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December
19, 2005
Libertarian
Commentary on the News for the week of 11 to 17 December 2005
It really doesn’t seem like Christmas, despite the annual culture
wars continuing to grow more and more intense, and bad weather hitting
like a sledgehammer. Still, as the end of the year rushes upon us, we
should take time to reflect on the cause of liberty in this land, and
throughout the world, and this week, pause to recall the importance of
such documents as the Bill of Rights (National Bill of Rights Day is December
15th).
Culture
Wars
Ethical
quagmire for environmentalists: Choosing a Christmas tree
San Francisco Chronicle
"The cultural minefield of December has another politically loaded
question to tiptoe around: Will you purchase a real tree or an artificial
one? And then, what will you call it? Your answer will speak to your commitment
to protecting American jobs, reducing the trade deficit, preventing environmental
destruction, helping us breathe and, of course, showing where you stand
on the Rev. Jerry Falwell's efforts to counter what he calls the anti-Christian
'war on Christmas.' The choice between real and not real is especially
painful for some environmentalists. Either they desecrate the Earth and
chop down a tree or buy a fake one that's full of landfill-clogging polyvinyl
chloride, which is kryptonite to greenies. Salting a tree with pesticides,
then chopping it down for a mere two weeks of display time isn't a great
option." (12/15/05)
More reason
to hibernate for the winter – to avoid “trauma” like this.
Mama's
Note: One alternative that wasn't mentioned here is buying a living tree,
then planting it outside after the holiday. I did this so often I wound
up with a mini forest, but those who don't have much room for more trees
should be able to find a park or someone willing to give it a home after
the tinsel is packed away again. Some people buy a small tree and plant
it in a good sized tub. It can be left outside (just remember to keep
it watered well) and brought in for Christmas each year until it is too
big to handle. Then you need to find it a home in the open ground and
buy another small tree. Yes, it's a lot more work, but with the advantage
of having a real tree without cutting it.
As for
what you call it; why should you care what anyone else thinks?. Call it
whatever you want.
San
Francisco: Trademark office OKs "Dykes on Bikes"
San Francisco Chronicle
"A lesbian motorcycle group in San Francisco declared victory
Thursday in their fight for a federal trademark for the name 'Dykes on
Bikes.' The U.S. Patent and Trademark office twice rejected the group's
application on the grounds the term 'dyke' was offensive and derogatory.
The office reversed itself after the group's lawyers appealed, submitting
hundreds of pages of additional material that they said showed the slang
word does not disparage lesbians. 'The applicant came in at the last moment
with a lot of evidence to show that the community did not consider it
disparaging,' said Lynne Beresford, a U.S. commissioner for trademarks.
Vick Germany, president of the San Francisco Women's Motorcycle Contingent,
a.k.a. Dykes on Bikes, called the decision a huge victory. 'The word dyke
has been used to put us down, and we have taken that name and reclaimed
it as a source of pride,' Germany said." (12/09/05)
This also
is of course a stupid government trick – that will be sure to haunt
us all – for it now makes it difficult if not impossible to allow
trademarks using the n* word (to describe certain skin tones), the s*
word (to describe female members of a certain ethnic group), the g* or
w*b* words (to describe another ethnic group originally from south of
the US), and such things.
The
marriage of many
Washington Times
"'Polygamy rights is the next civil rights battle.' So goes the motto
of a Christian pro-polygamy organization that has been watching the battle
over homosexual marriage rights with keen interest. 'We're coming. We
are next. There's no doubt about it, we are next,' says Mark Henkel, founder
of www.TruthBearer.org. Traditional values groups often argue that legalizing
same-sex marriage is a 'slippery slope' -- that if marriage is redefined
to allow homosexuals to wed, it will be further redefined to allow other
unions, including polygamous ones. Homosexual rights leaders and their
allies insist that the slippery slope argument is a rhetorical dodge.
It's a 'scare tactic,' says Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson. 'What
homosexuals are asking for is the right to marry, not anybody they love,
but somebody they love, which is not at all the same thing,' Brookings
Institution scholar Jonathan Rauch has written."(12/11/05)
If you
didn't expect this to happen, you just didn't think enough about the entire
business. But this does not justify government intervention into private
lives - and shows the foolishness of expecting government to be honest
or fair about anything where benefits and taxes are involved. Of course,
it is amusing to see the same tactics that homosexuals have used for years
turned against them. But it really is a foolish issue to be having - government
has no business in any way with this issue, and has been on the wrong
track since at least the 1840s (and the polygamy debate over Latter-Day
Saints).
Pope:
Christmas polluted by consumerism
Fox News
"Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday that Christmas festivities have
been polluted by consumerism and suggested that assembling the Nativity
scene in the home is an effective way of teaching the faith to children.
Nativity scenes are a common sight in Italian homes around Christmas time,
and in an annual tradition children came to St. Peter's Square bearing
Nativity figures of baby Jesus for the pontiff to bless. 'In today's consumer
society, this time [of the year] is unfortunately subjected to a sort
of commercial 'pollution' that is in danger of altering its true spirit,
which is characterized by meditation, sobriety and by a joy that is not
exterior but intimate,' the pope said in his traditional Sunday blessing.
(12/11/05)
Of course,
the Nativity scenes themselves often become the excuse for commercial
excess – have you priced crèches in Christmas displays this
year? And while this commercial pollution is certainly true, organized
religion is largely to blame for making this non-scriptural holiday such
an important one.
Mama's
Note: As with all worship, the exterior forms and material "props"
are nice, but not at all necessary, and can quickly become idols that
replace God. Try thinking about the faith and strength required of the
Chinese Christians who take their lives in their hands by simply gathering
to pray! Our battles over what to buy and what to say in the PC world
have absolutely nothing to do with any real reverence for Christ or the
remembrance of His birth.
UK:
Scary Santa
Ananova [UK]
"A Government website warns parents that a visit to see Father
Christmas could be "terrifying" for small children. Pantomimes
may also be too scary and traditional party games could have youngsters
in tears. The advice for teachers on teachernet.gov.uk said: "Younger
children in particular have a wide range of fears. For very young children,
Father Christmas can be terrifying. "Make sure that fearful children
are near an exit. Trips to the pantomime can cause alarm, so the same
planning applies." Margaret Morrisey, from the National Conference
of PTAs, said: "It is so sad that we have become so politically correct
that we are trying to remove the magic of Christmas."The advice has
been taken off the website and the Department for Education said: "This
is not Government policy. It does not reflect our views."" (12/13/05)
So the
government has a policy (apparently a “secret” policy) on Santa
Claus and pantomimes? And just what is it – we know part of what
it is not! This did give the appearance of discouraging traditional Christmas
celebrations.
Soldiers'
gear up to defend Christmas
Washington Times
"'Tis the season to fight folly. Troops are massed on the ground
floor of a nondescript, green-glassed building that's become ground zero
for an annual campaign to defend Christmas. The 'soldiers' lined up for
the fight are 832 lawyers ready to charge any municipality or public school
that dares excise the mention or observance of the world's most widely
celebrated holiday. A framed poster near the entrance asks: 'Have you
ever experienced discrimination because you are a Christian?' It hints
at the philosophical bent of the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), a Christian
legal group based here. The phones are busy in Scottsdale. The first week
of December alone brought in 159 calls from around the country for legal
advice on everything from protecting crèches at city hall to what
to do when a school in Wisconsin changes the first line of 'Silent Night'
to 'Cold in the night, no one in sight.'" (12/14/05)
The Yule
Season culture wars have become big business and big bucks. Every news
hour has stories about them.
Mama's
Note: What a pile... It's only one more example of the mad rush of so
many people to impose their ideas on other people - on both sides of this
thing! If all of them spent one day simply minding their own business
- and letting everyone else do the same, they might figure out that the
entire world was a better place for everyone. The only way to really do
that, of course, is to toss the government out of everything because that
is the lever most use to do the imposing - at gun point. None of that
imposition and fighting is compatible with the little Lord Jesus, asleep
in the manger...
Fall
of Europe
UK:
£500 fine for closing door on council tax inspector
Telegraph [UK]
"Householders who close the door on or refuse to cooperate with
bureaucrats sent to check their property for features that will increase
their council tax bills could be fined £500 and receive a criminal
record. The fines will be imposed on anybody who 'intentionally obstructs'
Valuation Office Agency inspectors in their effort to record details of
millions of homes. The move is likely to create more council tax rebels
who refuse to pay fines, clog the courts and bring further chaos to the
system." (12/11/05)
Actually,
the surprise is that isn’t already some law on the books like this
– it is another freedom (freedom from invasive tax collection and
data-gathering to support tax collection) that was hard-fought for centuries
ago, and now is being pruned away. You don’t HAVE to kill the tree
of liberty by the roots: you can girdle it or just prune it back so much
it dies.
UK:
Blair aims at parents of under-10s
Guardian [UK]
"Tony Blair today launches a new war on robbery with a crackdown
on inadequate parents, aimed at tackling even the tiniest tearaways too
young to face prosecution. Parents of antisocial under-10s who cannot
be taken to court, or of older children who have not yet offended but
are deemed at risk, will face orders compelling them to attend behavioural
classes or comply with standards in a dramatic widening of the concept
of antisocial behaviour." (12/12/05)
This is
another mess created by attempting to cure the results, not the causes,
of this situation. When parents have already been effectively supplanted
by the State from age 5, and themselves are mostly the product of a failed
government-run school and social system, this is just going to get worse.
Government
Ruined, Theft Funded Schools
Texas
seeks new school fund plan
Washington Times
"The Texas Legislature, which in recent years has failed on five
occasions to come up with a new plan for funding its massive school system,
likely will converge on Austin again in mid-March -- this time knowing
that something somewhat unpalatable eventually must evolve. Most politicians
agree that some taxes must be raised. Few enjoy that prospect -- and that
has proven to be the stumbling block in the Legislature for several years.
Texas has no state income tax. A few over the years have advocated such
reform, without much success. But a stinging verdict from the Texas Supreme
Court three weeks ago is forcing legislators to make some difficult decisions.
Texas funds most of its $33 billion-a-year school system from property
taxes. The state Supreme Court, upholding a lower court ruling of last
year, called that practice unconstitutional and has given the lawmakers
until June 1 to come up with an alternative. If not, the edict reads,
further funding from the state cannot be allocated." (12/13/05)
The court
case is NOT about raising taxes, it is about how the current taxes are
being raised. (A statewide property tax is illegal according to the Texas
constitution, but that is effectively what they have.) But it becomes
an excuse for raising taxes (or even creating new ones), as we see in
this article. My suggestion to the Texan legislature: make the “independent
school districts” of Texas truly independent: cut them off from tax
funds completely, and let parents and the community VOLUNTARILY fund and
choose the schooling for their children.
UK:
Diplomas to keep more at school
Guardian [UK]
"Ministers yesterday set out plans to encourage more teenagers
to stay on at school or college after the age of 16 by introducing a range
of new vocational qualifications. The government wants Britain's national
staying-on rate of 70%, one of the lowest in OECD countries, to rise to
90% by 2015 as part of a 10-year timetable during which 14 new diplomas,
covering vocational subjects such as engineering, plumbing and healthcare,
will be phased in." (12/14/05)
I am missing
something here – something critical. WHY, if they have an adequate
education to function as a member of society and achieve their own aims
in life, WHY is it a “good thing” to keep them in school after
age 16? And why is it government’s job, and not that of their parents,
to do so?
Mama's
Note: Just think about how the government schools are funded. The more
children attending, the more money they get to play with. So, the longer
they can keep children and young adults coming to school, the more money
they get. It's that simple. It has absolutely nothing to do with their
competence to make a living - or real education, for that matter.
Study:
11M US adults can't read English
Detroit Free Press
"About one in 20 adults in the U.S. is not literate in English,
meaning 11 million people lack the skills to handle many everyday tasks,
a federal study shows. From 1992 to 2003, adults made no progress in their
ability to read sentences and paragraphs or understand other printed material
such as bus schedules or prescription labels. The adult population did
make gains in handling tasks that involve math, such as calculating numbers
on tax forms or bank statements." (12/15/05)
Got schools?
Proof that what we have doesn’t work. We deal with this on a daily
basis as we find workers who cannot read and government officials who
can’t understand basic math or procedures more complicated than making
a pie-crust.
Mama's
Note: Making good pie crust is an art, and not even all well educated
people can manage it. I've been shocked many times in the last few years
by an ever increasing number of serious errors, both obvious typos and
outright poor spelling and grammar, in publications across the board from
the daily newspaper to respected internet sites such as von Mises and
Lew Rockwell. Most people can't make change, write an intelligent paragraph,
or do the original thinking required for complex problem solving. Their
"education" has not given them the tools.
Tennessee:
Schools revise definition of bullying
Tennessean
"No one has to define bullying for Andy Giron. The Metro fifth-grader
said he and nearly everyone he knows at Bailey Middle School have seen
bullying, endured it or done it themselves. 'It's when somebody with more
power hurts somebody with less power over and over again, purposefully,'
said Andy, 11, who can read about Metro's policy against intimidation
and bullying in the system's 2005-06 student handbook. 'They enjoy it.'
Andy, his parents and teachers and those in many area school districts
have a guide if they need it, but school districts in Sumner and Maury
counties are tinkering with language in their anti-bullying policies this
week. They are scrambling to meet a state-imposed deadline of Jan. 1."
(12/15/05)
The best
way to protect a child from bullying is to get them out of the GRTF-school
that has it. Yeah, even private schools have bullying, but it is not the
severe problem found in the “public” schools, as I know from
personal experience. And home schooling is always an option.
Mama's
Note: When children are taught (by word and example) to respect others
- the principle of nonaggression - the incidences of bullying will be
almost nonexistent. Those who exhibit that kind of behavior would then
find few or no easy victims either.
Home
Front
National
Guard Commander Warns of Domestic “Regime Change” if DoD Assumes
Responsibility for Disaster Response
Secrecy News (extract from E-mail by MG Timothy J. Lowenberg, Washington
State Adjutant General)
“ADM Keating is publicly advocating that Title 10 "active duty
military" forces be given "complete authority" for responding
to what he calls "rare, catastrophic disasters like Hurricane Katrina".
His proposal calls for the President to give clear command and control
to the active duty military. According to officers who were present at
a NORTHCOM AAR last week, he said "I know the active duty can do
this [directing an emergency response]; I simply don't know if a National
Guard officer is capable of handling command and control", or words
to that effect. These sentiments are consistent with a meeting I attended
in which a NORTHCOM general officer suggested the active duty military
should "train" and "certify" the competence of governors
to handle domestic emergencies. Although usually couched in terms of "support
for governors", the NORTHCOM proposals would bring about a fundamental
change in the emergency governance of states impacted by large scale disasters.
Some might liken this to a policy of domestic regime change.”
There you
have heard it from the horse’s mouth – taking control of all
domestic emergency preparation and response would be in effect a coup
by the Federal Government, using military forces led down a blind alley
by a few traitorous senior officers. This would culminate the efforts
of more than two centuries to completely subjugate the fifty independent
nations which make up the federal Union, and be right in line with the
kind of “regime change” that the Fedgov has imposed around the
world, starting with dozens of Latin American countries, continuing with
Hawaii, then Italy, Germany, Japan and dozens of Third World Countries.
It is time to start asking your soldiers what they are going to do –
live by their oath or obey the White House, Congress, and the Pentagon?
Mama's
Note: Unfortunately, many - if not most- of those in the military today
do not have much, if any understanding of the constitution or individual
liberty. They might well believe that obedience to the White House, et
al IS living by their oath. Their government schooling has taught them
not to think for themselves and has not given them any tools for doing
so. They have been carefully made into good socialists and worse. As always,
each step takes us a little farther down the path to total Fed control.
Is
the Pentagon spying on Americans?
MSNBC
"A year ago, at a Quaker Meeting House in Lake Worth, Fla., a
small group of activists met to plan a protest of military recruiting
at local high schools. What they didn't know was that their meeting had
come to the attention of the U.S. military. A secret 400-page Defense
Department document obtained by NBC News lists the Lake Worth meeting
as a 'threat' and one of more than 1,500 'suspicious incidents' across
the country over a recent 10-month period." (12/13/05)
Knowing
a meeting is going on and spying on the meeting is, fortunately, two different
things. Collecting information from public sources is one thing –
going to meetings undercover is another. One should be allowed (even encouraged)
and the other should be punished. This story and others don’t bother
to distinguish between the two categories, and take an analyst’s
view (which may be mistaken) as an official position.
Senate
GOP fights to sustain Patriot Act
Detroit Free Press
"Senate Republican leaders fought Wednesday to save the USA Patriot
Act renewal from sinking under the weight of opposition from a bipartisan
group that says the measure would give the FBI a dangerous amount of power.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., predicted that the legislation
would survive a filibuster threat and pass before more than a dozen of
the 2001 law's provisions expire Dec. 31. He got a boost from Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales, who lobbied for the renewal briefly at a closed
meeting of Republicans." (12/14/05)
This battle
went on all week, and no resolution yet, despite Bush’s plea and
outrageous claims in his talk show on Saturday.
Our
Imperial Courts
Frist
threatens "nuclear option" on Alito nomination
CNN
"Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday he is prepared to
strip Democrats of their ability to filibuster, if they try to stall Samuel
Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. 'The answer is yes,' Frist said
when asked if he would act to change Senate procedures to restrict a Democratic
filibuster. 'Supreme Court justice nominees deserve an up-or-down vote,
and it would be absolutely wrong to deny him that.'" (12/11/05)
Threats,
threats, threats, but never any action. I’ll believe this if it happens.
Mama's
Note: And what happens next time the Democrats want to filibuster something?
Do they reinstate it off and on to suit their own agenda? I can't see
the other congress idiots going for that, especially since they would
all want to control it.
Appeals
court reinstates federal obscenity law
Law.Com
"A federal judge in Pittsburgh was wrong to strike down federal
obscenity laws as unconstitutional, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
has ruled, because he improperly reasoned that a recent gay rights decision
from the U.S. Supreme Court now shows that the laws violate fundamental
rights to privacy. Instead, the 3rd Circuit said, the lower court should
have looked first to a long line of Supreme Court decisions that have
upheld the obscenity statutes and left it up to the justices themselves
to decide if their recent decisions in the area of individual privacy
rights in the bedroom now undermine those rulings. " (12/11/05)
This sounds
like a ruling ripe for a massive cultural wars fight. But it's precisely
the court’s massive history of supporting obscenity laws that Hillary
Clinton is using to justify imposing federal bans on selling of certain
games and other software to minors.
Mama's
Note: I wonder if Hillary has ever heard a group of city teen agers talking
among themselves? From what I've heard (and I've been relatively sheltered,
mind you) they are almost incapable of uttering two words without filthy
expletives and the most commonly used term for everything is the "F"
word. Sadly, most of their parents use the same language, so the restriction
of such in a few games is irrelevant. People must learn that all this
has nothing to do with the morals or "decency" of the young
people. It's all about power and control.
California:
Judge clears way for border fence
Yahoo News
"A federal judge on Monday lifted the final legal barrier to completing
a border fence meant to thwart illegal immigrants in the southwestern
corner of the U.S. The project comprises 14 miles of additional fencing
in San Diego. In September, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff
waived all laws and legal challenges to building the final 3 1/2-mile
leg through coastal wetlands to the Pacific Ocean. The Sierra Club and
other environmental groups had argued that Chertoff lacked the authority
to do what he did. But U.S. District Judge Larry Burns said Congress delegated
such authority to Chertoff in June. He noted that the executive branch
already had significant jurisdiction over national security and immigration."
(12/13/05)
Things
like this have been tied up in courts for years, and this shows that (good
or bad) one possible solution is simply to pass new laws that say the
courts don’t have jurisdiction any more in the details.
Mama's
Note: Ah, the wolves fighting over the choice portions of the lamb they're
having for lunch... By the way, I wonder just how long it will be before
this Mexicali wall will be used to keep people IN as well as OUT...
Middle
Eastern Tarbabies
Early
Departure Of US Troops Would Lead To Civil War In Iraq: Khalilzad
Space War Daily
Washington (AFP) Dec 11, 2005 - A premature pullout of US troops from
Iraq would plunge the country into civil war, Washington's ambassador
to Iraq said Sunday, in a direct riposte to lawmakers in the US Congress
calling for a quick withdrawal of American forces.
At last
some Iraqis, regardless of affiliation, are chiming in on what is, after
all, a debate of their own future. Although there is strong reason to
say that it is already in a state of civil war, Iraq could quickly get
worse, with or without US and other coalition troops. Paradoxically, the
longer the occupation continues, the stronger the Iraqi government will
get, and the less legitimate it will seem in the eyes of many.
Mama's
Note: Just pray tell what the current situation is if not a "civil
war?" And "worse" has to be relative to something useful.
It is simply not possible to take all the factions represented there and
force them to act in concert. They are all working as hard as they can
to gain control over the others, and they are obviously not content to
do that via the ballot box. The only hope for peace - even an uneasy one
- is to let the people split up the land along the natural political and
religious lines ALREADY there and let them alone. They may well continue
to fight, of course, since they've been doing so for several thousand
years already. What arrogance to think the US or UN can impose anything
on them outside of killing them all.
Lebanon:
"Unknown group" claims killing of anti-Syria MP
Reuters
"A previously unknown group claimed responsibility on Monday for
the assassination of Lebanese lawmaker Gebran Tueni, a fierce critic of
Syria. In a statement faxed to Reuters bearing no insignia or letterhead,
the group calling itself 'Strugglers for the Unity and Freedom of the
Levant,' said the same fate awaited other opponents of 'Arabism' in Lebanon.
There was no way to verify the authenticity of the statement." (12/12/05)
Despite
nearly 1400 years of trying, the dominant and imperialist Arab society
has not been quite able to take out Lebanon, which in many ways is still
the same mush of mixed race, ethnicity, and loyalties it was when Solomon
bought logs from King Hiram.
Iraq:
Abuse cited in 2nd facility
MSNBC
"An Iraqi government search of a detention center in Baghdad operated
by Interior Ministry special commandos found 13 prisoners who had suffered
abuse serious enough to require medical treatment, U.S. and Iraqi officials
said Sunday night. An Iraqi official with firsthand knowledge of the search
said that at least 12 of the 13 prisoners had been subjected to 'severe
torture,' including sessions of electric shock and episodes that left
them with broken bones." (12/11/05)
Please
note, this is “post-Saddam” Iraqis and NOT Americans doing this.
No matter how far down the chain of command you whittle away, this kind
of scum is usually so into their torture games and mind-rape that they
are apolitical, and always “of use to the new regime” unless
the new regime really are lovers of liberty.
Mama's
Note: Add to that the very human weakness demonstrated by some research
conducted after the original torture scandal surfaced. People who are
put into positions of absolute power over other people, such as prison
guards, tend toward acts of degradation and abuse, even when they are
otherwise model citizens. Power TENDS to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts
absolutely. So, you can hire all the nice guys - or lovers of liberty
- you want for these positions, then sit back and watch them turn into
sick torturers. The only way to prevent it is to stop giving some people
such power over others.
In
Iraq, security trumps women's rights
Christian Science Monitor
"On the second floor of Love Hall, a building here used for wedding
receptions, women from Iraq's northern Nineveh province gather for a conference
on women's role in the nationwide election this Thursday. But the event
quickly veers away from its stated agenda and becomes a gripe session
about life in Iraq today. There are few jobs, poor services, no safety
net for the least fortunate, and above all, no security, say the women
in this majority Christian town. The assembly of about 80 women - many
in traditional black abayas and a few sporting Western dress - reflects
how basic needs are dominating the average Iraqi's political outlook and
placing goals like women's rights and interests on a secondary level."
(12/12/05)
This excuse
is certainly not limited to Iraq, and certainly not limited to “women’s
rights” (which is a phrase which bothers me, very, very much –
all people regardless of sex have rights, just as all people regardless
of age have rights). But it does not hurt to keep in mind that ALL rights
were kept on the back burner up until three years ago.
Third
'enemy combatant' in legal limbo
CNN
"Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a 40-year-old from Qatar, is the only
enemy combatant held in the United States whose case remains in legal
limbo. This week marks the alleged al Qaeda operative's fourth year in
U.S. custody. Since his arrest on credit card fraud charges in December
2001, al-Marri has remained in solitary confinement, his attorneys said.
They are suing the government to improve his jail conditions and to challenge
the constitutionality of his detention." (12/13/05)
So we are
finally down to the last one. It seems to me that if he was arrested on
credit card fraud, he should be tried and jailed on those things. I’m
biased, but to me credit card fraud is far worse a crime than being sympathetic
to al Qaeda. And as long as they don’t work in prison-based credit
card processing or reservation centers (yeah, those have been “prison
industries” in the past), jail at least protects the rest of us from
them, even if it doesn’t get a dime back.
Mama's
Note: The "last one" that we know of, perhaps. Anyone really
believe our government doesn't have dozens of people detained in secret
all over the world? We may never know about them or their fate.
U.S.
paid for media firm Afghans didn't want
Chicago Tribune
"When The Rendon Group was hired to help Afghan President Hamid
Karzai with media relations in early 2004, few thought it was a bad idea.
Though Rendon's $1.4million bill seemed high for Afghanistan, the U.S.
government was paying. Within seven months, however, Karzai was ready
to get rid of Rendon. So was Zalmay Khalilzad, then the U.S. ambassador
to Afghanistan and now the American envoy in Iraq, according to interviews,
e-mails and memos obtained by the Tribune. The complaint: too much money
for not enough work. Despite such grumbling, The Rendon Group, based in
Washington, managed to secure even more U.S.-funded work with Karzai's
government, this time a $3.9 million contract funded by the Pentagon,
to create a media team for Afghan anti-drug programs. Jeff Raleigh, who
helped oversee Rendon in Kabul for the U.S. Embassy, and others in the
U.S. Government said they objected because of Karzai's and Khalilzad's
opposition but were overruled by Defense Department superiors in Washington."
(12/13/05)
This is
really a stupid government trick, just like hundreds of purchases every
day – the Fedgov knows what EVERYONE else needs, and gets it for
them (or forces them to pay for it).
Iraq:
Insurgents kill Sunni candidate
Beloit Daily News
"Insurgents killed a Sunni Arab candidate for parliament and tried
to blow up a leading Shiite politician in separate attacks Tuesday, the
last day of campaigning for Iraq's election. ... Gunmen in the insurgent
stronghold of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, killed Sunni Arab candidate Mezher
al-Dulaimi while he was filling up his car at a gas station. A roadside
bomb targeted the convoy of Sheik Jalal Eddin al-Sagheer, a Shiite member
of the National Assembly who was elected with the governing United Iraqi
Alliance. The Iraqi army said the explosion in Latifiyah, about 20 miles
south of Baghdad, damaged one of the vehicles." (12/13/05)
One of
the many attacks leading up to the seemingly successful election.
Bush:
Iraq invasion my responsibility
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"President Bush said Wednesday the responsibility for invading
Iraq based in part on faulty weapons intelligence rested solely with him,
taking on the issue in his most direct and personal terms in the 1,000-plus
days since the war's first shots. 'It is true that much of the intelligence
turned out to be wrong,' Bush said. 'As president, I'm responsible for
the decision to go into Iraq.' The president's mea culpa was accompanied
by a robust defense of the divisive war." (12/14/05)
And an
slight rise in the number of people who want to impeach him, which is
now supposedly up to 1/3 of those polled.
Iranian
president calls holocaust a 'myth'
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Iran's hard-line president lashed out with a new outburst at
Israel on Wednesday, calling the Nazi Holocaust a 'myth' used as a pretext
for carving out a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world. President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments drew quick condemnations from Israel, the
United States and Europe, which warned he is hurting Iran's position in
talks aimed at resolving suspicions about his regime's nuclear program."
(12/14/05)
This is
the product of the world’s best democracy, as some advocates claimed
a few months ago? Claims like this do make you have second thoughts about
defending every nation’s rights to arm themselves as they chose.
Millions
of Iraqis vote in relative peace
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"Millions of Iraqis, from tribal sheiks to entire families with
children in tow, turned out Thursday to choose a parliament in a mostly
peaceful election - among the freest ever in the Arab world. So many Sunni
Arabs voted that ballots ran out in some places. The strong participation
by Sunnis, the backbone of the insurgency, bolstered U.S. hopes that the
election could produce a broad-based government capable of ending the
daily suicide attacks and other violence that have ravaged the country
since the fall of Saddam Hussein." (12/15/05)
As I mentioned,
this is one of the continuing stories of the week, as attacks continued,
as expatriates voted, and security tightened up, and then finally when
the first “purple fingers” started coming out of the doors of
polling places. It appears, so far, to have been successful – I’m
sure we’ll see the attacks starting next week.
Mama's
Note: And just what were they voting for? The only purpose of voting is
for a majority to impose their will on a minority. Always remember that
"democracy" is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have
for dinner.
Privacy
Issues
Students
lobby for Internet privacy
Princeton Daily
"A trio of graduate students is alleging in a new web-based petition
that students who surf websites, connect to peer-to-peer networks or access
online services from their dorm rooms are unwittingly leaving behind a
wealth of personal information. The students' website, www.princetonprivacy.org
illustrates a property of Dormnet — the service that provides Internet
access to dorm rooms — that allows website operators, both on and
off campus, to uncover such personal information as email, dorm telephone
and campus address." (12/13/05)
This privacy
battle also has to do with the culture wars in the country, and with tech
issues. Just because we have new ways of doing things does not mean that
traditional liberties should not extend to the new technology.
New
York: Diabetics may get uninvited doctor's call
CBS TV
"New Yorkers with diabetes who aren't taking care of themselves
may get an unexpected call from a doctor prodding them to pay attention.
That's the result of a regulatory change announced today that will allow
the city to track thousands of people with diabetes. New York is now becomes
the first American city to monitor diabetes in the same way health departments
commonly track people with HIV or tuberculosis. The change potentially
raises some privacy concerns, by collecting information about people who
have a chronic disease that isn't contagious or caused by a toxin."(12/14/05)
One more
tool for the NYC police state.
Mama's
Note: In addition to the very real privacy issues and incredible expense,
this is truly idiotic! I spent several years in home health, much of it
trying to teach newly diagnosed diabetics how to care for their serious
chronic condition. Even with fairly intensive teaching on a one-to-one
basis, with as much of a personal relationship as possible in my brief
visits, the level of compliance with the minimum required to avoid serious
damage caused by this disease was pitiful. Good diabetic control is complex
at best, and very difficult at times even when the patient is highly motivated
and wants to avoid complications. Most people are not willing to accept
responsibility for their own lives and health, and diabetics are no exception.
Many times they wait until they go blind or wind up on kidney dialysis,
then "get religion" about control when it is far too late. A
phone call from a doctor will achieve exactly nothing but waste time and
money.
Our Right
to Defend Ourselves
California:
Suspect in fatal robbery may have had shotgun
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"At least one of three Bay Area men involved in an alleged home
invasion that left two of them dead in Clearlake on Wednesday was armed
with a shotgun, according to charges filed against the surviving suspect
Friday. Two of the men were shot and killed by the homeowner, Shannon
Edmonds, during what police described as a thwarted home invasion robbery.
Authorities said the incident was drug-related. An undisclosed amount
of marijuana and a medical marijuana card were located at the residence,
police said. ... The three men allegedly broke into the 11th Street home
Edmonds shares with his daughter, his girlfriend and her two sons at 4:25
a.m. Wednesday. It appears they attacked Edmonds and the woman in their
bedroom, then beat the woman's 17-year-old son, Dale, with a metal baseball
bat when he came to their rescue .... During the assault, Edmonds grabbed
the 9 mm handgun believed to have been used to kill two of the intruders,
Hopkins said. It has not yet been determined whether Edmonds shot the
men while they were inside the house, outside the house or both, a factor
that will help determine whether Edmonds will be prosecuted."
(12/10/05)
An interesting
(and encouraging) case where a single prepared homeowner was able to defeat
three-to-one odds. It would appear to me that this is again a clear case
of self-defense to be decided by a coroners jury, and that no prosecution
is necessary. Indoors or outdoors, they were invading.
New
Jersey: Home invader gets 10 years, blames victims
Vineland Daily Journal
"William Burden laid the blame for many of his problems at the
feet of an Upper Deerfield couple who wouldn't answer their door when
he and an accomplice tried to burglarize their house on July 4, 2003.
... In court Friday, Burden faced Robert and Wanda DuBois, an Upper Deerfield
couple who happened to be at home when Burden and a man police said is
Dunns called on the afternoon of July 4. 'I wish they had answered the
door,' Burden said before he was sentenced Friday. 'Had they done that,
me and my boy would have gone on our way.' ... But Robert DuBois, who
chased the two men away from his rural house by firing two shots from
his own handgun, wasn't buying Burden's tale of woe. DuBois chased down
Burden and Dunns until state police arrested the pair. 'I think Mr. Burden
and all the career criminals ought to get new jobs,' DuBois said. 'It
gets dangerous when you try and do what he did out where I live.'"
(12/10/05)
It is all
the victims’ fault! Notice that this attempted burglary took place
in the middle of the day.
Canada:
Martin a 'jackass'
Toronto Sun [Canada]
"Prime Minister Paul Martin is a "jackass" if he thinks
that banning handguns will "choke off" the deadly weaponry of
Toronto street gangs, says a man whose son was slain. "For this so-called
prime minister of ours to come into the low-income areas of this city
and make a statement banning guns ... I look at him as a jackass ... and
I'll never vote Liberal again as long as I live," said Theodore Huxtable,
whose eldest son Jason, 18, was killed on Aug. 30. And Huxtable gave a
stern warning that if justice is not served in his son's death, he will
seek his own vengeance." I'll be part of your news ... I've told
police the same thing ... they say 'Mr. Huxtable, you shouldn't make these
statements' ... they can't say I didn't warn them," he said. "
(12/11/05)
Well, this
isn’t the only reason he is, but certainly one of them.
Texas:
What one woman wants for Christmas: a returned gun
Star Telegram
"Susan Gaylord Buxton wants her gun back. She could have a long
wait, given how slowly the wheels of justice Buxton, known from hither
to yon as the gun-toting granny, is confused about why Arlington police
seized her handgun after she shot an intruder Nov. 9. It's not as if the
circumstances under which Buxton used the Smith & Wesson .38-caliber
featherweight are in question. The 66-year-old Buxton shot Christopher
Lessner, 22, as he lunged at her from inside her hall closet. He'd broken
into the house after fleeing from Arlington police at a traffic stop.
The story became fodder for late-night TV jokes, radio talk shows -- even
a song parody. Buxton, who's got spunk to spare, doesn't mind the jesting
but she's serious as a stroke about getting her gun back. .... Buxton,
who has not been criminally charged, understands that the officers who
responded to her 28-year-old granddaughter's 911 call needed to secure
the premises. She willingly handed over her gun -- actually, she dropped
it to the ground when directed to do so by an officer who was pointing
his sidearm at her. Why police confiscated the gun is what has her baffled.
"What does it have to do with the case against Lessner?" Buxton
asked. "It's not like he's charged with getting himself shot.'"
(12/13/05)
One of
the more stupid acts of government – once someone has used their
weapon to defend themselves against a crime, the stupid cops proceed to
disarm the victim, leaving them wide open for further attacks. Surely,
if the law does require that they keep the weapon until everything is
tidied up (a stupid law, clearly), surely the cops have a loaner they
could give her – maybe even the same make and model?
Mama's
Note: Of course, she shouldn't have to, but I don't understand why she
doesn't just buy another gun! It doesn't do any good to stand around and
complain about it while leaving yourself vulnerable.
North
Carolina: Charlotte man, 70, shoots intruder
Charlotte Observer
"Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say a 70-year-old man confronted
two intruders who had broken into the tool shed of his southwest Charlotte
home Monday morning, shooting one at least three times. The incident occurred
on Sleepy Hollow Road. According to police reports, the homeowner confronted
three men in his driveway shortly after 10 a.m. as they carried power
tools and fishing rods out of his shed. As the men jumped into a sport-utility
vehicle, Bailey shot at the driver with a handgun, police reports said.
The men drove away but later crashed near the 5000 block of South Tryon
Street, according to police records." (12/13/05)
This would
have been very hard on this man, but I’m glad it turned out the way
it did. I hope the police give him back everything that was stolen.
Georgia:
Macon homeowner fatally shoots man in attempted burglary
Macon Telegraph
"Macon police say a 75-year-old man shot and killed a 21-year-old
who was burglarizing the older man's home this afternoon in the Peach
Orchard neighborhood..... The older man entered his Irwin Avenue home
and saw two men inside at about 2:15 p.m., Fletcher said. One man jumped
out a window. Fletcher said Baker, the other man, was shot in the head."
(12/13/05)
Without
weapons, this and other elderly people in this week’s stories would
have no way to easily protect themselves against these young, healthier
thugs.
Florida:
Homeowner not charged in shooting
Pensacola News Journal
"Criminal charges will not be filed against a Gulf Breeze man
who shot and killed a teenager found hiding in a spare bedroom closet
in the man's house. Eduard Richardson, 17, a Gulf Breeze High School senior,
died at the scene. The incident occurred early Sept. 7 in Allen Ambrose's
house, in the 3400 block of Tibet Drive in the Tiger Point subdivision,
just down the road from Tiger Point Golf and Country Club. Richardson
resided next door to Ambrose. .... Assistant State Attorney Harmon Massey
said Tuesday he has reviewed the case, and it does not warrant criminal
prosecution. "It's an unfortunate taking of someone else's life but
justifiable under the circumstances," Massey said. State law permits
the use of deadly force against a person who has illegally entered a home
and poses a reasonable threat of death or great bodily harm, Massey said."
(12/14/05)
“Justifiable
homicide.” Yeah, it is tough on the kid’s family. But maybe
other kids will realize what can happen to them: they CAN die if they
do something stupid.
Colorado:
Man acquitted of murder under Make My Day law
Colorado Springs Gazette
"A jury Wednesday ruled a shooting death last year was self-defense
under the state's Make My Day law, acquitting Gary Lee Hill, who was accused
of first-degree murder for killing a man who had assaulted him in his
home but was in his car when he was shot. The Make My Day law permits
people to use deadly force to protect themselves from intruders into their
homes. .... “He’s not guilty. Justice has been done,” said
his mother, Kathy Jastrab. “He didn’t deserve to even be here.
Those kids beat him and robbed our home. There was no reason for him to
even be on trial.'" (12/14/05)
I seldom
believe that a lengthy trial process is justified in self-defense shootings,
but this appears to be an exception in which the collective wisdom (if
I dare use the phrase) of a jury is necessary to resolve far too many
issues.
More
News and Commentary on Page 2
Nathan Barton is a libertarian engineer and writer, enjoying the cooling
evenings in the Rockies and the Four Corners, where "monsoon"
rains cause some creeks to overflow their banks, but nothing like the
mess down in the South. His views are his own and do not necessarily represent
the views of anyone else, including the sources of his news and other
libertarians! Be sure to visit my blog,
Liberty's Outpost.
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