Ron Paul Superbowl Ad

Okay... I had this idea ages ago, but nixed it for two reasons: One, I checked the dates and thought that by this time campaigning would be over for us (one way or the other)and two, I didn't think the Ron Paul campaign would be able to afford it. Welp, I was wrong on both counts. This election is FAR from over at this point - I know some are moaning about Iowa, but seriously, our Iowan brethren did damn good... that state should have rejected us outright for no other reason than they are recipients of federal largesse in untold quantities. A 10% showing in Iowa in my book is a serious win. As far as being able to afford it... well, two moneybombs breaking all records pretty much puts that argument to rest...

Anyhow, as far as I can tell, the Superbowl is on Feb 3 and Super (Duper) Tuesday is on Feb 5th. This seems almost too fortuitous. Not only will an ad stay in the public's mind from Super Sunday to Super Tuesday, a CLEVER ad will be talked about on ALL of the major news stations and talk shows and will likely be re-shown on the monday in betweeen, right before voting commences for primaries in more states than ever before in American history. What could be better?

So, whatcha all think? I can do nothing with this, I will be lucky if this actually posts with my crazy connection. I havn't even had the time to connect with my local meetup group since crossing the country (I assume it's Medford - hi!). Besides, I hate football, I'm a hockey guy. I think though, someone should pick this ball up and run with it, before another campaign does. Use the comments here to coordinate and get it off the ground.

That's it, gotta post whole the net lasts for me...

Few quick thoughts...

It has to be funny, catchy, good... so shouln't come from the campaign itself. ;)

Perhaps the Ron Paul Blimp and Ron Paul Air Corps could do flyby as well at the game (someone put links in comments please!).

Perhaps there's a Reagan - win one for the gipper theme here?

Feb 3rd is the anniversary of Delaware ratifying the Articles of Confederation, the Fifteenth Amendment (voters rights) and the Sixteenth Amendment (income tax) - I'm sure something can be done with one, some or all of those...
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Hope for America

NH Debates Quick Thoughts

By some strange 'perfect storm' of weather phenomenon I actually have both TV reception (all 4 channels) and net connectivity tonight (durring a storm!) in my mountain retreat. Not only did I got to see the debates but can also comment on them.

Republicans first...

Get a mop! There's blood on the floor. McCain, Huckabee and Guiliani gave Romney what appeared to be a gang initiation by beating. It looked painful. It makes me think of Reagan's 11th commandment of 'thou shalt not speak ill of fellow republicans'. Perhaps they thought it was okay because Mitt is basically a liberal flip-flopper anyway? I don't know, but it didn't really make any of them look good. What you didn't see of course was Romney's attack ads which prompted this bashing as much as his polling if not more, no doubt. Blowback anyone?

As usual, Ron Paul came across as the smartest guy in the room, though personally I thought he could have done much better. Mostly in articulation but also in assertiveness. His thoughts on foriegn policy were spot on and well said and really quite irrefutable. To boil it down: They hate us because we're fucking with them. It's a pretty simple concept really and backed up by all credible intelligence experts. Somehow though, this idea that even a child can grasp, that if you poke a hornet's nest you'll get stung, was completely beyond the comprehension of all the other Republican candidates. Rudy was the most ignorant of the bunch, claiming that foriegn policy has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, in fact he said flat out that foreign policy is 'irrelevant, totally irrelevant'. The depths of the man's ignorance is quite astonishing. Of course, he's not alone, the entire non-Paul crowd clamorred about islamofasism, jihadists and a worldwide caliphate. I suppose they also don't understand the concept of overloading the capacity to be afraid with excessive fear mongering either.

Paul also spoke well on the economy, but not so much on healthcare... he sort of blended the two together. He was correct, of course, but I think he could have done himself better with the healthcare question sepparate. Fred Thompson also used this opportunity to take a swipe at Paul (breaking Reagan's 11th just like the rest), unfortunately for him. Unfortunate because Fred didn't have such a bad night and like Paul stayed above the fray for the most part. This one swipe though sort of ruined it for him and I know a lot of paleoconservatives who like both Paul and Thompson who will take this very personally. Also, on a strictly clinical level, if Fred Thompson really didn't understand Paul's explanation of how printing money out of thin air and endless war and nation building prevents us from affording healthcare, then he's really not qualified for the big chair, is he? Back to Paul and healthcare though... This is the second time I've seen him field that question and in neither one did he state the simple fact that he's a medical doctor. Why? This is too humble in my humble opinion. The man is a world class economist, a renowned student of foriegn policy and a medical doctor... he could be called in court to testify as an expert in any of these areas, so throw it out there and let people know.

The run down...

Huckabee was coming off of a media created fake 'surge' that just gave him Iowa and while he got some good licks in on Romney, other than than that seemed like a deer in the headlights and in fact only drew attention to the fact that he's not ready to swim with the sharks or sit at the big table. Prediction: Huck's 'surge' is over, he'll be in single digits for the next two or three states and then drop out.

Romney. He's done. His Wyoming victory has been completely overshadowed and erased. He'll probably run vicious attack ads as a 'rebuttal' but it will do little good. His showing in New Hampshire will be very poor and despite throwing gobs of cash at his campaign he's already seen his high point and has nowhere to go now but down.

Guiliani. Has shown himself to be a complete imbecille on foriegn policy. People were already turning against him for his authoritarian attitude and his overuse of 9/11 scare tactics. His big hope is Florida and when that doesn't come through for him, he'll be done.

McCain. Would have done better if he had said less. He's riding a re-surge, but it won't translate to any money (ask Huckabee) and he'll continue his shoestring campaign to the bitter end. If he weren't so damn wrong on foriegn policy and Iraq, he'd be a shoe in for president. Along with Paul, he's the only Republican that can draw independent and crossover votes in any significant numbers and the math says that you can't win without that. In the end I'd say he has a fair chance of recieving the nomination.

Fred Thompson. He actually said something. In fact, other than what I pointed out above, he didn't make too much of a fool of himself. I think his fans and the media in general will make a big hoopla about this, perhaps even declare him the winner. I guess for him, he did a lot, really though even if he were energetic and charismatic, which he is neither, he would be unelectable on his record alone. It is the mere fact that he's so boring which has kept him from serious media scrutiny all this time and he's the better off for it.

Ron Paul. Could have done better. Could have done worse. Really needs to do something drastic. It seems as though his grassroots army is doing all the heavy lifting here. It's time Paul himself and his paid campaign do something amazing themselves. Give the boots on the ground something to cheer, something to magnify, something to hope. His biggest problem, strangely enough is the democrats. Hillary is losing and it'll be a much harder contest against Edwards or Obama and those two are both stealing the indies as well. Time to get crazy, perhaps offer a hand of friendship in the name of 'Change' bi-partisanly. Prediction: Paul takes 2nd in New Hapshire (though 1st isn't out of the question) and it will be seen as the real begining of something new(as well as the end of old-news punditry).
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Democrats...

Hillary's voice is shrill and annoying. Most of what I hear is that they all want to bankrupt the country. They're planning huge and costly 'programs' and an avalanche of taxes to pay for them. Obviously they are all so out of touch with middle America that they don't realize there's a bunch of folks out there living paycheck to paycheck and hand to mouth who are barely making it under the huge tax burden they're already shouldering.

Perhaps they caught the scent of Romney's blood in the water from the previous debate. The attack is on. Hillary, Ice Queen draws first blood but Obama and Edwards circle their wagons and begin a tag-team. Richardson remains out of the fray, mostly recounting his own extensive credentials. In the end, Hillary loses big, though I'm sure her campaign machine and her friendly news outlets will somehow spin it differently. Obama came out even-steven and Edwards definitely won. Richardson seemed to be in a different debate, with only himself and neither won nor lost. The entire debate was very much lessened by the lack of Kucinich, the lone real anti-war candidate on the Democrat side. Too bad, but really he'd been marginalized all along because he serves to highlight the fact that the Dems are really just as pro-war was the Republicans and thus he was messing it up for all of them. On that note, Hillary once again took the opportunity to point out multiple times how different they 'all' were than their Republican counterparts, which would have been humorous if it weren't so sadly false. I can find very little difference between her policy and that of Bush. They are so like, that she seems to be using the same tactic philosophy of - repeat it enough and they'll believe it. "We're totally different", "There are weapons of mass destrution". When will it end?


The run down...

Hillary did terrible. She's far from done however. Her political machine is beyond enormous and reaches into both parties as well as every industry. She'll battle on to the end and will not accept (or be offered?) a vice presidential spot. Ultimately I sincerely hope she loses, but won't predict such a thing, especially since she hasn't even opened her bag of dirty tricks yet.

Obama sort of rode this one out. Not bad, not great. He seems tired. The Hillary machine will find some way to attack him over the debate and he's about to come under super scrutiny from the media anyway. Can he withstand it? Only time will tell.

Edwards wins again. He's good. He actually has a good message for the most part and I'd be backing him if he didn't set my truthiness detector off so much. Alas. He'd be smart to form a coalition now, before things get really dirty. In some way's he's in a better position than Obama because he's already run and been vetted and that could be a bit of a bargaining chip.

Richardson. Really the only remaining Democrat running who is actually qualified to be President. He still hasn't found a way to display his credentials without sounding awkward and self agrandizing. Too bad. He'll make an alliance soon, throw his support and earn a cabinet position... but with whom?

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I'll make more posts as long as my connection holds. Sorry for lack of cites and poor spelling... I'm working with the equivalent of bear skins and stone knives here.

Into the Wilderness

Living not quite off-grid in Oregon.

I finally took the plunge and crossed the country to settle in the mountains of southern Oregon, away from the cities and with some luck with the opportunity to eventually move myself completely off the grid and towards independence. From the state of things in both the country the globally, it appears I made the move none too soon.

The drive from New Jersey was fairly uneventful, about the only thing semi-remarkable was the rather large number of surveillance cameras I noticed along the way. Considering I spent most of my time on the highway, I have to assume I only saw a small fraction of what's really out there. Other than that, the trip was somewhat boring but peppered with the beautiful scenery that is America. Since it was my fifth drive across there wasn't much in the way of surprises.

In the week it took me to cross the country and the weeks following that I've been settling in, the state of things appears to have become progressively worse. This was, of course, one of the main driving forces in my move. As the saying goes, it doesn't take a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing. I won't go all Nostradomaesque and attempt to predict the exact and detailed nature of the shitstorm coming, but I think it's safe to say that there are many possibilities in the offing. Martial Law and a full blown U.S. Police State seems to loom closer every day, possibly just awaiting some civil unrest or other real or phony emergency to spark it off. The prospect of a nuclear attack on Iran and the repercussions thereby generated could well be the spark needed, or perhaps a false flag terrorist attack, be it orchestrated, helped along or simply allowed to go forward. Maybe it's as simple as economic collapse? As far as I can tell, the U.S. economy appears to have already crashed but the fact is being hidden, perhaps in an attempt to stage manage the wealth concentration to the top more efficiently. Then there's the looming problems with China, our CIA run state Pakistan and of course, the renewed cold war with Russia. In any case, things look grim and it seemed a prudent time to at the very least be ready to hunker down the ride the troubled times out.

As far as being off-grid, I'm not quite there. I have electricity, though my needs are very moderate and the few solar lights I set up offset most of that, and a phone line, though the clarity and thus my connection is extremely poor. A deep well provides cool, clear water and a wood stove will heat the cabin as needed. The cabin itself seems to have been smartly designed with one side in shade and the other in sun thus the temperature difference between the two creates a continuous slight breeze. My understanding is that it was part of some sort of communal semi-sustainable community in the distant past, some interesting details on that I'll save for a post of its own. As far as sustainability, I was planning more for safety so that will have to come more slowly, as (if?) time permits. For the time being, I'm buying in bulk and from local purveyors as much as possible. In a pinch I am fairly certain that I could stay here indefinitely with no outside resources, as the area is covered with various fruits and some veggies even my untrained eye can pick out and of course there's all the critters and plenty of fish in the nearby streams. With some luck and work I'd like to move towards complete autonomy and sustainability over the coming months and also look into different smart architectures - I'm leaning towards at least partially underground and perhaps a dome. Likely extremely green, though more indirectly than intentionally. I'm not rabidly environmental, it's more that I prefer to starve the corporate monster by making as few financial transactions as possible.





Security is assured by the remoteness of the location and the sheer ruggedness of the miles of dusty track leading to it. I added to that with a couple of cheap webcams which I popped the IR filters out of and stationed near tiny lights with the bulbs replaced with the bulbs from some old remote controls I found. There's also several 'guardian' peacocks about to give the warning should any intruders venture near.

Overall, I'm enjoying the remoteness, the wilderness and the peace. It also doesn't hurt that my woman is a chef, so the meals have been fabulous. My net connection is deplorable, so my postings will be infrequent until I can remedy that situation. For entertainment there's always my dynamo powered am/fm/shortwave radio and of course I have hundreds of FOIA documents I never had time before to read. I do miss the continuous stream of news from hundreds of feeds I used to enjoy as part of my daily routine, but the feeling of security and peace out here in the forest makes up for that. I'd recommend to anyone who has the means, making the move towards off-grid living, both for peace of mind and safety during these troubled times.

The adventure begins...

Picture: Michael Chertoff and his Gut Feeling

Picture of the day: Michael Chertoff and his "gut feeling". For those not tuned in, this asshat is attempting to set the stage for another American tragedy in order to drum up popular opinion for more war, more death and more destruction of our personal liberties. Don't let him fool you.

Ron Paul Fans ALERT: Hardball Campaign Ad Challenge

Chris Matthews of MSNBC's Hardball has issued a challenge to make your own campaign videos: "Make your own political ad, we'll show the best on MSNBC"

From the site:

Make your own 30-second campaign ad about your favorite presidential candidate or the candidate you like the least. We'll play the best videos on "Hardball" and announce the winner on August 7.

Alright Ron Paul Army, we've earned a name for ourselves as the most tech savvy grass roots movement around, now it's time to show our stuff. Personally, I'm an old skooler, mostly operating out of a bash shell since the late-80's and I detest new fangled technology - I even find a mouse cumbersome - therefore I'm appealing to the younger crowd on this one. We'll undoubtedly be up against some phony plants from the big money corporatist campaigns entering professionally done videos, but I have confidence in both our abilities and our message to carry the day. Let's go folks, there's only three weeks to sieze this opportunity.

Send your entries here.


Please repost this elsewhere for maximum exposure.

Video: Ron Paul meets Dramatic Chipmunk

Champion of the Constitution - Ron Paul

How's that surge working out?

Six months after the surge was announced, how's it going? Apparently not so good. Today Bush attempted to spin the surge as some sort of victory, but all evidence points to the contrary. Since Mission Accomplished, nearly 3500 troops have been killed almost 600 of them since the surge announcement. There is also a large number of contractor deaths and the Iraqi civilian death toll is absolutely staggering. The democratic congress continues to twiddle its thumbs, leaving our troops in harms way while they attempt to capitolize politically on the deteriorating situation. Time to throw them all out? Except Ron Paul of course.

Ron Paul poised to bypass Hillary in largest straw poll

Yep. They've been running neck and neck for a while now at 10%. You can see the poll in the left column of this blog. Hillary has been riding the down spiral of her "funny" little sopranos video, while Paul has been on a massive upsurge of repeated good news as he places higher and higher in every poll he is included in as well as the snowballing effect of his message of freedom and liberty gathering followers wherever it touches. At the time of this writing, the newsvine/facebook poll has over 100,000 voters and the sheer numbers plus the efforts of newsvine makes it more accurate than most of the other fly-by-night polls of this sort. One thing these polls show is that the mainstream media 'pundits' are way off base. For instance, they are predicting Obama very distant to Hillary. This of course is a joke. Obama is far ahead of Hillary right now. Not that I like him, I think it would be charitable to call the man an empty suit, but the fact is he is FAR ahead of Hillary Clinton and only her massively powerful campaign spin machine with a complicit media is hiding that fact. On that note, I'm not a big fan of facebook (cia owned) or newsvine either. I suppose newsvine is alright and I can appreciate the idea behind it, but I prefer the anarchy of digg myself. Anyway, the point is that this poll is fairly accurate for a certain segment of the voting population. Mostly the younger population. Here's something they don't factor in to the polls: People under 21 are registering and going to be voting in nearly TWICE the number that they have in the previous elections. These are people that are NOT on the lists that pollsters use and are an unmeasureable x-factor in the upcoming elections that the mainstream media doesn't want to acknowledge and think they can marginalize by ignoring. Surprise. This will be the voting bloc that decides the election people. Hillary, most hated woman in America is OUT. Likewise the anti-freedom asshat Giuliani. This race is going to be decided on the internet, all unbeknownst to the so called pundits and it's going to be between Barak Obama and Ron Paul... at least that's the way it should turn out, but of course they could in theory cancel eachother out.

Anyhow... vote in the newsvine poll in the left column here and register your opinion. It really does matter.

As soon as Paul crushes Hillary in this poll, he'll be right on the heels of Gouliani and from there it's just a sprint to Obama who will undoubtedly falter between now and election time. VOTE! And as the saying goes "vote often". Don't let the media tell you 'who can win', decide for yourself.

On a side note... since I have multiple site statistic utilities installed here, I can verify that there is absolutely no gaming of the system going on and I have the logs to prove it.

Video: Why do YOU support Ron Paul ? Seattle edition

Ron Paul 2008.

Michael Moore spanks Wolf Blitzer

Michael Moore drops Wolf Blitzer's drawers and spanks his bottom blue on CNN's The Situation Room.

It's pretty rare that the mainstream media can surprise me these days, but this interview did the trick. I actually don't even bother with CNN much, but I like to tune in to see Jack Cafferty shaking his fist at congress and shouting "Get off my lawn!" now and then. It was tuning in early to see that today when I got an eye and ear full of this awesome Michael Moore interview. It was preceded by a hit piece questioning the integrity of Moore's new film SiCKO and obviously Moore was watching as it aired because as soon as they went to him, he proceded to rip Wolf Blitzer, CNN and the mainstream news in general a new one. I have to hand it to Moore here, because what he did was channel and control his anger and emotion like a maestro, making his points and taking ground as fast as Blitzer gave it up in his hasty retreating. If a politician could pull off this kind of honest emotional outburst without sounding absolutely crazy, they would be unstobbable. Moore lambasted CNN on their supposed 'facts' regarding U.S. healthcare and when Wolf tried to play the Sanjay Gupta card, Moore took that and turned it against him, steering the conversation to CNN's complicity in getting us into the Iraq War. At one point the interview was even reminicent of the classic movie 'Network' as Michael Moore wondered aloud when the American People would tire of the lies and bullshit the mainstream media pushes and simply turn off their TV's... I was waiting for him to shout "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!". He even demanded an appology to him personally and to the American People for all the bullshit spin CNN put on his previous movie Farenheight 911 because for the most part the things he said in that movie have all been proven true. Overall it was a great interview, at the end I could almost hear the collective sigh as the DailyKos crowd orgasmed in unison.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a fan of Michael Moore or Wolf Blitzer. Moore is IMO what can be termed a Left Gatekeeper... in that he will gladly dole out information, but only as long as it serves his own political agenda and withholds anything that is potentially damaging to his personal worldview. This is quite apparent in his film SiCKO where he truthfully tells about all the awfulness in the U.S. health care system but then offers a solution that the government take it over... apparently ignoring the fact that it's the government itself which fouled the system up in the first place and the government which is behind such incredibly successful projects as the war on drugs. Blitzer on the other hand plays the same game from the other end of the scale. He's a neocon mouthpiece and holds back information that is damaging to that agenda unless it becomes too obvious. Check out Wolf's wikipedia page, he's the quinticential Israel Firster who puts the intersts of the United States second and Truth in Reporting a distant third and has one main goal and that is to control the flow of information. Probably Blitzer is the more dangerous of the pair, because as a consumate liar, he is able to come off as neutral and even reasonable - unless of course you do your own fact checking.

Anyhow, good interview, well worth watching. I'll tack on the transcript and video as they become available.

Torrent downloads for the movie SiCKO here.

As promised, here's the video... as for the transcript, CNN is running three days behind on those, if you can believe it.

Picture of the day: Sheehan vs. Pelosi

"Cat Fight with Light Sabers!"

The Washington Post is reporting that famed Peace Activist Mom Cindy Sheehan is considering a challenge to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her San Francisco congressional seat in 2008 unless the Speaker puts impeachment back on the table by July 23rd.

I for one applaud Sheehan for such a crazy and bold move. Mainstream pundits and of course the democratic leadership are dismissive of such a challenge, however all that shows is just how out of touch these masters of spin have become. There are a great many factors which come into play here and the vast majority of them favor Sheehan over Pelosi.

Sure, Cindy Sheehan is a bit nutty, but honestly that's practically a requirement to become a member of congress these days, and one thing she does have that most do not is good intentions. Nancy Pelosi on the other hand represents everything that is wrong with our political system. Pelosi is the Old Guard, filthy in PAC contributions, special interest money and basically a cornerstone of the whole corrupt 'money for favors' politicking which the vast majority of Americans have come to despise. A powerhouse in the shadowy world of fund raising, Mrs. Speaker has also slapped the American People in the face with policy issues since taking office. Nancy Pelosi is the face of congress, a congress that is at an all time low in approval ratings (Only Cheney and Bin Laden are lower!). This is not by accident. With a clear mandate from the people in 2006 to end the Iraq War and restore Civil Liberties, Nancy's congress has done neither. In fact, she has done nothing but political grand standing since taking office. Absolutely zero of the 'people's business'. A track record of broken promises, hollow gestures and scorning the will of the people isn't much to run on. How's that swamp draining coming along? From here it looks like the democrats stepped up to the trough vacated by their republican counterparts and gorged themselves on pork. Paying back favors for campaign assistance. How long do they think the American People will stand for this? What right did Nancy have to take impeachment 'off the table' in the first place? It's not her place to decide. If impeachable offenses have been committed, then it's her duty to follow up on them. Perhaps she forgot who she works for: The American People. Well, you can bet the American People won't forget. Not this time. Voters identifying themselves as independents now outnumber those of either party and the reason is obvious - they are sick of both parties and the whole corrupt system.

The 2008 elections will share their central issue with the 2006 elections: The War. People are sick and tired of this ill conceived, mismanaged travesty of a war. The Bush Escalation has increased the body count significantly and it's still on the rise. The democrats have abandoned their mandate and are playing games with the lives of our soldiers in the balance for political gain. Blame for every life lost since the 2006 elections is now shared by the democrats and mostly the democratic leadership. By election time, anti-war sentiment will likely be over 85%, this would be a very bad time to lock horns with a peace activist, even one as odd as Cindy Sheehan, especially in what is in essence America's hotbed of activism. Ron Paul's meteoric rise to the first tier on a shoestring budget has shown that the internet is fast nullifying old school big money candidates and their ability to buy elections, even those like Mrs. Speaker with ties to the Bohemian Grove candidate selection farm. Nancy Pelosi would do well to pay heed to both Cindy Sheehan and the American People if she plans on keeping her job for another term.

Picture of the day: Every Time You Bury a Ron Paul story on DIGG...

Every time you bury a Ron Paul story on DIGG... God kills a kitten. Please, think of the kittens.

This 4th of July, I'm raising a beer to toast Ron Paul

Freedom! I'll drink to that. At this time of year, when we're all celebrating the wonderous freedoms of this country, the freedoms that those who came before us fought, killed, bled and died for, it's good and healthy to remember their patriotism. Against all odds, they fought, outnumbered and starving, marching their bare feet through the snow, all the while under the onus of being labeled 'traitor' by their oppressors, for one ideal: Freedom. That is true bravery. Everything we have today we owe to those brave souls and their sacrifice. This type of heroism, sacrifice and honor are almost unheard of in this modern world of cynacism. These days it is all but expected that our politicians will make every attempt to circumvent the rule of law, to ignore the Constitution and to turn their backs on their Oaths of office. One man stands alone against all that, one man stands for the ideals of liberty and the freedoms that our founding fathers fought so hard for and upholds his Oath to the Constitution of the United States of America. That man is Congressman Ron Paul. Therefore, while we're celebrating the gifts our forefathers bestowed upon us, I'll raise a beer in toast to Ron Paul, the only man in modern times worthy of being counted among those who made this country possible. I for one thank you Dr. Paul.

BREAKING: Bush commutes Scooter Libby sentence

Scooter's sphincter breaths a sigh of relief as Bush spares him a stint in PMITA Federal Prison.

Hot off the presses. Lewis Scooter Libby who was convicted by a jury on four counts has had his sentence commuted by President Bush. Justice served? Noteworthy: Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction. Apparently Scooter will still likely lose his law license and still have to pay his fines. The President released a two page brief explaining his reasoning, I'll tack that on here when it becomes available.

Added - Here's the Bush Libby Statement:

The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit today rejected Lewis Libby's request to remain free on bail while pursuing his appeals for the serious convictions of perjury and obstruction of justice. As a result, Mr. Libby will be required to turn himself over to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving his prison sentence.

I have said throughout this process that it would not be appropriate to comment or intervene in this case until Mr. Libby's appeals have been exhausted. But with the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent, I believe it is now important to react to that decision.

From the very beginning of the investigation into the leaking of Valerie Plame's name, I made it clear to the White House staff and anyone serving in my administration that I expected full cooperation with the Justice Department. Dozens of White House staff and administration officials dutifully cooperated.

After the investigation was under way, the Justice Department appointed United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald as a Special Counsel in charge of the case. Mr. Fitzgerald is a highly qualified, professional prosecutor who carried out his responsibilities as charged.

This case has generated significant commentary and debate. Critics of the investigation have argued that a special counsel should not have been appointed, nor should the investigation have been pursued after the Justice Department learned who leaked Ms. Plame's name to columnist Robert Novak. Furthermore, the critics point out that neither Mr. Libby nor anyone else has been charged with violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act or the Espionage Act, which were the original subjects of the investigation. Finally, critics say the punishment does not fit the crime: Mr. Libby was a first-time offender with years of exceptional public service and was handed a harsh sentence based in part on allegations never presented to the jury.

Others point out that a jury of citizens weighed all the evidence and listened to all the testimony and found Mr. Libby guilty of perjury and obstructing justice. They argue, correctly, that our entire system of justice relies on people telling the truth. And if a person does not tell the truth, particularly if he serves in government and holds the public trust, he must be held accountable. They say that had Mr. Libby only told the truth, he would have never been indicted in the first place.

Both critics and defenders of this investigation have made important points. I have made my own evaluation. In preparing for the decision I am announcing today, I have carefully weighed these arguments and the circumstances surrounding this case.

Mr. Libby was sentenced to thirty months of prison, two years of probation, and a $250,000 fine. In making the sentencing decision, the district court rejected the advice of the probation office, which recommended a lesser sentence and the consideration of factors that could have led to a sentence of home confinement or probation.

I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive. Therefore, I am commuting the portion of Mr. Libby's sentence that required him to spend thirty months in prison.

My decision to commute his prison sentence leaves in place a harsh punishment for Mr. Libby. The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged. His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant, and private citizen will be long-lasting.

The Constitution gives the President the power of clemency to be used when he deems it to be warranted. It is my judgment that a commutation of the prison term in Mr. Libby's case is an appropriate exercise of this power.

Ron Paul goes iPhone

This Press Release just in from the Ron Paul 2008 Campaign Headquarters.

Press Release

Ron Paul Campaign First to Provide iPhone Platform

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 2, 2007

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – The Ron Paul 2008 presidential campaign today became the first campaign to launch an iPhone platform. This new platform will allow iPhone users to access the campaign’s Web 2.0 applications, such as social networking tools and online videos, directly from their iPhones.

“The iPhone is an exciting technology that will help us reach potential voters across the country,” states eCampaign director Justine Lam. “The Ron Paul campaign continues to utilize new technologies to spread Dr. Paul’s message of freedom, peace and prosperity.”

Terra Eclipse of Santa Cruz, California designed this special platform for the Ron Paul campaign. “Our web development team has built a robust tool that will allow iPhone-equipped volunteers to bring Ron Paul’s online popularity into offline households in key early primary states,” says Wyatt Hull, creative director of Terra Eclipse.

The Ron Paul 2008 iPhone platform is available at www.ronpaul2008.com/iphone .