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July 23,
2004
The opinions
and views expressed in this column reflect those of the writers, editors
and columnists therein [{STOP PUSHING! It's my turn to run the fingers!!!}{NO,
you did it this morning! Now I get to!}{Oh, why don't you all just be
quiet and let me SLEEP!}] and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
of TPoL, its bosses, minions, wee folk, officers, directors or employees
(well, Susan wishes), FMN, FND, or much of anyone else.
To get FND, click here.
1- 9/11
terrorists stopped by security, allowed to continue
If you ever wondered what could be trusted to government, and government
contractors, now you know - not a single blessed thing. And why didn't
this come out on the 12th of September 2001? Remember, "We're here
to help you! We're from the government."
2- TSA's
baggage screening falls short
Every day, think about how many people are getting past the "Thousands
Standing Around," just like those five did on that Pentagon plane
on Bloody Tuesday. It is time, past time, to allow people, starting with
pilots and stews and right on down to baggage handlers and passengers,
to be prepared to defend themselves, and not depend on mercenaries, WG
scale or not.
3- Pentagon
'needs' over $12 billion to make it through September
When it comes to combat or field operations in general, the congressionally-invented
DoD budgeting system can be guaranteed to do one thing well - be wrong.
(Mama's
note: I can't find the article now, of course, but it seems recently it
was revealed that there were billions of our dollars that simply got lost
at the Pentagon. Maybe we should insist they "find" that before
we let them have any more. And don't tell me we can't because "there
is a war going on". All the more reason to stop that insanity and
bring the troops home where they belong.)
4- 9/11
commission: failure of imagination, not of government
All together now, whitewash? whitewash! Read the volumes of books written
about Pearl Harbor, and shudder - we haven't seen the last of this commission
or the other dozen or so that will dissect how the USG FAILED to protect
the continental US while spending billions overseas.
5- Join
the U.S. military and get plastic surgery on taxpayer tab
This is certainly a benefit I never knew about (until now) after 25 years
in dirty-shirt blue! Actually, the practice makes sense. I have a strong
suspicion that the number of "volunteer benefit" surgeries has
dropped since the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, as there are now more
serious needs for those surgeon's hands.
6- U.S.
copyright bill to kill tech developments?
This is the equivalent of suing gun-makers, McDonalds, and even tobacco
manufacturers (ever wonder why nobody ever sues tobacco FARMERS?); a preemptive
attempt to control everything about us while making more money for lawyers.
(Mama's
note: It would be pretty hard to sue the tobacco farmers without revealing
the fact that they are still be subsidized by the taxpayers! Yes indeed!
They get part of the agricultural pork that so distorts the market and
keeps things artificially expensive, the same as all the other corporations
sucking at the federal tit. You get to pay for everything at least twice,
even things you can't afford to buy! . Now, what I want to know is why
that doesn't make a lot more people boiling mad?)
7- Lawyers'
guild: Don't scapegoat lawyers and judges
Well, if they'd just establish a hunting season...
8- Bush
signs pharmaceutical welfare bill
This is part of the anti-terrorism, homeland security package, and actually
a bit more supportable than most of the giveaway, but all this really
does is fuel work that the various companies are already doing, figuring
everything they did would be able to be sold to the government or overseas!
So we throw more money away.
Mama's
note: How in the world can the use of stolen goods be "supportable"
in any way? Government does not produce anything at all. It can only "give"
what it steals from others. There is no justification whatsoever for theft,
government or any other, no matter what it is used for. On top of that,
giving some people the ability to pay for medications with other people's
money simply encourages them to take more and more pills, most of which
they don't need in the first place. Everybody loses on this deal, as with
any welfare scheme.
9- Clear
Channel sues Stern distributor
I guess Stern's stuff flows downhill. This is like the killer suing the
ammo manufacturer, isn't it?
10- Congresscritters
play politics with drugs, Social Security
And what is new? The Democrats, and most Republicans, get very ill very
quickly about even tinkering with Social Security, so it is a powerful
political weapon even when the accusations are way off.
11- Minnesota
AG's idea of fixing health care is more socialism
To be followed by balancing the federal budget, paying off the national
debt, and of course, electing the "dream team" of Abe Lincoln
and Franklin D Roosevelt, after bringing them back from the dead.
12- New
York legislature deemed dysfunctional
Now you have to admit, in a Union that has California and New Jersey,
for New York to win this coveted title as "Most Dysfunctional Legislature"
is a real coup! It is no longer, of course, a matter of ignoring them
and they'll go away - perhaps we could sign them all up for Minnesota's
new mental health improvement program!
(Mama's
note: I really like the suggestion made by Dorothy Seese: "Save the
tea, throw the politicians into Boston harbor." Unfortunately, we'd
then be truly guilty of polluting the harbor, wouldn't we?)
13- Porcupines
gather in New Hampshire
I shall refrain from saying anything at all about what is going on in
NH - even I have to draw the line somewhere!
14- Utah
pols angling to rejoin MATRIX?
No doubt Swendiman (what an ironically apt name) had to go back and reread
Mein Kampf and the story of how Hitler manipulated the Reichstag in his
rise to total power.
15- Maryland
gov borrows $400 million
They got a low rate by electronic auction! Now, talk about an abuse of
technology - imagine an entire section of eBay devoted to various government
ponzi schemes! And don't be surprised by all those mortgage spams - someone
in Annapolis may be pushing them.
16- South
Carolina judges rule against Sunday beer, wine sales
This doesn't appear to be a case of residual "blue laws" but
something far worse - a panel of judges (not a jury, but a house of lords)
deciding that the vote of the people wasn't really what the people thought
it was - a frequent situation across the Union, when local governments
dislike their citizens circulating petitions and overturning decisions
of their elected "leaders" by popular vote, and run to the courts
to void the entire thing. After all, election, like elevation to the purple
in ancient Rome, confers godhood on the Commissioners, Council Members,
etc. - heaven forbid mere mortals second-guess them.
17- Michigan
county to tighten smoking ban?
"It was our general consensus that (smokers) won't have a place to
go, so maybe they'll quit." Right. More likely, only after they've
been gunned down by a policeman for going berserk over being told they
can't. And then what will Michigan do for its tax money?
(Mama's
note: Sure they'll quit, just like all the folks who like to smoke pot
quit when the Feds passed laws against it. The definition of insanity
is doing the same thing over and over, expecting different results. I
guess you don't have to be insane to be a politician, but I'm sure it
helps.)
18- Indiana
Medicare recipients' records to go online
Notice what Thompson's priority is - not prescription records, or medical
test records, to help them and their care-providers. No, it is critical
that the patient can review their BILLING records first. Enuf said.
19- Florida
man charged with massive Acxiom data theft
This is a legitimate prosecution on the face of it, but why federal and
not state?
Mama's
note: When are people going to get smart enough to encrypt their data?
Then nobody can steal it.
20- Nevada
health nannies go nuts with West Nile fear
If you want a scare, go read your hometown "property management code"
and count the violations that they could get you with, and the penalties,
day after day after day, even over things you have no control over. Fortunately,
usually only those who get their neighbors mad at them, or something like
this panic over West Nile, cause really serious crackdowns. It'll go away
with the next scare de jour.
21- Nader
sues to get on Texas presidential ballot
Good luck to Nader - it was only a lot of work and patience that got the
third-party limits cut - and they are still a bear. Nader isn't likely
to change it in time for the election unless he's running again in 2012.
22- Israel
gov to tighten immigration?
This is a strange little tale, but in a way, it is a good sign that a
bureaucrat (even an elected one in the parliamentary system the Israelis
use) doesn't have to power to openly discriminate on flimsy criteria.
23- Kiwi
PM wants her own airplane
Got to keep up with the Joneses - and the taxpayers (excuse me, ratepayers
in Queen's English) won't get nearly so upset with paying ten times as
much, since the plane won't cause traffic jams the way the motorcade did.
24- Puerto
Rico gov calls in National Guard to help with drug war
While support of the police is a traditional role for National Guard,
the drug-war version of it is not. Will troops used to having to engage
in fire fights in Baghdad or Falujah be able to adjust their responses
and reflexes to an American city? Or is this going to be a test in more
than one way.
Mama's
note: What so many people seem to forget is that the "war on drugs"
is NOT about the drugs at all, it's about money and power. The government
certainly doesn't want any real solution to the "drug problem",
and if it went away they would soon find something else to take its place.
There is serious evidence available to suggest that if the drug supply
runs too low in the US, there are government operatives that make sure
more of it comes in. They wouldn't want to run out of people to push around
and rob, now would they?
Tobacco
and alcohol are already part of this game and will probably become moreso
soon. The questions now is: how soon before vitamins and food supplements,
indeed certain foods themselves, join medications and medical devices
under total control of government and their stooge doctors? Don't believe
it? Start reading ConsumerFreedom.com
and find out all the dirty tricks being cooked up to limit your choices.
25- Russian
gov to tighten controls of NGOs?
Just remember - Paris in the late 1790s and early 1800s is the best example
of what can be happening in Moscow today, as we see a new authoritarianism
blending into plain old-fashioned Russian totalitarianism.
26- Canadian
PM: we will decriminalize marijuana
Now unlike some other things that are trying to placate the Prairie Provinces
(but won't), Martin's target this time is British Columbian and urban
centers like Toronto, Windsor, and other cities - no doubt hoping for
a bit of increase in tourism from the US too. But notice, he intends to
reintroduce the legislation - he didn't say it would actually PASS.
Well, somehow,
I got no FND yesterday, and two today, but you all can enjoy all the comments,
as well as the stories themselves. Be sure and thank Sunni, Susan (Mama
Liberty), and all their staff (well, we can pretend!) for their fine work.
Click
here for Page 2, Commentary from Nathan for yesterday's FMD list that
I commented on yesterday. Confused yet? Good, you are in good company
here. <G> MamaLiberty
For more
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Nathan Barton is a christian and libertarian, by definition a troubled
soul these days in pre-Caesarine America. Any comments on his comments
should be sent to TPoL to forward to him.
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