Sunday, December 30, 2007

RP on ORF

Thank you to Johannes for pointing out that Ron Paul has appeared on ORF ! - Allan
click here

Writing Letters - New States are ready to hear from you

I just want to thank everyone in the group for working on those letters. Our group sent out a total of 180 letters to "no party" voters in Iowa. The move to get out handwritten letters to independent voters continues. It is one of the most effective things that an American Ron Paul supporter abroad can do right now for the campaign. If you are not American, you could also get together with an American to write the letters and it could be quite effective as well. Send me an email at AmericansInEuropeForRonPaul@gmail.com to learn more about how it might be effective for those who are not American citizens. Check out this quote below from the Daily Paul that highlights the importance of those letters. - Allan


My son is canvassing in Iowa. He knocked on a door and the person said that they had just received a letter from someone in Arizona and he had some questions ... 30 minutes later, he had himself a convert ... Please help with this, it really does work and makes the job of our boots in Iowa all that more effective.


http://www.louislogan.com/letters/index.asp


We just received new addresses for the following groups. Order online today by clicking here!:

* Republicans in Martin County, Florida (north of Miami from Jupiter to Port St. Lucie)
* Republicans in Wyoming (GOP Precinct Committee Members)
* Republicans in South Carolina (voters focused on immigration/border security issues)

Wyoming is the most pressing since their County Convention is next Saturday, January 5. All NH letters need to be in the mail no later than 12/31 (January 2 for Northeastern states).

I also just added on the site a ranking of letter distribution for all states per million in population. This takes out the population effect of larger states: http://www.louislogan.com/letters/stats.asp

Great quote on Daily Paul yesterday: "My son is canvassing in Iowa. He knocked on a door and the person said that they had just received a letter from someone in Arizona and he had some questions ... 30 minutes later, he had himself a convert ... Please help with this, it really does work and makes the job of our boots in Iowa all that more effective." -- ljrdxyh on Daily Paul
Thanks for all your efforts!
Ron Shimshock
Ron Paul Letter Writing Campaign

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Home schooling

A study group? We probably have way to go there, but o.k., why not call it a study group. On a basic level, my intent was simply to use our time more efficiently, to get more out of all the intellectual capacity constituted by our members, and also to provide a long-term perspective for the group.

When you, Allan, quote me on the impact we have on the ongoing election, I want to add the following: I am not so much worried about the limited effect that our Vienna gatherings have on the Ron Paul campaign, I am more concerned about the impact that the campaign may have on us and all the other groups, in the sense that, what happens when things don’t turn out as rosy as some people imagine. Will that be like deflating a balloon? Will all the excitement simply evaporate? Some of you might dismiss asking such questions as needless defeatism, and yes, not a single vote has been cast yet, and we still hope for an upset victory or at least a memorable fight, however small the odds may be. Yet the dim scenario might happen, if people see the movement simply in terms of the race for the presidency.

Getting Ron Paul elected is one part of the story. The other one, and I might add, the more profound one, is, that this is about ideas. And no matter what happens to the Ron Paul campaign these ideas are here to stay: strong defence of personal liberties and a profound reflection on what the proper role of government ought to be, the meaning of national sovereignty in an increasingly globalized world and the function of international organisations, the over-reaching of the state at home and abroad, non-interventionism as opposed to interventionism with all its unintended consequences, a fundamental understanding of the current monetary system and how it affects people’s lives. For me personally, Ron Paul has provided me with lots of food for thought on all of these. In my case it is not that I suddenly started to see the light, but rather a process that I have entered instead, kind of an intellectual journey that has just begun. And now I simply want to carry on. I want to educate myself on those issues, and what would be more apparent than doing that together with the other people in the group.

I, for one, have been interested in international politics ever since and – like so many others - even more so in the post 9/11 world of the last seven years. I have assembled a small but fine reading list (that features some of the titles on Rudy’s list) which I’d be happy to share with the others. Stefan on the other hand has started digging into Viennese economics. I’d be glad to learn more from him on this. And there is Ben, who as an American lawyer has a better insight on many of the implications of the war on terror etc.

Where is all that heading in a practical political sense? What are our goals for the future? We’ve discussed that in depth in our last meeting and inadvertently we ended up once again with the basic question, that is, what does a European Ron Paul movement really mean? What is it about? The result was hardly surprising. We said that, if there is something like a European Ron Paul movement (and Strasbourg just recently proved that such a thing does exist), we should focus on the European Union and the ongoing process of integration. There are different levels of Euro-scepticism to be found among the members of our group. What we all agreed on was that there is, additionally to the many questionable things already in place, a worrying tendency to further interference that gives us as liberty minded Europeans great cause for concern. One major characteristic of how these things are being put forward, is, that much of it happens under the radar. And there we are again with the “study group”. We see it as a logical starting point for us to get ourselves better informed, gain the necessary technical knowledge, check out for possible watchdog groups already in place, and become active. This we see as our most likely long-term perspective as a European political movement and this should feature prominently in our next European wide gathering.

In the meantime we are going back to school. It is a small school still, made up only by the few of us, and it's not too sophisticated yet, sort of a home school. Small but fine, completely detached from any department of education: this, our Vienna school of Ron Paulitics.

- Johannes

Friday, December 28, 2007

News from the Vienna group - the Study Circle

News from the Vienna group - the Study Circle

At our last meeting on Friday, Johannes proposed that the group take a more structured format: “We cannot have a drastic impact on the American elections, but we can have a drastic impact on ourselves. The purpose of the group, therefore, will be to educate ourselves, while building on the momentum generated by Ron Paul’s candidacy.”

While I disagree with Johannes’s first comment – that we cannot have an impact - I absolutely agree with the concept of educating ourselves, and doing that as a group. There are many things related to Ron Paul’s candidacy that I am curious about, yet I would never have the time to research all of them. Johannes, has proposed an important next step for the Vienna group – a lecture from a group member at every meeting, on a topic that is important to him or her, or a topic in which he or she is already particularly well-versed.

Members have already agreed to speak on areas of interest to them – Israel, monetary policy, American media. Presentations at each meeting will be expected to last up to an hour, with Question and Answer to follow, perhaps a moderated discussion, and social time after that.

We will be looking for talented and educated speakers to come present to the group as well. Any suggestions? Please leave a note in the comments, or contact us at AmericansInEuropeForRonPaul@gmail.com.

In a decision arrived at during the previous meeting of the Vienna group – Johannes will be the organizer of the Vienna group. There are good ideas circulating about how to expand that group. Also, the group will probably find a more quiet place to meet and one more conducive to a group discussion than 1516.

- Allan

Day 4 on the Road to February 5th

December 27 – Day 4 on the Road to February 5th

I have sat in on a RP volunteer conference call for the first time. It was not organized by the national headquarters. During the time that I was on, (which was considerably later than I should have gotten on) nothing important was discussed, but it was upbeat, and it seems that national efforts are moving along quite successfully. From the conference call, I have gathered the following bits of wisdom:

Some of the Ron Paul volunteers here in the US consider the people at the Ron Paul national headquarters to be jackasses.

Just like in Europe, there are some really quality people active in this movement in the US.

Ron Paul has started to be recognized as a legitimate force, so it is now time for the dirty stuff to begin. In the face of opposition, we must never become discouraged, but instead, we must REDOUBLE our efforts ! !

- Allan, writing from Chicago

Day 3 on the Road to February 5

December 26, 2007 – Day 3 – The road to February 5

A good friend of mine, in his 50’s, in all of his Ron Paul support has taken up the phrase “What have you done for the Constitution today?” It’s something he asks people regularly now. He will not be voting Ron Paul in the Illinois primaries, because he is a lifelong member of the Democratic party in Illinois. His voting on a Republican ballot in the primaries would surely be noticed by others.

- Allan (Writing from Chicago)

Day 2 - on the Road to February 5

December 25 – Day 2 on the Road to February 5th

It seems to me that either Ron Paul is riding the trends in popular opinion in the US or his candidacy is helping to shape popular opinion. Either way, I am hearing pro-Paul viewpoints from people who I would not have expected to have heard them from just a year ago.

Today, I sat with a teacher at a local high school. The man is near retirement, is a sweet guy, loves his students. He sees that it’s becoming common-practice for 14 year olds to start welfare themselves with their own food stamp card. It’s sort of a monthly “allowance,” not from your parents (who must also be on welfare), but from the State of Illinois. The teacher was worried about when such a person would ever be able to learn the joy of taking care of herself when the state is teaching from the age of 14 that it will take care of her. 12 months ago, this man would not have asked me that rhetorical question.

- Allan (writing from Chicago)

Day 1 on the Road to February 5th

Day 1 – The Road to February 5

I proudly displayed my “Ron Paul r3VOLution” button from Fabio as I went through the Zurich airport and as I waited in line, a US citizen, born in India, approached me to tell me

1. ) He saw Ron Paul on CNBC last night
2. ) He’s an independent, but plans on voting for Paul in Illinois
3. ) He doesn’t understand why we are spending so much energy and money abroad when we can’t protect our own borders.
4. ) Why the US needs foreign creditors to cover its debt

When I said to him “What I want to know is why he doesn’t get more coverage in the media?” we both gave each other sort of a knowing look, in which we locked eyes for 5 or 10 seconds before we proceeded. He went on talking about the issues further, but not answering the question I had presented about the media.

As we got on the plane, he took a business class seat while I continued to economy. I gave him my business card in hopes that he would contact me pre-February 5 and we could work together campaigning for RP.

I sat down in my chair with the copy of the Harold Tribune that I grabbed on the way in because of its 9/11 CIA article on the front page. On page 2 was a column entitled “In Presidential Stakes, Watch the Early Money” by Albert R. Hunt.

Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Romney, McCain, Giuliani, Huckabee, Thomas all present and with at least a paragraph about each.

The man who’s going to have a $20 million quarter and raised the most money in one day ever, for a presidential candidate, Ron Paul, was not mentioned in this column.

On the plane, you could choose from 16 possible movies that you could start, stop, pause, fast-forward and rewind on command and could have any one of 45 mixed drinks, but you may not, under new US regulations, stand up from your chair and wait in line for the bathroom.

I watched Bourne Ultimatum on the plane and am curious – do such movies exist to blur the line between reality about CIA and fiction so that we, as individuals can easily be told “don’t believe everything you see in the movies” or does it exist because Americans are hungry to know more about what our government does in our name, so even if it is fact and speculation mixed, directors present as much of a story as they can without going into an all-out editorialized attack on the CIA.

There’s this strong theme of man against government present in the movie, which leads to this question of – can we educate enough, can RP educate enough, with one month to Super Tuesday, to lead this massive group of people against the government through the ballot box?

Can we give enough Americans reasons to look at Ron Paul to vote for Ron Paul?

I ask today, that ever person who reads this, write every American they know and ask their vote for Ron Paul – if you don’t want to write, you can You Tube it like this guy and DO IT NOW.

Please ! ! Every one of us spreading the enthusiasm can literally spread the enthusiasm to thousands of other people. Let’s say that only 1 in 10 people are enthused by what you’ve written, if you send it to 100 people, that means there are 10 people doing the same things, so if they contact 100 people each with the same results, that means 100 in 1000 people have become enthused. In the next round 1,000 of 10,000 people have been enthused about Ron Paul. After two or three weeks, you could have started a wave in your network was responsible for thousands of people hearing about Ron Paul.

After only a few hours of being in America, I am already noticing that a HUGE problem with Ron Paul’s candidacy is that it gets so little coverage in the media that so few people know anything about the man. We, from Europe, from Asia, from Canada, from America, from wherever it is that we are, can help change that.

I ask you, like me, to step forward today and to contact every American you know with a message about why you like Ron Paul, and to ask that person to consider voting for him as well.

- Allan, writing from Chicago

Canvassing Videos from Nevada

These are some videos that I have been instructed to watch about Canvassing in precincts. They are good techniques that I expect we might one day be using in Europe in the future of our movement. Regardless, they explain elections a bit, and the two short videos are good general - "go talk to your neighbor" techniques. - Allan

"Visit http://ronpaul.corehook.com (password is "ronpaul4prez"). View the short training videos from Nevada."

Proclamation of the Strasbourg Tea Party

Proclamation of the Strasbourg Tea Party
15-16 December 2007


On December 16, 2007, Ron Paul supporters from the United States and seven European nations (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, and United Kingdom) assembled in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, for the purpose demonstrating the broad base of international support that Dr. Ron Paul inspires by joining with their brothers and sisters in America celebrating the famous “Boston Tea Party” of 1773. On the previous day, many the participants attended a conference held to discuss ways to help Ron Paul’s campaign for president of the United States, and furthering the Ron Paul Revolution in Europe. The following statement was adopted by the participants:
We Proclaim:

Never before has a candidate for president of the United States inspired people around the world as Ron Paul has done.

Ron Paul has cured our apathy and inspired the enthusiasm of youth throughout Europe, just as he has in America. He has given us hope in limited government, and restored faith that democracy can work.

We thrill to his message of liberty and personal responsibility, which is so different from that of normal politicians, who see the people they are supposed to serve as little but helpless clients to be managed by the state.

We no longer wish to have our lives interfered with and controlled by bureaucrats.

We share Ron Paul’s concern for the stability of our financial system, and believe that sound money is essential for the economic health and financial stability of not only America but also of Europe and the rest of the world.

We share Ron Paul’s insight that our bloated governments and financial managers are controlled by special interests who are neither responsible nor responsive to the people. We applaud Ron Paul for bringing these issues into the public consciousness, and dedicate ourselves to educating people about them.

We believe that Ron Paul’s call to return to the original principles of the United States Constitution, and of America’s Founders, is the best route to world peace and security.

We believe that Ron Paul’s foreign policy principles of respect for sovereignty and non-interventionism are as applicable to the European Union and to our own nations as they are to the United States.

Ron Paul has been called an “isolationist” by his opponents. We want Americans to know that Ron Paul is inspiring an international movement, and that he is the only candidate who is making friends for America and gathering broad-based international support.

We believe that Ron Paul has sparked a revolution of friendship between all those in Europe and America who share his values, and that this friendship and this Revolution will continue to grow in strength and depth.

We dedicate ourselves to supporting Ron Paul in his election campaign this year, supporting his goals when he is elected president, and bringing his message of liberty and personal responsibility to our own nations in Europe.

Adopted in Strasbourg by the participants of the Strasbourg Tea Party on the 15th and 16th days of December, Anno Domini 2007.

Ben Novak, Bratislava, Slovakia

Allan Stevo, Bratislava, Slovakia

Fabio Bossi, Munich Germany

Patrick Ryf, Berne, Switzerland

Peter-Willem Vanden Broucke, Ghent, Belgium

Stephan Eckert, Frankfurt, Germany

Nicole Bless, Frankfurt, Germany

Johannes Maierhofer, Vienna, Austria

Philipe Huhardeaux, Brussels, Belgium

Igor Uszczapowski, Kaiserslautern, Germany

Michael Bienek, Reimsbach, Germany

Michael Bauwens, Ghent, Belgium

Thomas Waschko, Hamburg, Germany

Tim Wessels, Hamburg, Germany

Laura Harth, Ghent, Belgium

Denis Clijsters, Antwerp, Belgium

Lukas Mauch, Munich, Germany

Nicholas Serr, Munich, Germany

Rafael Kraft, Rotweil, Germany

Michael Neral, Edinburgh, United Kingdom (Scotland)

J. Blättermann, Munich, Germany

Janine Schleicher, Rotweil, Germany

Laura Hegedus, Munich, Germany

Ira Katz, Paris, France

Johanna von Seckendorf, Munich, Germany

Karl Stritzinger, Munich, Germany

Roger Buchschacher, Basel, Switzerland

Felix Klee, Baden-Baden, Germany

Norman Thiel, Munich, Germany

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

The first video from Strasbourg

Vienna for Ron Paul - After Party - Getting ready for '08

This meetup's main goal will be getting to know each other, and getting members of the group together with each other to discuss the future of our group, and how we can build on the energy generated by Strasbourg.

We will be presenting a plan on bringing in local businessmen to the group. Another plan will be discussed on also building the group bringing more Viennese libertarians into the group. Imagine the stength of such a group - libertarians in Vienna and businessmen in Vienna. Also, we will discuss what role press releases can play in the success of our group and of this movement as a whole.

This will be our first meeting in Vienna after the highly successful Strasbourg Tea Party. It is time for sharing some details of the event in Strasbourg, and news of the movement throughout Europe. Perhaps more importantly it will be time for the Vienna group to ask the question - "Who are we?" and share their long term prospects for this group.

As always, I look forward to seeing all of you there, on this, my last meeting before others take my place here, and I head to New Hampshire, Illinois, and Nevada, to tell organizers there about the movement in Europe.

- Allan

PS 6:30 reservations for 12 people on the top floor of 1516 for 12 people under the name "Ron Paul"

Great Press

http://www.usadaily.com/article.cfm?articleID=199483

Thank you for Dan and Matej in Bratislava for getting this published. I have just gotten back on the internet after last night's return from Strasbourg. You can expect plenty of updates from me about this weekend's impressive event and how what what we did over the last two days is the start of something historical.
- Allan

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Hungary 1956, Czechoslovakia 1968, Poland 1981

Past struggles for freedom are not often enough discussed. I felt it appropriate to quote the NY Times for today's anniversary. "On Dec. 13, 1981, authorities in Poland imposed martial law in a crackdown on the Solidarity labor movement. Martial law formally ended in 1983." - Allan

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Letters to Iowa

Sent in from California. What a great grassroots movement we are a part of. I think I'll be signing up for 10 by the 18th. Anyone care to join me? - Allan
Also, there's a great writeup of the whole thing on WaPo here.

Hello AGAIN from sunny California (and now Texas too),

Thank you for your support with the historic "Letters to Iowa" campaign.
We are in the home stretch now, with just 10 days to complete letter writing to the 700,000 no-party Iowa voters. Your support has gotten us THIS far, but the job is not finished yet.

There are still around 200,000 Iowans on the list who we need to write to, approximately the same number of commitments we obtained in the FIRST ten days of this campaign.

I'm asking now that you redouble your efforts to win Iowa for Dr Paul. In the remaining 10 days before the deadline, if you or your Meetup Group organizer can throw at least one 'letter writing party', the remaining no-party Iowa voters will be covered. These letters or postcards must be in the mail by December 18th to make a difference.

The LA meetup got through 1,500 of these short letters in one two-hour sitting last Monday, while listening to our organizers make announcements. This was accomplished by organizers giving everyone at the meeting just ONE SINGLE SHEET of labels and postage, with particularly energetic members writing more. Again, WE CAN DO THIS.

Something else we are suggesting at this late date is to make COLOR copies of your first handwritten letter. This seems to produce the desired effect and gets the point across.

The 'Letters to Iowa' team have developed a way of distributing the names and addresses of no-party Iowans via our new website:

http://www.rp-supporters.com/letters.html

Please go to that page, click "Request Now", follow the simple instructions and you will be sent your list of names.

As always feel free to write me at:

bshonka -at- gmail dot com

with any questions.


Without you all, this would not be possible! The nation and even the world thank you for your efforts as reflected by the thousands of supportive responses we have received.

The rEVOLution continues!


for true liberty,

Bryce Shonka, Ron Shimshock, John Hogan, Justin Garten, Paul Grasshoff and Eric Turner
The Ron Paul "Letters to Iowa" Team

WaPo Exchange on Constitution - Good Points

I really liked this exchange from a WaPo forum. - Allan


At the risk of angering the sea of Ron Paul supporters out there, I'm getting really tired of people talking about Ron Paul as the only one who "understands" the Constitution.

I guarantee you that 99.9% of these people developed their opinions about the Constitution based on their person political beliefs, and not the other way around. The Constitution and Constitutional theory are incredibly complex, and it's not as if seas of Constitutional scholars just aren't "understanding" the Constitution because they see it as a living document.

Posted by: ManUnitdFan | December 11, 2007 05:26 PM

Einstein often said that if you can't explain your theory to a man on the street then you probably have it wrong. The notion that government is too complicated for the average citizen to engage and that a special group of elites should be relied upon to interpret our Constitution for us flies in the face of the words of our founders. The Soviets tried to micromanage their economy and government and failed miserably. What makes you think that we can do the same thing and succeed? Einstein also said that to do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result is the definition of insanity. Sorry for all of the Einstein quotes. I majored in Physics.

Posted by: jac6199 | December 11, 2007 05:34 PM

Isabel's next Project - Great Video

This is the next one that Isabel from Spain is going to add Spanish subtitles to. I thought it was just a darn good video that I posted it before the translation work was even finished. - Allan

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Let the Tea Parties BEGIN !

This is from the Paris Ron Paul meeteup group, the first European tea party event of Tea Party'07. - Allan

When:
Wednesday, December 12, 2007, 5:00 PM
Where:
Place du Trocadro
75008


Description:
To support a man who sets the US presidential campaign on fire

To stand behind Ron Paul and his message of peace and liberty

To commemorate the last American Revolution and greet the launch of the next one

To support the Boston Tea Party 07 initiative
http://www.teaparty07.com
Paris organises its:

PARIS TEA PARTY

Wednesday December 12
On the Esplanade of Trocadéro
(In front of the Eiffel Tower)
Starting at 5 pm

At this occasion Americans in France and French will meet to:
Drink tea
Tell about Ron to people around
Show a big banner ?Ron Paul for President?
Take photos and shoot a video
And show the world that Paris loves Ron Paul

http://www.ronpaul2008.com

**********************************

Pour soutenir un homme qui embrase la campagne présidentielle US

Pour soutenir le message de paix et de liberté de Ron Paul

Pour commémorer la dernière Révolution Américaine et lancer le début de la prochaine

Pour soutenir l initiative de la Boston Tea Party 07
http://www.teaparty07.com
Paris organise son :

PARIS TEA PARTY
Le Mercredi 12 décembre sur l?Esplanade du Trocadéro
A partir de 17h.

A cette occasion :
Des américains de France et des Français se réuniront pour:
Boire du thé (si quelqu?un en amène),
Parler de Ron Paul aux gens présents
Déployer une grande bannière « Ron Paul Président »
Prendre des photos et réaliser une vidéo
Et montrer au monde que Paris aime Ron Paul

http://www.ronpaul2008.com

Methodist Bishops Show Support for Ron Paul's Stance

This is a now from Matej from the Bratislava group, a member from the beginning. Matej, good article, thank you for sending the article in. - Allan


US bishops from Bush's church (methodists) call for "immediate safe and full withdrawal" of the troops. We can say one of Ron Paul's agenda items has more support than the intended actions of all the other candidates. Usable info for our blog Allan? - Matej
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/11/bushs_bishops_get_out_of_iraq.html#more

A New Website for the MeetupGroup in Rome ! !

Hi Allan,
Thanks so much for posting the Meetup info. Anything you can do to disseminate this info would be a help as well. For instance, can you post it at Meetup.com? Here's my latest:

This is a new email, forwarded to my own regular email. I check it daily: italyforronpaul@gmail.com
Also, check out ItalyForRonPaul.blogspot.com


Let me know if you know of other interest for our Rome Meetup on Dec 16th. Best of luck w/ Strasbourg!

cheers,
John R

Monday, December 10, 2007

Spanish Subtitles - Bernake appears before the people's elected representatives

Thank you to Isabel in Spain for another translation of Ron Paul material into Spanish. The last video was a success on you tube and has, among other things, been used by people in Latin America to teach their non-English speaking parents about Ron Paul. What a cool international movement that we've become a part of.
- Allan


The Campaign Finally Steps Out of Our Way

A hindrance on our raising of funds for the Ron Paul campaign has been that some of us Americans were simply forbidden to do so. The campaign website would not allow for it. We're most happy to see that the campaign has taken the necessary steps to welcome us to donate as well. Until this time, those of us in the group with credit card billing addresses in the US have had no trouble. Americans citizens with billing addresses in Slovakia or elsewhere outside of the US, were not able to donate. According to the following article, this policy has changed, and American citizens everywhere are now welcomed to donate. - Allan



Americans Living Overseas Can Join in Ron Paul's Tea Party Sunday

Good news to Americans living overseas. Up until now, if you did not have an American address you could not donate to the official Ron Paul website online at www.ronpaul2008.com. There was some kind of problem with who knows what, but just in the nick of time the folks at the Ron Paul campaign have ironed out the issues and now overseas Americans can donate to Ron Paul online just like the folks at home.

This is great news coming on the heels of the what hopes to be the biggest single donation day in history, December 16, 2007, the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party. Think about it, now even Brits can join in the Boston Tea Party! From reports, in some countries it is not as easy as is here to just write a check or send a money order. Many overseas Americans who have every right to donate to the campaign have been having a hard time of it.

In fact, Ron Paul currently has over 84,000 Meetup members divided among over 1300 groups and those groups are being held in 29 different countries around the globe. Not only that but there are another 7,800 people on waiting lists wanting to start more groups. No other Presidential candidate even comes close to this kind of world wide support.

Prior to the November 5, 2007 donation drive many overseas Americans were saddened they could not participate. Well, this time they can all join in the New Boston Tea Party. Imagine a worldwide revolution against corruption and tyranny. For those of that will be joining in the fun be careful about the time zone issue. For donations to be counted as all coming in on December 16th for world record purposes, only donations that come in from 12:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time to 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time will be counted as being donated on the 16th. Hopefully, this little time zone converter will do the job: http://www.timezoneconverter.com/ However, not being a trusting soul, please check to make sure you are donating on the correct day!

This is wonderful news for the Paul campaign and may give the line setters over at Sportsbook.com something to consider. The folks over there are taking prop bets as to whether or not Ron Paul will pull in more than six million dollars on December 16th. Now with the whole world being able to participate in the event, who knows how much money Ron Paul will pull in? Only time will tell.

If you want to watch the money come pouring in, you can view the live money counter on the front page of www.RonPaulforPresident2008.com along with other places, but do try to avoid the www.RonPaul2008.com page just to watch, save those servers for the donations.
The last time Ron Paul supporters pushed for a big donation day like this, November 5, 2007, Ron Paul received over $4.3 million dollars with an average of just $103 per person. On that day, people were asked to donate one hundred dollars each and over 38,000 persons rose to the challenge. This time people are pushing the envelope and asking for all anyone can afford. After all, it is now do or die time. Either Ron Paul wins the nomination from the Republican National convention or his campaign is over. He has stated many times that he does not intend to run as an Independent. So, for those of you planning on giving a little here and a little there, here is all you have left. Why hold a little back when the last few dollars may make all the difference.

The whole primary election will most likely be decided on or close to February 5, 2008, believe it or not that is only 2 months away. This is basically it. The last big drive before the primaries, there is nothing to hold back for, and now with the rest of the world joining in to help Ron Paul, December 16 will be an exciting day for sure. The last donation drive they had about 3 weeks to pull the concept together, this time it has been mentioned on national television news stations and people have been gearing up for this since about, well, November 6th. If Ron Paul can have a stupendous day, an absolutely over the top, people have to take him seriously now kind of day, this could well be the turning point of the election when he goes from a merely possible candidate to an absolute front runner. This is the only way to show them how wrong the polls have been all along.

Once again, Americans will be fighting for their freedoms, they will be fighting to have a leader that will follow a United States Constitution, one who will return this country to one of true economic power, not one that has to flex its muscles daily. Many Americans have felt oppressed for a long time as their savings lose its value, they work harder for less buying power, and they are afraid of what will happen to the dollar. Ron Paul, is not only a medical doctor, but he has been studying for years the kinds of economics needed to fix these ills. He wants to return America to the great land she was when she started. A land that others longed for so they too could have a chance at the dream. Sadly, that dream seems more like a distant whisper to many who have to have both parents working more than one job just to make ends meet. The idea of a forty hour work week with an hour off each day for lunch being enough to support a family of four has long ago past. Americans are now afraid to speak freely on the telephone after hearing that the government is listening in to virtually every call, and the FBI can knock down your door anytime they feel like without a warrant signed by a judge. Americans are tired of being on cameras at every corner and being treated like criminals if they can't take their shoes off fast enough at an airport. Ron Paul wants to bring our money, rights, and freedoms back to us.

So, if you are so inclined, once again, join a group of Americans who are trying to change history on December 16th. For more information about Ron Paul in general go to www.RonPaulLibrary.com or www.LewRockwell.com and look on the home page, top left corner. You may discover why so many people around the globe are watching him so closely. You may learn why many have called him the Thomas Jefferson of our time. There is also a website called www.RonPaulsTeaParty.com where you can sign up to pledge your support. But no matter what, always donate directly to the campaign website at www.RonPaul2008.com. You may learn why many have called him the Thomas Jefferson of our time.

If nothing else, aren't you curious why the big fellas are so afraid of him that they give him a fraction of time allotted during debates, keep his name out of the paper, and run relatively few news stories about him? If THEY are afraid of him, you can bet he must be good for YOU. And even though the media has now determined through scare story after scare story that Americans are now only worried about the economy, a great deal of people still want the troops to come home. The two issues are related, after all, it costs money to keep them over there. Ron Paul is the only President who will even talk about bringing home the troops when he gets into office instead of 6 years from now. If that war is going to continue, they are going to need soldiers from somewhere. Parents, the best present you could give your children this year is a large donation to Ron Paul to prevent an upcoming draft. Help make history and donate on December 16, 2007, this upcoming Sunday.

From: http://www.gambling911.com/Ron-Paul-121007.html

Ron Paul in Rome

Hi Allan,
OK, we're doing it. I'm going to at least print out some Ron Paul stuff.
Ron Paul Meet-up on Sunday December 16th at 2pm at Caffe Greco near the Spanish Steps in Rome, Italy.

Caffe Greco is Rome's most historic coffee bar and boasts illustrious visitors including Keats, Shelley, Goethe, Stendhal, Buffalo Bill, Dickens and now it will boast some avid Ron Paul supporters discussing world-shaping issues.

Like your other meetups, this will be an informal place to meet and discuss how we can help Ron Paul get nominated. Also, the 16th is apparently the big day to donate, so we can hopefully catch the eye of some idle rich American tourists relaxing in this posh cafe on this high end shopping street of Rome.

I don't want to make a scene, but it also would be cool to get some photos of Paul supporters at some monumental spots in this "Eternal City." America doesn't have to go the way of ancient Rome! I've got some experience with video editing so maybe we could upload some youtube clips.

Anyway, can you post this date/time/location to Meetup.com? Also, any tips you have or anyone you can send to bring some promo material etc would be awesome. I'm expecting 10-15 people or so. But maybe we can double that in 9 days! Anybody else you know in Italy? Apparently Matej was only visiting for a couple days on business. I'm going to talk to the American university programs that I know in Rome.

Thanks for all you're doing. I appreciate any help and advice you've got for me.

-John

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Strasbourg Tea Party - Newest Ad from Dan

Thank you, Dan. I look forward to your future videos. - Allan

Saturday, December 8, 2007

From Verona

This was posted by Federico Pistono on his Verona Ron Paul meetup group. There are good details on Ron Paul's career. Thank you Federico. - Allan

I've been wanting to write a post about Ron Paul for a long time. Before I speak let us see a brief overview of his beliefs:

* He has never voted to raise taxes.
* He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.
* He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.
* He has never voted to raise congressional pay.
* He has never taken a government-paid junket.
* He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.
* He voted against the Patriot Act.
* He voted against regulating the Internet.
* He voted against the Iraq war.
* He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program. He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.
* Congressman Paul introduces numerous pieces of substantive legislation each year, probably more than any single member of Congress.

Not only he's the most valid candidate in the 2008 US presidential elections, but he also gained extreme popularity among the internet community, yet ignored by the mainstream media. Why is that? Because he is not the typical candidate who would not speak in politician, but instead about real things, directly to people and attacking those topics that are considered uncomfortable.

Outcry on Iran

I am happy to hear outcry on Iran



and outcry on torture and the US Attorneys. - Allan



Here is George Carlin with viewpoints that sound in accordance with Paul's but from a different perspective than "hope for America."

Friday, December 7, 2007

The Federal Reserve Bank in 10 minutes

Very good lecture from Badnarik that helps to elucidate Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Bank complaints. - Allan

Ron Paul invited to Europe by Stefan from rebell.tv

Stefan,
Great video invitation. Thank you.
Allan


Thursday, December 6, 2007

Who would the world elect?

http://www.whowouldtheworldelect.com/ Good stuff. Thank you, Dan for passing on the information. - Allan

The Ron Paul Blimp

This sounds pretty interesting to me. I like the creative ideas that are thought up when you get a group of people together who are not centrally organized. - Allan



Greetings Organizers,

By now you have probably heard about the Ron Paul Blimp project. Liftoff of the inaugural flight is scheduled for December 10th in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. ABC News and AOL's Radar Magazine are scheduled to be at the launch. The Blimp promises to rally Ron Paul supporters and get great media exposure as it heads north to the TeaParty07 in Boston on December 16th.

The Blimp's appearance will help create a media buzz and could greatly enhance the effects of the December 16th event. Anticipated donations to the campaign could be enhanced as the Blimp gains in exposure creating yet another record provided by the "Ron Paul Army".

The Blimp needs the help of your members to take to the air. We need to meet the funding goals to get the Blimp airborne. Let's get the "Ron Paul Army" to launch the "Ron Paul Air Force" and sweep the elections.

Please contact your members and let them know their help is needed to meet the target dates. We want to get airborne on schedule and make it to the Teaparty07 in Boston. Please pass this information along to your members and ask them to sponsor the blimp with their monetary participation.

Here is the Ron Paul Blimp site.
RonPaulBlimp.com

Please contact your members ASAP... Time is growing short!

Thank you for your continued support of Ron Paul and your help with the Ron Paul Blimp project!

News from Maryland

This was sent in by Nathan from Maryland. Thank you for the inspiring information, Nathan. - Allan


Paul needs the delegates to win and the Congress critters to get
things done once elected. How is your state doing?

Please work on getting your delegates and see if anyone in your group
would be willing to run for Congress.

here is a local cartoon: The headline on the newspaper reads:
"Ron Paul supporters outnumber GOP on primary ballot"
http://www.politickermd.com/can-you-hear-me-now-232

The article:
http://www.politickermd.com/ron-paul-supporters-file-full-slate-delegates-6-cand\
idates-congress-213

Ron Paul supporters file full slate of delegates, 6 candidates for Congress

By Editor

Tags: Ron Paul, Collins Bailey

Supporters of Rep. Ron Paul's presidential campaign filed a full slate of delegates and will vie for the Republican nomination in six congressional districts, PolitickerMD.com has learned.

The movement was largely independent of Paul's national campaign
organization, comprised mostly of volunteers recruiting fellow
candidates.

Collins Bailey, a Republican candidate in the 5th District for
Congress and for RNC delegate, acted as State Captain.

"There were so many more persons wanting to be Ron Paul delegates than
what was actually needed," Bailey said. "Some were calling Ron Paul's
headquarters asking to be delegates. In the meanwhile someone
mentioned to the folks at headquarters that we were already way ahead
in getting to know each other in Maryland."

"I was the first in the state to file as a Republican delegate and had
been explaining the process to some others, so the Ron Paul
organization just started forwarding the requests they were getting to
me."

Now Paul's national campaign will receive a list of delegates, sign
off on it to the State Party and the Board of Elections and designate
the group "committed" Ron Paul delegates.

Maryland Republicans will select 68 delegates and alternates for their
party's 2008 convention in Minnesota's Twin Cities: 48 district
delegates and alternates elected in the February 12th primary and 20
at-large delegates and alternates to be selected at the Spring state
GOP convention.

Successful district delegates are bound to the Republican candidate
who wins their districts, while at large delegates are bound to the
winner of the state primary.

Maryland delegates can be "released" (free to vote for someone else)
by the candidate they are bound to, if their candidate receives under
35% in the first two rounds of balloting, or if the convention reaches
a third ballot.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Good Questions

Bartiromo asks Ron Paul some good questions, some tough questions, and if you really value a candidate's positions, you must value seeing them challenged as well. Some good stuff. - Allan

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_50/b4062021769214.htm?chan=rss_topStories_ssi_5

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

H.R. 1955 from Matej

This is sent in from Matej. The fact that the praise and criticism of the US comes from someone who is not American makes both of them more powerful for me. Thank you, Matej. - Allan


"Again, we're on the track right now. This is happening, folks. You're LIVING through an amazing chapter of history right now. You're actually witnessing the downfall of a free nation and the rise of a superpower fascist state. You're actually part of it."

heh, it looks like Ben has been right emphasizing all the time that "we live through amazing chapter of history right now" ... but I doubt this was they way he meant it... Author of the article mentions that this could be easily used against Ron Paul also.

http://www.newstarget.com/022308.html

Matej

Monday, December 3, 2007

Thank you to Isabel

This was sent in from Isabel in Spain who has taken to putting Spanish subtitles on a number of Ron Paul videos on YouTube. - Allan

a VERY GOOD video! Thank you Dan.

This is an EXCELLENT video. I recommend all 10 minutes. Not because of the corruption that it demonstrates (something that honestly makes me really sad, because it makes all of my hard work from far away lands seem fruitless), but because of the fact that the makers of the video looked at what was happening and said that they were going to stand against it. Ron Paul will not win without our resilience. Thank you to Dan for sending this. Thank you to Ron Paul supporters in Clearwater, Florida for standing up for all of us who oppose tyranny!! - Allan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8wjJieSib0

Peace for Real

Good luck to RP supporters in Norway! ! - Allan



December 10 is Nobel Day.

The world will have its eyes on Oslo, Norway, where the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize will be presented.

We will tell the world about the real formula for peace: Ron Paul!

http://peace-nation-for-ron-paul.blogspot.com/

On the ground in New Hampshire from Salon.com

Hej, Allan, you will love this! This is what you are going back to
join! Wow! - Ben


"Ron Paul is a baby elephant"

From around the country, Ron Paul's followers are descending on New
Hampshire to go door-to-door for their man. But what do they really want?

By Michael Scherer

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2007/12/03/ron_paul/index.html

Saturday, December 1, 2007

An absolute "ya gotta read it"

An absolute "ya gotta read it" - Ben
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2007/11/theronpaulconsp.html
--

A shocking report: Inside the Ron Paul conspiracy

Maybe you've heard rumors about an explosive newspaper expose on a major political figure that would rock the political world just as the presidential voting is about to begin.

We haven't either.

But we do know that today is when this newspaper blows the top off of the Ron Paul Conspiracy, that vast unorganized protest movement that has silently become one of the more interesting political phenomena of the current election season.

A Times reporter -- we'll call him James Rainey to protect his identity -- has managed to penetrate the Paul presidium.

In his story he recounts for the very first time the shockingly ordinary details of a movement of thousands of disparate, dissatisfied people, some of whom want an end to the Iraq war, an end to gun controls and the IRS, an end to laws banning marijuana and a return to the gold standard, whatever that means.

These Paulites believe the government has been hijacked by a bevy of big interests that threaten the freedoms of ordinary Americans. They're not going to take it anymore. Locally, they're even organizing a re-enactment of a brazenly defiant act, the BostonTea Party, except it'll be in Santa Monica and won't involve tea or white people dressed as Indians. And the protestors promise not to leave anything foreign floating in the water.

These committed partisans, bonded by their suspicion of authority and venal influences like the mainstream media that ignored them until they did something, have united behind a 72-year-old...

Air Force vet and ob-gyn from Texas who has managed to win 10 elections to the House of Representatives as a Republican with two first names and strongly libertarian leanings.

This man believes that U.S. sovereignity is threatened by many things, especially including consistently ignoring the Constitution and by a planned mystery superhighway that would unite with a ribbon of inexorable cement all three North American countries--Mexico, the United States and that other larger one on top that can only afford to have three downs in its football games.

Apparently he's not talking about I-15, which already does that.

"Rainey's" account describes how this man's followers appear to be ordinary citizens with jobs and family by day. But at night they gather openly in chat rooms and living rooms to plot how to promote a tiny unassuming man whom they call reverently Dr. Paul. With little central direction but tons of commitment, idealism and passion, Dr. Paul's followers do everything they can think of to mobilize voter support.

They patrol the internet day and night seeking Paul slights to right. They stand on windy interstate bridges holding inflammatory signs saying: RonPaul2008.com.

Even as you sleep at night some of the 1,200 Paul meet-up groups are handwriting letters to all 700,000 independent Iowa voters urging them to consider their long-shot leader. A couple of weeks ago Paulites raised $4.2 million on the internet in one day, a near-record, and a sum they intend to more than double on Dec. 16, the anniversary of that rebellious tea party. How's that for insignificance?

As one result, the ultra-lean Paul organization has been able to buy advertising in New Hampshire and to pump its poll numbers up near double-digits in some places. Rainey's story describes the commitment of one Ron Paul meet-up group in Southern California and the regular folks who drive it with their political beliefs and energies.

Few professionals -- well, to tell the truth, no one -- actually gives Paul any chance of winning the Republican nomination. But then up until Yorktown back in the 1700s, all the smart Vegas money was on the British.

--Andrew Malcolm

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Strasbourg Tea Party T-Shirt


The Strasbourg Tea Party T-Shirt is available here. Thank you to Fabio at Europe4RonPaul for getting this going. - Allan

Strasbourg Tea Party Ad

This is a great advertisment for the Strasbourg Tea Party. - Allan

Ron Paul Tzu

Sent over by Ben, founder of Americans in Europe for Ron Paul (A group for all Ron Paul supporters in Europe). - Allan


Dear Americans in Europe for Ron Paul and Paulites all over Europe:
Here is an article on Ron Paul that is truly different---Ron Paul is even making a hit in Asia!Cheers,
Ben


The Seoul (South Korea) Times, Wednesday, October 17, 2007, at:
http://theseoultimes.com/ST/?url=/ST/db/read.php?idx=5775

Ron Paul Tzu
By Joshua SnyderSpecial Contribution

Dr. Ron Paul of Texas is our American sage. He merits the honorific tzu, meaning "master," given to the great thinkers of Chinese antiquity: K'ung Fu Tzu (Confucius), Meng Tzu (Mencius), Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Sun Tzu and others. Ron Paul Tzu is both a Confucian gentleman and a Taoist sage.

Dr. Paul's advocacy of constitutional principles and the thought of the founders would gain approval from Confucius, who said "I transmit but do not innovate; I am truthful in what I say and devoted to antiquity (The Analects, VII, 1)." The Paul Administration will serve to "transmit" the ideas of our founders and their documents, which are our classics. There will be no officials who "innovate" upon them with creative interpretations or dismiss them as "quaint." Indeed, Dr. Paul's strict adherence to the letter of the Constitution is reminiscent of the Confucian devotion to the "Rectification of Names," i.e. the restoration of original interpretations of words and the rejection of arbitrariness. Said China's first teacher, "When words lose their meaning, people lose their liberty (ibid. XIII, 3)."

The Confucian statement of the Golden rule€"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others (ibid. VX, 24)"€is remarkably similar to the "no harm" principle that guides Dr. Paul's libertarian philosophy. While the Confucian version may be less active than the Christian version, it is perhaps more suitable to governance, in that it allows individuals and voluntary associations more leeway and incentive to carry out mutual aid and charity work.
Confucius would applaud Dr. Paul's opposition to rule by a unitary executive with unchecked powers. Confucius rejected rule by force, going as far to say, "Barbarian tribes with their rulers are inferior to Chinese states without them (ibid. III, 5)." Instead, he proposed leadership by example, which is what the Paul Administration will offer America, at home and abroad. Confucius offered this admonition which could have been levelled at the current occupant of the Oval Office: "Sir, in carrying on your government, why should you use killing at all? Let your evinced desires be for what is good, and the people will be good (ibid. XII, 19)." Indeed, Confucius, like Dr. Paul, was an arch-enemy of tyranny: "An oppressive government is fiercer and more feared than a tiger (The Record of Rites II, 2)."

If Dr. Paul is the consummate Confucian gentleman, he is even more of a Taoist sage. Here, Lao Tzu presages Dr. Paul's social and economic platform of individual liberty:
The more prohibitions there are, the more ritual avoidances, the poorer the people will be... The more laws are promulgated, the more thieves and bandits there will be... So long as I 'do nothing' the people will of themselves be transformed. So long as I love quietude, the people will of themselves go straight. So long as I act only by inactivity the people will of themselves become prosperous. (The Classic of the Way and Virtue II, 57).

The essence of Dr. Paul's economic ideas are that "by [governmental] inactivity the people will of themselves become prosperous." When Thomas Jefferson famously reminded us that "the government is best which governs least," he was expressing a Taoist sentiment.
This "inactivity" or "do-nothingness" is the Taoist ideal of wu-wei, or non-action. What is the non-interventionism Dr. Paul proposes for America, and which he reminds us was our original foreign policy, if not wu-wei writ large? In warning us of "foreign entanglements" and "entangling alliances," Washington and Jefferson showed themselves to be Taoist sages as well. Like the Chinese, Dr. Paul knows that it is wise to listen to one's ancestors.

Dr. Paul is a man of peace, but his thoughts echo those of that greatest theorist of war, Sun Tzu, who, not a chickenhawk, warned that unnecessary wars should never be waged. Certainly, a Congressmen Sun Tzu would have voted with Dr. Paul against invading a country that neither attacked us nor had the means to do so: "Unless endangered do not engage in warfare. The ruler cannot mobilize the army out of personal anger (The Art of War XII, 11)." Dr. Paul's call to bring the troops home immediately from what has been foolishly but accurately advertised as "The Long War" would have been seconded by Sun Tzu, who observed, contra Randolph "War is the Health of the State" Bourne, "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare (ibid. II, 4)."

Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Sun Tzu all lived and taught in pre-imperial China. In 221 B.C., Ch'in Shih-huang united the various Chinese states into an empire and set about to burn the Confucian classics and bury their scholars alive. The Legalism of Han Fei Tzu, which centered on the totalitarian power of the ruler, replaced the humanistic teachings of Confucianism and Taoism.

The situation is not unlike our own today. The only difference between our Republic's transformation to Empire and that of ancient China is that ours has been more subtle. (Ours is the "soft tyranny" spoken of by Alexis de Tocqueville.) Our Declaration of Independence and Constitution have not been burned (yet), nor have their defenders been buried alive (yet), but our founding documents and those who defend them have been ignored, scorned, circumvented, and trampled upon.

Confucianism survived the suppression and became the governing philosophy of the Han and all subsequent dynasties until 1911. Our constitutional republic, too, will survive and be restored. And there is one man calling upon our country to return to its founding principles, Ron Paul Tzu.
Mencius, Confucius' great heir, carried on and elaborated his master's theory of benevolent government, calling for a sage-king to lead, not rule, the people. Who among the current crop of Republicrat candidates, or even those of the last generation, has even an ounce of sagacity, save for Dr. Ron Paul, in whom it abounds. Ron Paul Tzu, the Confucian gentleman and Taoist sage, stands alone offering "Hope for America" and the restoration of our Republic.

An American Catholic son-in-law of Korea, Joshua Snyder lives with his wife and two children in Pohang, where he serves as an assistant visting professor of English at a science and technology university. He 'blogs at The Western Confucian.

http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1393593835&size=t

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

From our man Jano

This was sent from a journalist in our group. - Allan


Hi Allan,
I'm not sure if you've already seen these two videos
but both of them are interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg8M2JBIoqo
- According to Glenn Beck you're a domestic terrorist,
and I might be a foreign one, so that brings me to the
same category than Al Qaeda :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07TVBLFroSM
- The word about Strasbourg Tea Party is spreading

Anyway, it looks like www.teaparty07.com will be a
bigger money bomb than November 5th. If subscribing
goes this way Ron could really receive his 10millions
in a single day.

jano

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Sent in From Matej

MUSLIMS DISCOVER RON PAUL
http://www.rense.com/general79/musron.htm

US TODAY ADVERTISEMENT TO BE PRINTED NOV.21 !!!http://mysite.verizon.net/nathanielyao/USA_Today_Ad.html

Congressman Paul's support among African-Americans is much higher thanwhat Republicans have received in recent presidential elections.
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/press-releases/15/ron-paul-is-highest-polling-republican-among-black-voters

and little topic out of R.P., FRUIT OF MULTICULTURALISM IN GB - Recordnumbers leave the country for life abroad
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/nov/16/emigration


see ya wednesday fellows.
matej

Saturday, November 17, 2007

A Note from Lisa In Brisbane

This was sent in from Lisa, who runs the Brisbane Ron Paul group. The first lines of the email are most important - the link to the website, but I've also included the rest of the email, something I intend to steal from Lisa and share with potential friends and Ron Paul supporters. I hope you will join me in doing the same. The remainder of the email does a great job mentioning positive things from Ron Paul's legislative history that many people can appreciate. Thank you, Lisa. - Allan
--

I've finally got http://www.ronpaulinternational.com/ up and running and in the process of adding more ChipIns. Please pass it on.

Thank you,
Lisa C.
Brisbane, Australia RP Meetup Organizer

______

Watched over 600,000 times.
"Ron Paul: A New Hope"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG2PUZoukfA
_______

IN MEMORY OF AARON RUSSO (1943-2007)
______

I am proud to support Ron Paul for President in 2008.
www.ronpaul2008.com

______

Dr. Paul is an OB/GYN and has delivered over 4,000 babies. He is
an Air Force veteran. Congressman Paul and, wife, Carol have
been married for 50 years and are the proud parents and
grandparents of five children and 17 grandchildren. They live in
Lake Jackson, Texas.

*Congressman Ron Paul has never voted to raise taxes.

*He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

*He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

*He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

*He has never taken a government-paid junket.

*He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

*Ron Paul voted against the Patriot Act.

*He voted against regulating the Internet.

*He voted against the Iraq war.

*Ron Paul does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.

*He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budgetto the U.S. Treasury every year.

*He DOES NOT accept campaign donations from corporations.

*Ron Paul also received MORE donations from members of themilitary than ANY other candidate (Houston Chronicle)
______

Message board comments following the Fox News Republican debate on 10/21/07.

"I am a career Naval officer who has been politically neutral
for my entire life, but this is about voting for America and our
Constitution, which I took an oath to preserve! I am now
supporting Ron Paul with my wallet--and my heart."


". . . I've done my homework and one thing is for sure Dr Paul
is a brave, honorable, and honest man. He deserves to be
listened to, his views are very in-depth. It is actually
refreshing to me that he can't do 30-second sound bites, I want
to know what's really going on with our country. I have learned
so much. . . GO RON."


"Congratulations to Ron Paul for being honest, educated and
determined. Living in England, I find it shocking the amount of
bias Fox news has against Dr. Paul. . . Dr. Paul is the
candidate who the world would be better off with and a lot
safer. Please America, Vote for Ron Paul and ignore the
propaganda of the media who continue to try and scare the public
for their own good."


"You would think with an audience of FOX viewers that they would
not boo the only true conservative Republican on the stage. Yesterday
was kind of a sad day for the Constitution because
so-called conservatives were booing Ron Paul who is a strict
Constitutionalist. They were booing the American Constitution."
______

Please support Americans in their fight to reclaim the U.S.
Constitution by donating to Congressman Paul's presidential
campaign. No amount is too small.

http://www.ronpaul2008.com/

Monday, November 12, 2007

Strasbourg Tea Party Meeting Call

This is our first video, calling all European Ron Paul supporters to Strasbourg. Great job, D !
- Allan


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCUEGTiHX4Y


Friday, November 9, 2007

Post-Nov 5, a GOP insider who has gone "Ron Paul Neutral"

From the Evans-Novak Political Report - Allan

4. Rep. Ron Paul set fundraising records on Monday, pulling in $4.2 million in online donations in one day. This is the largest single day of online fundraising in political history, and the largest single day of donations for any Republican candidate ever. The donations, averaging a little more than $100 each, reflect the unmatched enthusiasm of Paul's supporters, who range from anti-war activists to libertarians to fed-up Republicans.

5. Interestingly, it was volunteer supporters with no affiliations to Paul's campaign who organized the fundraiser. For all the talk of candidates' using the Internet in 2008, Paul's campaign is the only one that is really doing it -- and he is doing it mostly by stepping back and letting his enthusiastic backers form their own networks of support.

6. Raising this sort of money could increase Paul's support. First, it suggests that he is a legitimate candidate and not the Dennis Kucinich of the GOP. This might make some potential supporters less wary about "throwing away their vote." Also, going into the early states, he will have a huge cash-on-hand advantage over everyone but Romney and McCain.

Great Article - Paul v. Bernake

This article is just excellent. A video accompanies it, which is also good. Who cares about the snide tone towards Paul in the first page of it and throughout, who cares about the fact that the author of the article does not share Paul's opinion, this article is part of what makes Paul's presidency excellent - his ideas are spreading. For thirty years the man has been talking about these policies, but today it is becoming news. Ron Paul, thank you for shedding light on your allegedly crackpot grievances, which so many other people out there share and wish they could get legitimately redressed.
- Allan



Paul vs. Bernanke on Value of the Dollar
Candidate Rep. Ron Paul Faces Off With Fed Chairman


When you are Ron Paul, your public enemy No. 1 is the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
Because when you are Ron Paul, although you are technically a Republican, you are really a libertarian, and your strict adherence to the gospel of the Constitution leads you to question why the Federal Reserve -- the consortium of 12 reserve banks that acts as the U.S. central bank -- even exists.

Please read the ENTIRE article at this link:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3839318&page=1

Thursday, November 8, 2007

14 lines of Ron Paul

Thank you to the author. - Allan


How to Whip This Ron Paul Character and All His Whacky Followers.

Ron Paul can be defeated by ignorance. Ignore him if you can.
By lies. Misrepresent his positions whenever possible.
By word gaming. As Lenin advised, "First, confuse the vocabulary."
By contempt. Dismiss him as amusing and pathetic.
By smearing his supporters. Find the worst and spotlight them. Call them a cult.
By consensus. Dismiss him with peer-pressure ridicule.
By false accusations. Spread them quickly and far.
By never discussing his policies. Change the subject to his person.
By the polls. Ask the right people the right questions and get the answer you want.
By reporting his most unpopular votes. But don?t report his reasoning.
By rudeness. Wreck any debate where his ideas are winning.
With all these tools, he can be easily defeated. Use them generously.

But Ron Paul cannot be defeated by refuting him in an honest and courteous technical debate. Avoid that.

- Moderno Machiavelli

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

4.2 million ! !

Added by Matej:

Ron Paul will certainly now always remember the 5th of November as upon the day's conclusion his campaign raised more than $4.2 million dollars from more than 37,000 different contributors. That is more than Mitt Romney raised in one day in January, which was previously the top day in fundraising for a Republican candidate.

Maybe the most amazing part about the amount of money raised is that it was all raised online.

Paul's website reports that his campaign only needs $12 million by December 31st in order to win the primaries in New Hampshire, Iowa, Michigan, South Carolina, and Nevada. As of midnight November 6th they were at $7.1 million and the numbers were rising quickly by the hundreds of thousands.
http://www.casinogamblingweb.com/gambling-news/gambling-law/ron_paul_goes_over_4_2_million_raised_mark_as_november_5th_ends_47749.html



Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $3.5 million in 20 hours.... The $3.5 million, he said, represented online contributions from more than 22,000 donors.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hyQLduiFMFTNmeUdgpf5cMvLi6awD8SNSIJG0
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Monday, November 5, 2007

Compliments from across the Pond

A great comment to our video on you tube - Allan

"Good work, Ron Paul Europe Meetups. It would be great if Dr. Paul could take time off from his packed schedule in the U.S. to visit you guys. Your support is making a big impression here in the United States. You have created something that NO other candidate has with your European support team. And, of course, Dr. Paul is of vital importance to the future of all Europeans."

Legally Getting around the $2300 Limit and prohibitions on Foreign Donations

Topic: Presidential Campaign 2008
North Carolina Libertarian Forming 527 "Soft Money" Organization

Jerry Collette, a libertarian from North Carolina is attempting to create a 527 "soft money" liberty-advocacy organization to support Ron Paul's candidacy and other, similar causes in support of liberty.
by Walt Thiessen
(Libertarian)

Libertarian activist Jerry Collette of North Carolina has announced that he is forming a Section 527 organization for the purpose of providing an avenue for large contributors to continue to independently support the campaign of Ron Paul and other pro-liberty causes legally outside the restrictions established by the Federal Elections Commission. His new organization is tentatively planned to be called Liberty527.org, and he is in the initial planning stages as this article goes to press.

Liberty527.org will be targeting people who have maxed out giving to Ron Paul's campaign. Jerry's plan at this point is to only accept donations in excess of $1,000, since there are plenty of avenues (particularly at the Paul campaign website) for small donors to support Ron Paul. There is no limit to how much money you can give to a 527, which is why this vehicle is the new darling of the soft money crowd. Collette will be checking with the IRS this week to learn about what restrictions there are on collecting corporate and foreign money with his new brainchild. He is especially hoping that Liberty527.org can be a vehicle for foreign donors who want to do their part within America's borders to support the fight for liberty.

A 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after a section of the United States tax code, 26 U.S.C. § 527. Such groups cannot be run by a political campaign or a political action committee (PAC), and indeed this is where most of the current controversy with such groups comes from. For instance, the Swift Boat Veterans came under fire for their support of George Bush against John Kerry in 2004, primarily because of alleged overlap between their organization and the Bush campaign itself.

Wikipedia has an interesting article on the subject. As the article points out, "Under federal election law, coordination between an election campaign and a 527 group is not allowed." The article includes a very interesting table showing the largest 527 groups that participated in the 2004 campaign. Curiously enough, while both the Swift Boat Veterans and MoveOn.org are on the list, neither are at #1. That distinction belongs to now-defunct "America Coming Together," a liberal group devoted to get-out-the-vote activities. A watchdog website, www.discoverthenetworks.org reported:

"On June 23, 2004, the Associated Press revealed that an undetermined number of ACT's fulltime canvassers were felons, convicted for crimes ranging from drug dealing to burglary, assault, and sex offenses....
"In August 2007, Politico.com reported that the Federal Election Commission (FEC) was fining ACT some $775,000 for having used unregulated soft money to help John Kerry and other Democratic candidates in 2004. The FEC determined that most of the $137 million ACT had raised for its get-out-the-vote effort that year, was derived from contributions that violated federal limits. The settlement was the third largest enforcement penalty in the FEC's 33-year history"

Collette has been a libertarian since the Berlin Wall came down, and he was briefly Dick Boddie's campaign manager in 1992. He is a paralegal and has considerable legal expertise which will obviously come in handy with this new venture. He plans to do all the legwork necessary to make sure that Liberty527.org doesn't fall into the same traps as America Coming Together and the Swift Boat Veterans found themselves in. Much of the controversy surrounding 527 groups comes from legal interpretation of the IRS rules. For instance, Liberty527.org would have to be careful not to run ads using the exact slogans that Ron Paul's campaign uses in their ads and marketing. Collette believes that the Paul campaign gives plenty of opportunity to successfully maintain its legally defined separation from the Paul campaign given the fact that so much of the campaign has been spontaneously developed from grassroots efforts.

Collette plans to target a number of libertarian and conservative famous names to help provide a popular face for the organization. For instance, he it thinking about contacting such notables as economist Walter Williams, author Robert Ringer, investment guru Doug Casey, and author/politician Pat Buchanan to see if he can gain the support of any or all of these relatively famous people within the liberty movement. This is all old-hat to Collette, who used to be a headhunter for about six years. He also says that because of his paralegal experience he is very used to being in situations where you have to tip-toe around laws. He says that you have to make sure your 527 is not behaving like a PAC or a campaign, and he hopes to build the positioning and leverage needed to attract such notable support and build his organization's visibility. He notes that he just started contacting potential supporters this weekend, and already he is finding that lots of people are interested in what he is doing and have given at least tacit support to the project.

Collette is looking to hear from people who work behind the scenes in the fight for liberty and who do not have the big money to give but would like to help promote Liberty527.org. He is looking to fill a number of roles, including someone with 527 administrative experience, spokespeople, promoters and supporters. If you would like to participate in his project, visit his help wanted page for additional information. All others are invited to visit his website at www.liberty527.org to learn more about the project.


Link: http://www.nolanchart.com/article266.html

Saturday, November 3, 2007

The Strasbourg Tea Party

This is Ben Novak's call for a meeting that has been dubbed "The Strasbourg Tea Party" by our friend at Europe4RonPaul. If you have any input, on this matter, please feel free to post here or to contact Ben or I at AmericansInEuropeForRonPaul@gmail.com. - Allan



Dear Ron Paul Supporters all over Europe:

One way we could help the Ron Paul campaign is to create an event showing wide support for Ron Paul in Europe. I suggest a meeting that brings together Ron Paul supporters from all over Europe. This will allow us to get greater publicity for Ron Paul, and allow us to meet each other, network, and plan greater activities to support Ron Paul.

What about a meeting in Strasbourg or Munich in December to kick things off, and maybe another in early February to really give a boost to his campaign?

I, for one, would really like to meet other Ron Paul supporters. I think we have a basis for a European-wide network of people dedicated to freedom.

I would also like to hear from as many of you as possible, to begin dialog, discussion, friendship, and networking across the continent. The Ron Paul phenomenon will last for a long, long time.

Ben Novak

Ron Paul Ballot Access Bill

As an incumbent, this bill could have made it harder for Ron Paul to be elected to Congress in the future, because it would offer more competition for seats, yet Paul has introduced it 8 times. Very respectable. - Allan

Link

Libertarian Party Endorses Ron Paul Ballot Access Bill

November 2nd, 2007

The Libertarian Party national committee endorsed HR 3600 on November 2. This is Congressman Ron Paul’s bill to outlaw restrictive ballot access laws for U.S. House elections. The bill sets a ceiling of 1,000 signatures for candidates for the U.S. House. A similar bill has been introduced in 8 previous sessions of Congress. The sponsors have been Congressman John Conyers, former Congressman Tim Penny, and Paul himself.

From the Belly of the Beast

This one is sent to us from the Belly of the Beast meetup group in Washington DC.


Ben,
Thank you for sending that email. As I think you already know, members of our group have already pledged $1,100 for this event. I have promised secrecy, so I will not ever be making any sort of announcement (publicly or privately) about who those members are. I simply wanted to point out that this was happening and to say thank you, as a fellow supporter, for your donations. You are helping to bring Ron Paul and his message closer to victory, and you are helping to ensure that we have Ron Paul as a messenger long into this campaign cycle. As I have been shown time and again by those in our group - this message is bigger than just 2008 and is a very important one.
- Allan

Ben Novak <americansineuropeforronpaul@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear Americans in Europe for Ron Paul Lists:

I am forwarding a message sent by Sean which he asked be sent to everyone we know.
Ben

--------------

FWD: URGENT, FINAL PUSH: Ron Paul supporters, now is the time!

Most of you have probably already heard about the www.
ThisNovember5th.com movement for the largest one day political
donation event in history. They already have over 15,000
signatures pledging to donate $100 this Monday at www.
RonPaul2008.com, and that list was impressively gained in under
2 weeks!

However, even though that will be over a massive million and a
half dollar boost in one day, we are near the tipping point of
literally making history by achieving something no other
candidate, Republican or Democrat, could pull off.

Every one of the 62,607 Ron Paul Meetup members will get this e-
mail so the ball is in your hands. Please consider the
responsibility. Be able to tell your children and
grandchildren you were part of the Ron Paul revolution!

I guarantee everyone reading this e-mail is capable of getting
$100 dollars to donate, it just comes down to how devoted are
you? .....I have met people who are on the verge of losing
their homes, having trouble making ends meet even to put food
on the table, and yet still pledged a $100 for freedom. That
is devotion!

This will shock the media senseless and will be talked about
for years to come! Please join us, www.ThisNovember5th.com

By the way, do you have anyone from Ireland in this group. I
have many family members in the North and South of Ireland. I
was born in London and lived there for about eight years. If
you haven't already I know there are a couple of classical
liberal think-tanks around Europe that might be interested in
Ron Paul and his campaign if you have not already contacted.
Have a nice day.

Sean

Friday, November 2, 2007

A Note of Gratitude

I just wanted to put this letter up from a very active Ron Paul volunteer in the US. He makes a good point that every little thing we do here is multiple times more significant than the same action taken in the US. The fact that we have become a group of many nationalities supporting Ron Paul's ideas abroad echoes strongly through the Ron Paul's legions of volunteers. Our work is being recognized. Let's keep it up. - Allan


Allan:

Keep up the great work on those videos! Be sure to tell everyone there that anything/everything they do is so much more important and VERY much appreciated because you guys are rooting us on from foreign lands. It's very mutally inspiring!

Peace and God Bless,

Fred

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

No Mystery as to Why Young Americans Love Ron Paul

This seems to be a gross oversimplification of Paul as a candidate, but I like the logic presented here about why some young folks might be drawn to Paul's anti-war stance. - Allan


EDITORIAL: No Mystery As To Why Young Americans Love Ron Paul

Mock right-wing TV talk show host Stephen Colbert described GOP Presidential candidate this way in a visit Congressman Paul (R-Texas) made to his show last June:

"You are an enigma wrapped in a riddle nestled in a sesame seed bun of mystery."

Certainly, at first glance, Congressman Paul does seem a bit different than most Presidential candidates running for the Republican Party's nomination. First, he's opposed to the Iraq War, while the others defend it. Next, he minces no words when it comes to the Constitution guiding his views, whether on touchy subjects like illegal immigration, government programs, or trade agreements.

Yet, of all the GOP candidates, it could be argued that Paul is the strongest when it comes to his pro-life position. A former Air Force doctor, he says he's rarely seen any need to terminate a pregnancy for the life of the mother. And on the gun issue, he is predictable, which is refreshing with tortured logic reining among other candidates like Rudy Giuiliani: if the Constitution allows for the right to bear arms, that's all the Congressman from southeast Texas needs to know.

So what is this connection Paul has with the young people who flock to hear him talk? It's becoming a phenomenon, reminding some of the love affair Ronald Reagan had with young voters who could have been his grandchildren.

Gary Jones, a supporter of Paul's in Tennessee, has observed that the younger generation may simply be looking ahead--and see Paul doing the same thing. And both Paul and the young people don't like all that they see resulting from the war:

"The current, administration has placed the U.S. in a war that appears to have no end," writes Jones. "And as bad and as irresponsible as that is, it gets compounded in another way. If you listen to the Republican candidates, you hear the same status quo: half-heartedly talking about how we need to stay and we will get our troops out SOMEDAY. Or you hear the Democrats speaking against the war and realizing a possible withdrawal no sooner than 2013--which would make this war twice as long as World War II.

"What most people don't hear that the younger people hear and see very clearly is their forced participation. The current troop deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan have been there far beyond the prescribed tours of duty, and our military has been spread so thin that we are virtually guarding Iraq while America goes unprotected. This cannot continue on a volunteer basis. The young of our country see a mandatory draft in their future to fight in a war they don't even want. These young people are supporting Ron Paul in droves. They do not want a new Vietnam or continued Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran for their generation."

Now, if this were simply the voice of the far left, who have never seen a war they wanted to fight, that would be one thing. But these are at the very least centrist, sometime conservative young members of the Republican Party. If they saw a war that was absolutely needed to defend America, a war argument well-articulated well by an intelligent Commander-In-Chief, one gets the impression that they would be willing to do their part.

But to just throw themselves and their friends and relatives into a meaningless meatgrinder? That may be where today's young people differ from those who dutifully went whenever and wherever their country sent them. Watergate, Clinton, and now Bush have given America cause for skepticism from our national leaders.

At the very least, Ron Paul embodies this skepticism, and his supporters mostly want better justifications and smarter plans before giving open-ended support to any President's war.

That's not so much to ask.

Link to story.


WaPo Traffic Goes Up When they write about Ron Paul

Short article with interesting discussion on Ron Paul's influence. I especially like the quote: "[Ron Paul] is not just a creation of a bunch of consultants." - Allan


Washington Post traffic goes up when they write Ron Paul articles

Anne Kornblut from the Washington Post says internet traffic goes up when they write about Ron Paul. When interviewed as a guest on Tucker Carlson’s show Anne Kornblut said,

”This is the reason that you’re even putting him on your show it is to spike your ratings. We know that every time we write about him, hits to our website, it’s not a joke, its amazing, every time we write about him, the hits to the Washington Post website go up.

It was a startling statement considering that the Washington Post is ranked 755 on Alexa.com. She continued, “They’ve raised him money. I think if you measure the money alone this isn’t just a phenomenon”

Rosa Brooks, of the LA Times, who made it a point to say that she is not a Paul supporter said:

“He is a genuine phenomenon, he is not a media creation and thank God that Ron Paul is our there. I think Ron Paul knows something the other candidates probably deep down in their little shriveled hearts know but are scared to let themselves feel. People will vote for you even if they don’t agree on everything. If they feel like you’re a guy or a gal that has a conscience, got some integrity, and calls it like you see it. And is not just a creation of a bunch of consultants”

Tucker Carlson said he agreed with most of Paul’s issues but said that he didn’t support a gold standard.

In a recent debate Paul pointed out that “since the Federal Reserve was created in 1913 a dollar then is only worth 4 cents today”. Paul supports reforming the monetary system by authorizing competing currencies backed by gold and silver. Paul has made the case that ‘empire overseas’ and a ‘fiat currency’ are contributing factors to causing economic strain on Americans.

While the pundits attempted to explain why Ron Paul has such tremendous support and they did try to couch Paul’s common sense issues as a bit strange, there seemed to be an indirect implication and almost an early explanation of why Paul will do well in the early primaries like New Hampshire.

Media outlets have been slowly back tracking from apparently inaccurate polls that have been saying for months that Ron Paul’s support is only at 1% and are starting to change polling data to reflect reality. A new poll in New Hampshire shows Paul at 7.4%.

Paul’s campaign if it wins New Hampshire may prove media generated polls to be obsolete or at best a useless and lagging indicator. Visit the USA Daily Forum to discuss this and other issues.

Link to story