Libertarian Commentary on the News for the week of 27 August - 2 September, 2006 --Page 2

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: MS: Police probe shooting
Jackson Clarion-Ledger
"Two men with gunshot wounds were discovered in a pickup in a south Jackson neighborhood Monday afternoon shortly after two neighboring business owners reported shooting at armed, masked men who had attempted to enter one of the businesses. ... Shortly after 3 p.m., workers at the Fairhill Drive address saw the men in front of the house, and police were called. About 15 minutes earlier, an attempted robbery was reported at J Town Auto Sales, 1500 U.S. 80 West. The owner reported firing at least two to three shots, Vance said. The men then ran west down U.S. 80 and passed Standard Shift Transmission next door. One of the men ran toward the owner, who also fired shots at them, Vance said. An employee at the transmission shop who didn't want to be identified said the business owner fired at one of the men after he pointed a gun at him." (08/29/06)

An excellent example of how a neighborhood can defend themselves without need of government-sanctioned force and "protection."

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: KS: Man found not guilty in shooting
El Dorado Times
"A Butler County jury has returned a not guilty verdict in a case involving a shooting last year in El Dorado. Bart M. Thomison, 21, had been charged with murder in the second degree or, in the alternative, involuntary manslaughter. That was in connection with the shooting death of Joshua Freed, 19, at about 11 p.m. on the night of Aug. 18 of last year. The shooting occurred as the result of a confrontation between Thomison and Freed in a driveway at a residence in the 1200 block of Douglas Road." (08/28/06)

This was a difficult case and I pray the right decision was made.

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: VA: Gun dealer facing suit stands firm
Richmond Times-Dispatch
"Dennis Alverson said he has received offers from New York City to settle a lawsuit the city brought against his Old Dominion Gun & Tackle shop in Danville. No deal. ... In Danville, Alverson bristles at the suggestion that he is a rogue dealer and notes he is in compliance with all state and federal regulations. 'If we were doing anything wrong, we would not be in business because [the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] would shut us down,' he said. Alverson said his clients know he has done nothing wrong and the suit has not affected his business." (08/27/06)

All right! Never give up, never surrender!

Mama's Note: I just hope this man's entire business and life isn't destroyed by government theft and persecution like that of Richard Celata and so many others all over the country. The government gun grabbers don't care a bit if you follow their insane "laws." They'll get you if they can... and they usually can.

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: MD: Hoploclasts launch campaign
US Newswire
Sarah Brady of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and leaders of CeaseFire Maryland, Inc. joined with candidates for the Maryland Senate today. The coalition announced they would work together to push for passage of a bill to get military-style semiautomatic assault weapons off Maryland streets - and started today with a public plea for voters to support two candidates who have pledged to make the issue a priority if elected to the Maryland Senate.

It is all about style and all about evil - the evil of people who don't want others to be able to defend themselves against criminals, including the official kind.

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: NY: Bloomberg stalls on releasing evidence
NY Sun
"More than three months after Mayor Bloomberg's announcement that he had sent private investigators into five states to catch gun dealers making illegal sales, he is refusing to turn over the evidence they've gathered to the federal agency that investigates illegal guns. Analysts said the impasse may have slowed the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms in its investigation of and possible action against gun dealers that broke the law." (08/28/06)

You don't suppose it just might be because he doesn't really have anything to report - that it was all as bogus as the case in Danville, above.

OUR RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES: Pro-Gun Groups Disagree on Bill Improving Background Checks
CNSNews.com)
A Second Amendment group is warning gun owners that a "massive gun control bill" is now working its way through Congress - and is close to becoming law. Gun Owners of America also admits that it is the only national pro-gun group to oppose the "NICS Improvement Act of 2005."

GOA is one of the two best of the national groups (JFPO being the other).

Mama's Note: The question is: do actual, violent criminals submit themselves to background checks at all? Of course not. They buy guns or steal them from each other. Background checks protect nobody, ever.

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: White House shovels $800 million in ag pork
CNN
"The Bush administration will give nearly $800 million to farmers and ranchers devastated by drought, The Associated Press has learned. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns planned to announce the aid Tuesday afternoon in South Dakota. The drought aid includes: * $50 million in block grants for hard-hit states. * $18 million from emergency conservation funds. * $11 million from a grassland conservation program. * The department would accelerate $700 million in planned payments to cotton, grain, sorghum and peanut farmers." (08/29/06)

As always, I am touched by the generosity of our modern democratic rulers as compared to the evil ways of ancient tyrants. In times of drought, it was not uncommon for those barbaric and ancient despots to decide that farmers and villagers would be forgiven of all taxes and given a chance to recover from the forced theft of their livelihoods - sometimes for years. Today, of course, our enlightened masters realize that the best way to help farmers and towns hit by drought is to spend still more more, sucking them drier all the faster, and using the money to pay off merchants and industrialists and the local government officials who have already sucked so much out of them.

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: CA: Assembly approves universal health care
San Francisco Chronicle
"The Democratic-controlled Legislature is on the verge of sending Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger a bill that would create a state-run universal health care system, testing him on an issue that voters rate as one of their top concerns in this election year. On a largely party-line 43-30 vote, the Assembly approved a bill by state Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, that would eliminate private medical insurance plans and establish a statewide health insurance system that would provide coverage to all Californians. The state Senate has already approved the plan once and is expected this week to approve changes that the Assembly made to the bill. Schwarzenegger has said he opposes a single-payer plan like the one Kuehl's bill would create, but the governor has not offered his own alternatives for fixing the state's health care system." (08/29/06)

What utter rot! Shall California join Canada and the United Kingdom and finish destroying the lives and health of its people?

Mama's Note: Since when it is up to the governor to "fix" the health care system? He could "fix" a good part of it if he could just get government OUT of the way. But that's not going to happen. Isn't it about time more of those people started to vote with their feet? If they really want to stay there and pay for all this crap, on top of their insane electric and insurance bills... well, I can't stop them.

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: CA: Deal eases gang members' sentences
San Francisco Chronicle
"Four San Francisco gang members who allegedly took over an elderly woman's Mission Street apartment and turned it into a drug den have escaped lengthy prison terms as part of a plea bargain. Alberto Torres, 24, Karla Pena, 24, Jose Serrano, 23, and Cristina Serrano, 22, were arrested in May 2005 after they were found in the apartment of Ellen Gutierrez, then 84. They initially faced a battery of felony charges, but many of those counts were dropped as the case made its way through the courts or were dismissed as part of Tuesday's plea deal. Gutierrez, who authorities said suffered from mild dementia, was supposed to be under the care of agencies that had contracts with the city. Some gang members befriended her and began living in her apartment in 2004, authorities said, and by the time police were brought in, the unit was filled with drugs and crack pipes and the walls were covered with gang graffiti." (08/31/06)

As with many stories this week this strikes very close to home - shall the good ignore reality and do nothing, that evil shall triumph?

Mama's Note: Just where were her family, her church, or her community that allowed this to happen?

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: "Secret Senator" -- Alaska's Stevens
Los Angeles Times
"Ending a mystery that had captivated conservative and liberal Internet activists, Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) emerged Wednesday as the senator who secretly held up action on a bill to create a searchable online catalog of federal grants and contracts aimed at helping the general public find out who receives government support. The acknowledgment by Stevens ended an innovative exercise in Internet-based political activism. Several blogs had urged readers to call senators and ask whether they had placed a 'hold' on the legislation to create the online database. Many activists believed the catalog would make it easier to root out pork-barrel spending. As of midday Wednesday, the blogs had been able to obtain denials from 97 senators that they had placed the hold, which under unwritten Senate rules prevented the legislation from moving to a floor vote. With the suspects narrowed to a small group, Stevens' office acknowledged that he had blocked the bill." (08/31/06)

Gee - another reason to not like this guy (as if we needed more than we already have). But what is fascinating about this story is the way people used relatively new methods and skills to ferret out the guilty party. Technology CAN improve government, by putting it more in everyone's field of view.

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: Prosecutions drop for US white-collar crime
Christian Science Monitor
"It's the kind of announcement that should put white-collar criminals on notice. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now investigating more than 80 companies in the growing stock-option scandal. The government has charged officials at two companies for backdating options- - a practice that funneled guaranteed profits to executives. More indictments are expected. But far from ratcheting up the fight against financial wrongdoing, the federal government is actually shifting resources away from it. The number of white-collar crime prosecutions is down 28 percent from five years ago, according to an analysis of federal data by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University. The reason? The government's focus on homeland security, experts say. In the same period white-collar crime prosecutions fell, for instance, immigration prosecutions more than doubled." [FND Editor's note: Once more, this nebulous "war on terror" (like its cousin, the war on [some] drugs) diverts law enforcement away from protecting lives and property from real criminals. Intentionally? - SAT] (08/31/06)

Steve's comments should make us all think - such diversions are NOT that uncommon in American history especially at a local or state level. It should remind us that one very important reason to limit government is that NO organization or individual can do everything well.

STOOPID GUVMINT TRICKS: Anti-drug advertising campaign a failure, GAO report says
USA Today
"A $1.4 billion anti-drug advertising campaign conducted by the U.S. government since 1998 does not appear to have helped reduce drug use and instead might have convinced some youths that taking illegal drugs is normal, the Government Accountability Office says. The GAO report, released Friday, urges Congress to stop the White House's National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign unless drug czar John Walters can come up with a better strategy. President Bush's budget for 2007 asks Congress for $120 million for the campaign, a $20 million increase from this year." (08/28/06)

Unintended consequences! Anyone familiar with how DARE works in schools can see how this happened. But, as usual, we can expect the FedGov to ignore this report and proceed to waste more money.

STOOPID PEOPLES TRIX: CNN "Live from ..." the ladies' room
ABC News
"Kyra Phillips, anchor of CNN's 'Live From ...,' unwittingly upstaged President Bush's speech in New Orleans with on-the-air analysis of her husband and the marriage of her brother all live from a CNN ladies room. Unaware that her wireless microphone was 'live' during her break, Phillips could be heard overriding Bush's prepared address Tuesday as he was seen marking the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina." (08/31/06)

Oh, what wonderfully competent news media we have to depend on for our views of the world!

Mama's Note: Someone was asleep at the switch, for sure! I'm even more glad I don't waste my time with the popular media at all.

THEFT BY GOVERNMENT: CO: "Super Slab" proposal outlined
Milwaukee Business Journal
"Super Slab, the proposed 210-mile long road curving through Colorado's eastern plains from Fort Collins to Pueblo, has been reborn as the $2.5 billion 'Prairie Falcon Parkway Express.' The Front Range Toll Road Ltd., doing business as the Prairie Falcon Parkway Express Company, announced Monday it has filed a new corridor plan with the Colorado Secretary of State's office. The company is sending official notices via certified mail to owners of property along the project's path, said spokesman Jason Hopfer. ... The corridor was reborn a mere 3 miles wide, in accordance with new state laws governing the private construction of toll roads, down from the 12-mile wide behemoth initially proposed. In final form, the corridor -- used for toll roads, rail lines and other utilities -- will be just 1,200 feet wide, Hopfer said. Also in compliance with the new laws, the company doesn't have eminent domain power to condemn land for the project. Land can be condemned only through a public-private partnership with the Colorado Department of Transportation ..." [Editor's note: Anyone doubt that such a land theft "partnership" will come together? - TLK] (08/29/06)

This Super Slab has motivated Colorado's growing rebellion against eminent domain, and I do not think that scaling it back will significantly reduce their fervor (as I pray it does not). Much is left to fight.

Mama's Note: I really hope the fight will be successful. In August I drove from Wyoming to Denver on the I25 freeway, both ways on a week day. There was a reasonable amount of traffic in Denver itself, but the rest of the road was almost empty. A very nice toll road goes around Denver, so it seems they've got the bases covered already. I suspect they don't really need another one anyway - but if they do, private enterprise can build it better.

THEFT BY GOVERNMENT: NJ: Public Advocate joins land theft foes
Asbury Park Press
"Embattled homeowners in a waterfront [Long Branch, NJ] neighborhood fighting the city's efforts to take their homes for private redevelopment gained a powerful ally Wednesday -- their second in two days -- in their fight to protect their properties. State Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen said he would participate in an appeal to block upscale condominiums from replacing homes in the Marine Terrace-Ocean Terrace-Seaview Avenue area, commonly known as MTOTSA, which residents say is a well-established, close-knit neighborhood. Chen said he would file a 'friend of the court' brief in support of the residents' position, saying eminent domain should only be used in 'narrow and rare' circumstances." (08/31/06)

Guy is clearly risking his political appointment - he is working "outside" the system and biting the hand that feeds him. And he still has it wrong - eminent domain should be used exactly as often as the power of a ruler to make one person a noble and another person a slave - as often as the innocent should be punished for a crime.

THEFT BY GOVERNMENT: Venezuela: Golf courses expropriated for housing
Arizona Republic
"Three major Caracas golf courses, long favored by the city's wealthy, are being expropriated to build housing for thousands of poor and middle class Venezuelans, officials said Tuesday. The city expropriations, which will likely generate new friction between supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez, are part of an ambitious government effort to provide more homes amid an acute housing shortage that has driven up real estate prices. Mayor Juan Barreto's office has ordered the 'forced acquisition' of two golf courses and will soon issue another decree expropriating a third course in the ritzy hills of south Caracas, city attorney Juan Manuel Vadell said." (08/30/06)

Now, I'm no fan of golf - although I realize it is not the elitist game that many make it out to be - but at the same time, it is hard to be as sympathetic with the owners of these places as it is with Zimbabwe families pushed out of shanty towns or farmers pushed off the land. Still, Venezuela appears to be a suitable successor for all the other failed communist states of the world.

Mama's Note: In all probability, the land for the golf courses was originally stolen from the people who lived or farmed there. It's just being re-stolen for another purpose now. Same old, same old...

TECH AND MEDICAL NEWS: MA: Christian Science provision sought in healthcare law
Boston Globe
"Officials of the Christian Science Church are worried that the state's healthcare law will exclude faith healing as a recognized health benefit for its employees who do not receive traditional medical care because of their religious beliefs. The church, based in Boston, holds that illnesses should be treated with prayer, but a draft version of the healthcare reform regulations specifies that employers must contribute to workers' medical insurance coverage to comply with the landmark law that takes effect next year. Those that do not will be assessed $295 per employee annually. The law also requires Massachusetts residents to enroll in a health insurance plan or face penalties such as the loss of personal tax deductions. It exempts those who do not because of 'sincerely held religious beliefs,' but there is no such provision for employers." (08/28/06)

Chalk this up as another reason to get and keep government out of the health business in general. One size certainly doesn't fit all!

Mama's Note: Remember that the only way any third party payer can meet the bills is to take in as much money as possible from those who do NOT use the services. Therefore, the healthy must be forced to pay - either with high insurance premiums or higher taxes - so the bills of the sick and the bureaucratic overhead can be paid. This is just another way to redistribute the earnings of the productive.

TECH AND MEDICAL NEWS: Turning Fuel Ethanol Into Beverage Alcohol
Space War Daily
Los Angeles (SPX) Aug 30, 2006 Fuel ethanol could be cheaply and quickly converted into the purer, cleaner alcohol that goes into alcoholic drinks, cough medicines, mouth washes and other products requiring food-grade alcohol, say Iowa State University researchers.

Oh, sounds interesting, no? It could fuel (pun intended) another explosion of cheap alcoholism that could make problems with illegal drugs fade to insignificance. Think about this from the point of view of the prohibitionists (not just alcohol, but drug, tobacco, and fast food ones, too) - why should children be prohibited from buying nicotine, tobacco products, cold medicine, and beverage alcohol but be allowed to buy cough-syrup and mouthwashes with higher content than most beer or wine? Obviously this process must be immediately outlawed and suppressed.

Mama's Note: Sigh.... Actually, I'm sure it is much easier to simply make alcohol from scratch, the old fashioned way. Another false alarm, and made up "disaster" to give the goons another excuse to meddle in our lives.

TECH AND MEDICAL NEWS: Hackers steal AT&T customer info
CNN
"Personal data, including credit card information, of thousands of AT&T customers was stolen by hackers over the weekend, the company reported late Tuesday. The breach, which affected customers who purchased DSL equipment through AT&T's (Charts) Web store was discovered within hours and the online store was shut down immediately, said AT&T in a press release. AT&T said it was sending notifications to nearly 19,000 customers, and that it would pay for credit monitoring services for the affected customers." (08/29/06)

This MAY be an example of how a company should and can properly respond to a theft like this - it is not always possible to prevent a theft, and the real concern we should have is how to respond when it does.

Mama's Note: Two possible ways to reduce this kind of thing: don't give such data to anyone where possible, and those who must collect such things have a real responsibility to maintain better security. Encryption works wonders. Then, if someone "steals" it, they can't make use of it.

TECH AND MEDICAL NEWS: Russia postpones launch to space station
Fox News
"The Russian space agency on Thursday postponed by four days its launch next month of a Soyuz capsule carrying an American who is the first female space tourist to the international space station, a spokesman said. The postponement until Sept. 18 follows repeated delays in the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis to the ISS. That launch, initially scheduled for Aug. 27, was pushed back to an unspecified date because of Tropical Storm Ernesto and a lightning strike at Cape Canaveral, Fla. Spokesman Igor Panarin confirmed the Soyuz postponement to The Associated Press, but did not comment on the reason." (08/31/06)

It appears that this is not the Russian's fault, but NASA. Funny, eh?

TECH AND MEDICAL NEWS: Universal launches free download offensive
News.Com.Au [Australia]
"Universal Music -- with a stable including U2, Bob Marley, Abba and Stevie Wonder -- has given the go-ahead to SpiralFrog, an online music store which will rely on advertising for revenue. It is a radical departure from existing services which charge for each track or via subscription. It is a clear challenge to the market domination of Apple's iTunes, through which 80 per cent of downloads are now made. The drawback of the service, to be launched later this year, is downloaded music will not play on the iPod -- which accounts for 70 per cent of digital music player sales -- nor will it be burnable to CD." (08/31/06)

A challenge! With weaknesses, of course, but still a challenge to the government-encouraged and promoted monopoly of the recording companies.

Mama's Note: I'm sure these kids WILL find a way to get around these problems. I'd bet money on it.

WORLD WARS: Rumsfeld says North Korea no threat to South
MSNBC
"In unusually blunt terms, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said decades-old U.S. ally South Korea need not fear communist North Korea as an immediate military threat. At a news conference at this missile defense base south of Fairbanks, Rumsfeld said Sunday that North Korea is a serious threat to spread ballistic missiles and other dangerous technologies around the world. But he made plain that he sees the North's conventional military strength eroding as its economy crumbles." (08/28/06)

The actual text of the story is much different than the headline would have us believe - it is more a pitch for continued ROK-US joint efforts which prevent NK from being a threat - not that NK is a paper tiger.

WORLD WARS: Turkey: Carnage on coast as explosion rips through café
The Scotsman
AT LEAST three people were killed and dozens injured when an explosion ripped through one of Turkey's most popular tourist destinations yesterday - the fifth blast in the country in 24 hours.

Ignored by American media (even, apparently, the libertarian alternative media), this small reign of terror shows that killing fellow Muslims isn't limited to Iraq and Canaan.

WORLD WARS: Militant Kurds warn of wreaking havoc
Bismarck Tribune
"After a rash of bombings, an extremist Kurdish militant group warned Tuesday that 'the fear of death will reign everywhere in Turkey' and it urged tourists to avoid travel to the country. Tourism is a critical industry in Turkey, with foreign tourists bringing in $13.9 billion last year. But many people sunbathing and partying on the Mediterranean coast say they aren't changing their plans." (08/29/06)

Well, finally we see some press coverage about the troubles in Turkey. Turkey continues to reap the consequences of its past errors. It was actually proposed, after WW1, that the US assume a "mandate" over Kurdistan and much of eastern Turkey - the same form of colonization that saw France and Britain occupy much of the Middle East and led directly to the problems in Iraq, Canaan, and Syria today. Aren't you glad that Wilson's government wasn't allowed to do that?

WORLD WARS: Poland takes conservative turn under twin leaders
Christian Science Monitor
"Polish President Lech Kaczynski swore his identical twin brother Jaroslaw in as prime minister last month in what some saw as a long-delayed victory for Poland's have-nots but others see as a defeat for the liberalism that was bringing Poland closer to the rest of Europe. Their Law and Justice party (PiS) has talked about giving Poland a new start. The brothers focused on a populist vision of the future during their campaign last fall, promising to build subsidized housing for 3 million families in the next eight years, reform a public-finance system that has been plagued by corruption scandals, and slow the privatization of Poland's remaining state companies. They also want a ban on abortion and to distance Poland from the European Union, which the country joined in 2004." (08/29/06)

This is probably a first in modern history. I hope that they succeed - some bright spots in the world are needed.

Mama's Note: Hmm, I seem to have missed the bright spot here. All I see is continued socialism and "state companies."

WORLD WARS: US accused of Chavez ouster plot
Guardian [UK]
"The US government has been accused of trying to undermine the Chavez government in Venezuela by funding anonymous groups via its main international aid agency. Millions of dollars have been provided in a 'pro-democracy programme' that Chavez supporters claim is a covert attempt to bankroll an opposition to defeat the government. The money is being provided by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) through its Office of Transition Initiatives. ... USAID officials denied any suggestion the money had any political aim and said the reason for anonymity for some groups was to protect them from potential harassment." (08/30/06)

Given the current situation in the world and our (US) government, and Chavez's actions and statements, I'd be very surprised if US agencies WEREN'T working to undermine his government.

WORLD WARS: Outrage at Zimbabwe bugging plan
BBC News [UK]
"Zimbabwe's opposition and civil society groups have expressed anger at a proposed law to monitor communications. The bill proposes a monitoring centre, apparently with Chinese technology, that would eavesdrop on telephone, internet and other communications. The government says the bill is similar to anti-terror laws elsewhere to protect people from organized crime. Parliament began public hearings on the Interception of Communications Bill on Wednesday amid heated exchanges." (08/31/06)

I am surprised that Zimbabwe's government is even capable of attempting such a thing - much less pulling it off successful. Yes, this is "similar" to anti-terror laws elsewhere, but wrong regardless of where they are done.

WORLD WARS: Detentions over charity ties questioned
Boston Globe
"For the past four years, the US military has held Adel Hassan Hamad in prison at Guantanamo Bay, based in part on allegations that he worked for two charity groups in Afghanistan that the US military says support terrorism, according to the military's summary of evidence against Hamad. But neither group appears on the State Department's list of designated terrorist organizations, and one of them operates openly from an office in Britain. In the case of another Guantanamo detainee, whose name does not appear in the record, the US military states in its summary of evidence that the man should be held as an enemy combatant in part because he worked for the International Islamic Relief Organization, a global relief group whose branches in the Philippines and Indonesia have been linked by the US Treasury Department to terrorism." (08/31/06)

Notice "based in part" is clearly stated, but then the rest of the story seemingly decries the so-called flimsy excuse for treating the man as an enemy combatant. The lack of listing of the organizations is probably another example of the inefficiency of our defense organization. This has been a problem in just about every war since WW1 - historians will recall the German-American Bund and other seemingly innocuous organizations that were clearly fronts for enemy nations and organizations.

WORLD WARS: Kenyan Rangers Kill Rogue Jumbos After Fatal Human Attacks
Space War Daily
Kenyan wildlife rangers in choppers killed a pair of rogue elephants this week after a series of fatal attacks on people in incidents highlighting growing human-animal conflict, officials said Thursday

Animals, now, and not just humans! Warfare continues spread around the world.