February 20, 2006

Libertarian Commentary on the News, 12-18 February 2006
Before we jump to the news and comment this week, let us consider the libertarian virtue or characteristic of "tolerance" - tolerance is showing respect for the right of others to hold a different view or opinion, It is the opposite of bigotry, but not synonymous with either acceptance or love. To be tolerant does NOT mean that we have to ACCEPT the views of others, especially if those views are more than just opinion, but in violation of truth or even, of faith. Nor does it mean that we are required to treat all views or opinions as equal, in order to be tolerant. There are limits to this character trait, just as there all to all traits. The right to free speech is a concrete expression of this tolerance. We may believe that anyone denying the Holocaust is absolutely and completely wrong, but we recognize the right of anyone to claim otherwise. That does not mean that we accept what they say. Sadly, too many people around the world have a mistaken idea of "tolerance" - either they don't have any (and thus deny the right of free speech to anyone with whom they disagree), or they treat tolerance as demanding acceptance of all views and opinions, without judgment. A lover of liberty will always strive to be truly tolerant, while being watchful and ready to defend themselves against the very people that they tolerate.

Now, on to the news!

The Cartoon War
Much of the news this week was the same ol' same ol' - riots, US and European newspapers refusing to run the cartoons "out of sympathy", and various Muslim groups crying for the death of the infidels. There have been a few, but very, very few, Muslims who have called for calm and reason, but even those seem to have taken the position that shari'a must apply to the entire world - or at least any place that they know about.

Pakistan: "Cartoon" rioters murder two
Brocktown News Journal
"Thousands of protesters rampaged through two cities Tuesday, storming into a diplomatic district and torching Western businesses and a provincial assembly in Pakistan's worst violence against the Prophet Muhammad drawings, officials said. At least two people were killed and 11 injured.

Expect this to grow worse, as the "default setting" for Islamic societies to anything they don't like (including natural disasters, apparently) is to riot. The surprising thing this time was that it took four months, but now they have to make up for lost time.

No more Danish in Iran
Fox News (via CNS News)
Bakeries across the capital [Tehran] were covering up their ads for Danish pastries Thursday after the confectioners' union ordered the name change in retaliation for caricatures of the Muslim prophet published in a Danish newspaper. "Given the insults by Danish newspapers against the prophet, as of now the name of Danish pastries will give way to 'Rose of Muhammad' pastries," the union said in its order." This is a punishment for those who started misusing freedom of expression to insult the sanctities of Islam," said Ahmad Mahmoudi, a cake shop owner in northern Tehran.

Notice this was no "popular movement" - rather it was ORDERED by the union (which in Iran is a government-run union, as part of the effort to beat up on the West. Unlike the boycott on Danish products, this is purely symbolic since the pastries and their ingredients all are local products - which means the cost of the change is borne by the merchants and bakers. Like Liberty Cabbage (Sauerkraut in WW1) and Freedom Fries (French fries in 2003), this stupid little bit of vindictiveness makes news, but no difference.

Editor stands by publication of cartoons
The Daily Australian
THE cultural editor of a Danish newspaper that started a global row over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed today stood by his decision to publish the controversial caricatures, saying they were aimed at promoting debate. Flemming Rose, editor of Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, told a panel discussion at the Brookings Institution in Washington that his decision to commission the drawings was legitimate, in light of the self-censorship that prevailed in his country and elsewhere when it came to dealing with Islam. "There was a legitimate news story we had to cover and we chose to cover it in a not very ordinary way," he said, referring to the letter he sent in September to 40 cartoonists asking them to draw the prophet as they saw him. "My intention was to have them appear under their own name and go against this tendency to self-censorship," Flemming said. "I did not ask them to make (the prophet) a laughing stock or to mock him or to make fun of him. "But because we do have a tradition of satire in Denmark, some of the cartoonists, in fact, did make satirical cartoons, but that is what we do with Jesus Christ and that is what we do with the royal family and with politicians," he said. "So in fact the cartoonists were just treating Islam and Muslims in the same way they would treat everybody else."

The last sentence of my quote from the article: "we were just treating Muslims in the same way we would treat everybody else." Of course, this assumes that the society, religion, and its adherents are sane, not violent madmen who continue to produce more evidence for why they should be viewed as an enemy not just of liberty but of all humanity.

Mama's Note: We just need to remind folks that this means shunning them if necessary, not bombing them into the stone age, as too many people seem to advocate. We need to leave them alone to live their lives as they see fit- no matter how much we disagree with it, and protect ourselves from any attempt they may make to impose that life on us.

NBC Pulls the Plug on 'Book of Daniel'
World Net Daily
NBC's "The Book of Daniel" may have launched to great controversy and hoopla. But, today [23 JAN 06], the show ended with a whimper - pulled unceremoniously from NBC's Friday night schedule, effective immediately, with no more of an announcement than an entry on an NBC blog by creator Jack Kenny.

I am including this somewhat dated article so that the next item makes more sense, and because people are claiming that the actions which supposedly led to the cancellation of this program are the equivalent of the Cartoon War launched by many Islamic groups.

Hollywood Condemns "Christian Morality"
Apologetics Press
In their ongoing attempt to withstand the massive assault on traditional moral values, Christians recently experienced a momentary victory when NBC decided to cancel one of its programs after airing only three episodes. The show's creator is quoted as having condemned the opposition to the program as "censorship, pure and simple-and that is both un-Christian and un-American"

I don't often comment on commentary, but as we continue to fight the Cartoon War, we have to keep in mind that freedom of speech is threatened even by those who wrap themselves in the First Amendment, as this article shows.

Iran paper's Holocaust cartoons
BBC
A leading Iranian newspaper has launched a competition asking people to submit cartoons about the Holocaust. The Hamshahri daily says the competition is to test the boundaries of free speech for Westerners.

No doubt this will give Pat Robertson another chance to "shine" in his growing senility, but other than that and a few skinheads, I don't expect there to be a lot of squawks from the West, except that apparently western cartoonists are not eligible to compete. Iran and other Islamicists just do not seem to understand modern Western secular society - which is not necessarily a fault: I get confused sometimes, too.

Internet firms caught in China free speech fight
MSNBC
"Yahoo Inc., Google Inc. and other U.S. Internet companies under fire for assisting in China's censorship efforts are insisting they must obey Beijing or risk limiting access to their most promising market. As the companies face congressional hearings in Washington on Wednesday about their role in aiding the communist regime, they are appealing to the U.S. government for help, saying no private business can resist China on its own." (02/14/06)

This issue has suddenly heated up this week, as Congress does its own version of the Islamic delayed reaction and suddenly decides that they've been missing a wonderful opportunity to bash US-based companies and "demonstrate" just how much they (the Congrus-critturs love freedom, especially freedom of speech. Right.

Government-Ruined, Theft Funded Schools
"Public" education is a worldwide evil as some of our stories this week point out. As always, my advice is "Parents, get your kids OUT!"

12 year old charged for bringing sugar to school
Chicago Sun-Times
(February 14, 2006) - "A 12-year-old Aurora (Illinois) boy who said he brought powdered sugar to school for a science project this week has been charged with a felony for possessing a look-alike drug, Aurora police have confirmed,.The school handbook states that students can be suspended or expelled for carrying a look-alike drug. Penalties for juveniles are decided on a case-by-case basis, but if convicted, the sixth-grader could likely face up to five years' probation, said Jeffery Jefko, deputy director of Kane County juvenile court services."A subsequent statement by Aurora Police Chief William Lawler maintains the boy was *only* charged with a misdemeanor, not a felony, adding, "Narcotics, whether they are actual or perceived, have no place in our community much less in educational institutions."

Thanks to Chuck for this one. The boy was also suspended for two weeks, a criminal act far worse than bringing powdered sugar to school - for an assigned project!

Mama's Note: This is a perfect example of fears gone stark mad! The permanent damage being done to children in the name of "safety" defies imagination. The cure, of course, is to get those kids out of government schools - NOW! Not when you can "afford it" or when it is more convenient... NOW, while your children are not damaged for life. I don't care what excuse you have, it can't possibly be more important than the life and health of your children. If the state where you live won't "let" you educate your own children, then move! NOTHING is more important than your children.

India's lower castes can now go to private schools
Christian Science Monitor
"Private education in India has always been the preserve of the country's middle and upper classes, but not for much longer. Under a new constitutional amendment, private schools, colleges, and professional training institutes that operate without government funding will be obliged to set aside more than one-quarter of their seats for students from India's 'untouchable' lower castes or Dalits, as well as other socially and economically disadvantaged groups. The amendment, which will apply to admissions for the 2006 academic year, could directly affect the lives and futures of at least 70 percent of India's more than 1.2 billion people." (02/13/06)

What India is doing is nationalizing its private schools, converting them into nothing more than a special category of public school - and on the dime of the schools and their patrons, since by definition the schools receive no government funding. For once, CSM is right in saying it "could directly affect the lives and futures of at least 70 percent" of the population - but not in the way that they think. Indian "public" schools, like those in the UK, US, and elsewhere, are jokes, and the effect of dragging the private schools down will negatively impact all of India. We see, once more, the tyranny of the majority.

AZ: Bill would put flags in all classrooms by 2007
Arizona Republic
"The state House Committee on Universities, Community Colleges and Technology has approved a bill requiring public schools and universities around Arizona to hang an American flag in every classroom by July 1, 2007. The bill would also mandate that all public and charter schools as well as community colleges and universities buy American-made flags that are at least 2 by 3 feet. The sponsor of the bill, Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, said this was being done in an effort to raise the level of patriotism that has been steadily declining over the years. 'We live in a time when we need to recognize our heritage,' he said Tuesday during the committee hearing. 'The flag is a symbol of freedom, and we need to protect that.' Pearce said there are some schools throughout the state that do not have a flag in each classroom." (02/15/06)

How every like the typical liberal and statist mindset: the symbol will magically cause the desired result to appear: more flags will result in patriotism. They may not even know what that flag stands for, or what its history is, because heaven forbid that the truth be taught, but that flag will be there to ensure their slavish loyalty! And instead of solving education problems, they ignore them to come up with stupid laws like this.

Mama's Note: My first reaction to this was to laugh, then to cry. How can Don't let your impressionable children be brainwashed with the symbol of world imperialism, tyranny and injustice. Get your children OUT of those schools!

OH: School board eliminates disputed evolution language
Fox News
"The Ohio school board voted Tuesday to eliminate a passage in the state's science standards that critics said opened the door to the teaching of intelligent design. The Ohio Board of Education decided 11-4 to delete material encouraging students to seek evidence for and against evolution. The 2002 science standards say students should be able to 'describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory.' The standards include a disclaimer that they do not require the teaching of intelligent design. The board vote represents the latest setback for the intelligent design movement, which holds that life is so complex it must have been created by a higher authority." (02/15/06)

First, this doesn't represent any kind of a setback at all to "intelligent design", better known in one of its guises as "theistic evolution" - rather, this gives the proponents another clear example of how the scientific community version of political correctness ensures that students are not taught a balanced view of a key science, but rather, what the powers-that-be have decided is the Truth - a form of religion in and of itself.

MA: A sweet tooth is tough to pull
Boston Globe
"The 12- and 13-year-olds dug candies out of their pockets and backpacks, devouring them as appetizers, desserts, or substitutes for lunch in the Boston middle school cafeteria. One girl squeezed Extra Sour Goo Candy from a pink tube and licked the drops of strawberry-flavored sugar from her palm. She sprayed another sour candy from a pump into her mouth, while a classmate sucked a giant diamond-shaped candy in a plastic ring on her hand. The children attend Mildred Avenue Middle School, which has banned soda and junk food from its one vending machine and instead stocks it with low-fat yogurt, cheddar cheese cubes, and calcium-infused orange juice. With its candy-chomping pupils and its healthy vending machine, the Mattapan school models the problem as well as a possible solution for improving children's nutrition, an issue the state Senate is to tackle today. The Senate plans to debate whether to limit the sale of high-calorie snacks and sugar-laden soft drinks in school vending machines." (02/15/06)

Hey, I have a wonderful idea! Let's use those security checkpoints that are supposed to keep the kids from bringing in drugs and weapons also keep out the Dingdongs and Twinkies and lollipops - refined sugar is nothing but a gateway drug anyway! (After all, didn't that Illinois school district (article above) decide that the powdered form is a "look-alike" drug?) Turn these "public schools" into even more of a prison than they already are. And turn the students into stoolies to report if their parents are harming them with secondhand smoke, or extra frosting on the dessert, or too much greasy fries and burgers, or teaching them about what it means to be free (not that such is likely if the parents are voluntarily sending them to GRTF schools).

Mama's Note: Alert to the humor impaired; Nathan is using sarcasm here...

Home Front
In addition to the home front in the war against the Islamic extremists, we have our own internal war against wannabe tyrants. We see the fight is one which must be taken to the enemy, not simply wait for them to come up with something new.

Air marshals in Houston face drug charges
Houston Chronicle
"Two U.S. air marshals face federal drug charges after being arrested last week, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office said today. The names of the air marshals or details about what they were arrested for were not released by authorities. However, Time Magazine's Web site said the air marshals were allegedly involved with the possession or transportation of cocaine and may have received thousands of dollars for their work." (02/12/06)

Who will watch the watchers? I am sure these will claim they couldn't make ends meet on a government salary, and so had to moonlight.

US concludes "Cyber Storm" mock attacks
My Way News
"The government concluded its 'Cyber Storm' wargame Friday, its biggest-ever exercise to test how it would respond to devastating attacks over the Internet from anti-globalization activists, underground hackers and bloggers. Bloggers? Participants confirmed parts of the worldwide simulation challenged government officials and industry executives to respond to deliberate misinformation campaigns and activist calls by Internet bloggers, online diarists whose Web logs include political rantings and musings about current events. The Internet survived, even against fictional abuses against the world's computers on a scale typical for Fox's popular '24' television series. ... Homeland Security coordinated the exercise. More than 115 government agencies, companies and organizations participated." (02/10/06)
This should be a recognition of the potential power of the Internet to mess things up, or to defend against a growing tyranny.

A 34 day fast against the Iraq War
CounterPunch
"A 34 day, liquids-only fast to end the war against and occupation of Iraq will begin in Washington, D.C. on February 15. Fast participants will consume only water or juice, and will maintain a daily vigil at the U.S. Capitol, lobby members of Congress and conduct sit-ins at key Congressional offices. The start and end dates of the fast commemorate the third anniversary of worldwide protests against the invasion of Iraq, and the date of the U.S. invasion. The activities are part of growing grassroots opposition to economic and military warfare against Iraq." (02/15/06)

A lot of effort is being put into this, but the participants and backers of this need to ask exactly what they can hope to gain from this. If this is for their own mental and spiritual well-being, that is fine - more power to them. If they expect it to make a gnat's eyelash worth of difference in Congressional or Administration attitudes, they need to wake up and smell the coffee (not on their list, I know) - and go find some other way to change things. As far as this being part of "growing grassroots opposition" - the writers of this are dreaming: this is the same opponents who have always been opposed to the war, just doing something different. This will no more win new converts than it will convince Bush to end the Iraq occupation.

Mama's Note: I never could understand the idea behind these "hunger strikes." If the people they are trying to influence cared the least thing for them, it wouldn't be necessary. If they are trying to influence the public, they are out of their minds. The population of this country cheerfully ignores the death of millions of unborn babies each year and countless victims of the "war" on everything. Why in the world would they care a thing about stopping this war?

Weldon: "Able Danger" ID'd Atta 13 times
Indianapolis Star
"Pre-Sept. 11 intelligence conducted by a secret military unit identified terrorist ringleader Mohamed Atta 13 different times, a congressman said Tuesday. During a Capitol Hill news conference, Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., said the unit -- code-named 'Able Danger' -- also identified 'a problem' in Yemen two weeks before the attack on the USS Cole. It knew the problem was tied into the port of Aden and involved a U.S. platform, but the ship commander was not made aware of it, Weldon said." (02/14/06)

More evidence, like the Katrina announcements, that government is inept, incapable of handling its primary responsibilities, and inefficient and ineffective. Soldiers and sailors know this and expect to have to live (or die) with the consequences - civilians are sadly too uninformed and optimistic to respond likewise.

Mama's Note: The real problem is that people have come to believe that government has ANY "primary responsibilities." The endless expansion of that is inevitable if any legitimate "need" for government is accepted at all. Until people are completely disillusioned and accept their OWN total responsibility for their lives and rights, nothing will improve. Government of any kind has only ONE "primary" goal: constantly increasing power over everyone and everything... "for your own good," of course.

Senators call for FBI bias investigation
MSNBC
"The Senate Judiciary Committee is calling for an investigation into whether the FBI retaliated against its highest-ranking Arabic-speaking agent, a new letter reveals. The public airing of the private workplace squabble is a potential embarrassment for the FBI, which faced criticism after 9/11 for its failure to hire many Arab-speaking agents and for failing to better understand the radical Islamic community inside the United States." (02/16/06)

Is it indeed possible for a faithful Muslim to serve as an FBI agent or anything else in government? It is a question we must ask about Christians as well, of course. The only time the question has been really discussed in recent memory is when Kennedy ran in 1960, and the answer for Catholics, at least, was yes - it was possible. For Christians who reject both Protestantism and Catholicism, the answer might not be; for faithful (not "moderate") Sunni and Shi'a Muslims, who adhere strictly to the Quran, the answer is probably "no."

Patriot Act moves closer to renewal
CNN
"The Senate overwhelmingly rejected an effort Thursday to block renewing the Patriot Act, the 2001 law passed weeks after the September 11 attacks to help the government hunt down terrorists. The 96-3 vote was no surprise to Sen. Russell Feingold, the Wisconsin Democrat who was the lone senator to oppose the law four and a half years ago and is the chief obstacle to extending 16 provisions now due to expire March 10." (02/16/06)

Surprising that he got 3 votes, which means his effort (such as it is) has tripled in just 4.5 years. At that rate, it might get repealed by, oh, 2096 or so. Shucks, even Chelsea's granddaughter will be out of office by then.

Civil liberties fear as US terror suspect list rises to 325,000
Guardian [UK]
"Civil liberties organisations expressed outrage yesterday after it was reported that the database of terrorist suspects kept by the US authorities now holds 325,000 names, a fourfold increase in two and a half years. The list, maintained by the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), includes different spellings of the same person's names as well as aliases, but the Washington Post quoted NCTC officials as saying that at least 200,000 individuals are on it. They said that 'only a very, very small fraction' of that number were US citizens, but that insistence did little to defuse the reaction. Timothy Sparapani, an expert on privacy rights at the American Civil Liberties Union, said the ACLU's response was one of incredulity, and alarm that many people are likely to be on the list by mistake, with serious impact on their lives and few, if any, means of getting themselves off it." (02/16/06)

So why don't we make the list public, so that all these evil people can be rounded up and kept out of circulation. A modest reward, say a $1000 a head, would ONLY cost $200 million - that's less than ½ of an Alaskan bridge!

Mama's Note: I'm going to assume this is satire. How many of these people are actually a threat to anyone is a good question, but based on what we know of such government "lists," I'd not trust that even a small number of them are actually criminal in any real sense. With all of the secrecy and skullduggery associated with such lists, we may never know, but I think it's obvious that only those who are actuality aggressors should be prosecuted or tracked in any way.

MA: Bishops to oppose adoption by gays
Boston Globe
"The four Roman Catholic bishops of Massachusetts plan to seek permission from the state to exclude gay couples as adoptive parents, according to two board members of the church's largest social service agency who were briefed on the plan. The decision follows a three-month study of the theological and practical impact of having Catholic Charities of Boston, the Boston Archdiocese's social service arm, place children with gay couples, given the Vatican's teaching that describes such adoptions are 'gravely immoral.' This decision to seek an exemption from state anti-discrimination rules pits the bishops against the 42-member board of Catholic Charities of Boston, which is made up of some of Boston's most prominent lay Catholics. The board voted unanimously in December in support of continuing to allow gay couples to adopt children." (02/16/06)

Good. Sometimes people in high places DO stand up for what is right, and not just what the polls or the press say. Time after time, not only have religions betrayed their historical faith, but studies have shown that the best family situation in which to raise children of whatever sex or sexual orientation, is a standard family: mom, pop, and other siblings; preferably also with supportive grandparents; but anything more than the basic two-parent, two-sex family is nice and not critical. Besides, don't even Catholics have freedom of religion? If homosexual couples want to be able to adopt, perhaps they ought to start their own organization instead of forcing other organizations to kowtow to them.

Mama's Note: I'm terribly disappointed in the Catholic Charities organization. I see them going the way of the world in many ways. They are accepting government money, so it should be no surprise that they are selling out their beliefs and principles along the way. Money is, indeed, at the root of much evil... especially stolen money.

There are plenty of adoption agencies that are not associated with religious organizations, and it would seem logical for homosexuals to seek them out instead. But this illogical choice of agencies is closely associated with the push of homosexual activists to FORCE everyone to accept and support their agendas, eliminating anyone or anything that challenges their morality. This is a perfect example of false "tolerance," as Nathan explained so well above.

Motion filed to stop eviction of Katrina evacuees from hotels
USA Today
"Lawyers asked for a temporary restraining order Sunday to stop the evictions of 12,000 families left homeless by hurricanes Katrina and Rita from hotels across the nation on Monday. 'We have provided the court with statements from people showing they have not been treated fairly by FEMA,' said Bill Quigley, an assistant dean of the Loyola University Law School, who with civil rights attorney Tracie Washington filed the motion." (02/12/06)

First, can we agree that NO ONE is treated fairly by the FedGov, including its employees? Second, how much welfare are these people "entitled" to?

Mama's Note: Zero, of course. It was simply inevitable that this would become a permanent situation. Most of these people were being subsidized in New Orleans to begin with and have no intention of EVER being responsible for themselves. The straw man of "fairness" will always be brought up to block any effort to make them responsible for anything. Don't expect to see these people do anything different, ever - as long as the people being robbed are so mush headed they can be blackmailed this way.

Katrina fueling Mardi Gras satire
Arizona Republic
"This city's battered residents put their months of heartache, frustration and anger on parade Saturday, in effigies, blue-tarp trailers and themes like 'Fridge Over Troubled Water,' and gave themselves the first of many desperately needed Mardi Gras laughs. The Krewe du Vieux, a satirical group that has used its parade to mock corporations and politicians every year for the past two decades, featured carts with effigies of Mayor Ray Nagin and Gov. Kathleen Blanco, among other things. 'It's good we can laugh at ourselves,' spectator Robert Elmwood, 77, said. 'It means the spirit is still alive. After all the grim things, we've prevailed.' Mardi Gras has long been an occasion for the city to laugh at tragedy and aim barbs at authorities, and given all the pain New Orleans has suffered in the past year, the irreverence should reach new heights this season." (02/12/06)

Childish, isn't it?

Mama's Note: The entire idea of "Mardi Gras" has always been a sickening mystery. Lent is the beginning of an intense opportunity for self awareness and renewal. There is no place for such violence to morality and spiritual health. It is a complete abomination, as far as I'm concerned. The "celebration" this year isn't any different than it ever was, unless it's just more sickening. Yes, laughter is good, but it depends what you are laughing at. Of course, they are welcome to do whatever they please, as long as they don't expect me to pay for it - or watch.

House report: Government ineptitude worsened Katrina response
Fox News
"Rampant failures at all levels of government accounted for the poor response to Hurricane Katrina, a House investigation concludes. Its report assigns blame from the White House down to local parishes for lackluster emergency planning and delayed help to victims, according to documents obtained Sunday by The Associated Press. Late evacuation orders by state and local officials, untrained and inexperienced emergency responders, and the White House's inability to grasp quickly the devastation of the Aug. 29 storm hindered relief to the Gulf Coast, investigators say. The 600-page report, to be released Wednesday, found 'fecklessness, flailing and organizational paralysis.' Moreover, House investigators 'are left scratching our heads at the range of clumsiness and ineptitude that characterized government behavior before and after this storm,' the documents show.' (02/12/06)

In other words, once more we depended on government and once more, it failed. Plan for your own future, people!

White House defends Katrina role
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"The Bush administration on Monday pushed back hard against Katrina-response criticism leveled by ex-disaster agency chief Michael Brown and congressional investigators. 'I reject outright the suggestion that President Bush was anything less than fully involved,' said White House homeland security adviser Frances Fragos Townsend. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff 'unequivocally and strongly' rejected suggestions that his agency was preoccupied with terror threats at the expense of preparing for natural disasters." (02/13/06)

Tap-dancing time, indeed!

Report fuels cyclone of finger pointing
CNN
"Government at all levels took an indifferent stance toward disaster preparations after the 2001 terror attacks, leaving the Gulf Coast unnecessarily vulnerable to Hurricane Katrina, a House inquiry concludes. Finding fault from the White House down to local officials, the House investigation determined that authorities failed to move quickly to protect people -- even when faced with warnings days ahead of the August 29 storm." (02/14/06)

Seems to me that when Congress is pointing the finger at the Executive Branch, that they have four fingers pointing at themselves.

Mama's Note: The federal government didn't have ANY legitimate function or responsibility in this or any other natural disaster. It should be painfully obvious to everyone that the less they have to do with any in the future, the better off we'll all be.

Chertoff: Katrina response fumbled
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"Acknowledging delayed aid and fumbled coordination, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Wednesday the federal response to Hurricane Katrina fell far short of providing immediate help to the Gulf Coast that could have saved lives. Chertoff's Senate testimony came the same day a House panel released a scathing report concluding that deaths, damage and suffering could have been decreased if the White House and federal, state and local officials had responded more urgently to Katrina." (02/15/06)

This should sound familiar - the Communists used to call it the next to final step to rehabilitation, when the erring comrade stood up and admitted his failings and evil ways.

Final compromise clears way for Patriot Act
My Way News
"Legislation to renew the anti-terror Patriot Act was cleared for final congressional passage Friday when House Speaker Dennis Hastert blessed a day-old compromise between the White House and Senate Republicans. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid also indicated he will vote for the bill when it comes to a vote, possibly next week. ... Any changes made would still have to be approved by the House, but Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, another negotiator, said that with the Senate and the White House in concert, he thought the House would go along. He said he had consulted with House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. 'There will be no additional negotiations,' Craig said. ... But Sen. Russell Feingold, D-Wis., a leader in opposing the act, said he would continue to fight it. He said the deal did not provide meaningful judicial review of gag orders because such review can only take place after a year has passed and can only be successful if the recipient proves the government acted in bad faith. The deal also does not ensure that when government agents break into homes to do 'sneak-and-peek' searches that it tells the owners of those homes, in most circumstances within seven days, as courts have said they should, Feingold added." (02/10/06)

At the beginning of the week, it looked like clear sailing, and then the ever-present threat of filibuster loomed (to blacken the eye of the administration, and NOT because this law is wrong. But by the end of the week, it appeared that Feingold wasn't really serious about his opposition, as the stories below describe.

Feingold again tries to block Patriot Act
Chron.com
"In a case of legislative deja vu, Sen. Russell Feingold launched another lonely filibuster against the USA Patriot Act, but sponsors predicted enough support to overcome the objection and extend parts of the law set to expire March 10. Feingold said protracted talks with the White House over the law's protections for civil liberties produced only a "fig leaf" to cover weaknesses that leave people vulnerable to government intrusion. Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., Said he had the 60 votes required to overcome Feingold's filibuster, as soon as this week. He agreed, though, that any revisions to a House-Senate accord blocked last year were "cosmetic. But sometimes cosmetics will make a beauty out of a beast and provide enough cover for senators to change their vote," Specter told reporters Wednesday. Indeed, the filibuster seemed doomed." [FND Editor's note: OK, at least ONE Senator has some balls. And, as far as I know, ONE Representative [Rep. Paul]. The rest of em ain't worth the powder to blow em up.- For Feingold's comments, click here. MLS](02/15/06)

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, but you have to really be careful, because like Stalin in WW2, betrayal comes awfully easily. And it did so for Feingold, who I am sure is envisioning what President Clinton II could do with the powers that President Bush II is pushing to keep. Feingold's support for civil rights may be more genuine than the usual Senator's, but by any real standards, it is shallow and opportunistic. Specter's comments are cynical but true.

Feingold drops effort to block Patriot Act
Houston Chronicle
"With few if any allies, Sen. Russell Feingold dropped his effort late Wednesday to block the USA Patriot Act, clearing a path for Senate debate. But he promised to try to add new protections for civil liberties during proceedings later this month. 'I have no desire to inconvenience my colleagues or force votes in the middle of the night,' Feingold, D-Wis., Said in a brief statement on the Senate floor. Feingold stuck to his objections, saying protracted talks with the White House over the law's protections for civil liberties produced only a 'fig leaf' to cover weaknesses that leave people vulnerable to government intrusion. 'What we are seeing is quite simply a capitulation to the intransigent and misleading rhetoric of a White House that sees any effort to protect civil liberties as a sign of weakness,' Feingold said during a floor speech Wednesday." [FND editor's note: Is Feingold once again going to be the only US Senator with the guts to vote in favor of the US Constitution and against this dismemberment of it? - TLK] (02/15/06)

As I said, don't trust your allies. If Feingold really had strong ethical and moral objections to this, he WOULD inconvenience his colleagues, just as others have on other subjects (such as Coburn of Oklahoma on earmarks). He may have guts, as Tom said, but not enough, in my opinion.

France: Chirac orders "toxic" ship home
BBC News [UK]
"French President Jacques Chirac has ordered the asbestos-lined warship Clemenceau to return to French waters after a ruling by the highest court. The court had demanded an end to the transfer of the decommissioned warship to a breaking yard in India after complaints from environmentalists. Greenpeace and three anti-asbestos groups said the ship was an environmental and health hazard. The ship is in the Arabian Sea after India refused entry to its waters." (02/15/06)

"Environmental Justice" gone to seed! Whether it is dismantled in India, France, China, or wherever, or simply scuttled in mid-Atlantic, it is an environmental mess that needs to be dealt with. The location is not so important as the methods used. But hoping that lawyers, whether sitting or standing in a courtroom, will understand anything beyond billing rates and CYA, is a futile exercise. (There are a very VERY few exceptions - but I personally can count the ones I know on one hand. The very next day, a second French ship, the SS Norway, was dealt with the same way.

Mama's Note: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read quite a bit that indicates asbestos is not nearly the environmental hazard we were led to believe and, actually, far more damage has been done trying to remove it than would have occurred by simply leaving it alone. There are surely techniques available to do this safely, however, so this all sounds far more political than truly environmental.

Additional comment from Nathan: You are absolutely right. There IS a form of asbestos that can be very bad to breathe in: the friable asbestos (remember the old old hot pads that you could put directly on a hot stove (even an old wood stove) and then sit on?) that crumbles and lets very tiny fibers drift in the air, just the right size to breath deep into the lungs and create asbestosis, very similar to silicosis. However, most asbestos is in a matrix form where the only way that the fibers can be freed is if you grind up or crush the cement or whatever it is in. I don't know what kind is found in these ships, but I suspect it would be the hard kind and not the friable type.

NJ: Court hears marriage arguments
Houston Chronicle
"New Jersey Supreme Court justices grilled lawyers on the issue of same-sex marriage Wednesday, asking what business the state has barring such unions, but also whether lifting the ban could open the door to legalizing polygamy. The case involves seven same-sex couples who sued the state, saying it is violating its own constitution by denying them the right to marry. 'How do plaintiffs answer their children's questions about why they are not married?' asked attorney David Buckell, arguing for the couples. 'The only answer is that the state does not think their relationships are worthy.' Conservative groups filed documents contending that allowing same-sex marriage would harm society. The state did not make that argument in defending its ban, but said allowing same-sex marriage is an issue for legislators, not judges." (02/15/06)

Obviously, none of these lawyers in power can read a dictionary, nor a constitution. Where is there ANY authority for ANY government in this nation to govern marriage?

Mideast Tarbabies

UN inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo
Telegraph [UK]
"A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians 'up to the highest level' who are accused of torturing detainees. The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them. It calls for the United States to halt all 'practices amounting to torture,' including the force-feeding of inmates who go on hunger strike." (02/13/06)

Well, this does change things. If the UN is against it, it may not be as bad as it seems to be according to all the attacks on it by hundreds of people, including many lovers of liberty. Seriously, when did the UN get ANYTHING right?

Mama's Note: Now Nathan, even a stopped clock is right twice a day - unless it is a military clock, of course, but even that one is right once a day. The UN has all the wrong reasons and motives, of course, but the closure of any such prison can only bring benefits to all of us. If it's such a good thing to have, why in the world is it in Cuba? That alone tells me all I need to know to say, "CLOSE IT."

A "half full" Afghan army
Christian Science Monitor
"Sgt. Mohammad Reza walks silently on a ridge, watching his platoon conduct a reconnaissance patrol in a gully below. His men are all recent recruits. Some are former militia fighters who have seen many battles but little professional training. Others are as green as the helmets on their head. 'They don't know about organized war, they just know about guerrilla warfare,' says Sergeant Reza, himself a former militiaman from Bamian Province. Increasingly, coalition forces are turning over some of the training to Afghan sergeants like Reza. Fresh recruits learn the basics of how to take protective measures and launch counterattacks, skills that will help them hold their positions in a fight." (02/12/06)

In other words, it sounds as though we are taking fourth-generation warriors (who have been bred for fighting for probably 40 generations) and turn them into second-generation warriors, to use Doug Lind's four-generational war theory. Holding ground (territory) is NOT the same as holding position.

Mama's Note: And all the while the families of these men continue trying to survive in primitive conditions without their breadwinners and protectors. Nothing can ever replace the time that is being stolen from all of these people, let alone those who are killed. What about a "territory" or a "position" is worth the life of one of them? Why can't people just leave each other alone and mind their own business?

Alleged US fire kills two in Pakistan
Indianapolis Star
"Suspected U.S. military fire struck the tent of a nomad family on the Pakistan side of the rugged border with Afghanistan, killing two women and injuring at least four children, two Pakistani officials said. The Pakistani officials said four rockets or shells were apparently fired by the U.S. Military in fighting with suspected militants in Afghanistan's eastern Khost province late Saturday, and one hit the nomads' tent at Bangi Dar, in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area." (02/12/06)

It could, of course, been the militants' fire, or even Paki troops, but it sounds so much better to blame the US, doesn't it? Hopefully, though, if it turns out to be the US, we will seek forgiveness and make what amends are possible.

Mama's Note: Amends - forgiveness? How wonderful. I'm sure that will comfort the children who lost their mothers! Why is anyone firing rockets - four of them, no less - at a tent in the wilderness? How incredibly cowardly and insane! Why not just nuke the whole country and get it over with? Then we can "seek forgiveness and make amends" en mass and save a lot of time.

Incumbent named Iraqi PM in tight voting
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Shiite lawmakers Sunday chose incumbent Ibrahim al-Jaafari to be Iraq's new prime minister, endorsing the physician and longtime exile for a second term by a single vote - thanks in large part to support by a radical anti-U.S. faction. Al-Jaafari's selection paves the way for the Shiite alliance to begin talks with parties representing Sunni Arabs, Kurds, secularists and others to form a broad-based government, which the U.S. hopes can calm the insurgency so American and other foreign troops can begin leaving." (02/12/06)

I honestly don't know if this is good news or bad news, for the Iraqis, for the US and the rest of the Coalition, or for the world. The man has so many negatives, and his supporters even more; but so many other choices strike me as still worse. We'll have to wait and see.

Mama's Note: How can it make any difference at all? We've all agreed before that if voting made any difference it would be illegal. So too, if any politician could actually make any difference for liberty, they'd be run out on a rail immediately, probably by the people who voted for him!

Iraq: Police, pols, civilians killed in attacks
Reuters
"Seven Iraqi civilians were killed and 47 others wounded when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt blew up himself outside a bank in eastern Baghdad, police said. ... Ayham al-Samarrai, former minister of electricity during Iyad Allawi's government, escaped an assassination attempt when a roadside bomb went off near his convoy in Baghdad. ... police colonel and a brigadier were killed on Sunday by gunmen in two different incidents in the volatile city of Ramadi .... Gunmen killed four people while they were driving in their car in Baquba, police said. One worked in the ruling SCIRI, the Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, one of his relatives said. ...two policemen were killed and one was wounded on Sunday when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Iskandariya .... Two policemen were killed and another wounded on Sunday when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Hilla .... a policeman was killed and two others wounded on Sunday when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Tuz Khurmatu ..." (02/13/06)

Again, a bizarre mix of killing of "legitimate" targets (if these thugs were really freedom fighters) and killing innocent or marginally involved civilians for apparently no other reason than bloodlust. Even such collateral damage as killing several civilians to kill a cop or a politician should be decried by Islamic clerics, but appears only to be glorified.

Mama's Note: So, tell me again why the US should spend five minutes or five cents being involved in this mess at all? I can't think of a single thing that squares with individual liberty and responsibility.

Iraq: Occupation soldier, farm workers killed
New Orleans Times-Picayune
"Gunmen attacked a group of Iraqi Shiites working Tuesday on a farm north of Baghdad, killing 11 and wounding two, a police chief and hospital official said. One coalition soldier was killed and six wounded in two separate attacks in Baghdad. ... The attack happened shortly before midday when unidentified armed men sprayed gun fire at a group of farm workers, said al-Baldawi. Eleven people were killed and two wounded, said Dr. Qassim al-Qaisi of Balad Hospital where the victims were brought to. ... Two attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday killed one coalition soldier and wounded six others, the U.S. Military said. The military press office said it did not know the nationality of the victims." (02/14/06)

Apparently it is now a capital crime to be a farmer in an occupied country, according to these murderous thugs that pretend to be freedom fighters. This is NOT "the guerilla way," guys - you need those people to swim in. (This is a reference to classical guerilla warfare. Mao stated that the peasant population is the sea in which your revolutionary fish swim. This is where you garner revolutionaries, build your army, and bolster your support. In other words, you treat them nice - you don't kill them, tax them (too much), abuse them, or turn them into the authorities.)

Iraq: Police, civilians killed in latest attacks
Reuters AlertNet
"Four policemen were killed and four civilians wounded when a car bomb went off targeting an Iraqi police patrol in northern Baghdad .... A civilian was killed and four others wounded when a car bomb went off near a police patrol in central Baghdad .... Four civilians and two traffic policemen were wounded when a car bomb went off targeting police commandos in central Baghdad .... Three children were killed when a roadside bomb went off near a primary school in an impoverished area of central Baghdad .... he bodies of four people with hands bound and gunshot wounds to the head were found in the Shula district of the capital .... A police captain was killed along with his driver by gunmen while he was heading to work in southern Baghdad ..." (02/15/06)

About half and half "legitimate targets" and bloody butchering. But the kids really tilts the balance to senseless killing-for-killing's sake, doesn't it? I wonder what the Arabic version of "Nits make lice" is. (That was the excuse Butcher Carrington and his 2nd Colorado Volunteer Cavalry used to justify the killing of children as well as women and warriors at Black Kettle's Cheyenne Camp on Sand Creek in 1864.)

Iraq: New attacks as "death squad" investigated
CBS News
"Iraq's Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into claims that a police death squad has been operating in the country, a top official said Thursday. ... The investigation into the death squads was announced as police found the bodies of 10 more men who had been shot execution-style and dumped in three different areas .... a car bomb targeting a U.S. Military patrol killed six civilians and wounded 11 Thursday in northern Baghdad's Shula neighborhood .... An Iraqi policeman was killed and three bystanders were wounded by a car bomb in Baghdad's Karradah neighborhood, while gunmen killed an Iraqi Army captain and his driver in the northern city of Kirkuk .... Three prominent Iraqi tribal members were also fatally shot in a drive-by attack on their car north of Baghdad .... A Jordanian Embassy driver was killed in a drive-by shooting in western Baghdad .... Another car bomb blast in Baghdad targeted the convoy of Nouri al-Nouri, a former government human rights official who was dismissed in December over the discovery of tortured detainees in a Baghdad government building. Al-Nouri escaped the blast unharmed but four civilians were wounded, police Lt. Mohammed Khayoun said." (02/16/06)

The constant and often indiscriminate killing has led to the natural response, vigilantes (popularly known and blackened as "death squads" regardless of the circumstances) who take the law into their own (private or semiprivate hands) usually through some clandestine organization of law-enforcement agents. It has happened again and again in the US, including Virginia Gulch, Montana, and San Francisco during the Gold Rush. If this is wrong, then what is right about having 25 million or 200 million people grant these kinds of powers to a select group of people through a "democratic process?"

Iraq: Kidnappings, killings continue
North County Times
"Gunmen wearing Iraqi special forces uniforms have kidnapped a wealthy banker and his son after killing five of their bodyguards, police said Friday. ... Drive-by gunmen killed a cigarette salesman in Husseiniyah, a town about 20 miles northeast of Baghdad, early Friday, police said. The bodies of three unidentified man who had been bound and shot in the head were found in two locations in northern Baghdad on Friday, police said. It was unclear who killed the men, but they were discovered in an area where multiple bodies have turned up after being killed in similar fashion." (02/17/06)

Death squads, impersonators, spies, rogues - all the elements of a typical bestseller thriller, but the blood is real.

Report: Iraqi insurgency more confident, coordinated
CNN
"A few large groups using sophisticated communications increasingly have come to dominate Iraq's insurgency, a report released Wednesday said. The report from the International Crisis Group, a nongovernmental organization that tries to solve conflicts, noted the insurgency 'no longer is a scattered, erratic, chaotic phenomenon.'" (02/15/06)

Of course, everyone will believe what the ICG says, since as an NGO it is "neutral." The article sets up a beautiful straw man, that the "insurgency" was ever "scattered, erratic, chaotic" instead of being a fairly organized effort hinged on a sick alliance between "secular" Ba'athist Saddam loyalists and Islamic fanatics.

Saddam lashes out at Bush, judge in court
Detroit Free Press
"Prosecutors produced documents and put former aides to Saddam Hussein on the stand Monday as they made their strongest attempt yet to link him directly to torture and executions. The ousted president, who looked disheveled and appeared in his slippers, shouted 'Down with Bush!' Saddam's half brother, Barzan Ibrahim - dressed only in an undershirt and long underwear - struggled with guards as he was pulled into the courtroom." (02/13/06)

The man is charismatic and imaginative, and still seems to be dictating the pace of the trial. Even evil can be charming, we have to remember - and not just in Iraq.

Saddam protests judge with hunger strike
Cincinnati Enquirer
"After shouts, insults, arguments and walkouts, Saddam Hussein and three of his codefendants unveiled a new show-stealing tactic Tuesday: They announced in court that they had gone on hunger strike. Saddam said the strike was called to protest the tough way chief judge Raouf Abdel-Rahman has conducted the court since he took over last month." (02/14/06)

Yeah, a second article about Saddam's antics. The hunger strike is a mistake, though - perhaps the US and the Iraqis will take seriously the charges of "abuse" for trying to keep hunger strikers in Gitmo alive by forced feeding, and forget to do the same to Saddam. He soon won't have the strength to shout "Down with Bush." Sad.

US seeks extradition of accused killer
CNN
"The United States has formally asked the Lebanese government to extradite a Lebanese man accused of killing a U.S. Navy diver during an infamous 1985 hijacking, State Department officials and the victim's family said Monday. Mohammed Ali Hamadi was released from a German prison in December after serving 19 years for his role in the hijacking of TWA Flight 847." (02/13/06)

Of course, the question of why he was released by an "ally" is being swept under the rug. And the chances of the Lebanese government being able to effectively allow extradition are, well, pretty small.

Mama's Note: Nobody mentions this man's state of mind now. I suspect that 19 years in a Lebanese prison wouldn't exactly be summer camp. I wonder if he has repented or if he is merely looking for another opportunity to kill. Either way, I suspect he will reap what he sows. We can't keep everyone in prison forever.

Afghanistan: Cop, intel officers killed
Herald News Daily
"A blast killed an Afghan policeman and wounded two colleagues on Wednesday and two intelligence officers kidnapped this week have been found dead, officials said. The violence came as the first 150 British combat troops of a deployment of about 3,300 British troops to the Afghan south arrived in the country. Taliban or members of an allied faction were responsible for the blast that hit the second of two police vehicles traveling on a road in Ghazni province, south of the Kabul, said district government official Habibullah January .

Iran isn't the only place where the killing is senseless and bloody. Funny - the Taliban are supposed to be a bunch of peaceloving teachers of religion - Islam, the "religion of peace and love" according to Miz Rice of the US State Department.

Australia: New Abu Ghraib images screened
Guardian [UK]
"Previously unpublished images showing the apparent abuse of detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 were broadcast today by an Australian television station. Still and video images were broadcast on Dateline, a current affairs programme on SBS television, which appeared to show dead Iraqis and detainees being tortured by US troops. ... There were reports today that the US government was trying to prevent the new images being broadcast in the US." (02/15/06)

Exactly how do you torture "dead" Iraqis? And when did our government ever attempt to prevent broadcasting of anything nasty, except for "wardrobe malfunctions"? Isn't it convenient how these photos all sneak out just at the right time - like when we already have riots over the cartoons - to further inflame people's passions? And thereby justify more draconian measures at home and abroad?

Mama's Note: Mutilation or other such disrespect for the dead wouldn't be "torture" to them, of course, but certainly would be to their friends and families - especially if they watched or viewed the film. The idea of actually taking pictures and movies of this kind of thing is almost more chilling than the torture itself. It demonstrates a complete disconnect from any morals in the person doing these deeds. They have absolutely no conscience or potential for remorse about any of it. That any of this could be done by an American, especially an American Marine, simply chills me to the bone. How soon will these vampires roam the streets of our towns?

British make arrest in Iraq abuse case
Washington Post
"British military police said Monday they had arrested one man in their investigation of a video that allegedly showed soldiers abusing prisoners in Iraq. The Ministry of Defense declined to identify the man, who was arrested Sunday night. Video images first reported by the News of the World, a Sunday newspaper, appeared to show soldiers dragging several young Iraqis into a compound, and beating them with fists and batons. The newspaper said the video was filmed in southern Iraq by a corporal two years ago. It did not name the soldier or the unit involved." (02/13/06)

No military unit, professional, militia, or in between, is free from this sort of scum.

Jordan: Zarqawi, others sentenced to death
CBS News
"A Jordanian military court on Wednesday sentenced to death nine men, including al Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, for a plot to carry out a chemical attack against the kingdom. Al-Zarqawi and three others received the death penalty in absentia. But the plot's alleged mastermind, Azmi al-Jayousi, and four codefendants were in the courtroom when the judge handed down the sentence for the 2004 plot, which security officials foiled before it could be carried out. " (02/15/06)

While hardly swift, such justice is the hare compared to the US's tortoise-like pace, but the court still seems to do a lot of jumping (i.o.w, like a kangaroo). CBS, at least, is apparently not accepting the military court's legitimacy, is it? Calling the convicted plotter the "alleged mastermind" kind of gives its bias away, even to boob-tube watchers.

House passes resolution vs. Hamas aid
Jerusalem Post
"The US House of Representatives passed a symbolic resolution late Wednesday expressing support for the shutting down aid to the Palestinian Authority if Hamas continues to advocate the destruction of Israel. Hamas, which is included in the US State Department's list of foreign terrorist organizations, won recent Palestinian elections and is due to be sworn in to parliament Saturday. The Senate approved the non-binding resolution that passed the House on Wednesday, 418-1." (02/16/06)

They are definitely between a rock and a hard place, but it is hard to be sympathetic to our legislators. Hamas is a bunch of criminal thugs and murderers, certainly; they ought to fit right into the world community of governments. And although this is called an economic and "peaceful" carrot, all it will do is add fuel to the fire of a new intifada, and lead to more blood. Not that continuing to pay off the thugs wouldn't eventually lead to more bloodshed, anyway (see Kipling's poem )

Mama's Note: There is no legitimate reason to give anybody, including foreign governments, a penny of stolen tax money to start with. Whatever the reason, and whatever the outcome, it's good to see at least one of these handouts ended. I hope it is permanent, but I very much doubt it will be. Our good legislizards will find another way to dispose of our money, I'm sure.

Saddam reportedly warned US of terrorism
Indianapolis Star
"Saddam Hussein told aides in the mid-1990s that he warned the United States it could be hit by a terrorist attack, ABC News reported Wednesday, citing 12 hours of tapes the network obtained of the former Iraqi dictator's talks with his Cabinet. One of Saddam's son-in-laws also explained how Iraq hid its biological weapons programs from U.N. inspectors, according to the tapes from August 1995. The coming terrorist attack Saddam predicted could involve weapons of mass destruction." (02/15/06)

A warning, or a threat?

Rice takes heat over Iraq, Iran policies
Houston Chronicle
"Republican senators criticized the Bush administration today over its policies in Iraq, Iran and the Palestinian territories, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's first testimony on Capitol Hill in months exposed her to a tough grilling from some members of her own party. 'I don't see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they're getting worse in Iraq. I think they're getting worse in Iran,' Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told Rice as she appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee." (02/15/06)

Well, if Ms. Rice can be blamed for things getting worse in Iraq, how can she be blamed for things getting worse in Iran? Or is Hagel pushing for a US invasion of Iran?

Mama's Note: Did I miss something? As appalling as her speech and conduct is, I don't remember Rice being involved in the decision to launch this "war" and she's not a part of the military decision makers over there either. So just how does she become responsible for the direction the whole thing is going unless she has a relationship with Bush that none of us knows about? This is Bush's baby, and he needs to take the heat for it.

Afghanistan: Parliament debates chaperones for women
Christian Science Monitor
"When Afghan parliamentarians went to London earlier this month to participate in a major donor's conference, it was a milestone of sorts, with a presidency and Parliament working side by side to solve the nation's problems. But for Al-Hajj Abdul Jabbar Shalgarai, a conservative legislator, the trip was distinctly un-Islamic. He saw the participation of two Afghan women parliamentarians -- who traveled without their husbands -- as a breach of the law. So while President Hamid Karzai and his delegation were securing promises of aid, Mr. Shalgarai told his fellow parliamentarians that they were all obliged to follow the Islamic sharia law, which forbids women -- including women parliamentarians -- from taking long journeys without being accompanied by a male member of the family." (02/15/06)

What hope is there for a people who live by an obscene and unholy law created by a madman's meandering recorded by more madmen, and then interpreted for 1400 years by a series of insane, evil, and power-mad slavers, pimps, sadists, and tyrants?

Mama's Note: Yep, and if we just bomb, beat and shoot enough of them we can teach them the wonderful ways of "democracy" (more mob rule by madmen...) - and it should only take a couple more years!

White House wants $115 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan
USA Today
"U.S. Military spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will rise to $115 billion for this year -- and nearly $400 billion since the fighting started -- under a new White House request submitted to Congress Thursday. A separate request for almost $20 billion in new hurricane relief funds would bring total spending in response to Katrina and Rita to more than $100 billion." (02/16/06)

What can I say? Katrina was authorized $250 billion, and I'm sure every dime will eventually get spent: that is $250 billion for essentially three states: LA, MS, and TX; meanwhile the argument can be made that the $400 billion is for 50 states. Both arguments are bogus, but, what can I say?

Mama's Note: What we have to say to people, somehow, is that every penny of it was stolen - and will be stolen from future generations. It doesn't matter at all what it is spent for or who spends it. Nothing changes the fact that it was stolen in the first place. Most people don't want to deal with that, only squabble over who gets what and what they use it for.

Just remember that it doesn't matter if a bank robber uses the money he steals for luxuries or to support his sick mother. He's still guilty of robbery and the money doesn't belong to him.

The 2006 Political Campaign
What a joy it is that ONLY ten months are left in this election year. Can we make it to the post (well, the poll) without losing our minds? Beware, gentle readers, of those who would sell you on the wonders of democratic elections.

OH: Hackett withdraws, citing machine pressure
Mercury News
"An Iraq war veteran angrily quit the Ohio Senate race Tuesday, claiming he was double-crossed by Sen. Charles Schumer and other leaders of his own Democratic Party. Paul Hackett charged that "behind-the-scenes machinations" by Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., cut off his campaign money to avoid a potential primary faceoff with Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio. ... Iraq vet groups criticized the Democrats for Hackett's departure. 'Hackett brought credibility on the No. 1 issue facing the nation -- the war in Iraq,' said Jon Soltz, head of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America Political Action Committee. The Democrats have been courting Iraq vets for House and Senate races in the effort to take back Congress, but 'it is becoming abundantly clear that the party leadership has no interest in them,' Soltz said." (02/15/06)

Business as usual for the Democratic and Republican parties; but it seems that people just can't remember the past.

Rock the Vote tries to regroup
Houston Chronicle
"Rock the Vote is turning 16 this year, but the birthday for the organization that has used Madonna, R.E.M. And other music stars to get millions of young people involved in politics is shaping up to be anything but sweet. The nonprofit group founded in Los Angeles in 1990 is $500,000 in debt and down to just two employees, from 20 in 2002, according to tax documents and Hans Riemer, the organization's political director." (02/14/06)

Getting older, but no wiser. The Gen-X version of the League of Women Voters, and just as biased towards big government and statist solutions.

MN: Franken inches toward Senate run
Fox News
"Al Franken, the 'Saturday Night Live' alum and Bill O'Reilly nemesis, is inching closer to a run for the U.S. Senate in 2008. Franken, who has a daily radio show on the liberal Air America network, was based in New York until a last month, when he quietly picked up and moved his residence and his show to Minneapolis. The comedian says he's still undecided about challenging Republican Sen. Norm Coleman -- but it appears that his reluctance is only a matter of convenience. Once he announces his bid for office, he will have to give up his three-hour, daily radio show. Radio and TV stations are reluctant to carry programs hosted by political candidates since it opens them to charges of favoritism. 'I think I'm going to let it evolve,' he told an Internet interviewer, alternet.org, a few days ago. 'I don't have to decide for a while, and I'm sort of doing the things that I'd have to do if I did run.'" (02/13/06)

Poster child for the moral bankruptcy of the Democratic Party (not that the GOP is any better), Franken could be another modern day carpetbagger like Hillary Clinton, the Rockefeller family, and the Udall family. Of course, Minnesota is the habitat of Garrison Kellior, which should warn us about how likely he is to be greeted warmly by the DFL into its ranks

Senators open to Cheney inquiry if needed
MSNBC
"Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald should investigate Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the CIA leak probe if they authorized an aide to give secret information to reporters, Democratic and Republican senators said Sunday. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., called the leak of intelligence information 'inappropriate' if it is true that unnamed 'superiors' instructed Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby, to divulge the material on Iraq." (02/12/06)

No, this isn't about the peppering in Texas, but no doubt they can add that to the charges.

Cheney says he has power to declassify info
Cincinnati Enquirer
"Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. Cheney's disclosure comes a week after reports that Libby testified under oath he was authorized by superiors in 2003 to disclose highly sensitive prewar information to reporters. The information, about Iraq and alleged weapons of mass destruction, was used by the Bush administration to bolster its case for invading Iraq." (02/15/06)

Presumably, somewhere in the maze of executive orders and government regulations on steroids, this power has been granted him: such authority is in line with the elected dictatorship model to which the FedGov has moved in recent decades. Of course, the VP has more to worry about than just getting Libby off the hook, as the next series of articles explains

Cheney accidentally bags lawyer while hunting
San Francisco Chronicle
"Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and injured a man during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, his spokeswoman said Sunday. Harry Whittington, 78, was 'alert and doing fine' after Cheney sprayed him with shotgun pellets on Saturday while the two were hunting at the Armstrong Ranch in south Texas, said property owner Katharine Armstrong. Armstrong said Whittington was mostly injured on his right side, with the pellets hitting his cheek, neck and chest, and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Whittington was in stable condition Sunday, said Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System. Cheney's spokeswoman, Lea Anne McBride, said the vice president was with Whittington, a lawyer from Austin, Texas, and his wife at the hospital on Sunday afternoon." (02/12/06)

No one who ever took one of Boston T. Party's gun classes would have made a stupid mistake like that - too bad there isn't a training school for White House reporters: resignation? Criminal charges? Instant reporting? Please! For one thing, anyone with any brains at all knows that the last person Cheney would tell if he'd really offed someone would be TPOTUS! Does this disqualify him from being vice president and in case of death, proven mental instability, or conviction, president and commander-in-chief, as some have claimed? Please! Look at the portraits of the last dozen presidents and ask yourself if just winging an old, slow lawyer is any sort of serious disqualification!

Mama's Note: I suspect there are some who wouldn't shed a whole lot of tears if the lawyer hadn't been so lucky. Yes, these people need to get real, but we both know that's not going to happen. Any grist for the hate mills.

Sheriff: Cheney won't be charged
Houston Chronicle
"The Kenedy County Sheriff's Department today cleared Vice President Dick Cheney in the shooting mishap that injured an Austin lawyer, calling it an accident. Cheney shot Harry Whittington last Saturday while they were hunting quail on the Armstrong Ranch in South Texas. Whittington is in stable condition at a Corpus Christi hospital. The sheriff's department determined the shooting was an accident and closed the case without charges, according to a report issued today." (02/16/06)

Yes, I know that well-trained gunowners and users would say that this kind of mistake is not really "an accident" but under law and common usage, it certainly looks like one to me. Sadly, too many people are willing to let their hatred of Bush and Cheney twist their reality. If your best friend did this, would you consider a regrettable, boneheaded accident, or a criminal act?

Mama's Note: I'd say it was time to stop hunting with him. He broke several vital rules of gun and hunting safety, first of which I suspect was having his finger on the trigger without being ready to shoot. At the very least he was negligent. The guy he shot was just plain stupid to go downrange without letting anyone know. The whole thing is a pitiful example of the arrogance of those who would make laws to control the use of weapons by others when they are incompetent themselves. Further more, you know perfectly well that if you or I had shot someone in this kind of situation, we'd be looking at a full-blown "investigation" and quite possibly the loss of our guns. That's the way they play this game.

Bush approves Cheney's handling of "mishap"
Detroit Free Press
"Texas authorities closed the investigation into Vice President Dick Cheney's hunting accident Thursday without bringing any charges. President Bush said Cheney had handled the situation 'just fine.' 'I'm satisfied with the explanation he gave,' Bush said, making his first public comments about Cheney's accidental shooting of 78-year-old attorney Harry Whittington while aiming for a quail. Bush said the vice president's explanation was 'strong and powerful.'" (02/16/06)

Frankly, is it Bush's business? Cheney was on personal time, not on government property, and what he was doing (hunting) was apparently legal.

Cheney violated first rule of hunting
Yahoo! News
"Vice President Dick Cheney apparently broke the No. 1 rule of hunting: be sure of what you're shooting at. Cheney wounded fellow hunter Harry Whittington in the face, neck and chest Saturday, apparently because he didn't see Whittington approaching as he fired on a covey of quail in Texas. Hunting safety experts interviewed Monday agreed it would have been a good idea for Whittington to announce himself -- something he apparently didn't do, according to a witness. But they stressed that the shooter is responsible for knowing his surroundings and avoiding hitting other people. 'We always stress to anybody that before you make any kind of a shot, it's incumbent upon the shooter to assess the situation and make sure it's a safe shot,' said Mark Birkhauser, president-elect of the International Hunter Education Association and hunter education coordinator in New Mexico. 'Once you squeeze that trigger, you can't bring that shot back.' ... The National Rifle Association, a close ally of the White House, would not comment on who was to blame in the accident." (02/13/06)

Yeah, it was a dumb move - and one that hundreds of hunters make each year: I know one quail and upland gamebird hunter in his late twenties that has been peppered a dozen times, and isn't bothered by it, or by the Veep doing it to someone else (although I really DO question his judgment as to choosing hunting buddies!). But as expected, this is being blown all out of proportion, and even supposedly loyal GOP types are calling for resignation or something else.

Mama's Note: Don't you just love the image of the NRA as buddy-buddy with the White House?

Photo shows Bush, Abramoff at meeting
CNN
"Disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff accompanied a Native American [sic] tribal chief [sic] he was trying to sign as a client to a White House meeting attended by President Bush, a newly published picture shows and a Bush spokesman confirmed Sunday. Abramoff's presence at the meeting came to light after Time magazine and the New York Times published a picture of the president with Kickapoo Tribal Chairman Raul Garza. Bush chief political strategist Karl Rove is in the foreground, and the lobbyist is dimly visible in the background." (02/12/06)

First, you people (CNN), it is American Indian {or Amerind) and NOT "Native American" Second, a tribal chairman, Kickapoo or any other nation, is NOT a "tribal chief." Third, is this even a real picture, or just something created by an editing program? Fourth, while I HATE defending the president, being at a White House meeting with the president is like claiming the president knows you personally because you were standing right on the curb when the motorcade drove by.

Abramoff said to claim close ties to Rove
Indianapolis Star
"Three former associates of Jack Abramoff said Monday that the now-disgraced lobbyist frequently told them during his lobbying work he had strong ties to the White House through presidential confidant Karl Rove. The White House said Monday that Rove remembers meeting Abramoff at a 1990s political meeting and considered the lobbyist a 'casual acquaintance' since President Bush took office in 2001. New questions have arisen about Abramoff's ties to the White House since a photo emerged over the weekend showing Abramoff with Bush. Also surfacing were the contents of an e-mail from Abramoff to Washingtonian magazine claiming he had met briefly with the president nearly a dozen times." (02/13/06)

And what else would you expect - true or not? Abramoff lived off his influence, or rather, his perceived influence. Every one of those pictures was worth tens or hundreds of thousands to him, whether he said two words to the president or anyone else. What is more important is how many congrus-kritturs did he know and pay off?

OH: GOP fundraiser faces corruption charges
ABC News
"A coin dealer and prominent GOP fundraiser was charged Monday with stealing at least $1 million from a controversial state investment in rare coins that has embroiled Republicans in scandal during an election year. The 53 charges against Tom Noe conclude a 10-month investigation by state and federal prosecutors into the $50 million rare coin investment Noe managed for the state insurance fund for injured workers. ... Noe, 51, already faced charges of using colleagues and associates to illegally funnel $45,000 to President Bush's reelection campaign. The new counts include forgery, theft, money laundering and tampering with records." (02/14/06)

Just more mud on an already triple-dipped mud coating. But then, Ohio GOP-dom has been corrupt since at least 1863, so this is no shock - just business as usual.

Dems, GOP give tax cuts political twist
San Francisco Chronicle
"A clash over the domestic crown jewel of the Bush presidency -- the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, with looming expiration dates -- has emerged as a central theme of the Democrats' campaign to retake control of Congress this November. Children, widows, the elderly, farmers, veterans, students, working mothers -- every vulnerable group short of puppies -- is to be sacrificed at the altar of the Bush tax cuts that benefit America's richest citizens, Democrats claim. 'Democrats will fight the president's anti-widow and anti-children agenda,' House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, announced last week. Added Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.: 'After creating record deficits and debt with his budget-busting tax breaks, the president is asking our seniors, our students and our families to clean up his fiscal mess.'" (02/13/06)

Don't they ever get tired of their lies? Don't they ever take responsibility for their own share of the mess? Every time the GOP makes me sick to my stomach, the Democrats come along and punch me in the stomach, adding insult to injury. It really makes you appreciate why people form death squads, even if you can't support their murderous actions.

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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, Liberty's Outpost.

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