Ron Paul on son’s detention by TSA: ‘Police state’ is ‘growing out of control’

Ron Paul on son’s detention by TSA: ‘Police state’ is ‘growing out of control’

Republican presidential candidate and Texas Rep. Ron Paul issued a sharply-worded statement in reaction to the detention of his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, by Transportation Security Administration agents in Nashville on Monday.

“The police state in this country is growing out of control,” Paul wrote in a statement provided to The Daily Caller. “One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our kids and our seniors and does nothing to keep us safe.”

Paul has been a vocal critic of the TSA, and is the sponsor of the “American Traveler Dignity Act,” which would remove TSA agents’ immunity from prosecution for implementing invasive pat-down procedures.

In Paul’s Monday statement, he noted, “my ‘Restore America Plan,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in one year, eliminates the TSA.”

“We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made America the greatest nation in human history,” he continued. “I am deeply committed to doing so as president of the United States.”

Rand Paul was detained on Monday after refusing a pat-down by TSA agents while attempting to board a flight to Washington, D.C.

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Ron Paul: Let's Make Friends With Iran

Ron Paul: Let's Make Friends With Iran

By ANNE FLAHERTY

WASHINGTON — GOP presidential hopeful Ron Paul says “offering friendship” to Iran, not sanctions, would be a more fruitful to achieving peace with Tehran.

The Texas congressman says fears about Iran’s nuclear program have been “blown out of proportion.” He says tough penalties are a mistake because, as he says was the case in Iraq, they only hurt the local population and still paved a path to war.

When asked on “Fox News Sunday” what he would do to deter Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions, Paul said “maybe offering friendship to them.”

Paul’s remarks put him at odds with both the Bush and Obama administrations; U.S. policy has relied heavily on sanctions and diplomacy to try to convince Tehran to abandon its atomic program. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

The libertarian-leaning Texas congressman, a longshot in the presidential campaign, said Sunday that Iran's nuclear weapons program has been "blown out of proportion." He said tough sanctions are a mistake, because in the case of Iraq, they only hurt the local population and still paved a path to war. (AP) SOURCE: