contradiction #352

I was listening to NPR on the way home from work the other day. There was a story about Paul Rand and his declaration as a candidate for President.

At the Florida Turnpike interchange with I-595 I heard Rand say, "How many people here have a cellphone?" There was a little pause.  "How many people think it's none of the government's damn business what you do on your cell phone?"

Whoa! Mule!

What did he say?

Did I hear that correctly?

If the government doesn't have any business telling me what to do with my cell phone, where do they get off telling me what to do with my body?

When I got to the office, I Googled Paul Rand. Who the eff is this guy? He's a supporter of the Tea Party Movement. (I know what that is.) A libertarian. (I don't know what that is.)

So, I Googled Libertarianism.

It came up on Wikipedia as (Latin: liber, "free") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as its principal objective. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and freedom of choice, emphasizing political freedom, voluntary association and the primacy of individual judgement.

Libertarian socialists have been strong advocates and activists of civil liberties, including free love and free thought.

This didn't sound like the Paul Rand I heard about on NPR. Where was that word? "Conservative." How could he be a libertarian AND conservative at the same time?

Talk about being confused ...

Going back to his original statement and my question ... my cell phone, my body? Are they not BOTH my personal PRIVATE property? 

6 Days to the Election

We are in the final run to election day and no one can say who might win. According to all the polls (Gallup, Pugh, NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, etc.), it's a dead heat between the two presidential candidates.

I like the poll with Hallowe'en costume shops. On October 24th, Spirit Halloween stores stated that, according to their records, the candidate who sold the most masks before Halloween in an election year won the election.

In 1996, Clinton outsold Dole 71% to 29%, and as we all know, Clinton won. In 2000, Bush 2 beat Gore 57% to 43% and, in his re-election bid in 2004, Bush 2 once again outsold his opponent, Kerry, 65% to 35%.

In 2008, McCain's mask didn't do too hot. His mask accounted for 40%, leaving Obama to sweep it up with 60% of the sales. And, if mask sales are any indicator, Obama will take it away again in 2012. As of October 24th, it was Obama 65% and Romney 35%.

Now, THAAAT'S my kind of poll research!