Libertarian Commentary on the News, 9-15 April 2006 -- Page 2

Dems expect gains in Congress
Christian Science Monitor
"California Democrat Francine Busby's first-place showing in Round 1 of Tuesday's special congressional race may give her party a jolt of optimism in its quest to retake the House in November. But come the June 6 runoff, analysts say, reality will set in: The seat she seeks to occupy, the one vacated by the now-imprisoned Randy 'Duke' Cunningham (R), represents a strong Republican district and the odds are steep against her in a two-person race against a Republican. The GOP has a 15-point registration advantage in the San Diego district. In at least the past 40 years, the Democrats have never defeated a Republican in a district with more than about a four-point GOP registration advantage, says Gary Jacobson, a political scientist at the University of California, San Diego." (04/13/06)

One more illustration of how poorly our election systems serve us.

Mama's Note: It won't make much difference at all in the long run. All politicians have the same priorities and pretty much the same methods, no matter what they say. They work for job security and larger government, no matter what "party" they belong too.

RKBA -- Our right to defend ourselves
Self-defense doesn't always involve weapons, but not many 75-year-olds can do what this lady in the first story did.
Meanwhile, the tyranny of some American states is again brought to mind.

Romania: Pensioner used TV karate on burglar
Ananova [UK]
"A 75-year-old Romanian woman laid out a burglar with karate moves she had learned from television. Anica D, from Popeni village in Vaslui county, told police she was sleeping when the man broke into her house and attacked her. She said she cried for help but nobody came so she tried some karate she had picked up from a self-defence TV show. Anica managed to 'immobilize' her attacker and then called police who arrested the man, reports the Ziarul newspaper. The 30-year-old has been charged with burglary and attempted rape." (04/10/06)

Self-defense like this is all right, but if she were in poorer health (as many people that age are) - she could easily have ended up not just raped but dead. Guns really are better.

Mama's Note: Once again, I'd love to see the real story. It is almost impossible to believe that a woman this age could learn enough about karate from a TV program to defend herself from a 30 year old attacker. Something is definitely missing in this picture. Without some proof, I'm afraid this is too much like the tabloid stories of space men and ten story tall lizards stomping around in Tokyo.

CA: Glitch in victim disarmament law triggers rush
The Record
"Gun components that can be used to build assault weapons [sic] have flooded into California under a loophole in state law. The glitch has delighted some gun owners, who hope to register the weapons before any state legislation is passed barring their possession. Frames of more than 30,000 AR- and AK-series guns have entered California, according to estimates from some gun advocates, and can be purchased from many weapons dealers in the state and online." (04/10/06)

Registering the guns, of course, will just ensure that they are rounded up when California next tightens down the thumbscrews on gunowners.

KY: Use of force bill passes
Louisville Courier-Journal
"Kentuckians could use force to defend themselves against an attack in their home or car under a bill that received final legislative passage Monday. The Senate passed Senate Bill 38 by a 36-1 vote, sending it to Gov. Ernie Fletcher. The House had passed the bill earlier. The measure, backed by the National Rifle Association, specifies that people have no 'duty to retreat' -- or attempt to flee -- if they believe they are being threatened on their property or in their vehicle. 'Calling 911 is sometimes -- instead of a rescue project -- it becomes a recovery project if you're not able to use force,' said Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville." (04/10/06)

Latest in the movement to put this clear statement on the books that the Second Amendment really does still exist.

Mama's Note: These "laws" will be meaningless when the guns are confiscated. We can't let ourselves be fooled into thinking that this kind of thing indicates any change in the real agenda of our government masters at all - just as the next story illustrates. All of the legislation and court orders to restore gun rights are meaningless if nobody has the power or will to enforce them against the government agencies involved.

New Orleans: Nagin still has stolen guns
NRA-ILA
"Law-abiding citizens of New Orleans who were forced to relinquish their legally owned firearms to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) will have to wait, indefinitely, to regain their property. The City of New Orleans revealed they have not returned any firearms, as Mayor Ray Nagin and the city have yet to set up a return process. 'Mayor Ray Nagin continues to deny freedom by denying lawful citizens their Second Amendment rights,' stated National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. 'First, he confiscates law-abiding citizens' firearms and lies about it. Then, he fails to comply with court orders. Now he refuses to return the legally owned firearms to their rightful owners by dragging his feet. It's a disgrace.'" (04/10/06)

I wonder if they will be returned even if he loses? Perhaps he's just afraid that some hot-tempered folks will get their guns back before he can take refuge in Nigeria, as tin-pot black dictators like him are so wont to do.

NC: For self-defense, women take up firearms
Charlotte Observer
"A single mom wanting to protect her children. A mall worker fearing a dark parking lot. A real estate agent meeting strangers in empty homes. They are Charlotte-area women. And they own guns. More women, gun advocates say, are buying, shooting and carrying firearms -- in briefcases, purses or even on their hips. For some, it's sport. But with violent crime up from five years ago and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police actively searching for a serial rapist, many women say it's about self-protection." (04/09/06)

Latest in a series of stories over the last several years, as yet another Mainstream Media (MSM) outlet discovers that this has been happening for a long time.

Mama's Note: Back on my soap box here: owning a gun is not the same as being ready to defend yourself or your family with it! If you decide to get a gun, make training and practice with it a priority. A handgun safety course is a very good idea, but it's not nearly enough. Find a range, an instructor and make time to really learn how and when to use it.

MD: Two killings test right of self-defense
Baltimore Sun
"Karen L. Foxx had sought court orders to keep her estranged husband away, had filed criminal assault charges against him and changed her phone number. She also bought a gun to protect herself, and last Saturday, her lawyer says, Foxx did just that when she fatally shot her husband. Now the Randallstown woman awaits word on whether she will be charged with a crime -- one of two recent cases in which the legal right to self-defense is under examination. The Randallstown shooting occurred two weeks after a 57-year-old gas station owner was attacked by three would-be robbers at the upscale Village of Cross Keys shopping center in North Baltimore, grabbed his own gun and fatally shot one of the assailants." (04/08/06)

Both these cases illustrate a point I've been making in this column for some time - despite our right to defend ourselves, in some states, every time someone does so, they are subjected to a ridiculous amount of "investigation" (harassment) and rack up huge legal bills trying to defend themselves against the gov-goons, even after successfully defending themselves against "regular" thugs.

Mama's Note: That's another reason it's so important to KNOW the laws that pertain to self defense where you live - or to move to a place where self defense is really possible! If some technical rule is broken, you can wind up in prison or in serious debt, even in a state with fairly good "laws." Remember that the police and the courts define those laws to suit themselves and you have little recourse.

FL: Two Martin County deaths deemed acts of self-defense
TCPalm News
"Authorities have deemed two separate cases first investigated as homicides as actual acts of self-defense, police said Wednesday. In one incident, Stuart police evidence led state prosecutors to determined Daniel George Griffin, 67, was protecting himself when he was confronted in his home by the man whose wife he was allegedly having an affair with Barry Nordstrum, 47. In the second case, police said Shawn Harshall, 24, was legally allowed to defend himself against an alleged attack by his coworker Derek Huffman, 22, after a fight about a pool game earlier the night of January 14." (04/12/06)

Neither of these seem to be very pleasant or open-and-shut cases, but just because you are a wife-stealer or a crooked pool cheat does not mean you have no right to defend yourself. Last time I checked, neither are capital offenses.

Arkansas: Man won't be charged for murder
THV News
"Drug and weapons charges have been filed against a man believed by police to have shot and killed two people during an apparent robbery at an indoor marijuana-growing site. But they said the man will not be charged in the deaths Sunday night. Bradley Webster of Mena was charged with possession and use of a machine gun -- simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms -- manufacturing marijuana -- first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor -- possession of drug paraphernalia -- and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. Prosecutor Tim Williamson said Webster will not be charged for the deaths of 34-year-old Chris Pangle and 23-year-old Thai Flores, both of Henryetta, Oklahoma. Williamson said Webster was defending his property, even if it was illegal property." (04/12/06)

Again, a nasty situation, but one in which it appears mostly the right decision has been made. But like the New York case, the gun charges are clearly unconstitutional.

Mama's Note: Seems to me that all of the charges are simply the result of the "war" on drugs and guns and therefore bogus. There are no more legitimate reasons for drug laws than gun laws, regardless of the constitution.

NC: High Point man killed someone in self defense
News Record
"A High Point man who shot and killed a man inside his apartment April 3 acted in self defense, police today said detectives and the prosecutor determined. Kendrix Jones told investigators he shot Daniel Cyrus Dixon, who was found dead inside Jones' apartment at 117 E. Swathmore Ave., apartment 2A, according to High Point police. On Tuesday, detectives met with Guilford County Assistant District Attorney Randy Carroll and reviewed the case. It was determined Jones, 25, acted in self defense when he shot Dixon" (04/12/06)

In this incident, it appears to be a bit more clear cut.

TN: J.D.'s Market owner shoots robbery suspect
Murfreesboro Daily Journal
"Convenience store owner Karim Barakat feared for his life when an armed robber demanded money and cocked his handgun about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday at JDs Market in downtown Murfreesboro, a police spokesman said. Instead of giving up any money, Barakat reached for his own handgun and shot suspected robber Edward Christopher Evans, 24, in the arm, said Murfreesboro Police Lt. Alvin Baird." (04/12/06)

Guns do not kill - and sometimes people are able to use them to wound only, to aid their self-defense.

Mama's Note: Sometimes defenders get lucky, but it's a very poor idea to aim that way. If there is sufficient justification to point a gun at someone, the aim should be dead center. A wounded attacker with a gun might well get you before you got a second chance to fire.

MA: City plans a retooled buyback [sic] of guns
Boston Globe
"The City of Boston and community groups plan to launch a gun buyback program as early as next month that may offer gift cards instead of cash to people who turn in weapons, community leaders and a police spokeswoman said yesterday. The buyback program, the first such effort in a decade, is being designed to avoid some of the problems a similar program faced in the mid-1990s. From 1993 through 1996, the city collected 2,800 guns by offering $50 for each weapon. While there was some evidence that the program took some of the targeted weapons off the street, criminologists who studied the program found that many of the guns were older and not the guns typically used in crimes. The program was abandoned as violent crime fell and as police and critics raised questions about its effectiveness."(04/15/06)

Any bets on how well this new round turns out to be? I figure the same thing will pretty much happen all over again. Since such "buyback" programs (as if the city ever sold them in the first place to be able to "buy them back") actually encourage petty criminals to steal weapons to be able to sell them - it turns the city government into nothing but a fence (just as the "forfeiture" programs do).

NY: Man receives 3-year sentence for self-defense
Journal News
"A Mount Vernon man cleared of homicide charges in the slaying of an ex-convict who had shot him years earlier was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for possessing the gun used in the killing. Mark Powell could have faced considerably more time in prison had jurors not found that he was justified in shooting Curtis Liburd Sept. 17 on East Fourth Street in Mount Vernon. The White Plains jury acquitted Powell of murder and manslaughter charges in January after believing his claim that he shot the unarmed Liburd in self-defense. Powell testified that he fired after Liburd threatened him and tried to grab his gun. He was also cleared of a more serious charge that accused him of intending to use the gun unlawfully. ... Powell acknowledged that he illegally [sic] possessed the gun. Westchester County Judge Rory Bellantoni said he would have liked to sentence Powell to the maximum seven years as prosecutor George Bolen requested. But he said he could not because that would have required him to consider that the possession of the gun led to Liburd's death -- which the jury verdict precluded the judge from doing." (04/13/06)

People, this again should remind you that states like New York are clearly in the enemy camp in the battle for liberty - they are no different, but in degree, from Hitler's Third Reich or Mao's China or Stalin's Soviet Union.

Mama's Note: So, somebody please tell me why anyone wants to live there in the first place?

IN: Intruder shot, killed
Indianapolis Star
"A 20-year-old man was shot to death about noon Wednesday as he tried to break into a home on the Far Eastside. Xavier Rashard Ivory was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospital after being shot once in the chest. Capt. Phil Burton of the Marion County Sheriff's Department said the owner of a home in the 8000 block of East 37th Street heard his doorbell ringing incessantly but ignored it in hopes that the person would go away. Shortly thereafter, the homeowner heard a pounding at his back door. On the way to the back door, he grabbed a firearm from a closet. At the back door, he heard and saw someone trying to force open the door. As he pulled back window blinds, he saw an arm come in through a broken window, Burton said. The homeowner fired one shot, striking Ivory in the chest." (04/13/06)

This homeowner was clearly going the second mile, in that he did not respond immediately.

LA: Business owner shoots robber
WIAT News
"An Anniston business owner is in the clear after shooting a robbery suspect in self-defense. The robbers attempted to shakedown a pawnshop. Now, three are in jail and one's got a gunshot wound to remember it by. The owner of the 202 Pawn Shop says four people charged in the attempted robbery worked as a team, trying to distract him while one stole some jewelry and ran out. Investigators say the bandits jumped into a car. The store owner, who didn't want to give his name, ran after them armed with a pistol and ready for action. 'He pulled up like he was gonna run over me and at that point [I] pulled down on him,' said the owner." (04/13/06)

A messy situation, but it certainly appears that the owner is both brave and lucky.

TX: Man cleared of assault linked to shootout
Longview News-Journal
"A 20-year-old Longview man has been cleared of an aggravated assault charge in connection with a shooting last year after prosecutors argued he fired a gun in self-defense. Travale Henson had been indicted in connection with a May 14 shooting with Keethan Harnage outside a birthday party on Avalon Street. A bullet from Harnage's gun left 15-year-old Sierra Foster of Longview dead. Prosecutors argued in a motion to dismiss that an investigation proved Henson fired two shots at Harnage in self-defense after Harnage 'began firing wildly' at him. Judge David Brabham of the 188th District Court signed the order to dismiss April 5." (04/13/06)

This article is worth reading because, for once, the prosecutors were doing their job.

Stupid Government Tricks, including Spying
State and Federal and Local Governments Gone Wild! See all the gory details every day on your nightly news and in the papers - I can't begin to cover all the stupid tricks, but here is a sampling. If YOU know of a particularly stupid government trick to share with TPOL viewers, please send them to me!

Massachusetts calls for health insurance for almost everyone
American City and County
The Massachusetts legislature passed a bill last week that requires all residents to obtain health insurance by July 1, 2007. According to The New York Times, people who can afford coverage but do not buy it will be penalized on their state income taxes, and the government will subsidize private insurance plans to allow the working poor to buy insurance. Businesses with more than 10 employees will be fined if they do not provide insurance to their employees. The governor is expected to sign the bill.

Gag! Hillary-socialism. But it is just like car insurance, isn't it? You MUST or else. Expect it to quickly progress to criminalization. But read the next story for an even worse little foolishness.

D.C. announces healthcare program for former inmates
American City and County
Washington Mayor Anthony Williams announced a program last week that will offer healthcare to men and women who have been jailed at the city's main detention center after they are released. According to the Washington Post, a nonprofit organization will take over the jail's healthcare operations and will continue to manage inmates' care through nearly three dozen clinics it operates in the city. The program will begin Oct. 1.

Yucck. Make them permanent wards of the state, eh?

MA: BMC to go national with legal aid program
Boston Globe
"Sometimes lawyers, not doctors, can be the key to good health. That principle drives a Boston Medical Center program that relies on attorneys, in partnership with physicians and social workers, to help low-income children stay healthy. The lawyers ensure that houses are heated in the winter, help undernourished families apply for food stamps, work to eliminate rodent infestation, and prod landlords to clean up moldy apartments that can trigger asthma, among other tasks. Now, in a national project backed by $2.7 million in grants, BMC today will launch an ambitious effort to replicate its program in every state. By using lawyers to solve legal problems that can cause illness -- from fixing faulty furnaces to navigating immigration rules that may make patients afraid to apply for food or housing assistance -- doctors believe they can prevent more serious health crises, such as malnutrition, job loss, and domestic violence." (04/10/06)

What a bizarre idea - lawyers can only help make government become more of a theft and a nanny, when what is needed is the same sort of effort being tried in Arizona: education and awareness. Lawyers will cost more and do less, than a good set of volunteers who are willing to teach as well as "do for."

Mama's Note: This is just another, very expensive layer of bureaucracy, of course. The various social workers are supposed to solve all these problems - and there are literally thousands of social workers in every state that do very little else. It is obvious that they have not been able to do the job, so bigger guns are being brought in. We can only hope that they can't do the job either, because we ultimately can't afford it - in dollars or in liberty.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. That's the only real help we can give anyone. We must teach these people self-responsibility and real liberty or we are wasting our time and money.

CA: Mission condo project opens a can of worms
San Francisco Chronicle
"When the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted last month to temporarily halt a Mission District condominium project, it was unwelcome news for more than just one developer. The decision ended up putting on hold thousands of units scheduled to be built in the city's eastern neighborhoods, while the Planning Department analyzes how the developments will affect existing housing and the job situation in the area. Developers call it a de facto moratorium on building, while affordable housing advocates say it will give the city a chance to complete a comprehensive building plan for the area. In all, construction at as many as 52 housing projects comprising 4,600 units in SoMa, Showplace Square, Potrero Hill, the Mission and the central waterfront could be delayed by as much as a year, though planning officials insist the majority of those projects will not be affected." (04/12/06)

If you wonder just how SF got into such a housing mess in the first place, the answer is exactly the same short of governmental political stupid-tricks that this story reports on. Sooner or later, everything grinds to a halt.

Poll: Americans split on tax dollar spending
Fox News
"Most Americans say they have finished filling out their tax forms, and a majority says they will be paying about the same amount or less than last year. Nearly half say they think their tax dollars are spent on programs they personally dislike, according to the latest FOX News Poll. The new poll finds that a majority of Americans (65 percent) have already filed their taxes, another one in five say they have started the process, but are not finished, and one in 10 have yet to start the dreaded task. Those who are unmarried are twice as likely as those who are married to say they have not started doing their taxes yet." [RRND Editor's note: Let's see now ... almost half the people polled think the money they "voluntarily give" (look it up!) to support their government is misspent ... but they still continue to fork it over without a peep! What was that promo-slogan from "V" again? - SAT] (04/12/06)

The annual event which, 220 years ago, would have ended up in open rebellion with a lot of people hanging from their heels or necks on convenient trees - but today is merely the cause for grumping.

Mama's Note: I just love it when people insist the tax is "voluntary." Withholding isn't "voluntary" at all, and if you don't sign the paper, you don't get a job. Some folks may be able to earn their living in other ways, but most of us simply can't do that. No, it's not really "voluntary" at all, it just looks that way to a few with better options.

Insider trading ring reaped millions, SEC says
Boston Globe
"Two of the region's biggest takeovers -- Procter & Gamble Co.'s purchase of Gillette Co., and Adidas-Salomon AG's acquisition of Reebok International Ltd. -- were targets of a brazen international insider trading ring that netted nearly $7 million of illegal profits, according to federal investigators. The scheme, hatched in late 2004 at a Russian sauna in Manhattan, stretched from Wisconsin to Croatia, according to a 59-page complaint filed yesterday by the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York. The operation allegedly involved two analysts in their 20s who shared insider information about six proposed corporate mergers with accomplices, including relatives and an exotic dancer. These people then bought securities before the deals were announced and reaped the profits when prices surged afterward, the complaint charges." (04/12/06)

Another example of the government reaping big press about prosecuting a crime that shouldn't be a crime.

CA: City to test gunshot location system
San Luis Obispo Tribune
"A city councilor hopes to curb a rising murder rate by installing a gunshot-locator system that uses sensitive microphones attached to buildings to remotely pinpoint shootings. Oakland councilman Larry Reid, whose district includes some of the East Oakland's most violent neighborhoods, said Tuesday his office will pay $10,000 to test the ShotSpotter system that is already in use in parts of Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. Reid hopes to have the system in place by the end of the month. Police hope the technology will help dispatch officers more quickly and catch fleeing criminals. If the test is successful, the city would need to raise about $400,000 to install nearly 100 sensors in an 8-square-mile section of the city, said Oakland police Lt. Pete Sarna II. The system uses microphones mounted on flat roofs and connected to telephone lines to triangulate the location of the gunshots to within 10 to 30 feet, said James Beldock, president of the Santa Clara-based ShotSpotter Inc." [Editor's note: Looks like SonicNet is here ... hopefully a Black Arrow will show up in Oakland to put the kibosh on this "experiment" ASAP - TLK] (04/13/06)

One more little piece of Big Brother in place.

Mama's Note: Anyone who still thinks it's a good idea to live in the city - ANY city - should be thinking again about now... Get out while you still can.

CA: Official refuses to count votes in Vernon city election
Arizona Republic
"It took a judge's order to force the first local election in 25 years in this industrial city, and it was a contest filled with allegations of intimidation, harassment and undercover surveillance. And it wasn't over when the polls closed, either. On Tuesday night, a clerk promptly carried a metal ballot box into the City Council chambers and announced he would not count the votes. The bizarre, and some say illegal, decision was just the latest eyebrow-raising political turn in Vernon, a city on the edge of Los Angeles where the mayor and council members have served for decades without opposition and most of the voters hold municipal jobs while living in city-owned houses. The political order was upset earlier this year when three new residents filed as candidates for three of the City Council's five seats." (04/13/06)

Thuggish local government exposed - how many other hundreds (or thousands) of cities across the nation have similar problems?

Maine: Baldacci signs "black box" bill
WLBZ News
"Governor Baldacci has signed a privacy protection bill that applies to event data recorders, known as 'black boxes,' which are installed in many new cars. The law, which will take effect later this year, says information in black boxes is the property of the vehicle's owner and may not be downloaded or accessed by anyone else. The bill allows some exceptions, such as a court order to produce the data. Black boxes are used to record information during accidents like speed and the response of seat belts, brakes and air bags. However, that information can also be used as a basis to raise insurance rates or deny claims." (04/10/06)

Signing the bill is one thing - enforcing it is another: the very loophole installed (the court order) will be its downfall - the insurance company will simply go to court to get access.

Mama's Note: Hmmm... these things are little computer chips, aren't they? Computer chips are rather fragile and can go blitz easily. The trick is to figure out a way to blitz them. Unfortunately, they are probably tied in with the chips that now run the engine, so it may be tricky. I can see a whole new freedom industry opening up here. Seems there are a few computer types currently out of work, aren't there? Some of them need to invent a process for this and market it.

UK: Teachers are spied on in classrooms
Register [UK]
"Teachers are preparing to protest against surveillance cameras and microphones that are being installed in classrooms across the UK. Surveillance firm Classwatch has installed more than 50 CCTV systems with microphones across the UK, said the Times Educational Supplement on Friday. Draconian headteachers, who have had teachers watched through two-way mirrors as well, grade teachers according to their performance under observation. Occasional observation is necessary to ensure lessons meet quality targets set centrally by the Department for Education and Skills. But the TES reported on Friday that teachers were being 'observed to death,' that surveillance was being used as a punishment, that schools were installing CCTV cameras with microphones into classrooms, and that teachers were wilting under the all-seeing Great Eye of Sauron." (04/10/06)

The problem is not that administrators (headteachers) or for that matter, any parent, shouldn't have the chance to observe the teachers in action (and the students), but that it is government doing it.

NM: ACLU concerned about information-sharing system
Albuquerque Journal
"The American Civil Liberties Union says people should keep an eye on how police use a statewide computer system designed to let law enforcement agencies share information faster. Linx -- for the Law Enforcement Information Exchange -- is expected to go online late this summer in Bernalillo, Sandoval and Dona Ana counties. Five other states use such a database, and it's possible they could link in the future, said Mike Dorsey, special agent in charge of the program through the U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service in Washington, D.C. The database will help law enforcement agencies, but Peter Simonson, executive director of the ACLU in New Mexico, said it also will contain information about innocent people, crime victims, witnesses and minor traffic violations. 'It is going to make available that information to every police department participating,' he said. 'We think that represents a significant threat to personal privacy.'" (04/11/06)

And yet another piece of Big Brother slowly being assembled.

Mama's Note: I wonder what would happen if the people simply vote with their feet and leave areas where this is going on. Do you think anyone in government would get the message? Probably not, because too few people will even notice, but it's a good idea for freedom seekers anyway. Get out now, while you still can.

Theft by Government
Just a few items on eminent domain and related issues today.

MO: Eminent domain limits gain initial OK
Columbia Missourian
"Legislators in the House and Senate took initial steps Wednesday toward limiting the use of eminent domain and tax breaks in certain redevelopment projects. The Senate gave first-round approval to legislation that tweaks how tax breaks for redevelopment projects can be used. The House gave initial approval to a bill designed to limit the use of eminent domain. Gov. Matt Blunt and legislative leaders made the enactment of new eminent domain restrictions a top priority for the 2006 legislative session. With that has come a reexamination of tax increment financing districts, which often rely on the same 'blighted' designations used in eminent domain to declare an area eligible for developer tax breaks." (04/13/06)

A step in the right direction, but only a very very small step. And as the next article shows, it was more like a dance than actual progress in going some place.

MO: Eminent domain debate digresses
Kansas City Star
"A dreary, five-hour House debate on technical aspects of eminent domain law Wednesday turned into a battle over gun rights and the propriety of research on early stem cells. The issues arose as House members grappled with what limits the legislature should put on the government's ability to take private property when government officials think buying the property is in the public interest. Rep. Belinda Harris, a Hillsboro Democrat, proposed an amendment to prohibit the government from using the power of eminent domain to force the sale of any house of worship. The amendment was approved, 154-0. That prompted Rep. Mike Frame, a Eureka Democrat, to propose exempting any property used as a gun shop. He said such an exemption befitted businesses protected by the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Rep. Shannon Cooper, a Clinton Republican who owns a gun store, said gun shops were not equivalent to churches and should not be placed in a special class exempt from rules that apply to all other businesses." (04/13/06)

What fun - the Missouri "Show Me State" legislature is, as always, good for a laugh.

ADA Abuse in California
Townhall.com
Alpine, California, is a peaceful rural community that lies at the foothills of the Viejas Mountains, east of San Diego. Bordering the Cleveland National Forest, this friendly village hardly seems a likely setting for a showdown over free enterprise, disabled rights and lawsuit abuse.

Yes, this is an opinion piece, but it tells a pretty horrific and true tale of theft by government, and how people make big bucks by being parasites, all thanks to government.

WV: Government punishes bank for stand
Charleston Daily Mail
The Charleston Urban Renewal Authority likely will pull $2.3 million from BB&T because of the bank's stance on eminent domain. BB&T Chairman and CEO John Allison announced in January the bank would not lend money to commercial developers that plan to build shopping malls, condominiums and other private projects on land taken from private citizens by eminent domain. Bob Denham, senior vice president for public relations in North Carolina, said 99 percent of the responses since January have been favorable. "It's been extraordinary. We're still receiving e-mails, letters and phone calls from people thanking us for our position. I think we've had more than 1,000 new accounts because of our stand." CURA is the first agency to pull its money from the bank, he said. "What BB&T is against is using eminent domain for private development of private property. That's the key component: Private use is an abuse of eminent domain."

Way to go, BB&T: if you have friends in West Virginia, tell them about this. If more businesses would stand up for freedom like this, how much better off we'd be.

Mama's Note: One question too few are even asking is: What, if anything, constitutes "legitimate" public use for which eminent domain is permissible? I don't recognize any government or "public use" as legitimate, no matter how much the taxpayers will be stuck with paying. A forced taking for "public use" is still theft.

Florida moves to limit locals' eminent domain powers
American City and County
The Florida House voted last week to restrict local governments' eminent domain powers. According to The Herald Tribune, the bill would prohibit cities, counties and community redevelopment agencies from condemning slums and blighted property for economic development purposes. The bill would not affect the use of eminent domain for traditional public purposes.

It has to go a lot farther to stop the abuses - it is time to end eminent domain. It belongs on the ash-heap of history together with the divine right of kings and the "king's forest."

Tech and Medical Issues
Vandalism, "buying" money, and other oddities in this week's news.

NASA to crash space probe into moon
CNN
"NASA plans to crash a space probe into the moon in 2009 -- a collision so violent it will be visible on Earth through a telescope, the space agency said Monday. The moon crash, part of a larger mission that includes a lunar orbiter, is a quest for ice. Water is the key ingredient for supporting future human outposts on the moon, a goal of the Bush administration. NASA scientists say the collision should excavate a hole about a third the size of a football field and hurl a plume of debris into space." (04/10/06)

This sounds more like vandalism than technology - is it perhaps an indication that NASA has gone even more into decline than it has appeared?

Venus Express zooms toward new finds about Earth's twin
Christian Science Monitor
"The planet Venus moves to astronomy's center stage this week with the arrival of the European Space Agency's spacecraft. The Venus Express orbiter is slated to reach Earth's neighbor early Tuesday morning. Roughly three weeks later, it will reach its operating orbit, where it will spend at least two Venusian days -- 486 Earth days -- probing the atmosphere in unprecedented detail and piercing the planet's cloudy veil to image the surface. Among the questions scientists would like to answer: Does the thick layer of acidic clouds actually represent a potential habitat for simple forms of life?" (04/10/06)

One more pathetic effort to find life and thus prove some of the theories that they wish weren't just theories.

Mama's Note: Wouldn't we all be shocked if the life forms on Venus decide to shoot down this invader? Wouldn't this mud ball be a mad hill of ants then? Of course, I hope that doesn't happen, but it would be very interesting..

Short of cash? Buy it with your cell phone
San Francisco Chronicle
"The cell phone is quickly overtaking the functions of a number of everyday tools, including your landline phone, personal computer, MP3 player and television. Next up: your wallet. Mobile phone makers, cellular operators, financial institutions and other players are working on ways to make your phone a nimble payment device. The notion is that since the cell phone has evolved to become a device people can't leave home without, like a wallet or keys, why not put it to work as a 'smart wallet' and take cash and credit cards to a new mobile realm. The concept was an important theme at last week's CTIA Wireless 2006 convention in Las Vegas, highlighted by an announcement by PayPal that it was leaping into the space with its PayPal Mobile." (04/10/06)

Since (according to the FBI) cell-phones are key in many cases of identity theft, it would seem this is putting even more incentive to steal or use a lost one, in front of criminals. Well, maybe "incentive" isn't quite the word: try "temptation."

Mama's Note: Considering how easy it is to lose a cell phone, this seems outright stupid. Add to this the stupidity of those new credit card accounts that round off the amount of each purchase and put the difference into some "savings account." It sounds great unless you realize that the total credit card bill will be higher, and if you don't pay it off each month you will be paying interest on those "savings" you actually borrowed! Great new income source for the credit card companies, of course, but a very poor way for most people to save anything.

World Wars
From Korea to London to the Caribbean to India, a few items make the cut this week.

KOREAN NUKES - North Korean Defense Chief Warns Of Pre-Emptive Attack On US
SpaceWar.com
Seoul (AFP) APR 10, 2006 - North Korea's defense chief has warned that Pyongyang could also launch a preemptive attack against the United States, with state media saying soldiers were ready to be "human bombs."

Things must be getting bad in North Korea again - possibly a bad winter and potential for starvation? So the thugs try to threaten the other thugs in the hopes of again seeing blackmail being coughed up.

UK: Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Guardian [UK]
"The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no 'fifth-bomber' and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan. The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a 'simple and inexpensive' plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom." (04/09/06)

Gee, so why do we need all these laws? (See next stories.)

UK: Anti-terror laws in turmoil after judge lambastes house arrest
Independent [UK]
"One of the main parts of the Government's anti-terror legislation suffered a devastating blow when the High Court ruled that the Home Secretary's decision to place a British terror suspect under house arrest was 'conspicuously unfair.' Mr. Justice Sullivan said yesterday that the Government had tried to apply a "thin veneer of legality" to bring in new measures that denied individuals the right to a fair trial. The judge said a British man, identified only as MB, had been arrested last year and then subjected to strict controls over his movements in this country on the order of the Home Secretary. MB was the first British man to be given a control order brought in last year under anti-terror laws." (04/13/06)

A democratic tyranny, such as Britain has today, is no less evil than a despotic tyranny or a monarchic tyranny.

UK: Thought crime act comes into force
Guardian [UK]
"The government's controversial Terrorism Act comes into force today, outlawing the glorification of terrorism and paving the way for the detention of terror suspects for 28 days without charge. The bill, introduced in response to the July 7 bombings, was opposed by both the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, and saw Tony Blair's first Commons defeat since coming to power, when Labour rebels overturned a government clause allowing 90 days detention. The act creates new offences of undertaking terrorism training, preparation of or planning a terrorist act and disseminating terrorist publications." (04/13/06)

Like most laws of this type, this will be enforced only when someone needs a hammer to browbeat someone, will be used to hurt innocent people, and will give a sense of false security to most of Her Majesty's subjects and visitors.

Minipax sends carrier group to Caribbean
Houston Chronicle
"An aircraft carrier strike group moved into the Caribbean this week to begin two months of naval exercises in what the U.S. Military hopes will be a show of its commitment to the region. The deployment by the USS George Washington group will also focus on threats such as drug and human trafficking, according to the Miami-based U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military activities in Latin America. Brig. Gen. Kenneth J. Glueck Jr., the Southern Command's chief of staff, called the tour an 'opportunity for us to touch base with our partner countries.'" (04/11/06)

Such exercises are needed, and while they can send important signals, right now, the best approached for Chavez and Fox is to leave them alone and let their own people decide what to be done.

Activists urge India to adopt refugee law
Christian Science Monitor
"Darkness envelopes the refugee colony of Ramdev Nagar as night falls. There's no electricity here, despite being on the fringes of the large Indian city of Jodhpur. A flickering paraffin lamp reveals scrawny children and faces hungry with want. The Hindu residents who migrated here from Pakistan to escape religious persecution find themselves stuck in this ghetto, known derisively as the 'Houses of Pakistanis.' Since the government does not recognize them as refugees and grant them citizenship, residents cannot land jobs. 'We have no country, no identity,' says Prem Chand, a lanky young man who migrated with 15 members of his family last year from the Sindh province in Pakistan. 'We don't even exist on paper.'" (04/12/06)

Readers of history may recall that the reason for the partition of the Raj in 1947 was so that Hindi could have one nation, and the Muslims their own - hence East and West Pakistan (East Paki later was helped by India to secede and become the Indian client state/satellite (but still Muslim) of Bangladesh). But a lot of people got "left" on one side or the other, wrongly. So now, that past comes back to haunt them in a big way.

MamaLiberty's addition:

Ohio Blogger Abandons First Amendment For Plea Deal
North Country Gazette
“When the media becomes too friendly with the government, bad things can happen”. That’s how indicted Ohio blogger Bryan DuBois of Sandusky felt last September. Now he’s working with the government in an effort to imprison whistleblower Elsebeth Baumgartner of Oak Harbor, his former business partner and a longtime critic of Ohio government who lost both her license to practice law and her pharmacist’s license for speaking out.

Thanks to Lady Liberty for sending this one. The article quotes a great deal from an interview with DuBois by Lady Liberty that was published here in September last year. While it is sad to see this activist cave in to government, the article makes it clear that he and Elsebeth made some serious errors along the way which should be a warning to all of us. In the meantime, it's nice to have a little national exposure for The Price of Liberty. ML