GOP leaders face libertarian revolt over NSA, Egypt, Syria

GOP Leaders Face Libertarian Revolt Over NSA, Egypt, Syria | GOPpers - Matt Fuller:

July 19, 2013 - "House GOP leaders are scrambling to quell a quiet libertarian rebellion threatening to block consideration of the Defense appropriations bill.

"A small group of Republicans are holding the spending bill hostage until they get votes on several controversial amendments.

"'We’ve conveyed to the whip team that we won’t vote for the rule if they don’t allow debate and votes,' Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said Friday. 'We don’t need all the amendments to be allowed. We need at least one substantial amendment on three things: Egypt, Syria and NSA.'

"Massie has two amendments before the Rules Committee: one that would defund military operations in Syria and one that would defund military operations in Egypt. Another leader in the Republican rebellion, Justin Amash of Michigan, has an amendment that would end funds for the National Security Agency’s blanket collection of telephone call records in the wake of Edward Snowden’s leaking of the program."

Read more: http://blogs.rollcall.com/goppers/gop-leaders-face-libertarian-rebellion/
'via Blog this'

Rand Paul slams support for ‘military junta’ in Egypt

Rand Paul slams support for ‘military junta’ in Egypt - Breanna Edwards - POLITICO.com:

July 8, 2013 - "Sen. Rand Paul lashed out Monday against neoconservatives on Twitter for supporting the 'military junta' in Egypt and arguing for continued monetary aid to the country....

"'In Egypt, governments come and go. The only thing certain is that American taxpayers will continue to be stuck with the $1.5 billion bill,' the Kentucky Republican sent out his message in two back to back tweets. 'In Egypt, democratic authoritarianism is replaced with military junta. American neocons say send them more of your money.'

"The Twitter slam comes right behind a July 4 op-ed that the libertarian senator wrote for The Washington Times expanding on the very issue.

"'In Egypt, protest is met with tear gas, manufactured in America and paid for with American taxes. When Egyptians protest, they protest against their government and also America for subsidizing that government,' Paul wrote. 'Despite the fact that Mohamed Morsi recently convicted 16 Americans of political crimes in a show trial, the Obama administration still sent them over $2 billion this year....

"'American tax dollars flow no matter which despot rules,' he added. 'But worse, due to our aid and support, Egyptians see Mr. Morsi and America as the same.'"

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/rand-paul-egypt-93826.html
'via Blog this'

Striving for political and economic freedom (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Striving for political and economic freedom - Unleashed (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), Chris Berg, Feb. 15, 2011:

"No amount of positive economic reform will excuse the absence of individual liberties, widespread government harassment, arbitrary arrest, political repression, a justice system divorced from the rule of law, rampant corruption, and restrictions on freedom of expression. And nor should it. An increase in GDP is no comfort for someone who has been tortured in custody just to fill an arrest quota, or someone who is unable to report a sexual assault for fear of being seen as 'fair game' by police.

"In the same period when Egypt was rapidly [moving] up the economic freedom rankings, its ranking by Freedom House, which measures civil and political freedoms, remained stagnant. That stagnation hides hundreds of thousands of individual human traumas at the brutal hands of the state.

"Dictators can’t always have it both ways. They can’t reap the benefits of economic growth -- with their higher tax revenues and more luxuries to hand to political supporters -- and maintain complete political control at the same time. No country can be both a police state and a market paradise."

http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/44128.html

Egypt and Tunisia need economic freedom

Egypt and Tunisia desperate for economic freedom | The Australian - Craig Emerson, Feb. 8:

"The fundamental prerequisite for a market to produce the growth needed to support employment and prosperity is economic freedom. Without low regulatory burdens, quality legal systems, security of property rights, low levels of corruption and a sound currency, a country struggles to be economically free, even if there is political freedom. Where there is neither economic nor political freedom, the country becomes a cauldron.

"Without economic freedom, people can't start businesses, investment is stifled and trade can't flourish. The spark that lit the flames engulfing parts of the region was a young man's suicide in Tunisia. After years of struggle to keep his family of eight alive, Mohamed Bouazizi was finally broken because the vegetable stand that he operated was confiscated, essentially because he couldn't afford to bribe the police."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/egypt-and-tunisia-desperate-for-economic-freedom/story-e6frg6zo-1226001746314

Ron Paul calls Egypt a 'mess' made by U.S. intervention - Dallas News

Rep. Ron Paul calls Egypt a "mess" made by U.S. intervention | Trail Blazers Blog | dallasnews.com - Todd J. Gillman, Jan. 31:

"'This is a typical example of what happens when we run on intervention-type foreign policies. We get in the middle of these fights. We've been in the middle of this for 30 years now. We've given Mubarak $60 billion. We're responsible for a lot of the mess that is over there,' Paul said this afternoon on FOX News Channel's Your World with Neil Cavuto."

http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2011/01/rep-ron-paul-calls-egypt-a-mes.html

Hear Paul on Cavuto Jan 31 2011:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPKJ14iFAXE