If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Thanks to my friend Glen who sent me this image (and potentially insulted my blog) this morning.

I started doing some book review blogging a while back to get me to read more.  It’s worked, and over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been slowly working my way though a book that’s not part of any blog tour: Ron Paul’s The Revolution: A Manifesto.

When you mention Ron Paul’s name, you usually get 1 of 3 responses:

• “RON PAUL FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
• “I like what I’ve heard, but I haven’t heard much.”
• “That guy’s certifiable.”

All three of the groups that offer these responses need to read this book.  Here’s Why:

“RON PAUL FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
You’ve read some of his stuff.  You have researched his voting record.  You have complained on 3 or more web sites about how he was forced out of Republican debates.  You helped him set records in raising money for his 2008 Presidential campaign.  This book is basically what he would do if you elected him.  You should probably read it, since, after all, you’re so crazy in love with his ideas.

This seems obvious, but I’ve met too many Ron Paul supporters who have no clue really why he should be President.  (And honestly, they’re giving the rest of us a bad name.)

“I like what I’ve heard, but I haven’t heard much.”
Here’s your chance.  For $12 bucks or so, you can get the 411 straight from the man himself.  You don’t have to read the Campaign for Liberty site, or the always-being-updated RonPaul.com (not an official Ron Paul site, btw), or the many awesome resources in the Ron Paul Library.

You’ll get a very easily read, well explained account of his views on things like the economy, our monetary system, our military’s global presence, and the Constitution.  You like what you’ve heard so far; see how the rest of his views strike you.

“That guy’s certifiable.”
Fair enough.  I’ll admit the guy seems crazy.  Or at least he did before people realized he predicted this latest economic nightmare.  Now he’s all over the news and is being interviewed like he actually knows what he’s talking about.  Where, I ask, was this coverage during the Republican primaries?  Stupid media…

So maybe you really think the rich should pay more taxes than the poor.  Maybe you think we should park our troops in Iraq indefinitely.  Maybe you actually believe that medical treatment is a right offered you because you’re an American citizen.  (Maybe you’re certifiable.)  You owe it to yourself - and arguably to Dr. Paul - to at least know and understand what the man stands for before you actively speak out against his “radical” ideas.

As for me, I started the 2008 political season thinking that Ron Paul was a spoiler to a perfectly good (or at least acceptable to this Republican) Republican nominee.  I slowly moved toward the “I like what I’ve heard” category and am now planted firmly in the “FTW” camp.  (Yes, I realize he’s not actually running in the election.)

Maybe his book and his views won’t change your mind about anything.  Maybe you’ll wake up and find yourself motivated to do something about the mess our nation is in.  Ron Paul has inspired me.  His approach, his crazy ideas, and his hard-to-ignore ability to be right so often have gotten my attention.  Give him a chance.  You might just find yourself in the middle of a revolution.

Here’s a good litmus test to determine whether or not your Senator isn’t fit for his/her job.  (You’ll notice this test bears a striking resemblance to the results of the Bailout Bill vote.)  How’d your Senator do?

Not fit for his/her job —74

Akaka (D-HI)
Alexander (R-TN)
Baucus (D-MT)
Bayh (D-IN)
Bennett (R-UT)
Biden (D-DE)
Bingaman (D-NM)
Bond (R-MO)
Boxer (D-CA)
Brown (D-OH)
Burr (R-NC)
Byrd (D-WV)
Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Clinton (D-NY)
Coburn (R-OK)
Coleman (R-MN)
Collins (R-ME)
Conrad (D-ND)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Craig (R-ID)
Dodd (D-CT)
Domenici (R-NM)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ensign (R-NV)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Gregg (R-NH)
Hagel (R-NE)
Harkin (D-IA)
Hatch (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Inouye (D-HI)
Isakson (R-GA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Kohl (D-WI)
Kyl (R-AZ)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Leahy (D-VT)
Levin (D-MI)
Lieberman (ID-CT)
Lincoln (D-AR)
Lugar (R-IN)
Martinez (R-FL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McCaskill (D-MO)
McConnell (R-KY)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Mikulski (D-MD)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Murray (D-WA)
Nelson (D-NE)
Obama (D-IL)
Pryor (D-AR)
Reed (D-RI)
Reid (D-NV)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Salazar (D-CO)
Schumer (D-NY)
Smith (R-OR)
Snowe (R-ME)
Specter (R-PA)
Stevens (R-AK)
Sununu (R-NH)
Thune (R-SD)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Warner (R-VA)
Webb (D-VA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)

Fit for his/her job —25

Allard (R-CO)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Cochran (R-MS)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Dole (R-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Enzi (R-WY)
Feingold (D-WI)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (D-SD)
Landrieu (D-LA)
Nelson (D-FL)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Tester (D-MT)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)
Wyden (D-OR)