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June
12, 2006
Libertarian
Commentary on the News, 4-10 June 2006 Exclusive to TPOL
"How
long, oh Lord?" So the ancient prophets prayed, seeking freedom from
tyranny - often tyranny which was the result of the foolish actions of
the very people who groaned under the tyrant's boot. We are in much the
same situation today, as far as our liberty is concerned. This week's
stories remind us of that, and also of the fact that "this too shall
pass." IF we work to that goal - striving for and enjoying the great
gift of liberty that should be the heritage of every human.
Culture
Wars
As has been my wont in recent weeks, I start out with news related
to the Culture Wars.
Things
heated up this week in the American Culture Wars, with the GOP seeking
to remind people that the Democratic Party is busy tearing down our entire
society to rebuild in their own image. (Not that the GOP isn't - but they
have different end-goals.) More than ever we see the dangers of letting
government have too much power - they seek to get more and more control
over everything, from families to flags. Warning: I have a long diatribe
in this section, so be prepared to be angered!
Let
doctors kill without consent, says expert
BBC News
A former professor of medical ethics has called for all forms of euthanasia
to be legalised. Len Doyal, ex-member of the British Medical Association's
ethics committee, said doctor-assisted deaths did take place and should
be better regulated. He said the law should be changed to enable doctors
to withdraw treatment even if patients cannot consent. "Doctors may
not want to admit this and couch their decision in terms such as 'alleviating
suffering' but withdrawal of life sustaining treatment from severely incompetent
patients is morally equivalent to active euthanasia," he stated.
In other
words, as with a lot of other things - "we can't stop it, so lets
make it legal." If we were talking about "victimless crimes"
where people are doing stupid things to themselves, I'd agree. When it
is so doctors or medicrats can kill off patients that are too much trouble
or too expensive or too unpleasant, well, something else is needed.
Bush
reiterates same-sex marriage [sic] opposition
Monterey Herald
"For the second time in three days, President Bush implored the
Senate to pass a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying
Monday that the issue needs to be wrestled away from 'overreaching judges'
and placed in the hands of the American people [sic]. ... The amendment
faces daunting odds in the Senate. Only one of the 44 Senate Democrats
-- Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska -- has expressed support for the measure.
Support among the Senate's handful of moderates among 55 Republicans is
scant. The Senate's lone independent, James Jeffords of Vermont, tends
to vote with Democrats. The Constitution requires approval by two-thirds
of both the House and Senate to forward a constitutional amendment to
the states, and three-quarters of state legislatures also must approve
it to change the nation's fundamental legal charter." (06/05/06)
Keep in
mind that for the most part, the Democratic "opposition" to
this is expressed in far different terms when they are back home in their
own states - Nelson is the closest to NOT being a hypocrite on the matter.
But this is a strange alliance of those who actually support homosexual
"marriage" and those who clearly do NOT but fear the consequences
of federal intervention into yet another entire field of law. Sadly none
of them seem to be willing to take the only logical approach and completely
separate marriage and government. This would essentially end the homosexual
community's sudden clamor for "marriage" and reestablish a key
principle of individual liberty.
IA:
Prison Fellowship Ministries closes prison Bible program
Fox News
"A judge has ruled that a Bible-based prison program violates
the First Amendment's freedom of religion clause by using state funds
to promote Christianity to inmates. Prison Fellowship Ministries, which
was sued in 2003 by an advocacy group, was ordered Friday to cease its
program at the Newton Correctional Facility and repay the state $1.53
million. 'This calls into question the funding for so many programs,'
said Barry Lynn, executive director of the Washington-based Americans
United for Separation of Church and State, which filed the suit. 'Anyone
who doesn't stop it is putting a giant 'sue me' sign on top of their building.'
Lynn's group accused Prison Fellowship Ministries of giving preferential
treatment to inmates participating in the program. They were given special
visitation rights, movie-watching privileges, access to computers and
access to classes needed for early parole." (06/03/06)
Like the
Bar, clearly another unappointed, unelected monitor is working overtime
to prevent the evils of "do unto others as you would have them do
unto you" from being taught to a bunch of convicts. How wonderful
that our nation is being protected from such evils. I am sure that there
is a lot more that AUSCS could do to help us - why should we taxpayers
have to foot the bill for guards to get hourly differential pay for working
on Sundays, after all? That is clearly promoting a religion by making
a holy day a day off, and slighting other religions who have Friday or
Saturday as their holy day.
Mama's
Note: Since when do prison ministries (or any other) need stolen taxpayer
money to operate? If this had been a totally voluntary and privately funded
program from the start, maybe they wouldn't be in this jam. I don't care
how "good" some program is, there is no justification for theft.
Marriage
Amendment Has Conservative Critics, Too
CNS News.com
A religious lobbying group Monday claimed that the federal Marriage
Protection Amendment does not go far enough in protecting marriage and
criticized the measure for allowing civil unions and other forms of marriage...
On the
other hand, there are SOME conservatives that believe that the FedGov
should stay out of marriage entirely, including welfare and tax policy.
Not by ending preferences for married couples, but by ending welfare and
the income tax. Of course, there are libertarians that would just say
"end taxes." I like that idea even better. In fact, taking away
ALL federal power to "mold society" wouldn't hurt my feelings
at all.
Flag
Desecration Amendment Headed for Close Senate Vote
CNS News.com
A proposed constitutional amendment against desecration of the American
flag could end up being decided by a single vote in the U.S. Senate, according
to supporters and opponents, who are encouraging the public to lobby their
senators on the legislation...
For those
who think the Marriage Amendment is a disaster - welcome to a REAL mess.
Passing this little piece of garbage will do nothing but show that the
Constitution means less and less.
Mama's
Note: Unfortunately, congress and the presidents of the last 100 years
or so have desecrated the flag so much that it is now a symbol of terrorism
and horror- to me and much of the world.
SD:
Backlash Dooms Pro-Choice Legislators
San Jose (CA) Mercury News
Four Republican state senators who voted against a bill to ban most abortions
in South Dakota were defeated in Tuesday's primary election. Just how
much their opposition to the legislation led to their losses was not immediately
clear, but abortion opponents in the state have long had a firm grasp
on the Legislature. Several lawmakers who supported the abortion ban were
successful in the primary. The most contentious race involved Sen. Stan
Adelstein of Rapid City and challenger Elli Schwiesow, vice chair of the
state GOP and a staunch abortion foe. Schwiesow, who had lost in 2004
to Adelstein, won this time and advances to the November general election.
South Dakota
politics are always a bit strange, at least since I got back here in 1990.
Primary elections are often the ONLY elections for up to a third of Legislature
seats, as many times either the GOP or the Democrats fail to even contest
some districts, the LP has been unable to get more than two to five legislative
candidates on the ballot at once, and there are usually even fewer independent
candidates (and the legislature made it much harder for independent candidates
to get on the ballot a few years ago). Some incumbents have even run unopposed
both in primary and general elections, in past years.
On the
other hand, incumbents have been tossed out on their ears in primaries
more than once in recent history, when they ticked off people enough.
And normal party labels mean even less than is the case most places: Stan
Adelstein, a personal acquaintance and one of those incumbents who got
the boot on Tuesday, has been called by several people "the most
liberal legislator in South Dakota" even though he runs and serves
as a Republican. (Of course, he has been a big buddy with Tom Daschle
and good friends with John Thune for years.) Until this year, his wealth
(and spending on campaign advertising) and GOP affiliation have overcome
his stand on a great many social issues in an urban district that is generally
fairly conservative. The defeat of these four incumbents, all on the losing
side (so far) on South Dakota's new antiabortion law, is seen as a good
sign for that law's success in November.
It is indeed
part of a backlash that may also hurt the state's lone Representative,
Democrat Herseth, and if continued, could doom the state's senior (and
Democratic) Senator Tim Johnson. But it will not heal rifts between the
two wings of the State GOP. [Longtime readers of this column know that
one attempted libertarian slogan to which I do NOT subscribe is "Pro-Choice
in Everything" - at least in its normally accepted sense. I believe
that women DO have a choice, just as men to, on whether or not to become
a parent. But that choice is made together with a decision to have sex
and NOT after one has let their hormones run wild. I believe that a human
life is valuable, and begins, as does all other life, at conception, and
that just because a child is the result of rape or incest, does not mean
that the child should be punished (killed) for either of those crimes
- especially when the perpetrator(s) of those crimes are not given the
death penalty.
Nor do
I believe that outlawing abortion will lead to a police state anymore
than outlawing murder or theft leads to a police state. Those actions
can potentially lead to a police state, but they are nothing but an excuse.
When the choice is between a mother's life and a child's life, a choice
has to be made, and usually it will be in favor of the mother for various
reasons: harsh but necessary; but a vague claim of "mother's health"
should be viewed as the excuse that it is: any pregnancy (to say nothing
of the stresses of raising a child for 16-20 years) can cause damage to
the mother's health (and let's not forget the father's health, also!).
The "evil, barbaric, misogynic" South Dakota antiabortion law
is an understandable backlash to the killing of millions of children in
the womb in this nation and around the world, and to the efforts of Planned
Parenthood and other supporters of this "sacrament" to force
abortion clinics into South Dakota communities, all too often on major
thoroughfares, in intentional "in-your-face" challenges to the
mores of the community.
Backlash
isn't always bad - for decades the "pro-life" community has
been willing to back water and accept the totalitarian, politically-correct
mantra that incest and rape are such evil crimes that the result of those
crimes is itself evil and must die (in other words, kill the victim!),
for fear that they would be branded as soft on these crimes, which are
now seen by much of the population as worse than murder. Huh?
The SD
election was also in part based on RKBA issues: Stan is also antigun and
Elli is not; just as longtime GOP legislator JP Duniphan (who voted against
the abortion ban and has an abominable gun legislative record) lost to
a challenger in a race where South Dakota Gun Owners went all out to expose
her record; longtime cop and state legislator Tom Hennies, term-limited
out of Pierre, lost a bid for Rapid City council, in part on his antigun
stand; and former State Patrol goon-in-chief Gene Abullah, unchallenged
in the primary for his last two terms, came within 4% of losing this time.
Teacher
Accreditation Agency Drops 'Social Justice' Wording
CNS News.ocom
A teacher's accreditation group on Monday dropped the term "social
justice" from the criteria used to define the quality of a teacher.
The move was hailed by free speech groups...
Do not
be surprised to find this come back up again - together with such "progressive"
ideas as stating that people who have "too intense" religious
beliefs make poor teachers, and that people who own guns are "poor
role models" and should not be teachers.
'No
More Money' for Abstinence Education, Campaign Says
CNS News.ocom
More than 200 liberal organizations launched a nationwide campaign
Tuesday to halt federal funding for abstinence-until-marriage programs.
Conservatives responded that lawmakers should "stay the course"
on abstinence education and reject the "old snake oil" of comprehensive
sex education...
Government
has no business trying to encourage or discourage pregnancy, clearly.
But thanks to our welfare system, and thanks to the harm that single-parent
(usually single-mother) families cause to society and to government spending
(i.e., causing it to increase "for the children"), it does make
sense for government to promote anything that will reduce teen and unmarried
pregnancies. Of course, that is hideous "government interference"
to the liberal groups that are doing this - even while they promote government
interference in the marketplace on an hourly basis.
Movie
Rated PG - for Christianity, Group Says
CNS News.ocom
A conservative advocacy group is bristling over the PG rating given to
a new family film with a "pro-God theme." It accuses the Motion
Picture Association of America of putting Christianity on the same level
as sex, violence, and profanity because it might offend nonbelievers.~~
According to the movie poster, the theme of Facing the Giants is, "Never
give up, never back down, never lose faith." But the movie poster
also says parental guidance is suggested "for some thematic elements."
Not surprise
here, either: as we push religion (or at least traditional American religions)
farther and farther away from public notice and life, this kind of "for
the children" action will become more and more common.
GOP
takes aim at PBS funding
Boston Globe
"House Republicans yesterday revived their efforts to slash funding
for public broadcasting, as a key committee approved a $115 million reduction
in the budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that could force
the elimination of some popular PBS and NPR programs. On a party-line
vote, the House Appropriations subcommittee that oversees health and education
funding approved the cut to the budget for the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, which distributes money to the Public Broadcasting Service
and National Public Radio. It would reduce the corporation's budget by
23 percent next year, to $380 million, in a cut that Republicans said
was necessary to rein in government spending. The reduction, which would
come in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, must be approved by the full
Appropriations Committee, and then the full House and Senate, before it
could take effect. Democrats and public broadcasting advocates began planning
efforts to reverse the cut." [Editor's note: As usual, the low
hanging fruit is picked first, while the more blatant forms of global
corporate welfare continue, and even increase! - SAT] (06/08/06)
If these
shows are so popular, then surely they will be able to raise funds voluntarily
to replace the forced-contributions by taxpayers who probably don't even
watch them. The only thing wrong with this GOP effort is that the reduction
amount is only $115 M instead of $495 M (i.e., to zero). It may be an
easy hit, but I'll take elimination of wasteful spending wherever I can.
Government
Run, Tax Funded Schools
One
of the cultural battlefields between the Conservatives and the Liberals
is the schools - the public ones especially. Like other "public institutions"
(prisons and asylums come to mind) this is a place to indoctrinate kids,
and so far the Liberals seem to have the upper hand (since about 1960
as far as I can figure). Fortunately more Conservatives are coming over
to the libertarian position: separate school and state completely.
Justices
to look at race-based school policy
USA Today
"The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether public elementary
and high schools can use race in determining where students go to school.
The move means that the court will reenter the debate over affirmative
action during the 2006-07 term with two cases that could affect districts
that seek diversity in schools. The cases from Seattle and Louisville
will be the first of their kind taken up by the court led by new Chief
Justice John Roberts." (06/06/06)
Don't people
ever get tired of these sorts of things? If people really wanted this
kind of "diversity" they'd do it for themselves in private schools
- if they didn't get sucked dry by the taxes used to run the ever-more
expensive GRTF schools.
Teach
busted after 10-year-old sez he accosted her in closet
New York Daily News
A respected Brooklyn elementary school teacher - who routinely gave
little girls candy - was busted for allegedly molesting a 10-year-old
student after luring her into a classroom closet, authorities said yesterday.
Shedrick
Bell, 57, was removed from Public School 158 in March after the girl alleged
he came up behind her, put his hands around her waist and tightly pressed
himself against her.
Thanks
to Chuck for this one. You hardly ever hear this happening with home schoolers,
do you? Get your kids OUT of these sick institutions.
Second
B'klyn Teacher Busted for Sexual Abuse
New York Daily News
A popular Brooklyn teacher was arrested yesterday after she was caught
kissing a 15-year-old boy in an empty classroom, police said. Joanna Hernandez,
a math teacher at Intermediate School 55 in Brownsville, was seen passionately
kissing the eighth-grader April 12, police said. Hernandez, 27, was placed
on administrative duty. She was arrested and charged yesterday with sexual
abuse and endangering the welfare of a minor, police said. students defended
the teacher, who has taught the boy she allegedly kissed. "She's
innocent," said student Jaykeem Bark, 14. "She's mad popular."
Another
example of this sickness - doubly bad because the students have been so
brainwashed that they are defending the teacher. Expecting the school
districts or cops to do anything effective is like wishing for the
tooth fairy to leave gold nuggets.
Teachers
go at it in classroom
The Tampa Tribune
"Two middle school teachers (in Tampa, Fla.) resigned after students
saw them having sex in a classroom, the school district said."
Again,
thanks to Chuck. And again, you don't hear this happening to home schoolers,
even those homes that have bedrooms in them! And you thought that the
Internet had raw sex! In another Tampa middle school, a 23-year-old female
teacher is facing charges of having sex with two of her female students.
Again, again, again, GET YOUR CHILDREN OUT OF THESE PLACES!
School
children under threat
The Tampa Tribune
The spring survey of more than 5,000 randomly selected Hillsborough
students revealed other risky behaviors. Among student-reported activity
from four thick survey volumes compiled by the national Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention: Nearly one-third of high school students said
they were propositioned to buy, bought or sold drugs while at school.
Condom use decreases with age, dropping from 78 percent in eighth grade
to 61.4 percent for high school seniors. More male high school students
- 16 percent - reported being physically hurt by their significant others
than female students, at 11.8 percent. More than 9 percent of male and
nearly 12 percent of female high school students said they were physically
forced to have sex. "I know that is happening, because my son constantly
gets letters from girls who want to do sexual things to him," said
Paula Thomas, mother of five children ages 9 to 16. "It starts in
the sixth or seventh grade." At school, the Citrus Park mother said,
"They know to stay out of certain hallways because of the girls."
Just in
case the first two articles didn't shake you up enough! Female predators
stalking the hallways, physical harm (punching, kicking, etc.), and probably
a lot more. GET THEM OUT!
Mama's
Note: You notice these survey people are not worried about young children
engaging in sexual behavior - only whether or not they use condoms!
UK:
Plea for schools to improve pupils' handwriting
Guardian [UK]
"Children who are not taught to write properly at primary level
will struggle at secondary school and university and are also likely to
find their poor handwriting as much a handicap in the jobs market as poor
reading and numeracy, according to a report out today. The study and survey
from the Institute of Education found that few primary schools have consistent
policies and practices to ensure children learn to write legibly, fluently
and quickly. Even in this age of computer technology and an emphasis on
keyboard skills, handwriting remains an essential skill for everyone,
it says." (06/09/06)
No surprise
in any of this.
Home
Front Special Edition: Border Follies
The Mexican Border is heating up in more ways than one. We have a number
of reports dealing just with border issues this week. Actually, the first
one is a good one, but after that, we get into smellier things.
Texas
to install border spycams
Murfreesboro Daily News Journal
"The governor of Texas wants to turn all the world into a virtual
posse. Rick Perry has announced a $5 million plan to install hundreds
of night-vision cameras on private land along the Mexican border and put
the live video on the Internet, so that anyone with a computer who spots
illegal immigrants trying to slip across can report it on a toll-free
hot line. 'I look at this as not different from the neighborhood watches
we have had in our communities for years and years,' Perry said last week.
Some say it is a dangerous idea and a waste of money. 'This is just one
of those half-baked ideas that people dream up to save money but have
no practical applications,' said Jim Harrington, director of the Texas
Civil Rights Project in Austin." (06/08/06)
This strikes
me as a very good idea, and only slightly harmed by the fact that it is
a government-sponsored plan. Private landowners are often some of the
worst victims of "illegal border crossings" - but usually forgotten.
This lets them get some help. Yes, public rights-of-way are blocked, wrongly,
to peaceful people, so they resort to trespassing, but that still creates
problems with land owners. It is not going to change anytime soon, but
this can help the current mess.
Mama's
Note: Oh goodie, more spying and more cameras. Welcome to stalag USA.
Of course private land owners can put up as many cameras, etc. as they
want on their own land, but this is hardly that. The noose gets tighter
and tighter...
National
Guard set to work on border
Ashtabula Star-Beacon
"The first National Guard troops sent to assist immigration agents
prepared Sunday to work on projects near a fortified stretch of desert
along the U.S.-Mexico border. The 55 Utah National Guard members on Monday
plan to begin extending fences, improving gravel roads and working on
border lighting near the town of San Luis, Ariz., which is part of the
nation's busiest U.S. Border Patrol station. ... The troops are part of
President Bush's plan to send up to 6,000 National Guard members to the
four border states to perform support duties that will allow immigration
agents to focus on border security." (06/04/06)
As is so
often the case, it is Combat Engineers (in this case an equipment support
company) that get sent in first to literally do the dirty work. This is
the same stretch of border in which observers have reported Humvee-mounted
Mexican troops fired on Arizona sheriff's officers and US Border Patrol
agents attempting to stop people crossing the border - what would have
been viewed as an act of war as recently as a few decades ago.
Mexico:
"Green wall" to discourage illegal crossings
KGBT-TV News
"Mexico plans to create an environmental reserve about 30 feet
wide and 600 miles long on the Texas border to discourage illegal crossings.
Backers say the 'green wall' is meant to protect the Rio Grande from the
roads and staging areas that smugglers use to ferry drugs and migrants
into the US. The proposed Rio Bravo del Norte Natural Monument would connect
two large protected areas south of the river. When a third nature reserve,
known as Ocampo, is created this year, the protected areas in Mexico will
form a 'wall' of wilderness. The government proposal was made public today
-- starting a 30-day comment period." (06/06/06)
Oh, I thought
Mexico didn't believe in walls.
Mama's
Note: Of course, this "wall" is much easier to do than eliminating
all of the socialist and communist crap that keeps the Mexican people
so poor and compels them to seek a better life elsewhere. Unfortunately,
the poor Mexicans are simply leaving the fire and jumping into the frying
pan. Government is the problem, on both sides of the border, not the solution.
Overtime
cap curbs patrolling on border
Arizona Republic
"Some of the U.S. Border Patrol's most specialized and experienced
agents in Arizona are running into an overtime cap that is limiting their
ability to arrest undocumented immigrants and interdict drugs. A growing
number of Border Patrol agents assigned to search-and-rescue and canine-handling
squads are spending less time out in the field because they are restricted
from earning more than $35,000 in overtime during a single year. The overtime-cap
woes were growing even as the first batch of National Guard troops arrived
Saturday near Yuma as part of a $1.9 billion push by the Bush administration
to gain control at the southern border. The overtime situation has frustrated
Border Patrol field agents and union members, who say many seasoned patrolmen
are forced to either quietly work hours of overtime for free or to walk
away in the middle of tracking groups of undocumented immigrants or from
using dogs to check for contraband at checkpoints." (06/06/06)
Stupid!
Not just stupid but criminal. Soldiers don't get paid overtime (which
is one real reason, I am convinced, that the Congress doesn't want to
make the Border Patrol what it should be - a branch of the Coast Guard
and therefore a uniformed service - government unions would scream). But
keep in mind that the AVERAGE federal employee now makes $100,000 a year
- and this overtime would be in excess of that. Like everything else,
the border problem and the war on terrorism have become an excuse for
porkbarreling, logrolling (creating useless government jobs and benefits)
and an excuse to rob the taxpayers blind. As Mama Liberty said, what happens
when we finally reach the bottom of the barrel? It is coming soon.
Mama's
Note: When our swarms of "servants" all have a far larger paycheck
than we do, and spend money borrowed against our great grandchildren as
if it was water - how in the world does anyone think it can go on forever?
We WILL reap what we have sown, and unfortunately a lot of innocent people
will suffer for it - both now and later.
San
Diego: Border thug arrested in raid
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
"A border inspector accused of accepting cash and a luxury vehicle
from smugglers driving carloads of illegal immigrants through border crossings
was arrested Thursday. The arrest came after a two-year investigation
by the Border Corruption Task Force, a multi-agency team that pursues
claims against officers at border crossings in California." (06/09/06)
As Mama
Liberty noted, how much overtime (see the previous article) did this scumbag
collect in that two years, in addition to his ill-gotten gains. No matter
how you view the role of the Border Patrol, having a bent guy like this
makes it even worse.
Mama's
Note: I want to know why it took two years to stop this guy? Makes you
wonder just who else was getting a "piece of the action." Maybe
he just fell behind in his protection payments to the higher-ups and that's
when they tripped him. Who knows? Corruption certainly isn't limited to
the few who are exposed.
Our
Imperial Courts
Bar
group will review Bush's legal challenges
Boston Globe
"The board of governors of the American Bar Association voted
unanimously yesterday to investigate whether President Bush has exceeded
his constitutional authority in reserving the right to ignore more than
750 laws that have been enacted since he took office. Meeting in New Orleans,
the board of governors for the world's largest association of legal professionals
approved the creation of an all-star legal panel with a number of members
from both political parties. They include a former federal appeals court
chief judge, a former FBI director, and several prominent scholars --
to evaluate Bush's assertions that he has the power to ignore laws that
conflict with his interpretation of the Constitution. Bush has appended
statements to new laws when he signs them, noting which provisions he
believes interfere with his powers. Among the laws Bush has challenged
are the ban on torturing detainees, oversight provisions in the USA Patriot
Act, and 'whistleblower' protections for federal employees." (06/04/06)
And here
I actually believed that the Bar was just a private professional organization,
like the National Society of Professional Engineers or something. Apparently,
they are an arm of the Judicial Branch of the FedGov? Who will watch the
watchers?
Mama's
Note: Imperial courts? Even more so, we have an imperial president. The
people of this country, whether through the congress or not, had better
do something about this pretty soon. Empress Hillary will not be so restrained!
WA:
Court urged to overturn censorship
The Olympian
"Does free speech trump Washington's campaign finance laws? The
state Supreme Court was urged Thursday to overturn a ruling that forced
two radio talk show hosts to report the value of airtime they devoted
to a gas-tax rollback initiative they launched last year. Critics, including
the libertarian public interest law firm Institute for Justice, called
last summer's ruling by Thurston County Superior Court a stunning blow
against free speech and an unfettered press. But lawyers for San Juan
County, Seattle, Kent and Auburn, who pressed the original complaint,
said the disclosure was essential information for voters." (06/09/06)
Notice
who is pushing this - the cities and counties that profiteer from gasoline,
getting far more money from a gallon than the store owner, the distributor,
or the petroleum company.
Keystone
Kops
I
just had to use this section title this week: these are so absolutely
crazy.
Remember, these are the same people who are supposed to keep the peace
and protect society from crime. Right. That IS a crime.
FBI
sought satellite pictures after OKC bombing
NewsDay
"In the months after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the FBI tried
to buy satellite photos from a Russian company to track Timothy McVeigh's
movements before the attack, a newly released FBI teletype shows. The
teletype, filed Friday in federal court in Salt Lake City, is the latest
disclosure ordered for an insurance lawyer who is dogging the FBI for
information about its bombing investigation. The lawyer, Jesse Trentadue,
is seeking evidence he contends will show that federal agents were tipped
off to McVeigh's plans but failed to stop the bombing, which killed 168
people and destroyed a federal office building. Trentadue is also trying
to prove that his brother -- a bank robber who died in federal custody
after being picked up on a parole violation -- was mistaken for an associate
of McVeigh's in the frantic search for conspirators after the bombing,
and was killed by federal agents during an interrogation." (06/07/06)
Bizarre
news indeed.
UK:
Police apologise for Forest Gate terror raid
Independent [UK]
"Scotland Yard appealed to Muslims in east London to remain calm
as it braced itself for a backlash today against the Forest Gate terror
raids. An apology was issued for the upheaval caused by last week's raid,
which involved 250 officers, many of them wearing chemical protection
suits, and resulted in a suspect being shot in the shoulder. ... Computers
and telephones have been removed from the family house and detectives
are continuing to question two brothers under anti-terror powers. However,
senior officers admit they have almost given up hope of finding chemicals
on the site. Police believe there is a significant level of radicalisation
among young Muslims in the borough of Newham, which includes Forest Gate,
and they are preparing themselves for an angry reaction on the streets."
(06/08/06)
This kind
of stupid action makes the situation worse, not better. The policy (if
it even deserves the title) of coddling the Islamic community in the UK,
and then cracking down suddenly and drastically creates waves that continue
to erode away the foundations of British society.
Mideast
Tarbabies
The fighting and dying continue in a dozen places, including Iraq, Afghanistan,
Somalia, and Israel. Lots of reasons to keep paying attention, as much
of the conflict in the rest of the world is related directly to the Islamic
heartland.
Zarqawi
Survived Initial Bombing
CNSNews.com
Abu Musab al Zarqawi was alive, even conscious, when coalition forces
arrived at the site of the bombing, a U.S. military officer said on Friday.
Iraqi police were the first to arrive on the scene, and when U.S. troops
arrived on the scene, they recognized Zarqawi -- who died "a short
time thereafter."
Obviously
the major news out of the Middle East this week is the finding and killing
of Al Zarqawi. The President announced that "justice had been done"
but this is not true - the man was killed in combat. The evidence is clear,
even more clear than with Saddam Hussein: Saddam never (to our knowledge)
had himself videotaped hacking the head off an innocent victim, and the
trial would have been a foregone conclusion: there can be no self-defense
aspect to such a brutal murder. And admittedly, he would have turned it
into a media circus. But it would have ultimately been in the US's favor
(and that of the current Iraqi government) to have tried him. Even if
the man was fighting legitimately against enemies of his people, his nation,
and his religion, his TACTICS were evil and hideous, and he demonstrated
that he was a psychopath that would have, if anyone did, deserve the death
penalty (in my opinion, the only justification for the death penalty is
to prevent the man or woman from going out and doing the same thing again,
if they get loose - and he would have done it. Clearly, he was more concerned
with killing his own people, his own co-religionists, than with killing
the Great Satan's minions. And this may be the morale-building event that
some people are proclaiming. The Iraqi government has gotten its ministers
all appointed (faster than Italy does, folks) and there appears to be
a backlash against the bloodshed that cumulated this week with carloads
of fruit crates filled with heads. His legacy to the world is NOT very
good; maybe his death will be the turning point for that part of the Middle
East. And he wasn't the only terrorist to bite the dust this week.
Mama's
Note: Maybe... but did this guy ever really exist? See commentary below.
The
timely death of Zarqawi
CounterPunch
by Chris Floyd
"Zarqawi,
the notorious shape-shifter who, according to grainy video evidence, was
able to regenerate lost limbs, speak in completely different accents,
alter the contours of his bone structure and also suffered an unfortunate
binge-and-purge weight problem which caused him to change sizes with almost
every appearance, was head of an organization that quite fortuitously
dubbed itself 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' just around the time that the Bush Administration
began changing its pretext for the conquest from 'eliminating Iraq's [nonexistent]
weapons of mass destruction' to 'fighting terrorists over there so we
don't have to fight them over here.' ... However, in the last year, even
the reputed presence of a big stonking al Qaeda beheader guy roaming at
will across the land has not prevented a catastrophic drop in support
for President Bush in general and the war in Iraq in particular. Polls
show that substantial majorities even those still psy-oped into believing
the conquest has something to do with fighting terrorism are now saying
that the war 'is not worth it' and call for American forces to begin withdrawing.
With the Zarqawi theme thus producing diminishing returns, the Administration
has had another stroke of unexpected luck with his reputed sudden demise."
(06/08/06)
Israel
on High Alert After Killing Most-Wanted Palestinian Terrorist
Jerusalem (CNSNews.com)
Israeli security forces are on high alert Friday after killing a Palestinian
terrorist on Israel's most-wanted list. Jamal Abu Samhadanah, the founder
and commander of the Popular Resistance Committees, had recently been
appointed by the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority to reform the P.A. security
services...
Two down
in one week. And as expected (here and in Iraq) the blood flowed even
faster as the adherents of the "way of submission and peace"
went out and rioted and killed in revenge for their jihadist heroes' deaths.
Pack
up or die, street vendors told
Daily Telegraph (UK)
As the purveyors of nothing spicier than the odd dash of hot chili
sauce, Baghdad's falafel vendors had never imagined their snacks might
be deemed a threat to public morality. Now, though, their simple offerings
of chickpeas fried in breadcrumbs have gone the same way as alcohol, pop
music and foreign films - labeled theologically impure by the country's
growing number of Islamic zealots. In a bizarre example of Iraq's creeping
"Talibanisation", militants visited falafel vendors a fortnight
ago, telling them to pack up their stalls by today or be killed. . they
have fallen foul of the claim that their product was not a feature of
life during Mohammed's time.
Is there
any hope for this land and the people in it? Yeah, I think there is. I
spent several hours talking with a young National Guard NCO who spent
a year there, and he said that it is hard, but it is happening. But it
would have been nice to avoid this altogether.
Mama's
Note: Just WHAT "is happening?" In the end, does it matter whether
"democracy" or Islamic fundamentalism is forced on these people?
It sure won't matter to those who are murdered and maimed by it all. Tyranny
is tyranny, no matter what it is called.
Iraq:
30+ dead, 50 abducted in attacks
Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
"Gunmen in police uniforms raided bus stations Monday in central
Baghdad, seizing at least 50 people, including drivers and passengers
preparing to travel outside Iraq, an Interior Ministry official said.
The attackers also grabbed people working in the area, where several travel
agencies are based and buses pick up passengers traveling mostly to Jordan,
Syria and Lebanon .... The dramatic attack came a day after masked gunmen
stopped two minivans carrying students north of Baghdad, ordered the passengers
off, separated Shiites from Sunni Arabs, and killed the 21 Shiites 'in
the name of Islam,' a witness said. ... [In] Basra, police hunting for
militants stormed a Sunni Arab mosque early Sunday, just hours after a
car bombing. Nine people were killed in the ensuing firefight. ... On
Monday, gunmen in a car killed two Sunni brothers as they were driving
to college .... Police also found the blindfolded and bound body of a
man who had been shot in the head and chest and another body that had
been shot in the head .... U.S.-led forces fired artillery at the train
station in the western city of Ramadi ... 'targeting four military-aged
males unloading a weapons cache,' according to the U.S.-Iraqi Joint Operations
Center. A hospital official, Dr. Omar al-Duleimi, said five civilians
were killed and 15 wounded .... Gunmen in two cars killed Kadim Falhi
Hussein al-Saedi, a member of the Badr Brigade ..." (06/05/06)
The pressure
is up, as they seek to prevent changes from happening. It is clear now
that the occupation troops and authority are NOT the major targets - just
a lot of innocent people.
Iraq:
Woman killed in attack; police find severed heads
Yahoo News
"Police found nine severed heads in fruit boxes near a volatile
city northeast of Baghdad on Tuesday, authorities said, the second such
discovery in less than a week. A roadside bomb also exploded near an American
military convoy in central Baghdad, killing a woman and wounding three
pedestrians .... Iraqi police also found eight severed heads in the village
on Saturday ..." (06/06/06)
Another
friend explained to me the process that has been developed (based much
of Afrikaaner experience back in the 80s) to find and deal with the roadside
bombs, and it clearly is a risky business. But the convoys and the bomb
crews try very hard to prevent civilian casualties. Dealing with the head-choppers
is a bit harder.
Somalia:
Islamists declare Mogadishu victory
Times Online [UK]
"Islamist warlords have announced that that they have taken control
of Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, after weeks of the worst fighting
in a decade. Around 350 people are believed to have been killed and 1,700
injured in street-by-street gun battles across the capital since February.
Gun and bullet prices have risen dramatically as Islamist militias have
sought to drive out fighters loyal to a secular 'counterterrorism' alliance
that is rumoured to have the support of the US Government." (06/05/06)
Frankly,
both the winning and losing side of this battle are the bad guys - people
who want to impose some kind of state on Somalia's people, and who believe
that they can use force to impose their "solution" and "government"
on the people. As near as I can figure out, the only reason the US has
to support the "anti-terror" group (notice how cunningly they
chose their name) is because it is anti-Islamist. That is NOT enough of
a reason, and the US should be allowing small businesses, ranchers, farmers,
and homeowners the means to defend themselves against both sets of thugs.
Mama's
Note: Why should the US be involved at all? It is not our place to "allow"
or disallow anything. We should certainly not be propping up either set
of thugs.
Gaza:
Hamas thugs storm TV station
ABC News
"Dozens of gunmen stormed into Palestine Television on Monday
in a show of strength against President Mahmoud Abbas in the final hours
before his deadline to Hamas to accept a manifesto implicitly recognizing
Israel. Employees at a broadcasting facility in the Gazan town of Khan
Younis said gunmen, whom they identified as local Hamas members, fired
into equipment, smashed computers and shouted that Abbas-controlled Palestine
TV favored his Fatah faction. ... Hamas ... denied responsibility. ...
Abbas has given Hamas until noon (0900 GMT) on Tuesday to embrace the
manifesto, which was penned by Palestinians in Israeli jails. He has threatened
to call a referendum for July if Hamas does not meet the deadline. Hamas
seeks to destroy the Jewish state and has rejected calls by Abbas and
Western powers to soften its stance. The manifesto includes a clause calling
for a Palestinian state alongside Israel." (06/05/06)
It is convenient
to deny that Hamas is doing this; isn't it? This is just a lower-intensity
version of what is going on in Iraq, and not much different than what
has been happening in a dozen different Islamic countries in the past
decade. As I was discussing with a friend, Mohammed (pbuh) tried to get
Arabs to stop fighting each other by sending them outward, but it didn't
work that well even when they were rapidly expanding: the first civil
war took place within months of his death. And when they were actually
stopped and pushed back, the internal Muslim-on-Muslim bloodshed quickly
started climbing. Just as it is today.
Abbas
extends deadline for Hamas on Israel
Fox News
"Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday extended a deadline
for Hamas to accept a document that implicitly recognizes Israel, temporarily
averting a showdown with the Islamic movement. Abbas said he would give
Hamas until Thursday to agree to the plan or face a national referendum.
Abbas had initially given Hamas until Tuesday to respond to the ultimatum,
but decided to give the group additional time after consulting with the
powerful PLO executive committee. Abbas wants to hold the nonbinding vote
to put pressure on the Hamas-led government to accept the plan, which
calls for a Palestinian state alongside Israel, implying recognition of
the Jewish state." (06/06/06)
As expected,
he delayed some more, as this follow-up
story from the Pakistan Times reports: The Hamas-led Palestinian government
made a last-minute appeal on Friday to President Mahmoud Abbas to abandon
a proposed referendum on statehood that would implicitly recognize Israel.
Prime Minister Ismail Haniya called for Abbas to back down for the sake
of Palestinian unity after Israel's killing overnight of Jamal Abu Samhadana,
a top militant who was also appointed by Hamas to serve as a senior security
chief. Abbas is expected to issue a presidential decree on Saturday that
will call for holding a referendum on the statehood proposal by July 31
because Hamas has refused to back it. Strange, isn't it, that "Palestine"
is having the same kind of government troubles that Iraq is?
NATO
to double troops in Afghanistan
Santa Cruz Sentinel
"NATO will double the number of soldiers in southern Afghanistan
when it takes over security there from U.S. troops next month, seeking
to quash the worst rebel violence since the Taliban's ouster, the NATO
force commander said Sunday. Lt. Gen. David Richards also said NATO troops
will be more 'people friendly' in an effort to win the support of the
local population amid rising resentment over what many Afghans see as
overly aggressive tactics by the separate U.S.-led coalition force."
(06/04/06)
Of course,
a NATO boss's idea of "people-friendly" probably doesn't match
the idea that a Taliban thug has. Expect the fighting to continue - even
as it would if there WERE no US or NATO troops there.
Iran:
US attack would disrupt energy supplies
USA Today
"Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned Sunday that
oil shipments from the Gulf region would be disrupted if the United States
attacked his nation. Khamenei also insisted in a speech broadcast live
on state-run radio that Tehran will not give up its right to produce nuclear
fuel. He added that Iran is not seeking a nuclear bomb as the West suspects.
'If you make any mistake (invade Iran), definitely shipment of energy
from this region will be seriously jeopardized. You have to know this,'
Khamenei said." (06/04/06)
More posturing
by Iran, clearly. I suppose Khamenei has to teach his grandmother to suck
eggs, too. The question is not whether it will be disrupted, but whether
the disruption can be afforded to clean out what half the West considers
a den of snakes and the other half considers nutcases more harmful to
themselves than anyone else.
Mama's
Note: Unless they actually attack someone, they have the right to be as
nutty as they want.
Top
general vows full probe into Iraqi deaths
MSNBC
"The top U.S. military officer said Sunday it is more important
to conduct a thorough rather than quick investigation into the alleged
massacre of Iraqi citizens in Haditha by Marines. Gen. Peter Pace, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, acknowledged that the allegations involving
the deaths of about two dozen Iraqis have raised concerns among Iraqi
officials and in the United States." (06/04/06)
I would
agree, but at the same time, the Pentagon can't allow this to drag on
the way most civilian trials do in the states, where years pass for "discovery"
and "due process" before a trial is actually held. The Court
Martial Board needs to be convened quickly AND openly.
Biden:
Rumsfeld should step down
CNN
"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should step down amid an investigation
into whether U.S. Troops covered up the suspected intentional killings
of Iraqi civilians in Haditha, Sen. Joseph Biden said Sunday. The Delaware
senator is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
and a potential presidential candidate in 2008. Military investigators
strongly suspect that a small number of Marines snapped after one of their
own was killed by a roadside bomb November 19 in Haditha, Iraq, and went
on a rampage, sources with knowledge of the investigation told CNN."
(06/04/06)
Biden,
like his buddies in the Democratic Party, is one of those all-knowing
observers, clearly. And an opportunist, as well. IF the Marines are found
guilty, then might be appropriate for Rumsfeld to resign in the time-honored
tradition of commanders accepting responsibility for the illegal actions
of their men - not sooner. But that would not give Joe his headlines,
would it?
Afghanistan:
Suicide bomber injures 3 US soldiers
CTV [Canada]
"A U.S.-led coalition convoy was attacked by a suspected Taliban
suicide car bomber in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, wounding three American
soldiers. Two of the soldiers were taken for medical treatment, while
the third soldier suffered only minor injuries. The attack took place
in Khost province, 100 kilometres southeast of Kabul." (06/06/06)
I wonder
what the reward is for a failed suicide-bomber who takes no one with him?
Mama's
Note: An "E" for effort, and one skinny old broad in heaven?
Perish the thought!
Source:
Killing of Iraqi may have been "premeditated"
CNN
"Navy investigators have evidence that U.S. Marines may have committed
'premeditated' murder in the April shooting death of an Iraqi man in Hamdania,
a military officer close to the inquiry told CNN. The officer, who has
direct knowledge of the preliminary findings of an investigation by the
Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), said some of the Marines
now in pretrial confinement have admitted the circumstances of the civilian
man's death were staged." (06/05/06)
The claims
of military investigators need to be treated with the same care that the
claims of a police force or a district attorney are (or should be) in
civilian criminal proceedings: they need to be proven in court "beyond
a reasonable doubt" before guilt is determined. If it is wrong to
try civilian crimes in the newspapers, it is just as wrong to try military
crimes there. Come on, people!
Iran
says western proposal "positive"
Alexandria Town Talk
"Iran and the United States had a rare moment of agreement Tuesday,
using similar language to describe 'positive steps' toward an accord on
a package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to suspend uranium
enrichment. Diplomats said the incentives include a previously undisclosed
offer of some U.S. nuclear technology on top of European help in building
light-water nuclear reactors. Other incentives include allowing Iran to
buy spare airplane parts and support for joining the World Trade Organization."
(06/07/06)
Iran appears
to be using the North Korean tactic here - assuming this isn't just the
equivalent of turning down the heat a little bit to keep things from boiling
over too soon.
Italy
PM: Iraq attack won't affect pullout
Ottawa Times
"Premier Romano Prodi said Tuesday that this week's attack on
an Italian military patrol in southern Iraq that killed one soldier and
wounded four others would not hasten Italy's withdrawal from the country.
Prodi said the government was in the process of working out the timing
and manner of the withdrawal of its 2,700 troops with allies and Iraqi
authorities. 'Nothing changes regarding the pullout plans of our soldiers,'
Prodi told Parliament." (06/06/06)
But it
was still touted as "fresh news" by the mainstream media that
"Italy is pulling out its troops" - although the decision and
the schedule was essentially made months ago.
Iraq
PM promises to free 2,500 prisoners
Rome News-Tribune
"Iraq's prime minister promised Tuesday to release 2,500 prisoners
and to press ahead with a security plan aimed at ending sectarian violence
as he sought to quell public anger over a series of brazen attacks. His
comments came a day after the abductions of 50 people in downtown Baghdad
by gunmen wearing police uniforms and the shooting deaths of 21 Shiites
north of the capital, including students pulled from their minivans."
(06/06/06)
Maybe they
could save time by just transferring the prisoners from government control
to insurgent control.
UK:
Troops cleared in killing of Iraqi teen
Australia News
"A military court cleared three British soldiers of killing a
15-year-old Iraqi boy who drowned in a canal in southern Iraq after the
US-led invasion in March 2003. The court sitting in Colchester, southeast
England, found Sergeant Carle Selman, 39, and Guardsmen Joseph McCleary,
24, and Martin McGing, 22, all not guilty of manslaughter charges after
five hours of deliberations. Prosecutors had alleged that Ahmed Jabar
Karheem, who could not swim, struggled in 'obvious distress' and disappeared
in a canal in Basra after being forced there at gunpoint. The teenager
was one of four suspected Iraqi looters who were bundled into the water
to 'teach them a lesson,' a week after the official end of the Iraq war
in May, 2003, it was alleged. ... Last month, the judge cleared a fourth
soldier of killing the teenager." (06/06/06)
This kind
of delay is exactly the sort of thing that needs to be avoided in the
Haditha trials: taking three years to resolve the case.
US
troops accused of new murders in Iraq
Middle East Times
"US troops on Tuesday faced fresh accusations of unlawful killings
of civilians in Iraq .... The Iraqi Islamic Party, the main Sunni Arab
political party, accused US forces of murdering more than two-dozen Iraqis
in a series of incidents across the country in May. 'The US forces have
violated human rights many times across Iraq,' said Omar Al Juburi, spokesman
for the human rights department of the party that is led by Vice-president
Tarek Al Hashemi. In the latest in a string of allegations against US
forces, Juburi said that 29 Iraqis were killed in May in separate incidents
involving US forces in the towns of Latifiyah and Yusifiyah, south of
Baghdad, and in the capital itself." (06/06/06)
This is
very likely nothing more than propaganda designed to take advantage of
the attention to Haditha. Still, knowing CID, they will investigate every
one of these in an attempt to bring to justice anyone even remotely suspected
of doing something.
Iraq:
Ministers sworn in; bombs kill 40
Aberdeen American News
"Iraq's parliament on Thursday approved three new key ministers,
including a Sunni Arab to head the defense ministry, while five bombings
left at least 40 people dead and dozens wounded, authorities said. In
the latest attack, in the Amin market area in New Baghdad, two car bombs
killed 15 people and injured dozens, police said. Earlier, a car bomb
in north Baghdad killed six and injured 15, police said. Two bombs also
hit a market and a police patrol in separate morning attacks in Baghdad,
killing at least 19 people and wounding more than 40." (06/08/06)
This is
just one of the week's stories about the death toll. But at least the
ministers got appointed - if that makes any difference.
The
2006 Political Campaigns
Another round of primaries and special elections this week, another
set of deadlines passing for ballot access, and more and more screaming
and political ads. Just six more months to go!
AL:
Nall down, but not out, for governor
Tuscaloosa News
"The colorful Libertarian Party nominee for governor, Loretta
Nall, said Monday she will run as a write-in candidate after failing to
get enough signatures to get her name on the general election ballot.
'I'm not dropping out,' Nall said. Tuesday is the deadline for third-party
candidates to turn in voters' signatures to the secretary of state to
get ballot access for Nov. 7. Nall needed 41,300 signatures to get on
the general election ballot. She said she and her supporters collected
between 10,000 and 15,000 signatures, which she plans to turn in Tuesday
to make a point about Alabama having one of the nation's toughest ballot
access laws for third parties." (06/06/06)
It is tough
to do this, and more states are making it harder and harder to do so.
But Alabama is really bad.
NY:
Weld may break word, quit race
New York Daily News
"Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bill Weld, embarrassed by his
weak showing at last week's GOP convention, could bow out of the race
as early as today, sources said. 'His heart is telling him to stay in
and fight, but his head is taking the more rational kind of approach,'
said a Weld adviser, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 'So he is
going to speak to his wife and take the evening to think about it.' The
former Massachusetts governor is to announce his decision soon, possibly
today, the sources said." [Editor's note: Weld announced his
"decision" -- that he would stay in the race whether he won
the GOP nomination or not -- at the Libertarian Party's state convention
when he sought and received that party's nomination. The only question
is whether he's a liar or a man of his word - TLK] (06/06/06)
The dangers
of playing with this kind of fusion candidate is that, frankly, neither
GOP nor Demo politicians are willing to have any ethics (except the situational
kind) at all - and betrayal is a part of their game. We may see the NY
LP get burned once again as they did a few years ago with Stern.
VT:
Sanders' departure leaves competitive race
Fox News
"It is the home of the enviro-friendly Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
empire, the first civil unions law in the nation and 12-termer Bernie
Sanders, the only Socialist in the U.S. House of Representatives. So as
Sanders, who is registered independent, leaves his post as Vermont's at-large
congressman in a bid to become the only Socialist in the U.S. Senate,
it would hardly be surprising if a liberal Democrat were to replace him.
But as political observers and both national parties make note, the open
at-large seat is just that: very open and surprisingly competitive, with
an aggressive run by a Republican former commandant of the state's National
Guard giving Democrats a real fight. 'The reason this one is going to
get interesting is because the national GOP is getting into it; they have
targeted it,' said Dennis Morrisseau, one of the Republican candidates
vying to be in the general race." (06/05/06)
One of
the things which amazed me about the Porcupines choosing New Hampshire
for the Free State Project is that they put themselves right next to Vermont,
which HAD a history of loving freedom but in recent decades has totally
abandoned virtually all pretense to a love of liberty (except, ironically,
"Vermont carry" of concealed weapons) - an abandonment exemplified
by Sanders' outright socialism. Maybe I've been a bit too harsh about
Vermont? Well, we shall see.
CA:
GOP retains corrupt rep's seat
ABC News
"A former Republican congressman narrowly beat his Democratic
rival early Wednesday for the House seat once held by jailed Randy 'Duke'
Cunningham, a race closely watched as a possible early barometer of next
fall's vote. Republican Brian Bilbray emerged victorious after a costly
and contentious special election race against Democrat Francine Busby,
a local school board member. With 90 percent of precincts reporting, Bilbray
had 56,130 votes, or 50 percent. Busby trailed with 51,292 votes, or 45
percent. 'I think that we're going back to Washington,' Bilbray told cheering
supporters." [FND Editor's note: Where I come from, 5% isn't
a "narrow" win. On the other hand, the GOP had to spend twice
as much as the Democrats to achieve that margin, in a formerly "safe"
Republican district, proving that there's no such thing anymore - TLK]
(06/07/06)
This was
touted by liberals as a "key forecast" of the Fall elections
- while conservatives pretty much ignored it, fearing that they would
lose. Now, I'm sure we'll see the pundits crowing both ways: the Demos
about how much money the GOP used to steal the election, and the GOP about
how they beat the odds.
'Lobbyist'
vs. 'Ex-Republican' in Virginia Dem Primary
CNS News.com
Voters will go to the polls in Virginia on Tuesday to pick either a
former corporate lobbyist or a former official from the Reagan administration
to be the Democratic challenger to incumbent U.S. Sen. George Allen in
this fall's election...
If the
two parties are so different, how come that revolving door spins so frequently?
Buckeye
State Once Again in Eye of Political Storm
CNS News.ocom
Already the source of much Democratic anger over the balloting in the
last presidential election, Ohio's new voting regulations are firing up
liberal activists all over again...
The claim
is that having to show an ID card is too much - racist, bigoted, and generally
nasty. And that the GOP is doing it on purpose. I don't know about that
part, but surely casting a vote is at least as important as cashing a
check - I want to make sure that a bunch of ringers aren't voting "for"
me, as happens in places like Chicago (to say nothing of all those residents
of Peaceful Lawn).
Mama's
Note: Well, why not just mandate a number tattooed on the forearm (or
a microchip imbedded) and match it against a national data base...? I
don't want ANYONE "voting" for anything, anywhere, any time
- me included. The only purpose of this voting - even when "honest"
and effective - is for some people to impose their will on everyone else.
There is NO other reason for any of it, ever.
DeLay
farewell speech
BBC News [UK]
"Senior Republican Tom Delay has bowed out of the House of Representatives
with a defiant speech defending conservatism and partisan politics. 'You
show me a nation without partisanship, and I'll show you a tyranny,' Mr.
Delay, the former House Majority leader, said. Mr. Delay, accused of laundering
contributions for Republican campaigns, said in April he was stepping
down. He has strongly denied the accusations in a case which has yet to
go to trial." (06/09/06) ]
Several
Democrats walked out on him - scarcely an example of the "consensus"
that they claim to desire.
Inquiry
finds problems in 2004 election
San Luis Obispo Telegraph Tribune
"Many of the voting and counting mishaps of the bizarre 2000 general
election were not fixed four years later and brand new problems arose,
including a rash of fraudulent voter registrations in some areas, congressional
investigators say. A study of the 2004 election by the Government Accountability
Office concludes that paper ballots continued to be used extensively by
small jurisdictions, many polling places struggled to manage heavy early
voting and new federal requirements for voter identification were applied
unevenly by local officials across the country. The GAO released the study
Thursday." (06/08/06)
The assumption
is, of course, that paper ballots are ancient and outmoded and somehow
bad. I take the position (despite my strong belief in advancing technology)
that paper is the BEST way to vote and should be the standard: keeping
a record of what the votes really were.
Ad
Campaign Jabs Senators for 'Pork Barrel' Spending
CNS News.ocom
Television viewers in West Virginia, Rhode Island and Michigan will
get an earful about earmarks and pork-barrel spending, as a conservative
group runs new ads urging taxpayers to complain to their senators about
wasteful items in the federal budget...
Yeah, they
won't be telling the whole story (I suspect that about 95% of the Federal
budge is wasteful, myself, and might be easily persuaded to make that
100%), but it is a good sign. Will it make any difference in November?
We'll be watching. (Assuming it isn't deemed to be an attack on incumbents
and thus illegal under the wonderful McCain-Feingold law.)
More
News and Commentary on Page 2
Nathan
Barton is writing this from a wonderful place in the West, which might
be in the Black Hills of South Dakota or Wyoming, or might be in one of
the Four Corners States. Exactly where it is, the breezes blow with the
scent of liberty, and the sound of the pines or the pinions is the sound
of freedom. For thousands of years, people have fought and died for the
liberty that Americans in the great spaces of the West enjoy, and he writes
these commentaries in the hopes that continued generations will be able
to do so, until the end of Time.
Be sure
to visit my blog, Liberty's
Outpost.
Special
Feature! Add your signature to the NEW
Declaration of Independence
By Robert Greenslade
Several
people have asked about buying Gadsden Flags (the rattlesnake "Don't
Tread on Me flags used by the June 23d Movement and other Property Rights
Organizations: you
can get them for $10.00 plus shipping here.
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