The Rand Paul Countdown to 2016 Megathread

[CountDeMoney]

Really?  Didn't realize your opinion of MLK was that low

Then you and Uncle Ccooter should go back up the pick-up truck and pull down his statue, Cletus.

[derspiess]

Really?  Didn't realize your opinion of MLK was that low

Then you and Uncle Ccooter should go back up the pick-up truck and pull down his statue, Cletus.

Hey man, I'm not the one diminishing the content of his character-- you are.

[CountDeMoney]

Oooh, burn.

Plagiarism in a dissertation paper in college is the best you can do?  Nigga, please.  You can pull that play out of the Redneck Playbook, doesn't really have much weight outside your circlejerk.

Guess what?  He cheated on his wife, too.  BFD, Jr.

[derspiess]

You just can't resist tearing him down, can you?

[CountDeMoney]

 

What do you care, he got ventilated by a racist cracker.  As far as you're concerned, it's a happy ending.

[derspiess]

I greatly admire MLK's legacy.  Never said otherwise.

[CountDeMoney]

Obviously not a big fan of his college work.

[Razgovory]

I greatly admire MLK's legacy.  Never said otherwise.

Even the anti-war stuff?  The "paling around" with communists?

[Razgovory]

Busted AND hostile!  What a great combo!

More evidence emerges of plagiarism in Rand Paul's work
By Rebecca Kaplan /CBS News

Reports continue to emerge that Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has a habit of using other authors' work in his own speeches and writings without giving them credit. The latest: an op-ed Paul wrote for The Washington Times on mandatory minimum sentencing borrowed verbatim from an article on the same topic written by Dan Stewart and published in The Week a week before Paul's own piece.

The overlap was originally reported by the website Buzzfeed, which found several copied sentences that outline the growth of the prison system, criticism of mandatory minimum sentencing, and tell the story of a Florida man named John Horner who was subject to a mandatory minimum penalty after selling some prescription painkillers to a friend who turned out to be a police informant.

"We've always known that the audience of The Week consists of smart, busy people who want to feel even smarter, including a lot of people on Capitol Hill," Bill Falk, the editor in chief of The Week, told Buzzfeed. "We'd like to thank Sen. Paul for his endorsement."

In an interview with the New York Times Tuesday, Paul admitted that he had "made mistakes" and said new procedures were being put in place to make footnotes available "if it will make people leave me the hell alone."

"In the thousands of speeches and op-eds Sen. Paul has produced, he has always presented his own ideas, opinions and conclusions. Sen. Paul also relies on a large number of staff and advisers to provide supporting facts and anecdotes - some of which were not clearly sourced or vetted properly," said Paul senior adviser Doug Stafford in a statement to CBSNews.com. "Footnotes presenting supporting facts were not always used. Going forward, footnotes will be available on request. There have also been occasions where quotations or typesetting indentations have been left out through errors in our approval process. From here forward, quoting, footnoting and citing will be more complete. Adherence to a new approval process implemented by Sen. Paul will ensure proper citation and accountability in all collaborative works going forward."

Paul also told the Times that no staffers were being fired over the incidents of plagiarism.

Paul has been under fire for borrowing language since MSNBC's Rachel Maddow accused him of citing Wikipedia descriptions of the movie "Gattaca" during a speech at Liberty University . Since then, the list of language copied from other sources has continued to grow, including the revelation that Paul's response to President Obama's 2013 State of the Union address included a line about increasing unemployment rates taken directly from an Associated Press report.

"It's been a footnote frenzy going on. They have looked at my works including all of my speeches which 98 percent of those are extemporaneous. I can't quote everything perfect. I'm not perfect," Paul said to Fox News host Sean Hannity Monday night, arguing that he was the only person being held to such a high standard because of political motivations.

In an interview with ABC's "This Week" after the allegations came to light, Paul said he didn't think that speeches should be held to the same standard as scientific papers.

"When I wrote scientific papers, I sometimes had statements with eight footnotes for one sentence. Is that what you want me to do for my speeches? If it's required, I'll do it. But I think I'm being unfairly targeted by a bunch of hacks and haters. And I'm just not going to put up with people casting aspersions on my character," Paul said.

He added that "if dueling were legal in Kentucky, if they keep it up, you know, it would be a duel challenge. But I can't do that, because I can't hold office in Kentucky then."

Oh, it's not really a big deal.  I mean, he probably didn't right any of the book.  Like how his dad didn't actually write those newsletters with his name on them.

[derspiess]

I greatly admire MLK's legacy.  Never said otherwise.

Even the anti-war stuff? 

Not that so much.  But that's a very minor part of his legacy.

The "paling around" with communists?

Paling with commies was even less a part of it.

[CountDeMoney]

lol, "Computer Quarterback".  Had that one.  Did you ever have "Super Sunday" from Avalon Hill?  That was actually pretty good for its time.



It was only Super Bowl match-ups, but it was pretty fun.

[derspiess]

lol, "Computer Quarterback".  Had that one.  Did you ever have "Super Sunday" from Avalon Hill?  That was actually pretty good for its time.



It was only Super Bowl match-ups, but it was pretty fun.

Nope, we were too heavily into Computer Quarterback.  Shit, we brought our friends over & had tournaments, leagues, etc.

[Savonarola]

Rand Paul has the solution to Detroit's woes: FREEDOM!

Paul unveils plan for Detroit 'economic freedom zone'


Washington — Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul unveiled Thursday his plan to save Detroit two days after a judge officially declared the Motor City bankrupt.

Paul, widely considered a 2016 potential presidential candidate, said he will introduce legislation Monday to create "economic freedom zones" by dramatically lowering taxes in depressed areas and loosen visa rules to encourage foreign entrepreneurs to immigrate to the city.

"We hope to create taxes so low you essentially are able to bail yourselves out," Paul said Thursday in a conference call outlining his plan.

Paul travels to Detroit Friday for a speech detailing his Motor City ideas before the Detroit Economic Club and for the opening of a new GOP office in the city. Paul, a liberation-leaning senator, has advocated for the Republican Party to widen its tent to traditionally Democratic areas by bringing fresh ideas.

Paul famously said earlier this year Detroit would receive a federal bailout "over my dead body." He has since said he regrets the word choice, but believes his plan not only is politically feasible in Washington's anti-bailout culture and but will be more effective than a government stimulus by leaving money in the city of Detroit.

The economic freedom zone is an updated, more aggressive version of "enterprise zones" that conservatives like U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp advocated during the 1980s and 1990s to spur economic growth in depressed urban areas.

Under the Paul plan, individual income and corporate income taxes would be slashed to a flat rate of 5 percent in pockets of the country with unemployment more than 1.5 times higher than the national average. Payroll taxes would also be lowered, and capital gains taxes would disappear.

In addition, the income requirement for entrepreneurial immigrants would be reduced to $50,000 to encourage people from around the world to move to Detroit. Gov. Rick Snyder has advocated attracting more immigrants to Michigan as a way of helping to revitalize the state.

The Paul plan faces long odds of getting a vote in the Democratic-led Senate or gaining approval in a Congress that has trouble approving many legislative initiatives.

Paul hopes his plan would be more successful than previous enterprise zone initiatives by getting governors on board to lessen the local tax burden, too.

Paul is holding off until his speech Friday on how much he estimates the Motor City would capture under the 10-year plan but said: "It adds up. It becomes a significant amount of money over time. I think the real key is ... the money is going into the hands of the individuals who basically earned it."

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131205/POLITICS03/312050086#ixzz2mcYgGNWX

Liberation leaning, heh

In the 90s Michigan's Republican governor created a number of "Enterprise Zones" throughout the state where businesses would be exempt from state taxes.  These were in impoverished areas; so some of them fell in Detroit.  At the same time the Clinton administration created an "Enterprise Fund" which provided financial assistance to small businesses in urban areas.  Detroit was a major target for that; Al Gore even visited the city to promote the plan.  We could see which party's plan worked better for Detroit first hand; stimulus as favored by the Democrats or tax breaks favored by Republicans.  As it turns out; neither.

[Berkut]

Honest question:

Hasn't it largely been shown by economists that "enterprise zones" are basically a terrible idea? Classic example of a prisoners dilemna, where you are making a short term concession that mgiht benefit some particular portion at the greater expense of everyone else?

It seems to me that if all things being equal, Detroit is a shitty place to open a factory, then creating positive incentives to put one there anyway cannot help but have an adverse effect elsewhere, and to the economy overall. If the market is to be trusted to place factories where they are needed and where they have the best chance to be successful, changing the rules for some areas seems to be a good way to warp the market.

[derspiess]

I really like Rand Paul as a Senator but I'm not sure I'd ever want him as president.