Wayne Allyn Root on Israel

The Mideast remains America's foreign policy hot spot -- and political hot potato. It's the locale of our current (and potentially future) wars.

The classic libertarian position is one of foreign non-intervention. Peace and friendship with all nations, alliances and entanglements with none.

However, Libertarian embarrassment Wayne Allyn Root has flip-flopped so much on foreign policy over these past four years, one wonders what he really believes -- in his heart -- about America's Mideast policy.

Texas Libertarian Party activist John Jay Myers offers some insight into Root's heart, based on his personal talks with Root. In a publicly posted comment at Independent Political Report [comment #28], Myers writes of Root:

"I don't really bash anyone as much as Wayne Allyn Root, but there is a reason for that. I am deeply involved in the group [the Libertarian Party], so when some ding-dong comes along claiming to be the Libertarian Party magi, and saying things to my face that contradict himself (and his book) I just can't let it slide.

"Here are the two things that Wayne said to me that stoke my animosity:

" 'John, you realize we have to be in the Middle East to protect Israel, right?'

"He [Root] often uses his book as a resource to say that he has changed his mind on our foreign policy. But he told me this after his book was in stores, and he was at my house.

"So basically his opinions on foreign policy are a complete fabrication. Or a false front. That is a huge strike against Wayne.

"Secondly, he told me in Missouri, 'John, you cannot talk bad about Israel and expect to get in the media.'

"What? What does that even mean? I should be able to talk about whatever or whoever I want. This is America after all....

"He [Root] is basically saying there is a group of people so in control of our media, that freedom of speech is no longer an option.

"That is a big deal. And if I believed this, as Wayne apparently does, I would be screaming it from the rooftops."

Read Myers's full account at Independent Political Report [comment #28].

I Paid Cash and Flew Without Showing I.D.

The government can whittle away at our freedoms partially because younger people don't know what freedom looks like. They weren't around in freer days, so they don't know what was lost, or what freedoms might have been theirs.

They're much like Winston in 1984, who sought out old men, trying to learn clues as to what life was like before Big Brother ruled Oceania.

Here is an example of what real freedom once looked like in America:

Back in the late 1980s (I think it was in 1986), I flew from New York City to Washington D.C. It was a last minute thing. I took a taxi to La Guardia Airport to catch the hourly shuttle from NY to DC. I think Pan Am ran it back then, but I'm not sure about that.


* I had no reservation. I don't think anyone did for those shuttles.

* I bought my ticket at the last minute.

* I bought no return flight.

* I paid in cash.

* I had no luggage.

* I showed no I.D.


I simply hopped on the plane to DC. It was like getting on the subway. A few of hours later, I flew back from DC to NY. Same routine. Cash, no reservation, no luggage, no I.D.

That's what freedom once looked liked in America.

For another peek at real freedom, see what it looks like today in Canada.

Wayne Allyn Root's Slick, Non-Position on Julian Assange

The Clintonesque Wayne Allyn Root knows how to speak forcefully -- without actually taking a clear position on controversial issues.

Bold, empty statements are common among politicos. Buried within Root's latest anti-Obama rant, Root says:

"Is Julian Assange of Wikileaks really a 'threat to national security' or is Obama and the United States Congress a bigger threat to the average taxpayer?"

This is clever, in that Root appears to defend Julian Assange -- without actually doing so.

When Bush Sr. said that Saddam was "worse than Hitler," Bush did not mean that Hitler was good. Merely that Saddam was worse.

Actually, Root doesn't even say that Obama is worse than Assange. Root merely asks whether Obama is worse than Assange.

Root's brief statement can thus be interpreted in every possible way:


1. Julian Assange is a pro-liberty hero.

2. Julian Assange is a monster, second only to Obama.

3. Julian Assange is a monster, worse than Obama.

4. Julian Assange occupies some moral position between "hero" and "monster."


Root's statement about Assange can mean anything. Root doesn't defend Assange. To do so would threaten Root's aspirations to join the lucrative field right-wing, media punditocracy. Instead, Root's implied defense leaves him free to condemn Assange at some future date, should the neocon customer base require Root to do so.

However, if Root runs for a Libertarian Party office or nomination, one of his lapdogs can always spin Root's statement so that it looks as if Root is defending Assange.

(It's always better for Root's LP lapdogs do the antiwar/anti-police state spinning, as it leaves Root free to renounce that spin should the neocon media require it. "My supporters misunderstood my statement," Root can always say.)

Root knows how to be direct, even blunt. If he's coy, or vague, it's intentional.

Compare Root's coyness on Wikileaks to Ron Paul's bold statement on Wikileaks.

Jim Burns Praises Ron Paul

I received the below email from Jim Burns, who is running for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, again:

The subject is Ron Paul. Here are 354 words from my friend Rick White and me:

Rick: Fox News reported on Monday, 12-13-2010 that it is likely that Ron Paul will seek the Republican nomination for President. What do you think, Jim?

Jim: This is good news for libertarianism. Mr. Paul is an articulate advocate for liberty and I hope he can receive at least the support he got last time, and I think with the Tea Party movement now available he can do even better.

In the long run this is good news for the Libertarian Party; the more people introduced to libertarianism the better. In the short run, it can be either good or bad news for the Libertarian Party. It all depends on what we of the LP do.

Rick: Should members of the LP support Mr. Paul?

Jim: Members of the LP should take what actions they deem proper. I believe, however, that we should not follow the actions of Bob Barr and Wayne Root. The only time I saw Mr. Barr and Mr. Root on TV was when they offered Mr. Paul the LP Vice-Presidential spot, not in person but on TV.

To me, this was inappropriate, an insult and disingenuous. For one thing, if Mr. Paul had wanted, he could have had the Presidential nomination if he had just showed up in Denver -– hell, all he had to do was to pick up the phone and call almost any LP member at the convention, at the time and the LP Presidential nomination would have been his.

For another thing, Mr. Paul called a meeting inviting third party candidates to attend (I believe, it was understood Mr. Paul would endorse some one); to their discredit, neither Mr. Barr nor Mr. Root attended. Mr. Paul did not endorse the LP ticket and I believe he was just in his choice.

If we take suitable actions, I believe we can help Mr. Paul at all levels and there are measures we can take even if Mr. Paul gets the Republican nomination. We need to think outside the box.

We can be a powerful force in American politics if we change our behavior and take bold appropriate actions.

-- Jim Burns

Jim Burns for President
PO Box 1139
Beatty, NV 89003

541-261-4163
702-722-9494

Wesley Snipes -- Libertarian for President?

As the Libertarian Party seeks a presidential candidate for 2012, perhaps they should consider actor Wesley Snipes?

Snipes is about to begin a three-year prison sentence after being convicted for federal tax evasion.

But Snipes was not merely trying to save money. It seems that he's a tax protester.

On January 14, 2008, The New York Times reported:

"But unlike other celebrities who find themselves on the wrong side of the Internal Revenue Service, Mr. Snipes has a flamboyant explanation: he argues that he is not actually required to pay taxes."

I believe the federal income tax is Constitutional and legal. But I'm also a "Big Tent" libertarian. If the LP's tent is big enough to include pro-war neocons like Wayne Allyn Root and Neal Boortz, it should be big enough to include tax protesters.

Running Snipes for president will stimulate debate and discussion on the nature of taxes in general.

That Snipes has spent time in prison is another plus. As with Steve Kubby, prison will have sensitized Snipes to civil liberties concerns. Nor is there any reason that Snipes can't campaign from prison. In fact, it can make for a colorful "talking point." Here is a man who understands the need to reign in federal power!

Root's supporters often argue that the LP should run a "celebrity" (like, they say, Root), because celebrities attract media attention. Well, Wesley Snipes is a real A-list celebrity, unlike Root, who's a few rungs below Kathy Griffin's D-list status.

That Snipes is African-American is another plus. His candidacy will broaden the LP's appeal to progressives. Snipes will mitigate the impression that the LP is filled with Tea Party racists.

I don't know much about Snipes's political views in general. If I learn that he's pro-war, that would be a deal-breaker. But he's worth a closer look.

Here are some intriguing items about Snipes, from Wikipedia:

"Snipes converted from Christianity to Islam in 1978. His current beliefs are unknown.

"Snipes's apartment was destroyed by the collapse of the World Trade Center's Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks in 2001. He was on the west coast at the time.

"A September 24, 2002 Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee press release listed Wesley Snipes as an 'artist who is supporting' a $6 million fundraiser with tickets ranging from "$500 to $250,000."

I'm still Catholic, not a Muslim, but I'm "Big Tent" enough not to require that a political candidate share my religious views. Indeed, I think that, in this time of anti-Muslim hysteria, it would be a positive public statement for the LP to run a Muslim for president.

Snipes can also address 9/11 from personal experience -- his home was destroyed. It's not like anyone can accuse him of being ignorant of that tragic day.

As an LP presidential candidate, Snipes would be an African-American, ex-Democrat, with strong civil liberties/tax-protester creds.

I'm not a Snipes supporter yet (my dream team is still Ron Paul/Karen Kwiatkowski), but I think Libertarians should take a closer look at Snipes. Learn more about him. Ask if he'd be interested in running.

Veterans Call for Antiwar Rally on December 16th

I got this from Voters for Peace:

It is time for the antiwar movement to pick up the pace and demonstrate that Americans want the current wars ended and out-of-control military spending reversed.

Our allies in the peace-veterans community are taking the lead and we are joining them. Veterans for Peace has announced a rally and civil resistance action in Washington, DC on Wednesday, December 16th. This will be the largest veteran-led civil resistance to U.S. wars in recent history.

Every day the horrors of the U.S. war-occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan continue – deaths of civilians, deaths and casualties of U.S. soldiers, incarceration of local people without charges, abusive searches of their homes at night and, too often, their torture. The long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have already drained our national treasury of $1.1 trillion and will cost Americans trillions more even if they ended today, primarily due to the need to treat U.S. soldiers; casualties now exceed 100,000 victims.

For more information on this important protest, visit Stop These Wars.

Real hope and real change will come from neither the White House nor Congress, but will come instead from us, taking action and getting independently organized into a movement that the government cannot ignore. As noted author and war correspondent
Chris Hedges writes:

"Hope knows that unless we physically defy government control we are complicit in the violence of the state. All who resist keep hope alive. All who succumb to fear, despair, and apathy become enemies of hope. They become, in their passivity, agents of injustice."

You do not have to risk arrest at the White House to participate with us on December 16th. You can be there in support. You can take photographs and videos. You can write about the event to spread the word that Americans are saying no to war. If you cannot be there in support, you can phone Congress and the media and demand the defunding of the ongoing wars.

Opposition to these wars is the majority view of the American people. The government is not representing us. It is time for Americans to demand that they do so.

Join us in Washington, DC on December 16, 2010.

Sincerely,

Kevin Zeese
Executive Director

P.S. This is a good time of the year to make a year-end donation to Voters for Peace. Please make a donation now. Thank you for your support.

Is the Pledge of Allegiance Fascist in Spirit?

I found this old article at PeaceRally.org. Click the image and you'll more easily read the words.

I doubt that Hitler copied his hand salute from the pre-1942 American salute. More likely, Hitler copied Mussolini's fascists, who in turn copied the Roman Empire's salute. In all likelihood, Americans were likewise copying the Romans.

Even so, the American Pledge of Allegiance's history is thought-provoking. Is there not something inherently fascistic about a Roman style pledge to a State?

Ron Paul Cheers WikiLeaks -- Where's Wayne Allyn Root?

Ron Paul has called for more WikiLeaks. Paul is a true supporter of free speech and government transparency. According to Raw Story:

Speaking to Fox Business host Judge Napolitano on Thursday about recent revelations at the Federal Reserve, Paul's typical candor showed through.

"What we need is more WikiLeaks about the Federal Reserve," he said. "Can you imagine what it'd be like if we had every conversation in the last 10 years with our Federal Reserve people, the Federal Reserve chairman, with all the central bankers of the world and every agreement or quid-pro-quo they have? It would be massive. People would be so outraged."

Paul, a longtime critic of the US Federal Reserve, is the incoming chairman of a House subcommittee on monetary policy. His most recent book, titled End the Fed, takes aim at central banks the world over, blaming fiat money systems and fractional reserve banking for the world's increasingly volatile economies.

"In a free society we're supposed to know the truth," Paul insisted. "In a society where truth becomes treason, then we're in big trouble. And now, people who are revealing the truth are getting into trouble for it."

He added: "This whole notion that Assange, who's an Australian, that we want to prosecute him for treason -- I mean, aren't they jumping to a wild conclusion? [...] I mean, why don't we prosecute The New York Times or anybody that releases this?"



This once again highlights the difference between a true libertarian like Ron Paul, and a pretender like Wayne Allyn Root.

Paul has always opposed our encroaching police state. Root never did so -- until right-wing talk radio lashed out at the TSA's sexual groping and X-ray body scanners. Then Root rushed out an anti-TSA piece, thundering as if he were always a passionate leader against such police state tactics.

I expect Root will either oppose WikiLeaks, or remain silent -- unless and until his neocon customer base supports WikiLeaks. Then Root will scream his support for WikiLeaks, as if he were always a passionate and leading supporter of WikiLeaks.