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Libertarian Commentary on the News, 07 - 13 October, 2007 (Page I)
Our right
of self defense:
Medford,
OR: Teacher seeks rights
CBS News
High school English teacher Shirley Katz insists she needs to take
her pistol with her to work because she fears her ex-husband could show
up and try to harm her. She's also worried about a Columbine-style attack.
But Katz's district has barred teachers from bringing guns to school,
so she is challenging the ban as unlawful, since Oregon is among states
that allow people with a permit to carry concealed weapons into public
buildings.
Sadly,
many states do NOT “allow” CCW in public buildings, leaving
them vulnerable to attack. More, many more, actions like this teacher
is taking are needed in every state. At least in Michigan, one legislator
is trying to fix this problem, as the story below relates.
Mama's
Note: While I agree, Nathan, I think that if she is willing to continue
to go into that place unarmed, then she's not really that serious about
it. I doubt the problem is going to go away as long as we beg government
to "allow" us to defend ourselves. When people stop groveling
and take serious steps to simply carry out their basic rights as human
beings, this nonsense will go away.
Our right
of self defense:
MI:
Is it time to arm teachers?
County Press
“Could arming teachers make schools safer? ‘I think it’s
probably a good idea. If the criminal element knows there is no protection
in the schools, then it’s a prime spot to target,’ said Joe
Oberlee, president of the Oakland County Sportsmen’s Club. A bill
introduced in the state House would allow teachers, administrators and
other employees to carry concealed pistols on public school property,
if authorized by the superintendent. Additional training could also be
required for those seeking authorization. ‘If your kid was in the
school and there was a bad guy headed for the door, wouldn’t you
like somebody to be in there who could stop that guy? …’ Oberlee
said. Three Lapeer County school superintendents are against the gun bill.”
(10/07/07)
PAST TIME!!!
This Wednesday, listening to the latest of a long series of disgruntled
students taking guns into their school and shooting to kill hated students,
teachers, and administrators, it is obvious that all the prohibition does
is set schools up as targets for the insane.
Mama's
Note: It's too easy to lose sight of the fact that the same is true for
any place where people are forced to be disarmed victims. The "schools"
just get a lot more publicity than most of the rest of them.
Our right
of self defense:
UT: Man shot in
face during jewelry store robbery
Salt Lake Tribune
“Salt Lake City police are investigating a robbery that left a
man with three gunshot wounds, including one to the face. … Police
were dispatched to a robbery that escalated into a shooting at the business.
Authorities believe the suspect entered the store and got into an altercation
with the victim. Both men eventually pulled guns and ’several’
gunshots were fired, Brede said. ‘There are four holes in the wall
within the store,’ Brede said. Police believe the suspect also may
have been wounded in the exchange. Investigators recovered a handgun and
several spent bullet casings, Brede said.” (10/07/07)
Sadly,
the good guy doesn’t always win in firefights like this.
Mama's
broken record: Training, training, practice, practice... I wonder how
long it had been since the victim picked up his gun or how much training
he'd had with it to start with...
Our right
of self defense:
MI: Grand Rapids
business owner shoots intruder
WOOD TV News
“About 12:30 a.m. Monday, people who live in apartments above
the photography shop heard breaking glass and a popping sound, and called
911. Detectives say, a man smashed the front window to get in, waking
up the business owner, who lives just behind the shop. The intruder confronted
the owner, the owner then shot the intruder, who was dying on the floor
when police got on scene. Captain Jeffrey Hertel of the Grand Rapids Police
Department says, ‘when officers arrived, the individual was inside
the business, lying inside the front door. There’s broken glass,
so there’s some indication there was some type of break-in.’”
(10/08/07)
As Mama
pointed out, “some indication” is definitely an indication that
the police department is clueless about both their duties and public information.
Sadly, too many cops don’t want to admit that their job is all too
often done much better by the homeowners and business owners protecting
themselves and their property.
Our right
of self defense:
FL: Clerks chase off robbers
MyFox
“In the video, Nasief is helping a customer when suddenly he’s
starring [sic] into the barrel of a gun. ‘By the time I turned my
back to the customer I saw a suspect come in with a .38 gun waving it
at me and said open the cash register. So I said ‘okay calm down
let me give you the cash,” said Nasief. The gunman cleans out one
register and then demands cash from the second one. As the armed suspect
bolts out the door, Nasief’s cousin fires one shot. Nasief also fires
shots as he runs out of the store, but the armed robber gets away. …
Nasief says despite this latest robbery, it will be business as usual.
‘The next time, he’s not going to get away. We’re going
to be here and we’re going to open for business everyday,’ said
Nasief.” (10/06/07)
As was
all too often the case last week, here again we have an example of using
a gun that is NOT self-defense. The robbery was already done – the
suspect was NOT threatening the two workers as he was running away. And
Nasief’s attitude stinks: it is one thing to say that “he isn’t
going to rob us again,” but he is threatening revenge against the
crook, not self-defense.
Our right
of self defense:
FL: Man shoots neighbor in self-defense
WCJB News
“A Gainesville man is shot to death and deputies say his neighbor
is responsible, but he isn’t facing any charges. Alachua County deputies
say 33-year-old John Wilds shot 42-year-old Robert Aden in the chest while
they were at Wilds home. Wilds and a witness told deputies that Aden tried
to forcefully enter Wilds home, and even broke off the front door’s
handle. Wilds then grabbed his 22 caliber handgun, told Aden to leave,
and fired a warning shot in the air. Aden then came at Wilds with his
fists clenched and shouting obscenities. Fearing for his life, Wilds shot
Aden in the chest.” (10/06/07)
This IS
a clear case of self-defense. And it ended in the right way.
Mama's
Note: My only argument is that, if the shooter truly felt his life was
threatened, he had no business with the stupid "warning shot."
If the threat is immediate enough to justify the use of deadly force,
that threat needs to be stopped fast. A "warning shot" indicates
to me that the threat was not that immediate and it is quite possible
that the other man then felt HIS life was threatened and therefore attacked
- stupid as that might for someone unarmed in the face of a gun. Since
one of them is dead - amazing with a .22, actually - we'll never know
what his motives or impression was.
Our right
of self defense:
Judge
Nixes Oklahoma Law on Guns in Locked Cars
CNS News
A federal judge in Tulsa has blocked an Oklahoma law allowing employees
to keep guns in their locked cars on company property. In a written order
issued last Thursday, U.S. District Judge Terence Kern issued a permanent
injunction against the law that was passed in 2004. Kern said the law
conflicted with the federal Occupational Health and Safety Act, which
is intended to protect employees in the workplace. Gun control advocates
cheered the judge's ruling, but others said the ruling will erode employees'
self-defense capabilities.
I am somewhat
conversant with OSHA, and I right off hand I can’t think of a single
part of the law that would invalidate this state law. But not, obviously,
in the eyes of this Nazgul, who must have done some very creative interpretation
of the law.
Mama's
Note: I've read a lot about this controversy and don't really understand
the question. If a private property owner didn't want guns on his property,
that's his right. If he doesn't want people to park their cars on his
property with guns in them, that's also his right. If he's in business,
he might not be too successful, of course. If someone insisted on working
for him anyway, and also insisted on keeping his gun in the car, why couldn't
he park somewhere else? That would seem to solve both problems. Of course,
then he would be at risk for having the car broken into and the gun stolen,
but that's another issue. In any case, it is not properly the business
of government at any level.
Our right
of self defense:
PA: Man kicked out of home, returns
with gun, shot
Pittsburgh Channel
“A young man was wounded by gunfire while he shot and killed an
intruder at a home in Pittsburgh’s Homewood area Tuesday morning,
according to homicide detectives. … Pittman had entered the home
without being invited and was told to leave, then came back with a gun
and started shooting at James Hill, 19, police said. Hill fired a gun
and shot Pittman, who was able to run away but eventually died from his
injuries, police said.” (10/09/07)
Some people
just don’t think. “Stupidity is the only capital crime.”
Mama's
Note: How did the intruder get in either time? Doesn't anybody lock their
doors anymore? That's REALLY stupid.
Our right
of self defense:
PA: Intruder
shot, killed
Post Gazette
“Ronnell E. Pittman, 32, was hit in the chest in a shoot-out around
2:40 a.m. after he entered a residence in the 1500 block of North Murtland
Avenue, Pittsburgh homicide detectives said. The other gunman, James R.
Hill, 18, who was at the residence with his grandmother and other relatives,
was wounded in the foot. Mr. Hill was awaiting arraignment yesterday on
a weapons violation. Investigators said he has a felony conviction, possibly
as a juvenile, which precludes him from possessing a firearm. ….
Police said the trouble began around 2:30 a.m. when Mr. Pittman entered
the Murtland Avenue home uninvited. The occupants ordered him to leave,
but he returned a short time later with a semiautomatic pistol and began
shooting at Mr. Hill, Cmdr. Stangrecki said. …. “James, that’s
the same guy that was in the house. He’s got a gun,” she told
her grandson. At that moment, she said, Mr. Pittman opened fire. Bullets
sprayed her front porch. Mr. Hill pulled a pistol and returned fire, she
said.” (10/11/07)
Typical
for Pennsylvania. Felon or not, this man was defending his grandmother,
and now they intend to send him to prison. Even people who are convicted
have a God-given right to defend themselves and their families.
Mama's
Note: Same incident as above, but oh what a difference a word makes! The
word "felon" - regardless of the reason - makes the shooter
automatically the criminal here. I guess he should have just let Pittman
kill all of them without a whimper. Insanity.
Our right
of self defense:
CA: Cops take blame for violent May
Day protest
Raw Story
“The Los Angeles Police Department on Tuesday admitted it used
excessive force to disperse a May Day demonstration for immigration reform
that left dozens injured. In a report to the Los Angeles Police Commission,
police investigators said top ranking LAPD officers had ‘underestimated
the size and significance of the McArthur Park march,’ and their
men were not properly trained in crowd control. As the day wore on, there
was a breakdown in command” that left officers on the ground to their
own devices when they were pelted with bottles and rocks by protesters.”
(10/09/07)
Let us
see if there is anything more than a wrist slap involved. And it wasn’t
“crowd control,” that was the problem: it was police officers
who think that they are little tin gods and treat "civilians,"
and especially protesters, like they are scum and slaves. When people
are in a mob, they feel it is their opportunity to strike back at hated
oppressors.
Our right
of self defense:
Private
college orders mental evaluation for pro-gunner.
World Net Daily
A Christian church-affiliated university in St. Paul, Minn., has suspended
a student after he raised questions about the campus ban on concealed
weapons, and is ordering him to have a mental health evaluation before
he can resume his education. The Hamline University case involves student
Troy Scheffler, who, after the Virginia Tech massacre where a student
shot and killed nearly three dozen others, suggested the killing spree
might have been stopped if students had been allowed to carry concealed
weapons.
How the
rot has spread. Fortunately FIRE (www.fire.org) is taking action. This
is also a great place to plug the protest scheduled for 22-26 OCT in which
college students are asked to wear EMPTY holsters to symbolize how they
are disarmed and their lives are at greater risk because of state laws
and college policies that do not allow either open carry or concealed
carry on campus, and often not in dorms and frat houses. See separate
article.
Our right
of self defense:
IL:
County OKs measure to oppose gun control laws
Journal Gazette
“The Coles County Board on Tuesday gave its backing to a movement
to oppose gun control laws. The board voted 12-0 to adopt an advisory
resolution pledging it will ‘oppose the enactment of any legislation
that would infringe upon the rights of the people to keep and bear arms.
There was no board discussion on the matter other than member Marc Weber’s
introduction of and motion to adopt the resolution. Weber is chairman
of the board’s health and safety committee, which recommended the
resolution to the board. He said the statewide effort behind the resolution,
which has been adopted in more than 45 counties, came about because of
proposed legislation to eliminate shotguns.” (10/10/07)
What a
neat success, and in Illinois of all places.
Mama's
Note: Indeed... the tiger has changed his stripes? This will be one to
watch most carefully.
Our right
of self defense:
TX:
Armed homeowner catches suspects in the act
ABC 13 News
“A quick-thinking homeowner who happens to be an early riser may
be responsible for getting some crooks off the street. The man awoke early
this morning at his home in the Cinco Ranch subdivision. As he went to
feed the cats, he noticed the side door to the garage was open. Sheriff’s
deputies say Brian Bostic, 18, was inside a vehicle belonging to the homeowner’s
wife and Richard Holley, 20, was standing in front of the garage keeping
lookout. Before the suspects noticed him, the homeowner retrieved a 12
gauge shot gun. He then demanded they lie on the ground and detained the
suspects until deputies arrived on scene.” (10/11/07)
No shots
fired, but a man prepared to defend himself and his home did so.
Mama's
Note: Indeed! A shotgun doesn't have much range, and is a difficult weapon
to use in a tight spot, but somehow just the sight of one often turns
creeps into quivering jelly.
Our right
of self defense:
WA: Man swinging
bottle shot by driver at Highway 2 rest area
KOMO News
“Investigators say 66-year-old Dennis Shaw of Lynnwood and his
wife had stopped at the Nason Creek rest area 14 miles west of Leavenworth
where Kneer asked him for a ride. When Shaw refused, Kneer became angry,
followed Shaw to his car and struck his vehicle window with a glass bottle.
Shaw told investigators the attack continued when he pointed a handgun
at Kneer. Shaw says he fired in an attempt to scare Kneer and hit him
in the head.” (10/11/07)
Is this
reasonable self-defense? Maybe, because a bottle can be a deadly weapon.
But why didn’t he just drive off? And why didn’t he aim better
if he just wanted to “scare” him off?
Mama's
Note: If someone were hitting my car with a bottle, and obviously threatening
my family, there would be no nonsense about scaring him off. I would think
he'd drive off if he could. Shaw may have the idea that he'll be seen
as the aggressor if he doesn't claim to have wanted to scare the guy off.
Too bad.
Insanity,
culture wars, and the cult of personality:
Gore, IPCC win Nobel Peace Prize
Financial Times [UK]
“Al Gore, former US vice president, and the UN climate panel won
the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for raising awareness of the risks
of climate change. The Norwegian Nobel Committee chose Gore and the United
Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to share
the $1.5m prize from a field of 181 candidates.” (10/12/07)
Just when
I thought that the world wasn’t going to get more insane… Look,
I know that the Nobel prizes are rigged, biased, liberal to an amazing
degree, as proven by such luminous previous award-winners as Jimmy Carter
and Yasser Arafat, but still. This man and his obsession with a phenomenon
that is not even proven (to say nothing of the further claim that it is
human-caused), but which forms a perfect excuse to subject the human race,
possibly even the WHOLE human race, to a tyranny as never experienced
in 7,000 years of human history, is – now that I think about it,
a PERFECT winner of this perverted and twisted prize established by the
man who invented dynamite and could never recover from the guilt he felt
in giving all mankind (not just the “natural masters” of the
race) a useful tool to defeat tyranny and protect liberty. But still,
as one wag pointed out, if there were a Nobel prize for propaganda and
bad science, sure, Gore would win…
Mama's
Note: I've been pretty nauseated by the various winners of this "prize"
before, but Gore really takes the cake. How anyone on the planet is deluded
enough to think this man knows anything is quite beyond me.
Culture
war:
OR: Referendum effort fails to block
partnership law
Seattle Times
“State election officials say opponents failed to turn in enough
signatures to block Oregon’s domestic-partnership law for same-sex
couples. State elections officials reported Monday that the effort fell
116 valid signatures short of the 55,179 needed to suspend the law and
place it on the November 2008 ballot for a popular vote. That means that
as of Jan. 1, Oregon will join eight other states that have approved spousal
rights in some form for same-sex couples: Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, Maine, California, Washington and Hawaii. Massachusetts is
the only state that allows gay couples to marry.” (10/09/07)
I suppose
we should be surprised that in arguably the most liberal state in the
nation, that an effort would come so close to success. At the same time,
I would greatly question the count, if it is this close, and assume that
the petitioners will appeal. Of course, as events in Colorado and other
states have demonstrated in the past two decades, the ballot question
and a vote overturning the law might itself be overturned by the courts,
which have many reasons to further expand their powers by creating these
partnerships.
Mama's
Note: The real question is, why should personal, private relationships
and behavior be up for a vote, for any reason?
Culture
war:
UK:
Anti-homo remarks worse than rape
Daily Mail (UK)
Stirring up hatred against homosexuals is to become a serious crime
punishable with a seven-year jail sentence under a law announced last
night. The legislation - similar to laws already in force outlawing persecution
on religious or racial grounds - will make criminals of those who express
their views in ways that could lead to the bullying or harassment of gays.
The maximum sentence is longer than the average of around five years handed
to rapists. … The final decision over who has "crossed the line"
will rest with the police.
Insanity
reigns in Commons, obviously. If this law passes, most Christians will
be criminals. Of course, so will Muslims. Obviously the High Chancellor
intends that Britain be an equal-opportunity tyranny. Let me make it clear
that I would be prosecuted under this law: I believe that homosexuality
is wrong, sinful, and evil, and those who practice it are sinners and
should not be given any _special status_ or rights as a “minority”
based on what (regardless of genetic or psychological factors) is a behavior
and not an inherent characteristic, like skin color, handedness, or ethnic/national
origin. If such wish to engage in their practices, so long as they do
not attempt to force their beliefs or practices on others, that is their
choice, but they have to accept the consequences of their actions: liberty
must be coupled with responsibility.
Mama's
Note: The other problem is the tendency to grant "rights" for
specified behaviors, rather than to recognize the inherent sovereign right
to life and property of all men. The concurrent responsibility for the
life and property of each individual is also obscured in all the talk
about some behaviors and preferences. Then there is the real insanity
of failing to recognize the vast difference between talk and aggressive
action. They don't even overlap. Nobody can actually hurt your feelings
if you don't let them. Reaction is always a choice. And if someone uses
the talk as an excuse to engage in aggressive acts against another, that's
an individual choice as well and not the responsibility of the one who
was talking, however vile that talk may be.
Culture
wars:
Dear
Abby backs same-sex “marriage”
USA Today
For years, Dear Abby has made casual references to "sexual orientation"
and "respect." Now, she's ready to say it flatly: She supports
same-sex marriage." I believe if two people want to commit to each
other, God bless 'em," the syndicated advice columnist told the Associated
Press. "That is the highest form of commitment, for heaven's sake."
“You
get what you pay for.” Never truer than this free advice from Mrs.
Phillips, who clearly believes that if you call a tail a leg, a dog has
five legs.
Enviro
war:
SoCal: Farmers to face water woes
in 2009
Associated Press
“Officials of Southern California’s major water wholesaler
say deliveries to the region’s agricultural customers will be cut
by nearly a third next year and residents are likely to face rate hikes
in 2009 because of a statewide shortage. Utilities that serve residential
customers and are supplied by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California can expect price hikes between 5 percent and 10 percent in
2009, district spokesman Bob Muir said Monday. … The actions follow
an August court decision limiting outflow from the Sacramento-San Joaquin
Delta to protect an endangered fish species. The federal ruling came in
response to a 2005 lawsuit filed by the Natural Resources Defense Council.”
(10/09/07)
Denial
of water on this scale cannot help but have a great impact on the amount
of food produced, and therefore the supply of food, and not just in the
San Diego-Los Angeles area. NRDC must be pleased with themselves.
Mama's
Note: When EVERYONE in California (or anywhere else) pays the REAL market
price for water, regardless of the use, shortages will go away and water
will no longer be wasted. This includes those who think fish should have
more water than people. How
many of those city sized golf courses, or government "property"
with vast lawns, could keep the grass green if they paid the same water
rates as the poor folks in town? Not many...
Those
who think otherwise need to really learn about all of the special rates
and privileges given to politically favored groups, and the staggering
price paid by almost everyone else. Up until now, farmers were one of
these favored groups and everyone has paid for that in many ways. This
would be a good change, if it were not for government involvement. They,
of course, will make the very worst of it for everyone.
Enviro
war:
Sources: $4.6 billion settlement in
air pollution case
CNN
“In the largest environmental settlement in Justice Department
history, American Electric Power has agreed to install $4.6 billion in
equipment to sharply reduce emissions at coal-fired power plants in five
states, sources said. AEP, one of the nation’s largest power producers,
owns coal-fired plants in the Ohio River Valley. The record settlement
comes eight years after the Justice Department, headed by then-Attorney
General Janet Reno, filed suit alleging AEP and six other power companies
had ‘illegally released massive amounts of air pollutants for years.’”
(10/08/07)
Fortunately,
it appears that this massive amount will NOT simply go to fill the coffers
of government, but will actually do something constructive.
Enviro
war:
Australia
in giant wind farm plan
BBC News [UK]
“Plans to build Australia’s largest wind farm have been announced
by the German company Conergy. The project would involve installing about
500 turbines near the outback town of Broken Hill in New South Wales.
The Australian government wants renewable sources to generate 15% of the
country’s energy needs by 2020. The giant wind farm could generate
enough electricity for 400,000 homes and put quite a dent in Australia’s
greenhouse gas emissions.” (10/08/07)
Never mind
the benefits (or supposed benefits), the environists are opposed to this
because more power will be available to people.
Mama's
Note: The really sad thing is how few people have ANY idea how much pollution
is produced by more primitive living conditions! The REASON people adopted
electricity is the relative - and sometimes massive - reduction in overall
pollution, dirt and disease that has resulted, quite aside from the obvious
convenience. Did you ever wonder what the CO2 output was from a million
horses in New York City when they were the only operative power source
for transportation? The manure alone was a pollution nightmare in cities
of any size in the 1800s.
Those
who want others to abandon electric lights and heat need to spend a month,
preferably January, in a log cabin on a mountain with only a fireplace
and maybe a lamp made of a dish of deer fat with a rag for a wick... They'd
have a different perspective when they came out - if they survived.
Government-run,
theft-funded schools:
CO: Boulder
school officers commit “felonies”
World Net Daily (10/13/07)
A school district in Colorado is being asked to rein in administrators
because they have been confiscating and searching student cell phones,
transcribing the text messages they find. The warning is being delivered
to the Boulder, Colo., Valley School Board because of actions by administrators
at Monarch High School in Louisville. Such transcriptions have been finding
their way into students' disciplinary files, but the ACLU has written
the district to warn that such seizures are a felony under a Colorado
statute enacted to protect the privacy of telephone and electronic communications.
School officials brushed off the concerns.
Of course
they did – they are, like all government officials, above the law,
and have already demonstrated that in incident after incident. Funny,
though, how they scream about their “First Amendment rights”
and try to hide behind the Bill of Rights on so many other things. I hope
that this entire school administration gets to enjoy being handcuffed
and taken down to the courthouse to be arraigned, and enjoy being put
on trial for this abuse of power. Parents, wake up, your children are
at risk!!!
Mama's
Note: Have you ever read any of the text messages teens send to each other?
I think I'd rather be forced to memorize the IRS code. Why anyone would
want to do that, beyond some voyeuristic and control freak compulsion...
which of course, seems to be the driving force behind most government
school administrators these days.
Her Majesty’s
stupid service:
UK: Boy up on
terror charges for having wrong book
BBC News [UK]
“A British teenager who is accused of possessing material for
terrorist purposes has appeared in court. The 17-year-old, who was arrested
in the Dewsbury area of West Yorkshire on Monday, was given bail after
a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. It is alleged he had
a copy of The Anarchists’ Cookbook, containing instructions on how
to make homemade explosives. His next court hearing has been set for 25
October. The teenager faces two charges under the Terrorism Act 2000.
The first charge relates to the possession of material for terrorist purposes
in October last year.” (10/07/07)
How stupid:
TAC has been available literally for decades, and on-line for at least
15 years.
Mama's
Note: And, according to some who should know, it's not even particularly
useful to any real "terrorist," especially since it's quite
out of date.
Home front
– Cops:
Chicago police to disband “elite”
squad of drug thugs
Lima News
“The Chicago Police Department will disband an elite drug and
gang unit under state and federal investigation for allegations ranging
from armed violence and home invasion to kidnapping and plotting a murder-for-hire,
officials said Tuesday. ‘The recent incidents involving officer misconduct
have been disheartening and demoralizing, especially to the officers who
serve this department honorably every single day,’ said interim Police
Superintendent Dana Starks.” (10/09/07)
It is,
of course, far too late for this to do any good. If Chicago were disbanding
its Police Department, that MIGHT be enough to end this crime spree.
Mama's
Note: I wouldn't bet my piggy bank that it won't be resurrected by some
other name or hidden altogether among the regular CPD thugs.
Home front
– cops:
LA: Police gambling thuggery versus
Seattle site owners
Casino Gambling Web
“Betcha.com never accepted a bet from any customer, but it did
allow members to bet each other and when a Louisiana state trooper successfully
made a bet on the site [site owner] Nick Jenkins was issued a warrant
for his arrest. … Jenkins, and two others who worked for Betcha.com,
voluntarily flew to Louisiana and turned themselves in to the police.
Josie M. Imlay and Peter M. Abrahamsen were the other two arrested along
with Jenkins. If convicted, the three men could face up to five years
in prison and fines of up to $20,000 each, State Police said.” [Editor’s
note: I wonder how many automobile accident victims died, how many women
were raped, and how many homes were burglarized so that police resources
could be misallocated for this dog and pony show. Visit Betcha.Com to
find out how you can help these guys fight for their — and your —
rights - TLK] (10/11/07)
Of course,
Tom, maybe this is keeping these cops from killing more people, as the
next story relates. Seriously, gambling is perhaps the most victimless
crime around, and the major victims are the governments which run their
own gambling operations and can’t tap these private revenue sources.
The only justification for law enforcement involvement in gambling is
to ensure that the games are honest, but since the cops usually aren’t,
then why should law enforcement be involved at all?
Home front
– cops:
Study: Police kill thousands of Americans
USA Today
“More than 2,000 criminal suspects died in police custody over
a three-year period, half of them killed by officers as they scuffled
or attempted to flee, the government said Thursday. The study by the Justice
Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics is the first nationwide
compilation of the reasons behind arrest-related deaths in the wake of
high-profile police assaults or killings involving Abner Louima and Amadou
Diallo in New York in the late 1990s.” (10/11/07)
As I pointed
out last week, the kind of “self-defense” which shoots down
a fleeing felon is no better than a cop: an illegal use of force that
is NOT self-defense.
Home front
– cops:
AZ: Alleged plot to kill Arpaio considered
dubious
Arizona Republic
“The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spent an estimated
$500,000 during the past six months protecting Joe Arpaio from an assassination
that supposedly was designed to cause a furor in the United States over
illegal immigration. The convoluted plot, reported to police by a paid
informant, purportedly involved members of the Minutemen border group
hiring a hit squad from a Mexican drug cartel and using an outspoken immigrant-rights
advocate as their intermediary. Sheriff’s officials now acknowledge
that virtually none of the information supplied by the source panned out.
According to the informant, Mexican nationals were to be blamed for the
killing, which was to be carried out by members of Los Zetas, an enforcement
arm of the smuggling organizations comprised mostly of former Mexican
police and soldiers.” (10/07/07)
Sounds
like both government AND people stupid tricks. And sounds like a Hollywood
thriller plot – the stupid, deserves-to-be-a-flop type.
Home front
– cops:
WI: Off-duty deputy sheriff kills
six
Naples Daily News
“An off-duty sheriff’s deputy went on a shooting rampage
early Sunday at a home where seven young people had gathered for pizza
and movies, killing six and critically injuring the other before authorities
fatally shot him, officials said. The gunman, Tyler Peterson, was 20 years
old and worked full-time as a Forest County deputy sheriff and part-time
as a Crandon police officer, said Police Chief John Dennee.”
(10/08/07)
This murdering
goon, unfortunately, seemed to be the only armed person present: if even
one person other than the uniformed butcher had been armed, the story
might have been much different (although likely ALL present would have
been charged as cop-killers). Later reports indicate that Peterson had
gone to make up with his girl friend, instead got into a new argument
with her, and was “mocked” by others present. This “peace
officer” then decided that the peace of the grave was suitable, and
played judge, jury, and executioner on his tormentors and former girl
friend. Unfortunately, he used an AR-15: as if an unarmed group could
have faired much better against a cop’s sidearm; but it will no doubt
be used to justify more restrictions on weapons. Actually, refusing to
allow immature, temperamental, animals like this to swagger around by
themselves in uniforms and armed to the teeth at the taxpayers’ expense
SHOULD be prohibited. Since that is unlikely, the best we can do is arm
as many potential victims of such goons as possible.
Home front:
GWU
Punishes Victims in Anti-Muslim Flier Flap, Group Says
CNSNews.com
George Washington University administrators are “on a rampage”
against a conservative student group over satirical anti-Muslim posters,
even though seven other (liberal) students admitted responsibility for
posting the fliers, a national organization charged on Wednesday...
Any excuse
for a pogrom, right? GWU obviously has studied in the Czarist School of
Political Compromise and Deceit. Clearly, if these “conservative
students” had not decided to hold the anti-Islamic event, then these
“innocent liberals” would not have been tempted (or even forced)
to create the parodies, and all would be peacefully diverse as GWU slides
into dhimmitude.
Home front:
States seek quick OK for medical help
in disaster
USA Today
“Laws aimed at breaking legal hurdles that prevented hundreds
of doctors and nurses from volunteering to help Hurricane Katrina victims
in 2005 are gaining momentum in states from Oregon to Pennsylvania. The
legislation would allow doctors, nurses, pharmacists, coroners, emergency
medical technicians and veterinarians who aren’t licensed in states
struck by disaster to get quick authorization to offer medical help.”
[Editor’s note: See the priority here? It’s not to actually
get the medical help. It’s to streamline “authorization”
for the medical help. Heaven forfend that any activity be removed from
the overall scheme of “politicians’ authorization required,”
even for an instant - TLK] (10/08/07)
Tom hits
the nail on the head. What is needed is very simple legislation at the
STATE level and local level. At the Statehouse: “In times of declared
emergency when quick response is necessary to save lives, help people
to heal quickly from injuries and illnesses, and prevent epidemics, recognizing
the right of individuals to accept medical care from a person of their
choosing especially in time of urgent need, all medical licensing rules
are suspended for the duration of the emergency in the area as identified
in the emergency declaration, and no civil or criminal action shall be
taken against any medical professional licensed in any other state or
jurisdiction in the united States of America for providing medical care
within the normal limitations of their out-of-state license.” And
at local levels, “Whereas the protection and safety of the people
of this [county, municipality, etc.] are of critical importance and the
primary purpose for the existence of this government, and whereas, we
cannot allow this responsibility to be overridden by unwise and improvident
state or federal laws or regulations, in times of declared emergency…”
and continue like the first.
Mama's
Note: Unfortunately, many - if not most - of those who would be up in
arms against such a proposal would be those who hold those licenses and
special privileges, the healthcare professionals and those who control
the vast "emergency response" industry, as well as the government
entities who employ many of them. They certainly don't want any competition,
and are firmly convinced that they alone can deal with any emergency if
only they can get enough loot out of the taxpayers.
Home front:
Military sees big decline in black
enlistees
Boston Globe
“African-Americans, whose long-standing relationship with the
US military helped them prove their abilities and offered a way to get
ahead, have turned away from the armed forces in record numbers since
2000, a period covering the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the
start of the Iraq war. Defense Department statistics show the number of
young black enlistees has fallen by more than 58 percent since fiscal
year 2000. The Army in particular has been hit hard: In fiscal year 2000,
according to the Pentagon statistics, more than 42,000 black men and women
applied to enlist; in fiscal year 2005, the most recent for which a racial
breakdown is available, just over 17,000 signed up.” (10/07/07)
How you
view this is almost certainly dictated by outside factors. For years,
liberals have decried large numbers of black enlistees as being proof
that blacks had too little opportunity in the civilian world, due to discrimination.
At the same time, they viewed the high percentage of blacks in military
service as a new form of ghetto and segregation. However, I question the
Globe’s interpretation based on a simple fact. FY 2000 ran from 1
OCT 1999 to 30 SEP 2000; FY 2001 ran from 1 OCT 2000 to 30 SEP 2001, ending
just 19 days after Bloody Tuesday; yet the drop in black enlistments began
in FY 2001: it STARTED almost a year before the attacks and more than
TWO years before the Iraq invasion. And of course, a decision NOT to enlist
is hardly “turning away” – they didn’t sign up and
then leave.
Mama's
Note: Maybe the fact that so many young black men are in prison might
have something to do with it. Sort of hard to enlist from jail...
Home front:
MO: Man could
face 30 years for stealing doughnut
Fox News
“A man who admits swiping a 52-cent doughnut from a Missouri convenience
store could be in big, big trouble. Authorities say he also shoved the
clerk who tried to stop him. Scott Masters has been charged with felony
second-degree robbery and, given his criminal record, he could land in
the clink for 30 years to life. Masters denies touching the female worker
in an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He calls being charged
with a strong-arm robbery over a doughnut ‘impossible.’ But
the police chief and the county prosecutor aren’t buying his version.
And they insist it’s not about the doughnut, but about the shove.”
(10/07/07)
If this
sounds like pre-Revolutionary France, that is only because it is. Keep
in mind this is the Saint Louis area, where cops post death threats against
guys who win lawsuits against them for police brutality.
Mama's
Note: Hmmm, maybe... but a "shove" is still aggression. The
aggressor owes the victim at least an apology. Sending the man to prison
would only punish the taxpayers, of course.
Home front:
1,313 gang members nabbed
MSNBC
“Federal agents arrested 1,313 violent gang members in a three-month
enforcement sweep across 23 cities from New York to San Diego, the government
announced Tuesday. Since 2005, law enforcement authorities have arrested
more than 7,500 gang members through a federally led strategy of enforcing
immigration laws to get violent gang members off the street.”
(10/09/07)
Are the
gang members really violent? Almost certainly they are: for one thing,
in many areas of the inner cities (and increasingly in the inner ring
of suburbs), they are an all-but-announced de facto alternative government,
doing many of the same things that the blue gangsters do.
Mama's
Note: Indeed they are, but will these sweeps and raids have any real affect
on the violence or the crime rate in those areas? No, they won't. Unfortunately,
there are more than enough young people growing up in those areas to replace
them many times over. The real cure, of course, is responsible self defense
by everyone who lives there, including the young people. The gangs would
melt away in the absence of vast numbers of unarmed victims and the various
official "wars" on drugs and guns, etc. It's a self feeding
nightmare of the most incredible proportions now.
Home front:
Auto worker
benefits beginning to wane
Christian Science Monitor
“Two labor strikes this fall have been short, but the outcome
is still tough for auto workers: After years of rising pay and benefits,
the tide has turned the other way. The next generation of United Auto
Workers will receive lower pay and benefits than their predecessors, judging
by the contracts reached or ratified this week. If there’s a big
pattern in the current round of auto-industry bargaining, that’s
it. Officially, pay cuts aren’t part of the deals. But the launch
of a two-tier system, offering many new hires lower wages, raises the
curtain on an era when overall pay will be lower.” (10/12/07)
The unions,
of course, have done this to themselves. Their greed (admittedly coupled
with stockholder and management greed) has all but destroyed the US auto
industry, and now the spongers are trying to cut their losses, by sponging
off the next generations.
Home front:
Bush pushes for telecom immunity
USA Today
“President Bush warned on Wednesday that a bill making its way
through Congress to extend the government’s surveillance authority
would ‘take us backward’ and that he would not sign it in its
present form. Bush said any bill must grant retroactive immunity to U.S.
telecommunications companies that allegedly helped conduct electronic
surveillance without court orders.” [Editor’s note: Guy
loves to have it both ways — “they weren’t doing anything
illegal, but they need to be pardoned” - TLK] (10/10/07)
Much as
I disagree with this bill and the current situation, it is not so much
that Bush wants it both ways, but that a belt and suspenders are necessary
because the law has become so complex that it is almost impossible to
figure out whether what ANYONE is doing is a violation of the law or not.
Such an immunity clause will likely greatly reduce the chance that individuals
will attempt to sue the companies for violation of our liberty, much less
the government.
Home front:
Carter: US tortures prisoners
CNN
“The United States tortures prisoners in violation of international
law, former President Carter said Wednesday. ‘I don’t think
it. I know it,’ Carter told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. ‘Our country
for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic principle of
human rights,’ Carter said.” (10/10/07)
If you
ever thought that the claims of “torture” were exaggerated (yes,
I know that there can be varying degrees of torture and that we can disagree
on whether a particular interrogation technique is torture, but…),
this little snippet of news shows you were right. Mr. Carter may deserve
some respect as a FORMER nuclear engineer, FORMER Naval officer, and FORMER
President, and even for his work in Habitat for Humanity, but his skills
barely extend beyond wielding a hammer now - and he is also dead wrong
about when the US abandoned “the basic principle of human right”
– one abandonment of that principle created the very society which
developed this warped former goon-in-chief: the bloody hand of Northern
Armies in Georgia in the War Between the States and the vicious petty
tyranny of Reconstruction.
Mama's
Note: One can argue all day about the relative motives of those involved
in the Civil War, but it would seem obvious that the government of neither
side had any real interest in protecting INDIVIDUAL rights and used every
cruel, inhuman practice imaginable. I wonder just how different things
would be today if the Confederates had won... I suspect not much.
Home front:
FEMA shifts, draws own disaster plans
Lufkin Daily News
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency is quietly drawing up
plans for a handful of disasters: devastating earthquakes beneath San
Francisco and St. Louis and catastrophic storms in South Florida and Hawaii,
FEMA’s chief said Thursday. In a departure from its traditional expectation
that states develop such responses, the agency is forming ‘base plans’
for responding to specific calamities, FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison
said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press.” (10/11/07)
If true,
this is completely contrary to the guidance being issued by DHS, as well
as past practice. And it is also a further threat to local populations
and their governments, as well as a violation of the protocols adopted
by every state in the Union and Congress.
Home front:
New scanner may replace metal detectors
Santa Cruz Sentinel
“The federal government will begin testing a body-scanning machine
that could eventually be used instead of the metal detectors passengers
walk through at airports. Tests were scheduled to begin Thursday at Phoenix
Sky Harbor International Airport with passengers pulled out of the security
line for secondary screening.” (10/11/07)
How thrilled
these passengers must have been at the special attention given to them!
To be part of the latest progressive step in better tyranny!
Home front:
Rash
of noose incidents
AP
“In the months since nooses dangling from a schoolyard tree raised
racial tensions in Jena, La., the frightening symbol of segregation-era
lynchings has been turning up around the country. Nooses were left in
a black Coast Guard cadet’s bag, at a Long Island police station
locker room, on a Maryland college campus, and, just this week, on the
office door of a black professor at Columbia University in New York. The
noose - like the burning cross - is a generations-old means of instilling
racial fear. But some experts suspect the Jena furor reintroduced some
bigots to the rope. They say the recent incidents might also reflect white
resentment over the protests in Louisiana.” (10/10/07)
As the
various colleges impose greater and greater limits on free speech in the
cause of “diversity” and “political correctness,”
normal avenues of expression are increasingly denied, and a certain savage
element of the population – even on the campuses – will turn
to more immoderate tactics to express their opinion. Funny how the noose
joins the robe, hood, burning cross, and Southern Cross as yet another
symbol of “evil.”
Inter-fedgov
war:
Leavitt seeks deal on children’s
health
Attleboro Sun Chronicle
“President Bush’s health secretary said Sunday he does not
expect Congress to override a veto on children’s insurance and warned
that the popular program could be at risk unless Democrats restrain spending.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Health and Human Services Secretary
Mike Leavitt said Bush would be willing to provide more than the $5 billion
increase over five years that he first proposed. He declined to say how
much additional money was possible.” (10/08/07)
Huh? The
PRESIDENT is willing to provide more money? I thought that the Congress
held the purse-strings, for good or bad (mostly bad these days). The Founding
Fathers saw the Executive as being the most likely spendthrift, but that
was a long time and many trillions ago. And lo, how the mighty have fallen;
once upon a time, Leavitt (former governor of Utah) was urging the States
to FIRE the FedGov if the deficit ever got to 7 trillion dollars; now
he spends billions like you and I spend dollars.
Local tyranny:
CA: City cracks down
on competitors
San Jose Mercury News
“Authorities are cracking down on gang members charging ‘rent’
to street vendors, a practice that may be thriving despite an overall
decrease in crime. Officials turned their attention to the issue last
month after gang members allegedly shot a merchant in a crowded marketplace
when he refused to give them $50 rent. The vendor was hospitalized and
a stray bullet struck and killed a 23-month-old boy. … The relationship
between police and vendors can be tricky, because many vendors work without
permits so are themselves subject to arrest.” [Editor’s
note: No, I doubt the article’s author notice the irony - TLK] (10/08/07)
The phrase
is “monopoly of force” – the government cannot risk a challenge,
for whatever reason.
North American
union:
Costa
Rica: Voters ratify CAFTA
euronews [France]
“Costa Rica has narrowly approved a new free trade deal with the
United States in a referendum that has sharply divided the country in
a way it has not been for decades. The measure passed by 52 to 48 percent.
Costa Rica was the only nation not to have ratified the Central American
Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, but was the only country out of Guatemala,
Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic to test it
in a popular vote.” (10/08/07)
The deal,
of course, is with SIX other nations, not just the USA. This was supposed
to be a referendum that indicated that Costa Rica was becoming more leftist:
apparently it is not. Sadly, DR-CAFTA is NOT a true free trade agreement,
despite its name; it is a way of managing trade, but it still presents
great opportunities for the smaller nations’ economies to grow stronger.
North American
union:
UN draws Honduras, Nicaragua sea border
Orlando Sentinel
“The U.N.’s highest court Monday granted Honduras sovereignty
over four Caribbean islands in its decades-old dispute with Nicaragua,
and carved up rich fishing grounds and offshore exploration concessions
for oil and gas. The two Latin American neighbors said the new maritime
boundary drawn by the International Court of Justice will remove a source
of tension between them that in the past has led to the seizures of fishing
boats by both sides.” (10/08/07)
Glowing
reports of how the UN has prevented conflict and possible future war are
garbage; in the past this was usually resolved by inviting a third-party
arbitrator to come settle the issue: often someone as “low”
in rank as an independent Brit or American cruiser captain; sometimes
someone as “exalted” as the Pope. The ICJ took a hundred times
as long and cost multiple thousands of dollars (or pesos) more. Progress!
Old evils:
Latin
leftists celebrate Che
Agence France-Press
“Leftist leaders and sympathizers marked the 40th anniversary
of the death of revolutionary icon Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara Monday
in Cuba, where he is buried, and Bolivia, where he was killed in 1967.
Acting president Raul Castro led the main event in Cuba under a giant
bronze statue of the guerrilla fighter in the town of Santa Clara, some
300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Havana. Convalescing Cuban leader Fidel
Castro, 81, was absent, but a homage he penned was read in public. …
at the main Bolivian event, leftist President Evo Morales told a crowd
of 3,000 — including a former guerrilla fighter from Cuba and leftists
from six nations — that Che will be remembered ‘for his political
ideology and for giving his life for others. …’ In Venezuela,
the leftist government of President Hugo Chavez honored Che by unveiling
a monument at Pico del Aguila, some 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) above sea
level.” (10/08/07)
It is a
good thing to remember the death of Guevara, although not in the way that
Castro, Chavez, and others are: the man was a murdering sadist who sought
to bring a large part of the world under Communist domination, and who
was well known in Cuba for abuses of prisoners and political opponents
that completely eclipse anything the present US administration has done.
Yet leftists condemn the US, and praise the memory of this evil man.
Old evils:
US considered poisons for assassinations
Beloit Daily News
“In one of the longest-held secrets of the Cold War, the U.S.
Army explored the potential for using radioactive poisons to assassinate
‘important individuals’ such as military or civilian leaders,
according to newly declassified documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Approved at the highest levels of the Army in 1948, the effort was a well-hidden
part of the military’s pursuit of a ‘new concept of warfare’
using radioactive materials from atomic bombmaking to contaminate swaths
of enemy land or to target military bases, factories or troop formations.”
(10/09/07)
Far from
a “new concept” even in 1948, since Heinlein had postulated
the idea in a story (“Solution Unsatisfactory” as I recall)
6 or 7 years earlier. Assassination is almost universally condemned as
a tactic of war, but is it really more evil than killing hundreds of thousands
or millions of enemy soldiers or citizens because of what their leaders
are doing? The evil, perhaps, is greatest in the shortsighted idea that
the defense of liberty requires killing rather than subverting our enemies.
State thugs:
CA: Dems played hardball to kill GOP
plan
San Francisco Chronicle
“They called themselves ‘The Lincoln Brigade.’ Even
as Democrats feared having to spend as much as $40 million for a bruising,
bloody fight expected to drag on for months, this makeshift group of California
Democratic operatives needed just weeks to pummel a Republican-funded
push for a ballot measure that threatened to change the outcome of the
2008 presidential election. The ruthlessly effective battle plan of the
California Democrats’ group raises the specter that, as the 2008
election looms, Republicans may have to confront a far more aggressive
Democratic ground game that has revived the old ‘Clinton war room’
philosophy.” (10/07/07)
What a
wonderful propaganda piece for the Chron’s allies – trying to
scare off the GOP, eh? Of course, the last 13 years has demonstrated how
easily the GOP does scare.
Stupid
government tricks:
Italy: Uproar over tax break for “big
babies”
Yahoo! News
“Italy’s economy minister has sparked uproar by offering
‘big babies’ a tax break if they let go of their mother’s
apron strings and left home. More than a third of Italian men over the
age of 30 live at home with their parents, a phenomenon blamed on sky-high
apartment rents and bleak job prospects as much as a liking for mamma’s
cooking. Economy Minister Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa offered to come to the
rescue with a 1,000 euro ($1,411) tax break for 20- and 30-something Italians
who rent. He said the move was aimed at ‘bamboccioni,’ which
evokes images of clumsy, overgrown male babies.” (10/05/07)
Doesn’t
seem like it is the government’s business, however silly it might
be. Especially since government itself seems to be at least largely responsible.
Stupid
government tricks:
Bush pushes Congress on “No Child”
law
Vineland Daily Journal
“President Bush said Tuesday that he’s open to new ideas
for changing the ‘No Child Left Behind’ education law but will
not accept watered-down standards or rollbacks in accountability. The
president and lawmakers in both parties want changes to the five-year-old
law — a key piece of his domestic policy legacy, which faces a tough
renewal fight in Congress.” (10/10/07)
It is the
PARENTS not the GOVERNMENT that should be enforcing accountability, and
establishing standards. This is done in a very simple way: the free market.
Organizations can collect data and provide information on potential providers
of education (a service, after all) to the parents, who can further take
advantage of third-party evaluation and testers to determine if they are
getting their money’s worth. Chances of this happening in this Congress?
Ha.
Stupid
govt tricks for trucks:
Plans to toll interstates
The Newspaper
“The interstate highway system could turn into a nationwide network
of toll roads as plans proceed to add tolls to existing freeways in Maine
and Pennsylvania while an entirely new tolled interstate is approved for
South Carolina. Last week, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced
it had awarded a $3 million contract to McCormick Taylor Inc for the installation
of open road tolling booths on Interstate 80. The system would use RFID
sensors and cameras to track and record every car that uses the road for
billing purposes.” (10/09/07)
The original
act establishing the Interstate System prohibited any Interstate Highway
except for a very few, preexisting sections, to be a toll-road. Obviously,
either that law has been changed or is being ignored. If changed, it was
likely through a conspiracy which used the infamous conference system
to sneak in things that often are not discovered for years or until it
is convenient to do so.
Stupid govt tricks:
Legislators
looking at truck tolls
By
The Associated Press
CHEYENNE, Wyo. - To help pay the rising maintenance costs on Interstate
80, some Wyoming lawmakers want to know whether the state could impose
tolls on trucks that use the highway. The
Joint Transportation, Highway and Military Affairs Interim Committee on
Wednesday asked state transportation officials to look into whether the
federal government would allow the state to collect tolls on I-80. The
committee also asked for estimates of how much money such a program would
generate.
Mama's
Note: Seems the Wyoming legisgators don't think commercial trucks pay
enough taxes... or the rest of us, of course. Just who do you think will
actually pay the "tolls?" YOU and me, that's who, in higher
prices for everything those trucks bring us, and those products Wyoming
sells will have to be priced higher too. Aren't they stealing enough from
us, especially the mines and oilwells? Isn't the state rolling in stolen
loot right now? Just where does this crap end?
Government
doesn't "generate" anything but force and fraud, of course.
It can only steal our liberty and property.
Stupid
govt tricks:
NASA: Fuse space telescope is done
CNN
“Having coaxed all the life they can out of an 8-year-old ultraviolet
light-detecting space telescope, scientists will reluctantly turn it off
later this month. After that, NASA’s Fuse observatory will be ‘just
another piece of space junk,’ orbiting the Earth every 100 minutes
until it falls back to Earth in about 30 years, said Bill Blair, the Fuse
operations chief and an astronomy professor at Johns Hopkins University.”
(10/09/07)
Government!
As I recall, the promise in 1999 or so, when they sent this $100 million
+ device up, was that the Space Shuttle would be able to recover it and
bring it back to be refurbished. Fat chance.
Stupid
govt tricks:
Most states get more fed funds back
than is paid in taxes
Tennessean
“The federal government’s system of taxing and spending works
out well for people in states like New Mexico, Mississippi and West Virginia.
Not so well for those in Delaware, Minnesota and New Jersey. New Mexico
received $3.10 in federal spending for every tax dollar the state sent
to Washington in 2005 — more than any other state — according
to an Associated Press analysis of new federal data. Delaware fared the
worst, receiving just 42 cents for every tax dollar sent to Washington.
It was followed closely by Minnesota, which got 46 cents, and New Jersey,
57 cents. In all, 30 states and the District of Columbia received more
money from the federal government than they paid in federal taxes. …
No wonder there’s a federal budget deficit.” [Editor’s
note: Actually, all 50 states got “more back” than they sent,
because the states don’t send money to DC … the people do. One
gang of thugs sending money to another gang of thugs does NOT equal paying
back the victim - TLK] (10/09/07)
This comes
up every year, and it is a bogus number. Every dollar in the federal budget
spent in a state is considered, whether it is pork or really a legitimate
federal expense. It also shows many western states as welfare queens when
the big federal expenditures exist because more than 50% of most of these
states is still owned by the federal government. For example, NM –
cited as the biggest “winner” is the site of massive military
installations including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Kirkland AFB,
White Sands Missile Range, Cannon AFB, Holloman AFB, Sandia Base and Laboratories,
and much of Fort Bliss. It is also home to dozens of Indian Reservations
and therefore a huge BIA and IHS workforce, and the Federal government
owns outright 41.8% of the whole state! With a relatively small population
(1.9 million) and below the national average for per capita income, is
it any wonder that the ratio is 3.1 to 1? And people sometimes are surprised
to find that – guess what, most spending for the US Navy and Marine
Corps is – you guessed it! – spent in states that have a coastline!
And there are a whole lot more federal employees in states that are mostly
owned by the feds, while states without much government land (like CN
or RI) don’t have those nice juicy federal payrolls!
Not only
that, but today, and for the last 50 years of “Mutually Assured Destruction”,
it was states like Wyoming, North and South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska
that bore the greatest risk of enemy attack in case of a Soviet/Russian
attempt to knock out US nuclear forces in a First Strike. And fatuous
comments about “all 50 states got ‘more back’ than they
sent” are nothing but an indication that the commenter isn’t
thinking things through or doesn’t understand the economy. Yeah,
as the article points out, it is the _people_ of the state who pay the
taxes, not the “State” – State governments pay virtually
nothing to the FedGov.
But at
the same time (although a lot of federal money is paid to the states),
most federal expenditures are payroll and contractor services and goods.
That is what makes the runaway government spending so hard to fight. In
part, we ALL benefit - either directly or indirectly - from this spending.
I may never work an hour for a federal or even state or local agency,
but many of the businesses and individuals I DO work for in turn get some
of their income (often a LOT) from selling things to the guvmint: from
employees (selling their personal services, 8 per day, 40 per week, etc.)
to gravel pits that sell rock to counties who pay for it with a mix of
taxes funneled through the courthouse (property taxes), statehouse (fuel
taxes and income taxes), and the Capitol (income taxes, fuel taxes, etc.).
It is the same for book stores, furniture stores, furniture makers, Radio
Shacks, gas stations, etc.
Mama's
Note: And don't forget the massive amounts of stolen money involved in
the travesty of "public schools," welfare and subsidized medicine,
much of it mandated by the feds, but unfunded by them in any way.
Stupid
govt tricks:
When US-made
“censorware” gets into iron fists
Christian Science Monitor
“During Burma’s short-lived uprising late last month, young
dissidents risked their lives to smuggle news of their peaceful protest
to the outside world. They may have been up against Internet censorship
software designed in America, if a connection found to exist in 2005 still
holds. Moreover, if a US firm wanted to sell Internet filters to Burma
(Myanmar) today, despite several layers of economic sanctions against
the government there, it would probably be legal to do so, say export
lawyers. Absence of federal regulation has allowed so-called censorware
of at least four California companies to end up in the hands of foreign
governments shown to block citizens’ access to political, religious,
and other websites.” (10/09/07)
First,
the uprising is NOT “short-lived” yet – according to better
reporters than the CSM uses. Second, there are dozens of pieces of freeware
available (or so I’m told) that render this so-called “censorware”
useless. This seems to be an attempt to simply generate more laws and
more control over US companies and people – a real slap in the face.
Stupid
people tricks:
CA: Home to be auctioned to pay for
hospital bill
San Francisco Chronicle
“The home of a woman who refused to leave her hospital bed will
be auctioned Tuesday to pay for the cost of her 14-month stay. Kaiser
Permanente patient Sarah Nome racked up a $1.4 million bill when she refused
to leave her hospital bed for more than a year, arguing she couldn’t
walk and it was the health maintenance organization’s responsibility
to find her an appropriate care facility. She’d been admitted after
she broke both her legs while living alone. A Marin County judge eventually
put the now 84-year-old woman in the county’s care. She was transferred
to a Lafayette Convalescent Hospital in Contra Costa County in March 2005.”
[Editor’s note: Seems like if she really thought she had a case,
she’d have sued the HMO, and been able to find an ambulance-chaser
who’d take the case on spec; since she did not, her attempt to hold
the hospital hostage deserves all of this - SAT] (10/08/07)
Even in
Marin County, it is unlikely her home will sell for enough to pay the
full bill (which is probably inflated anyway), but it does seem like justice
has been done.
Mama's
Note: I find this story VERY hard to believe as presented. There have
to be some big chunks left out. I've worked in hospitals and nursing homes,
and can't imagine how this could happen at all, let alone go on so long.
If she was covered by an HMO, they would have found her a place right
away, whether she liked it or not. In any case, if the hospital actually
ALLOWED her to stay that long without a guaranteed payer, they have only
themselves to blame. If the facts are as presented, Nathan is right, but
there is definitely something rotten about the whole story.
Stupid
people tricks:
CA: Three bedrooms, two baths, 4,000
pot-plants
San Francisco Chronicle
“Police and federal drug agents raided a newly built East Oakland
home that had been converted into an indoor marijuana farm, with more
than 4,000 plants filling every room of the two-story home, authorities
said today. No arrests were made, and the investigation is continuing
into who grew and maintained the plants with an estimated street value
of $3.5 million, authorities said. Police responded to the home at 10320
Pearmain St. about 4:30 p.m. Monday to check on a resident’s well-being.
Officers saw marijuana plants growing inside, authorities said. Police
contacted an Oakland officer assigned to a Drug Enforcement Administration
task force in Oakland. The officer then obtained a state search warrant
for the home, authorities said.” (10/09/07)
Well, give
them credit for ingenuity. The cops, I mean, why would someone have asked
them to check on the “wellbeing” of someone who didn’t
live there? I suspect a competitor may have tipped off the fuzz.
Mama's
Note: And what a waste of valuable real estate, when everyone knows this
stuff will grow up between the cracks in the sidewalks if allowed to do
so. Without all of the self appointed nannies looking out for us, this
would simply be a non problem - to anyone but the guy who didn't want
this weed in his flower beds.
Theft by
government:
NJ: Corporate welfarists sue city
for declining to steal land
The Record
“EnCap has spent about $50 million to redevelop a huge swath of
borough’s Meadowlands area, though the company has yet to start construction
there. EnCap’s lawyers provided that estimate in court papers filed
Tuesday in its case against North Arlington. The costs include engineering
analysis, property appraisals and other work. … EnCap sued the borough
over its failure to institute eminent domain proceedings against 16 businesses
on Porete Avenue, which is part of the redevelopment area. Mayor Peter
Massa and others on the Borough Council said the use of eminent domain
in this case is wrong and that they will prevail in court. Massa and other
officials began to rally against the agreement once they were swept into
office in a wave of anti-En Cap sentiment in the 2006 primary election.
The agreement opposed by borough also allows EnCap to receive almost half
of all future property tax payments on development at the 110-acre site.”
(10/11/07)
These folks
sound like some shoddy dealing companies I know in Colorado. For once
we can support a local government! But notice, this is an insurgent government
which came to power in order to fight EnCap.
Mama's
Note: Actually, it was quite a surprise to see this come out of NJ. Will
wonders never cease...
Theft by
government:
TN:
Man kills self in front of City Council after zoning decision
CNN
“A business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council
meeting Thursday night after members voted against his request to rezone
his property, witnesses said. Ronald “Bo” Ward, owner of Bo’s
Barber Shop, had told the council his business would go under if he couldn’t
get his home rezoned as commercial. After the 5-7 vote Thursday night,
Ward stood and walked toward the council.”Y’all have put me
under. … I’m out of here,” he said before shooting himself
in the head with a small handgun.” (10/05/07)
The mayor
of this thuggish collection of “City Fathers” had the brass
to tell the council that they did “nothing wrong” by denying
the simple and logical request, which would not have changed the use of
the land at all. Another example of the evil of local tyranny.
Mama's
Note: This could easily have been another Carl
Drega, but he chose to protest only with his own life. What a tragedy
that this goes on every day in this country, but is so seldom even noticed
unless drastic measures like this are taken. I wonder how long he will
be remembered, even by those in his own town.
Theft by
govt:
NY: Court to hear land theft/corporate
welfare appeal
New York Sun
“Opponents of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn
will argue before a federal appeals court tomorrow in one of their few
remaining attempts to challenge the use of eminent domain for the project.
… The suit aims to block the Atlantic Yards project, claiming the
state’s intention to commence taking property and then handing the
land over to private developer Forest City Ratner does not present a clear
public benefit and is unconstitutional. The project was approved by the
state in December, allowing for construction of a Frank Gehry-designed
basketball arena and more than 6,000 units of housing in the neighborhood,
which is near the Long Island Rail Road terminal on Atlantic Avenue.”
(10/08/07)
The basketball
arena, of course, seals the doom of the property – circuses for the
masses.
Theft by
govt:
UT:
Land theft dispute brews in Salt Lake
Deseret Morning News
“The Evans family has held onto roughly 2.66 acres of property
in the Capitol Hill community for more than 65 years, waiting for the
right time to sell — and now, they say, they’re being punished
for it. Rick Evans, one of six siblings who make up the Evans Development
Group, said the family has been in discussions with developers for the
past two years about selling the property before Salt Lake City officials
stepped in two months ago and said the city needed the land. But the city’s
offer came in about 70 percent less than the $2.08 million appraisers
told the property owners the land is worth, Evans said, so the offer was
turned down. On Tuesday night, the property owners were at City Hall to
witness the Salt Lake City Council’s decision to begin eminent-domain
proceedings on the property.” (10/08/07)
“Punished”
is a suitable term here: but this is such an outrageous act on the part
of the local tyrants that there IS a chance that the courts will throw
it out.
Page
2 Click HERE Lots of other good stuff on page 2!
Link checked!
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