I understand now... people have been going about getting elected all wrong.

Rather than promise lip service about semi-rationale, tangible ideas you as a candidate never intend on delivering once elected, just go for broke and throw out some really nutty stuff.

Moats and fire water... fighting dragons and offering lunar space trips.... Sure, the tired old security, democracy, and a balanced budget all sound great, but communing with angels and ridding the civilized world of evil doers while feeding and educating the sick and hungry promises so much more awesomeness....

The light of hope on the horizon....

oh wait.

Given that a large chunk of "sex offenders" have nothing to do with child molestation, the idea of being exiled away on an island where I can help pick my own cops and design my own kind of constitution doesn't sound like the worst punishment imaginable these days!

Maybe if they pick a bit larger island a bit further away from the US, I might have to go running naked through the neighborhood!

Sorry, but his ideas are not nearly as crazy as what passes for mainstream policy these days -- insane, indefensible wars to steal resources and murder hundreds of thousands of innocents and leave behind depleted uranium which will pollute the environment for millions of years, shredding the Bill of Rights, continuing to warm the globe ensuring the end of civilization, putting people in prison for years and turning them into bitter and disturbed individuals because they were caught using drugs, allowing criminal banksters to have unlimited bailouts and making the victims of their criminal activity pay for it, spending more on the military budget than the rest of the world combined when there is no significant enemy state, not providing health care for the needy when the country can afford it, etc... It goes on and on.

This guy is relatively sane to what we've got now.

If nothing else, at least he wasn't suggesting capital punishment..!

••• it's called The Vatican! ☺☺☺

"Rand Paul"? Really? Rand Paul?

I really don't see any difference in either party when it comes to general whackyness.

Economy: whacked-out.
Environment: whacked-out.
Warmongering: (Really) whacked-out.
Healthcare: whacked-out.
Public School System: whacked-out.

Our current situation(s) were set in place by the democratic party and their brothers and sisters at the GOP. Hardly the bastions of anything but "whackos", don't you think?

Your subject matter is fine, but cut the general assumption that Paul is any more "whacko" that the rest. It demeans your subject before anyone can read it.

At this sad moment in our nation's history, why do you think democrats are any better at rational & critical thinking than anyone else?

Obama was their best shot in decades, and look at how he turned out.

Hughes doesn't seem totally nuts, Abby.

Remember, according to Obama (or someone speaking with his voice) government have the right to keep people locked up FOREVER and even killed, at the whim of whoever's operating the presidential puppet that day.

To me, that sounds orders of magnitude crazier, more appalling, and inhumane than exiling people to some island Coventry because of their putatively irremediable danger to others.

Inasmuch as harmful/criminal sexual deviance remains largely incurable AFAIK, separation from the mainstream makes sense.

Sealing arbitrary political borders is ridiculous.

Marriage has lost some of its meaning and purpose, and thank goodness to the extent that blind tradition and paternalistic hereditary property rights have nothing to do with stable loving adult relationships. Some countries have a one-year waiting period for divorce. A one-year waiting period for marriage is worth discussing, too (as are alternatives to traditional marriage).

But basically, the fellow is taking the opportunity of his candidacy's media attention to float some off-the-wall ideas, probably just to get attention but possible because he believes in the ideas, who knows.

Good posts all!

And, considering what we know about the 'Focus on the Family' guy, who traveled with his very own 'rent-a-boy', recently......Including all the politicos who are always protesting too much.....

Well. It would not at all surprise me.

God bless the GOP. They want less government interference in our lives. That means passing laws about marriage, enslaving convicted sex offenders, putting up barbed wire borders, etc. The only people less sensible are fundamentalists--oh, I forgot, they are all republicans.

Hey, I do like the idea of putting serious sex offenders - not just pedophiles, but them, especially - on an island to fend for themselves. I've often wondered what to do about violent sex offenders who should not be released - ever - back into society. I like this idea!

I'll happily go teach them organic farming and get them started on self-sufficiency. Probably need a larger island, though, for all the violent, unrepentent recidivists who cannot be tamed to live in civil society.

All you have to do is look at who he's named after to see what Rand Paul stands for.

The obsession with child molesters always boggles my mind. I mean, don't children have even more immediate threats in their horizon? How many kids are actually being sexually molested out there? I guess that fear keeps people distracted.

The vast majority of children in the US are victimized by neglect. Why are children neglected? The parents are impoverished, drug addled, or mentally ill. What creates those issues or causes them to flourish? Capitalism, the drug war, the for-profit health care system.

Not that I think that child molesters aren't pieces of shit, but giving them their own island could embolden them in a way. It sounds like a horror movie in fact. The man proposing this has to know this. He has to know he's pandering to fear.

Perhaps if we ensured all Americans had free health care, education, guaranteed well-paying jobs, clean air and water, food to eat, shelter, equal rights, we wouldn't have as many abusers out there as we do. Our predatory system creates predators or simply bad parents.

There is something so rotten on this side of the Atlantic! Do you hear anybody having the same discourse in Holland, Sweden, France? WTF is wrong with this country?

Exactly phorlan. It's maddening. Just bear in mind that the people proposing these things are not really looking out for the best interests of rank and file Americans and are thusly not truly reflective of their attitudes.

Whenever a politican uses the words "sex offenders" or "terrorists" watch out. Those are words designed to cause a knee-jerk reaction so you support whatever draconian measures they propose.

"And you know how i do appreciate your posts........But this time i need to speak from years of professional experience with indivuduals who frequently have histories of being victimized in this way. It is very prevalent. This includes incest of course."

Ok Rita, but aren't kids more likely to be sexually abused by a family member (incest as you say) or someone they know than they are by a creep driving around in a van? That's the kind of hysteria I'm talking about, the kind perpetuated by TV shows like "To Catch A Predator" and the like.

I'm not saying that it isn't prevalent, but how many kids in 1,000 are actually being sexually molested? I keep getting different statistics. And isn't mere neglect way more prevalent than sexual or even physical abuse?

Exactly lessthanlickable.

This is where all inside the beltway should reside
except the poor, they should be running Capitol Hill.

America's 'sex predator' laws are considered so bizarre across the Atlantic, that the conservative English magazine 'The Economist' devoted a Cover story to the topic a couple months ago (mostly, they're chagrined to find the developing nations aping America). Among the examples of abuse they cited was a girl, 18, who performed fellacio on her 17 yr old boyfriend, was found out, put on probation, neglected to appear, and is now doing a year in jail. AND, she'll be on the sex predator register for the REST of her life. (with no information given about whether she's someone who likes kids, or what).

I personally think America's off-the-scale drug and sex predation problems are related to its go-go capitalism, which takes a hammer to family life and free time (time for reflection). But, maybe its more obvious than that. Maybe its just good for rightwing politicians...

"We love democracy"

Democracy isn't the problem. It's Liberalism. USan liberalism is the enabling ideology. We saw USan liberals write an endless stream of blank checks to the extreme right gutter warriors past ten years. And they're going to reap that harvest for years to come. Do actions not have consequences?

'Pedophile Island' A Sequel Series to 'Fantasy Island'.

Tatto: "LOOK, It's the Pedalphiles, It's the Pedalphiles"

Or a sequel to 'Gilligan's Island' renamed 'Pedophile's Island'

Gilligan: "Skipper -Skipper, how come we've been exiled to this Island?"

Skipper: "Little Buddy, remember that hummer you got from that girl -We'll she was Jail-Bait, and remember that Porno Site I was visiting, those little darlin's were a bit too 'underage' & that's why were here little Buddy"

Gilligan: "But how come Mr. Howell is here Skipper?"

Skipper: "Little Buddy, remember all those Catholic Priests that have been in the news
lately...."

Gilligan: "Never mind Skipper, I get the picture

Skipper: "Mrs. Howell turned in Mr. Howell when she discovered some (gulp) pictures of Altar boys under his Pillow...

He's crazy, and he will probably win.

Good thoughts frankhammer.