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July
31, 2006
Libertarian
Commentary on the News for the week of 23 July to 29 July, 2006
When we
look at the daily news, it is very easy to get bogged down in the troubles,
the threats to liberty (our own and that of others around the world),
and forget that even though we've lost much in recent years, we are still
blessed, at least in the Western United States, with more freedom than
99% of the human race in the past 6000 or so years has enjoyed. Which
should, I firmly believe, make us more zealous than ever to KEEP what
we still have, and to REGAIN what we have lost in recent years in the
political and bureaucratic and judicial realms.
The only
way we will do that is to be ever on guard, ever willing to commit some,
if not "all" of "our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred
honor" to the cause of liberty of ourselves, our children, our families,
our friends, our neighbors - yes even our whole nation and even our enemies.
Of
course, we have to know what to be on guard against, both specifically
as well as in general - hence this column! On to the news.
Culture
Wars
Clearly, issues of defending freedom impact our very culture. But the
freedom to do something does not mean that it is proper (or to use an
uncommon term today, "urbane") to force anyone else to do it,
or force anyone else to LIKE what you are doing, or worst of all, to punish
someone else because they WON'T do it or state that they think it is wrong
for YOU to do it. This week I've got two stories to illustrate that problem
- and how prosecuting the culture war is far from a one-sided action.
PA:
Rape victim denied Plan B by hospital
Raw Story
"'A Good Samaritan Hospital emergency room doctor refused to give
a rape victim a morning-after pill because he said it was against his
Mennonite religion,' PennLive.com reported late Tuesday. Excerpts: 'Rebuffed
by the doctor, the woman called her gynecologist, who wrote the prescription.
Her local pharmacy told her it was out of the drug and referred her to
a sister store in Reading. ... The former medical director of the hospital
said he sees nothing strange about asking a woman from eastern Lebanon
County to drive to Reading for a drug. ... "People drive to Reading
to buy jeans." ' ... The state backs his refusal, PENNLIVE reports."
[RRND editor's note: Once again, this waiver is being used to outlaw sexuality,
instead of to enforce issues that are anyone's business; even a rape victim
is being treated as breed cattle! - SAT] [additional RRND editor's note:
Once again, no - either doctors and pharmacists are people with the same
rights to trade OR NOT TRADE as everyone else, or they're slaves; take
your pick, but don't try to tell me the latter position is "libertarian"
- TLK] (07/26/06)
Freedom
is for everyone - so Steve's comments on this subject are completely without
any logic or reason - he apparently (like far too many people) believes
that medical personnel aren't allowed to hold beliefs that he and other
"pro-choice" types don't agree with - that freedom only applies
to actions that HE agrees with. Much as I agree with Steve on many things,
forcing a person to violate their religion for the sake of so-called "sexual
freedom" is wrong. And to claim that this treats a rape victim like
a brood mare is ludicrous. Tom Knapp, by the way, has the right of it.
If anyone has a right to take exception to a doctor or pharmacist picking
and choosing what to dispense or sell, it is their employer. Odd - people
get up in arms about this but think nothing of defending a convenience
store's clerk right to refuse to sell a porn -excuse me, adult - magazine.
Mama's
Note: The employee/employer relationship has nothing to do with slavery,
and there is no reason an employee should not be able to exercise his/her
religious views, but those would be best explored before accepting employment.
An employee does not have the right to dictate what the employer will
sell or who the customers should be. If he does not like the policy of
the employer, he is free to negotiate with the employer or to find other
employment. If the hospital is supported by the government, then this
doctor is clearly violating his religion in many ways every single day
he works there. For him to pick on this one issue is hypocritical on the
face of it.
CA:
Alternative to same-sex union
San Francisco Chronicle
"The gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights movement has
become too narrowly focused on marriage and needs a broader vision, a
coalition of 260 gay leaders and straight allies said. A statement the
coalition released Wednesday -- 'Beyond Same-Sex Marriage: A New Strategic
Vision for All Our Families & Relationships' -- offers 'a new vision
for securing governmental and private institutional recognition of diverse
kinds of partnerships, households, kinship relationships and families.'
Current and former leaders of national gay rights organizations, such
as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance
Against Defamation, signed the 25-page statement, along with the likes
of scholar Cornel West, Ms. Magazine founder Gloria Steinem, essayist
Barbara Ehrenreich and novelist Armistead Maupin." (07/27/06)
Have they
really gotten diverted from their agenda, or has this "broader"
path been the idea all along - once getting the vast majority of people
who are NOT "GLBT" or simpatico with them and their "lifestyle"
all riled up, are they now going to pitch for "anything goes"
so-called families? Sounds more Roman-decadent all the time, doesn't it?
Of course, we haven't elected a horse to the Senate the way Nero or Caligula
did - just a lot of horses' rear-ends. But I suppose if some of these
folks get their way, we'll have people marrying horses next. People have
a right to literally go to Hell in their own way - but they have no right
to force someone else, even a whole society - to help them get there,
or to turn what should be a fight FOR freedom and liberty into an aggressive
crusade to redefine the language or to attack people because they do not
agree with them on moral grounds. There is much in common between this
and the previous event - which is another reason to include them both
in this section.
The
Coming Fall of Europe
When we are counting the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our descendants
(and all the rest I mention in my opening), we have only to look at Europe
to see lands and peoples who are busy shoveling the dirt into the grave
of the liberties they have killed off recently, even while loudly proclaiming
how free they are. Are we so different?
Yukos
nears Death
BBC News
Creditors of the Russian oil company Yukos have voted overwhelmingly
to ask a bankruptcy court to liquidate the beleaguered firm. The court
is almost certain to agree to the request at a hearing scheduled for August
1 and will appoint a supervisor to sell its assets. They rejected a last-ditch
rescue plan put forward by Yukos management. The decision will spell the
end for what used to be the country's biggest privately-owned oil firm.
Russian tax authorities and state-owned oil giant Rosneft are among creditors
chasing Yukos for $17bn (£9bn).
I had considerable
commentary on Yukos over the past year or more, as a large company and
its capitalist owners were slowly devoured by the taxation power of the
democratic Russian government, and it now appears that the end is near.
Indeed, "the
power to tax is the power to destroy." Morally, there is no difference
that I can see between taxation and theft, between the legal liquidation
of this company and a bunch of thugs showing up to steal it blind piece
by piece, ruble by ruble.
UK:
Reid plans immigrant raids
The Independent [UK]
"Extra border-control officers and more raids on companies employing
illegal workers will be promised by John Reid tomorrow when he announces
a doubling of the immigration budget. As the Home Secretary prepares to
set out plans to rebuild confidence in immigration controls, he received
a series of reminders of the scale of the challenge facing him. Leaked
papers showed Home Office officials had secretly listed more than 45,000
'undesirables' from Bulgaria and Romania who may attempt to enter the
UK when the two countries join the European Union." (07/24/06)
And why
does the UK belong to the EU? The lack of confidence should not be in
the "controls" but in the government that got them into the
mess.
UK:
Court victory for families of soldiers killed in Iraq
Independent [UK]
"The families of four British soldiers killed in Iraq have won
an important round in their legal battle to force the Government to hold
an independent inquiry into the decision to go to war. Three judges sitting
in the Court of Appeal in London ruled that the families should be entitled
to argue their case at a new hearing later this year. Lawyers for the
families, whose relatives died in Iraq between 2003 and 2005, called the
ruling 'a stunning victory.' ... 'The Government now have to produce evidence
to a full hearing in the Court of Appeal,' said Phil Shiner, the families'
solicitor. 'That evidence needs to establish once and for all whether
the decision to invade was lawful.'" (07/26/06)
Good news,
for once - the investigation is needed, and may clear up a few questions
and put the Blair regime on the spot still more.
UK:
The right to bare chests?
Daily Mail [UK]
"Men may be barred from baring their chests -- and stomachs --
in public under new local laws being considered by town halls. They would
stop men stripping off their shirts in crowded town centres and give powers
to police to remove any who defy the cover-up laws." (07/26/06)
Well, at
least it ends the debate over whether this clothing laws are sexist or
not. It shows up, though, as another desperate and ill-advised attempt
to solve the decay of British society with a series of quick fixes.
The
Home Front
Clearly, we are most immediately and directly affected by what goes on
at home, whether in our home state or somewhere in the poor, besieged
Union. And sometimes the stories are so weird you just have to crack a
smile, however serious the situation is.
Illegal
immigrants working on LA Air Force Base
Newsday
Twenty-five illegal immigrants employed as contract workers at this
Air Force base were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents. The arrests of the construction and landscape workers were made
Friday. The workers were "foreign nationals," according to a
news release from the 2nd Bomb Wing that did not specify countries of
origin. Most had obtained fraudulent Social Security and alien registration
numbers to complete forms, the release said. The workers did not have
access to secure information, 2nd Bomb Wing spokesman Lt. Frank Hartnett
said. He would not say how the workers got on the base.
"Ja!
I be GOOD Communist!" So said one of the temporary contract workers
hired for a US Army exercise in Germany back at the height of the Cold
War in the mid 1980s, when presenting his Polish passport to the US Army
sergeant processing the workers and issuing ID cards so that they could
go to bases and set up work areas and build tent frames and do other work.
They weren't illegal, just "gastarbeiter" (guest workers) in
Germany legally - and still very proud of their nation. These Barksdale
construction and landscape workers probably didn't get to see the base's
control center from the inside, but they still could contain people just
as proud of their own systems and therefore as much potential enemies
as those Poles were back in 1985.
Mama's
Note: And would not those who contemplated real harm to us go to the trouble
of getting all the "right" paperwork? Do the IDs and passports
guarantee that someone is not an enemy? Please... Those who are doing
us the most harm every single day were usually born here... and then elected
to public office.
Mideast
fighting prompts rallies in US
Lima News
"Thousands rallied in support of Israel's military efforts against
Hezbollah Sunday, while a Michigan protest drew immigrants and supporters
of Lebanon. In Georgia, politicians and religious leaders spoke to a crowd
of about 5,000, many waving Israeli flags, with some speakers calling
for the complete demolition of the guerrilla army." (07/23/06)
The new
war in Lebanon is already further polarizing the public back in the US,
as this story points out. The language used in the article shows the media
is no exception. Too many people are responding strictly on emotions and
NOT examining the entire mess properly, especially in the media.
CA:
Thousands taken off planes, re-screened after security breach
York News-Times
"Thousands of passengers were herded off airplanes to be re-screened
Sunday evening after a security breach at John Wayne Airport, authorities
said. Orange County Sheriff's deputies told passengers that a person made
it past a security checkpoint without being screened. Airport spokeswoman
Courtney Wiercioch said she didn't know details of the security breach."
(07/24/06)
Panicked
responses like this will do little to secure an aircraft against attack,
but will go a long way towards convincing the general electorate that
this folly needs to end.
Mama's
Note: This insanity will continue just as long as people will put up with
it. It would all end quickly if the airports stood empty for a while.
TSA
urges Congress to lift lighter ban
USA Today
The nation's aviation security chief says Congress should lift a ban
on passengers carrying lighters on airplanes because screeners are spending
too much time looking for lighters instead of bombs. "The lighter
ban does not add to security anymore," Transportation Security Administration
chief Kip Hawley told USA TODAY on Wednesday. Forcing screeners to confiscate
lighters at checkpoints "is a distraction from the serious nature
of finding (bomb) components."
Too lazy
to do their job? Seriously, although this article appeared several weeks
ago, it is worth reading and commenting on - because it shows that people
who understand true security understand that 100% isn't possible, and
that stupid acts like this (Congress, what else?) do more harm than good
even if you are a jack-booted thug who gets his jollies from shaking down
people. (Thanks to Tim for this one.)
Mama's
Note: Just how many "bombs" have they found so far? I can't
remember hearing of one, except a few the security people have brought
through themselves to "test" the system. So far, I think they
have flunked the test every time.
Innocent
people placed on watch list to meet quota
Denver Channel
"You could be on a secret government database or watch list for
simply taking a picture on an airplane. Some federal air marshals say
they're reporting your actions to meet a quota, even though some top officials
deny it. The air marshals, whose identities are being concealed, told
7NEWS that they're required to submit at least one report a month. If
they don't, there's no raise, no bonus, no awards and no special assignments.
'Innocent passengers are being entered into an international intelligence
database as suspicious persons, acting in a suspicious manner on an aircraft
... and they did nothing wrong,' said one federal air marshal."
(07/24/06)
Another
example of the same sort of stupidity as shown in the previous article's
event.
Feds
probe letter scare at NAACP branches
Kansas City Star
"Threatening letters, at least two containing a white powdery
substance, were sent to NAACP offices in three states, a spokesman for
the organization said Monday. The civil rights group's offices in Baltimore
and New York City received letters with the powder, said spokesman Richard
McIntire. The branch in Norfolk, Va., also received a letter, the FBI
said, although it was not immediately determined whether the letter contained
powder. Marvin Cheatham, who heads the Baltimore office of the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he opened the
letter Friday and the substance later was identified as boric acid."
(07/24/06)
Someone
with too much time on their hands can enjoy watching a bunch of Feebs
and others racing around chasing their tails. Why worry with the boric
acid when powdered sugar is so much easier.
Mama's
Note: Perhaps it's because boric acid doesn't self distruct into a sticky
mess in humid heat... Who knows?
Bush
administration pushes updated law on foreign wiretaps
USA Today
"As debate continues over the legality of President Bush's domestic
spying program, the administration pressed Congress Wednesday to ease
Internet age surveillance restrictions. Technological advances and a shift
in adversaries from Cold War rivals to terrorists mean the 1978 law covering
such monitoring -- the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act -- is now
behind the times, CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden told the Senate Judiciary
Committee." (07/26/06)
Having
just seen the extended version of "Enemy of the State" (a 1998
thriller staring Will Smith and Gene Hackman), this sickens me all the
more.
Bush
signs bill to monitor child molesters
USA Today
"President Bush, joined by America's Most Wanted host John Walsh,
signed a new law Thursday that requires convicted child molesters to be
listed on a national Internet database and face a felony charge for failing
to update their whereabouts. 'Our nation grieves with every family that's
suffered the unbearable pain of a child whose been abducted or abused,'
Bush said in a bill-signing ceremony in the Rose Garden. 'This law takes
an important step forward in this country's efforts to protect those who
cannot protect themselves.'" (07/27/06)
How about
a national database of RIGHTS molesters? It is bad enough that we are
doing things like this and claiming to "protect those who cannot
protect themselves" but we go a lot farther and keep people from
protecting themselves when they normally can.
Mama's
Note: As with all such "laws," this does nothing at all to actually
protect anyone, simply gives government another club to beat us all with.
The only one who can protect a child is the parents or guardian. And they
are the ones responsible for doing so.
Immigrant
rights groups split on Senate bill
MSNBC
"Even as Congress is stalled over legislation dealing with the
growing number of illegal immigrants, a split has emerged among pro-immigrant
rights groups over whether to back the Senate measure, seen as the more
lenient of the two bills being considered by lawmakers. A number of the
larger and more well-known organizations, such as the National Immigration
Forum and the National Council of La Raza, back the Senate bill, albeit
reluctantly." (07/27/06)
Frankly,
all of these groups bother me - especially the two in the suits. Any legislation
likely to pass this year is virtually certain NOT to resolve a single
issue to anyone's satisfaction - but that won't stop them from trying,
will it? IF we would eliminate all aspects of the welfare state (welfare
to businesses, medical welfare, educational welfare, labor welfare, etc.)
we could eliminate the immigration PROBLEM immediately - and probably
also eliminate the Border Patrol as well - if we just allowed people to
enforce the laws already on the books regarding trespassing and perjury.
But neither will happen, and the mess will continue.
Mama's
Note: There is only ONE law that is relevant: No human being has the right
-- under any circumstances -- to initiate force against another human
being, nor to threaten or delegate its initiation. If we tossed out ALL
of the others, we would truly be free.
Intelligence
chiefs urge easing of spy rules
Reuters
"U.S. authorities could not track al Qaeda effectively if required
to obtain court warrants before eavesdropping on telephone conversations
involving U.S. callers, top intelligence officials said on Wednesday.
Three administration officials, including CIA Director Michael Hayden,
appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee to press lawmakers to ease
warrant requirements for the surveillance of al Qaeda suspects."
[FND Editor's note: And anyone can be an 'al Qaeda suspect' - MLS] (07/26/06)
No justification
whatsoever for this absurd claim. But they are certainly backing up their
boss, aren't they?
The
Home Front - Weather Wars!
Again this week we are suffering from a variety of weather-related woes,
and hurricane season really hasn't started in earnest. As I write this,
the Black Hills is sweltering under 100+ temperatures, while the Four
Corners, oddly, is in the 70s. But heat, severe thunderstorms, and in
some cases severe drought or floodwaters are bedeviling much of the nation.
Power
back on in Queens, off again in California; St. Louis struggles without
power
LA
Times
NY
Times
CNN
Power is gradually being restored to Queens and parts of New York that
have been in the dark for a week, but some officials want to declare a
state of emergency. Meanwhile, a failure in Los Angeles' power grid, overworked
by a severe heat wave, left 175,000 homes and businesses without electricity,
and more problems are expected as the hot weather continues. Consolidated
Edison officials still do not know why 10 major "feeder cables"
failed, causing the New York blackout, and some officials want the head
of the power company to resign, according to the New York Times. In parts
of the Los Angeles area, the highs have topped 100 degrees for 18 days
now, and officials with Edison International say the record usage is overloading
transformers, according to the Los Angeles Times. According to CNN: "Almost
300,000 electric customers in the St. Louis, Missouri, area remained in
the dark Sunday night, four days after the first of two severe thunderstorms
battered the region amid a lingering heat wave, a utility spokesman said.
Missouri National Guard troops helped clear storm debris from neighborhoods,
while Red Cross and United Way volunteers ran cooling stations for people
without air conditioning in the summer heat. Mike Cleary, a spokesman
for the electric utility AmerenUE, said repair crews don't expect to have
all service restored until Wednesday. 'The storm that hit Wednesday night
was the worst storm in our company's history,' Cleary said. 'And when
you consider that the company was formed in 1902, that's a long time.'"
Well, I
suppose that St. Lou is a "major city" but that doesn't say
much for American metropolitan areas. More to the point, five years after
Bloody Tuesday, and despite billions and billions spent on "Homeland
Security" and disaster preparedness, a city like this can't recover
from a relatively minor weather event - but then, neither can NYC nor
LA. This makes it clear that, population densities aside, we have reached
the limits of expansion in at least some parts of this nation, and that
our civilization (such that it is) is riding on the ragged edge of collapse.
Our
Imperial Courts - lovers of license, not liberty
I just reread Sharon Green's time-traveling short story "And the
Truth Shall Make You Free" (anthologized in Robert Adams' "Alternatives"
published by Baen in 1980), and am reminded that true liberty requires
true justice - which is not what comes out of most of our court system
today.
Federal
judge slams Missouri's new execution protocol
Lincoln Journal Star
"The state's revised plan for conducting lethal injections still
falls short of ensuring they are conducted humanely, according to the
judge who halted Missouri's executions. U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan
Jr. cited 'numerous problems' when he stopped executions June 26. Among
them, he said the state needed a board-certified anesthesiologist to ensure
the lethal injection procedure used posed no risk of unnecessary pain
and suffering." (07/26/06)
I suspect
that anything that kills the criminal will be considered "inhumane"
by this black-robe - no matter what the people of the state say.
Wash.
court upholds gay marriage ban
Cullman Times
"The Washington Supreme Court upheld the state's ban on gay marriage
Wednesday, dealing the gay rights movement its second major defeat in
less than a month in another liberal-leaning state that had been regarded
as a promising battleground. Massachusetts is still the only state that
allows same-sex couples to wed. In a 5-4 decision, the court said lawmakers
have the power to restrict marriage to a man and a woman, and it left
intact the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act." (07/26/06)
A significant
blow indeed. It is a surprise to those somewhat familiar with Washington
State - far more than just a "liberal-leaning" state. So for
now, only Mass remains convinced that the dictionary must yield to the
courts in this particular matter.
Middle
East Tarbabies
Fresh from the deserts and mountains of Western Asia. Despite
my efforts, this distant part of the world continues to eat up a significant
part of the news and my column this week. But as the ancestral home of
all of us (when we go back enough generations) and the place of origin
of the religions of the vast majority of us, American involvement in the
region has daily and often unwelcome impacts on us and our liberties.
Afghanistan:
12 dead in copter crash
CNN
"The wife of an American contract worker and their two daughters
were among at least 12 people killed when a civilian helicopter crashed
in bad weather in southeast Afghanistan, media reports said. The cause
of Wednesday's crash was still being investigated, but military and civilian
officials said bad flying conditions were the most likely reason the helicopter
went down in a valley in rugged mountains near Khost. Atlanta television
station, WAGA-TV, said the wife and two daughters of an American contract
worker were aboard the helicopter. The daughters were aged 17 and 21.
The three women were on their way to meet him in Khost before leaving
for a family vacation, according to the station's Web site."
(07/27/06)
Weather
and not enemy action - a rare cause of death to westerners in Afghanistan,
and the rare week we have this as the only news item from that distant
and beleaguered land.
Mama's
Note: And just why were they flying in bad weather? Has the US military
suddenly lost the ability to monitor the weather? Something fishy here.
Iranians
volunteer to fight Israel
CNN
"Surrounded by yellow Hezbollah flags, more than 60 Iranian volunteers
set off Wednesday to join what they called a holy war against Israeli
forces in Lebanon. The group -- ranging from teenagers to grandfathers
-- plans to join about 200 other volunteers on the way to the Turkish
border, which they hope to cross Thursday. They plan to reach Lebanon
via Syria on the weekend." (07/26/06)
And join
Iranian "advisors" already on the ground in Lebanon. This is
only as expected, given the nature of the relationship between Hezbollah
and Iran, and given Iran's claims to Islamic leadership.
101st
soldiers claim order to 'kill all military age males'
Lexington Herald-Leader
"Four U.S. soldiers accused of murdering suspected insurgents
during a raid in Iraq said they were under orders to 'kill all military
age males,' according to sworn statements obtained by The Associated Press.
The soldiers first took some of the men into custody because they were
using two women and a toddler as human shields. They shot three of the
men after the women and child were safe and say the men attacked them.
'The ROE (rule of engagement) was to kill all military age males on Objective
Murray,' Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard told investigators, referring
to the target by its code name." (07/21/06)
My first
response would be to say that they are lying, but that it is, of course,
the Army's responsibility to prove that they are. It is perfectly logical
that the defendants would use this as a defense - especially if they are
being represented by civilian lawyers with no militaries background. Illegal
orders (which such an order would clearly be, in the eyes of everyone
in the military) are not a defense - in fact, the claim that they obeyed
an illegal order opens them to further charges of violating the laws of
war. If their claim of obeying such an order was determined to be true,
then they have incriminated yet another criminal, not defended themselves
against the charges they face.
My second
response is that they have just confessed to this horrible and evil crime,
even though the Court Martial Board might not be able to treat it as an
actual confession. Again, obeying unlawful orders is not a defense, and
it is not even a mitigating circumstance - in fact, it might be viewed
as an aggravating circumstance: they were so seeking revenge or whatever
that they were doing that they were willing to ignore a basic principle
of American military service that they have been taught since their first
week of basic training.
A sworn
statement is often the major way that a person explains what they did
- it is a standard Army Form used to make a formal statement of an incident
- anything from discovering a theft of government property to involvement
in an auto accident, to a mess like this one. It is not usually done in
the form of a question and answer, and does not usually involve any kind
of cross-examination. What I would like to know is why someone is leaking
this to the AP - THAT is a violation of a bunch of regulations and at
least a few laws: and it also raises the question as to whether these
sworn statements are indeed even valid - or simply made up by someone.
(Again, as I said, this is a de facto confession.)
Sectarian
breakup of Iraq is now inevitable, admit officials
The Independent [UK]
"The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, meets Tony Blair in
London today as violence in Iraq reaches a new crescendo and senior Iraqi
officials say the break up of the country is inevitable. A car bomb in
a market in the Shia stronghold of Sadr City in Baghdad yesterday killed
34 people and wounded a further 60 and was followed by a second bomb in
the same area two hours later that left a further eight dead. Another
car bomb outside a court house in Kirkuk killed a further 20 and injured
70 people. 'Iraq as a political project is finished,' a senior government
official was quoted as saying, adding: 'The parties have moved to plan
B.'" (07/23/06)
Are people
finally coming to recognize the inevitable? Or is this a form of self-fulfilling
prophesy? Although some claim the 60 dead as an "escalation",
it is hard to consider this to be such - since the nature of the attacks
does not let the attackers determine exactly how many people will die
from a given bomb. But it was predicted by many people that violence would
increase as Iraqi governance is transferred from the occupation authorities
to the internal bureaucrats and politicians. Still, the continuing violence
seems to be attaining at least one of its goals: the elimination of Iraq
as a serious contender for any kind of power in the Arab and Islamic world.
Seeking
safety, Iraqis turn to militias
Christian Science Monitor
"A floundering government campaign to crack down on militias and
increasing sectarian killings have many Shiites turning to militias for
protection, particularly radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's violent Mahdi
Army. The US and British military have stepped up raids on its leadership
after growing impatient with the new government's failure to arrest the
militia's commanders. But Sunday, two suicide car bombs in the capital
and one in the troubled northern oil city of Kirkuk killed a total of
60 Iraqis, as new Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki jetted off to Britain
and the US for talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair and President George
Bush on Iraq's crumbling security situation. Such violence only strengthens
the hand of the militias." [FND editor's note: And depending
on how one feels about "militias," this could be either good
or bad news. - SAT] (07/23/06)
Coupled
with the decision on the part of some to just give up (see above article
on sectarian breakup), this is logical. Unfortunately these "militias"
are not the public-service institutions that we think of here in the US
or the UK: but those, too, are being formed: voluntary organizations based
on neighborhoods and threats more than on religious or ethnic or family
grounds, able to defend but not interested in attack.
Human
Rights Watch: US commanders encouraged abuse after Abu Ghraib report
USA Today
"The group Human Rights Watch said in a report released Sunday
that U.S. military commanders encouraged abusive interrogations of detainees
in Iraq, even after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal called attention to
the issue in 2004. Between 2003 and 2005, prisoners were routinely physically
mistreated, deprived of sleep and exposed to extreme temperatures as part
of the interrogation process, the report said. 'Soldiers were told that
the Geneva Conventions did not apply, and that interrogators could use
abusive techniques to get detainees to talk,' wrote John Sifton, a senior
researcher at Human Rights Watch." (07/23/06)
Come on,
people, at least the AP had sworn statements - let's see some evidence!
How many soldiers and prisoners has Sifton interviewed? How many tapes
has he watched or listened to?
Iraq:
Occupiers go after death squads
CNN
"U.S. commanders in Baghdad are focused on cracking down on Iraqi
death squads responsible for killing hundreds of citizens in the capital
in recent months, a military spokesman said Monday. Most death squad killings
appear to be sectarian, with Sunni Muslim gunmen targeting Shia neighborhoods,
and Shiite attackers going after Sunnis. Victims are sometimes abducted
by the dozens, their bodies often turning up later with signs of torture."
(07/24/06)
Fortunately,
Coalition forces are generally "equal opportunity" killers.
(That is supposed to be a joke, folks.) Seriously, death squads have been
a feature of disrupted and evil societies since at least the time of sicarii
(part of the Jewish zealot movement back in the 1st Century AD), and all
elements of society should work together to eliminate these murderers.
PM:
No civil war in Iraq
Independent [UK]
"The Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, claimed in London
yesterday that Iraq was not sliding into a civil war, contradicting senior
Iraqi officials in Baghdad who say a brutal sectarian war has already
begun. He admitted that 100 Iraqi civilians were being killed every day,
though the real figure is probably much higher after a series of tit-for-tat
massacres this month." (07/24/06)
For there
to be a civil war, of course, you generally prefer to only have two sides
- I'm not sure how many there are in Iraq right now. At the same time,
body counts do not a civil war make - nor do factions vying for power,
until they completely give up all but violent means of trying to grab
that power.
Mama's
Note: Or... the people decide they are not going to let ANY particular
group have such power over them and determine to exercise it themselves,
as individuals. Not likely in Iraq, of course, but perhaps possible elsewhere.
Iraqi
PM calls for more money and troops
Morganton News Herald
"Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki appealed to Congress Wednesday
to press the war in Iraq with money and troops, portraying his country
as crucial to the U.S. as a front line in the war on terror and comparing
violence there to the Sept. 11 attacks. Addressing a joint meeting of
Congress, al-Maliki said, 'Do not imagine that this problem is solely
an Iraqi problem because the terrorist front represents a threat to all
free countries and free people of the world.'" (07/26/06)
Well, he
should know - no doubt he has a lot of relatives and acquaintances in
the glorious Army of God in all its various factions. The Iraq government
may be all but a dead letter, but that doesn't mean our Congrus-kritters
won't cheerfully race to send billions more where so much has already
been squandered.
US
soldier among 34 killed in Iraq
Santa Rosa Press Democrat
"U.S. and Iraqi soldiers captured six members of an alleged 'death
squad' in Baghdad on Tuesday, hoping to quell the rampant sectarian violence
dividing the capital. Attacks elsewhere in Iraq left at least 34 people
dead -- including an American soldier. U.S. troops killed a local al-Qaida
in Iraq leader and captured three of his followers during a raid near
Beiji in northern Iraq, the U.S. Military said." (07/25/06)
American
deaths are seemingly slowing down, but "internal" deaths are
holding steady - another indication that as some of the above articles
hint at, the Coalition forces are more and more bystanders trying to help
a disaster than the cause of the disaster. No one apparently seriously
believes that the bloodshed will stop if all Coalition forces were to
go home today.
Mama's
Note: Whether or not the killing stops when the troops go home is not
the important point. The troops have no legitimate business there, and
never did. That is the single most important reason they should all come
home immediately. What the people of Iraq (and the rest of the world)
do in our absence makes no difference at all.
Iraq:
US Marine, six Iraqis killed
New Orleans Times-Picayune
"A bomb planted between a Sunni mosque and a youth center exploded
during Friday prayers, killing four people and wounding another nine,
police said. In other violence, gunmen in Tikrit killed two civilians
who were employed by U.S. Troops, while a U.S. Marine was killed in action
in western Iraq, officials said." (07/27/06)
Oh, very
legitimate military targets, no? A mosque and a youth center? What noble
"freedom fighters" these Shi'a are (not that the Sunni are any
better).
US
may send 5,000 more troops to Baghdad
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune
"Military commanders in Iraq are developing a plan to move as
many as 5,000 U.S. Troops with armored vehicles and tanks into Baghdad
in an effort to quell escalating violence, defense officials said Thursday.
As part of the plan, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Thursday
extended the tours of some 3,500 members of the 172nd Stryker Brigade
Combat Team." (07/27/06)
The week
ended with this news - treating Baghdad like New Orleans, I guess, without
the local cops trying to disarm everyone and with heat instead of flood
waters. Baghdad has an interesting history - being one of history's "planned
cities" constructed by the Arabic conquerors of the Mesopotamian
provinces of the then-Persian or Parthian Empire (today's Iran) and intended
to be the world capital of the Ummah - the lands of Islam. You can't help
but wonder if it shouldn't join the ranks of Babylon, Nineveh, and Susa
as a historical ruin abandoned except for wolves, rabbits, and archeologists.
Mama's
Note: The wolves are already there, and in control... they just wear human
form.
Saddam
awaits October verdict
CNN
"The trial of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been adjourned
until October 16, when the verdict will be announced, the court's chief
judge said Thursday. It's unclear if the verdicts against Hussein and
seven co-defendants in the 1982 deaths in Dujail will be announced simultaneously.
On Wednesday, Hussein broke an 18-day hunger strike against the court,
ending his fast with a meal of beef, rice and bread, court officials said."
(07/27/06)
So, the
farce continues. And once more Saddam illustrates his complete lack of
conviction - giving up after 18 days, and with such a meal that indicates
maybe his fast was more of the Ramadan kind than the actual "starve
yourself to death as a protest" kind.
Israel
faces fierce battles with Hezbollah
Rome News-Tribune
"Mideast diplomats were pressing Syria to stop backing Hezbollah
as the guerrillas fired more deadly rockets onto Israel's third-largest
city Sunday. Israel faced tougher-than-expected ground battles and bombarded
targets in southern Lebanon, hitting a convoy of refugees. Israel's defense
minister said his country would accept an international force, preferably
NATO, on its border after it drives back or weakens Hezbollah. But his
troops described the militants they encountered as a smart, well-organized
and ruthless guerrilla force whose fighters do not seem afraid to die."
(07/24/06)
Don't you
just love how they restate the obvious? Israel is gaining no support by
its seeming inability to avoid attacking civilians, although Hezbollah
has clearly taken advantage of the civilians to fight the attack - and
to many people, the scale of the counterattacks seem far out of proportion
to the original attacks on Israeli cities.
Rice:
Poor Syria relationship overstated
Waterloo Courier
"Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday the United States'
poor relationship with Syria is overstated, pointing out that there are
existing channels for talking with Syrian leaders about resolving the
Mideast crisis when they're ready to talk. En route to the region, Rice
noted that the United States still has a diplomatic mission and State
Department officials working in the Syrian capital. That presence, she
said, is a 'channel for dealing with Syria.'" (07/23/06)
Silly answers
to silly questions and comments, in my opinion. We need to remember that
with very few exceptions, the US has official "relationships"
with every nation.
Israel-Hezbollah
War Marks New Turn In Fourth Generation War
Space War Daily
With Hezbollah's entry into the war between Israel and Hamas, Fourth
Generation War has taken another developmental step forward. For the first
time, a non-state entity has gone to war with a state not by waging an
insurgency against a state invader, but across an international boundary.
Again we see how those who define 4GW simply as insurgency are looking
at only a small part of the picture.
There have
been other examples of this, but not in recent years, and it is a clear
indication that war is no longer the sole domain of the nation-state or
empire.
Israeli
forces push deeper into Lebanon
Kerrville Daily Times
"Backed by tanks, Israeli troops battled their way to a key Hezbollah
stronghold in south Lebanon on Monday, seizing a hilltop in heavy fighting
and capturing two guerrillas. The U.S. completed its evacuation of 12,000
Americans and said it would switch to bringing in humanitarian aid. On
the 13th day of Israel's offensive, its forces moved one step deeper into
Lebanon as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made her first diplomatic
foray since the conflict began -- and immediately met resistance."
(07/24/06)
As the
fighting progresses, the partisans on both sides make more and more claims
- many absurd on their face. One side claims that almost all civilian
casualties are actually Hezbollah - which are (as I understand it) NOT
uniformed troops anyway. One suspects that even Hezbollah has not enlisted
many children under age 10 or so, however. Drummers are not in high demand
in 21st century war, after all. On the other hand, others are claiming
just about everything in the world about the Israelis except cannibalism.
There are claims of gas and toxins being used, of intentional killing
of UN observers, and much else that makes no sense, however wrong you
believe the Israelis to be.
No
consensus in Lebanon cease-fire talks
Winchester Star
"Top U.S. And European officials agreed Wednesday on the need
for urgent action to halt the fighting in Lebanon and on the creation
of a multinational force to keep the peace. But the two sides had starkly
divergent views of what that means. Most Europeans want Israel to stop
its offensive against Hezbollah now -- which would leave Hezbollah battered
but defiant. The United States wants to give Israel more time to pound
the militia into submission as part of the wider war on terror."
(07/26/06)
Later news
stories in the week turned this into a claim of worldwide condemnation
of Israel (and the US for supporting Israel), but that is not the black-and-white
of it. The so-called war on terror should be called what it is - a war
on Jihadist Islamicists intent on destroying Western Civilization and
imposing a new Dark Age on the entire world. Bad as Israel is and has
become, Hezbollah is worse - a bunch of murdering bandits and stand-ins
for Iran and similar would-be world dictators.
Mama's
Note: Both (all?) sides in this are guilty of aggression. Two wrongs do
not make a right. Hezbollah's crusade is being strengthened every day
by this whole mess. Israel is quite able to defend itself, and needs to
take full responsibility for doing so.
Israel
won't expand offensive in Lebanon
Springfield State Journal-Register
"Israel's government decided Thursday not to expand its battle
with Hezbollah in southern Lebanon for now, but authorized the army to
call up 30,000 reserve soldiers in case the fighting intensifies. Lebanese
officials estimated a civilian death toll as high as 600. Israeli Radio
reported that Israeli aircraft hit 130 targets in Lebanon on Thursday
and early Friday, including a Hezbollah base in the Bekaa Valley, where
long-range rockets were stored." (07/27/06)
Sadly,
the fighting hasn't slowed down any since then. Given the population density,
the nature of Hezbollah, and the Israeli attitude, I'm actually surprised
the death toll is not significantly higher. Anti-Israeli partisans claim
it really is MUCH higher, but don't explain why Lebanese officials would
lie for Israel.
Israel
nixes major UN role in Lebanon
Tulare Advance-Register
"Israel's U.N. ambassador on Thursday ruled out major U.N. involvement
in any potential international force in Lebanon, saying more professional
and better-trained troops were needed for such a volatile situation. Dan
Gillerman also said Israel would not allow the United Nations to join
in an investigation of an Israeli airstrike that demolished a post belonging
to the current U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon. Four U.N. observers
were killed in the Tuesday strike." (07/27/06)
Of course
the Israelis don't want anything to do with the UN, and it is not, as
some claim, because the UN tells the truth about their evils. Does ANYONE
who has any brains and any power to say no want an UN "peacekeeping"
force around like the ones that have been terrorizing East Timor or various
African countries or a dozen other benighted places that are in worse
straits AFTER the UN gallops to the rescue than they were before?
North
American Union
I'm hearing from more and more people about this secret (or not, as the
case may be) plot to unify the USA, USM, and Dominion of Canada into an
EU-style superstate, and still can't quite buy it. But clearly, the three
major nations of the continent have much in common - good and bad.
Human
trafficking's big profits invite kidnapping, bribery, bloodshed
Arizona Republic
"In the world of human smuggling, metro Phoenix has emerged as
an enormous staging area where illegal immigrants are held hostage in
apartments, motel rooms or rental homes until relatives pay their fees.
State investigators say it is a $2 billion-a-year, black-market business
that drives illegal immigration, spreading corruption and violence through
the Valley. On any given day in the Valley, agents say, thousands of undocumented
immigrants are stuffed into drophouses as 'coyotes' collect the cash,
arrange for transportation and fend off other smugglers who would steal
migrant clients for ransom. There are so many coyotes, estimated at more
than 1,000, so many immigrants secreted in drop- houses, that money-transfer
stores handle hundreds of millions of dollars a year in smuggling transactions.
Friends or family already established in other states wire the payments
to Phoenix." (07/22/06)
Does this
sound familiar? Think about the war on some drugs, where what would otherwise
be simple civil disputes about payment, quality of goods, and market shares
turn into vicious violence and sudden death. And think about how the mob
moved in to highly regulated fields such as trash removal, construction,
and gambling with the same results of violence in a black market.
Mexico
dealing with rash of protests
Yahoo!News
"In April a sit-in among steelworkers in the west turned deadly.
The next month came violent demonstrations outside Mexico City. Now, thousands
of dissidents in the southern state of Oaxaca have taken over this pretty
colonial capital, shattering windows of hotels, spraying buildings with
revolutionary graffiti, and causing the city to cancel its most famed
festival of the year. Over the weekend, gunmen attacked a radio station
in Oaxaca that had supported a mass movement calling for the resignation
of the governor. While these flare-ups are driven by local circumstance,
they share their origins in class friction and distrust of authority.
These issues have long been part of Mexican society, but have now become
overriding themes in the still-disputed July 2 presidential election."
(07/26/06)
The violence
slowly builds up, rather like the pressure in a Mexican volcano. Again,
we need to remember that Mexico has a long history of revolution and rebellion
following elections - although real peaceful for 50+ years.
Mama's
Note: Gee, what if every person simply lived their lives as they saw fit,
only being careful not to aggress on anyone else? What if there was no
"winner take all" gang of criminals to revolt against? Unfortunately,
most of the people agitate simply for a different set of criminals who
will promise them some of the spoils of their robbery, not for individual
liberty.
The
2006 Political Campaign
More news of the usual shenanigans this week. BUT, we are now down to
just four months! Thankfully!
Buckley
slams Bush
Raw Story
"In a Saturday night appearance on CBS News, one of the most eminent
figures of modern conservatism criticized the credentials and accomplishments
of President George W. Bush, RAW STORY has learned. William F. Buckley,
the 81-year-old founder of the magazine National Review, appeared in a
CBS News interview. Among his remarks were statements that President Bush
suffers from 'the absence of effective conservative ideology,' and that
on foreign policy 'There will be no legacy for Mr. Bush ... his legacy
is indecipherable.'" (07/24/06)
Bush is
no conservative, according to Buckley - stating the obvious to anyone
able to pay more attention to deeds than words.
AL:
Ex-NBA star Barkley eyes governorship
Raw Story
"Former basketball star Charles Barkley says he's switched political
teams from Republican to Democrat and is again talking about running for
governor in his home state, possibly in 2010. 'I really believe I was
put on Earth to do more than play basketball and stockpile money,' said
Barkley, known as the Round Mound of Rebound. 'I really want to help people
improve their lives, and what's left is for me to decide how best to do
that.' Barkley, a Leeds native who has been an NBA analyst with cable
network TNT since his 2000 retirement, has been talking about running
for governor of Alabama since he was playing with the Phoenix Suns in
the 1990s. In 1995, he said he was considering running in 1998 as a Republican,
but that never materialized. Barkley continued to identify himself as
a Republican until recently, when he switched parties. 'I was a Republican
until they lost their minds,' he said earlier this month." (07/27/06)
What a
joke - and what a commentary on the similarity of the two old parties.
Our
Right to Defend Ourselves
This week there are some mighty strange stories to tell (and comment on)
about using, keeping, and bearing arms!
South
Africa: Bullets fly as motorists take on hijackers
Independent Online [Zaire]
"Two Pretoria motorists disregarded their own safety when they
gunned down an armed robber and critically injured his accomplice in a
shootout north of the city. ... Motorists Chris Jacka and Giel van Wyk
were driving out of the parking lot at Kolonnade shopping centre when
they spotted two men driving at high speed through the mall's car park.
... 'I dropped to the ground and screamed at Giel for help. As Giel shot,
I jumped up and grabbed the dead man's gun and turned around and shot
the other man as he tried to shoot me. I just carried on until everything
was over,' he said, before driving off in his bullet-ridden Hyundai.'"
(07/19/06)
It sounds
like they could have done nothing and probably avoided any risk. It is
this sort of person whom Jesus spoke of - "who will lay down his
life for his brother?"
AZ:
Maintenance man found not guilty in drug-related apartment shootings
Daily Star
"An apartment complex maintenance man who was charged with attempted
first-degree murder after shooting two men on the property last year was
found not guilty Monday. Derrick S. Phillips, 42, said on Friday that
he was acting in self-defense when he shot two men at the Palm Garden
Apartments on East Fort Lowell Road, near North Tucson Boulevard, April
25, 2005. ... He was charged with attempted first-degree murder, which
would later be changed to attempted second-degree murder, two counts of
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of aggravated assault
causing serious physical injury. After spending 448 days in the Pima County
jail, Phillips was released after a jury found him not guilty on all charges.
" (07/22/06)
"Justice
delayed is justice denied" - certainly the case for this man. Especially
with 15 months in jail for what was not, after all, a crime. This does
point out the value of "stand your ground" laws, as the next
story explains.
FL:
Thanks to new law, no case in shooting
St. Petersburg Times
"A woman who killed a client with his own gun in self-defense
meets terms of the Stand Your Ground Law, a prosecutor says. But she may
still face prison for prostitution. Frank Labiento is dead, shot through
the chest with a .357-caliber handgun, and no one disputes that Jacqueline
Galas pulled the trigger. If she had done it before last October, she
might have faced prison time. But new legislation known as the Stand Your
Ground Law means Galas will not be prosecuted. More than a month after
her arrest on a second-degree murder charge in Labiento's shooting, the
State Attorney's Office filed papers on Wednesday that effectively drop
the case." (07/22/06)
It is too
bad that we can't keep a running scoreboard of how many people who defend
themselves are able to avoid not just jail time but also the extreme cost
of having to defend themselves as a result of the various castle and stand
your ground laws. We'll see more stories like this in coming months, I'm
sure.
Mama's
Note: Unfortunately, she gets to spend the money anyway (or the taxpayers
do), trying to defend herself against the phony "prostitution"
charge. Does anyone doubt she'll go to jail anyway?
CA:
Quick-thinking bystanders aid in two arrests
LA Daily News
"Citizens helped sheriff's deputies thwart a home burglary and
a carjacking in a McDonald's restaurant parking lot, putting two men behind
bars, deputies said. One man had kicked in a door in the 1100 block of
East Avenue K just after noon Thursday while a companion waited as a lookout
near the getaway car, but was chased away by the resident with a gun,
deputies said. ... Deputies said the burglar kicked in the front door
of the home after ringing the doorbell several times and getting no answer.
The resident armed himself with a handgun and confronted the intruder,
ordering him out of the home. The intruder ran, deputies said." (07/22/06)
No shots
fired, but that gun just paid for itself many times over.
Canadian
Historian takes dim view of "amnesty"
Victoria (BC) News
"Canadians packed guns until the 1950s, when I was a kid",
he said. "People viewed it as a bit of self-reliance, whereas now
there's a feeling that the state will take care of us." Getting guns
off the streets and out of the hands of criminals is one thing. Taking
firearms out of circulation that have significant historical value is
quite another, say Kangas and other gun enthusiasts. During the recent
provincial gun amnesty, B.C. police agencies collected 3,213 guns and
725 other weapons, mainly from elderly residents who no longer wanted
them. Most of the weapons were destined for the metal shredder.
Thanks
to Scott for this one. As the historian later points out, taking guns
away (historical or not) from peaceful and law-abiding citizens does NOT
get rid of guns, in Canada or elsewhere. I remember when Canada was free
- today it is an increasingly brutal dictatorship under a thin shell of
civility, and too many Canadians are unwilling to recognize how thin and
fragile that shell is.
Belgium:
Gun owners fight victim disarmament law
Expatica
"The union of gun owners UNACT is taking legal action in the Arbitration
Tribunal against the federal government's recently imposed tighter gun
control law. UNACT claims the new law undermines the legal certainty of
gun owners and traders. Some 10,000 gun owners have signed a petition
demanding the abolition of part of the new legislation, VRT reported on
Monday. The new weapons law was introduced on 8 June in response to the
racist shootings in Antwerp in May in which two people were killed. Currently,
it is not possible to buy a gun without a permit. Gun owners are prepared
to accept that stipulation." (07/24/06)
Can you
compromise with tyranny? European history, just across the border from
Belgium both to the east and to the west, answers that question with a
resounding "NO!" As I fear these people will find out for themselves
soon enough. With the EU's open borders, these gun laws are a joke anyway
- I would not be surprised to find fanatics on all sides already have
massive stockpiles of Kalashnikovs and anything else you can imagine.
UK:
Water pistol game "irresponsible"
BBC News [UK]
"Contestants in a giant game where players roam London shooting
each other with water pistols, risk committing criminal offences, police
have warned. Street Wars is a three-week contest in which players are
given the name, address and a picture of a target. Their aim is to hunt
them down and squirt them with water. But police said those taking part
were irresponsible because some water pistols look like real guns and
could lead to armed police being deployed." (07/24/06)
More stupid
government tricks - but then, as a rule, UK coppers are notoriously without
a sense of fun OR humor. No matter how "realistic" a water pistol
looks, when you watch someone pull the trigger and a stream of water sprays
out, I think even the most drug-ridden liquor-befuddled subject of Her
Majesty can figure out it ain't real.
Mama's
Note: Just remember that people have been killed for pulling out a cell
phone or wallet. "Reality" is in the eyes of the beholder. As
long as the "cops" are paranoid and hyper ready to shoot at
the slightest provocation, there is no safety in "reality."
Australia:
Bashed guard "feared for life"
Sydney Morning Herald [Australia]
"The security guard Karen Brown said she feared for her life as
she was bashed with a knuckle-duster and dragged across a hotel car park
by her backpack, which contained about $40,000. Brown told police she
remembered the robber 'pounding' her across the head -- then she saw white
-- but does not recall chasing him to a car and fatally shooting him in
the head as he sat in the front seat with the window up, a court has heard.
Brown went on trial yesterday in the NSW Supreme Court for the murder
of William Aquilina, 25, who had attempted to rob her outside the Moorebank
Hotel on July 26, 2004 as she returned to her car. She has pleaded not
guilty to murder and the lesser charge of manslaughter." (07/24/06)
Ouch. This
is a strange case. If the guy really was shot while sitting in the car
with the window up, then her motive and fears have to be carefully examined.
But why should it have taken TWO years to bring this to trial?
More
News and Commentary on Page 2 Our Right To Defend Ourselves continued
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.
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