Ron Paul willing to work with Elon Musk in DOGE

Libertarian icon Ron Paul is interested in playing a role in Elon Musk's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in a second Trump administration. 

Elon Musk asks this ex-Congressman to join second Trump term to reduce… | Hindustan Times | Tuhin Das Mahapatra: 

November  02, 2024 - "November  02, 2024 - "Elon Musk expressed interest in having Ron Paul in a potential Department of Government Efficiency if Trump wins the presidency.... 'Would be great to have Ron Paul as part of the Department of Government Efficiency!' he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Paul approved Musk’s potential role as a government efficiency commissioner, replying, 'I'd be happy to talk with you about it, Elon.' 

"Paul, who previously sought the presidency as a Republican and a Libertarian, noted his willingness to advise Musk on economic policy, emphasizing his dedication to educating the public about government overreach.

"When asked if he would work with Musk to address government waste, Paul said, 'Well I would.... But I wouldn't want an official position, you know, because I've sort of steered away from getting too involved in the politics of it all right now.' He then highlighted, 'I always say young people that were in high school and college, when I was doing all the campaigning, [were] a receptive audience,' contrasting it with his lack of support from business organizations like the 'Chamber of Commerce.'

"Paul advised that Musk proceed with caution if tasked with reducing government spending. 'You know, a position is easy to have and to hold. But the truth is, you know, what if I did get in this position and all I had to do is sign a piece of paper and the Federal Reserve was eliminated, or you cut the budget by $2 trillion … the consequence would be is total chaos and probably civil war and all that,' he remarked.

"Paul stressed that the public should understand the rationale behind reducing government expenditures, especially as economic challenges grow. He sees an opportunity to guide future policies once 'this thing falls apart' arguing that certain political factions benefit from societal unrest. He said, 'The cultural Marxists do it on purpose: the more chaos, the better.' So he remains as a “reluctant optimist,' heartened by the responsiveness of 'a lot of people out there, a lot of young people that seem to be very receptive to what we've been talking about.'"

Read more: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2506968/ron-paul-responds-to-elon-musks-invitation-to-join-trump-administration

Ron Paul, Donald Trump, Elon Musk. Courtesy Spectator Australia. 

Ron Paul responds to Elon Musk’s invitation to join Trump administration | Express Tribune: 

November 02, 2024 - "Musk recently posted that he would welcome Paul’s involvement in the department, which he humorously referred to as the 'Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),' alluding to the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.... Musk’s interest in a governmental role has become increasingly visible, with the CEO explicitly stating his willingness to serve in a Trump-led administration if the opportunity arises. Following Musk’s post, Trump hinted at appointing him to an advisory or official role if elected president.

"Paul’s legacy in politics includes founding the Foundation for Rational Economics and Education (FREE) in 1976 and serving as the first chairman of Citizens for a Sound Economy. Often cited as the 'intellectual godfather' of the Tea Party movement, Paul’s influence extends across fiscal conservatism and anti-interventionist policies. If appointed, the combination of Paul’s libertarian principles and Musk’s tech-driven approach could bring an unconventional dynamic to government operations under a Trump presidency."

Read more: https://tribune.com.pk/story/2506968/ron-paul-responds-to-elon-musks-invitation-to-join-trump-administration

In search of the real Kamala Harris

After Kamala Harris became the Democratic Party nominee for president, investigative journalist John Stossel set out to answer the question: Who is the real Kamala Harris.

STOSSEL: The REAL Kamala Harris | Toronto Sun | John Stossel:

August 24, 2024 - "Who is Kamala Harris? What does she believe? It’s hard to know. She won’t take questions from reporters. Instead, she reads from a teleprompter and gives the same speech again and again. So, as she gets the nomination, my new video looks at who Harris really is.

"She’s eager to spend other people’s money.... Last election, Stossel TV compared the candidates’ proposed spending.... Trump proposed spending $267 billion more. Biden, $297 billion. The socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders wanted to spend an astonishing $3.976 trillion! But Harris was even worse! $4.162 trillion in new spending. Last week, in her first policy speech, she proposed $1.7 trillion in new spending. At least that’s not as bad as what she wanted during COVID: She thought the government should give every American $2,000 a month. That would have cost taxpayers $21 trillion!....

"A few years ago, she endorsed eliminating private health insurance — having government take it over completely. Now her campaign says she 'no longer supports (entirely government-run) health care.' Who is the real Kamala Harris? 

"In 2019, she said she wanted to ban fracking. Now that Harris needs votes in Pennsylvania, where fracking provides jobs, her campaign claims she won’t ban fracking, and Republican claims that she would are 'false … an obvious attempt to distract.' But what’s false? She told CNN, 'I’m in favour of banning fracking.' She also wanted to force gun owners to sell their guns to the government. Now, a Harris spokesperson says, 'the vice president would no longer require this.'

"She used to brag about being a tough prosecutor, even taking pride in 'prosecuting parents for truancy.' But then, when progressives criticized harsh policing, she flip-flopped. During the George Floyd riots, as people looted and set fires, Harris tweeted, 'help post bail for those protesting.' Now the policing pendulum has swung back. Harris again brags about locking people up....

"Harris ... says radical things, like wanting 'equity' over equality and equal opportunity. 'There’s a big difference,' she says in an animated video. 'Equality suggests everyone should get the same amount. Equitable treatment means we all end up at the same place'.... So, we need even more government redistribution?

"Harris is a big-government, flip-flopping opportunist. It’s upsetting that the main presidential contenders are a cackling, economically ignorant big spender and a crass, self-absorbed bully....

"The best news is that America’s founders wisely created checks on executive power. Foolish people often say the president 'runs the country.' Thankfully, that’s not true.... The president runs only one of three branches of government. Each is designed to be able to stop the other from imposing tyranny. The founders wanted limited government because they’d seen the damage oppressive rulers did. If our next president must be Trump or Harris, I’m sure glad there are limits on their power."

Read more: https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/stossel-the-real-kamala-harris

Kamala Harris’s Track Record: Big Spending, Wokeness, Equity and Flip Flops | John Stossel | August 21, 2024:

Harris/Biden and the separation of powers

Justin Trudeau's father once said that for Canadians, living next to the USA is like sleeping with an elephant; even if it's the tamest. most well-behaved elephant in the word, “one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” So for the next few days, GDPA will be looking at the American presidential election. For the most part, I'll hold to my 2020 vow to stop mentioning Donald Trump (one can read the blog archives for that), and focus on other, less well-known alternatives. 

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in May 2023. Photo by Joe Biden. Wikimedia Commons.

Harris/Biden and the separation of powers | X | Insurrection Barbie: 

November 2, 2024 - If Trump is a dictator, name one time he usurped power from the other branches of government to enact his will in violation of the separation of powers. 

Here are all the times the Harris/Biden administration did exactly that:

1. The Harris and Biden administration extended the eviction moratorium after COVID by abusing their emergency powers at the expense of private property rights. 
2. This administration issued vaccine mandates for workers because their 'patience' had run thin. This was struck down by the courts as unconstitutional.
3. Our constitution gives the legislative branch the power to pass laws. This administration was not able to cancel student loan debt by getting Congress to vote on a bill to do so. So, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did this by executive .... fiat. They did this after the Supreme Court said it was unconstitutional. Twice. 
4. In violation of our first amendment, they tried to enact a disinformation governing board to censor your free speech. Ultimately the public backlash was so great that they scrapped the project for now.
5. Through executive fiat and death by regulation they have upended our energy policies making our emergency oil reserves drop to the lowest they have been since 1984. They killed the Keystone pipeline and they defied court rulings and continued to opt out against holding oil drilling sales. 
6. This administration threatened and coerced social media companies to silence the speech of American citizens because it did not agree with the position of the government, in violation of the first amendment. 
7. This administration has absolutely zero respect for property rights and have publicly announced that they pledge to protect [sic] 30% of land and water by 2030. That is a land grab....
8. This administration has purposefully ignored our immigration laws and allow 13 million people into the country. They have willfully failed to uphold deportation orders, letting them lapse....
9. [T]hey have failed to secure our border and have allowed 425,000 criminals who have been convicted into the country.
10. They have targeted parents for protesting at their children’s school board meetings in violation of their first amendment rights of free speech and have had the FBI place them on a watchlist.
11. They have targeted pro-life demonstrators and thrown them in prison while letting pro-abortion activists burn down clinics. The executive branch has to faithfully execute the laws without bias.... 
12. They were not able to pass any legislation in Congress to force their transgender agenda into the school system so they passed it by executive fiat and the courts struck down much of it at this point.

Read more: https://x.com/DefiyantlyFree/status/1852587261650481476

Harris has much to answer for in EV fiasco

When it comes to the Biden administration's EV fiasco, vice-president Kamala Harris will have much to answer for — if the media ever gets around to asking.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in May 2023. Photo by Joe Biden. Wikimedia Commons.

Continuing EV Bloodbath Leaves Harris With A Lot To Answer For | Todayville | David Blackmon, Daily Caller News Foundation:

July 2024 - "Once the ongoing effort by the legacy media to reinvent presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris as a dynamic leader and competent campaigner passes, we will presumably enter the part of the presidential race in which we actually examine her real record on the key issues. When — or if — that time ever arrives, the vice president will have a lot to explain where energy policy is concerned.... Today, I will address Harris’s advocacy for electric vehicles and buses, and the expanding bloodbath it has helped to create.

"Let’s begin with a speech Harris delivered in Brandywine, Maryland on December 13, 2021 ... to an audience including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, assorted Maryland officeholders, and workers at the Brandywine Highway Maintenance Facility.... [T]he vice president delivered a ringing endorsement of electric vehicles and her administration’s plans to try to subsidize them into automotive market dominance. ''The pollution from vehicles powered by fossil fuels has long harmed the health of communities around our country,' Harris said.

But there is a solution to this problem.... That means manufacturing millions of electric cars, trucks, and buses right here in our country. That means outfitting thousands of EV — electric vehicle — repair garages, just like this one. And it means installing a national network of EV chargers.

"That speech took place after congress had enacted the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act containing more than $200 billion in clean energy subsidies. Congress passed the Orwellian-named Inflation Reduction Act and its $369 billion in similar subsidies eight months later. 

"How has all that worked out for America three years down the road?... [E]very pure play EV maker in the U.S. is now either in bankruptcy or teetering on the brink. Ford reported ... that its EV division, Ford Model e, lost about $50,000 per unit sold during the second quarter, and that was the best quarterly result the company has reported in over a year. Even Tesla ... started the year with a pair of disappointing quarterly results amid rapidly slowing consumer demand for electric vehicles.

"The Biden-Harris dreams of subsidizing a national fleet of high-speed EV chargers into existence has also come up a crapper. The Washington Post and others reported in April that Granholm’s Energy Department has invested a whopping $7.5 billion to install 5,000 such charging stations around the country but had only managed to activate 7 to that point.

"Harris also endorsed a $5 billion EPA-managed program included in the Infrastructure law to fund the adoption of battery electric buses for targeted school systems around the country.... EPA has released two tranches of federal grants totaling $1.9 billion, but to disappointing results. Of the 389 school districts targeted by the grants, just 23 have reported successful acquisition of a total of 60 buses that have been placed into service. But another 50 of those districts have since withdrawn from consideration by the program....

"IRA subsidies for EV city buses have created perhaps the worst set of boondoggles of all. The electric buses are so costly, require such high maintenance and have such limited charging ranges that even extremely liberal cities like Austin, Texas  and Jackson, Wyoming have quit trying to change over their fleets. The 2023 bankruptcy of heavily subsidized Proterra, the biggest EV bus maker, hasn’t helped.

"It is hard to identify any aspect of the Biden-Harris suite of EV-related policies that can honestly be called a success. As her party’s apparent nominee, Harris will have much to answer for — that is, if the media ever gets around to asking the relevant questions."

Read more: https://www.todayville.com/continuing-ev-bloodbath-leaves-harris-with-a-lot-to-answer-for/

Thousands of PA voters told they'd already voted

Thousands of Pennsylvania voters were sent text messages telling them falsely that they had already voted. A spokesman for the PAC that sent the texts has apologized and blamed the misinformation on a "copy editing mistake." 

Pa. residents got phony texts claiming they had voted already. Ignore them, officials say | Phildelphia Inquirer |: Max Marin & Katie Bernard: 

October 28, 2024 - "Thousands of Pennsylvania voters received a text message this weekend that falsely claimed that they had already voted in the Nov. 5 election. 'Records show you voted,' the text read, linking them to an official Pennsylvania website with information about polling places and early voting. 

"But the message did not come from an official government resource or a well-known get-out-the-vote advocacy group. Instead, it was signed by 'AllVote,' a self-proclaimed voter-mobilization program that election officials have repeatedly flagged as a scam to be avoided and ignored.

Courtesy X.

"If 'AllVote' sounds familiar, the name has been linked to other confusion-sowing text campaigns in the lead-up to the election. Montgomery County officials in August warned voters about 'AllVote.com' that was texting registered voters and falsely claiming that they were not registered to vote — part of a scam to 'capture personal, sensitive information from voters in an attempt to exploit them later on,' election commissioners said. Election officials in Arizona and North Carolina raised concerns about text campaigns from an organization with the same name in recent months.

"On Monday, however, a representative from AllVote insisted that it was a misunderstanding. Charlotte Clymer, a contracted spokesperson for AllVote, sent The Inquirer an apologetic statement, describing the texts as a well-intended reminder-turned-disastrous mistake, thanks to a typo committed by staffers.... The organization would not say how many voters were sent the erroneous text.

"The original message was intended to inform Pennsylvania voters that they had cast ballots in 2022 and to direct them toward a verified link to explore their voting options. But 'in 2022' was left out of the script, which led to widespread confusion, the statement said. 'In the heat of the campaign season, workers working long hours simply made a copy-editing mistake,' the statement read.

"A follow-up text was sent to voters who received the initial text message, informing them of the error. But those who replied 'STOP' to the initial message — or marked the sender as spam — may not have received the follow-up, and the organization acknowledged the damage done. 'We deeply apologize for this error, which we understand caused significant confusion, especially amongst voters who have not voted yet but were told they had,' the organization said.... 

"Clymer described AllVote as 'funded by progressive donors aiming to increase voting participation' but declined to provide details about the group’s backers. A political action committee with that name was registered this year. Yet little public information is available about AllVote, and its website lists no founder or staffers. Clymer said the organization does not disclose its backers for fear of being targeted by the far-right."

Read more: https://www.inquirer.com/news/allvote-text-scam-pennsylvania-20241029.html

Dark-money group buying ads for Chase Oliver

The sole donor of a PAC spending $1.5 million on ads for Chase Oliver in Pennsylvania is a dark money group owned by a law partner of Harris campaign attotney Marc Elias.

Kamala Harris Campaign Attorney Marc Elias Linked to Swing-State Ads Boosting Libertarian Candidate | Washington Free Beacon | Chuck Ross: 

October 25, 2024 - "A dark money group linked to Kamala Harris campaign attorney Marc Elias is boosting the Libertarian Party’s presidential candidate through a series of YouTube ads in battleground states, an apparent ploy to pull conservative votes away from Donald Trump.

"Civic Truth Action, a super PAC launched in July, has spent more than $1.5 million on ads supporting Libertarian candidate Chase Oliver, according to campaign finance disclosures released this week. The group is airing dozens of YouTube ads in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nevada touting Oliver as a 'true conservative' who will 'abolish income taxes' and 'dismantle the nanny state,' according to the company’s ad database....

"Civic Truth Action isn’t funded by a group of small-government activists. Its sole backer—a dark money outfit called Evidence for Impact—has contributed $4,350,000 to Civic Truth Action since September, according to campaign finance records. Little is known about Evidence for Impact, but records obtained by the Washington Free Beacon show that its "beneficial owner" is Ezra Reese, an attorney at the Democratic elections firm Elias Law Group.

"Marc Elias, who opened the firm in 2022, serves as a top lawyer for the Harris campaign.... As an attorney for the Clinton campaign in 2016, Elias commissioned the infamous Steele dossier, which falsely accused Donald Trump of colluding with Russia.... It is unclear whether the Harris campaign has any direct involvement in Evidence for Impact or the Civic Truth Action ad campaign. It is also unclear who has funded Evidence for Impact, which registered in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 2.

"The advertisement campaign would seemingly help Harris in battleground states she sees as crucial to winning the White House. Harris has faced scrutiny in Pennsylvania over her calls to ban fracking and has hemorrhaged support among Michigan’s Arab and Muslim voters over the administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

"Civic Truth Action is using a 'microtargeting' strategy to push many of the advertisements to men between 18 and 34 years old, a demographic seen as more sympathetic to libertarian views. That’s the case with a Civic Truth Action ad entitled 'Screw ‘Em,' which the group has directed at men in Pennsylvania between the ages of 18 and 34. 'The media says voting for the person who will eliminate income taxes and protect freedoms is a waste. You know what I say? Screw ‘em, I’m voting for Chase Oliver,' the ad narrator says.

"Civic Truth Action has ties to another Democratic group. It paid $80,000 to Civic Truth Coalition for 'production research' on Oct. 16, according to campaign disclosures. Civic Truth Coalition has given $430,000 in recent months to Retire Career Politicians, a super PAC funded by members of Bill Gates’s family, and Sixteen Thirty Fund, a prominent liberal dark money group.... Christopher Koob, who is listed as treasurer for Civic Truth Action, has worked on the finance teams at the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, according to his biography.

"Civic Truth Action, the Harris campaign, and Elias Law Group did not respond to requests for comment."

Read more: https://freebeacon.com/elections/kamala-harris-campaign-attorney-marc-elias-linked-to-swing-state-ads-boosting-libertarian-candidate/ 

GBD co-author wins 2024 Zimmer Medal

Great Barrington Declaration co-author Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, an outspoken opponent of coercive public health measures and controls on scientific speech, has been awarded the 2024 Robert J. Zimmer Medal for Intellectual Freedom by the American Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Stanford’s Jay Bhattacharya Awarded 2024 Zimmer Medal; Brian Conrad Awarded 2024 Barry Prize; Six Stanford Scholars Honored in Total | Hoover Institution (news release):

October 24, 2024 - "Stanford University’s Jay Bhattacharya was awarded the Zimmer Medal, and Brian Conrad was awarded a 2024 Barry Prize, by the American Academy of Sciences and Letters (the Academy). The Zimmer Medal, which honors outstanding courage in the defense of intellectual freedom, was awarded to Sir Salman Rushdie last year.... The awards were conferred last night by Academy President Donald W. Landry of Columbia University and Board Chair Sanjeev R. Kulkarni of Princeton University in a ceremony at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C....

Jay Bhattacharya in 2020. Photo by 

American Institute of Economic Research. 

CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"'Last year we were delighted to honor Sir Salman Rushdie alongside other top minds of our time, and this year we are delighted to honor Jay Bhattacharya and a wonderful group of outstanding scholars,' said Academy President Dr. Donald Landry, M.D., Ph.D., who is also the Hamilton Southworth Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. 

"'Like other academies, we honor intellectual excellence, but our Academy is distinguished by a special accent on intellectual courage. All our new members this year reflect the independence of mind we strive to honor.'

"The Robert J. Zimmer Medal for Intellectual Freedom is presented annually to a public thinker who displays extraordinary courage in the exercise of intellectual freedom. The award is named in honor of the late University of Chicago President, who led the creation of the Chicago Principles, the gold standard of academic freedom that has been adopted by 110 colleges and universities. 

"In 2023, the inaugural Zimmer Medal was awarded to Sir Salman Rushdie, in recognition of his extraordinary leadership in the struggle for human freedom....

"Jay Bhattacharya is a professor of health policy at Stanford University and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economics Research. He directs Stanford’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging. His research focuses on the health and well-being of vulnerable populations, with a particular emphasis on the role of government programs, biomedical innovation, and economics. His recent research focuses on the epidemiology of COVID-19 as well as an evaluation of policy responses to the epidemic. His broader research interests encompass the implications of population aging for future population health and medical spending in developed countries, the measurement of physician performance tied to physician payment by insurers, and the role played by biomedical innovation on health. He holds an MD and a PhD in economics, both earned at Stanford University....

"The American Academy of Sciences and Letters promotes scholarship and honors outstanding achievement in the arts, sciences, and learned professions. It encourages the fruitful exchange of ideas within academia and society at large by sponsoring occasions for scholarly interaction and providing platforms for the presentation and dissemination of scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. An independent 501(c)(3) non-partisan organization, it offers public programming, supports promising young scholars, and promotes traditional liberal arts ideals and standards of intellectual excellence."

Read more: https://www.hoover.org/press/stanfords-jay-bhattacharya-awarded-2024-zimmer-medal-brian-conrad-awarded-2024-barry-prize