Political Thoughts of Timothy A. Raty

  While confirmation alludes me, I recollect from memory reading a transcript of an interview involving Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party’s Year 2000 U.S. Presidential Nominee. When asked about the Middle East, Mr. Browne made a poignant observation, which can be summarized as follows: “There will never be peace in the Middle East until all sides understand and value the concept of the separation between church and state.” This observation goes to the root cause of perpetual violence within this region of the world. It is also the root cause for the near perpetual cycle of violence which bathed Europe in blood during the Dark Ages. Religions, by their nature, reject reason in favor of faith. The degrees to which they do this vary among religions, but ultimately faith always triumphs over reason. How faith is validated also varies per religion, but fundamentally it is based on the subjective premise of feelings, which conveniently cannot be questioned or repudiated by any fa...

 I will begin by quoting from a person who cannot be mistaken as a 2 nd Amendment-hating, pinko- communist by the conservative movement: Ayn Rand. After a lecture she gave at the Ford Hall Forum in 1971, she engaged in a “Question and Answer” period in which she was asked about gun control, to which she gave the following response:  “I do not know enough about it to have an opinion, except to say that it’s not of primary importance. Forbidding guns or registering them is not going to stop criminals from having them; nor is it a great threat to the private, noncriminal citizen if he has to register the fact that he has a gun. It’s not an important issue, unless you’re ready to begin a private uprising right now, which isn’t very practical.”  After another lecture at the Forum in 1973, she was again asked about gun control and provided the following response:   “It’s a complex, technical issue in the philosophy of law. Handguns are instruments for killing peop...

 With former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (R-SC) set to announce her pursuit of the Presidency later this week, here are my initial projections on how the nomination battles will end. This, of course, comes with the caveat that in politics a week is a lifetime and anything can change quickly (just ask most of the candidates who were leading in the polls a month before the Iowa caucuses this century and cratered, such as Howard Dean [2004], Mitt Romney [2008], and Newt Gingrich [2012]), both politically and by force majeure ( e.g. , a candidate dying).  Republican Nomination: This is former President Donald Trump’s (R-FL) to lose – even if he is indicted over any one of the slew of crimes for which he is under investigation. There are two reasons for this conclusion:  ·         First, he is the leader of an informal cult, whose followers believe he is God’s Messiah (or “ Chosen One ”) for the United States of America. According to one report , Tru...

One of my favorite myths about former President Donald Trump (R) is the notion that the Trump Administration significantly reduced Federal regulations (you can find an archive of the Trump White House bragging about this here ). The fact of the matter is that, at best, regulations were reduced by an insignificant amount; at worst, they increased under Trump. For those readers who may not know, under the Federal Government, there are three broad categories of laws: ·         Statutory Laws. These are the laws passed by Congress. ·         Administrative Laws . These are the “laws” created by administrative agencies ( e.g. , the State Department, the EPA, HUD, etc. ), ostensibly   for the purpose of carrying out statutory laws, but quite often abused to the point that agencies use broad interpretations to impose their own laws on the American people. ·         Case Law . ...

As widely anticipated, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to obtain the votes necessary to be elected Speaker of the House. His main obstacle are prominent members of the so-called House Freedom Caucus, who are holding out support in order to obtain more concessions which will grant them more power and influence in the 118 th Congress. While the failure to obtain the Speakership showcases the fine, thin line the GOP must walk with having a slim majority in the House (218 are needed for a majority and the GOP has 222 seats), it is also a testament to the moral principle that when you sanction evil, evil will sanction you in return (and not in the way you want). After the January 6 th Attacks (some call them a soft coup, others call it a domestic terrorist attack; I call it both), McCarthy had contemplated asking President Trump to resign . Ultimately, this did not occur and McCarthy voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment. Since that time and, in particular leading up...

 After Vladimir Putin launched his invasion into Ukraine, the U.S. Libertarian National Committee issued their position on the matter. After providing several paragraphs summarizing past exchanges between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., as well as the run-up to the First Russo-Ukrainian War of 2014, the LNC stated the following: “. . . A fundamental question must be asked here – are we willing to risk World War III over this conflict in Eastern Europe? ‘It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world.’ That was declared by George Washington in his farewell address at the end of a bloody revolution for independence. In his inaugural pledge, Thomas Jefferson opined clearly on foreign policy saying, ‘Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations – entangling alliances with none.’ ” (emphasis in the original) It then goes on to declare that the U.S. should cut its ties with NATO and concludes with the following statement: “...

To the Elders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: Greetings. The events of the past ~six years prompt me to remind you of your God’s statement concerning the U.S. Constitution, as conveyed to former President Joseph Smith: “And for this purpose have I established the Constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood.” (Doctrine and Covenants § 101:80) While this should be familiar to those who regularly study scripture, perhaps less familiar is Smith’s alleged “hanging thread” prophecy which, while not transcribed at the time it was given, was recollected by President George Q. Cannon, former First Counselor in the First Presidency, as follows: “The statement has been made that the Prophet said the time would come when this Constitution would hang as by a thread and this is true. There has been some confusion, however, as to just what he said following this. I think that Elder Orso...