Jonah Goldberg – NRO

The New York Times has an interesting front page piece on Ron Paul’s relationship with the racists,  anti-Semites and neo-Nazis in his coalition (sorry, but whatever you think of Lew Rockwell,  Stormfront and David Duke certainly deserve such labels).

His three defenses are: 1) He didn’t have direct knowledge of the really bad things and cannot remember anything when people provide evidence that he did.

2) He won’t disavow support from neo-Nazis and white supremacists because their endorsement of him doesn’t imply or suggest his endorsement of them. “If they want to endorse me, they’re endorsing what I do or say — it has nothing to do with endorsing what they say.”

3) Last he believes that his continued reliance on their support can be justified because he’s championing the cause of liberty. “I’ll go to anybody who I think I can convert to change their viewpoints — so that would be to me incidental,” he said. “I’m always looking at converting people to look at liberty the way I do.”

All of these are deficient. Let’s start with his first argument.  I simply don’t believe him. His claim would require not only that he never wrote the newsletters in question but that he never read them either. It would also strongly suggest that he never discussed their basic editorial thrust with a close aide and editor who was writing under Paul’s own name. He even claims that he never paid attention his lucrative newsletter business because nobody ever complained about their content.

I admit to a writer’s bias here, but your byline is one of the most valuable things you own because it reflects not just your work and thought but your character and reputation as well.  I think Paul is lying about at least some of this. But even if you take him at his word that he was merely grossly irresponsible and incompetent in his handling of a few newsletters, how are we supposed to believe he could do the job of president if he has such poor management skills and such rotten choice in staff? (Admittedly, his choice in staff was only rotten if he’s telling the truth and his newsletters don’t reflect his views).

Then there’s his second argument. Yes, it’s true that support from racists doesn’t make you a racist. But working with them is a different matter. Tolerating them, never mind campaigning for their support, even obliquely, is damning.

Which brings us to his third claim: that he’s on a quest to convert people. I’m actually very sympathetic to this argument, as it is one I’ve invoked myself and it’s one Bill Buckley used to make. Politics is about persuasion. If Ron Paul were out there converting neo-Nazis to classical liberalism I’d be cheering him on. But where is the evidence he’s doing anything of the sort? Talking about hard money and the conspiracy at the Fed is not a sincere way to convince racists to drop their odious views. Is there any serious evidence that he’s tried to convince such supporters they’re wrong? I’ll take the word of people like Cato president Ed Crane and others that Paul doesn’t in fact believe much of this stuff. But where’s the proof Paul ever spent any real effort trying to enlighten Lew Rockwell, never mind the folks at Stormfront?  If there is such proof, his communications people are doing a fantastic job keeping it secret.

If Paul’s explanations are to be believed at face value, he’s a shockingly naive man. If your goal is to persuade people that the libertarian cause is free of bigotry, courting support from bigots is a really stupid way to do it.

!snip!

Ron Paul apologists are saying that Ron Paul’s associations are meaningless, and he can’t help who supports him. Really? Then we should all be ashamed of ourselves for doing the exact same thing to Obama in 2008. We were obviously wrong when we said he was a socialist, America hating, race obsessed, Weather Underground sympathizing, Goldman Sachs loving and corrupt Chicago thug community agitator, based on who he was associated with and who his endorsers were.

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Now this I find very interesting!

Mathematical Sculpture

I think about math constantly, and I see and look for math in everything around me. Geometry in particular fascinates me, and I delight in discovering hidden patterns even in the most mundane of objects. By transforming often-overlooked household items into elaborate, mathematical sculptures, I hope to share this sense of excitement, curiosity, and beauty that a mathematical outlook has instilled in me. Maybe I’ll even be able to learn and teach some math along the way.

Go HERE for more.

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The head of the Anglican Church says this? What an idiot!

(Daily Mail) — The thugs behind this summer’s riots were no worse than Britain’s bankers, the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested yesterday.

Delivering his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, Rowan Williams claimed society had been torn apart by the violence that erupted in August.

‘The most pressing question we now face, we might well say, is who and where we are as a society,’ said Dr Williams. ‘Bonds have been broken, trust abused and lost.

‘Whether it is an urban rioter mindlessly burning down a small shop that serves his community, or a speculator turning his back on the question of who bears the ultimate cost for his acquisitive adventures in the virtual reality of today’s financial world, the picture is of atoms spinning apart in the dark.

‘And into that dark the Word of God has entered, in love and judgment, and has not been overcome; in the darkness the question sounds as clear as ever, to each of us and to our church and our society: “Britain, where are you?” Where are the words we can use to answer?’

He asked the congregation to learn lessons about mutual obligation from the events of the past year. His comments, which formed part of his closing remarks, will undoubtedly spark debate among those who claim the rioters were crying out for help and those who believe their behaviour was wanton vandalism.

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‘Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?’

Comedian Denis Leary Accused Of “Islamophobia” Over Peanuts Parody Video…  You decide! Remember, it is not islamophobia if the islamics are really out to get you!

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Smart Meters They tell you it will help you reduce your consumption but based on that consumption they can use that info to throttle you back (brown you out) or black you out altogether. You know, just like what the telcos do when you surf too much on your smartphones?

According to an article on CBC News, a Government report released by British Columbia’s Commissioner from the Office of Information and Privacy, Elizabeth Denham, says that Smart Meters will collect personal information about people’s daily lives:

“Denham said that hourly power use updates would reveal patterns of household consumption and information about customers’ daily lives..”

This report was a result of an investigation started by 600 complaints about privacy concerns when the local power company, DC Hydro, announced it was going to replace the old analog meters with new ‘Smart Meters’.

Energy Consumers in British Columbia are not the only ones who should have privacy concerns when it comes to the Smart Meters and the Smart Grid. The United States has come a long way in ensuring that their Smart Grid will be just as intrusive, if not more, when it comes to collecting information on the daily lives of average Americans.

In 2010, the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP), a part of the Executive Branch agency called the National Institute of Standards and Technologies (NIST), requested that the North American Energy Standards Board (NAESB) (Consisting of 300 + Energy Producers and Distributers) in conjuction with the EPA, create a document listing the standards for the type of information that will be collected through the Smart Grid. That document is called the NAESB Energy Usage Information Model or Priority Action Plan 10 (PAP-10).

On Page 9 of PAP-10 listed under ‘kind of reading’ alongside normal readings that will be tracked through the Smart Grid like voltage, date and time are the not so normal readings such as carbon and carbonDioxide.
As you can see PAP-10 calls for the tracking of everything from your TV, gas, water, heat (Includes Hot Water and Steam), refuse (trash), sewerage, internet, TvLiscense & cold (Includes chilled water and ice) through the Smart Grid.

On Page 42 of this document it states:

“The Priority Action Plan 10 (PAP 10) of the NIST-initiated Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP 2011) provides a standardized model for exchanging energy usage and cost information between different parties and devices and is the basis for information exchange directly from the meter to household devices, as well as from utility back office systems to authorized third parties.
The above principles provide valuable guidance as to how state regulators can support consumers’efforts to direct the secure transfer of data from utilities to third-parties,…”

In other words the Obama administration was recommending that PAP-10 be adopted as an official standard for the type of information that should be collected through the Smart Grid, little did we know Obama would soon get his wish.

Lots more disturbing information at the link.

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