1. All of your "hallucinations" are tricks of the brain and nothing more. All are duplicable and are not supernatural in any context. Near Death experiences are simply lack of oxygen to the brain and can easily be duplicated.
2. Ron Paul believes that states should posess more power and that state constitutions should have the power to trump the Federal Constitution in some issues. This is TOTALLY AGAINST what the FOUNDERS intended. Ron Paul does not represent the consitution. He represents it as HE and ONLY HE thinks it should be interpreted. Kucinich and Gravel surely interpret it better as they recognize the cohesion needed between states and a federal authority. Plus, they don`t use religion to guide their decisions as Paul seemingly does. This is a blatant violation of constitutional interpretation.
3. The Department of Education is highly beneficial and THE MOST important government program for the citizens. Elimination would be a complete disaster. The Federal government has an obligation to keep a well-informed and educated citizenery without a religious or idealogical bias. There is no positive in eliminating the Dept. of Education. There is no positive of eliminating student loans either. There is no positive in eliminating government sponsored healthcare for soliders.
Paul is delusional. And yes, he does want to elminate funding to NASA.
1.) The visions experienced under heavy psychedelics (most notably DMT) are said to be so complex that words just don't cut it. Complex geometric patterns moving in synchronic order, pulsating with light and made up of entirely energy. These images are agreed by those who've seen it to be far too complex for the human imagination to conjure up spontaneously like that. And the similarities of the experiences are profound, as if there is a specific place they journey to.
That video didn't prove anything to me because it wasn't a scientific experiment using what triggers these experiences, but electromagnetics. These sort of experiences are easily duplicated simply because there are laws in the universe and in life. If our brains lack blood supply our pineal gland secretes DMT naturally which triggers the visions that are synonymous with near death experiences.
Here is a good description of the DMT experience (edited version for your convenience):
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2.) Interpreting the constitution can't possibly be thrown too far off it's base, can it? The way it's worded doesn't seem to leave it up to one to decide what it means. It seems like pretty solid stuff. I just don't see how Ron Paul's "interpretation" renders its true meaning obsolete. I do, however, see how his interpretation can install a greater respect for human rights and goverrnment growing out of control.
3.) You make good points here but I can say it's not hard to find the many flaws in our educational system. I can't blame that on the department, however.
I found this excerpt straight from Ron Paul's website:
"We should understand that veterans programs, unlike so many federal programs, are constitutional. The Constitution specifically provides for Congress to fund armed forces and provide national defense. Congress and the nation accordingly have a constitutional obligation to keep the promises made to those who provide that defense. This is why I support increased funding for veterans, while opposing the bloated spending bills that fund corporate and social welfare, pork favoritism, and special interests at the expense of those veterans."
And we can probably agree that our current veterans healthcare system has failed.
The only piece of info I could find on Ron Paul's record with NASA is this: “Ron Paul consistently opposes taxpayer funding for NASA and wants to eliminate the agency,”... and that... says enough.
Looks like I finally found some things to disagree with the man on and I'll continue to look into this.
Funny you should say that. He surely was a keynote speaker for MANY Christian Political Action committees.
I couldn't find any information on this...
dude, are you for real? he's spoken CONSTANTLY about religion. he believes in the war on christmas and has said so publicly. hell, he supports a constitutional amendment for school prayer, happened in 1997.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul148.html
"The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs."
apparently he was not familiar with the wording of the treaty of tripoli, ratified in 1796 by the entire senate under John Adams, which says in section 11:
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;"
or, for that matter, thomas jefferson's 1802 letter:
"I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state."
and as for "it's not an issue for the federal government to decide", did you ignore what i said? he wants to overturn Roe V Wade and then put a FEDERAL LAW in place that defines life as beginning at conception, effectively banning abortion. that is de facto "federal government deciding" if not explicitly so.
paul may be a doctor, but that doesn't mean he's a good politician. at all.
It seems to me, with the exception of the line
"The notion of a rigid separation between church and state has no basis in either the text of the Constitution or the writings of our Founding Fathers. On the contrary, our Founders’ political views were strongly informed by their religious beliefs.", that he's writing an opinion of his and has the right to do so. But then again there's that one line which brings up some questions. I know for a fact that the constitution restricts the favor of any particular religion and that none shall be deciding factors in government business. So how can he misinterpret that? This is what confuses me.
