“The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no god. It neither picks my pocket, nor breaks my leg.”
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Author: Redactor
Unless our elections are rigged, Congressman Ron Paul — like anyone else running for president — has a bona fide chance to win.
Because we regular people get to decide. It’s our votes; it’s our caucuses.
So, why does the news media keep telling us that Ron Paul has no shot?
A brand new Public Policy Polling survey shows Paul leading the pack in Iowa at 23 percent to Mitt Romney’s 20 percent, with Gingrich falling precipitously to 14 percent.
Queried about a possible Paul victory in Iowa, Fox News’s Chris Wallace responded, “Well, and the Ron Paul people aren’t going to like me saying this, but, to a certain degree, it will discredit the Iowa caucuses because, rightly or wrongly, I think most of the Republican establishment thinks he is not going to end up as the nominee.”
Hmmm. Ron Paul can’t win. So, if he does win, it discredits the process.
It’s déjà-vu all over again: GOP strategist Mike Murphy said back in August that had Congressman Paul received just 75 more votes and won the Iowa straw poll “it would have put the straw poll out of business forever.”
According to a Washington Times story, “Paul could be positioning himself as a spoiler or worse.”
A spoiler? Worse? Dr. Paul is positioning himself as the next president. Which I guess spoils things for Wallace, much of the media and the Washington establishment.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
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It’s a Wonderful Life
On Dec. 20, 1946, the film “It’s a Wonderful Life,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, was first released in New York City. In its initial run, the film did not make a profit. It was nominated for five Academy Awards, though it did not win one. Today, the film is considered a classic and watched around the world at Christmas time.
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Crime’s Up, Crime’s Down
Perception isn’t the same as reality. Americans often perceive, for instance, that crime is increasing. But the truth is that crime has been on the decline for decades.
Can’t say that about crime in Great Britain, though. Crime rates there are up. According to a recent report, “Robbery is now 1.4 times more common in the UK than on the other side of the Atlantic, while assaults are 2.3 times more likely.” And though the U.S. still leads in murder, the situation is getting worse, not better, in Britain: “The murder rate has risen by 26 per cent in London and 85 per cent in Northumbria.” Yikes.
The report’s authors attribute the cause for this rise in crime to “the leniency of police towards suspects and the reluctance of the legal system to convict criminals and jail them.…” A government spokesperson, blaming previous administrations, insists that the “risks of being caught have been declining.”
This analysis sounds reasonable. And yet, my perception — based on what I read, that’s all — is that another set of factors has almost certainly contributed to England’s crime jump. While in America it is becoming easier to own, carry and conceal personal weaponry, it has become much more difficult in Great Britain. Even knives and hunting rifles are heavily regulated, and sidearms are pretty much prohibited. (In the past I’ve related some of the stories.)
With diminished capacity to defend themselves, peaceful Brits become easy targets for those who would abuse them.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
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Paine Publishes, Washington to Valley Forge
On Dec. 19, 1776, Thomas Paine published the first in a series of pamphlets in the Pennsylvania Journal titled “The American Crisis.” Paine’s popular pamphlet, “Common Sense,” released in January of ’76, called for the separation from Britain accomplished that July through the Declaration of Independence.
On Dec. 19, 1777, George Washington’s Continental Army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.