If you venture over to TinyURL, you’ll notice something slightly different about their website. There’s a small graphic in the top right with Ron Paul’s face, with the text “We Support Ron Paul.” Clicking on the image brings you to Paul’s presidential campaign’s website.

Does that not sit well? Do you want your abbreviated URLs to come from a site that doesn’t want to abolish the IRS and pretty much all of the federal government?

Some of the more popular alternatives are:

» urlTea – dead simple replica of TinyURL’s service.
» DecentURL – same deal, but you can add your own extension.
» Snipr – Add your own extension, title tag, and get password protection

Still not enough? Here’s a directory of 100 similar websites. Pick your poison.

For more on the ideology of Ron Paul, read this takedown of his record in Congress, and then read Glenn Greenwald’s rebuttal.

And for the record, I don’t agree with Ron Paul ideologically, but I support his campaign, albeit a quixotic one.