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February
13, 2006
Libertarian
Commentary on the News, 5 to 11 February 2006
Character counts for lovers of liberty, and with the current situation,
a valuable characteristic to have is that of "resourcefulness"
- finding practical uses for those things which other people would overlook
or throw away. We have to make the best use of what we have. All too many
things aren't used wisely, and that includes the time and resources we
have as defenders of liberty. The
news this week includes a lot of opportunities to practice resourcefulness.
Free
Speech - the Danish CartoonWar
I
was, I think, one of the first to point out the significance of this,
and a plethora of commentary has followed in the liberty-lovers press.
This is great, because the issue is significant and the reaction of the
Dar al-Islam (the "ummah" or Islamic world) is telling - By
the way, we (lovers of liberty and other Westerners, even apostate Muslims
who believe in any amount of liberty) are dar al-harb , the "House
of Warfare," or the non-Islamic world. (Click
here to see the cartoons)
Blood
spilled in Cartoon War
BBC
At least five people have been killed in Afghanistan as demonstrations
against cartoons satirising the Prophet Muhammad swept across the country.
Two people died when protesters turned on the American airbase at Bagram,
even though the US has had no involvement in the cartoons' publication.
In Somalia, a teenage boy was killed and several others were injured after
protesters attacked the police. Rallies have also taken place in Iran,
Thailand, Indonesia, India and Gaza. They followed attacks on Danish embassies
in Syria and Lebanon over the weekend. The cartoons were first published
in a Danish newspaper.
I am probably
just repeating what others have already said, but the gall of Muslims
who believe that they can force the rest of the world to submit to their
beliefs is staggering. Even the Euro-based empires, at their height, did
not attempt to force such compliance. And the Crusaders, during their
occupation of Outremer, did not attempt to enforce their strictures of
religion on the Muslim subjects.
Lebanon:
Muslim rioters torch Danish consulate
Houston Chronicle
"Lebanon's interior minister resigned today after thousands of
angry Muslim protesters torched the Danish consulate in Beirut and damaged
property in a Christian area in riots over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
The protesters, waving green Islamic flags and chanting 'God is greatest,'
fueled sectarian tension when they stoned a church, provoking an angry
Christian outcry in a country that has not fully recovered from its 1975-1990
civil war." (02/05/06)
Clearly,
these fanatics believe that every "Christian" shares "guilt"
with the cartoonists, many of whom were not, in fact, even "Christian"
How can the West afford to let such people have free access to the rest
of the world?
Syria:
Fury over cartoons fuels riots
Washington Times
"Rage against caricatures of Islam's revered prophet poured out
across the Muslim world yesterday, with Muslims calling for executions,
storming European buildings and setting European flags afire. Thousands
of outraged Syrian demonstrators stormed the Danish and Norwegian embassies
in Damascus, setting fire to both buildings. As thick black smoke rose
into the air, police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the
demonstrators, who shouted, 'Allahu Akbar!' which is Arabic for 'God is
great!' Protesters first gathered peacefully outside the building housing
the Danish Embassy. Demonstrators then started throwing stones and broke
through police barricades." (02/05/06)
Indeed,
the timing of these "spontaneous" expressions is bizarre in
the extreme, and in a nation like Syria, clearly with the consent and
encouragement of the so-called secular government, which had done far,
far more in violation of Islamic law than anything that Danish cartoonists
or their "supporters" (actually, supporters of free speech)
in Denmark or Norway have even done.
Iran:
Hundreds riot over Muhammad drawings
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Hundreds of angry protesters hurled stones and fire bombs at
the Danish Embassy in the Iranian capital Monday to protest publication
of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. Police used tear gas and surrounded
the walled villa to hold back the crowd. It was the second attack on a
Western mission in Tehran on Monday. Earlier in the day, 200 student demonstrators
threw stones at the Austrian Embassy, breaking windows and starting small
fires. The mission was targeted because Austria holds the presidency of
the European Union." (02/06/06)
Even more
than in Syria, this makes it clear that these "spontaneous"
protests are supported by the government. Although the Iranian government
is hardly secular like the Syrian government, it is clear that normally
a few cartoons half a world away is not high on their list of priorities.
So why now? Perhaps to make sure that the rest of the Muslim world recognizes
that it is willing to take the West on and regain leadership that has
slid to the Saudis. The Austrians once more are caught in the middle -
but then, they volunteered to join the EU, didn't they?
Mama's
Note: One thing to remember is that the protesters and rioters are "hundreds"
of people in a total population of millions. Just why this is being reported,
and responded to, so totally out of proportion is a mystery to me. But
I suspect we'll figure it out eventually. It is NOT spontaneous and it
is not a coincidence!
US,
British media tread carefully in cartoon furor
Christian Science Monitor
"Protests over 12 cartoons of the prophet Muhammad spread across
the Muslim world over the weekend, as Danish embassies were set on fire
in Syria and Lebanon and at least six people were killed during protests
in Afghanistan and Somalia. But while the demonstrations were inflamed
at least in part by the cartoons' republishing by newspapers across continental
Europe, the media in the United States have largely abstained from representing
the cartoons, citing them as 'too offensive to run,' reports Editor and
Publisher." (02/06/06)
No, this
isn't "treading carefully" - this is buckling under to threats
and hoodlums who call themselves religious people. As one columnist yesterday
pointed out, Denmark having a sale on beef doesn't result in Hindu riots
in Copenhagen OR Bombay; people may object to cartoons depicting Joe Smith
Jr. as a saloonkeeper or government sycophant but it doesn't end up with
threats and bombings and killings.
Muslim
leaders urge calm over cartoons
Indianapolis Star
"Many Arab governments, Muslim religious leaders and newspapers
have been calling for calm in the protests over the Prophet Muhammad cartoons,
fearing the violence of the past weeks has only reinforced Islam's negative
image in the West. No major demonstrations took place in Mideast and North
African cities Thursday, suggesting the fervor was easing. But it wasn't
clear whether the calm would last. A test may come after weekly Muslim
prayers on Friday, when at least one large protest is planned, in Morocco."
(02/09/06)
Well, they
are right about that - but it is clear that this is very much a minority
view, given the views of the Syrian and Iranian governments in encouraging
the violent protests and the calls for mass murder.
EU
leader pushes code of conduct for journalists
Washington Times
"A senior European Union official yesterday proposed a European
press charter that would commit journalists to 'prudence' when reporting
on Islam and other religions. Franco Frattini, the European Union commissioner
for justice, freedom and security, revealed the idea for a code of conduct
in an interview with the [London] Daily Telegraph. Mr. Frattini, a former
Italian foreign minister, said the European Union faced the 'very real
problem' of trying to reconcile 'two fundamental freedoms, the freedom
of expression and the freedom of religion.' Millions of European Muslims
felt 'humiliated' by the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet
Muhammad, he said, calling on journalists to accept that 'the exercising
of a right is always the assumption of a responsibility.'" (02/09/06)
As predicted,
this is being used as an excuse to take more freedom away. Notice how
this argument is crafted: it is based on a clear falsehood, that somehow
my saying that a religion is a fraud, a farce, a homicidal and genocidal
abomination in the eyes of God and all lovers of liberty (who aren't deluding
themselves) takes away a single bit of freedom of the practitioners of
that abomination to worship the way they want to. This is a "conflict"
that must be reconciled. Yes, freedom must be exercised with responsibility,
but exactly WHAT responsibility did these cartoonists neglect to follow
that harmed a single hair on a single Muslim head in Denmark or anywhere
else? If we want to talk about responsibility, how about the responsibility
of the so-called European political leaders to defend their peoples' freedoms,
or the responsibility of these false teachers who call themselves "imam"
and other junk titles and lie and create fake documents, and have forked
tongues like snakes never had!
UK:
Jury convicts cleric on hate charges
Houston Chronicle
"A jury in Britain convicted radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri
on Tuesday of fomenting racial hatred and inciting followers to kill non-Muslims.
Al-Masri, 47, the former imam at London's Finsbury Park mosque, was also
found guilty of possessing a terrorist document as well as threatening
or abusive recordings. Britain's best-known Islamist orator, Al-Masri
could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. The jury of seven
men and five women found al-Masri guilty on seven of nine charges of soliciting
murder. He was also convicted on two of four charges of stirring racial
hatred." (02/07/06)
I know
that many Muslims and many Muslim clerics are NOT of this ilk, but the
religion encourages this kind of fanaticism in its very nature - and those
who do NOT preach and practice this kind of hatred and aggression are
usually considered to be heretics and subject to the same fate we of the
West are supposed to suffer.
British
Muslim cleric jailed for inciting murder
Christian Science Monitor
"Abu Hamza, the radical Muslim cleric who police say turned his
Finsbury Park mosque in north London into a recruiting center for extremists,
was sentenced to seven years in jail Tuesday. The Daily Telegraph reports
that a jury at the Old Bailey (London's main criminal court) found Mr.
Hamza guilty of incitement to murder, stirring up racial hatred, and possessing
a document useful to terrorism. ... Under British law, once a charge is
laid against an individual, often the evidence against him cannot be discussed
in the media, so Wednesday was the first time many Britons discovered
what security forces had found during raids on Hamza's mosque. The Telegraph
reports that during a 2003 raid, police found 'an arsenal of weapons and
equipment which they believe were to be used in terrorist training camps
in Britain.' One of the main pieces of evidence used against Hamza was
an 'encyclopedia of Jihad,' based on CIA training manuals provided to
mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan the 1980s." (02/08/06)
Sadly,
the judge did not see this man as the threat that he and his co-religionists
are, and after seven years of brooding over the evils of the West and
his personal injustices, he will be free to again work for the West's
destruction. The full details of his plotting are shocking, but apparently
not enough to move the British public to riot - I guess cartoons are more
dangerous than someone preaching murder and hatred and training terrorists.
At least in the eyes of far too many adherents of one particular religious
groups that claims more than a billion followers.
Now for
a few other free-speech issues.
Cuba:
Journalist hospitalised after refusing food and water for 10 days in Internet
protest
Reporters Without Borders
"Reporters Without Borders voiced deep concern today at a sudden
worsening in the condition of independent journalist Guillermo Fariñas,
who was rushed to hospital yesterday after losing consciousness. He has
been refusing food and water since 31 January. .... The journalist has
said he is ready to die unless the Cuban authorities give all Cubans free
access to the Internet and allows independent journalists the right to
freely inform the public." (02/09/06)
I probably
should put this in "Stupid People Tricks" because this is such
a perfect example of failing to use your resources wisely. It would be
nice and comforting to believe that this kind of peaceful, nonviolent
response to tyranny really would work, but it is clear that Cuba and other
evil regimes are not bothered at all by their opponents starving themselves
to death.
TN:
School denies admission to gay couple's child
Nashville City Paper
"Donelson Christian Academy, a local private Christian school,
has denied a child admission on the grounds that the child is from a homosexual
family. Last year, John Barnby and his partner turned in an application
to DCA for their son to begin kindergarten next fall. According to Barnby,
they were warmly received at the open house last November and came away
with a 'good feeling' about the school. A few weeks ago, he received a
call from Danny Kellum, the headmaster of DCA. The headmaster was curious
about the child having two male parents. ... According to Barnby, Kellum
told him that his home life is an abomination against God and that if
Barnby's son was to attend DCA, he would be taught that he comes from
a sinful family and subject to the ultimate punishment from God. ... He
then informed Barnby that the child's application would not be accepted."
(02/06/06)
First,
I can't believe that these two people would even consider a Christian
school, unless it was one that believes something other than the Bible
teaches. At the same time, the administrator apparently has his tact surgically
removed, and fails to understand that the purpose of a school is to teach,
and that the purpose of a church is to preach, and if you drive away people
before you get a chance to preach to them (yelling at them on the phone
doesn't count), you have lost sight of your purpose in life. Still, the
other students, parents, and staff of this PRIVATE school have just as
much right to freedom of speech and association (which includes a freedom
to NOT associate - just as the anti-religion activists claim that "freedom
of religion" includes "freedom from religion."
Bootlicking
the thugs
Too
many businesses have found that the way to success is to suck up to government,
and this week, I offer a few examples of how that disgusting trait works
to damage freedom. I am an advocate of free enterprise, but I admit that
businesses, especially in the corporate world where management is all
but divorced from ownership, are sadly willing to use unethical business
methods. Bootlicking isn't worse than scams, cons, and "bait-and-switch"
but it isn't better, either.
BBC
tones down news on China website
Business Standard
"The BBC World Service has launched a website targeted at the
mainland Chinese market, offering English-language training and news that
is unlikely to upset Beijing's internet censors. China has long blocked
access to the British broadcaster's main Chinese website, www.BBCChinese.com,
which yesterday led with a story about US forecasts that Beijing's suppression
of dissent could undermine national stability. By contrast, the top item
on the broadcaster's new www.BBCChina.com.cn site was a Chinese-language
news story on the much less sensitive topic -- to Beijing officials at
least -- about the row surrounding cartoon images of the Prophet Mohammed.
The new website and the adoption of a domain name with the Chinese .cn
ending mark a big step forward in the BBC's efforts to build a presence
in one of the world's fastest growing media and education markets. However,
the decision to avoid including any of the broadcaster's often hard-hitting
China coverage could expose it to charges of bowing to Beijing censors.
Google, the US internet search company, has been widely criticised for
launching a local version of its service for the Chinese market that actively
censors results that could anger the Communist leadership." (02/06/06)
My title
for this section (new for the commentary, but sorely needed) says it all.
If anyone ever thought that media had a different standard of ethics than
any other sector of business, this should be a reminder that the mainstream
media's standard of moral behavior is generally much, much lower.
Chinese
man 'jailed due to Yahoo'
BBC News
Last year Yahoo was accused of giving information to Beijing which
led to the imprisonment of reporter Shi Tao. Reporters Without Borders
called on Yahoo to release the names of all internet writers whose identities
it has revealed to the Chinese authorities. " (02/09/06)
"The internet giant Yahoo has been accused of providing China with
information that led to the jailing of a second internet writer. Media
watchdog Reporters Without Borders claims that Yahoo released data which
led to the arrest of Li Zhi. The online writer was jailed for eight years
in 2003, after posting comments that criticised official corruption.
The result of bootlicking is people abused, imprisoned, and all too often,
dying.
UK:
Smokers face ban at home if nurse calls
Guardian [UK]
"Hundreds of thousands of smokers will be banned from lighting
up in their own homes when nurses or other health workers visit them,
under controversial new rules drawn up by the nurses' professional body.
The move dramatically widens the scope of the public clampdown on passive
smoking -- taking it from the workplace or the pub into the living room.
It will trigger fresh debate over the nature of personal freedom versus
public health. The Royal College of Nursing argues that nurses, midwives
and health visitors whose jobs involve going out to visit new mothers
or the frail and elderly, should not be forced to inhale smoke just because
'their workplace' is in other people's homes. It will publish guidance
shortly for NHS trusts stating that patients due a home visit should be
instructed in writing that neither they nor their family can smoke during
the visit or for an hour beforehand, creating a 'smokefree environment'
in the room where they will be seen. Those who do not comply will have
to travel to a clinic for their treatment." (02/06/06)
Oh, more
nannyism. Unfortunately, the National Health Service is effectively a
monopoly and so patients cannot exercise any power of the pocketbook.
Mama's
Note: As a nurse who spent many horrible hours in homes filled with smoke,
it's almost tempting to see this as a good idea. The nurse should clearly
have the right to decline to visit if she's not willing to breathe the
poison, but people have the right to smoke in their own homes too. The
problem comes with government interference, of course. A private nursing
agency could easily manage to come to some understanding with the patient
and family, or simply send a nurse who is comfortable in that environment.
The "one size fits all" seldom does.
UK:
Crime, violence slump after booze liberalization
Independent [UK]
"Serious violent crime has fallen by more than a fifth since the
licensing laws were liberalised, police figures show. Major industrial
cities, seaside resorts and market towns from the south coast to Cumbria
are reporting dramatic falls in alcohol-fuelled assaults and woundings
after the country's antiquated drinking laws were overhauled. The statistics,
released today, will confound critics who warned that the Licensing Act,
which allowed 24-hour drinking from November, would lead to an upsurge
in violence and antisocial behaviour." (02/07/06)
This is
exactly what people who really understand human nature and the role of
government versus liberty would have predicted!
Government-Ruined,
Theft-Funded Schools
A
few stories this week remind us of what a threat to liberty these schools
and the education system are, here in the United States (and elsewhere).
These are small incidents, affecting only a very few people, but are a
tiny percentage of what is happening across the nation.
UK:
Teachers given wider powers of punishment
Guardian [UK]
"Teachers in England will have a new legal right to confiscate
pupils' mobile phones or music players and punish unruly children beyond
the school gates under government plans set out yesterday. Youngsters
misbehaving on public transport or in the street on the way to or from
school will be targeted under the moves, which are part of the prime minister's
'respect' agenda. New powers to introduce a clear legal right for teachers
to discipline unruly pupils and restrain them using 'reasonable force'
were published in the education white paper -- soon to be bill -- last
October. Many headteachers already operate a system of pupils being regarded
as 'ambassadors' for their school while they are dressed in uniform outside
the school. But under the government plans, teachers would have the power
to discipline pupils who misbehave on the way to and from school strengthened,
with a legal right to take action." (02/09/06)
This is
punishment? To me, it is only common sense, and if parents don't like
it, they can abandon the government-run, taxpayer-funded schools (which
they should do anyway).
Losing
your virginity 101
Fox News
"These new terms the professor's teaching us aren't Spanish, are
they? A Lexington, Ky., high school Spanish teacher was suspended with
pay last month while the district probed allegations he showed the R-rated
comedy 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' to his students, according to the Lexington
Herald-Leader. 'The movie certainly wasn't in Spanish,' Fayette County
Public Schools spokeswoman Lisa Deffendall told the paper. In the film,
Steve Carell plays a 40-year-old single virgin named Andy whose friends
try to help him gain sexual experience. The film earned an R rating for
depicting drug use and pervasive, explicit and crude sexual content."
(02/06/06)
Yeah, free
speech probably extends to showing movies, but doesn't extend to malpractice
in education, and this clearly is that. Parents should be involved and
taking action - but of course, the GRTF schools have been protected from
parental action for a long time. Which is one big reason that things like
this happen.
Six-year-old
boy's harassment suspension outrages mother
Boston Globe
"A 6-year-old boy suspended last week after school officials said
he sexually harassed a girl in his class does not understand what he did
wrong and should be moved to another elementary school to avoid becoming
stigmatized by the incident, his mother said yesterday. The Brockton school
district gave the boy a three-day suspension on Jan. 30 after conducting
an internal investigation -- which they forwarded to the Plymouth district
attorney's office. Prosecutors, however, have not brought any charges,
in part because state juvenile criminal laws do not apply to those under
age 7, said prosecutors. The suspension outraged the boy's mother, Berthena
Dorinvil, who said her son is far too young to know the meaning of sexual
harassment. 'What is that supposed to mean? He's only 6 years old. I didn't
raise my son like this,' she said last night in an interview at her home.
Dorinvil said school administrators told her that her son's infraction
was to place his hand inside the waistband of a girl's pants, touching
the skin on her back." (02/08/06)
It would
be very rare indeed for a six-year old to even understand the concept,
much less to do it. It is a stupid example of how "public" schools
have betrayed the trust mistakenly given them, and why it is necessary
to get rid of them - to separate school and state.
Mama's
Note: As many of our writers point out, this is all part of a careful
plan to emasculate the boys and "empower" the girls to take
full control. This is a big part of the current "gender wars,"
down and dirty.
Telecoms
let NSA spy on calls
USA Today
"The National Security Agency has secured the cooperation of large
telecommunications companies, including AT&T, MCI and Sprint, in its
efforts to eavesdrop without warrants on international calls by suspected
terrorists, according to seven telecommunications executives. The executives
asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the program. AT&T,
MCI and Sprint had no official comment." (02/05/06)
Another
example of bootlicking, indeed. And one that harms everyone.
CA-Lawsuit
challenges high school exit exam
CNN
"To graduate this year, high school senior Nadira Wasi faces a
requirement that no class before hers has -- the state's high school exit
exam. Wasi, 17, is part of a program for students who need extra assistance
in school. She passed the English section but has twice failed the math
portion. On Wednesday, 20 high school seniors and their parents sued the
state Department of Education and school Superintendent Jack O'Connell,
claiming the exam is illegal and discriminatory. They worry the test may
prevent the students from graduating." (02/09/06)
The stupidity
of government schools in this case, is exceeded by the stupidity of the
student and her parents. If she is allowed to graduate without the exam,
what does that make those diplomas issued to her, these other 20 students,
and the rest of the graduates in this state? Frankly, without a test (this,
the SAT, the ACT, or something similar) I personally consider a California
high school diploma to be worth somewhat less than the blank piece of
paper it was printed on.
Mama's
Note: The same can be said, in large part, for many degrees issued by
community colleges. The "entrance exam" for the college I attended
was barely at a ninth grade level and worthless in determining which students
could actually do college level work. Not to worry, however, because the
average class was less challenging than many I'd had in high school some
15 years before! All that was almost 20 years ago, so I'm afraid the situation
is much worse now.
1st-grader
wows Arizona Legislature
Arizona Republic
"When it was his turn to speak to the Legislature on Wednesday,
Grady Day strolled confidently to the lectern to address the committee.
Like most of his fellow lobbyists, he was dressed formally, in khaki pants,
a navy blazer and a bow tie. Unlike his colleagues, though, he had to
stand on a box to reach the microphone. Grady Day is 6 years old. A first-grader
at Madison Park School, Grady was among a handful of children who joined
teachers and parents Wednesday to push for the passage of House Bill 2552.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Mark Anderson, would greatly expand funding
for gifted-student programs at school districts statewide. Roughly 7 percent
of Arizona's 1 million school-aged children have been identified as gifted,
state officials have said. In calm but forceful tones, Grady described
to the K-12 Education Committee how the lack of gifted programs in his
hometown of Mesa forced him to enroll in Phoenix's Madison School District."
[Editor's note: If you have yet to read about "Indigo
Children" this would be a good time to start. - SAT] (02/09/06)
Even resourcefulness
has its limits, when it changes to exploitation of children like this.
If this child is truly as gifted as his parents and the other exploiters
claim, he should be in a real school, not a GRTF operation, no matter
how much money they have for GATE programs.
Teen
girls use pills, smoke more than boys
Washington Post
"Teenage girls, having caught up to their male counterparts in
illegal drug use and alcohol consumption, now have the dubious distinction
of surpassing boys in smoking and prescription drug abuse. In the past
two years, in fact, more young women than men started using marijuana,
alcohol and cigarettes, according to government findings being released
today. The results are doubly disturbing, researchers said, because they
run counter to trends indicating an overall decline in teenage drug use
and because young women appear to suffer more serious health consequences
as a result." (02/09/06)
The cauldrons
that we call GRTF schools are indeed pressure cookers, and the pressures
of peers and so much else are no doubt a major cause for this. Of course,
we can also look at the efforts of feminists and the overall destruction
of society combined with the unintended consequences of government actions
that have made this lovely development possible.
Home
Front
More incidents in our own internal war on terrorists and for liberty.
This week, we see more of the same problems and threats that we have been
fighting for some time.
VA:
Nurse's letter prompts sedition probe
First Amendment Center
"Sen. Jeff Bingaman asked Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson
for a thorough inquiry into his agency's investigation of whether a VA
nurse's letter criticizing the Bush administration amounted to 'sedition.'
The agency's human resources office ultimately cleared her of any wrongdoing,
but Bingaman, D-N.M., said yesterday he was concerned that the VA investigated
Laura Berg of Albuquerque in the first place. Merely opposing government
policies and expressing a desire to change course 'does not provide reason
to believe that a person is involved in illegal subversive activity,'
he said. ... Berg, a clinical nurse specialist, wrote a letter in September
to a weekly Albuquerque newspaper criticizing how the administration handled
Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War. She urged people to 'act forcefully'
to remove an administration she said played games of 'vicious deceit.'
She signed the letter as a private citizen, and the VA had no reason to
suspect she used government resources to write it, according to the American
Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, which last week asked the government
to apologize to Berg for seizing her computer and investigating her."
(02/08/06)
Is a call
to "act forcefully" to remove the administration a call for
violent revolution? Is it treason? Not under New Mexico's constitution,
which is why the claim was "sedition." (Sedition, as defined
in the American Heritage Dictionary, is "conduct or language inciting
rebellion against the authority of a state" or "insurrection;
rebellion.") This might be construed as such, because New Mexico,
unlike most states, has no clause like Wyoming's: "All power is inherent
in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority,
and instituted for their peace, safety and happiness; for the advance
of these ends they have at all times an unalienable right to alter, reform
or abolish the government in such manner as they may think proper."
(It is very strongly my personal opinion that even though New Mexico gained
independence as a state in 1911-1912 during the Anglo ascendancy, its
government is far too Hispanic in its philosophy and operations - but
that is a subject for a lengthy article, and not this commentary.) I don't
think this woman was in any real danger of disappearing into a gulag,
but her example is going to have a telling effect on many other government
employees.
AL:
Churches file claims in arson spree
Decatur Daily
"The five rural Baptist churches [sic- church buildings or meetinghouses]
either damaged or destroyed in fires last week were able to begin filing
insurance claims Monday after all the fires were formally ruled arsons
by the state insurance commissioner. ... The fires destroyed three of
the churches -- Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, Pleasant Sabine near
Centreville and Rehobeth Baptist in the Lawley community. Old Union Baptist
at Brierfield and Antioch Baptist at Antioch suffered minimal damage.
There have been no arrests. Investigators Monday wouldn't elaborate on
evidence they collected from the churches or the type of fuel used to
set the fires. Ingram said local, state and federal officials are pursuing
several leads, but 'the leads haven't led us to a specific suspect or
a motive.'" (02/07/06)
Later this
week four more meeting houses were destroyed or damaged, and there are
now some clues, but the arsonists are still at large. The motive is unknown,
but in this age, we see it happening more and more. After all, if religion
is so bad that it must be kept from our schools and public buildings,
surely it cannot be allowed to exist anywhere, can it?
States
move to bar protests at soldiers' funerals
MSNBC
"States are rushing to limit when and where people may protest
at funerals -- all because of a small fundamentalist Kansas church whose
members picket soldiers' burials, arguing that Americans are dying for
a country that harbors homosexuals. During the 1990s, the Westboro Baptist
Church of Topeka, Kan., went around picketing the funerals of AIDS victims
with protest signs that read, 'God Hates Fags.' But politicians began
paying more attention recently when church members started showing up
at the burials of soldiers and Marines killed in Afghanistan and Iraq."
(02/06/06)
These people
do as good a job ruining their supposed cause as Cindy Sheehan is doing
for the antiwar movement, and are themselves a serious threat - it is
no surprise that so many agencies are moving to limit the actions of all
to prevent these idiots from going around and ruining things for grieving
families and communities. It is wrong, but understandable.
Chemical
scare near Capitol a false alarm
USA Today
"Eight senators were among 200 people who were held in a Capitol
parking garage Wednesday night after a security sensor indicated the presence
of a nerve agent in their office building. Later tests proved negative.
'Test results have been cleared and all test results are negative, so
that's very good news,' said Capitol Police Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. The
all-clear came three hours after an air-monitoring sensor indicated a
suspicious substance in the attic of the Russell Senate Office Building."
(02/08/06)
No doubt
all that hot air rising from the Senators' offices. Considering what we
know that some of them imbibe, toxic emissions are no surprise.
Lawmakers
seek clues to incursion
Arizona Republic
"The uniformed, heavily armed drug smugglers involved in a standoff
last month with law enforcement agents along the U.S.-Mexican border could
have been Mexican soldiers, even though the Mexican government blames
a drug cartel, Border Patrol Chief David Aguilar said Tuesday. 'I do not
want to leave the impression that our borders are under siege by government-of-Mexico
entities,' Aguilar told the House Homeland Security subcommittee on investigations.
He said the Border Patrol has never caught actual military personnel running
drugs, only impostors. Accidental incursions by real military units tend
to be defused peacefully, Aguilar said. Still, he said, 'we cannot discount
the possibility that they were military,' adding that the FBI and Immigration
and Customs Enforcement are investigating the case." (02/08/06)
Even if
they caught the troops and put them in jail in front of the media cameras,
I'll bet the discharge papers from the week before would be quickly "found"
and posted.
Deal
reached on Patriot Act extension
Houston Chronicle
"A band of Senate Republican holdouts reached agreement today
with the White House on minor changes in the Patriot Act, hoping to clear
the way for passage of anti-terror legislation stalled in a dispute over
protection of civil liberties. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., and three other
GOP lawmakers - all of whom joined with Democrats last year to block a
long-term extension of the law - were to announce the accord later today."
(02/09/06)
This really
is too bad, but everything that can weaken bad law is good.
Mexican
incursions inflame border situation
MSNBC
"Armed men in Mexican military uniforms have illegally crossed
into the United States to provide cover for drug smugglers, and have fired
upon U.S. Border Patrol agents on several occasions, a congressional panel
was told Tuesday. Border Patrol Union President T.J. Bonner detailed three
incidents since 2000 in which U.S. agents were chased and fired upon by
what he characterized as Mexican soldiers operating inside U.S. borders.
Bonner testified before the House Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee
on Tuesday." (02/07/06)
I discussed
this last week - and the question is, when does this become an actual
invasion? And of all the government functions which can be possibly justified
in the least, national defense is the one. Yet it seems to be very low
on our current governments' priorities.
NJ
takes illegal search act to trains
CBS News
"Commuters heading to work in Manhattan walked through metal detectors
Tuesday at a busy train station and fed their bags into X-ray machines
at the start of a test of an airport-style security screening program.
The $1 million test program was being run on PATH trains, which take passengers
between New Jersey and New York City using tunnels under the Hudson River.
It is a response to the train bombings in Madrid and London. In an effort
to keep passengers moving quickly through the system, commuters will not
be required to take off their shoes or empty their pockets. The screening
process should take about one minute, officials said. ... If the test
is considered successful, similar equipment could be used on the rest
of the Port Authority Trans-Hudson train system and on other mass transit
systems around the country, authorities said." (02/07/06)
Why don't
they just require everyone to strip completely, and go on their little
train ride in the nude, with all their clothing and belongings in boxes
in separate cars, after x-raying, irradiating, and microwaving them to
ensure that nothing goes boom.
Our Imperial
Court System
Oh, for an honest court system! We can't survive with this kind of system
in place, and it is getting worse all the time, both in the US and elsewhere.
The corrupt system is so interconnected with the rest of the governmental
system that even the reform attempts are virtually certain to fail. (See
the J.A.I.L.
material from our last issue.)
Judge
protects name of lawyer who gave heroin to prisoner
The Scotsman
A LAWYER who smuggled drugs into a Scottish jail and handed them to
a client was yesterday controversially granted anonymity by a judge.
It is this
kind of abuse of power that cries for J.A.I.L. and more - such as outlawing
lawyers AND judges, replacing them with a pure jury system.
Cover
for GOP's sole anti-Alito vote
Boston Globe
"The day after Lincoln D. Chafee cast the sole GOP vote against
Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr., the leading stamping ground
for party moderates -- the Republican Main Street Partnership -- issued
a statement praising the Rhode Island senator for his 'incredible courage'
in voting 'his conscience.' But the statement seemed to invite a sensitive
question: Were Main Street senators who supported Alito -- such as Olympia
J. Snowe and Susan M. Collins of Maine -- guilty of failing to display
the courage of their convictions? 'Our press release was not meant to
be a criticism,' insisted Sarah Chamberlain Resnick, executive director.
'We tried to give [Chafee] a little bit of cover by saying he was voting
his conscience.' Resnick was referring to Chafee's reelection bid this
year, in which the son of late senator John H. Chafee will need all the
'cover' he can get." (02/05/06)
How convoluted
politics has become, especially in the decadence of 21st century America:
not just lying, of course, but the idea that lying about one person somehow
becomes a slug against others. Frankly, anything that will reduce the
reelection chances of an incumbent is good as far as I'm concerned.
Legality
of Iraq war 'irrelevant,' court told
canada.com
"Ordinary foot soldiers should not worry about going to war because
there is almost no chance they would be prosecuted if the conflict were
deemed illegal under international law, a lawyer for the Ministry of Citizenship
and Immigration argued yesterday. Fighting a bid by two U.S. Army deserters
to stay in this country, both of whom argue the U.S. invasion of Iraq
violated international law, Marianne Zoric called the legality issue 'essentially
irrelevant.'" (02/09/06)
Certainly
Canadian courts have ignored pertinent facts before this. At the same
time, Canadian courts have been wrong time and time again, too.
Mideast
Tarbabies
Not much change in the Middle East this week, even with the Cartoon War
heating up. Blood continues to flow, due to this clash of competing philosophies:
coercive government on one side and evil religion on the other.
Iraq:
Police, contractor killed
Reuters
"Gunmen shot dead two policemen in the northern oil city of Kirkuk
.... The body of an Iraqi contractor working with U.S forces was found
on Sunday near Dujail .... Gunmen killed an Iraqi policeman on Sunday
near the oil refinery city of Baiji ..." (02/06/06)
Amazing
- apparently no innocents killed, for one day.
Iraq:
Four US Marines, seven Iraqis killed
Middle East Times [Cyprus]
"Rebels killed four US marines and at least seven Iraqis died
in attacks on Tuesday amid a tight security clampdown ahead of the major
Shia Muslim ceremony of Ashura, a favorite target of Sunni insurgents.
The marines were killed in two separate roadside bomb attacks the restive
western province of Anbar on Monday and Sunday, the US military said.
The latest fatalities bring the total US military death toll in Iraq since
the March 2003 invasion to 2,255, according to Pentagon figures as of
Monday." (02/07/06)
Well, so
much for not killing innocent civilians again.
Yemen:
Cole attack planner escapes prison
Detroit Free Press
"An al-Qaida operative sentenced to death for plotting the USS
Cole bombing that killed 17 sailors in 2000 was among a group of convicts
who escaped from a Yemen prison last week, Interpol said Sunday in issuing
a global security alert. Officials set up checkpoints around the capital
of San'a, where the prison was located, to try to catch the escapees before
they could flee to the protection of mountain tribes, according to a Yemeni
security official speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to talk to the press." (02/05/06)
Of course,
it didn't work, and he is still at large, last I've heard. One suspects
inside cooperation.
Iraq:
Three US dead; officials meet with insurgents
Detroit Free Press
"U.S. officials have met figures from some Sunni Arab insurgent
groups but have so far not received any commitment for them to lay down
their arms, Western diplomats in Baghdad and neighboring Jordan said Wednesday.
Three more U.S. troops were killed in Iraq -- two of them in roadside
bombings, the U.S. command said. The meetings, described as being in the
initial stage, have not included members of al Qaeda in Iraq or like-minded
religious extremists, the diplomats said on condition of anonymity because
of the sensitivity of the subject." (02/08/06)
No word
on how many innocent civilians are toast.
Iran:
Nuclear talks still possible
CNN
"A day after the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog voted to report Iran
to the Security Council for possible sanctions related to its nuclear
program, Tehran said diplomacy may still resolve its apparent impasse
with the International Atomic Energy Agency. 'We have not reached a dead
end, and there have been more difficult situations,' Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hamed Reza-Asefi said Sunday." (02/05/06)
Iran really
is good at playing both sides, isn't it?
Iran
tells nuke agency to remove cameras
Detroit Free Press
"Iran has told the International Atomic Energy Agency to remove
surveillance cameras and agency seals from sites and nuclear equipment
by the end of next week in response to referral to the U.N. Security Council,
the agency said Monday. Iran's demands came two days after the IAEA reported
Tehran to the council over its disputed atomic program. In a confidential
report to the IAEA's 35-member board on Monday, agency head Mohamed ElBaradei
said Iran also announced a sharp reduction in the number and kind of IAEA
inspections, effective immediately." (02/06/06)
At the
same time as they say it is possible to keep talking, they are pushing
more and more.
Mama's
Note: How does any country, or group of countries have the right to tell
Iran what weapons they can have or develop, any more than one or a group
of people have the right to decide if a neighbor can have a gun or not?
Unless Iran uses those tools for aggression, it's nobody's business what
they do.
Afganistan:
Drug trade "reaches to cabinet"
The Telegraph [UK]
"Some cabinet ministers in Afghanistan are deeply implicated in
the drugs trade and could be diverting foreign aid into trafficking, the
country's anti-narcotics minister said yesterday. The admission will dismay
Western governments, which last week pledged $10.5 billion (£6 billion)
in aid, including £505 million from Britain, to help to fight poverty,
improve security and crack down on the drugs trade. It raises the prospect
that money being donated by the West could be used indirectly to kill
British soldiers, 3,300 of whom will be stationed in anarchic Helmand
province, where corrupt officials, insurgents and drug lords overlap.
'I don't deny that,' said Habibullah Qaderi in an interview with the Sunday
Telegraph, when asked whether corruption linked to the £2.7 billion-a-year
drugs trade went right up to the cabinet." (02/05/06)
Anyone
who assumes any government, much less one in an Islamic nation, is not
corrupt, is making a big mistake. The entire situation is not much different
than the last couple of centuries in Afghanistan, anyway. The British
soldiers who may die in and because of Afghanistan are not the first,
and sadly, will not be the last.
Mama's
Note: And, sadly, it's all because of the senseless "war on drugs."
There is no need for a single person, British or anyone else, to die for
this.
Afghanistan:
Suicide bomber kills 13
CBC News [Canada]
"A suspected suicide bomber blew up a guard post outside police
headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Kandahar, killing 13 people
and wounding 11, officials said. Purported Taliban spokesman Qari Mohammed
Yousaf claimed responsibility for the bombing on behalf of the hardline
militia, and threatened more attacks. Ten of the dead and five of the
wounded were police who were standing guard when the assault occurred,
said Mamoon Khan, a doctor at Kandahar city's Mirwaise Hospital, which
was treating the injured. The rest of the victims were civilians."
(02/07/06)
Once again
a demonstration of the lack of moral direction on both sides.
Moussaoui
removed from courtroom
Indianapolis Star
"Proclaiming 'I am al-Qaida,' terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui
disrupted the opening of his sentencing trial Monday and was tossed out
of court as selection began for the jurors who will decide whether he
lives or dies. He disavowed his lawyers and pledged to testify on his
own behalf in the trial that is to begin March 6. An often volatile figure
in his proceedings, Moussaoui was removed from the courtroom four separate
times." (02/06/06)
Nut case
or just trying to distract the rest of us from something else?
Pakistan:
Suicide blast kills 22
CBC News [Canada]
"As many as 22 people were killed and dozens more were injured
on Thursday when a suicide bomb exploded in a Shiite Muslim procession
in northwestern Pakistan. The attack came as hundreds of people were leaving
a mosque in the town of Hangu, about 200 kilometres southwest of Islamabad.
The crowd responded by torching cars and shops, and fighting with police,
said police officials. Army troops were called in to impose order."
(02/09/06)
More Muslim
on Muslim murders - such a wonderful and loving people. And notice, Pakistan
is NOT occupied by the Western powers.
US
citizen may be handed over to Iraqis
Cincinnati Enquirer
"The U.S. government wants an Iraqi court to prosecute an American
citizen who is being held in Iraq on suspicion that he is a senior operative
of insurgent leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The man's lawyers said he is
innocent and likely to be tortured if handed over. The case is the first
known instance in which the government has decided to allow an American
to be tried in the new Iraqi legal system. At least four other U.S. citizens
suspected of aiding the insurgency had been held in Iraq, the Pentagon
has said." (02/08/06)
And this
is bad how? All these people that claim we need to stop running Iraq should
be happy, but all I hear is more complaining.
After
defeat at polls, Fatah faction seeks change
USA Today
"In a smoke-clogged office in the heart of the West Bank, a group
of Fatah party men sit and contemplate vengeance. The revenge they seek
isn't against Hamas, the militant group that ended Fatah's four-decade
monopoly over Palestinian politics with a surprise victory in last month's
parliamentary elections. They're in revolt against the leaders of their
own party." (02/07/06)
Change,
or revenge? After being high on the hog for a long time, now they are
going to be outcasts in their own land, and may be subject to all the
dirty tricks they played on their opponents and people for decades.
Abramoff
says Bush met, even joked, with him
MSNBC
"Jack Abramoff said in correspondence made public Thursday that
President Bush met him 'almost a dozen' times, disputing White House claims
Bush did not know the former lobbyist at the center of a corruption scandal.
'The guy saw me in almost a dozen settings, and joked with me about a
bunch of things, including details of my kids. Perhaps he has forgotten
everything, who knows,' Abramoff wrote in an e-mail to Kim Eisler, national
editor for the Washingtonian magazine." (02/09/06)
Who can
we believe? Probably neither one of them, really, and with good reason
on both parts!
Mama"s
Note: More to the point, who cares? If all the liars were thrown out of
government offices, they'd all be empty. Sounds like a good plan... then
nail the doors shut.
Boxer
urges Sheehan to not challenge Feinstein
Boston Globe
"California Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer today urged antiwar
activist Cindy Sheehan not to challenge the state's senior senator, Dianne
Feinstein, in the June Democratic primary. Sheehan, whose son was killed
in Iraq, has been actively considering a campaign after criticizing Feinstein
for refusing to call for an immediate withdrawal of U.S. Troops from Iraq.
But Boxer, a liberal former Marin County supervisor who strongly opposed
the war in Iraq, said Sheehan might actually hurt her antiwar cause by
jumping into the race against her fellow Democrat who is entering her
14th year in the Senate. 'I don't think having her in the Senate election
helps her at all,' Boxer told a roundtable of California reporters this
morning. 'I think it might have the opposite effect. Maybe she's more
valuable out there not as a candidate,' Boxer said of Sheehan and her
antiwar effort." (02/07/06)
Frankly,
would there be an real difference between a Senator Feinstein and a Senator
Sheehan? Once more, given the lack of experience and the lack of potential
for Sheehan to win against a GOP opponent, she shows again her incredible
lack of political awareness and the harm she creates for what is supposedly
her own cause. I am surprised that more people don't question whether
she is a ringer.
Mama's
Note: We've known for a long time that Sheehan doesn't care anything about
individual liberty or justice. She has her own agenda and she'd be delighted
to force everyone to go along with it. The very fact that she wants to
become a politician should ring bells with anyone who still thinks she
cares about freedom.
TN:
Lost job for backing GOP, ex-trooper says
Tennessean
"A former veteran state trooper from Knoxville, who has filed
a federal lawsuit against the Tennessee Department of Safety, told members
of the state Senate's Transportation Committee yesterday he lost his job
in 2004 because his family supported Republican candidates. 'The gist
of my story was I was run out of the highway patrol,' former THP Lt. Charles
B. Farmer said. Appearing with his lawyer, Farmer presented supporting
documents to the committee which is investigating claims of cronyism in
the department. Among them were contribution disclosures showing how much
Farmer's wife and father-in-law had donated to Republican candidates in
the 2002 statewide election. State Sen. Jamie Woodson, R-Knoxville, asked
Farmer about a transcript of a recorded conversation the former trooper
had with a superior. According to the transcript, Farmer allegedly asked
the superior if Farmer should have given $1,000 to a Democrat. 'Maybe
you should have,' Woodson read from the transcript." (02/07/06)
Someone
once said that if the Democratic party could create conditions so that
51% of the electorate did not pay taxes, that they would be permanently
in office. It isn't quite that simple, but it is clear that government
employees as a whole support the big government parties because they know
what side of the bread the butter is on. As a result, those who kick at
the traces are subject to abuse in return.
The
2006 Campaign
The themes of this year's campaigns seem to be dirty tricks - and not
much different than middle-eastern politics (except that there isn't as
much blood flowing - yet). Can we see the daylight at the end of the tunnel
yet? November seems a very long way away.
Veterans
run for office
Washington Times
"After 20 years in the Air Force and Bronze Star service during
the 1991 Gulf War, Democrat Jay Fawcett decided to come home and run for
Congress, largely out of disgust with the way American troops were being
used in Iraq. 'I think it's just gotten to the point where a significant
number of us who've served are looking at this administration particularly
-- and Congress doesn't get off the hook -- and saying, 'What're you doing?
What's the plan?'' he said. Mr. Fawcett is part of a large and possibly
unprecedented number of former soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines running
for Congress this year. About 40 of the candidates are Republicans, while
at least 55 are Democrats. By one count, at least 11 veterans of the Iraq
war or Afghanistan are hoping to get elected to the House or Senate, all
but one of them Democrats." (02/08/06)
Even the
Wash-Times doesn't bother to study history, such as the 1946 and 1948
elections, in which vast numbers of veterans returned home and ran for
office. Perhaps one reason that so many of those running are Democrats
is because serving soldiers can't run for office, and those who are accepting
of the current occupation duties are still serving, instead of quitting
and going home to complain.
Privacy
and related issues
When it comes to resourcefulness, the bad guys seem to have as much of
this character as the lovers of liberty do. And that is too bad. Still,
the other character defects of the opposition usually govern, as our section
on "Our Right to Defend Ourselves" usually shows.
Police
set for database of 'innocent' DNA samples
The
Scotsman
SCOTTISH police forces will be able to build up a database of DNA samples
from people who have never been convicted of a crime under plans set to
be approved by the Executive within weeks.
This really
bothers me - and it's very, very stupid.
US
plans massive data sweep
Christian Science Monitor
"The US government is developing a massive computer system that
can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information
from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports,
search for patterns of terrorist activity. The system -- parts of which
are operational, parts of which are still under development -- is already
credited with helping to foil some plots. ... The core of this effort
is a little-known system called Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization,
Insight, and Semantic Enhancement (ADVISE). Only a few public documents
mention it. ADVISE is a research and development program within the Department
of Homeland Security (DHS), part of its three-year-old 'Threat and Vulnerability,
Testing and Assessment' portfolio. The TVTA received nearly $50 million
in federal funding this year." (02/09/06)
No matter
how much people will defend the idea of using this to fight terrorists,
the real danger here is how it can be used to track down dissidents and
opposition of ANY type. But here we see where resourcefulness is really
needed: to figure out ways to conduct business and live our lives withOUT
making them open books to the spies, whether they claim to be good guys
or not.
Mama's
Note: Besides that, there is NO SUCH THING as a completely "secure"
computer or data system. The more in it, the greater the target for even
ordinary hackers and criminals - beyond the official ones. It's an open
invitation to every kind of error, fraud and criminal activity possible
with other people's information. It's a very bad idea, and one we much
fight in every way possible.
Privacy
swapped for convenience in TSA Frequent Flyer program
Fox News
"Becoming a trusted flier through the Transportation Security
Administration's new 'Registered Traveler' program may get fliers through
a shorter line at the airport, but they better be prepared to submit fingerprints,
pay a fee and go through a criminal background check first. And according
to government officials, unless the private vendor operating the program
decides to check financial and other commercial records, fliers won't
necessarily get out of taking off their shoes, opening laptops, baring
their jackets or following other time-consuming screening measures. 'The
requirements are pretty onerous,' said Charles Pena, homeland security
expert for the Coalition for a Realistic Foreign Policy, who wondered
aloud if it is worth the price" (02/09/06).
What privacy?
These people have given up any pretense, and we know their price: pretty
low. Esau has nothing on them.
Mama's
Note: Just what in the devil does your bank account have to do with a
bomb in your shoes? Those who would like to blow other people up are probably
not stupid enough to leave incriminating evidence in their checking account.
These people are a very sinister version of Keystone Kops, running around,
grasping at straws and knocking each other over in the pretense of doing
anything meaningful.
Our Right
to Defend Ourselves
As
usual, a good selection of stories of how people are able to defend themselves:
resourcefulness in action.
In other cases, we see how governments continue to try to mess things
up even more. But we actually start out with a report which shows how
people were NOT prepared and so create a massive problem for half the
nation.
AR:
Suspect in MA gay bar attack killed
The Mercury News
"An alleged attack at a Massachusetts gay bar, the killing of an
Arkansas officer and the slaying of a mother of three -- Jacob D. Robida
left a streak of unexplained violence that ended in a fatal shoot-out
with authorities. Robida, 18, was mortally wounded when he opened fire
on officers following a chase through the Arkansas hills at speeds in
excess of 90 mph. He was shot twice in the head and later died at a hospital
Sunday. Authorities say Robida left behind three men wounded in a hatchet-and-gun
attack in Massachusetts and two people dead in Arkansas: a 63-year-old
officer, and a passenger in Robida's car, whom he had apparently met over
the Internet." (02/06/06)
]If just
one or two of the patrons of that bar had been armed, none of this would
have happened.
MI:
Not just guns -- thugs with guns
Saginaw News
"Police Chief Gerald H. Cliff advised Saginaw City Council members
Monday against buying citizen's guns to thwart violence, saying buybacks
didn't get the types of high-powered weapons used by gangs off the streets.
Cliff's straightforward evaluation of gun buy-backs was right on target.
Gun buy-back initiatives, in which officials purchase guns from citizens,
ostensibly to keep them out of the hands of criminals, aren't effective.
A handful of studies since the 1990s, when the federal government gave
cities cash to buy guns, show they tend to lure law-abiding citizens to
bring in small caliber guns. More importantly, Cliff said the studies
indicate buying 'closet guns' doesn't have a measurable impact on reducing
violence." (02/05/06)
Does this
mean that at least ONE police officer gets it?
KS:
Gun advocates press for permit bill
Wichita Eagle
"Kansas is one of only four states that offers no concealed-weapons
permits. Advocates of concealed weapons say they hope election-year politics
may change that. As they have for years, pro-gun lawmakers are pushing
a bill that would set up a permit process for residents who want to carry
a concealed firearm. Similar measures have passed both the House of Representatives
and the Senate in recent years, but have always met with a gubernatorial
veto. The bill by Sen. Phil Journey, R-Haysville, would allow concealed
weapons permits for state residents over age 21 who pass a background
check, complete a training course, and have never been convicted of a
felony. Residents with a criminal background of domestic violence, two
drunken driving convictions or other certain offenses would be barred
from the permit process. Concealed weapons would be prohibited in certain
areas, such as state government offices, schools, colleges, day cares,
bars, sporting events, and any business that posts a sign banning them."
(02/03/06)
I know
that we would love to have Kansas recognize Vermont-style carry and forget
this stupid permit to carry rule (anyone have to get a "free speech
permit" this year? Anywhere?), I still am glad to see yet another
state moving closer to doing this. Of course, the list of prohibited places
becomes a target list for terrorists and thugs. (I was pleased just a
day ago to find that Allsup's, a chain of convenience stores in Texas
and New Mexico, has finally abandoned its "no-guns" policy and
no longer posts signs on their stores. Some people can learn, it seems.)
Mama's
Note: Small as the affect may be, I am careful NOT to patronize businesses
that post such signs - and I make sure the management knows it. If more
of us did this, they might learn a little faster.
SC:
70 year old cleared in shooting
WYFF4 News
"Investigators said a 70-year-old man shot his 39-year-old neighbor
in self-defense after he was attacked with a chair at his home. Prosecutors
said Thursday they would not charge John Black. Black handed over a gun
to police and told them he shot Marc Anthony Pringle on Monday. Anderson
police Lt. Layton Creamer said an investigation found that Pringle had
a 'tendency to become violent.'" (02/03/06)
The deep
south seems to be a bit more prone not to prosecute someone for defending
themselves. Good.
Indiana:
Robbery ends with death of suspect
WNDU News
"A South Bend man is recovering after he was robbed and stabbed
in his own home early Sunday morning. Police say the man apparently turned
the tables on the suspect and shot him to death. Neighbors were shocked
to find out there was robbery and shooting and were even more surprised
to find out that it could be the victim's next door neighbor who did it.
... Police say early Sunday morning a neighbor broke into the house to
rob the homeowner. ... Neighbors say the alleged robber, 29 year old Phoenix
Coalmon, lived next door. Police say Coalmon broke into the house and
stabbed the homeowner who then in turn shot him to death." (02/05/06)
No word
on whether the Indiana cops have decided that they need to prosecute this
man for killing his neighbor. Hopefully not.
Documentary
brings Williams to life
Canton Repository
"In the revolutionary atmosphere of the 1960s, Robert Williams
seemed to be everywhere. The civil rights activist's 1962 book 'Negroes
with Guns' is credited with being part of the intellectual foundation
for the founding of the Black Panther Party. ... But Williams' name isn't
included in most present-day accounts of the civil rights movement. He
is little remembered even in his home state, where his argument that blacks
should arm themselves against the threat of violence by segregationist
whites earned him at the height of his notoriety the label 'violent crusader.'
... But while Williams used nonviolent protest and boycotts, he was also
arming local blacks and teaching them marksmanship and self-defense."
(02/04/05)
A reminder
that even the worst people are not all bad, and even out of efforts as
hideous as the Black Panthers, good things can come.
OK:
Charge against Wyandotte man dismissed
KTEN News
"Ottawa County prosecutors dismiss a first-degree murder charge
against a Wyandotte man after authorities determined that the shooting
was self-defense. Twenty-one-year-old Michael Anthony Morrison was charged
May 2nd in the shooting death of Keith Alexander Gordon. Gordon was found
on a Wyandotte road with a gunshot wound to the face. U-S marshals arrested
Morrison in Kansas City, Kansas, and he returned to Miami in October.
District Attorney Eddie Wyant says an investigation revealed that Gordon
was running at Morrison with a belt-like vest containing several shotgun
shells, knives and machetes. Wyant says Gordon's relatives removed the
vest from his body and hid it in their home nearby. Witnesses say Morrison
grabbed his gun from his vehicle and shot Gordon when he began running
at him with a machete in his hand." (02/05/06)
It took
almost a year, but in this case, the circumstances seem to be more understandable
- instead of facing the fact that he had been forced to kill in self-defense,
he tried to run and played into the hands of the attacker's family.
Mama's
Note: Given the poor record for this kind of case in Canada, it's certainly
understandable why he didn't trust them - however misguided his actions
were. Thank God that he did find justice after all.
NC:
Surry man shoots home intruder
Winston Salem Journal
"A homeowner shot and injured a man who broke into his house this
morning, the Surry County Sheriff's Office said. Greg and Ashley Durham
of 2769 Old Highway 52 woke up about 3:30 when they heard their dog barking
outside, the sheriff's office said in a statement. They saw a person wearing
what looked like a hood walking near the back of their house, and called
911. The man forced open a locked door and came in the front of the house.
Greg Durham 'shot the disguised unknown person after the entry into the
living quarters of the house, using a .22-caliber rifle,' the statement
said. Deputies arrived and found Jason Garrett Chilton, 20, lying on the
floor in the front room with a gunshot wound. He was wearing a pillowcase
over his face, the statement said." (02/04/06)
Again,
in the South, they are willing to use some common sense.
GA:
Mystery man shoots robber
Atlanta Journal Constitution
"Gwinnett detectives are searching for a Hispanic man that they
know only as 'John' who may have shot and killed a would-be armed robber
in Norcross last week. Police think 'John' acted in self-defense, and
if he comes forward to talk to detectives, he most likely will not be
charged with a crime. 'We just want him to come forward and tell his side
of the story,' Gwinnett police Detective Steve Shaw said. 'I believe that
he is scared and is probably in hiding, but we will search for him until
we find him.' Homicide detectives found the body of 18-year-old William
D'Juan Jones of Decatur Jan. 25 in the breezeway of an apartment at 3229
Sunrise Village Lane. Jones was carrying a loaded gun and had a red bandana
covering the lower part of his face . Investigators have learned that
Jones was part of a robbery crew that had driven to the apartment complex
that day, Shaw said. The robbery crew had randomly picked 'John' to rob
and followed his dark-colored or burgundy Intrepid or Stratus, police
said. Police learned about 'John' in interviews with members of the robbery
crew." (02/04/06)
If I were
in this mystery man's situation (unlike the guy in Oklahoma), I'd be very
tempted to keep my identity a secret as well. After all, "most likely"
is hardly comforting, and who face going through a massive jury trial
without quailing?
Mama's
Note: This "John" is quite possibly an illegal alien as well,
so he has another reason to stay hidden if he can.
OK:
"What's up, fool?"
NewsOK
"'What's up, fool?' David Anderson said as he opened fire with a
.45-caliber pistol. The startled intruder scrambled through the broken
door of Anderson's northeast Oklahoma City business and hit the streets
-- but not before taking a bullet. Friday's shooting still is under investigation,
but so far, police said, Anderson is thought to have acted in self-defense,
firing his weapon to protect his business from at least one would-be burglar."
(02/04/06)
It seems
clear to me - a break-in was interrupted in progress, and the perp got
shot.
GA:
Homeowner shoots back
WTOC News
"Deputies were called to the Timesaver on Deerfield Street after
a man apparently walked in with a gunshot wound. Deputies now say that
three men -- David Wiltz, Burney Cobb, Jr., and Timothy Sikes -- forced
their way into a home on Zeigler Road and tried to rob the man living
there at gunpoint. They had a shotgun, but the homeowner had his own gun
and opened fire, hitting Wiltz. The men took off, but when they got to
Highway 80, they kicked Wiltz out of the car at the Timesaver. That's
where where police and ambulance crews found him." (02/06/06)
Yet another
example of someone paying the penalty for a stupid act of aggression.
And clearly, a poor choice of associates.
Activist:
Take mystery out of guns for safety
Winchester Star
"When snipers were killing people during October 2002 in the metropolitan
Washington, D.C., area, Nicki Fellenzer's coworkers sometimes asked her
to accompany them on errands outside their office building in Vienna.
'They know that I carry a gun,' said Fellenzer, who has a permit to carry
a concealed weapon with her at all times. ... Fellenzer said she doesn't
worry about having guns in the house because she and her husband have
taught Daniel and their daughters, Sarah, 10, and Anna, 16, about gun
safety. 'The No. 1 rule around this house is that a gun is not a toy,'
Fellenzer said. 'Our children know this and understand it. They are drilled
regularly on gun safety.' ... 'What is the No. 1 rule?' she asked Daniel.
'Don't point a gun at anyone you don't intend to shoot,' he said. 'And
where do you keep your finger, when holding a gun,' Fellenzer asked her
son. 'Not on the trigger, unless you're ready to shoot,' he said."
[Registration required, or use login "newslinks/newslinks"]
(02/06/06)
Good points,
to remember when raising kids AND when dealing with neighbors and coworkers.
Anyone interesting in improving the cause of liberty should remember this!
Mama's
Note: And I'll trot out my favorite hobby horse here. Ownership of a gun
does not equal self defense any more than having a row boat in your back
yard makes you a sea captain. Self defense requires good training, with
frequent practice and constant attention to both gun and home safety.
Without training and common sense, a gun is a very dangerous thing indeed.
The difference is up to you.
IL:
87-year-old woman fatally shoots man in her home
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"An 87-year-old East St. Louis woman fatally shot a man early
this morning as he was trying to break into her house. Police said they
found the man, Larry D. Tillman, 49, of East St. Louis on the enclosed
front porch of the woman's house in the 2100 block of Gaty Avenue. He
had pulled the telephone wires from the side of the house, then removed
security bars from a porch window. As the man was breaking through a storm
door that leads into the house itself, the woman fired several shots through
her front door, striking Tillman once in the chest. Police said the shots
were fired from a pistol, most likely a gun that her daughter had given
her after a man broke into the elderly woman's house in December, battered
her and stole some items. The man may have been dead for as long as four
hours before police arrived. Police said that the woman was not sure that
she had hit Tillman when she fired the shots about 2 a.m. However, she
was too afraid to go outside to check and could not call for help because
the telephone lines were dead. When the woman's daughter arrived about
6 a.m. to bring her mother breakfast, she found the dead man on the porch,
police said." [FND editor's note: Boy, I bet her daughter is
proud as punch she gave her Mama a gun and Mama used it! - MLS] (02/07/06)
What a
hideous fate was avoided, and yet there are millions of people who think
it can't happen to them.
IN:
No charges in intruder killing
WNDU News
"Criminal charges will not be filed against a South Bend man who
shot and killed an intruder during a botched robbery. ... The homeowner,
79-year-old Donald Van Dusen, shot Phoenix Coalmon. Coalmon later died
at the hospital. Police say Coalmon planned on robbing Van Dusen's home.
However, during a struggle between the two men, Van Dusen was stabbed.
At a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Prosecutor Mike Dvorak said he
felt there was no need to file charges. 'All indications are we will not
be charging Mr. Van Dusen. (However), the investigation is not complete,'
said Dvorak Tuesday. Investigators have not had an opportunity to interview
Van Dusen, but family members say his health is improving. He remains
in the hospital recovering from his stab wounds." [FND editor's
note: Hm. A 79 year old is stabbed in his home by a robber and shoots
him. The investigation of WHAT is continuing? - MLS] (02/07/06)
The utter
stupidity of these legal thugs is amazing, isn't it?
Smuggling
Indictment Prompts New Push to Ban .50-Caliber Rifle
CNS News
The indictment of ten foreign nationals on charges that they tried
to smuggle dozens of .50 caliber rifles out of the U.S. And into the hands
of alleged terrorists in Colombia, has given gun control groups another
reason to push for a ban of the rifle...
The government,
of course, should not be involved in banning sale of weapons outside the
US, just as it should not be involved in promoting sales of weapons outside
the US.
Stupid
Government and People Tricks
Sigh.
As usual, lots of examples this week. I am reviewing a new book, "Big
Government Makes Your Grandchildren Poor" - but believe me, it doesn't
have to be that big to rob not just the future generations, but our own,
blind.
More
News and Commentary on Page 2
Nathan
Barton's views and comments, however normal they sound, are too weird
to be anyone's but his own, and not necessarily anyone else's. Caveat
Lexor. Be sure to visit my blog,
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