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May
29, 2006
Libertarian
Commentary on the News, Week of 21 - 28 May, 2006 Special to TPOL
This week, we have a lot of comments and a lot of news to comment about!
I want to start off with some comments on comments on comments, however
- words to remember in a year like 2006.
Kiss
off watered-down and adulterated libertarianism
Free Market News Network
by Michael Cloud
"When false friends or weak allies water down liberty with less
valuable or worthless ingredients, freedom loses. And so do we. Take a
look at a few weak, watered-down, diluted brews of liberty and libertarianism.
Compare watered-down and adulterated libertarianism with the Pure Stuff.
Libertarians do NOT 'doubt' the value of Big Government and government
intervention: we are sure that they are damaging and destructive. We oppose
them. Libertarians are NOT individuals 'who are unconvinced' or 'remain
unpersuaded' or 'aren't sold on' or 'are less than excited by' Big Government,
high taxes, or government intervention. Libertarians ARE convinced, persuaded,
and sold on the belief that Big Government doesn't work, that government
interference and intervention into the voluntary, peaceful relations of
individuals is destructive, wrong, evil. We oppose these actions of government.
We work against these things. We try to reduce and remove them."
(05/25/06)
Strong
words. Similar to the following, from a former member of the GOP, talking
about his party's leadership, especially on the national level. "The
only religion most Republicans have is the religion of personal power
and profit. In this religion, they are indeed "fanatics" but
to claim them as "Christian fanatics" is foolish. True, many
of them claim to be "Christian" just as many of them claim to
be for freedom and liberty and the Constitution. Bushwah! One can scarcely
call them "hypocrites" because to be a hypocrite you have to
believe what you are saying and not doing. Just as they wrap a flag around
them and claim to be "patriots" while not knowing or caring
about the true meaning of the word, just as they put up billboards urging
voters to "protect freedom" without any clue as to what freedom
really is, so they also bow down before the cross of Jesus Christ without
the slightest inkling of what the Savior really preached or what He expects
of His true disciples." Will either party pay attention? I hope so,
but I am optimistic and say that I hope it is the LP that does, first.
Culture
Wars - At Home and Abroad
I
don't know about the readers of TPOL (although I welcome your feedback
on the subject - use form at the bottom of the pages) but I am
tired of having my culture attacked, supposedly in the cause of freedom,
liberty, and "tolerance" by a variety of people - many of whom
claim to be and usually seem to be libertarian. Too many seem to take
the attitude that people are lovers of liberty IN SPITE OF their religious
beliefs. This is seldom the case: in fact, I and many others are libertarian
BECAUSE of our religion. I am not claiming that there are no problems
with American society, but that is far from the published statements of
many who see NO redeeming values in it. Let's look at a few items.
Christian,
Jewish Women Promote Biblical Women's Rights
CNSNews.com
Jerusalem - American Christians are teaming up with Israeli parliamentarians
to advance the status of women worldwide by stressing Judeo-Christian
values. One evangelist said the more a society embraces Judeo-Christian
values, the less likely women are to be abused...
This is,
indeed, very much the truth. Not even considering the fact that the modern
"post-Christian" world could not have even developed without
their being a "Christian" society to follow - no society/religion:
Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shinto, Greco-Roman Paganism, even most
AmerInd religions; has established a higher status for women.
Saudi
Schools Still Teach Hatred for West, Report States
CNSNews.com
The Saudi government has not only broken its promise and failed to
eliminate anti-western rhetoric from its public school textbooks, some
Saudi-funded schools on U.S. soil continue to incite violence, a Persian
Gulf watchdog group alleged Wednesday...
To anyone
who knows anything about Islam (and is honest), this is just what would
be expected. And since GRTF schools have failed to eliminate "anti-western
rhetoric" from the curriculums of tens of thousands of primary, middle,
secondary, and post-secondary schools, aren't we being a bit hypocritical
to nag the Saudis about it?
Christ
as Commodity
Townhall
And so we get ChristianT bookstores stuffed with ChristianT books (not
just Bibles, theology, and devotionals, but ChristianT romances, and ChristianT
action-adventure books, and ChristianT westerns.), ChristianT music, ChristianT
movies, ChristianT clothing, ChristianT keychains, ChristianT action figures,
and ChristianT nightlights. Christianity isn't a religion, it's a brand
name.
It is the
modern version of the moneychangers in the Temple, and just as evil and
damaging. Nathanael Blake's commentary is worth reading, and points out
one reason why people really committed to following Christ are being condemned
as evil theonomists and "religious extremists" - too many so-called
Christians have about the same relationship to their "religion"
as the average fan does to their favorite rock group.
Congress
Should Not Decide 'Gay' Marriage, Groups Say
CNSNews.com
Two groups with widely divergent views on same-sex marriage gathered
in Washington, D.C., Monday to present a surprisingly similar message:
Churches, not the U.S. Congress, should settle the contentious issue...
And the
best way to do this is to separate state and marriage, along with state
and church, state and school, and for that matter, state and anything
more important than what color to paint the stripes on the highway.
Mama's
Note: And just why should government be involved in that either? I have
never yet heard even one half good reason for it. Highway stripes one
day, seat-belt laws the next.
Gay
storks make good parents
Ananova [UK]
"Four gay storks have proved they are as capable of raising a
family as their heterosexual counterparts. Staff at the zoo in Overloon,
near Eindhoven, were unsure if the gay and lesbian storks would still
have the same natural urge to raise offspring. But after giving one egg
to a pair of gay males to sit on, and another two eggs to a pair of lesbian
storks, they say the gay storks took to parenthood straight away. Zoo
spokeswoman Esther Jansen said all three chicks had hatched successfully:
'The gay storks look after the eggs and the chicks just as well as our
heterosexual birds.'" (05/24/06)
No surprise
this is popping up all over, as yet another action in the campaign to
legitimize homosexuality. Unlike humans, who apparently have very little
if any instinctive parental abilities, storks and other birds do. The
article, of course, does nothing to explain how they know these storks
are homosexual, why they are homosexual, or much else.
Mama's
Note: This whole story is highly suspect, from several points. I've raised
all kinds of birds, from common chickens to Canadian Honker geese. With
the notable exception of Banty chickens (and not all of them), most birds
will not accept and brood eggs they did not lay in the first place. The
very idea that any animals are homosexual is a real stretch, and as Nathan
says, unsupported by any proof here. All animals can display some same
sex activities, especially during the normal mating season, but I highly
doubt there are many - if any - truly homosexual animals. Absent any real
proof, there is no reason to give this story any credibility at all.
Newspaper
Cartoons Lampooning Jesus Spark Outrage
CNSNews.com
(CNSNews.com) - A pro-family organization is lashing out at a student-run
newspaper at the University of Oregon for the publication of two cartoons,
one showing a sexually aroused Jesus and the other showing him kissing
another man...
The cartoons
were actually published in March, on-campus groups filed a grievance in
April (under the various "PC" rules that virtually every state
"institute of higher learning" has today - usually used by liberals
to bash people who speak poorly of homosexuals and such), and now this
comes - the AFA is getting a little carried away, but does have at least
one thing to complain about legitimately: the student paper is funded
by university funds, and this entire issue was designed (by the admission
of the publisher and editor) with the intention and hope of eliciting
an extreme reaction from the people whose faith it attacks.. Still, such
attacks and pictures are to be expected, and are actually far more demeaning
and graphic than anything the Danes published. But there has been, and
there will be, worse. No one needs to get beat up, expelled, or killed
over this. Fortunately, unlike Islam, Biblical Christianity has no death
penalty recommended or required for someone who demeans or belittles or
slanders or attacks God (much less a "prophet" or "apostle"
or "angel") - or for that matter, for ANY crime.
The
Coming Fall of Europe
I know, most of these stories are from the UK this week, but the entire
region is showing more and more signs of catastrophic failure, even as
some progress is being made in some areas.
Events
in the UK are distressing because we Americans ARE the spiritual heirs
of "Free Englishmen" even if we aren't directly descended from
them. But events in places that I love (such as Germany, which was home
for four years) are also hard to bear - watching the rapid decay of society
and the loss of freedoms so painfully won over centuries. Of course, I
am also fearful that I am seeing what the American Union will be like
in 5 or 10 years hence; our own society is well down the path that Europe
has been following for 40 years. So these news items should be a warning
to us all.
Scotland:
Push for police powers to keep DNA from all arrests
The Scotsman
POLICE will be given new powers to take and retain DNA samples from
anyone who is arrested in Scotland under controversial new laws proposed
by the Labour Party.
Oh, you
thought that they were telling the truth when they said it would only
be used in case of "major" crimes like rape or murder?
UK:
Miniluv wants the keys
CNet
"The British government is preparing to give its police the authority
to force organizations and individuals to disclose encryption keys, a
move that has outraged some security and civil-rights experts. The legislation
that gives the police such authority is contained within Part 3 of the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. The RIP Act, also known as RIPA,
was introduced in 2000, but the government has held back from bringing
Part 3 into effect. Now, more than five years after the original act was
passed, the Home Office is seeking to exercise the powers within Part
3." (05/18/06)
People
were warned that this would happen. The delay is curious.
UK:
Eight held in terror raids
Guardian [UK]
"Detectives arrested eight people today as part of a nationwide
anti-terror operation. Around 500 police officers from five police force
areas carried out the raids at several locations in the early hours of
this morning. The raids were intended to crack down on individuals suspected
of 'facilitating terrorism abroad,' police said. ... A spokeswoman for
Greater Manchester police, which led the operation, said the arrests were
not made in connection with Northern Irish terrorism but refused to confirm
that those arrested were suspected of Islamist terrorist offences."
(05/24/06)
This sounds
more and more like the old days of the Star Chamber and of Catholics or
Protestants or "Anabaptists" being taken in for "questioning."
Tyranny, sadly, never goes out of style.
UK:
Police target anti-war protester, steal banners
Independent [UK]
"The veteran peace activist Brian Haw was stripped of his antiwar
banners and placards by up to 50 police officers in an early-morning raid
in Parliament Square yesterday. There were chaotic and farcical scenes
as police wrestled with nine dishevelled protesters led by Mr. Haw, and
a 40-metre line of antiwar placards, including two donated by the graffiti
artist Banksy, was dismantled and dumped in a metal container. Two demonstrators,
Martin McGrath and Maria Gallastegui, who tried to climb the metal container
to salvage the placards, were arrested. ... The battle between police
and the 57-year-old protester has been going on for some time. Last July,
the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act came into force, bringing with
it powers to halt demonstrations in Parliament Square and its vicinity,
a provision widely seen as having been designed with Mr. Haw in mind."
(05/23/06)
Long expected,
this turned out to be less a fight than expected.
UK:
Inquiry rejects high-security schools
Independent [UK]
"The head of a government inquiry into pupil behaviour has rejected
demands for airport-style security to be set up in schools in the wake
of the murder of 15-year-old schoolboy Kiyan Prince. Sir Alan Steer, the
headteacher of Seven Kings High School in Ilford, Redbridge, warned such
a move 'might actually create more problems than you solve.' ... 'You
would create a certain atmosphere in schools,' he said at a conference
organised by the National Union of Teachers on pupil behaviour. 'Schools
should be comfortable, warm, sociable places, and you've got to get the
balance right between security and creating the right atmosphere.' Sir
Alan pointed out that Kiyan was knifed to death outside the school --
and therefore any airport-style security check would not have helped him."
(05/22/06)
Heaven
forbid that a GRTF-school look like or feel like the penal institution
it really is. Strangely enough, this headteacher (equivalent of a US principal)
is right in what he says about the fact that security wouldn't have stopped
it - you see, he might want the checkpoints EVERYWHERE.
Slovakia:
Students, teacher arrested
Ananova [UK]
"A teacher who took his class on a school trip to a historic cathedral
was arrested for giving unlicenced tours. The group, from Budapest in
Hungary, were in St. Michael's Cathedral, in the Slovakian capital Bratislava,
when they were all arrested. Slovakian police said the teacher had broken
the law by not having a licence to give guided tours and that the pupils
had broken the law by listening." (05/22/06)
Isn't this
exciting - Imagine: giving tours is a government -protected profession.
Just like hairdressing and medical practice. It is funnier than most because
we have one government agency beating up on another government agency
- in a place that shouldn't be a government-controlled place at all. Imagine
the lesson in freedom these kids are learning.
"Watergate"
shakes Paris, but not voters
Christian Science Monitor
"The scandal has all the elements of a thriller: backstabbing
politicians, a shadowy spy-master, mystery informants, secret foreign
bank accounts, multimillion-dollar arms sales and illegal bribes. And
it has been shaking Paris for nearly a month, as daily revelations add
to the Byzantine complexity of the allegations swirling around President
Jacques Chirac and his prime minister, Dominique de Villepin. But though
the 'Clearstream affair' has been branded 'the French Watergate,' most
French voters remain unmoved. The reasons why provide grounds for both
hope and misgivings about the health of French democracy." (05/22/06)
Sadly,
the people in question and the people trying to have a "democracy"
are the end products of a 430-year genetic "unbreeding" program
which has seen the brightest and best either killed in a series of foolish
wars, or driven off to some other place. So don't expect much - you can't
make an apple pie out of mud - at least not without a couple of years
to wait for the tree to grow and fruit.
UK:
Fears rise of British betting crisis
Independent [UK]
"Fears are rising that Britain is in the grip of an out-of-control
gambling spree. As the shortlist of local authorities vying to host one
of 17 new casinos was revealed yesterday -- including at least one 'super-casino'
-- campaigners warned that the liberalisation of betting laws could lead
to an explosion in problem gambling and family misery." (05/24/06)
Meanwhile,
Scotland's government is excited about getting "Vegas-style"
gambling monster complexes built. Go figure.
Mama's
Note: As one with at least half of my genetic makeup directly from the
thrifty, even tight fisted Scots, I can't imagine casino type gambling
going over very well there. The hardy folk of Scotland have historically
don't their "gambling" on the seas and in battle... I sincerely
hope they have not changed this much.
Government-Run,
Tax-Funded Schools
Or,
if you prefer the truth, Government-ruined and theft-funded schools -
what we laughingly call "public" schools.
What folly we see, constantly, in an institution supposedly dedicated
to teaching (presumably, teaching truth and not error). Lovers of liberty,
if they have any choice, should not let their children remain and "learn"
in these institutions.
MA:
Five suspended at elementary school
Boston Globe
"Five students at a Roxbury elementary school -- four girls in
the first and second grades and one boy in the fifth grade -- were suspended
yesterday for sexual harassment stemming from an incident on a school
bus that involved lewd language and touching, according to a spokesman
for the Boston public schools. The R.W. Emerson School students made 'explicit
statements about and to each other, and there was some level of very minor
touching going on,' said School Department spokesman Jonathan Palumbo,
who would not provide details. John Chery, the father of a 7-year-old
girl who was suspended, said his daughter told him they had choked, scratched,
and touched one another during the Thursday morning bus ride. Chery said
the school principal, C. Sura O'Mard-Gentle, told him and his daughter
yesterday that one of the other girls who was suspended had referred to
the events as 'the rape game.'" (05/20/06)
First and
second graders? Cool. We've now gotten the corruption level down that
low on the age scale. Their teachers and administrators must be so proud.
I was fortunate that I only rode a school bus perhaps a dozen times in
12 years in K-12 schools, but enough to know what chambers of horrors
they could be. Get your children out of these places, people. Please.
CA:
Big food fight on Bay Area's school menus
San Francisco Chronicle
"It's war at the Santa Clara Unified School District. But parents
aren't fighting over the curriculum, or over bilingual education or even
over school closures. They're brawling over cupcakes - and chocolate bars,
and hamburgers and candy. School food has become a national obsession.
And no place is the fixation more evident than in the Bay Area, where
activists are determined to put an end to obesity and teach kids how to
eat right. They're filling school yards with edible gardens, applying
for grants to put salad bars in cafeterias, teaching students and parents
how to cook healthful meals and replacing cookies with strawberries at
school dances. It seems simple. It's not. All agree that schools need
to clean up their nutritional act, but there is bitter dissent over how
it should be done and how far it should go." (05/22/06)
Our society
provides far too many of us with too much time on our hands, and without
the social constraints that once kept the Mrs. Grundy's down to a minor
inconvenience. Maybe the schools ought to get out of the food business
entirely. Once upon a time, and not that long ago (40 years or less),
schools didn't serve lunch, didn't serve snacks (didn't have kindergarten
in which to serve them!), didn't feed kids breakfast, and didn't have
vending machines lining the hallways. There might be an evil entrepreneur
across the street or down the block that sold candy (GASP), comic books
(DOUBLE GASP), and - cigarettes (HORRIBLE GURGLING SOUND BEYOND A GASP).
But that also depended on exactly how kids wanted to spend their generous
25-cent weekly allowance. Sodas, po'chips, chitlins, and that monstrous
beverage called "coffee" were available only from an evil smelling
metal pot and semi-functioning refrigerator in that evil den of horrors
(really -ask any student) called the "teacher's lounge." Today
of course, the students have cash to spend that means a typical suburban
American high school has a greater combined personal income that is twice
that of all of sub-Saharan Africa, Pizza Hut has the contract for lunch
and Taco Bell for breakfast, Pepsi delivery trucks have reserved parking
spaces, every classroom has a latte maker, and the teacher's lounge is
the place for quick student-teacher trysts. Only in YOUR "public
schools."
Mama's
Note: Sarcasm, folks - please don't write to inform me that Nathan has
finally lost his mind. :)
MA:
"Tough love" vs. torture
Boston Globe
"When New York regulators meet today to consider limiting a Massachusetts
school's use of electric shocks as punishment, it will not be the first
time that states have tried to rein in the unorthodox methods at the Judge
Rotenberg Educational Center. Massachusetts officials tried to close the
school in 1985 after a student with autism died while being forced to
listen to loud static through a helmet. They tried again in the mid-1990s
when the school began giving mild shocks to students for misbehavior.
Each time, judges protected the Rotenberg Center, siding with parents
who said the school had improved the lives of children with autism, mental
retardation, and emotional problems after gentler methods had failed.
And doctors concluded the death was caused by the student's neurological
disorder. Now, the center -- the only school in the country to rely so
heavily on painful punishments -- faces a challenge from the state that
supplies almost two-thirds of its 251 students." (05/22/06)
This sounds
like nothing but a contract-run government school, based on the source
of the students. Stupid government officials continue to ship off their
"wards" (victims) to this place while trying to close it down?
For twenty years or more?
Mama's
Note: This story was truly nauseating. These people first poison and pollute
these children - both before and after birth - then drug them, isolate
them from their families, and finally torture them because they are so
messed up from the previous outrages!! Children with these problems need
serious help, systemic cleansing, lots of love, and total withdrawal from
all of the horrible "legal" drugs. Since when do we punish people
for being poisoned and sick? Oh yes, I almost forgot the "war on
drugs..."
FL:
Saudis held after boarding school bus
Miami Herald
"Two Saudi men who boarded a school bus full of children and gave
conflicting reasons why there were there were arrested and held without
bail, authorities said Sunday. Mana Saleh Almanajam, 23, and Shaker Mohsen
Alsidran, 20, were charged with misdemeanor trespassing and were jailed
after a judge said Saturday she wanted more background information on
them. A hearing was scheduled Tuesday. The two men arrived in the country
six months ago on student visas and are enrolled at the English Language
Institute at the University of South Florida. Investigators said they
boarded the school bus Friday, sat down and began speaking in Arabic."
(05/21/06)
I'm sure
that they will soon be released in a "gesture of reconciliation"
to the offended masses of Muslims, who of course would never do anything
horrible to children. But if you think Arab weirdoes are the only dangers
children face on school buses, read the next story from the wonderful
Socialist Paradisical Republic of Mass.
Home
Front
The Home Front in this year of 2006 here in the United States is a might
bit confusing to anyone: I have a hard time figuring out when someone
is an enemy and when they are not. And based on the news and commentary,
I'm not alone. This week, we see a variety of the battles being waged
here in the US (except things I've classified as purely cultural). Of
particular note is the entire spying business (including the role of Gen.
Hayden), the VA records theft, and the Imperial Congress's immunity to
the law.
Senate
Confirms Gen. Hayden as CIA Director
Washington Post
A 78-15 Senate vote gives a broad bipartisan endorsement to the architect
of National Security Agency's domestic spying program.
Where are
all the Demos who are so much against the war and the administration?
Where are all the Republicans who claim to believe in freedom and limited
government? Obviously, not in the US Senate. (See the quote at the beginning
of the column.) At the same time, this is evidence that on things that
they really consider important, the Bush White House is able to maneuver
in the sewer currents of the Congress.
Gonzales:
Bush can do whatever he likes with reporters, too
CNN
"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Sunday he believes journalists
can be prosecuted for publishing classified information, citing an obligation
to national security. The nation's top law enforcer also said the government
will not hesitate to track telephone calls made by reporters as part of
a criminal leak investigation, but officials would not do so routinely
and randomly. 'There are some statutes on the book which, if you read
the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility,'
Gonzales said, referring to prosecutions." (05/21/06)
The knots
in this man's brain must be frightening to behold.
Mama's
Note: What "brain?" A bowl of overcooked spaghetti has far more
integrity, I think.
ACLU
seeks to rally against phone snooping
Philadelphia Inquirer
"A civil rights group was launching a nationwide Don't Spy On
Me campaign Wednesday to urge the public to demand that the Federal Communications
Commission and state utility commissions probe whether phone companies
broke laws by sharing customer records with the government's biggest spy
agency. On its Web site Tuesday night, the American Civil Liberties Union
said it was demanding action at the FCC in Washington, D.C., and in 17
states. It was to advertise the start of its program in newspapers across
the country Wednesday. The campaign, symbolized by a telephone with an
eye on it, urges members of the public to go to an ACLU Web site to add
their names to complaints being filed with the FCC and with state utility
commissions to show there is a large population of people upset by the
sharing of their records." (05/23/06)
Well, for
once, I can say, good for the ACLU. People think all I do is bash them,
but I am not today. Really. I think they are doing the right thing in
this case (although I confess that I won't be writing a donation check
to them soon, because of other actions/problems. And the ACLU isn't the
only ones fighting this, as the next story relates.
Mama's
Note: Maybe... And just what is all this complaining supposed to accomplish?
I don't remember the government being at all anxious about adverse public
opinion recently. Of course, it is so easy for them to manipulate what
most people think that I highly doubt this will bother them in the least.
You notice that they managed to swing the national ID deal in spite of
massive public outcry over it. Don't hold your breath...
Suit
seeks to stop phone records release
Honolulu Advertiser
"A lawsuit filed Monday on behalf of author Studs Terkel and other
professionals seeks to stop AT&T from giving customer phone records
to the National Security Agency without a court order. The plaintiffs,
who also include a doctor and a state lawmaker, said they rely on confidentiality
in their work and are worried their clients will be less likely to phone
them if they think the government collects lists of the numbers they are
calling." (05/22/06)
Frankly,
smaller informal groups mean more likelihood that it will sink in to the
government types that we mean business, not just the usual legal wrangling
that gets nothing done, except making lawyers rich(er).
The
snooping goes beyond phone calls
BusinessWeek
"Furor and confusion over allegations that major phone companies
have surrendered customer calling records to the National Security Agency
continue to roil Washington. But if AT&T Inc. (T ) and possibly others
have turned over records to the NSA, the phone giants represent only one
of many commercial sources of personal data that the government seeks
to 'mine' for evidence of terrorist plots and other threats. The Departments
of Justice, State, and Homeland Security spend millions annually to buy
commercial databases that track Americans' finances, phone numbers, and
biographical information, according to a report last month by the U.S.
Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress."
(05/29/06)
Well, I
hope that their data is more accurate than my local phone books are. I
shouldn't have to spend $200 a year for a Cole's Directory when my spending
is paying for the advertising dollars to support three or four local phone
books.
 Verizon
refuses to come clean
New Standard
"Telecom giant Verizon is refusing to confirm or deny participation
in the illegal National Security Agency (NSA) wiretapping program, as
citizens in Maine urge the state's Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to
investigate whether the company handed over its phone records. In a tightlipped
44-page response to the PUC last Friday, Verizon argued that the Commission
lacks the authority to investigate a complaint that the telephone company
was involved in the NSA program. The company further claimed such information
is protected by the'state-secrets privilege.' The complaint, filed on
May 8 by a group of Mainers and the Maine Civil Liberties Union, petitioned
the PUC to order Verizon to disclose whether it had released customer
e-mail and phone records to the NSA." (05/23/06)
Verizon
will regret hiding behind Uncle Sam's jacket-tails. Not that Verizon exactly
has a clean record for paying attention to the freedom of its customers
or its employees.
Mama's
Note: Click onto the boycott banner above and read about just one of Verizon's
other criminal actions.
Personal
data on 26.5 million vets stolen
Cincinnari Enquirer
"Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S.
Veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans
Affairs employee improperly brought the material home, the government
said Monday. The information involved mainly those veterans who served
and have been discharged since 1975, said VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.
Data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency
may have been included. Nicholson said there was no evidence the thieves
had used the data for identity theft, and an investigation was continuing."
(05/22/06)
See my
comments below on this and the next story
Confidential
Data in Online Public Records Could be Protected
CNSNews.com
The theft of a computer disc containing the names, dates of birth and
Social Security Numbers of some 25 million U.S. military veterans has
provided another reminder of how easily a person's identity can be stolen.
Three questions dominate the ongoing debate about Internet access to public
records...
There are
many, many facets of this that need to be addressed. Waiting a few weeks
to make the theft public, to make sure that the thief didn't realize what
he had and hopefully flogged it off on someone else is one thing. Waiting
to notify the FBI that long is something else - even if they know the
FBI is incompetent. But more important is the question none of the news
stories and commentaries have asked: IS it necessary that personal information
like this be kept in a centralized database, or ANY database, operated
by the Federal government, even for veterans? Just as classified strategic
and operational information is often kept "compartmentalized,"
would it not be wise to do the same thing with personal information?
Filing:
Tape shows lawmaker taking $100K
Seattle Times
"A congressman under investigation for bribery was caught on videotape
accepting $100,000 in $100 bills from an FBI informant whose conversations
with the lawmaker also were recorded, according to a court document released
Sunday. Agents later found the cash hidden in his freezer. At one audiotaped
meeting, Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., chuckles about writing in code
to keep secret what the government contends was his corrupt role in getting
his children a cut of a communications company's deal for work in Africa."
(05/21/06)
This man
is indeed stupid. This story leads to the next two stories, which shows
that he is NOT alone in his stupidity in Congress or the White House.
House
leaders demand FBI return documents
Bloomington Pantagraph
"In rare, election-year harmony, House Republican and Democratic
leaders jointly demanded on Wednesday that the FBI return documents taken
in a Capitol Hill raid that has quickly grown into a constitutional turf
fight beyond party politics. 'The Justice Department must immediately
return the papers it unconstitutionally seized,' House Speaker Dennis
Hastert, R-Ill., And Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in
a statement. Within hours, according to several Republican officials,
White House aides were involved in talks with Hastert's staff concerning
the possible transfer of the documents, possibly to the House ethics committee."
(05/24/06)
See how
alike these two parties are? These are the people that claim to represent
us, and rule us. House ethics committee? Let's also convene a committee
of inmates to determine which people in the prison system should be let
out.
Raid
on Jefferson's Office Prompts Hearing
CNSNews.com
Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, says his committee will hold an oversight hearing next week
on constitutional questions raised by the FBI raid on Rep. William Jefferson's
congressional office last Saturday night. But some say that congressmen
who have allegedly engaged in criminal behavior should be fully investigated
and prosecuted...
Our imperial
kongrus-kritturs mustn't be bothered by judges issuing warrants on probable
cause, eh? Frankly, it wouldn't hurt my feelings if a MC (Member of Congress
or Miserable Cuss?) were expelled for getting too many parking tickets.
Guard
soldiers may go to border next week
Elmira Star-Gazette
"The first wave of about 800 National Guard soldiers will head
to the U.S-Mexico border as early as next week, including planners and
leadership personnel who will stay longer than the planned 21-day missions,
the National Guard chief told lawmakers Wednesday. Lt. Gen. Steven Blum
said 200 soldiers are preparing to go to each of the four border states
-- California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico -- around June 1. He said
the initial troops will be part of a longer-term force of project managers
who will stay on the job over time to provide continuity in the new border
program." (05/24/06)
Later news
stories in the week stated that troops WOULD be armed and would be in
locations where they might have to defend themselves, apparently including
engineers who would be constructing things right on the border. Despite
cries of foul, it IS supposed to be the reason for our military to exist:
to protect us against invasion. The original reason for our military was
NOT to "project power" around the globe, institute "regime
change" or even, defend our "allies." The line between
invasion and simply free travel has often been confused in history, and
no less today. But the wisdom of sending troops into a situation where
the current administration has no idea exactly what they are doing is
questionable to say the least.
Mama's
Note: Not to mention the fact that this will mean the states have that
many fewer National Guard troops available to perform their more legitimate
roles. I don't know if fighting forest and brush fires is truly a legitimate
NG role, but it is certainly more consistent with the idea that these
troops belong to the individual states, not the federal government.
CA:
Delicate immigration dance
San Francisco Chronicle
"When Mexican President Vicente Fox stars at an official state
dinner in Sacramento on Thursday night -- during a trip that includes
a visit with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a speech to the Legislature
-- his famous 'enchilada completa' still won't be on the menu. That was
the recipe for immigration reform that the Mexican president promised
to lobby hard to achieve in his six-year administration: a guest worker
program; a path to legalization for millions of Mexican immigrants, legal
or illegal, in the United States; and agreements from both sides of the
border to protect Mexican workers from human rights abuses."
(05/24/06)
I see no
more reason for the President of Mexico to be allowed to lobby DC than
for the Chairman of the Politburo of China or the Queen of the UK to be
allowed to do so. If either of the other two tried it, the screams of
outrage would be ear-splitting - so what do we hear about Fox? As for
"human rights" - talk to some Zapataistas and a good many other
people in Mexico about which country protects human rights better.
Senate
Passes Immigration Bill in 'Do Something' Spirit
CNSNews.com
The Senate voted 62-36 to pass an immigration reform bill on Thursday,
with 23 Republicans voting for it, four Democrats voting against it, and
just about everyone saying it's unclear what the final bill will look
like, once the Senate and the House try to hammer out a compromise on
their very different bills...
Notice
that they no longer care whether it DOES anything or not - it just has
to be passed, and then they can all race home for their Memorial Day week-long
mini-vacation and crow about how they all be protecting us, y'betcha!
Anti-Gang
Strategy Taking Shape at Justice Department
CNSNews.com
U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has announced a new national
strategy to crack down on violent street gangs. The government now believes
there are more than 21,500 gangs in the U.S., And more than 700,000 gang
members...
Hmmm. Does
this include those in the blue and black suits with the funny hats? You
know, you see them all the time, roaming the streets frittering their
time away in customized, decorated cars paid for with stolen money - and
sometimes just plain stolen. They also like donut shops, I'm told.
Mama's
Note: The definition of "gang" can also easily be stretched
to fit just about anyone. Do you meet with a few like minded folks at
the gun range on a regular basis? Are you a "violent gang?"
The "reasonable laws" made to control behavior we don't like
will always be used against everyone eventually. The natural law against
any aggressive action should be enforced by all of us, all the time. That's
all the "law" we really need.
House
Republican Pushes 'Free Market' Immigration Bill
CNSNews.com
A Republican congressman is touting yet another immigration bill -
a "free market" bill, which is intended to strike a balance
between amnesty and mass deportations. Essentially, the bill introduced
by Rep. Mike Pence would separate illegal aliens into two groups: those
who want to become citizens and those who want to come here for temporary
jobs...
Something
like this does have at least a glimmer of hope of reconciling the issue
between open borders (free travel) and open immigration (free rides).
Mama's
Note: I fail to see how this legislation does anything for a free market.
Absent all this nonsense and the welfare state, those who want to work
and become Americans would simply do so, and those who did not would either
go home or starve. It really is that simple.
Nuclear
smuggling "easy"
CNN News
On March 28, 2006, undercover investigators penetrated both northern
and southern U.S. borders, and smuggled in enough radioactive material
to produce two dirty bombs. Although monitors at border checkpoints were
capable of detecting the radiological material, the agents were able to
provide papers that they had counterfeited using a basic computer program,
which allowed them to gain access to U.S. Soil Air cargo shipments on
board of passenger aircraft within the U.S. are highly vulnerable to any
misuse [according to a former DHS official]. Only a very small percentage
of the goods are being inspected prior to getting on board an aircraft.
To emphasize that the Netherlands, Great Britain and Israel inspect 100
percent of all air freight prior to departure.
Of course,
since virtually ANY amount of material is enough to make a "dirty"
bomb (that is, a conventional explosive bomb with radioactive material
in its casing or around it so that it is scattered by the explosive and
contaminates an area), this is hardly the hideous situation it is being
made out to be. But as people who buy and bring drugs across borders can
tell you, it is impossible to stop all smuggling.
New
Orleans: Nagin reelected
BBC News
The people of the hurricane-hit US city of New Orleans have narrowly
re-elected Ray Nagin to lead them as mayor. Mr Nagin won 52% of the vote
in a second round run-off, beating fellow Democrat Mitch Landrieu.
Barf. Of
course, this was very clearly a race between two evils, kinda like Sodom
and Gomorroh having a vote to elect either Baal or Moloch "god of
the year." New Orleans continues to deserve everything it gets, including
four more years of Mr. Nagging.
Mama's
Note: And some people still have hopes of electing a Libertarian government.
Please...
Number
of US inmates rises 2%
Indianapolis Star
"Prisons and jails added more than 1,000 inmates each week for
a year, putting almost 2.2 million people, or one in every 136 U.S. residents,
behind bars by last summer. The total on June 30, 2005, was 56,428 more
than at the same time in 2004, the government reported Sunday. That 2.6
percent increase from mid-2004 to mid-2005 translates into a weekly rise
of 1,085 inmates. Of particular note was the gain of 33,539 inmates in
jails, the largest increase since 1997, researcher Allen J. Beck said.
That was a 4.7 percent growth rate, compared with a 1.6 percent increase
in people held in state and federal prisons." (05/21/06)
Please
note that this does NOT include people on parole, people on permanent
"offender lists", or people out on bail, not yet convicted or
virtually all of Congress and the political appointees of this and the
last administration.
Mama's
Note: Just think about how many of these people are the sole breadwinners
for their families, and how many could contribute significant skills toward
building our economy as well. I wonder what percentage of them have been
rightfully convicted of violent crime? Think of that next time you are
asked to vote for more prisons.
Dixie
Chicks withdraw apology
Raw Story
"'I apologized for disrespecting the office of the President.
But I don't feel that way anymore. I don't feel he is owed any respect
whatsoever,' Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines tells TIME's music critic Josh
Tyrangiel, of her remark to a London audience in 2003: 'Just so you know,
we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.'
Time's cover story, 'Radical Chicks,' hits newsstands Monday, May 22nd.
'I got hot from my head to my toes -- just kind of this rush of 'Ohhh's,'
says Dixie Chick Emily Robison of Maines' 2003 statement. 'It wasn't that
I didn't agree with her 100%; it was just, 'Oh, this is going to stir
something up.'' The first single from the Dixie Chicks' new album, Taking
the Long Way is called 'Not Ready to Make Nice."' (05/21/06)
How on
earth have we created a society in which it is considered appropriate
and front-cover news for a pop-music singer's childish criticisms of the
leader of the country. No matter how bad he is (and I'm not arguing that),
a society in which entertainers are looked on as icons and role models
and political pundits is a sick and degraded society.
Mama's
Note: I certainly object to the idea that such people actually influence
anyone, but their right to speak their mind about anything should not
be in question. How anyone can give credence to such yo-yo opinions is
quite beyond me.
TN:
Group wants voter OK on taxes
Tennessean
"Metro Nashville property tax increases would require voter approval
under an initiative that organizers say has the shoe leather and signatures
to force a November referendum. The group that quashed a state tax on
wages in 2001 has set its sights on Nashville's property taxes, which
jumped as much as 5 percent in some areas last year after a vote of the
Metro Council. Ben Cunningham of Old Hickory, a leader in the state and
local efforts, says that 6,500 signatures have been gathered. The group
will likely need about 4,000 valid signatures, but a final number won't
be known until after the Aug. 3 primary election. Turnout will dictate
the number of signatures needed for a Nov. 7 ballot measure. The local
effort is part of a national movement for voter approval of tax increases
-- born of California's Proposition 13, a constitutional amendment approved
by the voters in 1978 that capped property tax rates." (05/21/06)
I've been
kept informed of this campaign since before it officially started, and
wish them the very best. It is a START, but a good one, and part of that
was keeping it under the radar of the Tennessean and other groups, companies,
and persons who benefit from the upward spiral of taxation, and the criminally
high levels we already have. It is being pushed, correctly, as a "TABOR"
(Taxpayers Bill of Rights) but more action will be needed, as Colorado's
rejection of much of TABOR last year shows.
Gasoline
prices finally fall, but not much
Houston Chronicle
"The average retail price of a gallon of gas fell about 1.45 cents
across the nation during the past two weeks, the first drop since prices
began a steady climb in late February, according to a survey released
today. Self-serve regular averaged about $2.93 a gallon, down from about
$2.95 two weeks ago, said Trilby Lundberg, who publishes the nationwide
Lundberg Survey of roughly 7,000 gas stations. The average price of mid-grade
was $3.03 a gallon, down from $3.04." (05/21/06)
Right.
Why do I doubt this? Just because prices went UP a nickel in my area in
the last week?
Mama's
Note: I paid $2.72 a gallon this weekend in Worland, WY - up from $2.69
the week before in Newcastle. I suspect that some of the high price is
due to the holiday, but at least it's still far below the national average.
Bin
Laden: Moussaoui not linked to 9/11
San Francisco Examiner
"Osama bin Laden purportedly said in an audio tape Tuesday that
neither Zacarias Moussaoui -- the only person convicted in the U.S. for
the Sept. 11 attacks -- nor anyone held at Guantanamo had anything to
do with the al-Qaida operation. 'He had no connection at all with Sept.
11,' the speaker claiming to be bin Laden said in the tape posted on the
Internet. 'I am the one in charge of the 19 brothers and I never assigned
brother Zacarias to be with them in that mission,' he said, referring
to the 19 hijackers." (05/23/06)
Of course
we believe you, Osama. Just like we believed Moussaoui. Our judges, attorneys,
and juries are the most gullible in the world.
Government
keeps info from defense in terror cases
USA Today
"Government lawyers are refusing to allow defense attorneys in
terrorism-related cases to see court filings on whether warrantless surveillance
was used to obtain information against their clients, defense attorneys
said. The legal disputes represent a new obstacle for defense attorneys
in terrorism cases as the legality of the National Security Agency's surveillance
programs is challenged in U.S. courtrooms." (05/22/06)
All's fair
in "love and war"?
Mama's
Note: One of the bedrock principles for justice - enshrined in the Constitution
and centuries of common law - is the requirement that ALL of the evidence
be presented to the jury, both for and against the accused. Anyone with
the IQ of a bean should be able to see that there can be no justice at
all when evidence is hidden. But then, you already knew that there was
no justice in this country, didn't you?
LA:
Police shot mentally disabled man in back
CNN
"Autopsy results obtained by CNN show a mentally disabled man
was shot in the back when he was killed by New Orleans police in the aftermath
of Hurricane Katrina. This contradicts testimony by a police sergeant
that the victim had turned toward officers and was reaching into his waistband
when shot. 'Clearly he was shot from behind,' said famed New York pathologist
Dr. Michael Baden, who examined the body for the family's lawyer."
(05/22/06)
It takes
a household-name to do the autopsy to prove that the NOPD are a bunch
of thugs? Maybe that's why we didn't find all those tens of thousands
of dead that everyone claimed - the cops ATE 'em!
Rice
lauds BC critics' right to speak
Boston Globe
"On the eve of her controversial commencement speech at Boston
College, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice celebrated her critics' right
to object to her presence. But she defended the Bush administration's
actions in Iraq and challenged her critics' assertions that the Iraq war
clashed with Catholic morals. 'Christians are of course on both sides
of the argument about the use of force -- when it is indeed just to use
force and when it is not,' she said at a news conference yesterday. 'We
have overthrown a dictator who brutalized his population. ... Sometimes
you have to get rid of really, really bad regimes,' she said. Boston College's
announcement on May 1 that Rice would speak at graduation today and would
receive an honorary law degree has divided the Jesuit college, and has
underscored deep divisions between liberal and conservative Catholics."
(05/22/06)
Her words
would be more comforting if her actions matched her words. At the same
time, will her opponents (and those who oppose the Iraqi occupation) give
her the same respect that she is giving them, at least in this speech?
And which tack will the rest of the Bush Administration, and a Rice Administration,
take? More than a single speech is needed.
Thomas:
Bush is in "real trouble"
Raw Story
"'Just how bad are things for President Bush?' asks the New York
Daily News in Monday editions. 'Pretty bad, I'd say, if even Clarence
Thomas is worried about him.' Excerpts: The other night at a Washington
book party for the President's sister, Doro Bush Koch, the Supreme Court
justice arrived with his wife, Ginny, on the tented roof of the Hay Adams
Hotel, overlooking the White House, and made a beeline for the author.
'We have to pray for your brother. He's in real trouble,' Thomas told
a wide-eyed Koch, whose older brother is, indeed, suffering from near-catastrophic
public-opinion ratings. Koch - whose memoir of the first President Bush
is 'My Father, My President: A Personal Account of the Life of George
H.W. Bush' -- politely thanked Thomas and kept a stiff upper lip."
(05/22/06)
Is Thomas
worried about the poll ratings? Somehow, I don't think so - but he might
be worried about other problems the Bush Administration has. Thomas is
not the perfect Justice, but he does have his good points. Wonder if the
President will listen?
Cheney
may be called in CIA leak case
Winston-Salem Journal
"Vice President Dick Cheney could be called to testify in the
perjury case against his former chief of staff, a special prosecutor said
in a court filing Wednesday. Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald suggested
Cheney would be a logical government witness because he could authenticate
notes he jotted on a July 6, 2003, New York Times opinion piece by a former
U.S. ambassador critical of the Iraq war." (05/25/06)
Once more,
there is a strange disconnect here regarding what is worth prosecuting
and what is not. I suppose Cheney could claim the same sort of immunity
from the justice system that the Congrus-kritturs are claiming. Now, wouldn't
that be fun?
Navy
shoots down a long-range missile
CNN
"For the first time, a Navy ship at sea successfully shot down
a long-range missile in its final seconds of flight, the military said
Wednesday. The test was seen as an important step toward giving ships
the ability to shoot down weapons as they are about to hit their targets.
Until now, the Standard Missile 2 was only launched from ships to intercept
a long-range missile in the early or middle stage of flight. For the test,
a missile fired from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai was destroyed
in its final stage by an SM-2 launched from USS Lake Erie." (05/24/06)
Good news,
if it can be replicated. Defense is always to be preferred.
Mama's
Note: Ah, pardon me for asking a possibly dumb question, but why in the
world wait until the final seconds? I'd think exploding a big missile,
especially one with a nuclear head, would best be done as far away from
the target as possible - not on top of it. What happened to long range
detection of these things?.
Our Imperial
Courts
There
is NO branch of American governments, from the local township right up
to Babylon-on-Potomac that doesn't do its best to limit our freedoms and
destroy our liberties, but the judicial system seems more effective even
than the other two. This week, a few examples of how the "justice
system" is working hard at destroying our freedoms and our society,
even the very rule of law that they supposedly exist to preserve.
Judge
says man too small for prison
Tallahassee Democrat
"A judge said a 5-foot-1 man convicted of sexually assaulting
a child was too small to survive in prison, and gave him 10 years of probation
instead. His crimes deserved a long sentence, District Judge Kristine
Cecava said, but she worried that Richard W. Thompson, 50, would be especially
imperiled by prison dangers. ... Thompson will be electronically monitored
the first four months of his probation ... " (05/25/06)
Could I
suggest a speedy execution? Or maybe just a castration to go along with
his probation? Or how about confinement as a ward nurse's aid in a geriatric
facility?
Mama's
Note: For pity sake! This can't be the only 5' 1" man in prison -
and what makes this particular "size" more vulnerable? Would
one more inch of height make him safe? EVERYONE is "imperiled"
by prison dangers, including the guards. It is one of the most brutal
and dangerous places on earth - which once again makes me wonder just
why so many people seem to think that's a good place to put so many of
our sons and daughters...
Supreme
Court: Police don't need warrants in emergencies
USA Today
"The Supreme Court reaffirmed Monday that police can enter homes
in emergencies without knocking or announcing their presence. Justices
said four Brigham City, Utah, police officers were justified in entering
a home after peeking through a window and seeing a fight between a teenager
and adults. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the unanimous court,
said that officers had a reasonable basis for going inside to stop violence.
The decision overturned a ruling by Utah's Supreme Court that said a trial
judge was correct to throw out charges stemming from the police search."
(05/22/06)
While this
just reaffirms past decisions, it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
There is a tremendous difference between a peace officer barging in to
save a life and restore peace, and a "law enforcement officer"
using an emergency as an excuse to go in and bust heads and enforce the
law. Of course, if the Utah Supremes' had any common sense, they would
have read and used their own constitution first, and NOT the Federal one:
Utah's is much more specific and supportive of a right to be free from
police abuse than the US Bill of Rights is.
More
News and Commentary on Page 2
Nathan
Barton is writing from his secret bunker complex on the eastern slopes
of the Paha Sapa, swilling Doctor Pepper (and gallons of water each day,
milady) and plotting to reelect Gaius Julius Caesar dictator of the Republic
- or was that Senator Palpatine? Granville James Corbin? W? Q?
Be sure
to visit my blog, Liberty's
Outpost.
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