During my time Monday night (2008-01-20) sign waving in Scottsdale, Arizona with my 2008 Ron Paul for President sign I had some time to look over the Ron Paul (Revolution) limo. There are quite a few messages being beamed from the Ron Paul limo and I'll cover a few of them...
#1 Ron Paul R-EVOL-ution and Ron Paul's head shot (prominent on both sides)
#2 Ron Paul Rewards (.com)#3 GiveMeLiberty.org#4 Hope for America
#5 Restore the Constitution
#6 Bring the Troops Home
#7 No National ID Card
#8 Eliminate the IRS
#9 DownsizeDC (.org)Jeff Rense
wrote a long article about the limo. After giving a quick read it seems that he has some concerns. Mainly about an independent business called RonPaulRewards.com. One of the more surprising aspersions cast is about Joby Weeks and his association with Bernard von NotHaus's organization
libertydollar.org which according to Rense was "busted by the Federal government as a ponzi scheme".
I have made several purchases from LibertyDollar.org including
a very fine "Ron Paul" $20 (1 oz .999 fine silver medallion) which I was able to sell at a fine markup (said funds paid for my contribution to the Ron Paul for President campaign). I have no complaints about LiberyDollar.org's products or services. I have yet to hear any person (other than Jeff Rense) call it a "ponzi scheme". Like any business LibertyDollar.org is run by real live flesh and blood people and it may not have been run like a government regulated bank (and maybe that is a plus). I think calling LibertyDollar.org any type of "ponzi scheme" is going too far IMHO. By far the worst complaint about any of Mr. Bernard von NotHaus's Liberty Dollars is not about the organization but the organization who swooped into their office as well as the business place of
Sunshine Mint in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho where every piece of property that belonged to LibertyDollar.org was stolen.
Who stole their property you ask? The FBI and the US Secret Service.
The worst ponzi scheme in America bar none is run by the
Federal Reserve and condoned by the US Government. "Dollars" AKA Federal Reserve Notes are passed person to person, business to business, being depreciated every hour and every day by the Federal Reserve and their government buddies in the
Bureau of Printing and Engraving.
There are plenty of offers that people should scrutinize before they sign up.
RonPaulRewards.com being one of them.
Is the product that RonPaulRewards.com offering a good deal? I don't know. It certainly looks like Jeff Rense thinks it is a bad deal and that is fine. If people research RonPaulRewards.com for themselves and decide to buy the service then I say good. If they decide not to buy the product I also say good. As long as people have the option not to buy the product or service I am happy as long as Ron Paul gets some free advertising and people have one more impression of "
Bring the Troops Home" I think that on the whole that the Ron Paul limo is a good thing.
I say thank you
Limo Bob, thank you RonPaulRewards.com for paying for one more Ron Paul advertisement, thank you givemeliberty.org for trying your best to get a redress of grievance from the US Government (that's a tough one for sure!)
I even say thank you Jeff Rense for being concerned about Ron Paul and his image. I try to do all I can to make a good impression on my friends, my neighbors and the general public (on Ron Paul's behalf) and if RonPaulRewards.com is something bad then Mr. Rense's article will do some good.
As for Jeff Rense's claim that the disclaimer is "conveniently hard to read", I have to say that I didn't have any trouble finding it or reading it. It is at the bottom of their web page where most disclaimers are to be found, in 12 point size, which is the same size or larger than much of the text on the page. It is against a increasingly solid blue pattern which matches that at the top of the page and I hope if the operators of the RonPaulRewards.com site find this to be a legitimate complaint they will perhaps detach the disclaimer from the blue graphic and perhaps add a line around it.
I say that you the reader should be the judge here. Go to the web site and take a look, I picked it out and was able to read it, maybe grandma and grandpa can't and if so I hope they don't buy anything thinking that Ron Paul is personally going to sell them a discount card.
As for whether RonPaulRewards.com is "opportunistic", I would have to say yes by golly it is, they took the opportunity presented to advance Ron Paul's name (gaining the Ron Paul campaign some name recognition), they took the opportunity to pay for advertising on the Ron Paul limo a substantial amount of which I would guess will go to pay for a driver and fuel for its cross country tour. They took the opportunity (or some would call this risk) that some people will object to use and have used Ron Paul's name and likeness to promote a business. I say they saw an opportunity, they took a risk, they are selling a product and they hope to make a profit so as to pay for all the expenses $$$ involved (which isn't any sort of chump change here). Ron Paul had the opportunity in person to look at the limo and
has put his signature on it. Should Ron Paul have signed the limo? I don't know but if he doesn't like the limo I imagine Ron Paul or Ron Paul's staff can call Limo Bob and ask to have his name and likeness taken off of it--perhaps Bob can have
Hillary Clinton's visage put on it if "opportunistic businesses" offend too many people (but I hope not).
I could, but currently choose not to, mention disparagingly
the advertiser I saw promoted on Mr. Rense's web site as "Our Advertisers Represent Some Of The Most Unique Products & Services On Earth!".
Why should I do so? People have free will. People CAN decide for themselves. People can choose NOT to buy a product or support an advertiser (and I hope they do or do not as they see fit). Is Jeff Rense's article a "seemingly opportunistic exploitation of Ron Paul's name". I don't think so but I hope the reader will keep in mind that not everything is as characterized by one guy on the internet.
Caveat emptor!I'll mention for full disclosure's sake that I have never met Jeff Rense but I imagine he is an good guy. I further have never met Limo Bob but I also imagine he is a good guy (or at least a good businessman). I have never met any other business person Jeff Rense mentions in his article: Joby Weeks or Trevor Crook. I've met the current driver of the Ron Paul limo. The driver seemed to be a rather polite guy who is driving a very long vehicle across the country and I certainly wish him well and safe voyaging.
Go
Ron Paul!Go
Ron Paul Revolution!Go
Ron Paul limo!
Go
Ron Paul Billboards (.com)!
Photo credit:
Vodex
