Thursday, May 17, 2007

Libertarian Party's 2008 ticket should be Ron Paul - Karen Kwiatkowski

So far I've been pushing for Karen Kwiatkowski to run for president on the LP ticket, based largely on her gravitas and background, plus her non-interventionist stand.

However, Ron Paul is doing better than I'd expected in the GOP debates, garnering much attention. Yes, he's coming in for much flak because of it, but many Americans are taking favorably note. I don't think Paul will get the GOP nomination, but that's no reason the Libertarian Party can't nominate him.

Right now Ron Paul exceeds Karen Kwiatkowski in terms of experience (being a Congressman as opposed to Pentagon Lt. Col.) and in public fame, plus he shares Kwiatkowski's non-interventionist (pro-peace) stand.

Considering that Paul ran on the LP ticket for president in 2008, and that as of this writing Kwiatkowski still wants to run as the LP's VP pick, I think that a Paul/Kwiatkowski ticket looks mighty fine for 2008.

(And BTW, it's my understanding that under Texas law, Paul can run for both his current Congressional seat and for president, simultaneously).

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Causality Does Not Mean Moral Blame

Libertarian Republican Congressman Ron Paul has said that America's interventionist foreign policy is partly to blame for the 9/11 terrorist attack. Of course, Rudy Guiliani went ballistic. War supporters often smear non-interventionists by saying that the latter claim that America "deserved" 9/11.

This, of course, is not what non-interventionists like Paul are saying. Causality does not mean moral blame. If a man walks down a dark alley in a dangerous neighborhood for no good reason, his foolishness was part of the chain of causality leading to his being mugged. But that is not to say that the mugger had a moral right to mug him.

Likewise, America's foreign interventions do not morally justify killing innocent people on 9/11. At the same time, America's foreign interventions may have motivated the attackers, and it may be wise to cease future interference in others' affairs.

Moral justification for 9/11, no. But causality, yes.

Yet War Supporters will deceitfully twist the words of non-interventionists ("He says America deserved to be attacked!") because people are dull, and easily manipulated emotionally, and if you don't have Reason or the Constitution on your side, twisting words is the way to go. We live in a sound bite culture.

Those who oppose the war, when faced with such deceitful tactics, should observe that the causes of 9/11 (American foreign interventions) do not mean that its victims deserved to die, but it would still be wise (and Constitutional) to cease foreign interventions (as George Washington sagely suggested).