December 31, 2004

Dear Readers,
Here's to a happy and prosperous New Year for each and every one of you. We all know the terrible problems we face and how hard our government is working to prevent either prosperity or peace, but I hope you will join with me in the fight for justice and liberty, in whatever form you find most effective.

Please join me in praying for all of those left bereaved and homeless all over the world, especially the Middle East and Asia, beset by both natural and man made disasters. I pray for the world, especially people in governments everywhere, that they will learn integrity, justice and humility. Remember that we are commanded by the Lord to love and pray for our enemies and those who abuse us, especially when it is in His name that we are persecuted. It's hard to even contemplate doing that, but I'm making that my goal for this new year; to pray for them.

Thank you for your continued support. Your participation and comments are welcome. God bless and keep you in the new year. MamaLiberty

Libertarian Commentary on The News
By Nathan A. Barton © 2004

Opinions and comments found herein, especially this close to the end of the year, are those of the writer and not necessarily those of TPoL, FND, RRND, or the Old Year. Neither are the spellings.

South Asia: Tsunami toll above 77,000 [Estimates over 120,000]
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"As the world scrambled to the rescue, survivors fought over packs of noodles in quake-stricken Indonesian streets Wednesday while relief supplies piled up at the airport for lack of cars, gas or passable roads to move them. The official death toll across 11 countries soared past 77,000 and the Red Cross predicted it could exceed 100,000. Bodies were piled into mass graves in the belief that burial would ward off disease. Paramedics in southern India began vaccinating thousands of survivors against cholera, typhoid, hepatitis A and dysentery, and authorities sprayed bleaching powder on beaches where bodies have been recovered. In Sri Lanka, reports of waterborne disease such as diarrhea caused fears of an epidemic." (12/29/04)

Now government will really start to kill people - not just through the inaction or incompetence of government officials (unable to find their way out of a wet paper bag), but through malicious actions: refusing assistance from private organizations or (as we have seen in Africa) refusing food because it is gene-modified or may not comply with all their citizens’ dietary customs. At the same time, this article and others once more points out that journalists, for the most part, are pig-ignorant of what they write about - notice the remark about “in the belief that burial would ward off disease” and “bleaching powder.” Proper disposal of dead bodies (both human AND animal) is a critical part of all efforts to prevent massive epidemics and poisoning of the air and water - belief has nothing to do with it: rotting corpses provide natural breeding grounds for infected insects and other disease vectors that can then sweep through an area, among other things. “Bleach” is both a noun and a verb - and chlorine bleach (liquid or solid) is a key disinfectant, as well as an environmental pollutant.

Mama's Note: Watching this disaster develop and spread is simply heartbreaking, especially when we know that much will not be done that could be and would happen in a free world. I am praying constantly for all of the people in the affected areas, and thankful for the comfort we have here. And just think how much we could help them if over half of our income was not stolen from us, or if our country was not spending all of the vast billions in military occupation and presence all over the globe... and so much more. God help us all.

Someone pointed out that the people of the region hit the worst by this disaster are mostly Muslim and that there has not been a penny promised or donated by any Muslin country for the relief effort. Not a penny from the Saudi jillionaires or any of the rest of them. Interesting, if true - and I didn't notice bin Laden putting out a call to the faithful asking for donations either. (Read the rest of the Commentary here)

"Buy American" Hurts Americans
By Sheldon Richman

President Bush has a plan to address the so-called trade deficit, which worries people so much. According to the wire services, Bush said, “People can buy more United States products if they’re worried about the trade deficit.”

That will appeal to many Americans in a nationalistic fever. What could make them feel better than passing up inexpensive, high-quality, foreign-made products and buying pricier, American-made counterparts? But it won’t help the economy or the American people in general.

Frankly, I can’t tell whether President Bush is kidding or not. His phrase “if they’re worried about the trade deficit” implies that he doesn’t seriously mean what he said. But either way he has erred big time. If he means it, then he has fallen for one of the silliest fallacies imaginable. And if he doesn’t mean it, then he is deliberately propagating that fallacy. A president should be more careful. (Read the rest here)

FICAA.com Presents: The American Jury Hour with Iloilo Marguerite Jones and guests. Heard on The American Voice Radio Network , Thursday Afternoons, Noon Pacific, 1PM Mountain. The weekend rebroadcast of this week's program is at Sunday at 9:00 PM. .

Heard on The American Voice Radio Network American Voice Radio Network can be heard on:

C-Band Satellite at Galaxy 11 (formerly G-7), Transponder 12, Audio 8.1 Internet Streaming Audio (MP3 16kbps) C-Band and Internet Audio feeds are free with no subscription fee or sign up required whatsoever. (Read the rest here)

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