Jones Soda launched Campaign Cola 2008 on June 10th with three limited-edition colas honoring each of the major presidential candidates. You vote for your candidate by purchasing their bottle of cola: Obama’s Yes We Can, McCain’s Pure McCain or Clinton’s Capitol Hillary. (Okay she lost the race, but she’s still on a bottle.)

The results as of today (26 days into the race) are:
Obama = 6,432 bottles
McCain = 1,938 bottles
Clinton = 1,686 bottles

So four days ago Jones Soda gave in to public pressure and decided to add a Ron Paul’s Revolution Cola and in only four days they’ve already sold 732 bottles! At this pace he’ll probably overtake McCain and Clinton by the end of this month, but I still think Obama is going to win the overall race. Of course if you want to be really fiscally responsible with your vote you should use this coupon to save 10% off $60:

Jones Soda – 10% off $60 (Posted on 7/6/08 and Expires on 12/1/08)

More Deals From Jones Soda:

• Jones Soda - 20% Off Jones Clothing amp Wearables using coupon code HOLIDAY20 - Posted on 11/20/09 and Expires on 11/30/09
• Jones Soda - 20% Off Any MyJones Customized Soda using coupon code MYHOLIDAY20 - Posted on 11/20/09 and Expires on 11/30/09
• Jones Soda - Jones Soda will donate $1 to PAWS for each Tofurky & Gravy Soda Pack Purchased - Posted on 11/5/09 and Expires on 11/30/09
• Jones Soda - Free Shipping on any $20+ Jones GABA order - Posted on 10/22/09 and Expires on 11/30/09
• Jones Soda - Limited Edition Seahawks Collectors Pack only $3.99 - Posted on 9/9/09 and Expires on 1/1/10
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I subscribe to several political candidates’ email newsletters – for the sake of being as balanced as possible.

Ron Paul’s camp just blitzed this notice across my bow:

Yesterday was a remarkable day for Ron Paul, and it wouldn’t have happened without you. For those of you who haven’t yet heard, Ron Paul took over 10% in yesterday’s Iowa caucus, handily beating Rudy Giuliani and finishing right behind both Fred Thompson and John McCain. This despite that Rudy Giuliani made more visits to Iowa than Ron Paul. And, entrance polls showed that Ron Paul took first place (29%) among independent Republicans!

I’m certainly a happy camper; hitting double digits in Iowa is nothing to sneeze at. Conversely, I’m happy to see that Obama came out ahead on the Dem side.

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Allan’s friend Jake sent me an email to ask me to discuss the impact Social Networking and the Internet in general are having on the US Presidential campaign. The “now” of Politics is online… the future is a given.

I am a fierce Independent, so I have done a lot of research into the different candidates this year. The more I research, the more convinced I am that in the future, politics will be decided online in a large way. Let’s talk about Ron Paul. Before we do, let me say this is not an endorsement of him as a candidate, nor am I saying who I am voting for. To me, that is very personal, and not something I’m willing to share. However, I DO want to discuss his campaign thus far.

Ron Paul has a HUGE following online. The Internet is full of not just Geeks, but technically astute people who research for themselves. They don’t just go by what they heard and see on the tv, radio or newspaper. Generally what Ron Paul stands for is just that… those types of values and mindset that much of us online share.

As far as I’m concerned, everyone should be an “Independent”. Why blindly follow a party? Do you REALLY believe that just because someone is a Democrat or Republican they are the best candidate? Do you really truly agree with every single thing “your” party stands for? When the citizens of this country, and even this world, finally all start thinking for themselves, we will be in a much better situation. Heck, I’m not even just talking politics here. Be independent in ALL of your thinking… from your choice of Operating system, to what car you will drive, and yes… to who you should vote for.

All in all, I definitely feel that the Internet will be shaping political races in the future. Oh, wait. It’s shaping one now, isn’t it? The future is here, folks. Isn’t it time you joined it? Get online. Do your own research. Draw your own conclusions. Let’s bring this country back to where it should be, then help it move forward.

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Apparently, there are conversations about this blog happening on StumbleUpon every day (cool, but I really wish I would be notified in some way – possibly through a trackback to the comment, or in being able to have those external comments show up as comments in my own threads). Regardless, “Ultimate Josh” had posted a response to a response that I thought was valid enough to be given its own post.

This is another perspective on Ron Paul (not one I necessarily agree with, mind you):

I’d like to skip your comments about being propagandized because I think I clearly explained myself in the blog, but to be frank, if Outfoxed influenced you, yes, you’ve been propagandized. It should not have taken a film to catalog all of the problems with FOX news since the discrepancies between it and traditional journalism are so blatantly obvious, and if you made up your mind from a hit piece instead of actually watching FOX for yourself, then congratulations, you are a dumb American. Please enjoy the NASCAR races, celebrity gossip and the always low prices.

A clear review of history will not yield such ferocious indictment of the selling of the Iraq War, the corrosion of the constitution, or the history of US intervention, but it will also not defend, support or exonerate it. Objectivity can teach you more than anger and emotion. I have no problem with watching these films for entertainment, I’ve seen all of the films on your list myself actually, but I do warn against giving them “influence” over you. It’s a disservice to your own cognizant abilities and a disservice to the causes you may claim to support.

As for Ron Paul, I have numerous problems with him.

First of all, his claims of a long US history of peaceful intentions and amicable non-intervention is absolute bullshit. Out first overseas military commitment was in 1806. End of story. Given the weight of the subject matter, to me, this goes beyond a simple campaign fallacy and into the point of being dangerously out of touch.

Second, he is a Libertarian. Libertarians interpret the constitution as deriving all rights from property, including the property of your physical self. Therefore, committing murder would be an unconstitutional violation against someones right to property of life. Sounds good, except that’s not exactly what the Libertarians had in mind, when they came together and formed their party. What were they thinking? Well, given that life is property, and one has a human right to own private property…Oops! Slavery. That’s right, Libertarianism is simply the flashy, sexy politically correct new label for the Confederates of the 19th century (not to be confused with the Anti-Federalists of the 18th).

So, do I think this means Ron Paul will restart slavery? Absolutely not in a million years. It’s simply to illustrate the true ugliness of libertarianism, as it is too easily swept away in pro-abortion, pro-drug, pro-gun euphoria.

Slavery is one piece of danger, but along with confederate liberty comes hyperconservatism at the national level. While this is sold to you as saving you tax dollars, in reality it would almost entirely privatize our national infrastructure. That’s everything from the Interstate system to the CIA, the Air Force to the FCC. It even includes our government agencies responsible for maintaining and developing our nuclear arsenal.

Do you like that every electrical device plugs into the same AC outlet everywhere in the country? Ron Paul doesn’t like that government oversight. Do you like that the secret service is working to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of our economy’s hard money supply? Ron Paul doesn’t. Do you like that someone loyal to the constitution regulates your air traffic, or would you rather have someone loyal to money? Ron Paul likes that privatized money.

But it goes far beyond that. Ron Paul’s vision of total private enterprise is also poisoned with anti-Globalization xenophobia. It’s true that he may prevent things like the Chinese poison pet food, but you’d have to stop playing your Sony Playstation, hang up your T-mobile phone, and spit out that coffee you’re drinking. Imagine 1000 years ago had the Dutch trader-barons returned to their King with news of the great Silk Road, and the King replied that no, their silk unfairly competed against Dutch blankets, their literature was decidedly un-Dutch, and their scientific advances would provoke a Mark and Sextant Gap! Not very realistic, not very wise.

And if there is one thing history teaches us unequivocally, it’s that Xenophobia kills. Ask a Jew. Or a Cherokee.

And there is just a few of my problems with Ron Paul. But let’s be honest, even if he was able to elevate himself above his fourth tier status and take the party nomination and win the popular vote and take the most electoral votes, absolutely none of what I said would come true.

Why? He would have absolutely no partisan support. The Republicans don’t like him and the Democrats don’t like him. Who would pass his bills? Who would confirm his nominees? Who would keep him in office? He’d be lucky to simply paralyze the American infrastructure for four years. At worse, he could cripple the constitution permanently and completely expose the United States to nihilist influence, domestic and abroad.

That’s ultimately why I mentioned him only in passing, instead of an indictment like this. He is simply not a threat. He could not be elected, and if he was, he could not enact his policies. Fortunately for the stability of the constitution, the majority of Americans are not free-market conservative libertarians, even though the rhetoric sounds so convincing.

Convincing like propaganda.

Assuming Dr. Paul’s supporters will come out of the woodwork to debunk Josh’s assertions, I… still can’t help but wonder if the world will ever understand “truth.” It’s all a matter of perspective, but how can we gain perspective when everybody’s perspective is completely different. In many cases, RADICALLY different. Yes, that was a sentence fragment – a fact I believe we can finally agree upon. Regardless…

Josh’s comment was left in a somewhat “private” social network (StumbleUpon, of which I am a HUGE supporter but not an active user). I don’t mind that conversations take place elsewhere on the Web, but I never would have known that there was a somewhat “private” thread based on my very public posts. I can’t really call them PRIVATE, but I’m certain that most people who read my site may not have known that the StumbleUpon thread existed around my original content (in context).

Dunno… just kinda weird to have that going on, especially with such dissenting viewpoints. How can the Web converse if half of these conversations and perspectives are behind walled gardens?

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I couldn’t figure out why the media (and politicos) have been ignoring Ron Paul – until I started to read more about him and what he stands for. Don’t cast your vote for any candidate, please, until you understand that the Federal Reserve bank is a private institution, not a government one:

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to restore financial stability to America’s economy by abolishing the Federal Reserve. I also ask unanimous consent to insert the attached article by Lew Rockwell, president of the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, which explains the benefits of abolishing the Fed and restoring the gold standard, into the record.

Since the creation of the Federal Reserve, middle and working-class Americans have been victimized by a boom-and-bust monetary policy. In addition, most Americans have suffered a steadily eroding purchasing power because of the Federal Reserve’s inflationary policies. This represents a real, if hidden, tax imposed on the American people.

From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dotcom bubble last year, every economic downturn suffered by the country over the last 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and an artificial “boom” followed by a recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts.

With a stable currency, American exporters will no longer be held hostage to an erratic monetary policy. Stabilizing the currency will also give Americans new incentives to save as they will no longer have to fear inflation eroding their savings. Those members concerned about increasing America’s exports or the low rate of savings should be enthusiastic supporters of this legislation.

Though the Federal Reserve policy harms the average American, it benefits those in a position to take advantage of the cycles in monetary policy. The main beneficiaries are those who receive access to artificially inflated money and/or credit before the inflationary effects of the policy impact the entire economy. Federal Reserve policies also benefit big spending politicians who use the inflated currency created by the Fed to hide the true costs of the welfare-warfare state. It is time for Congress to put the interests of the American people ahead of the special interests and their own appetite for big government.

Abolishing the Federal Reserve will allow Congress to reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy. The United States Constitution grants to Congress the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency. The Constitution does not give Congress the authority to delegate control over monetary policy to a central bank. Furthermore, the Constitution certainly does not empower the federal government to erode the American standard of living via an inflationary monetary policy.

In fact, Congress’ constitutional mandate regarding monetary policy should only permit currency backed by stable commodities such as silver and gold to be used as legal tender. Therefore, abolishing the Federal Reserve and returning to a constitutional system will enable America to return to the type of monetary system envisioned by our nation’s founders: one where the value of money is consistent because it is tied to a commodity such as gold. Such a monetary system is the basis of a true free-market economy.

In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand up for working Americans by putting an end to the manipulation of the money supply which erodes Americans’ standard of living, enlarges big government, and enriches well-connected elites, by cosponsoring my legislation to abolish the Federal Reserve.

This has nothing to do with being liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican – it has to do with being a true American. Mr. Paul is the only one who seems to be speaking the truth – which I’m sure the establishment hates, and is the reason they’re keeping him from participating in debates and political discussions. If you elect anybody who doesn’t understand that America is fully controlled by this private institution (the Federal Reserve), your’e simply inviting disaster.

We have been controlled by and ruled in fear for far too long.

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