices of the Intrepid Museum Foundation, and established as an independent not-for-profit organization in 2003, the Fund has provided close to $60 million in support for the families of military personnel lost in service to our nation, and for severely wounded military personnel and veterans. These efforts are funded entirely with donations from the public, and hundreds of thousands of individuals have contributed to the Fund. 100% of contributions raised by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund go towards these programs; all administrative expenses are underwritten by the Fund’s Trustees. Learn More.

5/27: PCLIVE! The Recap...

Sounds clips of today's show can be heard on our MySpace Page, or head over to BlogTalkRadio to download the full show.

We'll be off next week. See you on June 10th!

(Though we'll still be blogging, so don't forget to come back each day.)

Majority Favor Changing Immigration Laws, Poll Says

Don't forget to tune in this Sunday when Taco Bell presents the 37th Annual PCLIVE! Memorial Day Viva La Raza Illegal Immigration Spectacular

Majority Favor Changing Immigration Laws, Poll Says
By JULIA PRESTON and MARJORIE CONNELLY

As opponents from the right and left challenge an immigration bill before Congress, there is broad support among Americans — Democrats, Republicans and independents alike — for the major provisions in the legislation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

Taking a pragmatic view on a divisive issue, a large majority of Americans want to change the immigration laws to allow illegal immigrants to gain legal status and to create a new guest worker program to meet future labor demand, the poll found.

At the same time, Americans have mixed feelings about whether the recent wave of immigration has been beneficial to the country, the survey found, and they are sharply divided over how open the United States should be to future immigrants.

Half of all Americans say they are ready to transform the process for selecting new immigrants as proposed in the bill, giving priority to job skills and education levels over family ties to the United States, which have been the foundation of the immigration system for four decades.

Point by point, large majorities expressed support for measures contained in the legislation that has been under debate since Monday in the Senate. The nationwide telephone poll did not ask respondents about the immigration bill itself, but there were questions about its most significant provisions. It was conducted May 18 to 23 with 1,125 adults, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

The bill, which is backed by President Bush and a bipartisan group of senators, would...click here for more.

REV. JOHN: Random Thoughts for 5/25

Just so we're clear, I could give a damn what Rosie O'Donnell or Elizabeth Hasselback think about anything. And before he gets involved, Donald Trump's opinion don't matter none either.

A pal-o-mine today, in an effort to mock me for my appreciation of country music, stumbled up on a Zen-like question I'd like to hear everyone's opinion on: If you went back in time and saw yourself at seventeen years old, who would win in a fight? Could you take younger you, or would younger you whoop that ass? I'd kick my teenage ass. Younger me was really an out of shape lump of shit. Older me eats better, works out, and has taken a few kickboxing lessons. This is what we think aboot during the day instead of doing actual work.

To me, leadership is doing what you think is right even if it's not popular. That said, for a party that says it's looking for leadership, I find it funny that the talking heads all cry that John McCain's career is over everytime he so much as says "God Bless You" to a Democrat after they sneeze.

Baby if you've ever wonder if I still love you, then girl never wonder again. We can find our way out of this cloud we've been under if we fight for who we were back then. I'll make the first move and I'll say I'm sorry, and I'll take the blame for the things that I've done, because we'll both lose more than our pride if we don't take a stand. You don't act like my woman, and I sure don't feel like your man.

I caught Ozzy Osbourne performing his latest single on "Smackdown" last week. Am I the only who is old enough to remember a time when Ozzy Osbourne didn't suck? I'm talking way back to "No More Tears" and earlier. Now he's become a parody of himself along the lines of Christopher Walken. Walken doesn't even act anymore as much as he does an impersonation of Jay Mohr doing an impersonation of Christopher Walken.

I've decided that since Don Imus is off the air, or at the very least is taking the summer off to teach sick children how to be cowboys before he signs with satellite radio, I'm going to pick up where he left off and make it my responsibility to force introduce all my Yankee friends to country music. Personally, I can't understand how anyone could not like country music to begin with. All of the songs are either about drinking, love, or Jesus. Even if you hate Jesus, everyone has at least a moderate appreciation of the other two.

So my friend Ms. B sends me a text yesterday that went as follows: I am in the library by the computers and one kid said to the other kid..."im bout to take a picture of my dick and put it on there...." She was mortified because they were only thirteen. I thought it was funny that, out of all her friends, she though to text this to me because she knew I'd be amused by it (and would shout her out in my blog). Now she knows how I felt when I was at the store buying milk and bananas and the girl behind the counter was wearing them real shorty shorts, was rocking the baby-T (complete with bra strap hanging out)...and had braces. One of those things is not like the other, and so on.

5/23: News Portal Wednesday...

We at PCLIVE! believe in what we call the Four P's: Politics, Pop Culture, Pugilism, and Poultry. On Wednesday, we'll be turning into a "portal site" to give you a few headlines we found interesting this week that full under one of those four important topics.

So here's the latest politics, pop culture, and pugilism news. If you want poultry...you need to tune in on Sunday for Taco Bell presents the 37th Annual PCLIVE! Memorial Day Viva La Raza Illegal Immagration Spectacular.

POLITICS

Immigration Deal Survives Early Test

McCain, Romney Talk Immigration in Texas

Democrats Drop Troop Pullout Dates From Iraq Bill

Congress seeks missing billions in Iraq

Richardson aiming for first tier

Bloomberg/Hagel or Hagel/Bloomberg?

POP CULTURE

Birth-Control Pill Halts Women's Periods

Valenti praises Imus in memoir

Four Women Fired for Gossiping

XM backlash over Opie and Anthony suspension

X-Gn'R Drummer Steven Adler to Surreal Life?

Jessica Alba: 'I love challenging authority'

Can 'Heroes' defeat sophomore slump?

The A-Team (2008)

PUGILISM

The New Main Event

The buzz is all Rampage-Liddell

UFC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP STEPS UP TO HELP TROOPS

WANDERLEI SILVA UNSURE IF HE'LL FIGHT THIS YEAR

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Signed by UFC, May Debut at UFC 72

UFC 71: Weigh-Ins and Fight Night Schedule

REV. JOHN: Introducing James Otto

I've decided that since Don Imus is off the air, or at the very least is taking the summer off to teach sick children how to be cowboys before he signs with satellite radio, I'm going to pick up where he left off and make it my responsibility to force introduce all my friends to country music. Personally, I can't understand how anyone could not like country music to begin with. All of the songs are either about drinking, love, or Jesus. Even if you hate Jesus, everyone has at least a moderate appreciation of the other two, you know what I'm saying?

Anyway, today I'd like you to meet James Otto.

PCLIVE! The Recap for 5/20

Sounds clips of today's show can be heard on our MySpace Page, or head over to BlogTalkRadio to download the full show.

As for next week, May 27th, I have but fifteen words for you...

Taco Bell presents the 37th Annual PCLIVE! Memorial Day Viva La Raza Illegal Immagration Spectacular

REV JOHN: Random Thoughts for 5/18

Tuesday night I found myself drinking a beer, wearing camouflage shorts and a dirty wifebeater, flipping between the country music awards and the Republican presidential debate. And I said to myself, "Self, so this is what Jeff Foxworthy is always talking aboot." It would've been even funnier if the 42" Plasmatron 3000 was on top of a 60" TV that didn't work. I'm not really a Foxworthy fan, and Bill Engvall couldn't be less funny if he actually tried to be less funny. I am however a Larry the Cable Guy fan and Ron White is my favourite comedian period, so...I don't even know what my point was.

Random Fact That I Learned This Week Number One: Apparently for every thirty-five pounds a man loses, he gains an inch of penis. I don't know what the science behind it is, but my friend Patia told me so and she's, like, mad smart.

Speaking of the debate, we'll be discussing it in detail this Sunday, but let me just say that it was much better than the last one, all the guys I like had a good night, and it's aboot time we saw some action. Had this been Japanese Parliament, Rudy Giuliani would have run over and punched Ron Paul in the nuts, and that would have been awesome. When John McCain "clapped back" to Mitt Romney, you knew in his head he wanted to end by saying, "Bitch." If all these cats want to be my President, I want to see the fire in their eyes. Now lets see if the D's follow suit and stop kissing Hillary Clinton's ass.

When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside, you gotta take a stand. It don't help to hide. You hurt my friends and you hurt my pride. I gotta be a man. I can't let it slide. I am a real American. Fight for the rights of every man. I am a real American Fight for what's right. Fight for your life!

I watched the Mitt Romney interview on 60 Minutes. There's was a lot of ballyhoo about how Mike Wallace asked him if he ever had pre-marital sex, and like with most things, it got blown way out of proportion. He asked in jest, Romney laughed it off, and they moved on to other questions. It took up all of five seconds of a fifteen minute interview, yet it got portrayed as if Wallace was grilling him on his sex life and Romney was ready to storm off. People really need to get a sense of humour.

Relative to the media, I've checking out some of the "watchdog sites" for yucks (both liberal and conservative, because I actually do try and stay fair and balanced). And while I understand there is a lot of biased reporting (though I think we need to defer between news, "news," and the infotainment on the cable networks), there also seems to be a lot of "I don't like the way you worded that question, therefore you are biased against my ideology." I find it fascinating that someone like Tim Russert can be both biased against liberals AND biased against conservatives at the exact same time...and in some cases during the course of the same interview.

Random Fact That I Learned This Week Number Two: You womens wanna listen closely to this one. Apparently drinking scotch whiskey helps relieve menstrual cramps. I can't reveal who told me this, except to say that they are in fact the smartest person I know, and they were quoting a girlie doctor friend of theirs. Yeah, yesterday was a weird week.

Ron Paul in the Situation Room - May 16, 2006

This is why I defend this man and if he makes it into the FL primary, I will vote for him (if Newt isn't running).

RADULICH: In Defense of Ron Paul

In 2004, one of the criticisms of John Kerry that was bandied about was that he was too nuanced. In other words, his views of the world and governmental policy therein were as complex as the issues themselves and therefore not clear enough for a public that wants its leaders to speak to them in as plain English as possible. That’s a sad commentary on American political life but a reality nonetheless. The voting public seems to be more comfortable with either Captain America or Dr. Phil as president than someone versed in the issues and knowledgeable enough to that one cannot simply project a black-and-white view of things and expect to accomplish anything of value. Contrary to what many on the right seem to believe, the world is just not divided into simply good and bad.

I felt sorry for Kerry in that when he was being honest with himself and the public, the message got muddled in our sound byte happy media and he was made to look foolish when he in fact was thoughtful. But if the media and voters were mean toward Kerry for having more than a child’s view of complex issues, those same culprits have been downright cruel to poor old GOP presidential candidate Rep. (TX) Ron Paul.

Paul has been a hoot in the past two debates. He’s been brutally honest and he seems to be one of the few people running for the nomination that actually remembers the GOP platform. The Republican’s used to be about nothing more than restricted government intervention, low taxes and non-interventionist policies. In other words, Republican’s are supposed to believe in leaving people to their own device-win, lose or draw. In social work lingo it’s called “rugged individualism” and it means that you take care of yourself and the government will make sure you keep as much of what you make as you can. It is simple math really. Lower or lowest taxes means that the government is only minimally involved in your inalienable rights. This is why traditionally Republicans have been against social service programs and an interventionist foreign policy. Contrary to what the liberals would have you believe, it’s not because all Republican are old, white ogres who hate people, it’s because entitlement programs and foreign wars costs money and money costs people their freedom and privacy. Paul has been trying to remind people of this in the sparingly little time he’s had at the previous two debates.

In fact, at the Fox debate on 5/15/07, Paul made statements that got him eviscerated by the mind-numbingly oafish pundits as well as a jingoistic spanking from the most liberal of the contenders, Mayor Rudy Giuliani. You can hear Paul’s comments for yourself in the embedded video but the crux of what he said was that if you want to fix the economy you have to cut spending and the best places to cut are the monsters of bureaucratic inefficiency, the departments of Homeland Security, Education and Energy. He also said that the reason we were attacked on 9-11 is because we had been bombing Iraq for about 10 years prior and said attack was retaliatory in nature.

For this, Ron Paul has nearly usurped Hillary Clinton as the Right’s new boogeyman.

The problem is that if you actually took the time to think about, and read about what Paul was saying, he actually makes perfect sense and is telling the awful truth. In our sound-byte happy country, it sounds like he blaming the US for being attacked by Al Qaeda on 9-11. However, if given more time and the ability to set the record straight in an arena where the audience doesn’t have Attention Deficit Disorder, I’m sure he would say the following:

We were in fact bombing Iraq after the first Gulf War. That was part of the containment policy. As a matter of fact, part of the reason the liberals thought that Iraq didn’t have WMD’s is because of said containment policy. We were monitoring them night and day as well as enforcing no-fly zones in the South and over Kurdistan. We were based in Saudi Arabia both during the conflict as well as after the war had ended. This was one of Osama Bin Laden’s big demands of the United States. On top of wanting to convert or murder all infidels, he also wanted the US out of Saudi Arabia, or as he likes to call it, the holy land. Now this little wrinkle hardly gets any mention in the news what with all of the focus on the much more easier understand former issue but it was in fact a serious demand. The problem was that he didn’t have much of a right to make a demand. The Saudi Royal Family had us there by request and stayed in Saudi Arabia at their pleasure. In any case, the attacks by Al Qaeda in the 90’s and then 9-11 were partly his answer to our unwillingness to leave Saudi Arabia. This was Ron Paul’s point. Had Osama Bin Laden gotten his way and been allowed by the Saudi Royal Family to lead the Mujahudeen against Saddam Hussein in Kuwait as he did (with CIA help) against the Russians in Afghanistan, there probably wouldn’t be an Al Qaeda today. However, as history has shown us, that’s not what happened.

The other statement he’s being attacked on is his idea that we should cut the department of Homeland Security (and Education and Energy). Again, in sound-byte land that means he suggesting we do not defend ourselves or protect our national interests in time of war. While that assertion made for great television, it was also idiotic. In the land of attention spans, what Ron Paul was getting was that beyond the National Guard and other branches of the military, the job of safety and security is supposed to fall on state agencies and not some monstrous federal bureaucracy that is so convoluted it can’t function in a time of crises. His point was that you don’t keep people safe by creating more red tape; you do so by giving the state agencies all of the resources they need to get the job done. That doesn’t take more bureaucrats, that just takes good common sense and better budgeting.

It’s the same thing with Energy and Education. Instead of having the government control something that it does not understand and is woefully unqualified to govern, you should allow but to be provinces of state and private enterprise exclusively. It is the job of the governors of each state to manage their own affairs and getting the federal government involved only muddies up the waters. More to the point, you end up, as we have, throwing away billions in tax dollars are bureaucratic machines don’t function very well and don’t actually solve the problem.

Ron Paul’s problem is not that he was wrong, it’s that he was too right for an audience that doesn’t have time for long complicated answers.

PCLIVE! The 5/13 Recap...

Sounds clips of today's show can be heard on our MySpace Page, or head over to BlogTalkRadio to download the full show.

As for next week...

SUNDAY, AUGUST 20TH!

Mark is the rootinest, tootinest, ideological hombre on the internet, with a PhD in Blogonomics (and he ain't no mamby, pamby either)...

Rev. John is a double fisted drinkin, crazy, son of a [bad word] who'll put the rhythm in your blues and have you screaming out for Jesus...

These two folks come together each an every Sunday morning for sixty minutes of a rompin' stompin' political and pop cultural good time. It's a piece of magic we like to call PCLIVE! And unless Hannity and Colmes finally profess their love to each other, here's what you can expect...

ErectionElection 2008: A Declaration of Independents?

Disposable Culture: Why Owning Stuff isn't Cool Anymore

Something Else

Plus you can't expect to start your week without the BUCGAW REPORT! It's all at our new start time of 10:00 AM EST! If you'd like to join us (and if you don't, you hate the troops) all the info can be found at Blog Talk Radio.


Find out what grinded Mark's gears this week:
http://blog.myspace.com/punkrockconservative

And hey look, Rev. John has a blog too:
http://blog.myspace.com/brodigan2016