Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Rand Paul Condemns the Arming of Al-Qaeda with US Arms in Syria
I believe the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee just voted to arm the Syrian rebels, despite the fact that those arms will likely end up in the hands of the Al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra front. Rand Paul was justifiably less than pleased:
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blasted members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday, which voted overwhelmingly to arm elements of the Syrian opposition in a bill co-sponsored by Sen.Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). "This is an important moment," Paul said, addressing his Senate colleagues. "You will be funding, today, the allies of al Qaeda. It's an irony you cannot overcome."
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The dispute centers on the issue of whether the United States could properly vet Syrian rebels so that weapons and body armor would not fall into the hands of extremist groups, such as the al Qaeda-aligned al-Nusra Front. The Pentagon's top brass has vacillated about whether it's logistically possible to keep track of weapons as they enter a conflict involving a complex mix of opposition groups, as the new bill would require.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Rand Paul Thinks Congress Should Apologize to Apple
A great rant. It's insane that the CEO of Apple was dragged before Congress to answer for their tax strategies:
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Rand Paul Piece on CNN Online on the IRS Scandal
He does a good job explaining the seriousness of the scandal:
The IRS is under the president's jurisdiction. He needs to fully recognize the gravity of these charges.
The IRS targeting citizens for political reasons is not simply another Washington scandal. At issue is something that strikes at the very heart of who we are as a people, what we believe as Americans and what this country has always stood for.
Amendment was written to protect many different types of expression. But the Founding Fathers' primary concern -- and a first principle for every generation of Americans that followed -- was the protection of political speech.
Apparently, the IRS was even targeting people who criticized how the country was being run.
Protecting citizens' right to speak out against their government has always been an integral part of what separates us from tyrannical regimes. What the IRS did is how the KGB used to target dissidents. It is how they deal with troublemakers in China.
It is not how we treat American citizens. Our Constitution guarantees it.
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In my home state of Kentucky, a 9/12 group filed for 501(c)(4) status in December of 2010. It received its first correspondence almost immediately, saying there would be a determination within 90 days.
Fourteen months later, the IRS requested answers to 30 questions with sub-bullets -- 88 total separate inquiries -- and gave only a two-week period to comply.
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Each congressman and senator, and even the president, took an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. It is now upon us to determine if the IRS intentionally trampled the First Amendment rights of Americans who dared to dissent.
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