December 08, 2004

“Common Sense” was one of the watchwords of the American Revolution and the birth of Liberty in this Union - and one of the great victims of the growing power and influence of government in our nation today. In my views and comments on the news today, I want to see what “common sense” would be - in my opinion (not necessarily those of this publication, its publishers, FND, RRND, or anyone else!).

Baltimore expands snooper camera system
Baltimore Sun
Baltimore's 24-hour surveillance camera network, part of a regional homeland security effort, is being expanded to 3 high-crime areas and Canton waterfront. Although the new cameras will cover high-crime areas, the American Civil Liberties Union opposes the move and says the system violates privacy rights.

More and more cities are playing Big Brother, especially in the East - Baltimore does have serious crime problems, but they are reducing regular law enforcement efforts to pay for more welfare measures, AND raising taxes. It is time to bring down a few governments like Baltimore’s to end this kind of police state tactics. Common sense says that systems like this are so easily worked around by real criminals that it makes it harder to keep down the crime rate, because they do their work in more concealed places.

Minnesota cities in the business of private business
Pioneer Press
Many cities are feeding their hungry budgets by engaging in private businesses. According to the Pioneer Press, Minnesota cities operate a vast array of businesses ranging from coin-operated laundries to pest control.

This is a surprisingly balanced article, giving many of the reasons for and against the various (and surprisingly diverse) city-owned and operated businesses, including a large number of quotes from economists explaining why government owned businesses are a bad idea. The guvmint types all basically say “it ain’t our fault - the state and feds aren’t subsidizing us enough and we need more money” - or complain that no one else wants to do whatever their government is doing. Common sense says that whether it is a health club, a café (honest), a liquor store, ISP, or any other business, when government runs it someone is getting ripped off. If they spent the same amount of time and effort getting rid of barriers to private business (like permitting, zoning, labor laws, taxes, etc.) that they spend competing with them, their residents would have a far better “quality of life” than the governments can provide.

Minor “punishment” meted out to troops who balked in Iraq
Reuters
The U.S. military in Iraq has disciplined 18 soldiers who refused to go out on a transport convoy they thought was too dangerous, but the reservists will not face court-martial, a military spokesman said Monday. Lieutenant Colonel Steve Boylan said a further five would also face "non-judicial" punishment under Article 15 of the U.S. Military justice code, making 23 troops disciplined in this way.

It appears that common sense (see yesterday’s commentary) is breaking out all over. The so-called “mutiny” has been, it seems, dealt with appropriately, and the reservists won’t be joining the detainees in Guantanamo, despite hysterical fears. Common sense says that a reasonable amount of investigation and proper discipline works.

Mama's Note: Seems that a little better support of those people might be in order too. I've read quite a bit about how poorly these convoys are protected and how shoddy the equipment is. I have a feeling that this "punishment" isn't going to do wonders for the general morale of the troops either.

Saudi Arabia: Nine dead in attack on US consulate
Seattle Times
"Nine people, none of them Americans, died yesterday in an armed attack on the heavily guarded U.S. Consulate in Jiddah as Islamic radicals ended six months of relative calm in the desert kingdom with a new multiple-casualty attack on a Western target. Saudi officials blamed the strike on a network affiliated with al-Qaida that has killed more than 80 people in Saudi Arabia since May 2003, when suicide bombers devastated a housing compound in Riyadh, the capital, where many foreigners, including Americans, lived." (12/07/04)

Although it was (and has been) Arabs dying in these attacks, it is the US that is the target, and shows how much we need to divorce ourselves from Saudi Arabia and its corrupt government, people, and religion. The attack appeared to be well-planned, as such attacks go, but the consulate appeared to be prepared - a contrast to the way most government officials at home seem to want American citizens to disarm themselves. Common sense says that EVERYONE has the right to defend themselves, not just diplomats in Arabia.

Spain: Separatists bomb seven cities
Bradenton Herald
"Explosions rattled seven Spanish cities Monday following telephone warnings from the armed Basque separatist group ETA, in a resurgence of violence after months of keeping a low profile since the deadly Madrid train bombings by Muslim militants. Officials said ETA chose a highly symbolic day for a fresh show of force -- the anniversary of Spain's constitution, which established a system of regional autonomy the Basque group rejects. The nearly simultaneous explosions slightly injured 18 people. They stretched across Spain, with the apparent message that ETA can strike wherever it wants -- even with security forces on high alert because of five blasts Friday claimed by ETA." (12/07/04)

So ETA is back in the bombing business and Spain, despite all the increased “homeland-security” type actions and precautions - which apparently can do nothing to prevent these attacks. Unlike the previous Muslim attacks, these appeared to be designed to minimize casualties. Common sense says that the police-state tactics will NOT work to prevent such attacks, and effort should be instead spent to help people defend themselves and, when possible, end the reason for the war. Is there any reason why the Basque homeland cannot be free, if most of the people there wish it (as apparently they do)?

Afghanistan: Karzai sworn in
ABC News
"Hamid Karzai was sworn in Tuesday as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president, opening a new chapter for the impoverished country while warning that the wars against terrorism and drugs will require sustained international help. ... Wary of attacks by Taliban or al-Qaida militants, Afghan and international forces launched their biggest security operation since the Oct. 9 election that gave Karzai a landslide victory. Police sealed off the 2.5-mile route from Kabul's airport to the palace, and NATO troops patrolled the city on foot." (12/07/04)

Threatened massive attacks to disrupt the ceremony failed to materialize, but Afghanistan has a very long way to go to become a free nation.

Ireland: Sinn Fein backs peace plan for occupied counties
The Herald [UK]
"Hopes for a breakthrough in the stalled peace talks rose last night after Gerry Adams, the Sinn Fein president, backed a plan to revive power-sharing in Northern Ireland. The party confirmed that at a meeting of Sinn Fein leaders in Belfast, Mr. Adams said he believed the party could support proposals put forward by Tony Blair, prime minister, and Bertie Ahern, the Irish premier. ... Sinn Fein insisted the meeting did not discuss IRA weapons." (12/07/04)

I certainly cannot agree with this headline. To my knowledge, Northern Ireland continues to have a majority who wish to remain (for whatever reasons) British citizens and not Irish citizens. But it is important that some effort to restore peace is again being made. Common sense shows that Catholics and Protestants can live in peace together when statists on both sides let them, and don’t use the religious excuse to promote conflict.

Court: Stripper cop's free speech rights not violated
Richmond Times-Dispatch
"The naked truth, the Supreme Court says, is that the Constitution's free-speech guarantee doesn't protect a police officer who used the Internet to sell videotapes of himself stripping off his uniform and pretending to write tickets. The former San Diego police officer, identified in court papers only as 'John Roe,' contended his free-speech rights were violated when his bosses learned of his outside activities, gave him a warning, then fired him. The Supreme Court ruled against him without even hearing arguments. The justices issued an opinion that his speech 'was detrimental to the mission and functions of the employer.'" (12/07/04)

An interesting case - and in many ways, a victory for liberty: he was using his status as a government employee for his own profit, and in a way that did demean the people of San Diego, his employers.

Lawmakers back compromise on intel bill
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"Two powerful congressional chairmen, one who had opposed legislation to revamp the nation's intelligence agencies, endorsed a compromise Monday and moved a bill endorsed by President Bush closer to approval. House Armed Services chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and Senate Armed Services chairman John Warner, R-Va., announced that they would vote for the bill to implement the Sept. 11 commission's terror-fighting recommendations. Now that they have Hunter's support, GOP leaders plan to call House Republicans to a Tuesday morning meeting to discuss the compromise, the first step toward bringing legislation to the House floor for a vote." (12/06/04)

Sadly, not much common sense being shown by Congress here, but what do we expect? No word at all on whether the more distasteful parts of the bills - the amnesty for immigrants portion and the “national standards” for driver’s licenses - were changed in the slightest. And when you get right down to it, virtually none of these so called “terror-fighting” provisions will do that.

McCain knocks steroids, baseball
Arizona Republic
"Major-league baseball players are under pressure from Sen. John McCain and others to adopt more-stringent testing for steroids as their union's executive board [opened] a week of meetings [Monday] in Phoenix. Union chief Don Fehr confirmed Sunday that the union will discuss steroids at the meetings. 'This was always supposed to be a topic at this meeting,' [he said]. 'We've had ongoing discussions with the commissioner's office and it was always going to be a topic here, hopefully with a resolution coming out of it.' If there is no resolution, Congress may provide one, McCain warned. The Arizona Republican, appearing on Fox News Sunday, said President Bush would sign a bill into law. 'There's not a doubt in my mind. He'd love to,' said McCain, [adding] that Bush, too, would prefer that baseball act on its own." (12/06/04)

McCain obviously is seeking ways to keep his name in the spotlight in preparation for 2008 - even when the way is a completely worthless “crisis” that should not be the business of government. Common sense says that steroids are the business of the baseball companies and their customers - the advertisers and fans.

Mama's Note: This is another phony issue, actually. Almost everyone uses steroids of one kind or another these days. There are many different forms and only a few have any affect on the body in such a way as to enhance physical performance or build muscle. I can see why some men would be attracted to them, and I don't see why anyone else should really care. The actual amount of "enhancement" is small unless someone uses large doses over a long period of time, so a total ban is foolish.

As with so many other things, continued, long term use of these products can produce serious side effects and damage to the body, but moderate use is no more dangerous than any other chemical medications. Many people, such as some asthmatics, must use some forms of steroid medication in order to breathe, so unless they are going to cut all asthmatics and other medical users from the teams, they will have to deal with that somehow.

Bucketful of pennies used to pay traffic ticket
Fox News
"A Manti [Utah] man has a penny for Sanpete County's thoughts. About 8,200 of them, actually. Grant Petersen withdrew that many copper coins from his bank and delivered them in a bucket to pay an $82 fine he got for driving with a burnt-out headlight. Court officials are apparently not amused, and have asked Petersen to come back in and offer a more 'acceptable' form of payment. They say state policy allows clerks to reject unusual forms of payment, and it's going to waste county resources for someone to count all that change. Petersen says he doesn't plan on honoring that request. He says money is money, and U.S. law provides that coins are legal tender." (12/06/04)

The first thing I thought when I heard this is that $82 for a burned out headlamp is a ridiculous fine - Petersen chose an appropriate way to protest this, and the county is caught - either the money is good or it isn’t. Common sense says they have to take the pennies!.

Mama's Note: I heard of one case where the person wrote a check on toilet paper. That one didn't work, of course, since it wasn't a check the bank was prepared to honor either, but it did send a message, of sorts. Too bad most of these petty fiefdoms are not interested in the message at all - only the money.

Math + test = trouble for US economy
Christian Science Monitor
"For a nation committed to preparing students for 21st century jobs, the results of the first-of-its-kind study of how well teenagers can apply math skills to real-life problems is sobering. American 15-year-olds rank well below those in most other industrialized countries in mathematics literacy and problem solving, according to a survey released Monday. Although the notion that America faces a math gap is not new, Monday's results show with new clarity that the problem extends beyond the classrooms into the kind of life-skills that employers care about. And to the surprise of some experts, the US shortcoming exists even when only top students in each nation are considered." (12/07/04)

This kind of study is so difficult to prepare, and so easy to cant one way or another that common sense dictates that we take these results with a grain of salt. A very large one. And this smacks too much of the recent years’ effort to promote school-to-work - we can’t teach kids higher math because it isn’t the kind they need to work at Burger King.

Soldiers challenge "stop loss" policy
Boston Globe
"The first class-action lawsuit challenging a policy that allows the military to extend soldiers' terms of enlistment involuntarily is expected to be filed today in federal court in Washington. The Center for Constitutional Rights seeks a hearing this week on a request for an injunction on behalf of soldiers subject to what are known as stop loss orders. Such orders authorize the military to suspend nearly all discharges, transfers, and retirements, and to retain soldiers who have been deployed or whose units have been alerted for deployment. As troop strength is strained by activity in Iraq and Afghanistan, thousands of active-duty soldiers and reservists are forced to remain in uniform after fulfilling the terms of their contracts. Many could be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan for second or third tours of combat." (12/06/04)

The plain truth is that these people signed a contract that makes it very clear (on page 2, not in “fine print hidden” someplace) that they agree that the Army can extend them for the “duration.” Whether they claim to have understood it or not, they were adults and in their right mind when they signed up - it is part of the terms of their contracts. “Bait and switch” may be what they feel it is, but it was right there in plain English.

Social [sic] workers attempt to steal blind parents' baby
Mercury News
"Like any new father, Marco Zepeda was nervous changing his newborn's diaper for the first time. His hands shook. He fumbled with the sticky seals and sealed one side more snugly than the other. But he never imagined that would propel child protection officials to consider taking custody of his baby. ... Zepeda and his wife are blind, and they believe that's why they were targeted by employees of Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City and San Mateo County social workers. Officials from the hospital didn't return calls, and county officials declined to comment on the specifics of the couple's situation but said the process the couple went through was common. That's not so, say activists for the blind. 'This day and age, we only see cases like this in remote parts of the country,' said Chris Gray, president of the American Council of the Blind, based in Washington, D.C." (12/06/04)

“Nannies” is a better word - and the way they treat these blind parents is only different in degree, not in kind, from the way they treat everyone. If this isn’t stopped, we’ll all have the “social workers” looking over out shoulders. All the time.

Illinois: "Old soldier" captures intruder; sheriff steals his guns
Macomb Journal
"Leonard Gamage is sore today, which is understandable since he spent more than 45 minutes fighting off an intruder late Friday. Gamage, 87, suffered some bumps and bruises in a pair of fights with the intruder, who is an unidentified 20-year man. Leonard told the Journal he does feel good about still having the ability to defend his home. 'I'm an old soldier,' Gamage said. 'I was in quite a few scuffles in the Army. I feel like I can still go if I have to.' ... Ironically, Gamage lost the very rifle that may have saved his life. 'I do not have a gun permit so they had to take my rifles,' Gamage said. 'The sheriff told me if I get my permit, he would see what he could do to help me get them back.'" (12/05/04)

Being punished for doing good may be a common thing for this man, but it does not make Illinois’s laws right or moral or constitutional. Why on earth should anyone need a permit to have a rifle in his own home, and why should he be left in his own, known to the public and completely without the ability to protect himself? Apparently this intruder is still at large, and has friends, and now Mr. Gamage is unprotected.

Busted: Ambulance driver tries to pick up prostitute
Ananova [UK]
"Police in Canada impounded an ambulance after arresting the driver for trying to pick up a prostitute. Saskatoon police used the province's anti-prostitution law to seize the brand new ambulance. An Alberta ambulance company will have to pay towing and impound fees to get it back. The 58-year-old ambulanceman was arrested and charged with soliciting, reports CBC Saskatchewan. Under Saskatchewan's anti-prostitution legislation, police are allowed to seize the vehicles of people who are charged with prostitution offenses." (12/06/04)

If it were his private car, of course, there would be little chance of getting it back - a situation which has happened in many States of the Union.

11 arrested after being directed to wrong courtroom
Jacksonville Times-Union
"Eleven people directed to the wrong courtroom in the Seminole County Courthouse were arrested and jailed when they didn't appear before the proper judge, who was in an adjoining courtroom less than 100 feet away. The six men and five women spent eight hours Friday in a Seminole County Jail cell before everything was straightened out. 'I'm hungry, I'm tired and I'm disgusted,' said Frantarshia Coleman, after she was released from jail. 'This is ridiculous. This is disgusting.' Coleman, 33, of Orlando was in court on a ticket for not having her registration and proof of insurance. She had a wrinkled, yellow traffic ticket indicating her hearing was in Courtroom 1B. She and the others were supposed to be in 1A." (12/04/04)

Ah, government! Common sense dictates that people like this shouldn’t be allowed out on the street without a keeper, much less allowed to put on black robes and high-faluting airs!

Nathan Barton is a libertarian writing today en route across the West, dodging storms and looking for more common sense among the inhabitants! See Nathan's own blog, Liberty's Outpost.

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