
He wants President Obama to stop saying mean things about BP.
Wow, the Teabaggers’ favorite glibertarian is the gift that just keeps on giving.
Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul, who drew wide attention this week for his reluctant embrace of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, said this morning that President Barack Obama’s criticism of BP has sounded “really un-American.”
Speaking on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the libertarian iconoclast said the castigation of BP’s response to the oil gusher on the floor of the Gulf of Mexico was an attack on business and part of the “blame game,” where tragedy is “always someone’s fault.”
That’s pretty rich coming from a guy who goes on national television, makes an assclown out of himself because he can’t manage a simple “yes” when asked repeatedly if he’d vote for the 1964 Civil Rights Act — then blames everyone else for it.
“What I don’t like from the president’s administration is this sort of, ‘I’ll put my boot heel on the throat of BP.’ I think that sounds really un-American in his criticism of business,” he said.
Paul’s spirited defense of BP is perfectly consistent with his extremist philosophy. Saying mean things about BP — let alone holding them accountable for destroying the Gulf of Mexico — is akin to assault, to thuggery. It’s “un-American” to criticize oil companies! You will suck on that crude and like it, Gulf residents.
Keeping digging, Randy.



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Dead Rand Walking
BT, have you been reading my comments over at the News Desk??
does he know BP stands for British Petroleum?
There is this thing called a thought to action filter. Give yourself a few minutes to think before you go about writing crap!
Very refreshing.
No such conviction from the progressives who actually feel vindicated by the election of more centrist democrats to congress.
huh?
Tired of Democratic corporate greed? Tired of Republican corporate greed? Try the new and improved Teabagger/Libertarian corporate greed. It satisfies: it is filtered, flavored with a flip-top box…
Great minds.
What could be MORE American? Oh, I see – he’s peeved that the ones at actual fault are getting blamed. So much for libertarian ideals of responsibility…he should be smacking BP on why any blame game needs playing in the first place.
Hey ayn Rand Paulie I’ve got your BP 22″ pipe right here you can sit on.
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/05/21/libertarianism_who_needs_it/index.html
Good analysis re Rand at Salon
not evil – just stupid
Conservatives LOVE to hold poor and non-white people accountable. “Party of personal responsibility” and all that.
But somehow, that never applies to them — i.e., Bush shits the bed in Iraq or New Orleans — and to point that out is “playing the blame game.”
Same old, same old.
A true libertarian would say that BP, Halliburton, and TransOcean are 100% responsible for the leak and all resulting and subsequent damages.
This should be the question everyone asks Rand, and then use his response to go after those who like to use the government to free business from responsibility.
A good follow up would be to ask Rand, in light of the “free speech rights” given to corporations in Citizens’ United, whether corporations should be considered persons with rights AND responsibilities of people. Specifically, should BP be charged criminally as a person and be forced to do time and pay restitution.
MICKEY KAUS for U.S. Senate ‘common sense Democrat’
eh, – who are the progressives supporting in California?
Boxer? Kaus? – that’s it?
Yup, they think alike… and OURS do too!!
Critisizing oil companies is un-american? I thought he was Ron Paul’s son not Dick Cheney’s son.
You skipped this snippet. Does he really think they’ll cough up any more than the $75M required by law?
Rand is apparently a bit more unbalanced, politically and otherwise, than papa. Perhaps he was named after RAND Corporation, the famous “non-profit” and not the famous Ayn.
Your mind is made up but your mouth is undone
Woo. Turning into quite the surreal trainwreck.
Makes Randian Greenspan, not at all a Randian, – who knew?
All he is saying is he wants to rename that body of water the Gulf of Texas. ‘Gulf of Mexico’ DOES sound completely un-American! D’UH!
I am grateful for one thing: That Rand Paul has that wee schmear of integrity that makes him spout these crazy statements, showing all of us — if we’re willing to pay attention — what he truly believes.
Rand Paul believes businesses — restaurants, hotels, taxis and even bus lines — should be free to dust off their old “No Colored” signs and post them in windows. Heck, he says businesses should be able to turn away anyone, so all you minorities? GLBTs? Jews and Muslims? You can all be thrown into the street.
Even better, he’s told us he thinks the Americans with Disabilities Act should not have been passed — so busineses: Feel free to rip out those wheelchair access ramps and remodel your public restrooms so paraplegics have to humiliate themselves just to answer a call of nature.
Oh, but it gets better: A bank manager can, all on his own, decide that women have no right to be handling money and refuse to let a wife access accounts held in common. Why not? Banks are privately owned, right?
Rand Paul says he personally abhors discrimination, but his positions are taken straight out of the John Birch Society’s policy statements.
Apparently he’s also a radical Randian libertarian (gee, quel suprise, given what his Dad named him) of the anarcho-capitalist ilk.
Why doesn’t he go all out and say that we shouldn’t have imposed safety standards.
If they didn’t have safety standards to follow then they wouldn’t have had to go through so much trouble lying about being up to code….people still would have died and a states shoreline would still be destroyed but our market would be freer to let more people destroy our country!
These damned randroids….
I have to try the randroid excuse for businesses ****ing large swathes of our population.
I know that I got drunk and drove my truck through your home, pulled down my pants and urinated on your sofa, then told your wife that she was ugly….but this is all part of the blame game and your trying to restrict my rights defined by the constitution and the holy bible by playing this petty partisan blame game….So what if I ate your goldfish and went to the set your bed on fire….don’t infringe on my rights and liberty YOU PETTY PARTISAN THUGOCRAT!
Criticizing BRITISH petrolium is unamerican? Maybe he was referring to people from the american colonies.
Money and power are global. He’s probably one of these famous globalist the Tea Party folks are so vociferous about. Threatening to overthrow the government it seems is more patriotic than criticizing corporate coverups.
What makes you think that being pro segregation would make him lose republican votes?
A republican says something obscenely racist and is unapologetic? /shocked
Liber Macht Frie!
Rand is linking the Tea Baggers to big oil when just how many Red State Fishermen and Tourist workers are facing unemployment?
Rand knows that if the leak does not get plugged soon the oil companies will cost America more good paying jobs than all the bad paying jobs immigrants currently have?
The essential problem with the thinking of Rand Paul, Ayn Rand, and Tea-Baggers is that it’s half-baked.
They’re philosophy is constructed around their biases, and they mistake their own ability to rationalize this fact as confirmation of its truth.
People who are attracted to this mindset are basically saying, “It’s a free country. I’m happy with the way I think and you can’t do anything about it.”
The main problem is that they can’t understand that while they are entitled to their bigoted opinions, they are not entitled to act on them.
Ooooh. Spooky. Ayn Rand? RAND PAUL? What is his middle name?! RAND AYN PAUL!
Run everybody!!
“They’re philosophy is constructed around their biases, and they mistake their own ability to rationalize this fact as confirmation of its truth.”
Obama, Summers, Geithner, Rubin, et all?
huh?
Paul believes property endows rights and citizenship. So corporations are citizens. He somehow doesn’t see the collective ownership of corporations as socialism but fears public aka government ownership. What an idiot.
Want a joke?
What is the worst thing the russian communists have ever done to an american?
They made Ayn Rand want to live here.
Un-American, defined:
Are the Paulbots here to clean up this latest FDL spill?
Pa dum pump!
Read this morning that 17% of Republicans in Kentucky think Paul is too liberal. They probably also believe in the Easter Bunny.
A humorous coincidence, no?
That the mother of conservative elitism shares the same four letters of a name with this sock puppet bloviating tea bag? He is apparently on a platform of taking the most feeble minded precepts of ‘Atlas Shrugged’ and combining them with the incalculably stupid Tea Bag movement.
That is scary, no?
P.S. His real name is Randal. First time I’ve ever heard that name abbreviated in that way. So I think this is an inane conscious effort on his part to infer his platform with the infamous author.
I’m sure the TeaScrotums loves them some good old racist talk but the red states that are soon to be covered in muck might not feel so friendly towards oil companies who are destroying their ocean, beaches and livelihoods. Especially “furniner” oil companies. Paul is sucking the wrong pipe on this one.
Sort of goes against the Libertarian philosophy of letting the markets correct themselves, doesn’t it? I mean, when he’s talking about minorities it’s okay to allow discrimination because then people will criticize them and not give them custom but suddenly when big oil behaves irresponsibly it’s un-American to criticize them? Rand Paul is just another money worshipping Republican trying to wear a Libertarian skin.
Seconded and worthy of a Diary Is Rand a Corporate Whore or is he a True Libertarian? So far he is acting like a Corporate Whore. Whats his take on the mining disaster?
I wonder how the Paulites at the Lake will respond will they like the GOP defending Bush defend their fearless leader
Kim JongRand Paul no matter what?Or like True Lakers who have been criticizing Obama when ever we think he does wrong will they put ideas ahead of the the person?
Rand Paul is too liberal?
Who’s more conservative? Confuscious?
Randy demonstrates the too-typical God complex that some doctors acquire. As in, don’t confuse me with reality, I am above such as facts. And somebody needs to explain to him the difference between “accident” and “CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE.”
How far is the Chicago School of Economics removed from Randianism?
This dude is a fucking punk, especially considering who Obama’s economic team is made up of.
Rand seems more of an old-fashioned right-winger than a libertarian. Wingers think questioning the patriotism of their fellow Americans is cool.
By any chance was Rand named after Ayn Rand? If so, his ma and pa should be charged (belatedly) with child abuse.
edit: His wiki bio says no but I’m not convinced. For one thing, he is an ophthalmologist get it… Eyin’ Rand?
Ever heard of the ‘horseshoe theory’ of Political Modeling?
There isn’t a lot of difference between neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism. They both will arrive at neo-feudalism but simply by different means.
P.S. I despised most of Obama’s cabinet picks from the beginning.
Jeebus, what is happening to MSNBC daytime? Who is the chirpy concern troll–don’t bother answering that, question purely rhetorical.
The Comcasting has begun.
The GOP has Pollsters and Public Relations people who poll test the GOP message. The PR people must be dreading what the pollsters will tell them about Rand.
Rand backing the oil companies now links oil companies to the GOP. Rand already links racism, anti immigrant hate to the GOP.
Just wait until the public finds out he opposes Gay Marriage and favors no abortion even if a girl is raped.
Rand is a Bigger Pinata for us than Sarah.
The guy keeps talking and the candy keeps coming out. Rand is not getting in front of his mistakes by attempting to deflect attention to his racism and attack Obama he just wacked his own Pinata butt wide open giving us more candy.
He doesn’t sound very Libertarian, more neoconservative, I agree. It could be he’s only partially Libertarian but pure politician. Saying what he thinks his base likes to hear with only a few slips now and then that reveal his true colors. Like Obama.
I didn’t know anything about him until today. Its interesting that he gets the Libertarian label now that I’ve had a chance to look at his position on issues. He seems typically Republican. Nothing to indicate Libertarian other than his dad that I’ve found. He doesn’t support the war, or so he says, but that’s old school Republican, not just libertarian.
Then again, I’ve never really looked much into his dad either.
well, continuing along his current track, he’ll probably shoot Santa Claus
Have you read Confucius? I think you mean Taoism. If you were trying for snark you might mention Han Fei Tzu.
.
http://www.wsu.edu/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_1/hanfeitzu.html
Only instead of a Leader making the decisions its the Corporations competing in Free Market Lord of the Flies competition.
Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winning actress who is also deaf, has been chasing after Rand Paul on Twitter lately. She pointed out that his views on the ADA would have required FDR to work in a first-floor office only.
An interesting turn, at the sites that generally hate all things liberal is that there are now complaints that Obama failed to protect America from the same people that believe the absolute deregulation is the only path governance. The “keep your federal hands off my medicare crowd” have found the temporary regulation religion but only long enough to blame Obama for… keeping Bush’s policies unchanged this one time.
Just remember Ayn Rand largely built this philosophy they all embrace on her infatuation with a serial killer.
It must be great to live in Rand’s world where everyone is rich, white, able-bodied, and self-reliant.
Then again, maybe not.
Not only does Rand Paul feel that criticizing BP is un-American, he also feels they should have the right to refuse to fill your tank if they don’t like your race or ethnicity . . .
Wait a week or two and lets see how much Rand brings the GOP down in the polls.
oh boy…he needs to join SOCIOPATHS ARE US!
Very interesting
The difference is, I think, that Rand Paul and a lot of TeaBaggers actuallly believe their ‘philosophy‘, whereas the others are smart enough to know it’s total BS, but find it provides convenient cover for their criminal enterprise.
The idiots enable the crooks.
Doubt if he cares much about hypothesis centered around FDR. If Rand could travel back in time to the 1920s for the purpose of preventing the rise of FDR or Hitler I’m pretty confident Adolph would have little cause for concern.
Apparently not.
FDR and his bi wife would have been hounded to extinction with this pack as his like minded mentor Prescott Bush leader of poor genes are us!
he is young and rich,he has no worries
This guy is a gift that will keep on giving~
It’s people like Ayn who give booze and amphetamine binges a bad name.
hi Ratty!…yea Randi would be right in there with ole Prescott Bush and the other fascisto
Rand is talking GOP ideas when Reagan would speak in code about hate. Whats also missing Hope audit the Fed is good but not creating jobs good.
The free market will provide if we cut their taxes and deregulate business? Cut taxes and Deregulate more than Bush did for 8 years? Thats why we are in debt and have no jobs!
Rand needs to sell Hope not Bush’s false hope.
they have always been right wing tripe…….really weird stuff
Reminds me of that old joke;
“What did the Pope say to Hitler after they’d snorted a few lines?”
“Hey, you’ve got some really great ideas.”
Hi sadly, how’s Bazzie?
His name got abbreviated in youth to Randy, but his wife started calling him Rand. So much for Aynian conspiracy theories.
I get back to my original commentary about so-called “libertarians.” WHAT does the “label” mean? I now hear at lot of my formerly Republican friends and family members declaring themselves to be firmly “libertarian” these days, and I *hear* what is, for me, a lot of garbled statements about “keeping government out of my life,” and “no taxes” and other such similar statements.
When I try to clarify – for my edification – what they really *mean* by their identification as “libertarian,” it just doesn’t make sense to me. Does that *mean* that they won’t drive on public highways anymore? Does that mean that they’ll dig a well, themselves, in their back yard and pump up water into their homes? Does that mean, that they’ll get a septic tank and be responsible for emptying it, themselves? Does that mean that if they get robbed, they’ll just suck it up and deal with it on their own? Does that mean that if their home catches on fire, they’ll pull out the garden hose and put it out themselves? I *get* that they can home school their kids, even though they happen to be sending them *now* to, cough cough, socialized public schools.
I mean: WTF does the label/pol philosophy *mean*?? And how does it *look* in reality land??? I don’t *get it* bc when I ask questions, like the ones listed above, all I get are anger and defensive postures and told that I’m a “looney leftist” and all the usual rightwing noise – with NO real explanation.
And, as Senator Clyburn said last night on KO, what DOES Rand Paul expect of BRITISH Petroleum, TransOcean & Halliburton??? IF the gov’t is so evil and should not, gad, *regulate* Big Oil and the off-shore rigs, THEN WHAT??? WHAT???
I’m not hearing any cogent answers, frankly.
All these so-called libertarians getting mad at us “looney leftists” for questioning Rand Paul, and this political philosophy, need to step up to the plate and answer the very very very basic questions that I posit in this comment. Because, quite honestly and with all respect, I would really like answers. I haven’t gotten any real answers so far, and all I heard from Mr. Paul was a bunch of defensive posturing and calling leftists names like “Looney.” So be it.
What are the answers? Who are you? What do you really believe? And do you think that BP, TransOcean and Halliburton have done a good job at self-regulating themselves? Inquiring minds would like to know.
he lost one eye,but he is much better,thanks for asking,hows Max?
Sort of like claiming that throwing the tea of the British East India Company was anti-American and anti-business.
Oh wait…wasn’t that what the original “tea party” was all about?
I knew about the eye, he was home and coping well last I heard. Don’t know any Max, my conure’s name is Bob. He’s happy (and sassy).
Don’t hold your breath. I used to work with a self-professed libertarian and he could never manage to explain it to me either. One of the laziest guys I met, mentally and physically.
IMO Rand is just a female Palin, diversion, and just as dumb from what I can tell.
P.S. And just because I *question* Mr. Paul’s political positions and philosophy, along with the rest of the libertarain pol philosophy, does NOT axiomatically connote that I wholesale approve of, endorse, condone or agree with the so-called Democratic pols currently in office and/or running for office and/or what is happening at the Federal level with a majority of Democrats in office.
I see that meme being pumped out here today: well, if you at FDL are so *against* Rand Paul, then what about X, Q, Z Democratic pol?
I think anyone visiting FDL long enough knows that *most* who post here aren’t very thrilled with the Democratic party – and esp the POTUS and his Admin – either. So tossing back quips about how, if you don’t like Rand Paul, then somehow that *means* you’re totally in agreement with every Democrat these days, is specious at best, and just silly at worst.
I question all politicians. Mr. Paul just happens to be under the spotlight at this time, but his ascendency does raise very interesting questions to debate. If he can’t take the heat, then he shouldn’t have entered the kitchen.
David Dayen has a fresh cross-post already in progress: Blanche Lincoln Wouldn’t Defend Her Own Derivatives Proposal
I don’t want to sound rude, but that is, quite honestly, my impression. My family and friends, who suddenly “turned” libertarian 2 seconds after Obama was elected, are quite well educated and in most areas of conversation, quite good at explaining themselves. In this one area, however, they are, so far, very inarticulate and very poor at elaboration of what their pol. philosophy actually *means.*
Speaking strictly for *my* family and friends of this persuasion, it *appears* to me to mean: I don’t want to pay taxes ever for any reason bc I am selfish and just want to spend all of money on me. However, if and when something goes wrong – such as my house catching on fire – then I want the very best govt services possible (of course, without ME having to pay for it… that’s for the poor people to pay for).
I’m speaking just about those that I happen to know. This is quite possible not the attitude or philosophy of others. But I have not, as yet, gotten ANYTHING useful in terms of explanation so far.
I talked to one on youtube.
He was crazy enough to believe that people should have the ability to opt out of paying taxes on the condition that it becomes illegal for them to drive on public roads, bridges, have their crap drain to the sewer, call the police, have people who harm them prosecuted in a court of law, etc.
Basically each person who decides to stop paying taxes has his property declared an anything goes zone, where if he/she commits a crime he/she can be arrested, but if someone commits a crime on the free marketeer it’s legal.
Imagine if society allowed that. We’d become worse than a 3rd world country in less than a year.
We’d have small towns arming themselves and declaring war on one another, police seeing a break in, hear a gunshot, and not go in and arrest the criminal…that kind of complete anarchy actually sounds kind of awesome on paper.
oh shoot……..im bad………senior memory…….scritches to Bob!
the ME generation,i blame TV
Don’t hold your breath.
You know what happens if you beat up an anarchist?
He calls the cops.
hahahaha
and claims disability ins
We all have moments of Fawlty memory. :)
That’s why I can always remember Bazzie’s name, because it’s mnemonically linked with Basil Fawlty.
Glibertarian…hmm cute and some may consider clever.
OK, so Ran the Man is obvious and easy, a fool’s fool to be sure and comic relief from the rest of the extraordinarily tragic garbage we are facing everywhere else.
How do we go about getting a grip, in any way at all to get at corpobama and the rest of his gang before we are all toast?
hahahahahahahaa,thats who i named him after
There’s a lot of speculation above as to what Rand Paul is or isn’t politically, in light of his eccentric pronouncements, but I think it all boils down to the increasingly evident fact that Rand Paul just isn’t very bright.
Well it’s a good thing that he can only succeed in being a corporatist a hole and get the liberal vote if his opponents propose ham fisted solutions, politically shoot themselves in the foot at every turn, and act like the biggest group of racist biggots you could ever….
…
…
…dammit.
Sociopathic? Doubtful. Naive and aligned with multiple lunatic radical right-wing organizations? Without a doubt.
He is either being disingenuous or incredibly ignorant if he thinks that in the repealed absence of Title II of the Civil Rights Act, businesses all over the country wouldn’t discriminate “because it’d be bad for profits.”
Rubbish. If that were true, there would not have been all those “No Colored People Served” signs everywhere just two generations ago. (People also forget there were similar signs refusing service to Asians, Italians, the Irish, Jews, Catholics and lots of other groups. But African-Americans and -Asians bore the brunt of the overt discrimination.)
Of course, Rand Paul falls into the usual trap of libertarian Objectivism, believing that people will always behave as ‘rational actors’, except perhaps for a few on the fringe that no one cares about and whom the godlike Free Market will correct.
Taken in its purest form, communism also neglected the motivations of real people and ascribed mystical inevitably self-fulfilling qualities to a flawed political philosophy. There, the belief is that after a period of ever increasing central authority, eventually the state will somehow whither away — ignoring the reality that once people have power, they are loathe to let it go. Radical libertarianism is just the anarchist flip of the coin, with the irrational belief that if there is no government, people will revert to behaving themselves, including when they gather resources and capital together in order to become rich. “Companies won’t pollute because it’ll be bad for their bottom line!” This claim, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that corporations will pollute unless they face penalties for doing so. Food producers will sell us attractive looking products tainted with poisons and bacteria — as long as they believe they can get away with it and hide or pay off those sickened or killed. Manufacturers will sell dangerous products. And so on and so on.
Truly consistent libertarians aren’t quite like the regular authoritarian right-wingers, but they’re equally dangerous in terms of unleashing every human evil upon an unprotected society. Trouble is, I have yet to meet a libertarian who didn’t also have an authoritarian streak — for those issues they deem important. Like holding police unaccountable. Or enslaving others — and using the full might of the State to enforce it. Or reducing women to the status of chattel and breeders again.
Again, I’m actually glad Rand Paul is letting us know what’s really on his mind and in his heart. I grew up in a family where racist attitudes were commonplace, and one of my close relatives an actual card-carrying John Bircher (“Because the Klan is a bunch of p***ies,” he told me.) What Dr. Paul has been saying of late is very, very familiar.
But this doesn’t change the fact his ideas and ideals are abominations in a modern civilized society.
Well that’s just stupid. If every libertarian really lived like that – and at least I’ll give this youtube person a quarter of a point of credit for stating they won’t drive on roads & stuff – then what? they’d all just squat down on their precious libertarian property, poop in the ground, dig a well, grow their own veggies, and never go anywhere except within the confines of their property??? Because if they step over the boundary line of their little libertarian fifedom, then what? If they’re out of the boundary lines, how does that work?? Because it doesn’t.
These people want to live in yet another dream world that partially mimics the movies of the old wild west, which, in reality, was something of a libertarian free form land. But guess what? Those people were crying out (most of them) for law and order and looking for the cavalry to come riding out to save them.
To me, that is just juvenile wet dreams that have no bearing on the reality of what life is these days.
And I can assure you that my coddled and cossetted and pampered family and friends who are so desirous of this fantastic libertarian paradise would have no intention or ability to live the way this youtube person said. Poop on the ground??? Yeah: pull the other one. Absolutely not ONE of them would have a CLUE how to live this way. frankly, I would be able to do better than them (because I spend a lot of time in the wilderness), and I KNOW that I don’t want my “ordinary” “day to day” life to be like that.
These people are IN DENIAL!!!!!!! And it’s not just a river in Egypt.
Obama will be quite happy to have another staunch supporter of the Washington Consensus in the Senate. He’s a sure fired vote for everything Obama holds dear.
I think we saw that outcome in the Mad Max movies.
Of course the basic ‘opt-out’ proposal is loony in the extreme. Okay, so you’ve cut yourself off from the grid and the country. Everyone else around you is still part of the U.S. though, so you are barred from crossing the border (illegal entry!).
Somehow you manage to get by, totally independent. You have some guns, some supplies and maybe can live slightly better than a cave man. Then comes the roaming gangs of like-minded libertarian outlaws who have realized, “Hey, if we organize and have a leader, we can take anything we want — as long as we target these individuals who have stupidly opted out of police protection.”
Individual gangs, however, fight among themselves, until someone gets the bright idea of organizing larger, hierarchical groups. With chiefs. To counter them, locals begin organizing…and maybe they select among themselves a… I know — a mayor! And a counsel to run things and make decisions affecting the entire community.
Next thing you know, you’ve come full circle and invented this thing called “government” again. Until some lame ignorant ass starts spouting crap about how we’d all be better off if it didn’t exist.
“Lord” Paul
Enough said, “me thinks”, as to misbegotten “tea partiers”.
I think they believe in that economic philosophy because they saw road warrior and were like “Man, if I could get a job wearing bondage gear and a hockey mask rolling around the desert in my dune buggy and pillaging settlers my life would be AWESOME!”
The only way I could see a libertarian surviving is if he was a Fist of the North Star style martial artist.
Otherwise they should be told that their wild west fantasies should be left in the theatres. If they want to live out their fantasies, move to somalia and start a business in free market heaven.
Libertarian america’s most successful store
Shady Sam’s gasoline, guns, ammo,fire, prostitute and miracle gro shack.
I agree with you on several points. I agree that I’m glad that Rand Paul is speaking as freely as he is, and I WELCOME his viewpoints. Seriously, I do. That he chooses some of the time to be defensive and call us “looney leftists” is specious, but whatever.
Let’s have the full picture of who he is and what he actually believes. And let’s all examine this political philosophy and tease out EXACTLY what it means.
I also agree that Paul’s commentary – and hey, who knows?, perhaps he isn’t a racist himself – that businesses would self-regulate to not discriminate because they’d lose money????? please. spare me that nonsense. I’m old enough and have relatives in AL. I saw Jim Crow up close and personal. I call this bull hockey of the finest order.
Loads and loads and loads of businesses would have NEVER integrated or allowed minorities to use them, IF it hadn’t been for civil rights. EVEN IT if meant they went out of business.
That is so much crap, and I go back to praising RM once again for her fine analogy of what that all means.
No, this libertarian stuff is nonsense, and if the Tea Party voters and libertarians among us are truly *satisfied* with BP oil volcano disaster and how BP, TransOcean and Halliburton are currently (and previously) “handling” it: well, so be it. But I am a citizen, too, and I am totally and thoroughly NOT satisfied with how Big Oil business is mis-handling this disaster, and I *believe* firmly in the need for govt regulations. And right now: in theory, govt regulations are supposed to be in operation. That is the law right now. For Mr. Paul to say that putting pressure on BP is “unAmerican” is plainly stupid and NOT reflecting what our laws are as they stand today.
XD
Desert Raider Limited Liability Corporation?
Why do foreigners invest in american banks? Seriously? We have idiots saying there shouldn’t be any consumer protection in anything, and that banks shouldn’t be accountable and be allowed to start ponzi schemes and rip us off…..then pray that foreigners are dumb enough to send money down the drain that empties into a trillion dollar bonus.
Really. Who knows? It’s all some kind of weird fantasy, which mainly boils to: I don’t wanna pay taxes ever under any circumstances, but then I want to use all those so-called “socialized” things that run our nation.
I agree. If you’re such a gosh-darned libertarian, why then: move to Somalia. That’s what they got going there. NO govt, no Laws, no Regs, no nothing. Go have yourself a ball!!
I don’t have any sympathy for BP in this situation, but the rhetoric coming from the White House about “keeping our boot on the throat of BP” is certainly disturbing. This is the same government that slaughters hundreds of thousands of people around the world, locks up millions of Americans for nonviolent, consensual so-called crimes, tortures people to death, and targets Americans for assassination; I don’t understand how anyone could fail to be disturbed by the White House’s rhetoric.
sociopaths have no empathy
You mentioned it previously, hence the mnemonic link. It was in response to some comment I made regarding Manuel’s Siberian hamster, also named Basil. :)
Well, exactly. The “wild west” did exist and in some ways EXACTLY like some Hollywood movies portrayed it. A LOT of people got killed with guns; maybe some “deserved” it and maybe some didn’t.
In the long run, the vast majority WANTED govt, including a police force, court system, jails, etc, to be put into place. Sure, there were always the hold-out loners and rugged individualists that didn’t want “civilization” to get in their way. At least back then, those people DID know how to survive on very little, plus they were pretty ready to be killed, if it came down to that.
I don’t think that most of these suburban “warriors” really get how tough it is to survive and what it really means. In denial.
I do have friends who actually live a lot “off the grid,” but even they are willing to pay taxes for the services that they require.
It’s just nonsense, esp when the so-called *libertarians* that I know are so far away from living off of the grid that it’s ridiculous. They are clueless and would be the first to expire (not to be mean; just being factual) if they ever had to actually fend for themselves.
So stupid. Really these people are being hoodwinked and bamboozled by Mr. Rand Paul… yet another venal, money-grubbing, corporate-owned shill (who could certainly NOT make it on HIS own, either). Wake up. Grow up.
You have a point with that. That said, I would certainly like to see the Whitehouse really hold BP accountable, and I won’t hold my breath for that to actually happen.
Yes, the terminology is disturbing, and certainly could have been said in a much more insightful way.
What these idjits don’t realize is in their libertarian utopia, most of them would be among the slaves and perpetually indentured servants.
But of course, in their sepia-toned dreams, they always believe they’ll be the slave owners. Or at minimum, the guy holding the whip.
When I said ‘off the grid’, I meant the total fashion, like in not using the U.S. mail system, or traveling (even walking) on public roads, or being able to object to any authority when the neighbor upstream starts dumping sewage into the creek.
Poor choice of words.
Great; Now we can’t even criticize foreign corporations for fouling our land and water. I suppose next he will say it is Un-American to talk rudely about the Taliban. Great job Kentucky Rebublicans, you have nominated someone with the DNA of Sasquatch.
Why are you disturbed?
I want a boot on their throat.
They destroyed our coast.
They destroyed louisianna’s wetlands. If that ecosystem gets destroyed say goodbye to shrimp restaurants.
If I can’t get a shrimp platter, I’ll start a group to get BP’s execs heads on a platter. The damage they did to our country should warrant a death penalty.
Last I heard some oil made it’s way to some current that can take it up the east coast.
Also they used a dispersant banned in britain that has a lot of carcinogens….and mutagens…freaking mutagens.
The only chance in hell of me forgiving them without some kind of corporate hari kari is if eating a crab caught in Louissiana gives me a form of brain cancer that makes me telepathic, or I get X Ray/lazer vision from drinking my tap water.
I think we should be out for blood.
[modnote - please, no violent imagery ]
The White House never said “Boot on the throat” – that was Paul’s characterization of the Whitehouse criticisms of BP.
True that. I’ve often referred to the current right-wing movement as sociopathically lacking in empathy.
Libertarian: You can’t be the slavemaster! You’re not white!
Slavemaster: This is the 21st century *****, now go back and work in the fields or I’ll hobble you.
Libertarian: I wouldn’t have voted for Rand if I knew that “I” would be treated like a slave!
*snerk*
You left off the final line–
Slavemaster: Y’know, you really don’t need that smart tongue to pull weeds and pick up rocks. Get your lazy, insubordinate ass over here.
XD
I think the libertarians are James Bond villains.
They have a goal that sounds good on paper…but their solutions are bat **** crazy.
Statement: I want america to be as great as it was when the country was founded.
Method of implementation: Set off EMP weapons destroying every piece of modern technology in the US forcing us to live like 18th century farmers.
Statement: We should be a more religious country.
Method of implementation: Annul the constitution and institute biblical law.
Statement: I think we should be proud americans
Method of implementation: Set up concentr….detainee camps for people who refuse to wear flag pins.
No, you asshat let all the water in this nation become a wasteland of oil. It’s these kind of people that should have to live underwater and have all their oxygen supply taken away.
Imagine the hell that’d be caused if someone drove a truck and emptied a metric ton of human waste on a pro drill baby drill governors lawn.
If my gov went all drill baby drill, I’d rent a dump truck filled with dump, and plomp it out on his lawn, I would be kind enough to leave the equivalent of BP’s probable settlement, 2 bucks and an insincere apology.
Got it. But I do have pals who are much more self-supporting then some (and not just off the energy grid, but also off of that, too), but they do use public roads and the US mail, and other gov’t services. So they save money but being more self-supporting, but they also are willing to pay taxes to have the benefit of those services that they willingly acknowledge that they need.
I doubt that most libertarains are as self-supporting as the friends I’m thinking of.
It means the same thing as Liberal. Nothing. Anything. There are some common threads but I wouldn’t trust that just because someone calls themselves Libertarian, that they are. Especially if they can’t say what it means.
In the case of BP. Libertarians say that BP would be sued (civil suits pretty much take the place of regulation) by those they harmed. Everyone involved in BP would be destitute by the end of it (debtors prison a possibility), discouraging similar behavior from happening again. There would be some sort of civil court system but the particulars I’m murky on. You could sue your neighbor for polluting your well, or anything else that harmed you. How you made sure the “court” was objective I don’t know. It seems to me that life would either be a hippie commune (with people agreeing to work together and share their labor in some fashion) … or complete anarchy. There would be some sort of military or police force, but that seems loosely defined. I wouldn’t say “wild west” more early colonial.
I think the end game is where we are now. We’ve tried this experiment in one way or another and after a Dickensonian period we fall back to where we are. Divided, new boss same as the old boss. A few people sitting on top of the world. The rest of us feeding on their lies.
A friend just forwarded this from one of his buddies in Dallas;
Oh, thanks for the clarification! My bad for not double-checking. The terminology isn’t the greatest, although I’d be happy to have BHO be stronger in re to BP. However, if that’s just how AynRand Paul characterized it, then: meh.
I WANT govt regulations. I am NOT happy with business and industry “self-regulating” for the simple fact that it doesn’t happen.
Thanks for your commentary. And to take what you said further: IF civil law suits are supposed to “solve” any problem, THEN who/what/how is the Court??? Just playing devil’s advocate here, but IF that’s the solution, then where does the court “of law” come from? And who creates the laws? And who agrees that the laws are correct?
Either you end up with total anarchy, as is the case with Somalia (to the best of my knowledge) – OR – you need some sort of system of govt, which requires some kind of financing to make it work…. hence, taxes.
Well, we could jaw about this all day. I get back to: people who claim to be “Libertarian” these days are in denial. The people that I know who claim this pol. philosophy/label are mostly selfish people who don’t want to share, and who have deluded fantasies that *they* shouldn’t have to pay “unfair taxes” because “they” are being “ripped off” by “poor people and minorities.”
I say: they are duped by scum sucking bottom dwellers like Rand Paul into playing right into the hands of the obscenely wealthy and the corporations who ARE the ones doing the “ripping off.”
And a tip of the hat to some prior comments: yes, most of these libertarians shrieking about the govt don’t realize that they’d be the slaves, not the slave master. Again: denial!!
Indeed! Amen to that. Get a clue.
I thought criticizing Obama was unAmerican.
You must be new around here.
One of my favorite blindingly stupid prerogatives of libertarianism, and its critique of well-structured government, is the idea of, “the government has a monopoly on force.”
It’s so patently absurd on its face as to warrant literally laughing at the person who mutters the phrase, but nonetheless its a core tenet of the ideology.
The WH didn’t say “Boot on the neck of BP”
Ken Salazar did, he said “BP Is moving forward, they are the responsible party, we have the boot on their neck to make sure they get the job done”. KO had a clip yesterday.
I don’t have a problem with the language. I think we should draw and quarter the entire corporation.
You’re thinking of other websites. Read some of the commentary that crops up daily here at FDL.
Yeah, the tea crowd want to take their country BACK alright, way back. BackWARDS. I hope we soon see Paul’s back, and I think we will – if the republicans let his candidacy stand they can kiss their *Back*sides behind!
They took their country back….to 1964, the next stop on the crazy train is mid 1800′s.
LOL 130! and thanks…
The two times I have posted a comment in MY LIFE have been after I dutifully read the entire thread, only to find I was the last one listening. I am NOT ready to go back to 1840, I don’t care HOW cool the progressives in Beantown were on their own back then!
The reason the phrase “strange bedfellows” has such resonance is that it becomes so amusing to watch when they inevitably start fucking each other.
You know, with Rand’s daddy being from Texas and all, you’d think he had heard this saying and would know when to apply it. The truism is: “When you’re in over your head, stop digging.” In other words Rand, if you want any kind of chance at this Senate seat, STFU!