• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

Ron Paul

Herc_Dude

I believe nicotine + caffeine = protein
pilot
Contributor
Can you point out to me in the Commissioning oath where it says that? I'm having trouble finding it.

The part I seem to vaguely remember is something about the Constitution.

The mission of the AF when I joined was to "conduct prompt and sustaned combat operations in the air". I was never under the impression that I had to desire combat operations in order to fulfill the obligations of my service and my oath.

Warriors hope for peace and prepare for war, not the other way around.
Come on, I know what you are trying to say, but this is going to turn into a scene from "A Few Good Men" - "Could you should me where in this book it says the Marines can go for chow?"

Each person joins their respective branch for their own reasons. Yeah there are those who "hope for peace and prepare for war" but there also are those who what to kick some ass, regardless of who's ass it might be.

Personally, I want both. And when things really get down to it, I hope I have a few more ass kickers around - but thats me.
 

Achilles

That dog won't hunt, Monsignor!
pilot
WOW. I can only submit the following in response. http://www.earthfiles.com/news.php?ID=1364&category=Environment

The dollar is currenly worth about 4 cents of what is was worth when the Fed took control. I dont think that's very good for the middle class. You can also thank the Fed for the impending crisis regarding the Subprime housing market. Pumping half a trillion dollars into the economy does wonders for inflation.

I think the Fed has done a great job between balancing inflation and unemployment in the past 20 years, largely inpart due to Greenspan's anti-inflation targetting. The problem with the subprime housing market lending crisis comes from many different levels of the economy. From private banks extending mortagages to people that shouldn't be getting them, to larger firms buying these mortagages from banks without factoring in default risk. This is why a few CEO heads are rolling in response to this crisis. You can't soley blame the Fed for bad lending practices followed by banks. Also the Fed plays a very important role as a lender of last resort. A LOR is part of the main reason the FDIC is able to guarantee deposits.

Lastly, the only people a weak dollar really hurts are those who primarily rely on imports or travel internationally a great deal. Otherwise a weak dollar helps American firms become more competitive with lower priced foreign firms.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Perhaps you'd better re-examine those reasons you joined the military. Supporting and defending the Constitution comes in many shapes and sizes. If the only one you're satisfied with is going to other countries then you're likely to be let down regardless of who the next Executive is.

Less concerned with a politician's policies toward the military than I am with their policies toward maintaining the freedoms the Constitution guarantees...and we defend. Nobody actually understands and has policies that conform with/embrace the Constitution OTHER than Ron Paul.

I find it mildly amusing that Ron Paul supporters think that he has the best grasp on the Constitution out of everyone in the field. It is an opinion, not a fact. We are also supposed to defend our country, from all enemies oreign and domestic. Withdrawing into a little cocoon is not going to help defend us. And criticizing someone who wants to cut the military down to a fraction of its current size is bad? A single issue? Gimme a break, it shows a larger lack of reality when it comes to the world.

If we don't bother them they won't bother us! If we just ignore all the problems of the world then they will just go away! All is good in this world of rainbows and sunshine! Yippie!

I also can't agree with Ron Paul's policy on isolationalism.

That is exactly what Ron Paul advocates, by withdrawing our our troops from overseas and from the UN, NATO and pretty much all other treaties too. Sounds more like a candidate from 1908 instread of 2008. Didn't work out for us in WWI or WWII, and it defintely would not have worked in the Cold War. Nor would it work in GWOT.

I'm not a big fan of Ron Paul for several reasons. First and foremost is his economic stance. Ron Paul wants to get rid of the Federal Reserve, which serves an extremely important purpose. Also he advocates pegging the US currency back to gold. Gold standards only work if you have a large amount of countries willing to adopt a gold standard, not just one country. Also the floating currency has worked extremely well since the gold standard was dropped in the 70's so I don't see a good reason to change. Not to mention floating currency exchange rates allow for easier and smoother market adjustments. Now before everyone goes and comments on how the US dollar has continued to depreciate, let's remember that a weaker dollar means US exports are more competitive abroad because they're cheaper. So there are pros and cons to currency depreciation.

Excellent summary on why a floating currency can be a good thing.

The dollar is currenly worth about 4 cents of what is was worth when the Fed took control. I dont think that's very good for the middle class. You can also thank the Fed for the impending crisis regarding the Subprime housing market. Pumping half a trillion dollars into the economy does wonders for inflation.

The Fed was founded in 1913, the value of the dollar has fallen since to 4% of what is worth then. Why does that matter? Who here is still making 1913 wages? Or using 1913 dollars? You missing out on 1913 appliances? Or a car? Show me a currency that was around then, like the Pound Sterling, that has kept its value. And let me know how well we did with the ups and downs in the economy before the fed was founded, not so well at times (look up the Panic of 1893). And the gold standard, it really helped us out during the Depression, didn't it? Open a history book and read it.

Letter of Marque and Reprisal.. Old school technique for a foe stuck in the middle ages (but with modern weapons)

You really want mercenaries doing our fighting for us? And you really want guys like this running around doing that?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3569552.stm

It is an antiquated idea whose time has passed.

I saw a car with a Ron Paul sticker today...my first thought was, "There's a wasted vote."

Exactly my thoughts.

P.S. There are a small handful of Ron Paul supporters at work here, they spout off the same stuff like the dollar declining in value, letters of marque and etc. Is there a training program that you all go through? You all sound all eeirely alike.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor

To which I submit........Please, don't confirm what I already think of many Ron Paul supporters. Did you bother to read who is behind that website? Go to the about us page:

http://www.earthfiles.com/about.php

Take a look at what some of the articles are on one page (can't look at them without a subscription):

http://www.earthfiles.com/headlines.php?category=Real+X-Files

And what Linda Moulton Howe, listed as 'Earthfiles reporter and editor', wrote:

http://www.amazon.com/Alien-Harvest-Evidence-Mutilations-Abductions/dp/0962057010

Beam me up Scotty!!
 

statesman

Shut up woman... get on my horse.
pilot
Good point Flash. I happened to be reading that and this thread at the same time I thought it was relevent to the topic. However this one article is not the only reason I am concerned about our monetary system. CSPAN, CNBC, etc are all talking about the seriousn implications of the subprime market and the problems associated with printing 500 million dollars out of thin air.

Its supply and demand. If you just print a bunch more money it doesnt solve the problem, it just devalues the currency. Couple that with the possibility of recession due to mass numbers of forclosures and you get stagflation.
 

raptor10

Philosoraptor
Contributor
Good point Flash. I happened to be reading that and this thread at the same time I thought it was relevent to the topic. However this one article is not the only reason I am concerned about our monetary system. CSPAN, CNBC, etc are all talking about the seriousn implications of the subprime market and the problems associated with printing 500 million dollars out of thin air.

Its supply and demand. If you just print a bunch more money it doesnt solve the problem, it just devalues the currency. Couple that with the possibility of recession due to mass numbers of forclosures and you get stagflation.
Don’t let all the chatter about the “incredibly shrinking dollar” fool you. The Almighty Greenback is here to stay, and there are far more serious dangers lurking for the global economy.
 

HackerF15E

Retired Strike Pig Driver
None
Those arguments against Paul would all be fantastic in a Monarchy.However, because we live in the 3-branch political system, really extremist tendencies are going to be naturally cancelled out by the "checks and balances" portion of our Republic.Personally, I'm looking for the guy driving the boat to at least understand the design of the boat and the reasons it was built the way it is, NOT only be concerned with where it is going. Ron Paul has at least READ the blueprints and SHOWN that he comprehends them in his policies and voting record. I can't say the same for the vast majority of the other candidates.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Those arguments against Paul would all be fantastic in a Monarchy.However, because we live in the 3-branch political system, really extremist tendencies are going to be naturally cancelled out by the "checks and balances" portion of our Republic.Personally, I'm looking for the guy driving the boat to at least understand the design of the boat and the reasons it was built the way it is, NOT only be concerned with where it is going. Ron Paul has at least READ the blueprints and SHOWN that he comprehends them in his policies and voting record. I can't say the same for the vast majority of the other candidates.

Yeah, but when everyone else is on the ship of state heading in one direction and the President is in a lonely little raft going around in circles while muttering to himself, what kind of government are we going to have?
 

HueyCobra8151

Well-Known Member
pilot
Yeah, but when everyone else is on the ship of state heading in one direction and the President is in a lonely little raft going around in circles while muttering to himself, what kind of government are we going to have?

Haven't you noticed that the times of best prosperity are when the government is divided between parties?

Democrats and Republicans are both retarded and if they were to carry out what they want it probably wouldn't work nearly as well as they (we) think it would. The best bet is to have a Congress of Party X and an Executive Branch of Party Y and all the batshiat crap gets filtered out somewhere along the line.

mmx1 said:
You won't have overwhelming force at 20%. You'll have the military of the 1930's.

The military of the 30's was halfway between having won the greatest war of all time and getting ready to win the greatest war of all time.

Free market economy = Farking great at building up the American military complex when needed.

Actually the US never had a standing army in time of peace until after WWII, then we had a justifiable reason for a standing army through the Cold War, and then we started to kinda draw down after the Cold War was over (which would have been pretty reasonable except for the fact that the President doing the drawing down then proceeded to deploy the military more than any other President in history).

Raptor said:
Please for the love of God read up about Vladimir Putin and his Weimar Russia, The US leaving Europe would be equivalent to seeding Europe to his revanchist policies...

Yeah...the Russians have been just biding their time until we uproot our defenses in Germany, then the 4th Tank Division is going to push through the Fulda Gap and drive to Berlin.......seriously?

Talked to anyone in the Russian military lately? The last few stories I heard involved trading rifles for food in places like Afghanistan and Chechnya...
 

raptor10

Philosoraptor
Contributor
Yeah...the Russians have been just biding their time until we uproot our defenses in Germany, then the 4th Tank Division is going to push through the Fulda Gap and drive to Berlin.......seriously?

Actually you're not to far off on the truth with that one...

Russia's Upper House Backs Suspension Of CFE Treaty


November 16, 2007 -- Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has voted unanimously to suspend Moscow's participation in the Conventional Forces In Europe (CFE) Treaty, a Cold War-era agreement that limits the deployment of tanks and other conventional weapons west of the Urals.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Haven't you noticed that the times of best prosperity are when the government is divided between parties?

I wasn't talking about the parties, I was talking about having a nut in the White House like Ron Paul.

The military of the 30's was halfway between having won the greatest war of all time and getting ready to win the greatest war of all time.

Free market economy = Farking great at building up the American military complex when needed.

Actually the US never had a standing army in time of peace until after WWII, then we had a justifiable reason for a standing army through the Cold War, and then we started to kinda draw down after the Cold War was over (which would have been pretty reasonable except for the fact that the President doing the drawing down then proceeded to deploy the military more than any other President in history)

We no longer live in the industrial age where you can design, build and deploy the best aircraft, ships and tanks in just a year or three. Political and financial pressures have delayed weapon systems but there is no way possible to do that to the F-22, Virginia-class subs or an Abrams tank in just a year or two, under any circumstances.

We have to ready at all times now, and it costs a lot of money, whether we like it or not. The oceans no longer protect us and will not buy us time, like they did in WWI and WWII. You need to read a little more history and stop drinking the kool aid.
 

raptor10

Philosoraptor
Contributor
I wasn't talking about the parties, I was talking about having a nut in the White House like Ron Paul.



We no longer live in the industrial age where you can design, build and deploy the best aircraft, ships and tanks in just a year or three. Political and financial pressures have delayed weapon systems but there is no way possible to do that to the F-22, Virginia-class subs or an Abrams tank in just a year or two, under any circumstances.

We have to ready at all times now, and it costs a lot of money, whether we like it or not. The oceans no longer protect us and will not buy us time, like they did in WWI and WWII. You need to read a little more history and stop drinking the kool aid.
Well not when you have manufacturing plants in every state and are shipping in components from overseas :p :D
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
I know but it would help...

Hardly at all, just put an F/A-18 next to Hellcat, Virginia sub next to a Gato sub, or a Essex next to a Nimitz and tell me that we could build them in the time we did in WWII.

Sorry, you can't turn the clock back.
 
Top