Judge okays use of machines for straw poll

DesMoinesRegister.com

A federal judge shot down a request from a group of Iowans who distrust computerized voting machines and wanted ballots at today’s Republican straw poll to be stored in clear plastic containers then hand counted.

U.S. District Judge James Gritzner of Des Moines denied their request Friday for a temporary restraining order and an injunction against the straw poll’s use of the Diebold machines. The judge said there are no previous legal rulings that an unofficial straw poll offered by a private political entity is a public election that would be entitled to Constitutional protections.

The group of voting machine watchdogs oppose the Iowa Republican Party’s Presidential Straw Poll’s use of Diebold Election Systems machines. California elections officials decertified Diebold machines last week after a “top to bottom” security review found fundamental weaknesses. The California machines can still be used in that state, but new security measures are in place.

The machines at the straw poll are owned by Story County; 71 counties in Iowa use Diebold machines.

The watchdog group thinks the machines leave voting “ripe for fraud or machine failure – or even sabotage,” according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The plaintiffs included five Iowans: Jennifer Maki of Dubuque, Pam Wagner of Homestead, Troy Reha of Des Moines, Ginger Corbett of Maquoketa and Roger Leahy of Fairfield. Three other plaintiffs, James Condit Jr. of Ohio, founder of Citizens for a Fair Vote Count; Robert L. Schulz of New York, leader of an organization called We the People; and Walter Reddy of Connecticut purchased the $35 tickets to the event but are not qualified to vote in the straw poll.

The complaint was filed against Story County election commissioner Mary Mosiman, Iowa Republican Party Chairman Ray Hoffman, the state of Iowa, Story County, and State Auditor David Vaudt. Voting will take place on the Iowa State University campus and be overseen by Mosiman’s office, with assistance from the state auditor’s office.
Mosiman on Friday expressed confidence in Story County’s machines, saying testing shows they’re counting the votes correctly.

“This is a very secure process and we wouldn’t want a machine that wasn’t functioning properly,” she said. (emphasis mine)
--End Article--

Let's not forget that Mary Mosiman is on Romney's Leadership Team.

I wonder who she wants to win? According to this article on IowaGop.net, it is interesting that she is one of several people who have full access to the machines.

"The Global Election Management System (GEMS) computer is used to prepare ballots and voting equipment programs, and to compile and report election results. The GEMS shall not be used for any other function. The GEMS computer is not and shall not be linked to the Story County network or to the Internet. Access to the GEMS computer is limited to the Story County Auditor, Assistant Auditor, Deputy Auditors, and designated election staff member(s)."

Well I think someone is going to be shamed today and it's going to be Ron Paul and his supporters. Action should have been taken earlier to correct this potential disaster.

Ron Paul Odds Slashed From 15 to 1 to 8 to 1

Gambling911.com

Following this weekend's Republican debate in Iowa and some extensive mainstream coverage and sound bytes., 2008 US Presidential candidate Ron Paul's odds to become the next Commander-in-Chief have been slashed further from 15 to 1 to 8 to 1.

The Presidential betting odds for most candidates have barely moved in recent weeks at Sportsbook.com and Ron Paul's odds have remained steadfast at 15 to 1 for the past two months after heavy action forced the online bookmaker to slash his odds from 100 to 1.

There are usually very little fluctuations this early in the campaign as most of the betting takes place the few months leading up to Election Day while in 2004, several million dollars were bet on Election Day alone.

Sportsbook.com is heavily referenced by Gambling911.com for its political betting odds menu. Sportsbook.com is the largest North American-facing sports betting website in terms of overall volume of customers.

2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul sat down with Gambling911.com's Kira Wissman for a few moments Friday night following his speech at a rally in Mars, Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. The time spent was brief since Paul had to rush out on his way to Iowa the next morning.

Paul was very adamant regarding Internet gambling prohibition and Internet prohibition across the board.

Dr. Paul is co-sponsoring with Barney Frank (a Democrat). He said that Congressman Frank had approached him about co-sponsoring the bill to legalize online gambling and he had agreed.

“I believe strongly that the internet should not be regulated by the federal government and believes even more strongly that people should be free to engage in the activities they wish, as long as they are willing to take responsibility for their actions.”

I also asked about the likelihood of such a bill passing. He agreed its chances were remote because of the stigma attached to the internet.

“The majority of people in Washington were afraid to support the internet for fear it would label them ‘pro-porn’ or ‘pro-gambling’.”

Paul voted against anti-Internet gambling and poker legislation attached to an unrelated port security bill last October (The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, also known as UIGEA).

Heavy fluctuations in betting odds is typically caused by the amounts of money coming in (public betting action). For sporting events, news related to injuries and weather could play a role in line changes without relying first on public response (betting volume on a particular side).

At press time, Ron Paul's payout potential sat at $800 for every $100 bet. Amazingly, he was listed with the same odds (8 to 1) as Mitt Romney, who is widely considered to be among the front runners in the Republican party.

John McCain's odds remained at 5 to 1. Rudy Giuliani remained at 3 to 1 odds.

"The old taunt reflects a deep economic principle: Talk is cheap, but if someone is willing to risk money, it means they're serious," writes Tim Harford of Slate.com, a general-interest publication offering analysis and commentary about politics. "Put the principle into action and you realize that electoral forecasters should pay as much attention to the betting odds as to the opinion polls.

"When money is on the line, informed people, perhaps including insiders, have an incentive to turn their knowledge into cash by making big bets. In the process they make the odds more accurate. And of course, there are several reasons to lie to pollsters, but no reasons to make a money-losing bet."

Iowa Straw Poll Voting Machines in Question

nationalexpositor.com

VERY IMPORTANT: PASS THIS AROUND TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

National Expositor Exclusive – Yesterday, Ernest Hancock, candidate for Arizona secretary of state spoke with Mary Tiffany, communications director for the Iowa state Republican Party. During the conversation, Tiffany confirmed that there will be no manual recount for the Iowa straw poll that occurs on Saturday. [Emphasis mine]This weeks Iowa straw poll is to take place using the same Diebold electronic voting machines that have come into question in recent days. In an article in the Washington Post, Debra Bowen, California’s Secretary of State made the decision to withdraw approval of future use of the Diebold systems. “All of the voting systems studied had serious design flaws that have led directly to specific vulnerabilities, which attackers could exploit to affect election outcomes," Bowen explained.

Computerworld, this week reported that Florida’s Secretary of State, Kurt Browning also withdrew approval of the same Diebold voting systems. “In a letter sent to Diebold Election Systems President David Byrd on Tuesday, Browning said that vulnerabilities cited in the report must be fixed by Aug. 17 or the vender’s certification would be denied.”

Both Florida and California in one week have decertified Diebold’s electronic voting machines. This should send a clear message to Iowa’s GOP that anything other than paper ballots would be unacceptable in this weeks straw poll. The Republican party of Iowa may claim that they will be doing manual checking of the Diebold systems, however, it is commonly known that this manual count would only consist of spot checks of the voting machines for device calibration purposes. This does not constitute a verifiable check of accuracy from either an engineering or statistical perspective.

Based on the same evidence that has forced California and Florida to decertify electronic Diebold voting machines it is not only reasonable to request a manual count of the votes in Iowa, but highly advisable. Anything short of a verifiable paper count will be unethical.

CALL:
Iowa Republican Party - (515) 282-8105

Please be polite but firm in your stance that there needs to be at least a manual recount of the vote at the Iowa Straw Poll. This could be the end of Ron Paul's campaign!

Ron Paul: "The Internet Should Not be Regulated"

Gambling911.com

This is an article by Kira Wissman. I remember seeing her at the rally and am very glad to see this article is positive.

While heading down the Pennsylvania Turnpike on my way to the Ron Paul Rally in Mars, PA, I was thinking about what to expect. “Maybe 100 or so people filling a small banquet room” – that’s what I was expecting. I pulled into the parking lot at the Four Points Sheraton, and quickly realized how wrong I was. The parking lot was jammed. I took one of the last spots in the lot, and I was 45 minutes early! The cars in the lot resembled something you would see at a Jimmy Buffett concert – many were painted with various slogans all supporting Ron Paul for president.

There were thousands of people streaming into the event. As I walked into the lobby of the hotel, I was greeted by volunteers handing out posters, t-shirts and bumper stickers. I made my way to the conference room where the rally was to be held and found a seat relatively close to the front. I was sitting near a group of people from Ohio who had driven a long way to see Dr. Paul speak. There were groups from Philadelphia encouraging the crowd with cheers and chants. The entire room was alive with excitement and anticipation.

Shortly after 8pm, Dr. Paul’s press secretary, Jesse Benton took the stage and introduced Dr. Paul with a short speech and a video clip that showcased the campaign thus far. Soon after, Dr. Paul took the stage and began a speech that lasted nearly an hour and a half. He covered many topics – all of which supported a basic theme – one’s individual freedom. To full story

Pittsburgh Rally Huge Success!

The Pittsburgh rally was a huge success on Friday evening! I suspect there were at least 1,500 people there and that does not include the number of people who were in the hallways and standing on the sides.

Ron Paul gave an excellent speech that ran for over an hour! I truly feel this man is being empowered by a Being much higher than us. He is a 71 year old man, traveling from one end of the country to another, attending to his duties in Congress, doing multiple interviews a day, being a good husband, father and grandfather, in all the while as he makes his march for the White House. I am in my 20's and cannot possibly imagine doing this! I look up to him because of the amount of motivation and willpower he has to keep doing this each day. He knows that his message is what can change this country around and bring all of us together.

This was the first time I have ever heard Ron Paul speak and it was like no other political rally I have been to before. There wasn't that fluffy rehearsed nonsense or the weird zombie-like supporters that other candidates have. He spoke, not like the other candidates who have their fake sense of strength in their voice, but with a sense of honesty and courage. Anyone in the audience that was not a Ron Paul supporter certainly left the rally feeling a large amount of pride in our Constitution, our country, and trust in Ron Paul.

The best part of the whole event last night was when my husband and I turned down our street to find a new Ron Paul sign in one of our neighbor's yards. It was so unbelievable that we both shrieked with joy when we saw it! This just goes to show that there are supporters of Ron Paul all over the place.

If we all put a sign in our front yard, we could show America our real numbers. I encourage everyone to buy a Ron Paul sign and proudly place it in your front yard for ALL to see! We have been getting honks and I can only contribute them to our nice new Ron Paul sign. There are supporters out there! As we saw in Cranberry Township yesterday, more than just a few internet spammers and crazed wackos!

What Have I Been Doing?: Iowa Mail Program

Well I know it's been a few days since I made a post and I wanted to let everyone know why.

My husband and I committed to sending 500 letters to Iowan voters. This is an opportunity that the campaign made available about a week ago. You can find out more information here if you are interested. Just be sure you know that these letters need mailed ASAP and you are expected to pay for postage. We must allow at least 4-5 days for transit time, so the latest I would mail them is Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

Everyone can do at least 20 letters. Really if you do it the way my husband and I did, each person could do 100 if they had a few hours of time available. This is something you could do while watching T.V. and we all waste way too much time that way now!

Do not handwrite the whole letter. I know the campaign says that they would like them handwritten, but let me give you my reasons why I think it's a dumb idea.

1. People with bad handwriting automatically are turned off
2. It drastically limits the number of letters you can complete
3. You will get carpal tunnel after writing out 20 letters.
4. Even though it is a personal letter it will look sloppy and hard to read

Number 1 and 2 are key here. When I heard of this I knew right away I was NOT going to handwrite them. My writing is not the nicest looking and it would have cut my 500 down to about 100. Now does handwriting the whole letter outweigh losing 400 potential straw poll voters? NOPE!

So this is what we did and you can copy the letter I will post below. This letter was put together with input of a poster by the name of DavyDuke17 here.

First, I addressed ALL envelopes by hand. This part you MUST handwrite because it will get the letter opened, which is extremely important in our case.

Now according to USPS, you do not need to put a return address as long as you refrain from using the pre-printed labels for your postage. If you want your letters opened, you should be using a real stamp any way. Do not use those pre-printed machines because it will look like junk mail.

Lastly, the letter inside should be signed on the bottom. It will make it more personable.

The Letter: *Drum Roll* Spacing and HTML is a little off because I had to paste it first into notepad for this to work. I went back and tried to fix up the styling. It fits perfectly on a 8.5x11 sheet of paper.


Dear Friend,

We are unpaid volunteers writing to you in support of presidential candidate Congressman Ron Paul. Like most Americans, we believe that this country is headed in the wrong direction and Ron Paul is the only presidential candidate that offers real hope for America.

What would make us devote our free time writing you today in support of this man?

Ron Paul is currently in his 10th term in Congress and has proved time and again that he votes on principle before party. He takes his vow to uphold the Constitution very seriously, as well as his commitment to lowering taxes and lowering the size of the federal government.

Here is a Brief Overview of Congressman Paul’s Record:

*He has never voted to raise taxes.

*He has never voted for an unbalanced budget.

*He has never voted for a federal restriction on gun ownership.

*He has never voted to raise congressional pay.

*He has never taken a government-paid junket.

*He has never voted to increase the power of the executive branch.

*He voted against the Patriot Act.

*He voted against regulating the Internet.

*He voted against the Iraq war.

*He does not participate in the lucrative congressional pension program.

*He returns a portion of his annual congressional office budget to the U.S. treasury every year.


Congressman Ron Paul is very tough on the fight against illegal immigration. While he agrees that strong border enforcement is crucial, he realizes that we must end the incentives that cause the flood of illegal immigrants to come into this country. This includes ending the free handouts for illegal aliens that we cannot afford and putting an end to birthright citizenship or "anchor babies".


Ron Paul has been an outspoken leader against the Iraq War since before the invasion and advocates a humble foreign policy overseas while keeping us strong here at home. The Iraq War has diverted us from our fight against Al Qaeda and our hunt for Osama Bin Laden, which has only strengthened our enemy.


We would like you to consider supporting Paul for President at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames on Saturday, August 11 from 10 am to 6 pm.


We invite you to visit his website at www.ronpaul2008.com or call toll free at 1-800-Ron-Paul to learn more about him and his positions. The best way to support him is to vote for Ron Paul at the Ames Straw Poll in Iowa. To RSVP and get more information, go to www.ronpaul2008.com and click the Iowa icon at the top of the page. We hope you can join us and we appreciate your time.

Sincerely,

The Brown Family

"In times of change, the Patriot is a scarce man; brave, hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a Patriot."

The overall cost for sending 500 letters came out to about $300. Here were the expenses so you know what you may be getting yourself into.

• Envelopes w/ sticker seal - $20 for 500 Envelope
• Paper/Off-white color - $8 for 500 sheets
• Stamps - $205 for 500 stamps
• Copies - $37 for 501 copies @ $0.07 a piece
• My Time - $0 ;-)
• Total $270

If you want to add any inserts to your letters watch out for the weight of your letters. You may accidentally bump yourself into the next tier of postage costs.

Feel free to post this anywhere, where more people could become involved in this program. We need more people to take action! Any questions, please put them in the comments section. TY!

Paul stands tall with talk on freedom

It looks like Rick Beltram was happy with this weekend's turnout. The article written in the Spartanburg Herald Journal is extremely positive and is probably one of the most fair articles written to date in the Old Media. I am glad that we are all getting along now. Thank you Rick Beltram you surprised me!

Click here for the full article in SHJ:

A little-known Texas congressman seeking the Republican nomination for president visited Spartanburg Saturday and seemed to arrive with all the makings of rock-star candidate for his party - despite low polling, little name recognition and a relatively small campaign staff.

Supporters call it the "Ron Paul Revolution." You might have seen it on signs or T-shirts. Or MySpace.

"We've lost our faith and confidence that freedom really works," Paul said to an enthusiastic, almost fanatical, crowd.

"In most countries, tyranny reigns. Freedom is under attack. It's under attack in this country, as well."

Paul said he believed a stronger adherence to the Second Amendment over the past decade could have thwarted the 9/11 terror attacks - and that this country has gone in the wrong direction with "government bureaucrats taking away our toothpaste at the airport." He said America can't afford to continue to support its military presence abroad, which he called a "world empire." He accused the government of "creating money out of thin air," straying from the constitutional monetary standards of gold and silver. And he said he's against abortion because a fetus has the same rights as an adult human being.

He also made several references to Gov. Mark Sanford's voting record while in Congress, noting that, "If you found two people voting together, it was Mark and myself. He would make an exceptionally good vice president." Full Story Here

Rick Beltram: Small number of people on the Ron Paul bandwagon

Goupstate.com which is the website for Spartanburg Herald Journal, is reporting there will be a low turnout for the Spartanburg County Ron Paul rally being hosted by Rick Beltram. Now Rick hasn't been the most friendly person in the past. Perhaps he is being hit by some blowback. He really should have listened to Ron Paul in the debates or he would have seen this coming.

In an article previously published in the Spartanburg Herald Journal, Rick Beltram stated:

"He can stay home," said Beltram, who for months held that this county would welcome all Republican candidates.

"Well, the door's closed for him."

"I'm not going to extend him an invitation to come here because he has managed to insult and in many ways abuse Republican activists with his strident lingo. When he attacked Bush, that we created 9/11 - that's an absolute lunatic talking," Beltram said.

"I can't put up walls to keep him out, but I don't have to invite him here to a county function."

Rick, why do you think Ron Paul supporters want to pay your county's republican party $25/ person to see Ron Paul, when they can see him for free in the next town over in Greenville?

However, I know exactly what Beltram will do and if Ron Paul's support is larger than anticipated, it won't be reported or it will be overlooked. Beltram won't look to see who comes to Greenville. He will only see those willing to fork out $25 to support his county and to invite other candidates that don't even want to talk about the Constitution or our freedoms. That is why I personally could never go to that rally in SC. I know the type of people it is indirectly supporting.

I don't think this will be another "Iowa" because of the cost involved. Jesse Benton from the Paul campaign thinks the "low" turnout has to do with the cost as well.

We will have to wait and see what happens.

Ron Paul Leads in Polls of People Who Have Heard Him Speak

By Jennifer Haman from LewRockwell.com

After the first three debates on National television, three mainstream news channels featured polls asking the American people who won. After the first debate on May 3rd, MSNBC ran a poll obtaining over 72,000 responses showing Ron Paul was the most convincing candidate receiving 45% of the vote. His nearest competitor was Mitt Romney who received 18%. Fox news ran its own poll after the second debates on May 15, and with over 40,000 votes Ron Paul came in second with 25% of the vote. Watching Sean Hannity's face was priceless as while he was saying that Ron Paul's chances were over in this election, Fox's polling numbers flashed across the screen and had Ron Paul in the lead. He immediately did his best spin to claim the polls had been rigged. MSNBC also ran a poll about that debate and discovered Ron Paul was, again, the most convincing candidate with 64% of the over 25,000 responses. After the third debate on June 5, CNN's poll of over 25,000 respondents showed Ron Paul won with 60% of the vote.

One would think with such a strong showing on the online polls for a "second tier" candidate that the mainstream media (MSM) would have discussed this phenomenon at length and on the front page. However, no such stories appeared. In fact, MSM pundits did their best to ignore these figures and instead focused mainly on who they deemed to be the top three choices; effectively, taking control of the election and deciding quite undemocratically who was a "real" candidate.

Read Full Story Here

Ron Paul Tops In Military Donations

With the second quarter numbers finally publicized, Ron Paul takes the lead in military donations. This comes as a surprise for some people because we keep hearing them beat the war drums. However, it seems that the very people who are serving this country, like what Ron Paul is saying and dare I say agree with him on his foreign policy!

This is great news because it just shows more proof that his support is the real thing.

Here are the numbers listed below. All credit is given to thespinfactor.com

RON PAUL: 23,465 [6,975] [6,765] [4,650] [5,075]
McCain: 15,825 [6925] [6305] [1795] [800]
Romney: 3,551 [2,051] [0] [1500] [0]
Rudy: 2,320 [1,450] [370] [250] [250]
Hunter: 1000 [0] [1000] [0]
Huckabee: 750 [250] [0] [500]
Tancredo: 350 [350] [0] [0]
Brownback: 71 [71] [0] [0]
Thompson: 0 [0] [0] [0]

Units are contributions in dollars by employees of the respective military organizations.

VIDEO CLIP: Ron Paul at Google Headquarters

In-Fighting Is Dividing Us

Since Ron Paul was on Alex Jones show on Thursday, the chatter on the web has become that of Ron Paul being a conspiracy theorist or a "9-11 truther". I can understand this coming from the Old Media because they love to smear his name and his character. However, what I cannot believe is the amount of chatter I am seeing on the web from fellow Ron Paul supporters. What's the deal here?

Ron Paul has been a guest on Alex Jones' show many many times over the years and just because a man likes to talk to Alex's audience does not mean he is a 9-11 truther. There is no proof or evidence to this statement other than him speaking on Alex Jones' show. If we want to start creating weird connections like this, then anytime Ron Paul goes on the Old Media shows does that then make him a neo-con? A Bush supporter? Or perhaps a Liberal? As Ron Paul has said, we need to come to our senses here. Why are we allowing the media to undermine the growing movement of Ron Paul?

Can't we all just agree that the Old Media is intentionally using this as an excuse to smear Ron Paul? There is no basis to these claims because the interview in which Ron Paul spoke, I don't recall hearing anything about 9-11. In this article on infowars.com, there is no mention of 9-11 either. Now it does say that Ron Paul believes we are in danger of false-flag terror. Did we just forget a few days ago Michael Chertoff said that he had a "gut feeling" we would be hit by al-Qaeda. So it's okay for the Homeland Security chief to use his instincts to predict terrorist attacks-mysteriously not being able to stop them though-but it's not ok for Ron Paul to say a similar thing?

The media is doing a very good job of creating conflict internally within the Ron Paul grassroots. They are experts at dividing people and are using this intentionally. If Ron Paul thought it was a bad idea to go on the Alex Jones' show, then he would not have done so. Since he went on the show on his own accord, the blame should not be placed on the Alex Jones' audience. The 9-11 movement, Alex Jones, and even Ron Paul is improperly being blamed for something that have no control over. And as it seems a good portion of the Ron Paul supporters are pointing fingers to anyone who gets in the way or who speaks about a topic that differs from their belief systems. This is a dangerous mindset and attitude we have embraced and it's causing in-fighting.

We can't afford to be fighting with each other if we want Ron Paul as our next President.

Ron Paul Moves Into the Top Tier, Suggesting All His Support is Real

From Gambling911.com

Gambling911.com Special Contributor Jennifer Reynolds has a lot to say about 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul and the continued "disrespect" he is receiving in the media, a "disrespect" not shown by online oddsmakers who give Ron Paul a respectable 15 to 1 odds of winning the 2008 US Presidential Race.

Ron Paul continues to be among the most sought after subjects on the Gambling911.com website. His political web-based strategy has caught the attention of other politicians across the US from Hillary Clinton - who incorporated a brilliant online video taken from the Sopranos finale - right down to local political races including those in Gambling911.com's own stomping grounds of Miami Beach where preservationist mayoral candidate Matti Bower is planning a major YouTube-focused campaign while Commissioner Michael Gongora (running for re-election) already is.

"Paul at his age is the last person you would think to be Internet savvy," says Gambling911.com's political analyst, Carrie Stroup. "For all we know, he may not even be able to log onto a computer. But he's got great people behind him that are pushing the online initiative and it is working in a major way. The appeal is to a younger, more Internet experienced audience whereas the mainstream media tends to gather opinions from a much more mature segment of society who may not be quite as familiar with the Internet." Continue here

VIDEO CLIP:Ron Paul on This Week with George Stephanopoulos

Ron Paul Wins Big in First New Hampshire Straw Poll

Press Release: Ron Paul Wins Big

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2007

ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – Presidential candidate Ron Paul today won the Coalition for New Hampshire Taxpayers (CNHT) straw poll at their annual picnic in Hopkinton, New Hampshire. Dr. Paul received 182 of 294 votes cast, or 65 percent. In second place was Rudy Giuliani with 24 votes, or 8 percent.

"Today's strong victory is further proof that Dr. Paul's message is resonating throughout New Hampshire," said campaign manager Lew Moore. "Dr. Paul is the only candidate in this race truly dedicated to smaller government and lower taxes for all Americans."

CNHT is a statewide, grassroots organization dedicated to reducing the size of government at all levels, stopping judicial activism, providing students and parents with a choice of educational opportunities, expanding job markets, and protecting property rights.

Ron Paul Tops McCain In Cash On Hand

ABC News



Ron Paul has more cash on hand than McCain! I think that puts him in the 1st tier category, right?

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Ron Paul stated that he has 2.4 million dollars on hand, which puts him ahead of McCain at 2 million.

This is excellent news. Be sure to spread this around and digg this story.

Ron Paul Liberty Dollar Announced

Libertydollar.org has announced Ron Paul Liberty Dollars. If you do not know much about what the Liberty Dollar is you can read their about page here.

In celebration of The 4th of July, 2007 you are invited - even urged - to flex your independence with the Volunteer Network's 'secret weapon' - the Ron Paul Dollar bringing new meaning to the U.S. Mint's "Presidential Dollars" and symbolizing the Congressman's values. WOW! Now the Internet's favorite Presidential candidate has his own money to help turbo-charge his shot at the White House.

Impossible, you think? Long shot? Dark horse? Think again. This election is different. Want to stand this Presidential election on its head? Well guess what? As utterly amazing as it may seem, we the people, could actually get Ron Paul nominated. Why? Because there are so many Republican liars running for President and the field is so fractionized, that a classic dark house candidate could win. And that is amazing!

Yes, we all know that politicians are pathological liars. And this campaign has an unusually large number of liars. Fortunately, Congressman Ron Paul speaks the truth. He speaks the truth about the government, about money and about the war. Ron Paul is dedicated to the truth and a government as defined by the US Constitution. Continue here

To see the products available, you can use this short cut.

Ronpaulforum.com Hacked!

According to this thread on another ron paul forum, ronpaulforum.com was hacked very early this morning. It still have not been secured close to 2pm EST. The person who has done this left a lovely message on the front page that you can view here for the time being.

I don't know why someone would want to do this, but it is a bit strange to me! We are obviously hitting them hard, so I suppose we should take this as a compliment.

Ron Paul's Rally in Iowa a Success!

Well the rally in Iowa was a great success. The total number of people in attendance has been a largely debated topic today, but it looks like conservatively over 1000 people rallied in support of Ron Paul. The main reason why this number is being debated is because mainstream media sources are saying 600 while people who attended claim that all 1,000 seats were filled and it was standing room only. Obviously 600 and 1000 is quite a huge difference and we know darn well that if Ron Paul's rally failed it would have been ALL OVER the news. The fact that there are only 2 or 3 mainstream media articles about the rally tell me it was largely successful. When a day before the rally, there were 30+ mainstream newspapers that picked up the headline "Ron Paul Crashes Iowa Forum", but now that his rally was successful those outlets are dead quiet. Fair and balanced media...right.

It's rather amazing that a presidential candidate not invited to a rally because of his 'lack of organizational skills' and credibility can bring in more supporters than 6 other candidates. This forum was televised and had properly been advertised and promoted for MONTHS. What this displays is the total disconnect between reality and what the mainstream media chooses to report. I am fed up with the treatment here. Yes I know that the media has the right to report on whatever they please, but not when these organizations claim to be fair and balanced. These news organizations shape what food Americans eat and drink, the clothes on their backs, and down to the type of vehicles they drive.

Some people say we need to be kind to the mainstream media so they begin to report on Ron Paul, but I think these people are way out of touch with what we are dealing with. These news organizations aren't just mistakenly forgetting Ron Paul's name, they are being TOLD to leave out his name and to downplay any good news from his campaign. Whether you may understand this or not, but Ron Paul is a threat to the larger agenda of a few individuals in this country. They are so scared of his message of individual freedom, the right to bear arms, and abolishing the federal income tax.

Ron Paul is a man who could turn this country around. He genuinely cares about this country and the freedom of the individual.

His words are not just rhetoric, but the truths he holds in his heart and lives by on a daily basis not just while the camera is on him.

Gathering Ron Paul Materials

I have been trying to get together some Ron Paul materials, so I can hand out business cards and bumper stickers to people willing to listen to me. It is truly amazing how quickly this stuff all adds up. 1 t-shirt, 3 oval stickers, 1000 bumper stickers and I am already spent about $150. Thankfully the meetup group I am in is helping with the costs of the bumper stickers, but it's still a lot of money this early on. We haven't even gotten into mass production of signs, yard signs, or large amounts of literature. It is so easy to spend $1000 on all this stuff.

Once you hit $1000 if I am not completely misunderstanding the law, you are supposed to form a PAC. In this day and age, $1000 is nothing. Shouldn't this amount be changed with the rise of inflation! haha I am not law student or lawyer so hopefully someone can set me straight on these PAC rules. From what I understand you have to file and it's a big deal. This is all the more reason why we need Ron Paul in office. These campaign rules only hurt the little guy. These big organizations just hire some $6/hr college student to handle all this unnecessary paperwork.

I am very excited about this campaign. I think everything is going fairly well with exception to some of the bad publicity these reporters are digging to make up.

Well that's all for today. I have been slacking a little with the blog and I apologize. My health hasn't been the greatest.

Tomorrow is a HUGE day in the RP campaign. He will be at Iowa!