September 25, 2006

Libertarian Commentary on the News, 17 - 23 September 2006
Let's dive right in, with a sad piece of news I missed.

Culture Wars: Oriana Fallaci RIP
Sept. 15 (Bloomberg)
Oriana Fallaci, the best-selling Italian journalist as renowned for her diatribes against Islam as her interviews with the political leaders of the late 20th century, has died. She was 77. Fallaci died late yesterday in a hospital in Florence where she was being treated for lung cancer, according to her publicist Paolo Klun. He said she had returned to die in the city of her birth about 10 days ago. "It was her last act of love,'' he said.

I missed this story last week, but readers deserve to know of the loss of this gallant fighter for freedom - hardly a libertarian, but still a vital defender of western civilization all her life. She fought the Fascists and National Socialists in the 30s and 40s, fought Communism in the 50s and beyond, and fought Islamic hegemonists in the new century. She will be missed.

Culture Wars: Pro-life groups take market approach
Fox News
"Anti-abortion activists say they've got another arrow in their quiver to use against what they believe is the murder of unborn babies: A handshake with a real-estate agent. They've discovered that one of the best ways to shut down an abortion clinic is to buy the building in which it's located. 'With civil disobedience we might be successful at closing an abortion clinic for of couple hours a day, but the tactics we're using now permanently close the abortion clinics,' said Cheryl Sullenger, spokeswoman for the antiabortion group Operation Rescue. 'It's much more effective, and we don't have to go to jail and wear handcuffs, so we're liking this much better.'" [RRND editor's note: This technique has been used by the right for centuries, since ownership of their property is often the last thing progressives think about - SAT] (09/18/06)

On the other hand, ultimately, it is a tactic that will be countered by the abortionists. But it appears to me to be a legitimate and pro-liberty tool.

Culture Wars: Religious coalition challenges federal abortion ban
Raw Story
"An amici curiae brief in Gonzales v. Carhart was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court early Thursday by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC), urging the court to strike down the first-ever federal abortion ban on religious grounds. 'The Court's decision in this case will have enormous consequences for every woman in this country, and for the men and children who love and depend on them,' said RCRC president and CEO, Reverend Carlton W. Veazey, in a press release obtained by RAW STORY. 'This case will determine if the law will continue to protect the ability of women to choose the safest abortion procedure in cases where their health is at stake or when their baby has such severe problems that it will die shortly after birth,' said Veazey." (09/21/06)

It is a who's who list of liberal religious groups and mainstream religions that have rejected the foundation of their faith that are found in this effort. Having decided that human life is worthless, their stand is perfectly logical from their point of view - and perfectly evil from the point of view of someone who believes that liberty is the birthright of all humans (even those who are not yet born).

Our Economy: Mint - Liberty Dollar competition "a federal crime"
US Mint Pressroom
"The United States Mint urges consumers considering the purchase or use of 'Liberty Dollar' medallions, marketed by the National Organization for the Repeal of the Federal Reserve Act and the Internal Revenue Code (NORFED), to be aware that they are not genuine United States Mint bullion coins, and not legal tender. These medallions are privately produced products that are neither backed by, nor affiliated with, the United States Government. Prosecutors with the Department of Justice have determined that the use of these gold and silver NORFED 'Liberty Dollar' medallions as circulating money is a Federal crime." [Editor's note: Go pound sand, government counterfeiters! I'll conduct exchanges using whatever medium I (and those on the other side of the table) please - TLK] (09/14/06)

This piece of propaganda will no doubt accomplish what it sets out to do - end or greatly reduce the growing use of the NORFED specie - but unless the FedGov once more outlaws private ownership of gold (and adds silver to that ban) this will continue to be an alternative for many of us. The US Mint plays exactly the same game as NORFED does in assigning value to their coins - those that are base metal and those that are precious metal. An example is the recent rather silly solid gold "Buffalo nickel" the Mint is producing, with an "actual gold value of $650" (although based on which market and what day it doesn't say) and selling for $795: a tidy little piece of seigniorage that dwarfs the NORFED mark-up of an ounce of silver from $9 commodity price to $10 face value.

Our Economy: Oil prices drop
Reuters
Oil prices slid to fresh six-month lows on Wednesday on rising winter fuel stocks and waning concern about Iran, but the world's largest exporter Saudi Arabia signaled the market may have fallen enough. U.S. crude was down 86 cents at $60.80 a barrel at 1455 GMT after touching $60.61, the lowest since March 21. The market was close to erasing gains so far in 2006. Crude closed 2005 at $61.04. Oil has retreated over $17 from its July record high of $78.40 in its steepest decline for 15 years.

We often forget that it is NOT (or not just) the "Big Oil" companies that are making a fortune right now from high prices - the Saudis are able to fund worldwide jihad better than ever with this windfall. If the US and other nations can bring new supplies on-line quickly AND get some more refineries built, the Saudis may find themselves unable to stop the decline.

Mama's Note: You can bet that none of the government layers that collect taxes on oil and oil products are happy with this price decline. They are "losing" millions every day! They are not apt to allow any new oil sources or refineries in the country, since that would tend to put downward pressure on the price.

Watch for an attempt to stir the pot of fear and reaction so the price goes back up. Remember that the demand for oil is actually lower in the summer. The winter heating season is almost upon us, and the demand will go up again. So will the price.

Our Economy: Fuel prices continue to drop, may drop more
Reuters
The price U.S. drivers pay for gasoline is expected to drop another 25 cents in the short term to a national average of $2.25 a gallon, the federal Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. "Reductions already seen in spot and futures markets could imply a further decrease in the U.S. average retail price of as much as 25 cents (to around $2.25 per gallon), if those wholesale markets don't turn upward in the interim," the EIA said in its weekly review of the oil market. The national price for regular unleaded gasoline has already declined 54 cents over the last six weeks since reaching a summer peak of $3.04 a gallon.

Great! Got gas for 241.9 at Grand Junction yesterday, and saw (at gasprices.com) that in parts of Nebraska and eastern South Dakota it is down to under 220! I think it might, just might, drop to under 200 this year! I hope so. And even in Mama's hometown, there was a 36-cent drop in a single day! Now, let's work to save money AND fuel and get it back to a nice smooth 100!

Mama's Note: The price dropped from #3.059 to $2.499 - just after I filled the tank, of course. It is still $2.499 here in Newcastle, but I got a tankful in Sundance Sunday for $2.379/ gal. - a big difference. I suspect that it is less in Sundance simply because of the interstate highway that goes through there.

The Coming Fall of Europe: Germany- Neo-Nazis capture seats
Independent [UK]
"Neo-Nazis dealt an embarrassing political blow to Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel yesterday after winning parliamentary seats in her eastern home state for the first time since the country's reunification in 1990. The overtly racist National Democratic Party, won 6.4 per cent of votes in the Baltic coastal state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where Mrs. Merkel has her parliamentary constituency and keeps a holiday home. ... The party shocked Germany two years ago after obtaining seats in the eastern state of Saxony for the first time in 36 years." (09/17/06)

How quickly we forget - Sachsen ("Saxony" in English) hasn't HAD free elections for 38 years, as the story implies: it was part of the DDR until the reunification in the early 1990s. And national-socialism has been a deep undercurrent of German politics since WW2 - and will be as long as socialism remains a viable alternative for the nation: "Christian Socialist" or "Social Democrat" or whatever they want to call it - is ultimately an anti-liberty political position.

The Coming Fall of Europe: Hungary- Budapest hit by wave of violence
BBC News [UK]
"Thousands of demonstrators have gathered in the Hungarian capital, Budapest, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany. Police used tear gas and water cannon against a crowd who threw bottles and stones, and set cars alight. After several hours the police withdrew, allowing the protesters to break into the state television HQ. The protests follow Mr. Gyurcsany's admission that his socialist government told lies to win a general election." (09/18/06)

Evidence of my claim above that socialism, in whatever guise, is an opponent to freedom and liberty.

The Coming Fall of Europe: UK- Government accused of burying school data
Guardian [UK]
"The government was yesterday accused of burying bad news about poor primary school test results by releasing the figures on the same day as improved GCSE results in secondary schools. Special advisers to Alan Johnson, the education secretary and a possible challenger to Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership, were said to have overruled communications staff in the Department for Education and Skills to determine the date of publication. David Willetts, the shadow education secretary, said email correspondence showed that civil servants had warned repeatedly that primary school figures should not be released on the same day as GCSE results. The primary school figures were published at exactly the same time -- 9.30am on August 24 -- as the GCSE results, a change from previous years when they were released on separate days. The primary school figures revealed falling standards in reading, writing and maths among seven-year-olds and missed targets for 11-year-olds." (09/18/06)

While I can sympathize emotionally with the frustration of these bureaucrats - no matter what they did they would have been wrong - I can't help but be glad that they are getting lambasted about this: government-run, tax-funded schools don't work well ANYPLACE, not just in the USA.

The Coming Fall of Europe: UK- Big Brother is shouting at you
Daily Mail [UK]
"Big Brother is not only watching you -- now he's barking orders too. Britain's first 'talking' CCTV cameras have arrived, publicly berating bad behaviour and shaming offenders into acting more responsibly. The system allows control room operators who spot any antisocial acts -- from dropping litter to late-night brawls -- to send out a verbal warning: 'We are watching you.' Middlesbrough has fitted loudspeakers on seven of its 158 cameras in an experiment already being hailed as a success." (09/16/06)

This just makes me sick to my stomach.

GUVMINT-RUINED, THEFT-FUNDED SCHOOLS: Judge blocks Omaha school segregation law
MSNBC
"A judge on Monday blocked the implementation of a law that would divide the Omaha school district into three racially identifiable districts. The law, passed in April and set to take effect in 2008, would have split the Omaha Public Schools into one mostly black district, one largely Hispanic and one predominantly white. It also would have forced 11 school districts in two counties to share resources, including state funding, as part of a 'learning community.'" (09/18/06)

This kind of mess should win more people to the "radical" idea of separation of school and state.

GUVMINT-RUINED, THEFT-FUNDED SCHOOLS: CA- Angry parent subdued by police
KCRA News
"Two Sutter Creek schools were locked down for about 45 minutes Tuesday morning because of an incident involving an angry parent, school district officials said. Amador High School and Sutter Creek Elementary School were locked down. The schools are adjacent to one another. Authorities said a father came to the high school campus angry after being notified that Child Protective Services wanted to interview his two children as part of an investigation into alleged spousal abuse at the home. The parent had to be subdued by officers from the Sutter Creek and Ione police departments. He did not have a weapon." (09/19/06)

Sounds like a lot of overreaction on the part of the schools and the cops.

GUVMINT-RUINED, THEFT-FUNDED SCHOOLS: Why women outnumber men in college
Arizona Republic
"Here's a closer look at why a growing majority of college students are women: Women without a degree earn much less on average than men, about $18,600 a year compared with men's $30,300, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. While men can get higher-paying jobs driving forklifts or working construction right out of high school, women's opportunities tend to be more limited. They are more likely to work minimum-wage service jobs, often without health benefits, said Jacqueline King, author of a 2006 study, 'Gender Equity in Higher Education.' For these reasons, the desire to boost income likely accounts for some of women's increased enrollment in college, she said." (09/16/06)

This silly little study is an exercise in foolishness. Maybe I'm too much a westerner, but I've seen no problem with women getting jobs driving forklifts or swinging a hammer - assuming that they want a job like that. Many do not - just as many men do not. (I have seen women (and men) give up very good paying jobs requiring CDLs (commercial drivers licenses) to accept jobs as waitresses/waiters for personal reasons having nothing to do with "lack of opportunity.") Any study which does not take into account the increasingly hostile political climate in many institutions of higher education, especially public ones, is probably missing the mark.

GW-STOOPID GUVMINT TROUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: CA- Governator receives two new warming bills
San Francisco Chronicle
"After cutting a deal with Democrats on historic legislation to cap greenhouse gas emissions in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces decisions this month on two other bills that could dramatically reduce pollution from the auto and energy industries -- the state's two largest contributors to global warming. With much less fanfare than for the global warming bill, which Schwarzenegger is expected to sign next Wednesday, Democratic majorities in the state Senate and Assembly approved legislation that would require half of the cars sold in the state to run on alternative fuels by 2020 and another bill that would prohibit California utilities from buying electricity generated by high-polluting power plants in other states." [Editor's note: And then when the blackouts start again, they'll blame the evil utilities, not their own prohibition on buying the juice, of course - TLK] (09/21/06)

As stupid an act as Branson's (story elsewhere here) but in this case, it is government using its coercive power to force virtually every taxpayer in California to waste their own money, not a billionaire frittering away his fortune.

Mama's Note: Ask me again if I'm glad to have escaped from California! I live in an all electric home here in Wyoming, yet my monthly bill all summer was about $35. It will be higher in the winter, of course, and I have wood heat as well. But my average electric bill in California the last few years was seldom below $100. and I heated with GAS. Get out now, folks, while you still can.

GW-STOOPID GUVMINT TROUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: CA- State sues carmakers for global warming
San Jose Mercury News
"California filed a lawsuit against the six largest automakers operating in the United States, contending that car and truck emissions are causing global warming, injuring the state's environment, economy and endangering public health. The complaint, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Oakland, is the latest escalation in an ongoing clash between states and the U.S. auto industry over global warming. The California complaint contends that under federal and state common law the automakers have created a public nuisance by producing millions of vehicles that collectively emit massive quantities of carbon dioxide." (09/21/06)

Right in line with the Swartzennegger SGT in the last article, and just like the various antigun lawsuits, this clearly reveals the abuse of the excessive power that governments have. California's economy is, in very large part, a creation of the automobile culture and therefore the industry - this is like suing your mother because she DIDN'T abort you.

GW-STOOPID PEEPLES TROUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: Branson pledges $3 billion to fight global warming
Fox News
"British billionaire Richard Branson on Thursday committed to spending all the profits from his airline and rail businesses -- an estimated $3 billion over the next 10 years -- on combating global warming. The Virgin Group chairman said the money would be spent on renewable energy initiatives within his company and on investments in bio-fuel research, development, production and distribution, as well as projects to tackle emissions contributing to global warming. 'We have to wean ourselves off our dependence on coal and fossil fuels. Our generation has the knowledge, it has the financial resources and as importantly it has the will power to do so,' the flamboyant 56-year-old British entrepreneur said. Branson, who has a knighthood and is known as much for his daredevil stunts as his business, unveiled his plan at a news conference at the Clinton Global Initiative, a summit run by former U.S. President Bill Clinton to combat world problems." (09/21/06)

Yeah, it is his money (or his and his stockholders), but what a waste. Of course, look who is rooting him on.

THE HOME FRONT: Grassroots Opposition to Big Brother Farm Program
World Net Daily
In an effort to quiet the growing opposition, the USDA released a publication last April stressing that the NAIS is "voluntary." But when pressed by reporters, Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said the USDA had the authority to make the program mandatory if there was less than 100 percent voluntary participation. Originally, the NAIS consisted of three elements: 1) premises registration by 2007, 2) animal registration by 2008, and 3) reporting any movement of livestock off a registered premises by 2009. Grassroots opposition has disrupted this schedule. Wisconsin and Indiana have already enacted state laws mandating premises registration, and several other states are considering similar legislation. The Talent-Emerson bills would prohibit federal funding for these programs, and the future of state programs is now in question.

This folly is finally being fought in the way it should have been for several years.

Mama's Note: As with "the war on drugs," gun "registration," and bans of all kinds, people have to look honestly at the RESULTS, even if they are not truly interested in individual liberty. The criminals and careless operators will not submit to the NAIS rules, and a vigorous black market will develop. The end results will be LESS food safety and FAR GREATER cost for everyone in every imaginable way. Government control is NOT the answer, it IS the PROBLEM.

THE HOME FRONT: Armed man crashes Capitol, arrested
Alpena News
"An armed man ran through the U.S. Capitol after crashing his vehicle on the Capitol grounds Monday in the worst breach of security since a gunman killed two police officers in 1998. Acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher McGaffin identified the intruder as Carlos Greene, 20, of Silver Spring, Md. He said Greene, tackled after a foot chase through the Capitol, was armed with a loaded handgun and had crack cocaine in his possession." (09/18/06)

A nut case? Or someone who got tagged as a druggie AFTER the fact to make it easier to send him up the river? Or an agent provocateur, as we seem to see so often today?

Mama's Note: I'll vote for the last one. Anyone with the brains of a peanut should avoid the US Capitol with so much as an aspirin in his pocket, let alone a self-defense tool - or nail clippers! The entire area needs demolition and decontamination before human beings will ever be safe there again. (Mega-sigh...)

THE HOME FRONT: Senate to consider border fence
San Gabriel Valley Tribune
"With the congressional session barreling to a close and politicians eager to hit the campaign trail, Republicans moved with new determination Tuesday to seal off the U.S. border and impose strict new immigration controls. The Senate is expected to consider as early as today legislation that would stretch 700 miles of fence along the U.S.-Mexico border. And while key Democrats said they will try to attach provisions that would legalize undocumented immigrants, they vowed not to try to block the bill if Republicans force it to the floor without amendments. If the Senate approves the bill, it will go to President Bush for his signature." (09/20/06)

Let me start by saying that I strongly disagree with those who instantly class any sort of a border fence as being a "Berlin Wall" - the comparison is ludicrous: different purpose, different method, different in virtually everything. That said, I believe that good fences DO make good neighbors, whether we are talking about 1/4-acre lots, 3-acre lots, 4000-acre ranches, or countries. If I wish to keep people off my property, my property rights trump their right to free and open travel. I can and do show my support of open travel by allowing people to cross my land to get to their land, or to get to their friend's land, but they do it on MY terms - not on their own. On a national scale, there IS a place for border crossings, and it is NOT anti-liberty or unreasonable to tell people that they have to come through my front door and not a window, the roof, or a hole in the wall that shouldn't be there.

Yet, I do have a moral obligation NOT to impede free travel, even across borders, even if there is some small chance of inconvenience, or even a remote chance of harm to me and mine. When I show hospitality to a stranger, there is always a chance that I have invited a viper into my bosom, and it is reasonable and moral to take precautions against that, and my hospitality does NOT have to extend to those who threaten to do harm to me, whether it is stealing from me, conning me, attacking me, or plotting to steal something from me. Again, that said, a good fence HAS to be coupled with a good policy allowing for freedom of travel and other human rights. Congress is unlikely to do that, making this attempt yet another in a long line of foolish and farcical acts - pure posturing that does not address the real problems.

THE HOME FRONT: Hole in proposed border fence?
New York Times
"If the [border] fence is built, however, it could have a long gap - about 75 miles - at one of the border's most vulnerable points because of opposition from the Indian tribe here. More illegal immigrants are caught - and die trying to cross into the United States - in and around the Tohono O'odham Indian territory, which straddles the Arizona border, than any other spot in the state. Tribal leaders have cooperated with Border Patrol enforcement, but they promised to fight the building of a fence out of environmental and cultural concerns. For the Tohono O'odham, which means "desert people," the reason is fairly simple. For generations, their people and the wildlife they revere have freely crossed the border. For years, an existing four-foot-high cattle fence has had several openings - essentially cattle gates - that tribal members use to visit relatives and friends, take children to school and perform rites on the other side."

The Tohono O'odham (better known by their English name, Papago) are the people that should have the say - if they are willing to extend hospitality to the wetbacks passing though their country. However, the article goes on to describe the increasing problem that the Tohono O'odham have with these travelers robbing and abusing their unwilling hosts.

THE HOME FRONT: Gonzales wants Internet records saved
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Tuesday that Congress should require Internet providers to preserve customer records, asserting that prosecutors need them to fight child pornography. Gonzales and FBI Director Robert Mueller have met with several Internet providers, including Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Comcast Corp., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Communications Inc. ... Testifying to a Senate panel, Gonzales acknowledged the concerns of some company executives who say legislation might be overly intrusive and encroach on customers' privacy rights. But he said the growing threat of child pornography over the Internet was too great." (09/19/06)

"It's for the children" is one of those top-ten lies used for the taking of liberty and for the expansion of government. There is no evidence of there being any "growing threat" associated with child porn (which is a nasty business, admittedly, WHEN it is properly defined - which it usually is NOT in 21st Century America) and no evidence that violating people's and company's privacy would do anything effective to combat it - or that ANYTHING government can do to combat it will really make a bit of difference.

THE HOME FRONT: Pentagon- Secret unit couldn't stop 9/11
Winston-Salem Journal
"A Pentagon report rejects the idea that intelligence gathered by a secret military unit could have been used to stop the Sept. 11 hijackings. The Pentagon inspector general's office said Thursday that a review of records from the unit, known as Able Danger, found no evidence it had identified ringleader Mohamed Atta or any other terrorist who participated in the 2001 attacks." (09/21/06)

This claim has attained the status of an urban legend, but few people are going to believe this latest Pentagon report is anything but an attempt to cover up.

THE HOME FRONT: States say new IDs could cost billions
Anderson Herald Bulletin
"New federal security rules for issuing driver's licenses could cost $11 billion to implement, raising concerns among states about paying for the changes, according to a national survey of states released Thursday. 'There's no question that state legislators believe driver's licenses should be as secure as is possible,' said William Pound, executive director of the National Conference of State Legislatures which helped conduct the survey. 'The $11 billion question is, 'Who's going to pay for it?'" (09/21/06)

While I don't mind using every tool at hand to fight tyrannical enactments like this, concentrating just on costs and cost-benefit ratios while ignoring the essential truth that this is an attack on a basic human liberty is foolish and ultimately self-defeating, since we all know that the taxpayer ultimately foots the bill, paying for tyranny's tools.

THE HOME FRONT: GA- Immigration raids on residents
Yahoo! News
"Trailer parks lie abandoned. The poultry plant is scrambling to replace more than half its workforce. Business has dried up at stores where Mexican laborers once lined up to buy food, beer and cigarettes just weeks ago. This Georgia community of about 1,000 people has become little more than a ghost town since Sept. 1, when federal agents began rounding up illegal immigrants. ... More than 120 illegal immigrants have been loaded onto buses bound for immigration courts in Atlanta, 189 miles away. Hundreds more fled Emanuel County. Residents say many scattered into the woods, camping out for days. ... Federal agents also swarmed into a trailer park operated by David Robinson. Illegal immigrants were handcuffed and taken away. Almost none have returned. Robinson bought an American flag and posted it by the pond out front -- upside down, in protest. ... Crider President David Purtle said the agents began inspecting the company's employment records in May. They found 700 suspected illegal immigrants, and supervisors handed out letters over the summer ordering them to prove they came to the U.S. legally or be fired. Only about 100 kept their jobs. The arrests started at the plant Sept. 1. Over the Labor Day weekend, agents with guns and bulletproof vests converged on workers' homes after getting the addresses from Crider's files." (09/15/06)

Compare this to the raid at Buckley AFB in Colorado in the next story.

THE HOME FRONT: Illegal immigrants building gov't projects
Denver Post
Buckley Air Force Base - Black-clad federal immigration agents surrounded a military housing construction site at sunrise Wednesday and arrested 120 illegal workers from Mexico and Central America within a mile of top-secret global surveillance and missile early-warning facilities. This was a matter of national security, federal agents said, because only a fence separated the unauthorized immigrants from a crucial military listening post. The immigration raid ranked among the biggest in state history. Federal agents loaded most of the workers onto buses bound for the U.S.-Mexico border for deportation, and supervisors vowed to hold military contractors who employed the workers accountable.

Gee, you think this might be a problem?

Mama's Note: I'd like to hear someone explain how rounding up and destroying the lives of these people has anything to do with stopping those who would rob, vandalize and otherwise harm others. The people who want to work and live quietly are in the vast majority, but they are invariably the ones damaged by all of this "enforcement" the most, not the violent or destructive. Why not concentrate on those who harm others and leave everyone else alone?

THE HOME FRONT: Economists- Illegals have little impact on prices
Seattle Times
"More than 7 million illegal immigrants work in the United States. They build houses, pick crops, slaughter cattle, stitch clothes, mow lawns, clean hotel rooms, cook restaurant meals and wash the dishes that come back. You might assume that the plentiful supply of low-wage illegal workers would translate into significantly lower prices for the goods and services they produce. In fact, their impact on consumer prices -- call it the 'illegal-worker discount' -- is surprisingly small. The bag of Washington state apples you bought last weekend? Probably a few cents cheaper than it otherwise would have been, economists estimate. That steak dinner at a downtown restaurant? Maybe a buck off. ... The underlying reason, economists say, is that for most goods the labor -- whether legal or illegal, native- or foreign-born -- represents only a sliver of the retail price." [Editor's note: I don't know about you, but a few cents per item of produce or a buck either way on a restaurant dinner aren't chump change to me, even assuming that the economists are considering all of the relevant variables - TLK] (09/19/06)

Tom's comments hit home with me - I get angry with the various phone companies every time I hear the stupid busy recording "for a nominal fee of ninety-five cents" - sorry, I'm no depression baby, but $0.95 is not "nominal" to me - it is often the price of a meal, and 10 miles of freedom (1/3 the price of gasoline, currently, at 30 mpg). Still, the point can be made that cheap labor does NOT result in cheap prices - and the other costs associated are often far higher.

Mama's Note: Cheaper prices make all of our lives better, especially the poor among us. I suspect that the "other costs" are all due to the welfare state and would vanish easily if they were eliminated. Then the price of everything could fall while the quality of our lives would be improved. Just think of the standard of living for all of those willing to work, if they were not robbed blind to pay for welfare!!

OUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: FL - Judge scolded for ethics violations
Modesto Bee
"A judge who admitted to 14 ethics violations, including unconstitutionally ordering a probationer to go to church, was scolded Monday by the Florida Supreme Court. 'Your behavior is unacceptable,' Chief Justice R. Fred Lewis told the accused, Circuit Judge Richard Albritton Jr. 'It's a stain on all of us.'" (09/18/06)

Gee - it must be a pretty bad stain, considering all the ones the other judges in Florida have - they never saw a freedom they didn't want to steal, a life they didn't want to "save," or a dollar they didn't want in their own pocket.

Mama's Note: Guess they'll have to quit mandating that drunks join AA...

OUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: Clinton theft continues
Denver Post
A federal judge today reinstated the "Roadless Rule," a Clinton-era ban on road construction in nearly a third of national forests. U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Laporte ruled that the Bush administration failed to conduct necessary environmental studies before making changes that allowed states to decide how to manage individual national forests. The 2001 rule prohibits logging, mining and other development on 58.5 million acres in 38 states and Puerto Rico, but the Bush administration replaced it in May 2005 with a process that required governors to petition the federal government to protect national forests in their states.

This allows a long-standing theft by government to continue once more unabated. It also ignores the authority of states to control what goes on inside their borders - but what's new?

OUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: CA- Reporters to be jailed for protecting source
MSNBC
"Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters were ordered jailed Thursday for a maximum 18 months, pending an appeal, for refusing to testify about who leaked them secret grand jury testimony from Barry Bonds and other elite athletes. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada published a series of articles and a book based partly on the leaked transcripts of the testimony of Bonds, Jason Giambi and others before a grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, a Burlingame-based nutritional supplement company exposed as a steroid ring two years ago." (09/21/06)

Either a liberty exists, or it does not; clearly in the eyes of this particular black-robed tyrant, freedom of the press does NOT exist. I'm sure the 9th Circuit Court (see the next article) would agree.

OUR IMPERIAL COURTS OF INJUSTICE: 9th Circuit repeals 1st Amendment
Wichita Eagle
"Government libraries can block religious groups from worshipping in public meeting rooms, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The decision came from a case involving the Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries, a Christian group which won a court order allowing them to hold a 'prayer, praise and worship' service in meeting rooms open to other groups at a Contra Costa County library branch. A federal judge said it had a First Amendment right of religion to use the public's facilities. But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that ruling in a 2-1 decision. 'Prohibiting Faith Center's religious worship services from the Antioch meeting room is a permissible exclusion of a category of speech,' Judge Richard Paez ruled." (09/20/06)

I've always subscribed to a theory of "organizational personality" and clearly the 9th Circuit Court is a hideous example of that theory: the 9th never met a liberty that it couldn't abolish, a freedom that it couldn't warp into meaningless privilege, a government power that it couldn't enhance.

Mama's Note: The obvious answer is to abolish "government property" altogether. Private property can be used for whatever the owner wishes... or should.

MAINSTREAM MEDIA FOLLIES: Iraq - US abducts, holds AP photographer
Hickory Daily Record
"The U.S. military in Iraq has imprisoned an Associated Press photographer for five months, accusing him of being a security threat but never filing charges or permitting a public hearing. Military officials said Bilal Hussein, an Iraqi citizen, was being held for 'imperative reasons of security' under United Nations resolutions. AP executives said the news cooperative's review of Hussein's work did not find anything to indicate inappropriate contact with insurgents, and any evidence against him should be brought to the Iraqi criminal justice system." (09/17/06)

Well, I am sure that it will surprise (and shock!) my readers to discover that the Mainstream Media, even the soi-distant Hickory Daily Record, is flat-out lying about this guy. First, it was known within HOURS that this man had been arrested in an insurgent safehouse surrounded by known and wanted insurgents and all kinds of weapons - and AP knew about it in April, refused to comment on it to other news services in April and May, and did NOT suddenly "discover" that this Iraqi was held - as are most, without charges - as a prisoner. You don't hold "public hearings" or file "charges" against enemy soldiers captured in battle or anywhere near the battle!

Mama's Note: Well, this is not a real (declared and just) "war," and the lines between civilians and "soldiers" is blurred at best. The tendency of the media to lie and sensationalize everything is certainly no help, but the situation is not at all clear, even when that is understood. The fact that the government lies about everything and engages in propaganda constantly is certainly no incentive to believe any of them about anything. A pox on all their houses.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES-Afghanistan: NATO hails Afghan offensive as "success"
Elmira Star-Gazette
"NATO said Sunday that its two-week offensive in south Afghanistan was a 'significant success' that had driven Taliban insurgents from their positions and opened the way for development. But violence was unabated, with suicide bombers killing two civilians and wounding six soldiers. Militants also took control of a district in the west of the country after chasing away the police, an official said, in an apparent attempt to open a new front." (09/17/06)

My grandmother would call this "whistling in the dark." At the same time, continued violence does not mean that they aren't right: consider a similar pronouncement about the success of the D-Day invasion in 1944 being pooh-poohed because "the Nazis still occupy Norway, Denmark, Holland and Belgium and yet you, General Eisenhower, claim that Normandy is a 'significant success.'"

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES: Iran's president says Bush pushing for war
MSNBC
"President Bush's policies in the Middle East are 'moving the world toward war,' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday, maintaining that Iran was a peaceful nation that merely wanted to be left alone to 'stand on its [own] feet.' 'The U.S. government thinks that it's still the period after World War II,' Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of 'NBC Nightly News,' a mindset that led Bush to believe that he 'can rule, therefore, over the rest of the world.'" (09/19/06)

Which mindset is better - Bush's "rule the world" one or Ahmadinajad's Iranian "win the world for Allah with a sword" one? Thank you, I don't think I'll take either one, especially not since neither of them can be bothered to tell the truth: Iran is no more "peaceful" and "wanting to be left alone" than the US or China.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES-IRAQ: Over 20,000 American Troops Injured In Iraq
Space War. Com
The trends in U.S. casualties suffered in Iraq through August continued into September. The rate at which U.S. troops were being killed continued to slowly fall, but the rate at which injuries were suffered, including serious ones, continued to rise. And since the beginning of this month, U.S. Casualties in the war have passed another grim benchmark: More than 20,000 U.S. Troops have now been wounded while serving in Iraq.

It is not that modern combat is any less lethal - it is that our ability to save lives has greatly increased (thanks in large part to the trauma centers of major American urban areas dealing with automobile accidents). And in the nature of IED and rockets and missiles, wounding is more likely to be moderate in the first.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES-Iraq: Sunnis reject federation, big attack
LA Daily News
"A series of attacks -- including two suicide car bombings -- in the northern city of Kirkuk Sunday killed 24 people and wounded dozens, police said. In political developments, Iraq's second-largest Sunni Arab party rejected a proposed bill that would pave the way for Iraq to become a federated nation, saying it would divide the country." (09/17/06)

Duh! That is the entire idea - if each of Iraq's factions can enjoy the same degree of autonomy as the different ethnic/linguistic communities in Switzerland, there might be hope for the country.

Mama's Note: But, but, some of them would have to give up power over the others, and few political entities can tolerate that at all! Far better to have them all go on killing each other endlessly than to chance that nasty "peace" breaking out to spoil the lovely central government plans. Oh no, not going to happen.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES-Iraq: Chief judge replaced in Saddam trial
USA Today
"The chief judge in Saddam Hussein's genocide trial has been replaced, the Iraqi government spokesman's office confirmed Tuesday. There was no immediate word on who would take over from Judge Abdullah al-Amiri. The government spokesman's office confirmed the change without giving details. The Arab television stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera said al-Amiri was replaced at the request of the Iraqi prime minister. Prosecutors had asked for al-Amiri to be replaced after he allowed Saddam to lash out at Kurdish witnesses." (09/19/06)

No, the accused's rights do NOT include the right to threaten or attack, physically or verbally, a witness. Is this reason to replace the judge? Perhaps. Sadly the real problem here is that Saddam is being tried by a very, very flawed system of "Islamic Justice" (certainly in the running for being an oxymoron - much more so than the American system of either military OR civilian justice) that will likely not render a good and proper judgment on a mass murderer and thug.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES-Iraq: General - US may boost forces in Iraq
Fremont Tribune
"The U.S. military is likely to maintain and may even increase its force of more than 140,000 troops in Iraq through next spring, the top American commander in the region said Tuesday in one of the gloomiest assessments yet of when troops may come home. Gen. John Abizaid, commander of the U.S. Central Command, said military leaders would consider adding troops or extending the Iraq deployments of other units if needed. Until sectarian violence spiked early this year, Bush administration officials had voiced hopes that this election year would see significant U.S. troop reductions in what has become a widely unpopular war." (09/19/06)

This is an almost immediate turnaround from what was said earlier in the week.

MIDDLE EAST TARBABIES: Pakistan leader says US made threats
Mansfield News Journal
"President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan says the United States threatened to bomb his country back to the Stone Age after the 9-11 attacks if he did not help America's war on terror. Musharraf says the threat was delivered by Richard Armitage, then the deputy secretary of state, to Musharraf's intelligence director, the Pakistani leader told CBS-TV's 60 Minutes." (09/21/06)

Sounds about right -and a good many people certainly wish both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had enjoyed this sort of attention. "If you are not for me, you are against me" only works if you are able to tell who really is for you.

North American Union: Mexico - Obrador creates "parallel government"
Independent [UK]
"The uncertainty over Mexico's political future has taken a new twist after supporters of the defeated presidential candidate elected him to lead a 'parallel' government that will spend the next six years opposing the man who won the election. By a show of hands, hundreds of thousands of supporters of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador voted for the former mayor of Mexico City to head the alternative government that will oppose the administration of the president-elect, Felipe Calderon. Suitably enough, the vote was taken in the central plaza, or Zocalo, which has been home to his campaign for many months." (09/18/06)

This was heralded for weeks, and has now indeed come to pass - one more big step towards Civil War.

Mama's Note: What Mexico doesn't need is ANOTHER socialist government, but maybe this will provide new entertainment for the folks who hate "illegal" immigrants. They'll have a LOT more "immigrants" to hate just as soon as this war heats up. War of any kind is bad for the economy, and the economy of Mexico has been very bad for a long time... sort of why all those folks want to come north in the first place! And good luck trying to "deport" thousands of people into a war zone. The US border states only THOUGHT they had problems before.

The 2006 Political Campaigns: Dems pin hopes on candidate who's no liberal
San Francisco Chronicle
"To win back the Senate in November, Democrats need a victory here by a candidate who voted for the war in Iraq, opposes same-sex marriage, backed a ban on a form of late-term abortion, wants to cut the estate tax and would allow prayer in schools. Rep. Harold Ford Jr., a 36-year-old Memphis, Tenn. Democrat and charismatic black politician who has been compared to a young Bill Clinton, is a far cry from Nancy Pelosi -- in fact, he challenged her for minority leader in 2002, claiming the San Francisco congresswoman was too liberal. But Democrats nationwide now see Ford as a candidate who offers a prime opportunity for the party to win one of six seats they need to regain control of the Senate. Recent polls show Ford running even with Republican Bob Corker in the race to succeed Senate GOP Leader Bill Frist." [Editor's note: They also have as his competitor one of the more troglodytic GOP opponents since Strom and Jesse passed on, so Ford is indeed the "more liberal" of the two - SAT] (09/17/06)

Of course, Harold Ford is a thug and the relative of thugs - hmm, just like Bill Clinton, eh? (Although I don't know if he is also married to a thug.) Charismatic he may be, but his stench is every bit as foul as any that Hugo Chavez claims that W has: corrupt, nepotistic, power- and money-hungry, and just plain no good.

The 2006 Political Campaigns: CA- Church may fight IRS summons
Los Angeles Times
"A liberal Pasadena church facing an IRS investigation over alleged politicking sounded a defiant note Sunday, with its leaders and many congregants saying the probe amounted to an assault on their constitutional rights and that they were inclined to defy the agency's request for documents. 'These people are offended,' said the Rev. Ed Bacon, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, after delivering an impassioned sermon about the investigation to a standing-room-only crowd of about 900. 'Freedom of speech and freedom of religion have been assaulted by this act of the IRS, and I think my people want to be heard in court.'" (09/18/06)

Oh? The liberals fighting for the right for religions to "interfere" in government? Shocking! Seriously, conservative religious groups need to support this church in its fight, to the bitter end, because ultimately, the IRS doesn't care what your political views are - just that they want the money.

Mama's Note: I suspect that people who wish to belong to and support these large organizations will continue to be targets in this mini civil war. The obvious answer seems to be to eliminate the tax status altogether and leave everyone alone to their own politics as well as their religion. Those who don't want to pay the taxes can certainly meet with like minded people in homes and save the overhead as well. A 10 million dollar cathedral is not necessary to do the work of the Lord... and might well be counterproductive in more ways than one.

The 2006 Political Campaigns: Democrats - Medicare drug program bewildering, costly
CNN
"Democrats say failed Republican policies are behind rising Medicare premiums that are leaving millions of older Americans scrambling for basic health care. Democrat Chris Murphy, a Connecticut state senator who is challenging 12-term Republican Rep. Nancy Johnson, criticized the GOP for failing to embrace the reforms needed to give seniors a break from increased health care costs." (09/17/06)

Doesn't this smell just a bit hypocritical? After all, the Demos had a tremendous amount of influence over this legislation and came up with the twisted program in the first place.

Mama's Note: Too bad more people don't realize that the high costs are the result of government interventions in the first place. The more they give some people "a break," the more the whole thing will cost everyone - and the poorer the health care. Good professionals are leaving medicine in droves. Eventually, real care won't be available at any price until government is removed from the equation.

The 2006 Political Campaigns: AZ - Elections a test for US debate
Arizona Republic
"Two hotly contested races for Congress in Arizona are shaping up to be a referendum on how to curb illegal immigration. Immigration alone won't determine the winners in the Valley district now represented by Republican J.D. Hayworth and the one in southern Arizona where GOP Congressman Jim Kolbe is retiring. But the Republican candidates in each race are pushing tough immigration reform heavily while Democrats take a more moderate stance. Coming from a state greatly affected by illegal immigration, Arizona's choices could influence efforts to reconcile competing immigration measures passed by the House and Senate. If immigration does give a victory to the GOP hard-liners, it would be the first time a get-tough approach has been such a powerful force in a federal election, a Washington, D.C.-based policy analyst says." (09/21/06)

Immigration policy has been made into a partisan tool, thanks to the efforts of both the GOP and the Democratic Party, and so this fits more into the category of self-fulfilling prophesy than a true prediction. Nationally, the idea that Arizona can set the policy for the entire nation is as silly as saying that national presidential elections are dictated by early primaries in tiny little states like New Hampshire. Silly - but sadly true.

The 2006 Political Campaigns: Boston- Precincts uncounted in Senate race
Boston Globe
"The Boston Election Department said yesterday that poll workers inadvertently failed to count the write-in votes in eight city precincts in Tuesday's primary, the latest embarrassment for an agency under federal oversight to make sure voters with limited English skills are not improperly coerced and have enough election information. Late yesterday afternoon, a Suffolk Superior Court judge ordered that all 2,500-plus ballots from those eight precincts be unsealed and all write-in votes be counted today at City Hall to determine the winner of the state Senate race between incumbent Dianne Wilkerson and challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz." (09/21/06)

Doesn't this smell fishy? "Inadvertently" failed to do a basic part of their job in EIGHT precincts? I also like their legal hairsplitting: there is apparently "improper" coercion, which implies that there is "proper" coercion which IS allowed? Ah, the delights of votin' in a new massa are so many!

More News and Commentary Page 2 -- Our right to defend ourselves and other good stuff.

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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