Todo El Mundo Loves Ron Paul

Alvaro Vargas Llosa of the Independent Institute writes:

I was dumbfounded last week when three radio stations, one in Spain and two in Latin America, asked me to explain who American presidential hopeful Ron Paul is and why his candidacy in the Republican primaries has generated such a buzz. The congressman from Texas has hardly registered in national polls but is a political celebrity in the blogosphere and on cable TV Web sites, and has been the subject of front-page stories in The Washington Post and other major news outlets. Apparently, he is making waves around the world too.

[Link via Rational Review .]

Comments

[thoreau]

Since this touches on Latin America, I should probably say that I agree with MikeP.

🙂

[David Weigel]

In the spin room after the New Hampshire GOP debate, where every candidate except for Rudy/McCain/Romney made a personal appearance, Paul had easily the largest media throng. And many of the reporters in the throng were from foreign pubs. Easy enough to understand. If you parachuted into Ecuador to cover the presidential race and of the dozen candidates one guy was saying radically different stuff and starting heated debates you'd assume he was a force in the election.

[Christopher Monnier]

This despite his immigration stance??

[joe]

That can't possibly be true. Hispanics have no respect for liberty and markets.

I know, because the people on the immigration threads told me.

[Jake Boone]

I agree with joe. If there's one thing I've learned from the immigration threads, it's that Hispanics will introduce corruption into our pristine and lily-white political process.

[Rex Rhino]

That can't possibly be true. Hispanics have no respect for liberty and markets.

I know, because the people on the immigration threads told me.

Well, what they told you was only partially true. They just left out the fact that Americans no longer have respect for liberty and markets either... including the ones who oppose immigration.

[Rex Rhino]

Err... the first two lines were supposed to be italiz to show I was quoting joe...

Cant reason make a [quote] tag or something?

[Warren]

WE LOVE YOU RON

[Madbiker]

Err... the first two lines were supposed to be italiz to show I was quoting joe...

Cant reason make a [quote] tag or something?

No, Rex. you are supposed to languish in HTML hell until you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and learn how to type the damned code all by your wittle self.

/ducks

ps I don't know HTML either

[ed]

My threads seem to be manufactured mostly in Malaysia. Does that count?

[Pro Libertate]

The blockquote tag works here. Thus,

Sometimes I quote myself.

[Isaac Bartram]

Actually, I think I heard more refrences to RP on the Beeb than on NPR.

And the Beeb made quite a note of his antiwar heresy. I can't recall NPR doing anything but giving his name as though he were just another R candidate.

I mean to say, RP himself might not be news but for heavens sake isn't an antiwar Republican worth at least some notice.

[Abdul]

The good news, Mr. Paul, is that you're becoming more and more popular. The bad news is that none of the people you're popular with can vote in America.

[jtuf]

According to google trends, Ron Paul is neck and neck with Rudy Giuliani, but has a while to go before catching up with Romney, Obama, or Clinton. Still, the way interest in Hillary plummetted recently shows that the numbers keep changing. In Latin America, Ron Paul was most searched in Costa Rica. This makes sense, since the Movimiento Libertario won 10% of their parliment a few years ago.

[Au standard]

hmmm...is the desire for explicit and implicit wealth transfers to illegals congruent with respect for liberty and markets?

[joe]

Hey, any of you guys interested in raking my yard for $40?

Si.

Later, after Jose rakes the yard...

Here you go. (Transfers wealth to Jose. Explicitly.) You need a lift somewhere?

Si, Gracias.

[Rex Rhino]

[quote]Hey, any of you guys interested in raking my yard for $40?[/quote]

I would have back when I was 12.

[Rex Rhino]

Hey, any of you guys interested in raking my yard for $40?

I would have back when I was 12.

[Pro Libertate]

Congratulations, Rex Rhino! Now you are on the path to enlightenment and a lucrative career as a webmaster.

[highnumber]

Congratulations, Rex Rhino! Now you are on the path to enlightenment and a lucrative career as a webmaster.

ProGLib,

Urkobold got you writing spam now?

[joe]

Do you think I can figure out how this works?

[joe]

Well, it didn't put it in italics, but it didn't display my brackets, either.

I call it a draw.

[Taktix?]

Using the tag < e m > and < / e m > puts italics, or at HTML likes to call it, emphasis.

(sans the spaces, of course)

[jimmydageek]

Using the tag < e m > and < / e m > puts italics, or at HTML likes to call it, emphasis.

(sans the spaces, of course)

why not use the simple < i > < /i > tags...??

[joe]

You mean I don't have to type out ital in the brackets?

[Cesar]

My guess would be Latin America loves Ron Paul because he promises to end the drug war--which has become a War on Latin America, period.

[jimmydageek]

You mean I don't have to type out ital in the brackets?

No, joe, you don't.

[Cesar]

Link for the HTML impaired here

[Cesar]

Whoops, that was ironic. Its here

[Bronwyn]

Oh, well, now I have to see if this one works...

?Ron Paul para el Presidente!

Boo! No marquee? What sort of html-disabled site are you people running here?

[Pro Libertate]

highnumber,

Yeah, the Man's keeping me down. It's my punishment for posting about art today.

Cesar,

Your failure to properly link while chastising was rich, like fine Corinthian leather.

[Taktix?]

Since this thread's already hijacked anyway...

I was listening to Glenn Beck this morning, and he was saying that congress' approval rating is 15%, Bush's is 26%.

Then he started saying that an armed rebellion is coming.

It's a damn shame, Beck shows little flashes of libertarianism from time to time (he's had Penn Jillette on his TV show twice already), but they are few and very far between.

P.S. Thanks for the < i >

[Cesar]

Taktix--

Glenn Beck strikes me as one of those "THEY are coming! THEY are coming for YOU! HIDE! THEY WANT YOU DEAD!" kind of people.

He also seems to think Israel is a state of the union.

[crimethink]

I'm curious, do Latin Americans ask Paul about his stance on immigration? 😉

[Hands With A Hammer]

Much of the world (that portion we don't owe money to) holds out hope that Dr Paul will make the USA start behaving like the USA again. Last week, I read a French newspaper blog that was as much a love-in for Ron Paul as anything I've seen in english.... and that's no small feat.

[joe]

"Cesar | June 21, 2007, 3:15pm | #

Link for the HTML impaired here"

Points for accuracy, Cesar.

[Pro Libertate]

I haven't dug deeply enough, most likely, but Movable Type's default for comments is to allow the following tags: a href, b, i, br/, p, strong, em, ul, ol, li, blockquote, pre.

Testing:
Gratuitous reference to Urkobold
bold
italics

break
paragraph
Strong
Emphasis

Unordered list

Ordered list

Blockquote

Pre
It appears that we don't have the unordered or ordered list capabilities or the paragraph tag. However, we do have strikethrough capabilities. Clearly, there is much to learn.

[NH]

Woo hoo! Sign brigade!

The huge 4 x 8's have hit NH! If you live in NH and need one... let us know - ron paul at nhlibertycalendar dot org

[jimmydageek]

Nor do are we able to use the < u >underline< /u > tag, which I occasionally feel like using.

[Son of a!]

I scoff at everyone's use of spaces in their examples.

<i>
<b>
<blockquote>
<em>
<strong>
<p>

[crimethink]

Maybe President Tommy Thompson will send Ron Paul to the UN as an ambassador, since we know he won't send Bush!

[Au standard]

tale continues....

Jose goes home after raking backyard...(says to himself) wow it is much safer here than my old neighborhood in Mexico..thank god these gringos pay such a huge share of police services which patrol my area..especially since my area generates relatively more crime..opps...forgot fire dept too....

Jose sits down...whoops his wife starts to get contractions...time to go to the hospital...Jose remembers that he doesn't have insurance...no problem...go to the government county hospital...can't refuse me in there!!!..(yes, thats a w-e-a-l-t-h transfer)...hey these gringos are great!!! Jose says to self...

then Jose realizes that he has to pick up his other kid at the government provided free school...wow another wealth transfer Jose exclaims...this place is great!!!

[Isaac Bartram]

Oh,

is this it?

Why, yes, it is.

[Pro Libertate]

In the old days, we could do unordered lists, but I don't think we had the strikethrough or blockquote option. Mike has likely addeth and taketh awayeth certain capabilities. I like bullets on occasion, so that's my only mild gripe. I'm not 100% sure they're using Movable Type, either.

Son of a!,

<i>Indeed!</i>

[jimmydageek]

tale continues....

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, the same scenario occurs. Only, in this case it's a [GASP!] white person!

The horror!

You probably felt the same way when blacks were allowed to vote, eh?

[Lost_In_Translation]

crimethink,

Ron Paul at the UN is like putting a cat in a yarn factory, it'll be messy.

[jimmydageek]

One thing that gets me about people who are afraid that Mexicans will take over and ruin all America stands for:

You obviously have very little confidence in your country's ability to survive. How truly un-American!

[joe]

Au standard,

I agree that the Paperwork Deprived America-Joiners need to be added to the tax roles.

Please stop arguing against efforts to do so.

[joe]

"wow it is much safer here than my old neighborhood in Mexico.."

Yes, immigrants are much less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans. Which is fortunate, considering how they are much less likely to call the police if a crime occurs.

[MikeP]

joe | June 21, 2007, 2:34pm | #
Hey, any of you guys interested in raking my yard for $40?

Jose goes home after raking backyard...(says to himself) wow it is much safer here than my old neighborhood in Mexico

Jose also says to himself, Boy I am glad that I was able to do that job for joe. The fact that he didn't have to do that job meant he could go do something higher valued and better suited to his higher skills while paying me a for a job suited to my lower skills. Everybody is better off throughout the economy!

What did you say joe does again?

?Que?

Aaauugghh!

[highnumber]

I agree with what thoreau might come along to say.

[Son of a!]

So... Au standard is a troll, right? I mean, s/he had so little faith in the capacity of a board full of libertarians to recognize a wealth transfer when they see one that s/he felt the need to literally spell it out for us. That's got to be either trolling or stupidity, no?

PS: How gauche of me not to close my tags! </p> </strong> </em> </blockquote> </b> </i>

[jimmydageek]

I agree with what thoreau might come along to say.

Actually, highnumber, see the 1st comment...

[highnumber]

Oh, yeah, jimmy.
I agree with what thoreau already said.

Carry on.

[Au standard]

jimmydageek: yes, exactly..so the libertarian course of action is more transfers of wealth?...and create more of a vested interest group in such a result?...the voting thing...HUH?....where did I mention the survival of the US?...simply pointing out the money needed to support illegals

Joe:Yes, in a world of no explicit and implicit welfare (broadly defined) costs...doesn't exist

whoops...you did that little immigrants versus illegals thing

also, if their lack of not paying taxes causes me to pay for them, the libertarian thing is to have them pay....esp. if they use the service which I pay for

Son of a:...well yep..I have no faith since you couldn't do it...you did need to have it spelled out

overall a whole spread of pathetic answers which avoids the central point (even using implied racism)...it is a dark day when everyone on a supposedly libertarian board runs from arguing on grounds of property transfers.....

[highnumber]

overall a whole spread of pathetic answers which avoids the central point (even using implied racism)...

Was that a summation of your posts?

*ducks*

[Rattlesnake Jake]

Au standard, you just made good arguments for amnesty. Make them citizens so they will pay more taxes.

[Son of a!]

me:

So... Au standard is a troll, right?

Au standard:

Son of a:...well yep..

Okay, that's all I needed to know.

[crimethink]

LiT,

It would be great! He would veto every UN resolution that wasn't specifically authorized by the UN Charter!

[Bee]

We need some lolPaulz. Someone find a good photo of him that can be tinkered with endlessly, and let's have at it. Paul in a sombrero, Paul riding a dog sled, Paul with Bat Boy, Paul swatting Derek Jeter's ass, etc.

[Au standard]

conversation continues...

me:
can't understand property rights huh?...only respond with platitudes?

Son of a:...well of course

[Au standard]

Au standard, you just made good arguments for amnesty. Make them citizens so they will pay more taxes.

exactly!,agree...as long as there is a bill for all past social services....welcome to the US!

[MikeP]

as long as there is a bill for all past social services....welcome to the US!

Do they get to bill the US for all the producer surpluses of their labor plus the comparative advantages their labor allowed? Otherwise, it's a bit one-sided, no?

[Au standard]

Do they get to bill the US for all the producer surpluses of their labor plus the comparative advantages their labor allowed? Otherwise, it's a bit one-sided, no?
.....
in free market economics that's called a w-a-g-e

[Scooby]

What does "free market economics" have to do with a welfare state and a government enforced nativist monopoly in the supply of labor?

[Au standard]

What does "free market economics" have to do with a welfare state and a government enforced nativist monopoly in the supply of labor?

..really...try to follow along

Do they get to bill the US for all the producer surpluses of their labor plus the comparative advantages their labor allowed? Otherwise, it's a bit one-sided, no?...

again they do bill them....again thats a w-a-g-e

I mean really ...this is a libertarian site?

[MikeP]

in free market economics that's called a w-a-g-e

Uh, no. The benefits to the economy that I brought up start where the wage ends. The difference between the wage and what the labor was worth is the producer surplus. The increase in the wages and producer surpluses of everybody in the economy who can move up the ladder because a less skilled person was found to do the less valued job is the comparative advantage.

[MikeP]

By the way, joe...

Jose kids. He kids because he loves.