Libertarian War on the News, 11 - 17 May, 2008

As our economy continues to smell worse and worse, Congress sounds more and more foolish and people are panicking all over, as the first too stories relate. It has been a long, warm week, and hopefully everyone is ready for the last six months of this 2008 election season so we can start the 2012 season!

Economic news:
“$127”
BBC News [UK]
“Oil prices have hit a record high above $127 a barrel on speculation that China will need to import more fuel, stretching global supplies. With more energy needed to rebuild areas devastated by the earthquake earlier this week, US light sweet crude jumped to $127.43 a barrel. Prices were also supported by Goldman Sachs forecasting that oil would reach $141 a barrel later this year. London Brent crude also climbed, touching $125.82 a barrel.” (05/16/08)

Speculation, panic, and government can be held to blame for 90% of this – China for the other 10%. Locally, prices are hitting $4.45 for diesel and $3.90 for unleaded regular. And it is NOT the oil producers, at least not US oil producers, that are getting this money: crude was actually selling FOB the refinery in Wyoming, for all of $50 a barrel according to http://www.wyopipeline.com. Can you say highway robbery?

Mama's Note: As the stories below demonstrate, the whole problem is very complex and, in the end, we are all going to lose big from our long term trust in government to manage things.

Oil Refiners See Profits Sink as Consumption Falls
New York Times
After last year’s stellar profits, American refiners are going through a traumatic period. In a time of record gasoline prices, some of them actually lost money in the first quarter, and for virtually all refiners, profits are down sharply.
Experts say the refiners are caught in a double bind. The price of their raw material, oil, is rising because of strong global demand. At the same time, consumption of gasoline in the United States is falling as a result of slower economic growth and consumer efforts to conserve. However much the companies would like to raise gasoline prices enough to pass along the full increases in oil, analysts say they have been unable to do it. Oil prices doubled in the past year, while wholesale gasoline prices rose a mere 39 percent.

Executives see oil dropping under $100: KPMG survey
platts.com
A majority of oil and gas executives surveyed by the KPMG consulting firm expect oil prices to fall below $100/barrel by the end of this year because fundamentals do not support prices at current levels, according to Bill Kimble, executive director of KPMG's Global Energy Initiative.

Economic news:
High gas prices provoke symbolic protests
Fox News
“Americans facing rising gasoline and diesel prices are cycling about, saddling up, singing out and, sometimes, resorting to violent symbolism. Dozens of Alabama students are bicycling up to 10 miles each way to their rural high school. An Indiana man was arrested for belting out a protest song, ‘Price Gouge’n,’ from the roof of a convenience store. A sign-maker in Kentucky is riding his horse on business errands. And a Tennessee sheriff is investigating a more disturbing protest: a slain deer hanging from a gasoline station sign.” (05/12/08)

This is going to get worse before it gets better! Unfortunately, it is the politicians who are to blame, and too many people look to the politicians to solve it – instead, they will make it worse!

American front:
Brazil: I give up, says minister who fought to save the rainforest
Independent [UK]
"Brazil has been accused of turning its back on its duty to protect the Amazon after the resignation of its award-winning Environment Minister fuelled fresh fears over the fate of the forest. The departure of Marina Silva, who admitted she was losing the battle to get green voices heard amidst the rush for economic development, has been greeted with dismay by conservationists. 'She was the environment's guardian angel,' said Frank Guggenheim, executive director for Greenpeace in Brazil. 'Now Brazil's environment is orphaned.' In a letter to President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Ms Silva said that her efforts to protect the rainforest acknowledged as the 'lungs of the planet' were being thwarted by powerful business lobbies. 'Your Excellency was a witness to the growing resistance found by our team in important sectors of the government and society,' she wrote." (05/15/08)

Clearly, this woman was nothing more than a stooge of Big Business and Big Agriculture, that is, AMERICAN Big Business and Big Ag, who must keep Brazil from competing with sugarcane grown ethanol, which everyone knows threatens to take away the power of position of Big Corn for eating AND driving worldwide. With her gone, clearly, the Bigs are in big trouble: Brazil can’t produce enough ethanol to satisfy itself, let along cut into the US market.

American union and stupid government tricks:
US Warns Tourists of Combat at Mexican Border
CNSNews.com
The State Dept. has warned travelers that the “equivalent to military small-unit combat” is taking place near the U.S. border in Mexico and that Americans are being kidnapped and murdered there.

No fooling? And that is just on the Mexican side of the border. No, really… Actually, it appears that the State Department is nothing more than a gossip passing on urban legends with little truth to them. Not only did the State Department NOT provide any details about supposed deaths, but a quick review of several hundred websites indicates that if Americans are dying in northern Mexico like they are in, say, Afghanistan or Mesopotamia, the media is sure not reporting them. A tourist was killed in a Pacific coast town, a journalist was killed in a southern border town (near Honduras), and a surfer got eaten by a shark (one with fins), but no actual reports of Americans getting killed in northern Mexico. However, the media (including the idiot Lou Dobbs) are quick to repeat the State Department’s packs of lies. Chalk this up as nothing but propaganda, as far as I can tell.

Mama's Note: There is a "war" going on there, of course... along with most everywhere else. It's called the "war on drugs" and the war on brown people... Elimination of the first one would seriously help everyone in the world, but don't hold your breath.

American union:
AZ: Hostage immigrants “rescued,” handed to other thugs
Associated Press
“Fifty-three illegal immigrants found Sunday had been held against their will in a fortified home by suspected smugglers demanding more money, authorities said. The group of rescued immigrants included two 13-year-old girls, three women and a mentally disabled man. The rest were men, Department of Public Safety spokesman Harold Sanders said. Authorities began investigating Saturday after getting a tip that immigrants were being held captive. Sanders said the smugglers wanted an average of $2,500 for each person’s release. … The rescued immigrants were turned over to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement.” [Editor’s note: Why waste money to rescue them from one gang of kidnappers just to hand them over to another gang that’s even LESS likely to give them their freedom? - TLK] (05/11/08)

What fun! Desperate people indeed – I wonder how quickly they will try again to get to the land of the gringos and easy living?

American union:
AZ: Arpaio cut out of state funding
Arizona Republic
“An executive order signed by Gov. Janet Napolitano has prompted state police to cancel a $1.6 million agreement with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office and, instead, use the money to create a fugitive task force. The move effectively stripped two squads of Sheriff’s Office deputies from a statewide multiagency team designed to go after crimes dealing with human smuggling. It also took away Arpaio’s ability to tap some of the squad members to supplement immigration sweeps at the state’s expense. In response, Sheriff Joe Arpaio accused the governor of orchestrating with others to pull the money from his department as political payback. House Speaker Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, meanwhile, called for an audit of the Department of Public Safety.” [Editor’s note: Some of the stuff happening in this state … at ALL levels of gummint! Ernie Hancock must be drooling, once again - SAT] (05/14/08)

Sounds to me like political payback indeed.

Mama's Note: After all of the nasty, illegal crap Arpaio has pulled over the years, this seems like a good break for honest people in AZ. I don't understand why this man was not voted out a long time ago... or planted somewhere.

American union:
Interpol Probe Bolsters Claims of Chavez-FARC Links
CNSNews.com
Colombian police say an Interpol investigation involving seized computer files provides proof that Hugo Chavez offered financial aid to the Colombian terror group FARC, while Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa allowed the group to operate in Ecuadorian territory.

There is no doubt that Chavez’s interests are bettered by increased chaos in Columbia: he has the motive, AND with his oil wealth, the means. Interpol would have little reason to make this up, either: it is well-known NOT to favor the US, and this finding is a boon to the US and its anti-drug alliance with Columbia against FARC.

Baboons:
Lawmakers want Bush to stop shipping oil to reserve
International Herald Tribune [France]
“Amid daily bipartisan sniping over high gas prices, Democrats and Republicans appear to agree on at least one thing: With oil over $120 a barrel, President George W. Bush ought to stop buying crude for the government emergency reserve. Both the House and Senate are expected to approve, with bipartisan support, legislation Tuesday directing Bush to temporarily halt the shipment of about 70,000 barrels of oil a day to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Bush has refused to do so, arguing that this small amount of oil won’t impact prices and that for security reasons he wants to increase the stockpile to its full capacity of 726 million barrels. It now has about 701 million barrels, equal to nearly two months of oil imports.” (05/13/08)

Yep, it passed. Now, will the Administration actually stop? Or is this part of the preparation for a new war with Iran, which so many people claim is going to happen momentarily? Sadly, while the United States is sitting on an estimated 100-150 BILLION barrels of conventional oil (not counting shale or tar sands or such) we are having to import nearly 4 billion barrels a year… thanks to these same “wise, far-sighted” baboons who are fighting this.

Baboons:
Corporate ag welfare bill passes House, heads for Senate
San Jose Mercury News
“Rising food costs and the upcoming election have fueled bipartisan support for a politically popular $290 billion farm bill full of extra money for food stamps and farm subsidies, despite strong opposition from President Bush. The Senate is expected to approve the five-year bill and send it to Bush on Thursday, one day after the House supported the legislation overwhelmingly. Supporters garnered 318 votes in that chamber, 28 more than needed to override his promised veto. 100 Republicans voted for the bill.” (05/15/08)

It later passed 80-15 in the Senate: veto-proof and chock-full of pork (the baboon kind). And we wonder why we have inflation and an imploding dollar!

Mama's Note: Most of the people who object to this ag subsidy can't get past the idea that much of the money goes to multimillionaire farmers/producers. That is terrible, of course, but the bottom line is that the government has no legitimate business using stolen tax money for ANY such charity, ever. See Davey Crockett's remarks on this.

Canaanite front:
Israel: Police raid city offices in Olmert fraud probe
CNN
“Authorities raided municipal offices in Jerusalem on Monday as part of a fraud investigation involving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, police said. Investigators did not disclose the substance of documents that were seized in the raid, which occurred the same day that police questioned American businessman Morris Talansky about contributions he made to Olmert’s campaigns, according to the Israeli daily, Haaretz. Police are investigating whether Olmert illegally accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from Talansky while he was mayor of Jerusalem and the nation’s Minister of Industry Trade and Labor.” (05/12/08)

Power corrupts. At sixty, Israel has twice the corruption as the Union did at sixty (1849).

Mama's Note: Indeed, but they had such a good example to follow!

Canaanite front:
Lebanon: Fighting erupts outside Beirut
United Press International
“Fighting broke out Sunday east of Beirut between supporters of the Lebanese government and followers of the militant group Hezbollah, officials say. The fighting in the Shouf and Aley districts in the mountains overlooking Beirut followed clashes in the northern city of Tripoli that left at least two people dead and five wounded, The New York Times reported.” (05/12/08)

Other reports indicate that Hezbollah outright controls all of western Beirut and much of the countryside, leaving Lebanon as yet another failed state.

Canaanite front:
Israel: Rocket hits mall, wounds 16
Los Angeles Times
“Palestinian [sic] rocket fire from the Gaza Strip struck a crowded shopping mall Wednesday in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, destroying a children’s clinic and wounding 16 people, including an infant rescued from the rubble. The attack occurred as President Bush was meeting with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem to discuss threats faced by the Jewish state, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary. Two Israeli raids earlier in the day left three Palestinian militants and two civilians dead in Gaza.” (05/15/08)

Tit-for-tat – business as usual in Canaan. I suspect that one reason that the death toll is not higher on the Israeli side (as compared to the Arab side) is the quality of first response medical care.

East Asian front:
China: Troops dig for quake survivors; 25,000 said trapped
Bloomberg
“Chinese disaster officials, battling bad weather and rubble-strewn roads, tried to reach an estimated 25,000 people trapped under debris after the country’s strongest earthquake in more than half a century. The 7.9-magnitude quake two days ago left 18,645 people trapped under rubble in Mianyang, a city of more than 5 million, with thousands more buried in other parts of Sichuan province, state-run Xinhua News Agency said. The 12,335 people killed in the quake include 7,395 in Mianyang, Xinhua said in its latest report on the death toll.” (05/14/08)

Death tolls (official and unofficial) are rising daily, and many expect them to reach well over 100,000. Meanwhile, this is yet another excuse for oil and gasoline prices to rise yet again: this supposedly increases Chinese demand for oil.

East Asian front:
China: Beer bottle solar heater
Ananova [UK]
“A Chinese peasant has made a solar water heater - using only beer bottles and hoses. The beer bottles lie on a board in rows, all connected by hoses which allow cold water to flow through them and be heated by the sun.”I invented this for my mother. I wanted her to shower at any time more comfortably,” says Ma Yanjun, a carpenter, of Qiqiao village, Shaanxi Province.”A real solar water heater is too expensive to me, so I came up with the idea of making one on my own. I hope this invention can be promoted nationwide, and allow mothers in undeveloped rural areas to have a hot shower.” Ma has now helped more than 20 families in the village to make and install their own beer bottle solar water-heaters.” (05/12/08)

What is staggering is the consumption of beer that makes this sort of thing possible. I wonder how alcoholism in Communist China compares with that in the Soviet Union? Of course, after the earthquakes, maybe beer consumption is going to go up a bit more.

Mama's Note: Guess I'm just ignorant, but I didn't even know they had beer at all in China. Don't they drink tea? And would the bottles have to come from beer? Wouldn't soda bottles or water bottles do the same job?

East Asian front:
Myanmar agrees to US airlift
The Press Association [UK]
“The US is launching its first relief airlift to cyclone-hit Burma after prolonged negotiations with the country’s military rulers. In what is seen as a huge concession by the junta, the US finally got the go-ahead to send a C-130 cargo plane packed with supplies to Rangoon, with two more air shipments scheduled to land on Tuesday. The official death toll from Cyclone Nargis jumped to nearly 29,000 on Sunday. The military junta has been sharply criticised for its handling of the May 3 disaster, from failing to provide adequate warnings about the pending storm to responding slowly to offers of help.” (05/12/08)

As with the Chinese earthquakes, claims are made that the death toll here is really 5 to 10 times larger than being reported. Clearly the thugs in Rangoon are more concerned about losing power than they are losing people.

Mama's Note: Again, this charity should come only from private contributions, not government. There is no provision in the US constitution for charity out of the stolen goods of taxes.

Economic news:
CleanTech Biofuels Announces Municipal Solid Waste To Ethanol Project Is Now Operational
SolidWaste.com
CleanTech Biofuels, Inc. has announced that the equipment purchased from the University of California at Berkeley is now in place and operational. Testing of cellulosic feedstocks has begun. It is estimated that Americans produce 4.4 pounds of waste per day, or 229 million tons of trash annually nationwide. This waste represents a virtually endless source of cellulosic feedstock for the production of biofuels that potentially will be available to CleanTech at almost no cost, and in some locations at a profit. …the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 … dictates that production of ethanol in the United States reach 36 billion gallons per year by the year 2022, of which 20 billion gallons per year is required to be produced from feedstock sources other than corn…

I was not aware of the way the Congressional mandate was worded and if this report is accurate, that completely blows away one of the big objections (screamed by baboons and environists and panicmongers alike) that we are stealing food to make fuel. 2007 production was 6.5 billion gallons, and 2008 production could reach 7.7 billion. If this is correct, then further increase using corn would be “only” 8.3 billion more between now and 2022. If 20 billion is to come from non-corn sources, then it would NOT consume the entire US corn crop as claimed by a lot of idiots…

Mama's Note: The major problem I have with the whole deal is the government subsidies and mandates, not the amount of corn used for whatever. Let the free market figure out what is needed and the price. Government is the problem, not the answer - of course.

Economic news:
NY: Trouble in paradise
NY Post
“Homeowners in the some of the toniest ZIP codes in the Hamptons are facing a frightening reality - they can’t afford to foot the bill for their high-priced homes, The Post has learned. In the first three months of this year, banks have launched preliminary foreclosure actions - known as lis pendens proceedings - against a record 120 borrowers in East Hampton and Southampton towns. Twenty percent of those borrowers live in homes that are worth more than $1 million, according to figures from the Suffolk County clerk.” (05/12/08)

Stupid people mistakes indeed. You would think that THIS level of people would know how to read a loan document and a balance sheet. Of course, they probably bought into the lie that your house is your biggest and best investment…

Economic news:
High-concept cleaner in tatters
Boston Globe
“When Staples founder Tom Stemberg launched Zoots in 1998, during the height of the dot-com craze, it was supposed to be at the cutting edge of all things dry cleaning: 24/7 service and a website where customers could check the status of orders and schedule home deliveries. A decade later, Zoots has collapsed, closing nine stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and laying off about 80 employees at a shuttered plant in Connecticut. In total, investors lost more than $150 million in the failed effort to build the Newton business into the nation’s premier dry cleaning operator, according to two investors who asked not to be named because of confidentiality agreements. At its height early last year, Zoots was one of the country’s biggest chains, with about 75 stores and roughly 115 delivery routes across eight states, serving more than 300,000 customers. Now, the $65 million company is in pieces, with stores and delivery routes being sold off to rivals across the country. The private Zoots corporation, which finally turned a profit in late 2006, dissolved quietly in April.” (05/15/08)

I suppose the lesson being taught is that some things are NOT exactly suited (pun intended) for the internet. Trash service, for example, is another non-internet friendly business, I suspect. And not because of government regulation (aren’t a lot of gun-selling businesses on the WWW, are there?), but because, well, dirty (or clean) clothes don’t convert well into free-flowing electrons, do they?

Mama's Note: There are lots and lots of gun sellers on the internet, both commercial and private. I can't think of any service or product that couldn't be sold over the internet. The delivery of that service or product might not translate to the 'net directly, but the sales sure do. I highly suspect that the collapse of this business had little to do with the internet, and far more with overall poor business practice and the failing economy. I've not had anything dry cleaned for close to 30 years, and never intend to. Fewer things need dry cleaning these days, and there are many good home dry cleaning products on the market. All that simply means the business must adapt and ever offer better service. Obviously, this one didn't.

Economic news:
If inflation’s up 3.9 percent, why does it feel worse?
Christian Science Monitor
“Between the gas pump and the grocery checkout, Americans have plenty of reasons to list inflation as Economic Enemy No. 1. But how bad is it, really? The short answer: bad enough, but don’t judge the problem only by what it costs to fill a fuel tank. It’s not surprising that many people feel as if inflation is running hotter than the government’s consumer price index (CPI) suggests: just under 4 percent over the past year. … Another cause for worry: Wages are not keeping up with inflation.” [Editor’s note: When do they ever? - SAT] (05/15/08)

We’ve known for years that the government inflation index is completely bogus, but myth-tellers like the CSM refuse to ‘fess up to that truth. And sadly, most people are willing to believe the best. I suggest that the real rate in the past couple of years has been more like 8-10%. But even 4 percent means that in less than twenty years ALL prices double, thanks to the “magic” of compound interest.

Mama's Note: In 1964 I was a newly married housewife. We had a nice little house in town for $60. a month. Chuck steak was 17 cents a pound, watermelon (in season) was 1 cent a pound, and a gallon of gas cost between 17 and 20 cents a gallon. My husband brought home $60. a week and we did just fine with a little care.

The prices have not really gone up that much, if any. The VALUE of the money has gone nearly to zero, however. If we want a vibrant and prosperous economy for everyone, we must insist on sound money and the elimination of government theft and manipulation. Government is not the answer... it IS the problem.

Elections 2008:
MS: Dems pick up US House seat in special election
Jackson Clarion-Ledger
“Democrats regained control of north Mississippi’s 1st Congressional District in a runoff Tuesday as Prentiss County Chancery Clerk Travis Childers defeated Republican Southaven Mayor Greg Davis. Childers will serve the final months of a term vacated by Roger Wicker, a Republican appointed to replace Trent Lott, who retired from the U.S. Senate in December. But political experts predict the fight will intensify as Childers and Davis prepare to face each other again in the November general election. … Political experts had said it was possible for a Democrat to recapture the seat held by Wicker since 1994. Before he won, Democrat Jamie Whitten had held it for more than 50 years.” (05/13/08)

Apparently there was a LOT of dirty dealing in the last two weeks that led to this – but then, that is politics as usual. However, with this happening three times this year, the GOP is really running scared. Not scared enough to nominate a REAL conservative like Ron Paul, of course.

Euro front:
Serbia: Pro-EU bloc claims shock poll win
Agence France-Presse
“Pro-Western forces in Serbia claimed victory Monday after general elections gave them a strong mandate to move closer to the European Union despite fears of a nationalist backlash over Kosovo. ‘The citizens of Serbia have undoubtedly confirmed a clear European path,’ President Boris Tadic, the flag-bearer of the pro-European forces, told jubilant supporters overnight. … If confirmed, the election results will be seen as a breakthrough for Serbia, where a series of governments since the ouster eight years ago of late autocratic president Slobodan Milosevic have struggled for unity on the path to EU membership. Those divisions came to the fore in a spiteful campaign in which Tadic and his allies were branded ‘traitors’ after signing a rapprochement accord with the European Union. Most EU members have recognised Kosovo.” (05/11/08)

The pull to become part of the “New” Europe is a strong one, even in places like Serbia, just as Americans in places like Vermont, Texas, Deseret (Utah), and California had a similar desire in the 1800s. However, this is a good sign that Serbia is not now in the grip of revaunchists who seek Kosovo back.

Euro front:
Italian tolerance goes up in smoke as Gypsy camp is burnt to ground
Independent [UK]
“In cruel and unusual concert, Italy’s new government, its police and paramilitary carabinieri, and even its gangsters, have turned their joint might against the nation’s enemy number one: the Gypsies. Yesterday Pope Benedict XVI and a small number of left-wingers raised lonely voices in central Naples against the national hardening of hearts towards Europe’s perennial outsiders. To little avail: the Pope’s appeal for a spirit of welcome and acceptance was met with a hail of angry rejection in blogged comments on news websites.” (05/16/08)

Is this a new ethnic cleansing effort?

Government-ruined, theft-funded schools:
CA: 10-year-old scholar takes Calif. college by storm
Yahoo
DOWNEY, Calif. - With the end of another school year approaching, college sophomore Moshe Kai Cavalin is cramming for final exams in classes such as advanced mathematics, foreign languages and music. But Cavalin is only 10 years old. And at 4-foot-7, his shoes don't quite touch the floor as he puts down a schoolbook and swivels around in his chair to greet a visitor.

Thanks to Lady Susan, KNA, for this! We CAN escape the public school trap, and help others do the same. And escape can result in an explosion of learning.

Government-ruined, theft-funded schools:
Virtual schools see growth, calls for oversight
Christian Science Monitor
“Rather than send her kids off on the yellow bus, Briana LeClaire has school come to her home. Her kids attend a virtual public school, connecting online to teachers and coursework. Everything from books to microscopes to radish seeds arrives via brown trucks. Mrs. LeClaire describes it as the 21st-century, middle-class version of the private tutor. Her 6th-grader can move quickly through her strong subjects, such as literature, and spend more time on her weaker areas, like math. Enrollment in online classes last year reached the 1 million mark, growing 22 times the level seen in 2000, according to the North American Council for Online Learning. That’s just the start, says a new paper by the Hoover Institute, a conservative think tank at Stanford University. Its authors predict that by 2019 half of courses in Grades 9 to 12 will be delivered online.” (05/14/08)

The square peg MUST be fit into a round hole – after all, that is the only kind of hole that is “acceptable.” Someone who is too tall stands out, and must be shortened.

Government-ruined, theft-funded schools:
UK: Testing regime “leaves pupils unprepared for work”
Independent [UK]
“Teaching to national curriculum tests is ruining pupils’ futures and leaving them unprepared for the world of work, says a report released today by a group of MPs. The Labour-dominated Commons Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families warns that the ‘inappropriate focus’ by teachers on test results could rob pupils of a well-balanced education …. The MPs, however, stop short of calling for an end to national curriculum tests — taken by all pupils at the ages of seven, 11 and 14 — saying that they find the arguments in favour of a system of national testing to be ‘persuasive.’ Instead, they say, it is the uses to which the test results are put — such as drawing up league tables of primary schools’ test results and the targets set for individual schools’ performance — that need a drastic revision. ‘The drive to meet government targets has too often become the goal rather than the means to the end of providing the best possible education for all children,’ they argue. ” (05/14/08)

Well, since this was the educrats solution (both in the UK and the US), we should not at all be surprised that it is not working. Of course anything like this is going to become a competition: the challenge is to find measurements that will be GOOD if they become means of competition. Things like number of students successful in college work (not just going to college), number of students who are making more than the national average at the five year and ten year mark, etc.

Government-ruined, theft-funded schools:
MN: Three suspended for not standing for pledge
Star Tribune
“Three small-town eighth-graders in Minnesota were suspended by their principal for not standing Thursday morning for the Pledge of Allegiance, violating a district policy that the principal now says may soon be reworded to protect free speech rights. … The head of the Minnesota American Civil Liberties Union said that the school’s actions against the students are unconstitutional, and his office informed the district of that today in a strongly worded letter.” (05/10/08)

Get your kids OUT! Now!

Home front:
TX: Constitution talk “act of terror”
Prison Planet
A student of a large bible college in east Texas was accused by federal agents of committing an "act of terror and espionage" after he gave a talk to a group of Boy Scouts in which he encouraged them to educate themselves about the U.S. constitution…As part of his duties as an advisor in the college office, Jeff was tasked with the role of giving a short speech and a tour to a group of Boy Scouts that were visiting the college, with a focus on how patriotism and liberty are emphasized in the teaching style of the university. Jeff said he told the boys, "It's going to be you who is going to take this country and either make or break it - you need to get back to your constitution, you need to get to know your bill of rights and you need to stand up for them."… The next day Jeff was called into the main administrative office of the university where he was met by college officials and two men wearing dark suits and sunglasses who did not identify themselves. A state trooper was also guarding the door to make sure everyone stayed inside the office…. Jeff was unable to ascertain exactly where the feds were from but university officials later indicated that DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and the FBI were involved.

As always with Prison Planet and some other websites, take this story under advisement. If true, this kind of idiocy is just what we don’t need in this country. Why do I doubt this? Knowing a lot of Marines and a lot of Scouts and Scouters, I would be far more inclined to believe it was a college official that filed the complaint and NOT someone associated with the Scout troop.

Home front:
IA: Hundreds abducted in meat plant raid
LaCrosse Tribune
“Federal immigration agents in northeastern Iowa have arrested at least 300 people in a raid on the world’s largest kosher meatpacking plant. U.S. Attorney Matt M. Dummermuth says the raid on the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville is the largest operation of its kind in Iowa history and followed months of planning.” (05/13/08)

Hmmm. Is it still kosher if it is prepared by “illegal immigrant” hands?

Home front:
UK: Girl gang blows up houses over a boy
Fox News
“A gang of London teenage girls is suspected of destroying three houses and killing a man with a homemade liquid bomb during an argument over a boy. According to the U.K.’s Daily Mail, witnesses say a purple, smelly liquid was poured into a mailbox of one of the homes, which set off a massive explosion. The intended target of the attack, Charlotte Anderson, was injured in the blast and rushed to the hospital with severe burns. Her next-door neighbor, Emad Qureshi, 26, who was at home with his parents, was killed when he was crushed by falling debris, it was reported. Earlier, Anderson had phoned the police with a complaint that a gang of girls was harassing her over a boy outside her home.” (05/11/08)

There once used to be an English civilization… as I recall. Women used to be an important part of it – even younger women, regardless of class. But barbarians come in both sexes, obviously.

Home front:
TN: Neighbors affected by pollution may seek legal action
Tennessean
“Homeowners near Egyptian Lacquer Manufacturing Co. say they’re prepared to take the paint manufacturer to federal court to sue them to clean up the pollution under their homes if action on the matter isn’t taken in the next three months. Environmental attorney Elizabeth Murphy says three homeowners she represents are worried about their health, families and homes because of the continued exposure to pollution flowing to Liberty Creek and the Harpeth River.” [Editor’s note: It will be interesting to watch this story, since back before federal courts intervened (back in the 1930s IIRC?) to protect corporatist polluters, this was how “water pollution disputes” were settled … in court! - SAT] (05/14/08)

I suspect that this will get thrown out of court, with the claim that since the guvmint is “protecting” them, they have no standing on their own.

Home front: Texas war:
TX: FLDS mom not a minor after all
Fox News
“Texas child welfare officials conceded Tuesday that a newborn’s mother, held in foster care as a minor after being removed from a polygamous sect’s ranch, is an adult. A Child Protective Services attorney told state District Judge Barbara Walther that the mother of a boy born April 29 is not a minor, as CPS had claimed as justification for holding her. The woman had been held along with more than 400 children taken last month from a west Texas ranch run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. State officials say the children were endangered by underage and polygamous spiritual marriages.” [Editor’s note: And if this surprises anyone, they’ve just not been watching close enough - SAT] (05/13/08)

How long are we going to allow these goons to abuse citizens?

Massa wannabes:
Barr enters Libertarian presidential race
Los Angeles Times
“Bob Barr, a onetime Republican congressman from Georgia, on Monday announced his plan to run for president as a Libertarian, promising to rein in federal spending and limit military involvement abroad. ‘The government has run amok fiscally,’ Barr said at a news conference. During the first quarter of this year, he said, the private sector lost millions of jobs while the federal government was ‘hiring with enthusiasm.’ Barr, who left the Republican Party two years ago, is expected to win the Libertarian Party’s nomination during its convention this month in Denver.” [Editor’s note: “Expected” by whom? Reports of a coronation are premature! - TLK] (05/13/08)

The race is complete for next week, and the e-mails and calls are flying hot and heavy. Barr certainly has his downside, but so do all the rest of the candidates. However pristine and doctrinally pure some may be, there are many other factors to consider in Denver next week. As to Barr himself, there are a lot of stories being spread – one is that he is pro-Iraqi [sic] occupation. However, in an interview on Neal Boortz’s show this last week, I think that Barr very firmly made it clear that he intends to withdraw US troops as quickly as possible, and leave Mesopotamia to solve its own problems.

Massa wannabes:
Ron Paul, still a candidate, heads to GOP convention showdown
Fox News
“Ron Paul has no chance of winning the Republican presidential nomination this year, but he continues to head toward the party’s National Convention with an ardent group of supporters and a second-phase strategy aimed at raising the profile of his libertarian-leaning issues. John McCain locked down the delegates he needs to win the nomination two months ago, but Paul continues to be a draw on primary ballots. Just last week in North Carolina, Paul took 7 percent of the vote along with five convention delegates. He similarly won 8 percent of the votes in Indiana, although he didn’t pick up any delegates there.” [Editor’s note: If Ron has an agenda in mind, it’s still open to speculation; one can only hope it has something to do with injecting a little liberty into the GOP program somehow - SAT] (05/12/08)

Activists in South Dakota are whipping up enthusiasm for a Paul vote to send a message to McCain. I assume others are doing similar things with the last of the primary elections coming up – not that the mainstream press will report any of it. It is my second fondest hope that the Paulites can tear the GOP apart. Even on Rush Limbaugh’s show, he allowed a listener to suggest that true conservatives should abandon the GOP to the neo-con/centrist/left McCain alliance and all go join the Libertarians. Even Sean Hannity, always more the Republican than a conservative, has shown his disgust with the GOP of 2008.

Massa wannabes:
WV: Clinton whips Obama, vows to fight on
Denver Post
“Hillary Rodham Clinton routed Barack Obama in the West Virginia primary Tuesday, scoring one of her most lopsided victories of the long campaign, even as she continued to battle overwhelming odds in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton’s easy victory in a state that has slipped away from Democrats in the past two elections added fresh ammunition to her claim that she is better positioned than Obama to capture critical swing states in November. But the primary win may have come too late to have a significant impact on the trajectory of a nomination battle, in which Obama has an almost insurmountable lead in delegates. … Clinton claimed victory shortly after the polls closed Tuesday night. Saying the nomination battle ‘isn’t over yet,’ she told cheering supporters in Charleston that ‘I am more determined than ever to carry on this campaign until everyone has had a chance to make their voices heard.’” (05/13/08)

It is my fondest wish, even above the GOP collapse, to see the Democracy (the Democratic Party) collapse as these two fight tooth-and-nail for the prize. There ARE significant policy differences between these two (and McCain) but the summation is the same for all of them: a new elected dictatorship that will expand the police state while mouthing the various feel-good words and meaning none of them.

Massa wannabes:
Edwards endorses Obama
Hartford Courant
“Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party’s likely presidential nominee even as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy. The surprise endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary, and it helped the Obama campaign steer much of the evening news coverage away from a painful subject.” (05/15/08)

Will this make a difference? Obviously, he moves to the Clinton hit-list, but what else? Unless she wins, or gets VP and poisons Obama, she can’t do too much to the people on her list. I sense that Edwards IS really worried about a collapse, if not formal, then massive disillusion with the party that will lead to little money, few volunteers, and poor turnout.

Massa wannabes:
Obama blasts Bush for “appeasement” attack
NewsDay
“Barack Obama accused President George W. Bush of ‘a false political attack’ yesterday after Bush warned in Israel against appeasing terrorists — early salvos in a general election campaign that’s already blazing. The White House denied that Bush’s remark was aimed at Obama. … As the workday began in the United States, Bush gave a speech to Israel’s Knesset in which he spoke of the president of Iran, who has called for the destruction of the U.S. ally. Then, Bush said: ‘Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.’ ‘We have heard this foolish delusion before,’ Bush said. ‘As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.’” (05/16/08)

Methinketh the lady doth protest too much… or to put it more crudely, the hit dog barks. I haven’t found out who that senator was, but I suspect he was a typical baboon of the era, and the spiritual ancestor of a good deal of Congress today. And frankly, with Obama’s voting record, his claim to do better at “national security” is akin to Hillary trying to talk about coon-hunting.

Massa-wannabes:
McCain: Troops (some, at least) out of Iraq … by 2013
Los Angeles Times
“Republican John McCain, in a speech forecasting what the country would look like after his first term in office, said today that he expects the war in Iraq to be won and most troops to be home by January 2013. The prediction marks a major departure for McCain, who railed against rival Mitt Romney shortly before the Florida primary for his remark in April 2007 that he thought President Bush and Iraqi leaders should privately discuss a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq. At the time, McCain suggested that the comment would embolden America’s foes in Iraq. The Arizona senator leveled the same criticism at Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, stating that their advocacy for withdrawing troops from Iraq amounted to setting a date for ’surrender.’” [Editor’s note: Keep rattlin’ them sabers, Old John; time for housecleaning, anyway - SAT] (05/15/08)

I see quite a difference between McCain’s remarks and Romney’s remarks, myself, and don’t see the same impact from them. And despite the vocal opposition and the opinion polls, I suspect that Steve and others underestimate the popular support a promise to “win” in Mesopotamia has in much of the nation.

Mama's Note: It will all be moot when there isn't even toilet paper to pay them with. It's getting very close to a time when the US government won't be able to borrow anything from anyone, and there just won't be any way to continue these insane wars and occupations. The sooner the better, no matter how painful it will be otherwise.

Mesopotamian front:
Iraq: Sadr group agrees to end Baghdad fighting
Mathaba [UK]
“The movement of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr agreed with the Iraqi government to a ceasefire in Baghdad’s eastern neighborhood of Sadr City, a Sadr spokesman said on Saturday. … The Iraqi government has no immediate comment about the deal. Over 900 people were killed in Sadr City during more than month-long battles between Mahdi Army militia and U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces, when a U.S. and Iraqi military crackdown sparked an uprising by Sadr’s Mahdi Army.” (05/10/08)

I suspect that Sadr has either met his goals, or cannot sustain the effort any further. Whatever the reason, the ceasefire has to be welcome to the locals.

Nazgul and new religions:
CA: High court ends marriage apartheid [sic]
Christian Science Monitor
“California joins Massachusetts as the second state to legalize gay marriage following a decision Thursday by the state’s highest court. Ruling 4 to3, the court found marriage to be a ‘fundamental constitutional right,’ and to deny that right to same-sex couples would require a compelling government interest. The Republican-dominated court said the state had failed to show such an interest. Unlike in Massachusetts, nothing prevents out-of-state same-sex couples from coming to California to get married. ‘The invitation is going to be a kind of come one, come all, and that’s going to produce a large number of [gay] marriages,’ says Douglas Kmiec, law professor at Pepperdine University. ‘They will then return to their home communities and will insist the states recognize their marriages as valid.’ The decision also sets up political confrontations at the ballot box in November, at the state level and possibly within the presidential contest.” (05/16/08)

An incredibly stupid act by a bunch of Nazgul that can’t (apparently) understand either human nature nor a dictionary, coupled with a very poor, “go-through-the-motions” effort by the state’s attorneys. Homosexuals have ALWAYS had the right to marry just as heterosexuals have, provided a man married a woman and a woman married a man. This decision opens the door, indeed, slams it open, for a complete obliteration of all restrictions on “marriage:” plural of any kind and quantity, age restrictions, all have exactly the same “non-reason” – no compelling government interest. But worse, it makes ANY opposition on moral grounds to any sort of “marriage” all but illegal, as people in Sweden, Canada, and elsewhere have already discovered.

In an aside, I notice that NONE of my so-called libertarian news sources bothered to report the plight of a woman staffer at the University of Toledo (see another story here) who was first suspended and then fired for pointing out that it is wrong to equate civil rights for people based on race with civil rights for people based on behavior – which is the simple truth about homosexuality, whether there is a genetic basis or not. Some people seem "genetically" redisposed to such evil behaviors as pedophilia and murder and rape, but we do not try to claim that it is evil to be "prejudiced" against people who cannot control their behavior. Or do we?

Mama's Note: I don't care if my neighbor wants to "marry" his horse. It has nothing at all to do with me or any marriage I might enter into. State sanctioned "marriage" gives people privilege and stolen goods not available to those unapproved by the state. Get government out of our personal lives, let everyone figure it out for themselves and leave others alone.

Nazgul:
Supreme Court refuses to hear forced abortion case
Christian Science Monitor
“The US Supreme Court has declined to take up a case examining whether a Chinese national should be granted political asylum in the United States because his wife was forced to abort their first child under China’s harsh population-control measures. The action, announced on Monday, means that lower court rulings rejecting the Chinese citizen’s asylum claims remain in place. At issue in the case was whether the spouse of someone who had suffered directly under the Chinese program — enduring a forced abortion or sterilization — could claim political asylum in the US.” (05/13/08)

I can understand a Clinton-appointed court refusing this, but with the present Court, it doesn’t make much sense.

Nazgul:
Court bars Bush administration's logging plans for Sierra
San Francisco Chronicle
"A federal appeals court blocked the Bush administration's plans today for logging three tracts in the northern Sierra and said the government has failed to justify a critical element in its plan for the forests -- selling trees to lumber companies to pay for removing brush that increases the threat of fire. Preventing fires is important, 'but are there no alternative ways of getting money to do the clearing?' asked the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The court said the U.S. Forest Service has not explored the obvious alternatives: finding the money elsewhere in its budget or asking Congress for more." (05/14/08)

So now the courts are writing the laws and the contracts.

New religions: “food crisis”
Grocery Manufacturers Association launch “jihad” against biofuels
Biofuels Digest
Documents obtained by and published in Roll Call identify that the Grocery Manufacturers Association has launched a massive, global PR campaign, pledging to assemble a “global center-left coalition” including hiring “trusted third-party experts” to link ethanol mandates to global hunger, food industry job losses and inflation.

Roll Call is usually a pretty reliable source, and the data looks valid. If true, this DOES explain why this bogus crisis has exploded all over the press and nation in the past month: the timing certainly matches. And the propaganda does NOT change, and is NOT supported by the facts. Given the oil bubble and the decline of the dollar against world currencies and against REAL money (gold, that is), the amazing thing is that food prices are not much, much higher.

New religions: “food crisis”
Sweet sorghum could be biofuel hit
Arizona Republic
“Sweet sorghum is grown in the U.S. for cooking and livestock feed. But the tall plant also could help at the gas pump. A sugary sap inside the plant’s stalk, which grows as tall as 12 feet, can be turned into a potent biofuel, and experts and companies are studying its potential with hopes that farmers will want to plant more of it. Ethanol made from the stalk’s juice has four times the energy yield of the corn-based ethanol, which, unlike sweet sorghum, is already in the marketplace. Sweet sorghum produces about eight units of energy for every unit of energy used in its production. That’s about the same as sugarcane but four times as much as corn.” (05/15/08)

At least, this is what is claimed now, until an organized smear propaganda campaign denigrates sorghum as corn-ethanol is now.

New religions: global warming and massa wannabes:
McCain: Let free trade limit global warming
Arizona Republic
“Arizona Sen. John McCain broke with the Bush administration and Republican Party orthodoxy Monday as he not only declared global warming real, but reached out to Democrats and independents with a free-market solution that includes capping carbon-fuel emissions. The GOP presidential contender also prodded China and India, two major emitters of the greenhouse gases blamed for the planet’s warming, to join the effort, although he muted planned talk of tariffs against them in favor of ‘effective diplomacy’ to encourage their compliance. An aide later said that McCain didn’t want to be interpreted as being ‘at odds with his commitment to open trade.’ [Editor’s note: Let’s hope the “true conservatives” are willing to hold Old John’s feet to the fire on this claim, even though neither has the foggiest idea what “free trade” actually means - SAT] (05/13/08)

McCain is trying to have his cake and eat it too – he very much needs and wants conservatives to support him. At the same time, they don’t know what “free market” means any more than free trade: emissions trading schemes are shell games created to give the appearance of a free market, but in reality are government mechanisms to control people. And it does not get away from the fact that he buys into this garbage in the first place.

New religions: global warming and massa wannabes:
McCain 'Ill-Advised' to Start New Global Warming Plan, Says Senator
On the Spot CNSNews.com
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), if elected president, would be "ill-advised" to implement a new international agreement on global warming as he suggested in a recent speech, said Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho). Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), while not as dismissive as Craig about McCain's idea, nonetheless said he had a lot of questions about a new climate change plan.

Those in Congress who do not buy into global warming are getting kind of lonely.

New religions: global warming:
Christian Leaders Launch 'We Get It' Green Movement
CNSNews.com
Evangelical pastors, scientists and policymakers have launched a petition drive intended to spread the truth about global warming: That Christians should be good stewards of God's creation and that government policies and regulations based on "faulty science" will hurt people who should be helped.

This is a necessary backlash, but I fear it may be too late, just as the attack against evolution and against state-run schools was too little, too late.

Our British cousins:
UK: Hi-tech tool spots child drinkers
BBC News [UK]
“The supermarket chain Budgens has installed face recognition cameras in one of its stores to stop children buying alcohol and cigarettes. It is thought to be the first time a UK retailer has used the technology to identify underage customers. The scheme is being piloted at an unnamed branch of Budgens in London. If the system recognises someone who has previously been unable to prove they are 18, a signal alerts the cashier who will refuse to serve them. Facial recognition software makes a unique template of an individual’s features by taking measurements between key points on the face.” (05/12/08)

I believe this is certainly the store chain’s right to do it, but I would avoid shopping at this place if I could.

Our British cousins:
UK: Sunbed operators try to stop ban
BBC News [UK]
“Sunbed parlours are to make a last attempt to head off a ban on the use of coin operated tanning machines by under 18-year-olds. They claim there is no evidence that the new law being considered by MSPs would make any difference to the incidence of skin cancer. … The Sunbed Association will tell the committee there is no scientific evidence that 16 and 17-year-olds are at any greater risk than adults and banning them from coin operated machines would push them to tan outside.” (05/13/08)

I suspect that the evil, profit-grubbing businesses will not make a dent on the collective “wisdom” of the Scots legisgators.

Our British cousins:
UK: Jail absconder begs to go back
Ananova [UK]
“A convict who absconded from an open jail returned three days later — because life was easier inside. Wesley Crawford, 42, disappeared after getting in trouble for having a mobile in his room, report The Sun. But after three days on the run, he got fed up and decided to go back. The Sun quotes a jail source as saying: ‘We couldn’t believe it. To come knocking on the door and asking to be taken back in is amazing. He basically said that it was much more cushy being inside prison than it was on the outside. And he still believes that — even though he has now been sent to a closed prison.’ Crawford was sentenced to 12 years for robbery at Stafford Crown Court in July, 2001. In Sudbury open prison, Derbyshire, he had three meals a day with a choice of menus, plus a TV in his room which was never locked. There is snooker, table tennis and a gym.” (05/13/08)

Sadly, his attitude is all too often held by people OUTSIDE jail who want the security of a safe job and few worries.

Our British cousins:
UK: Housing market worst for 30 years
Independent [UK]
“Confidence in Britain’s housing market has sunk to its lowest level for more than 30 years, figures to be published today will reveal, as property prices continue to fall and mortgage lenders restrict home loan finance. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says that 95 per cent more surveyors reported a fall in house prices in April than a rise, the worst figure it has reported since it began publishing monthly property market surveys in January 1978. In some areas of the country, including East Anglia, the North and North-west of England, not a single surveyor reported house price increases, with 100 per cent reporting declines during April. Even in Scotland, where the housing market has been more robust in recent months, Rics says more surveyors are now reporting house price falls than rises.” (05/12/08)

It appears that the UK has the same problems as the US, and perhaps for the same reason: an economy hit by skyrocketing fuel prices and other impacts.

Mama's Note: All of which are the direct results of government interventions everywhere.

Our British cousins:
UK: WW II Vet “tagged” for not reporting accident
BBC News [UK]
“73-year-old army veteran will miss a remembrance march after becoming one of Britain’s oldest men to be electronically tagged. Peter Ogden, from Bristol, said he was ‘appalled’ when he was given the three-month order for not reporting a road accident. Mr. Ogden was due to join fellow members of the Grenadier Guards Association in London on a march this weekend. But he is now banned from leaving his home between 1600 and 2300 BST. He was also banned from driving for one year, but plans to appeal.” (05/15/08)

There is no question that technology makes tyranny and a police state easier.

Our British cousins:
UK Mulls Major Changes to Reproduction and Biotech Laws
CNSNews.com
Amid a storm of controversy, the British parliament next week will consider a number of significant changes to the country’s laws affecting human reproduction and bio-technology. The areas covered include abortion and the creation of human-animal hybrid embryos.

This can’t be good – the laws are already bad enough.

Our British cousins:
UK: Call for sell-off of Royal Mail
BBC News [UK]
"The postal regulator has called for Royal Mail to be partly privatised to safeguard the quality of the UK's mail delivery service. Postcomm warned that Royal Mail's financial difficulties would worsen unless bold action was taken. Nigel Stapleton, Postcomm's chairman, told the BBC that without private sector involvement, Royal Mail may require a government subsidy." (05/15/08)

Wow! I guess the sale of Bundespost and many other national postal systems in Europe is finally sinking in.

Our British cousins:
UK: Ban on Parliament Square protests to be lifted
Politics.co.uk
"Demonstrations will return to Parliament Square after the government said it would undo its own legislation outlawing protests. Reform announced in Gordon Brown's draft Queen's Speech yesterday seeks the repealing of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act (Soca) 2005. The act outright banned any demonstration within 1km of Parliament Square after MPs claimed their work was being disrupted by protests. Then home secretary David Blunkett admitted in 2005 that the act was a 'hammer to crack a nut,' in a reference to peace protestor Brian Haw." (05/15/08)

Another good piece of news from the UK. Of course, most of the nuts are inside the houses of Parliament.

Our right to defend ourselves:
GA: Law protects armed homeowners
Ledger Enquirer
“In Georgia and more than 18 other states, you would be in no legal troubles, because those states have similar versions of a ‘defense of habitation’ law, sometimes known as the Castle Doctrine or, by its pejorative, the ‘Make My Day’ law. Modeled after a law passed in 1987 by the Oklahoma Legislature, and a similar one in Florida years later, the Georgia version has been tweaked and amended in recent years. Instead of justifying the use of deadly force only when the intruder makes a ‘violent and tumultuous’ entrance that causes the resident to expect to be assaulted, or causing the resident to believe that the intruder is about to commit a felony, Georgia in 2001 added a section to its defense of habitation law authorizing use of deadly force against any intruder — not a family member — who forcibly enters a residence. ‘It does give (a resident) a little more leeway to defend himself without having to ask so many questions,’ said University of Georgia Law Professor Donald E. Wilkins Jr. ‘You shouldn’t have to ask questions of intruders and then shoot to protect yourself. You ought not to have to interview them.’” (05/12/08)

This sounds like an improvement but it can get too convoluted and involved – as laws so often do. The problem is, the legal system (including juries) no longer apply common sense – just the letter of the law.

Our right to defend ourselves:
IA: Homeowner corners burglar in garage
Des Moines Register
“A Des Moines homeowner fired a gun during a burglary this morning but it was only a warning shot. Randy Owens, 42, said he fired a shot into an old furnace so the burglar would know he wasn’t holding a BB gun. He said he did not shoot at the burglar. … Owens heard a garage alarm about 5:30 a.m. and went to investigate. A side door had been kicked open; it had the outline of a large footprint on it. The lock was broken. When he entered his shop, Owens said he noticed someone under one of his tables. Police said in a report: ‘He told the suspect to come out and a verbal argument ensued. As they argued Randy stated that he drew his 9 mm handgun. The suspect lunged forward, striking Randy in the forearm with a cane.’ Owens said the man pleaded with him to let him go. Owens tried to hold him in the garage until police arrived but the man kept coming at him and Owens allowed him to get away. The man ran off in the dark and police arrived a few minutes later.” (05/13/08)

The man was idiotic, but Randy isn’t much better – standing where the man could strike at him like that.

Our right to defend ourselves:
States consider limiting toy guns
Arizona Republic
“Concerns that realistic-looking toy weapons are confusing police and threatening safety have led 15 states to try going beyond gun control and cracking down on fake firearms. Officer Micheal Hoover knows a fair amount about guns as a sniper instructor for a Tennessee SWAT team. He recalls the night two years ago when a car pulled up beside him on a highway and the passenger waved what looked like an Uzi. ‘It scared me,’ he said. ‘If anyone is in their right mind, I don’t see how it wouldn’t.’ Hoover was off duty and called for police help. A 20-year-old man was charged with aggravated assault after police found a black plastic Uzi submachine gun under the car’s passenger seat, but he was acquitted because jurors felt the officer should have been able to tell it was only a toy.” (05/11/08)

It is something to do, apparently. Not that it will make any difference – except possibly now cops can plant toy guns on their victims.

Our right to defend ourselves:
Bill would renew "assault weapon" ban
About.Com
"With gun control looming as a potential critical issue in the 2008 election cycle, pressure is building on Congress to pass legislation reenacting the federal assault weapons ban. The original federal ban on assault weapons expired on Sept. 13, 2004 ... One bill to revive the assault weapons ban has already been introduced by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D, New York, 4th). McCarthy's Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2007, (H.R. 1022), would reenact the ban for ten years. Along with reinstating federal criminal penalties involving possession or transfer of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, H.R. 1022 would expand the definition of 'semiautomatic assault weapon.'" (05/14/08)

We can certainly expect this to be done in January, regardless of who wins – but its passage won’t be so easily accomplished this time, even with Democrats in power.

Our right to defend ourselves:
GA: Teen robber killed by homeowner had previous burglary arrest
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"The teenage boy who was shot to death last week while trying to break into a northwest Atlanta home has been identified as Merterries Burton, authorities said. Merterries, 15, was a student at Forrest Hills Academy, an alternative school for middle and high school students with discipline problems, according to an Atlanta police report. Friday afternoon, Merterries and two other boys were trying to kick in the back door of a home on Hawkins Street when the resident, 26-year-old Jeff Fraser, grabbed a gun and fired at least eight shots at the intruders." (05/14/08)

Determined to get someone killed, it seems.

Our right to defend ourselves:
FL: Business owner walks in on robbery, shoots at suspects
WFTV News
"Orange County deputies are searching for one of two armed suspects who got into a shootout with a man when he caught them burglarizing his business and it happened next to a daycare full of children. The shootout happened at the All Family Chiropractic Center in Pine Hills and, with bullets flying into a busy street, investigators said it's amazing no one was hit. The suspects never got to fill their U-Haul with any loot. They ditched it a short distance from the office where witnesses heard the owner exchange gunfire with two men who broke into his business." (05/14/08)

What a great piece of hoploclastic propaganda: the children’s safety overrides the owner’s right to defend himself and his business, apparently.

Mama's Note: That bit about the daycare center is pure hype as the children were never in any danger anyway. I do think the good doctor needs to spend some significant time and effort on some training and practice, however. Two or three well placed shots should have ended the matter promptly.

Our right to defend ourselves:
TX: Neighbor comes to woman’s aid, shoots robber
NBC 5 News
“Police said a man who tried to rob a donut store was shot and killed by a man who lives near the store Friday morning. The robber broke into the store in the 100 block of Roberts Cut Off Road in West Fort Worth and terrorized the woman who was working there, police said. Police said the woman, Angel Randle, ran out the back door screaming for help. The neighbor heard the pleas, grabbed his shotgun and then fatally shot the robber, police said.” (05/11/08)

Good for them. Better if Ms. Randle were armed herself though.

Mama's Note: I'm glad she's OK, but sure wish the reporter would learn how to write...

South Asian front:
India: Serial bombings kill at least 60
Houston Chronicle
“A series of bomb blasts killed scores Tuesday in one of India’s most popular tourist cities, injuring many and triggering panic in busy market areas, authorities said. As many as seven explosions struck the western city of Jaipur within a few minutes of each other, authorities said. Indian media reported that another bomb was found and defused. All the blasts went off around the historic district for which the city is famous. … there were no immediate claims of responsibility for Tuesday’s bombings.” (05/13/08)

Terrorism is the weapon of choice for many groups in and around India, so it could be a large number of suspected groups to blame.

Stupid cop tricks:
NY: Judge doesn’t believe cop gun-crime testimony
New York Times
Over the last six years, the police and prosecutors have cooperated in a broad effort that allows convicted felons found with a firearm to be tried in federal court, where sentences are much harsher than in state court. Officials say the initiative has taken hundreds of armed criminals off the street, mostly in the Bronx and Brooklyn, and turned some into informers who have helped solve more serious crimes. But a closer look at those prosecutions reveals something that has not been trumpeted: more than 20 cases in which judges found police officers’ testimony to be unreliable, inconsistent, twisting the truth, or just plain false. The judges’ language was often withering: “patently incredible,” “riddled with exaggerations,” “unworthy of belief.”

But the Nazgul did little or nothing about it besides lecturing the cop(s) in court. Who is doing a disservice to justice and freedom? Even so, the mere fact that judges have in so many cases disallowed the liar’s testimony indicates how bad the problem must be.

Stupid cop tricks:
FL: Man ticketed for bathing attire
Local 6 News
“Bob Hezzelwood said he has been visiting Bonita Beach for years and no one has bothered or complained about his bathing suit. However, recently, a Lee County sheriff’s deputy gave Hezzelwood a ticket for trespass and told him not to return to the beach. A judge tossed out the case. However, Hezzelwood said he plans to sue the sheriff’s department, saying his civil rights were violated. ‘It frightens me and embarrasses me to go public with it. But by the same token, I don’t know what else to do,’ Hezzelwood told The Naples News. ‘”I’m a civilian out here who’s been picked on by a little bully deputy and that’s wrong. It’s just wrong.’” (05/13/08)

This sort of harassment by cops stems, it seems to me, from two causes: one is the pressure to DO something, ANYTHING about anything someone doesn’t like. Instead of going to the person, it is easier to file a report with a cop. The second is that cops themselves are buying more and more into the police state, where they make whatever rules they wish. Hopefully this will curb Lee County’s tendency to do that.

Stupid government tricks:
CA: San Francisco parking meters retooled to aid homeless
San Francisco Chronicle
“Rather than tossing loose change into a panhandler’s empty cup, San Francisco officials want you instead to slide your spare quarters and nickels into a homeless meter. The city’s latest attempt to deal with one of its most vexing problems will be announced in coming weeks in the form of 10 old parking meters installed in some of the most heavily panhandled areas. Money deposited in the meters would go directly to charities that help the homeless. The goal, officials say, is to reduce panhandling and to educate tourists and residents about the problem of giving money directly to people on the streets.” (05/13/08)

Now, if the time would EXPIRE on the homeless meters and they would have to move on – but that is too much to hope for. This is a stupid little gimmick to “demonstrate” that the insanely inept and corrupt San Fran city government is doing something about a serious problem for many people in that city.

Stupid government tricks:
CA: Vallejo bankruptcy could be model for others
San Francisco Chronicle
“By declaring bankruptcy, Vallejo has thrust itself into the national spotlight as a test case for thousands of floundering cities desperate to unload their extravagant public employee contracts. ‘There’s a wave of this coming across the U.S.,’ said Sajan George, an adviser to struggling public entities who worked on restructuring Orange County after it declared bankruptcy in 1994. ‘What happens in Vallejo could definitely set a precedent.’ Battered by the plummeting housing market and skyrocketing public employee contracts, Vallejo made dubious history Tuesday night by becoming the largest California city to declare bankruptcy. The North Bay city of 117,000 was on track to start the fiscal year July 1 with a $16 million deficit and no money in reserve.” (05/11/08)

Now, if the government were forced to actually liquidate – allow private businesses to come in and bid on its assets and to provide the services it did… but government bankruptcies don’t work that way. Too bad.

Stupid government tricks:
IL: Chicago lifts foie gras ban
Reuters
“Gourmets in Chicago can order foie Gras again after the city council on Wednesday repealed a two-year restaurant ban on a delicacy that critics say is produced at cruel expense to geese and ducks. The aldermen voted 37-6 to drop the ban on restaurants serving foie Gras, an ordinance that had passed with a single dissenting vote in April 2006. The city had issued a few warnings to restaurants for flouting the ban and one defiant eatery was fined.” (05/15/08)

Fixing the problem doesn’t hide the fact that it was a stupid action and no business of any government.

Stupid government tricks:
MI: Detroit council nips at mayor’s power
Detroit Free Press
“The Detroit City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to ask voters to change the city charter to give the council — and not solely the mayor — the power to hire and fire the city’s top lawyer and to allow it to appoint members to the Board of Police Commissioners. … Sought in the wake of the text message scandal, the measures are designed to reduce the corporation counsel’s and police commissioners’ perceived allegiance to the mayor. Under current law, the corporation counsel serves at the pleasure of the mayor and can be fired at any time for any reason.” (05/16/08)

Gee, Detroit might get DEMOCRACY now? Frankly, it would be better to have OCP running that nuthouse than the pecans, walnuts, and almonds doing it now.

Stupid government tricks:
NY: Paterson signs “anti-noose” bill
New York Daily News
“Gov. Paterson Thursday signed into law a bill making it a felony to display a noose to threaten or harass someone. The legislation was passed in the wake of a noose that was hung on the door of a Columbia University professor last year and several copy-cat incidents that followed in the metropolitan region. The new law adds displaying a noose to threaten or harass someone based on racial or other types of bias to an aggravated harassment law that already includes the displaying of swastikas or burning crosses. Conviction carries up to four years in prison.” (05/15/08)

How many more special bills and laws will it take to “protect” people from harassment. No swastikas, no stars of David, no Xmas decorations, no crosses (burning or otherwise), no hoods (white, black or rainbow), now no nooses… Gee, how about that old stand-by: a rail, tar, and feathers? I feel threatened and harassed when I see red and blue flashing lights on the side of the road or behind me (or in front of me) – can I get that made a felony, too?

Stupid people tricks:
Wal-Mart to videotape gun buyers
Red Orbit
“Is America’s largest retailer getting out of the hunting and fishing business? If not, it certainly seems to be cutting back. Earlier this year, Wal-Mart told fishing tackle suppliers that their gear — like fabrics and other ‘rural products’ — might be removed from some stores altogether, or at least be stocked only seasonally. That doesn’t mean Wal-Mart is getting out of the fishing business, company executives said. Nor is the company turning its back on hunters, they added. But recently, Wal-Mart joined New York mayor Michael Bloomberg at a gathering of his group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, to announce a series of changes to the way the company handles firearm transactions. In the future, firearm purchases at Wal-Mart will involve a video record of the sale, which the store will keep on file as a database of gun buyers. Employees also will be given the discretion to deny firearms sales to anyone who’s had a firearm traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms for any reason. In the meantime, the National Rifle Association is urging hunters and shooters to contact Wal-Mart to show displeasure with the change.” (05/13/08)

As Wal-Mart associates often say, they should have have buried old Sam in a generator, not a coffin. As he keeps on spinning and spinning and …

Mama's Note: I've spent a lot of time and effort defending WalMart for years, but this tears it. Anybody who thinks this will be limited to firearm sales is nuts. I won't be shopping at WalMart again, at least until I have some real assurance that they've dropped out of the police state race.

Stupid people tricks:
CA: MO woman indicted in MySpace cyber-bullying case
Fox News
“A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted a Missouri woman Thursday for her alleged role in a MySpace hoax on a teen neighbor who committed suicide after being spurned by the ‘boy’ in the fake profile. Lori Drew, of Dardenne Prairie near St. Louis, was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to obtain information to inflict emotional distress on the girl. Drew allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named ‘Josh Evans.’” [Editor’s note: Frankly, I hope they find a way to fry her; this was one of the most vicious crimes in memory! - SAT] (05/15/08)

Evil it might have been, but illegal? I cannot reconcile Steve’s comment with his attitude towards so much else: he WANTS the state to be able to kill people for playing hoaxes just because the victim of the hoax kills themselves?

The African collapse:
Zimbabwe: Mugabe-Tsvangirai runoff to be delayed
Al Jazeera [Qatar]
“The presidential run-off between Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, and Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader, will not be held in the next few weeks, the head of the country’s electoral commission has said. Legally a run-off should be held within 21 days of the May 2 announcement of results from the first vote. George Chiweshe, the chief of the electoral commission, confirmed on Sunday that by law a run-off should be held within 21 days, but he said the date is likely to be extended because government officials needed more time to prepare. Tsvangirai said over the weekend that he would participate in the run-off but added that failure to hold the second round within the time limit risked rendering the election process illegitimate.” (05/12/08)

Delayed until Mugabe dies, perhaps?

Mama's Note: I'm sure that can be arranged... either one.

Theft by government:
MA: Activists push to repeal state income tax
Boston Globe
“A group of antitax activists launched a campaign over the weekend to abolish the state income tax, setting the stage for a contentious public battle if the measure is added to the ballot this fall. After pushing a similar initiative that almost passed six years ago, a group called the Committee for Small Government is back for another round, asking voters to end the income tax and save the average taxpayer $3,600 a year. The group, led by libertarian Carla Howell, is almost certain to gather the 11,000 signatures needed to put a question on the November ballot. To say that state officials are worried about the prospect would be an understatement.” [Editor’s note: Go, Carla! As this battle continues, they may get closer and closer each time, until … dare we speak? Taxachusetts sheds its moniker? - SAT] (05/12/08)

I do wish Carla and her gang great success!

Theft by government:
Many filers denied tax rebate due to spouse
Arizona Republic
“When Maulit Shelat heard about the Bush administration’s plan to pump up the economy by sending out stimulus checks, he sat down with his wife and drew up a list of priorities. But Shelat is married to a foreigner who hasn’t completed the often years-long process that would let her apply for a Social Security number. Because they filed jointly, her not having that number makes him ineligible for the rebate checks that started going out last week. He is among an estimated hundreds of thousands of taxpayers — from legal immigrants to soldiers based abroad — who won’t be getting a share of the stimulus package because of a provision aimed at preventing illegal immigrants from getting rebates.” [Editor’s note: Did anyone not know this was a scam to sniff out “illegals?” - SAT](05/12/08)

And then there are the news stories about people getting other people’s checks, all with SSAN’s printed on them. Nice.

Theft by government:
MO: Land theft limits may make November ballot
South Side Journal
“Besides picking a president, Missourians in November may decide whether to limit the use of eminent domain. The Missouri Secretary of State’s Office recently accepted two petitions from the Missouri Citizens for Property Rights calling for state constitutional amendments outlawing the use of eminent domain for private purposes or to take ‘blighted’ property. State and local election authorities will check the petitions and determine by July 29 whether there are enough valid signatures to put the measures on the November ballot.” [Editor’s note: Of course, last time around State Auditor (and now US Senator) Claire McCaskill — almost certainly intentionally — screwed up the required financial impact statement so that the measure could be kicked OFF the ballot - TLK] (05/13/08)

This is a good first step, but not nearly enough. But as Tom points out, even this has statists running scared.

War on some drugs:
Next president might be gentler on pot clubs
San Francisco Chronicle
“Ever since California voters became the first in the nation to legalize medical marijuana in 1996, the state has faced unyielding opposition from the federal government, which insists it has the power to prohibit a drug it considers useless and dangerous. That could all change with the next presidential election. As the candidates prepare for a May 20 primary in Oregon, one of 12 states with a California-style law, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has become an increasingly firm advocate of ending federal intervention and letting states make their own rules when it comes to medical marijuana.” [Editor’s note: With McCain courting the troglodyte Right, and Obama having to out-moderate Old John … fat chance of this happening! - SAT] (05/12/08)

Right, you can BELIEVE this article!

Mama's Note: Not until the most basic question is answered. Just what makes any drug use the business of the president - or any other politician in the first place? For those of you who still think the constitution is a good idea... show me where that is one of the enumerated powers granted to the feds anyway.

War on some drugs:
MPP disputes NIDA marijuana study risk findings
Raw Story
“Heavy marijuana use can boost blood levels of a particular protein, perhaps raising a person’s risk of a heart attack or stroke, U.S. government researchers said on Tuesday. Dr. Jean Lud Cadet of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, said the findings point to another example of long-term harm from marijuana. But marijuana activists expressed doubt about the findings. … Marijuana Policy Project spokesman Bruce Mirken said, for example, the study involved people who were extremely heavy users: ‘I think the low end was 78 joints a week. That’s 10 or 11 joints a day. We’re talking about people who are stoned all the time … the marijuana equivalent of the guy in the alley clutching a bottle of cheap wine. If you do anything to that level of excess, it might well have some untoward effects, whether it’s marijuana or wine … or broccoli,’ Mirken added.” (05/13/08)

We always have to look very carefully at studies, since as in this case, they can be completely fallacious. The next article is another example of the same thing.

War on some drugs:
ONDCP releases new anti-cannabis propaganda
CNN
“Teenagers who use marijuana put themselves at higher risks for serious mental health problems, including worsening depression, schizophrenia, anxiety and suicide, according to a new White House report. The goal is to ‘correct the blind spot we’ve had in our society that’s caused more young people to suffer,’ Director of National Drug Control Policy John Walters said. ‘The short message is: Marijuana’s not safe.’” [Editor’s note: Walters’s stormtroopers likely harm more people on any given day than marijuana itself has harmed in the history of its use. The researchers behind findings of correlation between marijuana and depression and other ills have been careful to state that the obvious conclusion — that the problems pre-exist the cannabis use and the cannabis use is a self-TREATMENT attempt — is at least as likely as the ONDCP’s non-obvious conclusion - TLK] (05/09/08)

Self-treatment? I hesitate to use that term, either for cannabis use or for “drowning your sorrows” in gin – but perhaps it can be viewed as an attempt to get relief from the problems that they face.

Mama's Note: None of the chemical drugs pushed, and pushed HARD by our benevolent government are SAFE, especially if you use their criteria. The herb called cannabis has been in continuous use, by many millions of people, for many thousands of years. If you can show me proof of a single death traced solely to cannabis, I'll eat my hat. How many deaths are directly linked to the "prescription" drugs you take now? Think about it.

World wars:
Gitmo: Five face death penalty before “commissions”
Houston Chronicle
“A Pentagon official has formally approved death penalty charges against reputed 9/11 architect Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other men for allegedly conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks, according to their charge sheet obtained by The Miami Herald. Military Commissions officials e-mailed the approved charge sheets to defense lawyers after the close of business Monday — confirming plans for the first war court prosecution seeking execution as the ultimate penalty. That means that, absent defense requests for delay, the men could make their first appearance at the Guantanamo war court [sic] in June.” (05/13/08)

I think the term “illegal” is not justified in this case (as the headline originally stated) – unless for some reason the writer believes that ANY military court martial board is illegal – a court martial board is, to me, just a variation of a jury, and should be viewed as such. The real issue here is whether these people are being tried for acts of war or for war crimes – two very different things. Indeed, that is why there should be a board or a jury deciding these cases – to determine if they were acting as soldiers of an enemy and a cause, or just as common murderers and gangsters.

Mama's Note: Or, just maybe, as innocent bystanders... What happened to "innocent until proven guilty?"

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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.

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