March 14, 2005

Ah, the statists have been busy the last few days, indeed. Let's see how much I get to you without getting you bored! Of course, the level of boredom I may be willing to put up with is NOT necessarily what you are willing to do, but that is one place where YOUR opinion (and your finger on the mouse button) really, really count in this site. Your opinion is always important, but just remember, my opinions as expressed herein are NOT necessarily those of TPoL or anyone else!

Iraq: Pipeline attacked as relatives mourn their dead
Guardian [UK]
"Weeping relatives gathered in small groups Friday to bury 50 people killed by a suicide bomber in [Mosul], after canceling a mass funeral procession for fear of another attack. As the mostly Shiite Muslim families mourned their dead, Iraq's main Shiite and Kurdish coalitions agreed in Baghdad on a deal divvying up the top three posts in the new government, but differences remained over the deployment of Arab troops in ethnic Kurdish areas. North of the capital, insurgents [sic] blew up an oil pipeline in the latest attack targeting the country's fragile economic infrastructure." (03/12/05)

This is the follow-up story; my comments are after that.
Iraq: Suicide bomber kills 47 at funeral
Detroit Free Press
"A suicide attacker set off a bomb that tore through a funeral tent jammed with Shiite mourners Thursday, splattering blood and body parts over rows of overturned white plastic chairs. The attack, which killed 47 and wounded more than 100, came as Shiite and Kurdish politicians in Baghdad said they overcame a major stumbling block to forming a new coalition government. The explosion, in a working class neighborhood of this northern city, destroyed a large tent pitched next to a smaller one on a grassy patch in the courtyard of a mosque." (03/10/05)

Yeah - the "freedom fighters" are too busy fighting their own brethren of a different sect to fight the infidel, right? The history of Islam from about fifteen minutes after Mohammed died: one of the major reasons that the West has been able to launch counteroffensives against the rising tide of Islam over the past 1300 years is this kind of internal bloodletting, both intra-Arab and by Arabs on most other ethnic groups that are either Muslim or infidel. Can ANY Islamic nation, much less Iraq, have a truly free republican and democratic form of government, in which the people have even as much freedom as modern Americans? Literally these people operate on the principle that if they can't have it their way, everything must be destroyed.

Georgia: Killer captured after more murders and kidnappings
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel
"A man being escorted into court for his rape trial Friday stole a deputy's gun, killed the judge and two other people and carjacked a reporter's vehicle to escape, setting off a massive manhunt and creating widespread chaos across Atlanta, police said. Hundreds of officers in cruisers and helicopters swarmed the area in the search of the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Brian Nichols. The suspect, a former computer technician, had raised an alarm a day earlier when he was found in court with two handmade knives hidden in his shoes, prosecutors said. The rampage led to chaos around the city, with schools, restaurants and office buildings locking down amid fears that the suspect might strike again." (03/12/05)

So much for the vaunted security system - they can't even protect their own weapons from a determined (and desperate) man. But this will be an excuse for thousands of places to crack down more, and will cause even more paranoia among judges, triggering an increase in an epidemic of fear among the people in black robes.

Investors dump stocks as trade deficit grows
St. Paul Pioneer Press
"Investors preoccupied with inflation extended Wall Street's decline Friday, selling stocks sharply lower in response to a ballooning U.S. trade deficit. The drop, which came in spite of a bullish sales outlook from Intel Corp., left the market substantially lower for the week. Wall Street was unnerved as the Commerce Department reported the trade deficit widened to the second highest level after November's record reading." (03/12/05)

Just a reminder that the stock market, unlike most markets where REAL goods are bought and sold, are irrational and given to flights of panic. "Unnerved" is as good a word as any. Of course, any market can be subject to fears: look at the current fuel prices as an example, with much of the nation reaching new records. But such things in the buying and selling of lumber, or food, or clothing, are generally aberrations - with Wall Street it is a permanent state of affairs.

Judge: Leno can tell Jackson jokes
Macon Telegraph
"Jay Leno can let loose his best Jacko zingers again after the judge in the singer's molestation trial said Friday his gag order doesn't cover jokes. The late-night talk-master used stand-in comics to roast the King of Pop after he got a subpoena in the case. Leno and NBC lawyers thought he was under a sweeping gag order that bars witnesses and lawyers from discussing anything about the case. But Judge Rodney Melville said jokes don't count -- the only things the 'Tonight Show' host can't discuss are 'the specific facts that he is a witness to.'" (03/12/05)

Whew! Had me worried there for a while - if Leno can't joke, civilization's last hours must be upon us!

South Dakota: Smoking ban coming to a petition near you?
Aberdeen News
A South Dakota state representative whose smoking-ban bill died in the 2005 Legislature says he's hearing from people who want to put the ban on the ballot. A petition drive is a "tempting idea," said Rep. Larry Frost, R-Aberdeen, who added that he is considering it. Any petitions would have to be ready by the spring of next year and would need to be signed by 5 percent of those who voted for governor in the last election. That's 16,728 signatures. Frost's ill-fated bill would have banned public smoking everywhere but in designated motel and hotel rooms.

Thanks to Aaron for this one. Stinks worse than second-hand smoke, doesn't it? But that's not all, from South Dakota, by any means - look at this next one and simmer a bit more-

South Dakota: Find out where the beef's from
South Dakota law also sets standards for cattle industry. Consumers will be able to find out where the beef they buy came from, even the ranch where a calf was born, under a new measure signed into law Tuesday by South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds and aimed at raising cattle prices for the state's farmers and ranchers. The South Dakota Certified Beef Program allows consumers to visit an Internet site and use a code on the meat label to track the animal from birth, through a feedlot and to a meatpacking plant. Only meat from South Dakota cattle that are tracked electronically and raised according to program standards would qualify for an official state trademark or seal. State officials hope the program will improve cattle prices for South Dakota farmers and ranchers by assuring customers that the steak, roast and hamburger is of the highest quality and safety.

Thanks to Sunni for this one. Be sure and read her comments on it at her blog. I'll add to her comments - first negative: like she says, what happens when someone gets sick of this "premium beef" and sues the State of South Dakota which guaranteed the quality? I personally have nothing to do directly (and very little to do indirectly) with SD's beef industry, but I pay (way too much) taxes to support those 13,000 or so SD bureaucrats, lawmakers, and such - and the defense of lawsuits against them and the payment of rewards from those lawsuits. Also, as she points out, the costs may well exceed the benefits, if the marketing mavens really have blown it in believing that someone in San Diego or Philly really cares about whether the cow was fed on South Dakota grass and corn and not on Albertan, or Texan, or Sonoran pastures and feedlots. And who will suffer? The 850 or so ranchers who have signed up for this - and everyone tied to them economically, directly OR indirectly. Yeah, it's voluntary - just like a few years ago when the elk ranchers voluntarily began conception to plate tracking of their herds, to "reduce consumer fear" over various things like Chronic Wasting Disease. Now, SD ranchers who don't have a bundle to invest, not just in the livestock, but in the records and equipment, and the GPS and everything else, just aren't getting into the elk ranching business. The same thing could have been accomplished, in both cases, withOUT government action - a private organization, with reasonable bonding and a good underwriter could have done the same thing - still could, in fact, except for the fact that someone wrote all these stinkin' laws.

Mama's Note: Seems to me that anybody who is that worried about it can just grow their own or go in with someone else who does. Actually, that's not a bad idea, especially considering the price we'll soon have to pay for it in the market.

California: mail theft epidemic
Japan Herald
Investigators with the Monterey County Sheriff's Department say that mail theft is an epidemic in Monterey County, and that people are stealing checks and credit card numbers out of peoples' mailboxes. But the crimes are especially hard to solve because police officials don't get much cooperation from the credit card companies, police say. Authorities say that the companies don't like to give police the account numbers because they're afraid of getting sued. "Banks and credit card companies aren't as cooperative as they could be. They're the ones who will lose it, and they should be working more with law enforcement agencies to apprehend these people," said Monterey County Sheriff's Department spokesman Terry Kaiser. The Monterey Police Department recently sent one of its officers to a special class, where he built a computer to help fight crimes like identity theft. The officer said that a lot of people put too much information on their computers without making sure they have a firewall to prevent hackers from getting to it.

Well, unintended consequences, indeed! Efforts to fight cyber crime and identify theft seem to be making it easier for the crooks, right? Especially when government is involved.

Mama's Note: Anybody who is interested in safety and privacy has a post office box or a locked box on the street. The days of the old fashioned open mailbox are long over.

Florida: Schiavo murder plot moves forward
San Mateo Daily Journal
"A judge ruled Thursday that Florida's social services agency cannot intervene to delay the removal of the feeding tube keeping brain-damaged Terri Schiavo alive. Meanwhile, a Southern California businessman offered to pay $1 million to the woman's husband if he transfers the legal right to decide her medical treatment to her parents, who are fighting to keep her alive. The Department of Children & Families had asked for a 60-day delay in the March 18 date for removal. The agency said it wanted time to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect against the woman's husband, Michael Schiavo. But Judge George W. Greer said those allegations and many others had been investigated in the past and found to be groundless." [Editor's note: Other news accounts indicate that the $1 million offer was rejected -- Michael Schiavo apparently wants his wife dead more than he wants the money - TLK] (03/11/05)

There are more tactics being tried, as the situation gets desperate - now ask your statist friends how they can trust a judicial system like this with ANYthing important.

Senators may block Social Security vote
MSNBC
"President Bush's bid to add individual accounts to Social Security faces such formidable opposition in the Senate that its supporters may be unable to bring it to a vote, according to a Washington Post survey of senators. An overwhelming majority of Democratic senators said they will oppose, under any circumstances, Bush's plan to allow younger workers to divert a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes into individual investment accounts that would follow them into retirement. A few others said they will not support such accounts if they require substantial government borrowing. Even many Republicans say that is inevitable because the alternative involves unacceptably large cuts in benefits and/or tax increases to replace the diverted taxes." (03/10/05)

And this kind of chest-beating and wailing is over a mere 4% of the total collected in Social Security taxes today! Imagine what it would be like if it really was a privatization plan! And yes, news this weekend claims that Bush is backing down on it - even this little bit of attempt to bring the realities of economics and bookkeeping and finance into the grand Ponzi scheme.

US to give Iran incentives to stop nukes
Tampa Tribune
"President Bush has decided to offer modest economic incentives to Iran in exchange for Tehran's abandoning its nuclear enrichment program, two senior administration officials said Thursday. As recommended by the European leaders who have been negotiating with Iran, the incentives include possible membership for Iran in the World Trade Organization and the sale of commercial aircraft parts to Tehran. In exchange for offering incentives, the United States obtained a firm agreement from Britain, France and Germany to refer the matter to the U.N. Security Council for sanctions if Iran does not permanently drop its nuclear program, said the two officials." (03/10/05)

A bit more "jaw-jaw" to prevent "war-war." I personally don't think that Iran will take the bait - they WANT to goad the US some more, and split Europe from the US even more.

Syria faces ultimatum from US
MSNBC
"A top UN envoy will tell President Bashar Assad that Syria will face political and economic isolation if he does not completely and quickly withdraw from Lebanon, UN and U.S. officials said yesterday. In a meeting set for tomorrow, Terje Roed-Larsen plans to inform Syria that the international community is united in insisting that Damascus comply with UN Resolution 1559 -- and is prepared to impose wide punitive sanctions if it does not act quickly, the officials said." (03/10/05)

More talking, and why should Damascus (after close to 20 years) pay any attention? The problem is, Syria gets more from Lebanon than it will lose from these so-called sanctions; for there will be plenty of folks eager to ignore them.

Greenspan: Budget deficits pose big threat
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday that future budget deficits pose a bigger risk to the economy than record trade imbalances and the country's extremely low savings rate. In a wide-ranging speech, Greenspan said he believed the United States' flexible economy would be able to deal with current concerns over trade and savings." (03/10/05)

Maybe - the implication is that we are NOT flexible enough to deal with an economy-swallowing government. And he is right - but don't hold your breath expecting Congress to listen to him and do anything about it.

Senate passes bankruptcy bill making it harder to shed debts
USA Today
"The Senate on Thursday passed sweeping changes of the nation's bankruptcy laws. Stringent new standards would require tens of thousands of people who seek bankruptcy protection to repay at least part of what they owe and make it harder for them to wipe away their debts. The Senate voted 74-25 to pass the bill and it is expected to pass in the House. The bill was blasted by consumer groups and the majority of Senate Democrats, who say the vast majority of people filing for bankruptcy protection were forced into it by medical crises, job loss or divorce -- not irresponsible spending." (03/10/05)

Of course, the Senators (and most representatives, too) can look around them, see how fat and healthy and wealthy their closest acquaintances are, and say "how can anyone have to go bankrupt from a medical problem, or not getting reelected, or having to trade in an old wife for a newer model?" WE have created a sickening and isolated ruling class that is worse in many ways than the greatest tyrannies of past empires.

Mama's Note: There is no moral reason for government to make it easy for people to repudiate their just debt. Most people who file bankruptcy do so because they will not control their own spending, not because of catastrophic need. Private charity and families are the answer to serious and legitimate need, not pushing the price of it off on everyone else. We all pay for bankruptcies, and I'm glad the legislature did something about it. Shocked, but glad.

Objectivity of prisoner abuse report questioned
Houston Chronicle
"Senators today questioned whether a senior military official in the chain of command could objectively investigate any culpability of top defense leaders for the abuse of prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. Reviewing a comprehensive Pentagon report, they pressed its author, Navy Vice Adm. Albert T. Church, about his conclusion that no 'single, overarching reason' led to the prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib that was condemned worldwide." (03/10/05)

Well, this objectivity is no more to be questioned than the objectivity of many of the people making the opposite claims. Why should we believe the bloated fat-cat senators, either? Let's see the facts, gentlemen, just the facts.

House approves $248 billion highway bill
Houston Chronicle
"Eighteen months late and billions of dollars short of what they wanted, House members today passed a highway bill designed to ease congestion, repair crumbling roads and prevent thousands of traffic fatalities. 'This will be the premier domestic legislation' of this congressional year, House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-Alaska, said before the 417-9 vote to approve the six-year, $284 billion measure to fund highway, mass transit and safety programs." (03/10/05)

Figure about $250 billion of it as pork - even if tasty and nutritious, still pork. My prediction: MORE congestion, LESS true repairs and MORE crumbling roads, and I won't even bless the claim of "thousands" of fatalities prevented: but it sure sounds good, doesn't it?

Mama's Note: If the roads were engineered right, with proper drainage, there wouldn't be nearly as much repair required. At least that's the way it is here in California. Most of the roads are poorly built and wear out fast. Job security for the road builders, but a bad bargain for the rest of us. But, what do you expect from government?

Sheik convicted of terror-funding charges
Indianapolis Star
"A Yemeni sheik and his assistant were convicted Thursday of plotting to funnel money to al-Qaida and Hamas, handing a victory to prosecutors shaken last year when the man who was supposed to be their star witness set himself on fire outside the White House. Sheik Mohammed Ali Hassan Al-Moayad and Mohammed Mohsen Yahya Zayed were found guilty on all but two of the 10 charges in an indictment that accused them of vital roles in a terror-funding network that stretched from Brooklyn to Yemen." (03/10/05)

I am not surprised that two Yemenis would be guilty of doing just this - but there are already dozens more springing up to replace them.

United States quits foreign inmate accord
CNN
"The United States has withdrawn from an accord that lets an international court decide disputes over foreign inmates of U.S. prisons, an agreement used by death penalty opponents in their fight against executions. The decision followed an International Court of Justice ruling last year that ordered new hearings for 51 Mexican death row inmates because U.S. authorities did not tell them they could consult diplomats from their own country right after their arrests." (03/10/05)

Now let us withdraw from the couple of hundred other international agreements that are designed to see that justice is NOT done, and intended to reduce and ultimately eliminate personal liberties.

Judge dismisses Agent Orange lawsuit
Cincinnati Enquirer
"A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed on behalf of some 4 million Vietnamese claiming that U.S. chemical companies committed war crimes by making Agent Orange for use during the Vietnam War. U.S. District Judge Jack B. Weinstein disagreed that the allegedly toxic defoliant and similar U.S. herbicides should be considered poisons banned under international rules of war, even though they may have had comparable effects on people and land." (03/10/05)

While this ruling smells, the method in which it was brought forward smells even more - this "class action" lawsuit was another example of trial-lawyer money grubbing, and we can be grateful that it is going no farther.

Iraq war revelation: There was no full legal advice
Independent [UK]
"Britain went to war on the basis of a single piece of paper setting out the legality of invading Iraq, the country's most senior civil servant has revealed. The Government's case for war appeared to be in tatters last night after the Cabinet Secretary admitted that a parliamentary answer from Lord Goldsmith, the Attorney General, was the final legal opinion on the case for war. In an astonishing admission, Sir Andrew Turnbull disclosed that no 'full' legal advice on an invasion of Iraq has ever existed." (03/11/05)

With Blair and the Laborites, this should be no surprise (although the Tories would likely have done the same thing). Her Majesty's government is going to the dogs faster than the Royal family appears to be.

UK: Labour pledges victim disarmament, total conformity
Guardian [UK]
"Raising the age restrictions for purchasing knifes will be one of the first acts of a third-term Labour government, Charles Clarke promised today, as Labour launched its mini-manifesto on crime. Accompanied by Mr. Blair -- who pledged a 'step change in the fight against crime and disorder' if Labour are reelected -- the home secretary outlined a series of measures he promised would be in one of the first acts passed after the election. He also promised further increases in community support officers to provide 'neighbourhood policing' for every community. An expansion in drug treatment and testing, a system today criticised by a committee of MPs, was also promised. Binge drinking would be tackled with a 'three strikes' policy barring repeat troublemakers from town centres. And Mr. Clarke promised to continue the battle against anti-social behaviour." (03/10/05)

It sounds like a manifesto worthy of "Brave New World" and "1984" indeed - a thug on every block (block warders), no right of self-defense, and heaven forbid you try and drown your hopeless sorrow at this state of affairs - you'll be banned. Too bad Clarke doesn't recognize the antisocial nature of his own behavior and that of his ministry.

Oz investigators bust "file-sharing" ISP
Register [UK]
"Australian anti-piracy operatives have raided an ISP suspected of using BitTorrent to 'allow the pirating of hundreds of thousands of songs and video clips,' as alleged by a Music Industry Piracy Investigations (MIPI) spokesman. MIPI investigators -- acting without police support and bearing an 'Anton Piller' search warrant used in civil proceedings -- searched the premises of Swiftel Communications in Perth and seized 'digital evidence relating to web pages and internet transactions consisting of both illegal sound recordings and illegal video clips.'" (03/10/05)

It isn't just the UK itself that is going under - Down Under is in just as bad a shape. Not just government goons, but corporate ones as well, to contend with.

Victim disarmer, TSA offer 2-for-1 persecution special
Reuters
"A House Democrat introduced legislation on Wednesday to ban terror suspects on the 'No Fly List' from buying weapons, a day after a government report showed that at least 47 had been able to legally purchase firearms. New York Democrat Rep. Carolyn McCarthy introduced legislation barring anyone included on the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) No Fly List from purchasing firearms." (03/09/05)

And just how do you know who (or if you) are on the no-fly list? Well, that might be easier with this stupid piece of legislation. "Yeah, you didn't know you were banned, but since you tried to buy a (ticket/gun) you have now committed a crime." I mean, if they can't fly, and they have to go through checkpoints and all the other police-state nonsense, why does it matter if they buy a gun or not?

Georgia: Father cleared in son's shooting
CBS 46 News
"Clayton County police have cleared the father of a two-year-old killed in a shootout at their home in Forest Park last month. Police spokesman Captain Jeff Turner says tests show Xavier Miranda was killed by a bullet fired from an intruder's handgun and NOT by the pistol fired by his father, 22-year-old William Miranda. Police say an armed man kicked in the front door of the family's apartment on February tenth and held a gun to the child's neck. They say the man demanded an income tax check of 17-hundred dollars." (03/09/05)

Thankfully he was cleared. Would they have let the invader off otherwise? Or convicted both men of the crime? There is more to this story, indeed: for one, how did the invader know about the $1700 check?

California: Legislator seeks end to web-based animal-hunts
San Francisco Chronicle
"On a Texas ranch, exotic sheep and antelope roam about, offering paying hunters an opportunity to bag some big game. But when the prey wanders into view, the gun can be fired by someone half a world away, with the simple click of a computer mouse. 'Computer-assisted remote hunting' has so outraged one California lawmaker that she has introduced legislation to ban it. With one Texas-based site up and running, lawmakers, animal activists and even gun owners want to put a stop to the practice before it becomes widespread. 'This is pay per view slaughter,' said Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States. 'It's almost beyond what anyone could imagine.' SB 1028 would prohibit any computer-based hunting sites from operating in the state." (03/10/05)

How is hunting by wire any different than any other sports activity done vicariously - as soon ban broadcasts and interactive sporting events of ANY type. It isn't the guy in Texas who is nuts - it is the legislator who can't stand to see anyone do anything without trying to ban it.

Tennessee: Bredesen says worst-case budget no bluff
Tennessean
"Gov. Phil Bredesen said it's no scare tactic to present a scenario that guts money going to Tennessee classrooms if he can't control the costs of TennCare. That was one option he laid out to lawmakers yesterday in the event that federal courts prevent him from culling 323,000 adults from the rolls of the state health insurance program. The governor said the alternative budget, a worst-case scenario, had been requested by lawmakers. He unveiled the plan yesterday, the same day the information was to go public in a deposition in a court case that is among those tying up TennCare's overhaul. But Bredesen said the alternative budget would never see the light of day under his watch. The governor said he would first move to cut prescription drug benefits for all adults on TennCare."(03/10/05)

Tennessee does seem serious about getting the monkey of TennCare off their back - but they could also do a lot more for their own citizens and taxpayers, and I hope it doesn't stop with this.

Montana: Commissioner asks Drug Czar to answer complaint
Marijuana Policy Project
"In a letter sent to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) [Monday], Montana Commissioner of Political Practices Gordon Higgins asked ONDCP Deputy Director Scott Burns to provide information as to why ONDCP believes it is exempt from state campaign finance laws. Higgins' letter was prompted by a complaint filed Feb. 24 by the Marijuana Policy Project, which had supported I-148, the medical marijuana initiative passed overwhelmingly in November. Burns traveled to Montana on October 6, 2004, to campaign against the measure, but failed to report campaign expenditures as required by Montana law. ... Higgins' letter ... asks Burns for 'information about the scope of your responsibilities as Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy that may lead you to claim immunity,' to be provided in writing by March 23." (03/08/05)

Good for Higgins! Of course, Montana isn't the only state that should be asking this.

Canada: Marijuana industry booming
Christian Science Monitor
"On the street it's called Northern Lights, Ontario Hydro, and B.C. bud. It's one of Canada's biggest agricultural exports -- a potent form of marijuana cultivated in sprawling 'grow houses,' worth an estimated US$4 billion to $7 billion annually. Much of it is smuggled into the US. Once hidden in farming communities and well-heeled suburbs, grow operations -- indoor nurseries with high-tech lighting and temperature controls -- have been thrust into the national spotlight. Thursday Canada buried four young Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers who were killed during a bust in rural Alberta March 3. The Alberta grow house was just one of thousands across Canada. Here in Ontario, police say indoor pot operations have risen 250 percent in the past four years. And Vancouver is home to some 7,000 'grow ops' at any time, police say." (03/10/05)

None of those four young officers need to have died if Canada had rejected the war on drugs.

Massachusetts: Proposal to use abstinence funds for schools fails
Boston Globe
"A proposal by Governor Mitt Romney that would have focused sex education programs on abstinence lessons in the schools was defeated by the Legislature yesterday, dealing the governor a setback on an issue dear to social conservatives. The House voted 104-44 to continue the state's current policy of spending federal abstinence funds on television commercials and ads on subways and buses. The Senate also rejected his approach on a voice vote. Romney ... had hoped to send the money directly to classrooms, where [he] argued it would have been more effective in reaching teenagers. The debate over how to spend a relatively minor grant of $740,000 from the federal government drew passionate lobbying from advocates on both sides of the issue. ... Romney lost the battle, but succeeded in bringing the issue to the front of public debate." (03/10/05)

Interesting - it shows that "for the children" isn't ALWAYS the rallying cry for liberals, who fear allowing a free discussion in the public schools might damage their other priorities.

California: Sheriff eyes federal law for local problem
Orange County Register
"Sheriff Mike Carona is close to finishing a plan that would allow deputies to use federal immigration laws to help get career criminals off the streets of Orange County communities and keep them off. For more than a year and a half, Carona and his staff have been researching how best to use immigration laws to combat crime and terrorism without endangering the relationship law enforcement has developed with immigrant communities. 'We're not going to be out there grabbing everybody,' Carona said in an interview this week, [noting he would be focusing on 'known criminals who have been deported and are back in this country again.' The impetus for this move dates back to the 1996 immigration reform act. Rep. Christopher Cox, chairman of the homeland security committee, wrote a provision of that law that says local police agencies could sign an agreement with the federal government to enforce immigration law." (03/10/05)

I am sure this Carona sees this as a help, but he will soon find out that entanglement with yet another fedgov bureaucracy is just more headache.

Let's end on a brighter note:
The Next Steps On Mars
SpaceWar.Com
Detailed report by Bruce Moomaw. - 6000 Words plus. A final .doc version will also be available for downloading and easy printing next week.

It looks like private business will be critical - and about time. While NASA continues to fiddle and the "National" space program slides into oblivion, only private activities offer any hope. For those who need a boost of (fictional) courage, check out the John Varley book, "Red Thunder."

I usually leave commentary out, but here are a couple of items:
YOU CAN'T FIX STUPID
"Stupidity means you can't learn. Ignorance means you haven't. We talk about the epidemic of obesity, and all that it is costing us in terms of illness and medical expenses. Obesity? That's small stuff compared to what this epidemic of ignorance is costing us. And while we're at it...government schools are to ignorance what fast food is to obesity. We know where its coming from...yet we tolerate and support it."
- Talk show host Neal Boortz (thanks to Chuck for this one).

Was George Bush right?
LewRockwell.Com by Harry Browne
"'The chemotherapy of freedom and democracy' in reality means that 100,000 Iraqis, mostly civilians, are dead. Is that what George Bush was right about -- that the march to freedom must trample over the dead bodies of human beings? Or don't Iraqis count as human beings? Meanwhile, the Bush propaganda machine rolls on - celebrating meaningless events that are supposed to be first steps toward meaningful events. But anyone who has studied the history of government knows that promises and first steps are worthless. I'll celebrate when some country is actually freer than before. And I'll really celebrate if that country is the United States of America." (03/12/05)

I may be pilloried for this, but Browne just doesn't get it. Oh, I agree with the gist of his argument and his conclusions about freedom, but for him to pooh-pooh the idea that freedom and liberty can be gained or kept without dead - without killing human beings - is as ridiculous as the thought processes of the people he is arguing against. No, Harry, we WON'T win our liberties back peacefully - it will be over the dead bodies of far more than 100,000 people - and most of those will NOT be the tyrants, but rather, those lovers of liberty, and those people caught in the crossfire. If you think we can gain freedom in this nation without "watering the tree of liberty" then we won't be able to count on you, will we?

Nathan Barton is writing from the beautiful Black Hills, homeland of hope and freedom! See Nathan's own blog, Liberty's Outpost.

To Read previous Commentaries, go to the archives page and click onto the link for the day. The commentaries are linked from the daily front pages.

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