Although in the present world, it would simply occur due to the government by fiat resetting whatever peg it had with gold. So rather than slow devaluation of the currency, you’d have it all at once.

Also–why gold?

(Some wag once suggested we go on the pot standard–very easy to increase your currency base when needed and hell, you could always smoke it.)

Heh, heh…man-crush. It’s the deep voice isn’t it? :)

Going on record here to remind y’all of my comments a few weeks ago when I said “don’t blink”.

http://www.pinnaclecascade.com/ has some of the best round up on his positions on the web.

I like Thompson’s enthusiasm. He seems completely uninterested in seeking power.

Heh, heh…man-crush. It’s the deep voice isn’t it? :)

I don’t support the idea of the gold standard. Kevin gave some good reasons in another thread that match my own.

I don’t agree with his position on borders and immigration, even in a country that has some social safety net and welfare programs. I feel fairly strongly that RP’s position on immigration is a populist one that panders to nativist, even outright racist, folks. In any case, I disagree with him.

I do not agree with him on abortion, although I’m heartened to hear him agree that it should be a legislative and state issue.

I do not agree with his isolationist foreign policy, or the idea that we should rapidly and unilaterally withdraw from Iraq. Despite my very serious misgivings about, and opposition to, the Bush/Clinton/Bush interventionism and adventurism, I think we have a tar baby now and we can’t let go that easily.

I do not subscribe to the conspiracy theory approach that he, mostly implicitly, appears to subscribe to.

Those are some pretty significant differences between RP and I. Given that I think he will be a very poor president, the areas where he and I are in agreement are not enough to overcome those differences.

As far as not voting goes, I am actually a rational anarchist and believe that I am solely and entirely responsible for my actions. If there is no candidate for President that I can, in good conscious, vote for then I will not be individually responsible for a choice to put the “least of the evils” in office. That is not a protest, nor a cop out, nor do I think it somehow makes our country better. What this choice does is allow me to choose to adhere to my own beliefs and not compromise them.

On that tuesday in November, I will walk in a voting booth. I will vote for each person, or ballot measure that I can support in good conscious. If I cannot vote yes or no or for a support someone without compromising myself, then I will leave that section blank. It seems likely that I will not vote for anyone for President at this point.

I do have a mild attraction to Fred Thompson, but I’m pretty sure that’s going to go away as soon as I look at his politics.

By the way, I have never voted for a Libertarian. I doubt that will change.

Adam, I think you are wasting a lot of talent, ability and common sense by taking a hands off approach. I hope you at least exercise your right to vote. Not showing up on poll day doesn’t count, as most politicians view it as laziness and not as a “protest”.

In fact, I’d appreciate a better understanding of why people think that not voting is somehow a protest of government or somehow makes our country better. I find this attitude confusing and troublesome. So many have fought for the right to vote that it seems wrong to me to just ignore a responsibility. Please educate me!

Adam, I actually agree with your point about Ron Paul’s leadership ability. I have been pondering Paul’s ability specifically as an administrator/supervisor given how his campaign has been run. He’s going to have to be more responsive more quickly and be especially alert if he’s going to lead a successful presidency. Grassroots is great, but only goes so far. But…unlike you I am willing to risk it and back him with my vote in the primary. Not because I am “so worried about electing a message that [I am] willing to destroy any chance to have the message administered effectively after the election”, but because I feel that he can rise to the occasion. I have experienced this in my own life, and seen others do the same. I am not afraid to have faith in this candidate, I’m not afraid to trust a message that is so different from what others are cramming down my throat. I like what this particular candidate is saying about issues important to me, and I’m willing to support getting him into a position where he might be able to actually do something. That’s my job–to vote for him. And if he fails me once he’s in office, it’s my job to vote him out. Yes, plenty of things could go wrong in a Ron Paul presidency. But plenty could go right.

Ron Paul proposes earmarks for special interests in his district such as shrimpers.