Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) posted a video to YouTube on Thursday applauding Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) for ordering the State Guard to monitor the upcoming military training exercise that will be taking place in Texas and six other western states.
The exercise, known as "Jade Helm 15," has sparked multiple conspiracy theories, including one that speculates the military will use shuttered Wal-Mart stores to stage its takeover of western states.
During the video, titled "Jade Helm: A Military Takeover?", the former congressman speculated about why Abbott had ordered this monitoring.
"You know it sounds like he's sort of sympathizing with people who have great concern about federal takeovers," Ron Paul said. "And, we don't know what his personal position is but at least legally he's saying that he's gonna send the guard in and sort of watch over what the feds will be doing this summer you know in this so called 'training.'"
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"I sense that the federal government has taken over," Paul said. "The CIA is very powerful. We have these special forces all over the world and we don't know who's really in charge. Who's the military, the CIA? They're the ones who direct the drones. So they're very much involved. And at home, the feds have taken over because they know everything about everybody and that's through NASA. They spy on everybody."
Paul mentioned NASA again before catching himself and talking about the NSA.
Paul said that martial law is a real possibility but added that he didn't think the country was quite there yet.
"I think this is very good that the governor has done this," Paul said. "I'm not at the point where I think this is the first step and six months from now you're gonna have see martial law all around the country and I sure hope I'm right on that."
Yeah, I hope so too.
I wonder if serious libertarians will ever understand that paranoid loons like Paul make it easy for the government to dismiss civil libertarian concerns about the NSA and the drones etc? I know it's thrilling to hear him say that taxes are theft and that property is God, but it's not worth it.