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Libertarian
Commentary on The News 22 - 28 June
By Nathan A. Barton © 2009 Friday:
Late breaking news: The US House of Representatives approves climate bill
Wrong
- there were EIGHT GOP members who voted
for the bill - the margin of victory. And there were 257 Democrats -
so 46 Democrats voted against it: almost 1 in 5. This 1200+ page bill
is, by its very nature, an abomination, and literally, no one person
knows what all is in it. To make matters worse, what I heard from the
House floor in the few minutes I listened was more like an open-air
market auction than a reasoned debate: Waxman and Pelosi were
essentially buying the votes that they needed by adding provisions to
the bill. Someone accurately compared it to the gross behavior of the
Roman Senate in the last days of the Republic. No matter how the
Senate votes in this matter (sometime this fall, maybe), the reputation
of the House is permanently tainted and I fail to see any way to redeem
its honor. Islamic War Now that the danger is over, the ayatollahs can take advantage of it with accusations like this - and the truth is, the West IS to blame. Without the birth of freedom which started in the UK and its North American colonies in the 1700s, and which spread across the world, Persia would still be an Islamic absolute monarchy run by an autocratic ultra-minority of less than 1% with an average lifespan of 35 and a per-capita annual income of about a half-ounce of gold. Without the West, there would be no "Islamic Republic" and no elections - and riots would be ended as soon as the cavalry with the scimitars got to the street. Not that the West has really done that much recently to help make Iran free... Nazgul Reading the summary of this decision, Sotomayor may have made the right decision, but she did it in such a way as to demean the beliefs of Roman Catholics (some of whom put as much faith in rosary beads as the Santeria do) and others. Her disdain for "traditional" religions seems to be obvious - and confused (intentionally?) with "traditional religious artifacts" - but it was the State of New York that behaved foolishly in this case. Islamic War This article is foolish speculation with very little to support it. As I mentioned above, the danger is over - the current regime has weathered the storm. As long as only the "Twittering Classes" are protesting, and not joined by large numbers of other people, including workers and farmers, and people outside the major urban areas, nothing more is going to happen: indeed, the crackdown can begin - especially among the clerics who were not on-board to a large enough degree. We also have to remember that this was NOT an election with liberty on one side and tyranny on the other - all four of the candidates are Islamic fundamentalists who believe in the Allah-given destiny of Persia to rule the Ummah (Islamic world) and therefore the entire world, and who believe that the people are good for raising food and domestic service and cannon fodder. Medical Panic of 2009 Oh, yeah, like we can believe this sort of
"promise" - like hundreds if not thousands of others made by the
toadies of various presidents over the years? But frankly, it is a
moot point - the money for the "public option" would still be money
paid over by people because they are FORCED to - stolen money, whether
it is "public money" or not. Medical Panic of 2009 I
put this sort of talk into the same category as Romer's claims in the
last story: fodder for the MSMs and the gullible. What is being
proposed has an equal chance of becoming either a British-style
National Health Service but with more bureaucrats (the insurance and
risk management types) OR a medical equivalent of Fannie Mae and Freddy
Mac - especially for people like Dodd, Harkin, and the First Citizen to
milk. Either way, it is medical care providers and patients who lose -
big time. Culture Wars and the Home Front It appears that nut cases are attracted by
various causes and forms of popularly-viewed extremism (whether it is
extreme or not) - and does this come as a surprise? No more than the
demonstrated incompetence of all too many "law enforcement agencies." Islamic War I can only assume that Mr. Netanyahu is not so stupid as to believe this nonsense he is spouting.
American Front and War on Some Drugs Mexico sends 1,500 extra soldiers to border city
MSNBC "Mexico has deployed 1,500 more troops to the northern border city of Ciudad Juarez, where homicides related to the drug trade have surged in recent weeks. The resurgent bloodshed raises doubts about the government's goal of returning law enforcement and security duties to a reconstituted Ciudad Juarez police force later this year. The extra soldiers will begin patrolling the city Monday, said Enrique Torres Valadez, the spokesman for the joint security operation of soldiers and state police in Ciudad Juarez." (06/21/09) If
this were some other city, you might have reason to wonder if this is
preparation for an invasion or a raid across the border - but El Paso
is home of Fort Bliss, a post which has guarded the Mexican border for
more than 150 years. But it is reasonably clear that Mexico is a lot
more worried about total chaos in cities like Juarez - and so should
their neighbors to the north, including both Texas and New Mexico.
Our Right to Defend Ourselves KFYR News "An apartment break-in ended in a shooting, with the tenant killing the intruder. It happened to our east in Moorhead, Minnesota around midnight Saturday. The burglar died after being shot in the chest at close range with a shotgun. ... It's been an emotional night for Sara Graham. 'I thought he was drunk and trying to rob me; I did not know he was,' says Graham. She begins to cry and can`t finish her sentence. She was sleeping in her apartment when a man walked in in the middle of the night. She yelled at him to leave, and he did. 'No clue who he is,' notes Graham. But the intruder came back, this time entering another apartment. The tenant told police the man refused to leave and tried to pick a fight with him. The apartment owner grabbed his shotgun, and when the intruder attacked again, the tenant fired. It was a fatal shot." (06/21/09) Moorhead (east of Fargo, ND) is not exactly an urban war zone - but for this woman, it was one. At least someone was armed. Mama's Note: Indeed! As I tell my self defense students, "There is no place on earth where the risk of attack is zero." So many people seem to think that crime can never touch them, simply because it never has before. Two of the women in my latest class were the victims of rape or stalking. They now understand the risks of life, loud and clear... and are now better prepared to meet those risks with purposeful and effective measures for self defense. Our Right to Defend Ourselves DC expands list of "permitted" handguns Washington Post "D.C. police have adopted emergency regulations to greatly expand the models of handguns that District residents can own, a victory for opponents of gun control. The changes mean District residents can legally obtain at least 1,000 additional types and models of handguns that had previously been banned. The changes, published today, are designed to keep the city compliant with last year's Supreme Court decision that overturned the city's long-standing ban on handguns. ... In determining what types of handguns can be kept in the city, District officials compiled a list based on the types of weapons are certified for sale in California. Some gun rights advocates protested, saying the list was too restrictive." [editor's note: No real "gun rights activist" would complain that the list is "too restrictive" -- rather, he or she would point out that any "list" at all is an announcement of intent to violate rights - TLK] (06/19/09) Whatever reasons they wish to claim for this action are nothing more than excuses: there is no justification in the Constitution or federal law for an "approved list." Unfortunately, as warned, the weakness of the Supreme Court decision is allowing this. Mama's Note: I usually short circuit this discussion by pointing out that my HUMAN right to life and self defense predates the constitution and ALL written "law" by as long as human beings have been in existence. No piece of paper or body of people gave me those rights, and nothing but death can take them away from me. Our Right to Defend Ourselves Cities' gun restrictions begin to topple Christian Science Monitor "It's been a disappointing year for American cities seeking to curb violence via tough gun laws. Since last June, when the US Supreme Court struck down key parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control ordinance, cities have seen the 20,000 local gun regulations enacted over the years begin to slip from their grip, one by one. Philadelphia's ban on assault weapons and limits on handgun purchases are the latest to succumb, struck down Thursday by a state court. An appeal to the state Supreme Court is expected. In April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down an ordinance in California's Alameda County that banned gun shows, saying the Second Amendment of the US Constitution applies in the states." (06/20/09) IF the cities were truly interested in curbing violence, they would give up on the "tough gun laws" and stop trying to take away people's rights. Every one of these 20,000 needs to be thrown away, and become historical oddities to remind us of the evils of government. Mama's Note: It is pretty incredible how these "gun laws" are a matter of faith, totally accepted as right and good in the face of overwhelming evidence showing that they are counterproductive at best, and deadly at worst. How is it that the merest hint that a food or water source MIGHT be contaminated with something even slightly less than healthy is met with hysteria to remove that contamination source from our lives - yet something as immoral and unhealthy as disarming ordinary people is seen as such a wonderful idea, in spite of the preponderance of evidence to the contrary. I think the operative word here ishysteria. The people haters among us have simply been very effective at creating hysteria for their own purposes. Tuesday:
Stupid Media Tricks and the First Citizen Media Cheer Obama's Golf Outings; Criticized Republicans' Trips to Course CNSNews.com President Barack Obama has gone to the golf course at least 11 times since he took the oath of office a little more than six months ago--three rounds were played during the late January, 12-day holiday Obama took with his family in Hawaii; one at Andrews Air Force Base; and seven at Ft. Belvoir Golf Course, including a round on Sunday, Father’s Day, with Vice President Joe Biden… Well, why should we take offense at this? He is the Messiah, after all, and deserves both the positive coverage AND the break from his world-supporting duties. Congress in Action We can expect this useless protest to get even shorter shrift in the current Administration than such got in the previous one. Can't these GOP "leaders" understand the basic political maxim (coined, I think, by a Republican): to the victor belongs the spoils. Congress in Action Forgive me if I don't believe that there are not a dozen different loopholes built into these versions that will allow any and all to get anything they want, while at the same time, the American poor will be hounded to perdition... Mama's Note: The silver lining to that dark cloud is the fact that more and more people all over the world are relearning the natural health practices of their ancestors. Health and wellness do not completely depend on the availability of modern western medicine, by any means. Those who learn to treat their bodies, minds and spirits in healthful ways - reducing artificial stressors and both energy and chemical toxins - will reap the benefit of greater health and productive life, in spite of anything government can do. There is certainly a place for ordinary western medicine, and people need to preserve as much of it as possible, but those who depend on it totally will most certainly suffer in the days to come.Islamic war and Europe Even
for Sarkozy, this is a bit of a surprise, and probably too late and
unlikely to be supported by other actions to protect society from
Islam. Yes, I know that this is "taking away rights" of people to wear
what they want - Mama's Note: I didn't read the article, so can't comment on
much, but I don't see a problem if nobody is FORCED to wear the stupid
things. Now the families might be able to do so, but that is no
business of anyone else - and certainly not the government. Our Right to Self-Defense I suppose we can trust the GAO on this - and it is exactly the opposite of what Mrs. Pelosi and others have claimed. Our Right to Self-Defense Medical Panic of 2009 No
matter WHAT is claimed, from Mass or Scandinavia or where ever else, no
one can point to a situation in which "single-payer" or
"government-run" or "socialized medicine" or any other variation on a
theme has provided efficient and compassionate medical care. No where. The First Citizen and Home Front Obama signs anti-smoking law ABC News "President Obama knows all too well how difficult it is to quit smoking, and today he addressed his struggle to kick the habit just before signing a law he hopes will help other people put out their cigarettes too. ... The new tobacco law gives the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco in the same way the government regulates breakfast cereals and pharmaceuticals." (06/22/09) I
must confess that it is hard not to be contemptuous of someone with an
attitude like this - the same sort of attitude that Army and Marine
DI's knock out of recruits in a matter of weeks. After all, if the
most powerful man in the "Free" world must have the nanny's attentions
directed to his personal welfare to keep him from succumbing to the
temptation of ruining his health with bad habits, then what can we mere
mortals possibly object to if our every moment is dictated by
government nannies? Wednesday: Rapid City Journal The Black Hills region’s fire dispatch center will move from Rapid City
Regional Airport to the Forest Service’s Mystic Ranger District complex
in south Rapid City if funding in a Senate appropriations bill survives
intact. The move, not scheduled until 2013, would end a
yearlong wrangle among the dispatch center, the city airport and the
Federal Aviation Administration, which said the center did not qualify
as an aeronautical use and should not be located so close to aviation
facilities. This
is a local item - I don't comment very often on such, but this is such
a perfect example of stupid government waste for bureaucratic turf
reasons. In 2003, because of a great increase in local wildfires in
the Black Hills, the State spent $1.5 million in tax dollars to convert
an old terminal building into this dispatch center, which controls both
air and ground assets to fight fires over a large region. Thanks to an
incredible bureaucratic hubris, the FAA has a snit, and so now an
additional $1.9 million will be spent to turn a couple of acres of nice
mountain prairie into buildings and parking lot and helicopter landing
pad - and the old terminal will be vacant. Stupid! Wasted money,
wasted land, and - thanks to locations and travel and coordination -
bad for firefighting as well. The First Citizen and Health Panic 2009
Obama Says It's 'Not Logical' to Fear Government-Run Health Care CNSNews.com President Barack Obama said it is “not logical” to think that a government-run health care program competing with private health insurers would eventually drive the private firms out of business… I applaud his ability to say this with a straight face, but then, he is a "constitutional" scholar and doesn't understand the Constitution, so how can we expect him to understand the intricacies of economics, especially fundamental principles like Gresham's law and the impact of discounted, common goods. Health Panic 2009 Even if it were a fair sample, I have no doubt that the grasshoppers of this nation - sadly, a majority of us - support this health care reform because we cannot seem to understand the basics of economics and social processes. We all can be tempted to vote for bread and circuses, especially when we can seemingly reject any responsibility for paying for them - we all want to believe in a free lunch. Mama's Note: Count me OUT of that "we" for the free lunch, kemo sahbee. Islamic War and the First Citizen I have to admit that the First Citizen is really caught in a vise here - he can't apply his preferred method of dealing with the Islamic world at the same time as Iran is demonstrating its adherence to traditional Islamic government values, but he can't ignore the picture presented to the world. I am reminded of Nixon's embarrassment about Red China and the various crackdowns there - ironic that the First Citizen may need to emulate Richard Nixon, but then, he's already demonstrated that he can and does copy the actions even of his immediate predecessor! Congress in Action - Home Front Do you suspect that whatever the electorate wants does not really matter? Yes, the Democrats won a "mandate" in reaction to the Bush Administration and to the middle-road McCain message, but we are seeing nothing but an orgy of liberal initiatives, which one by one have to be fought and falter. Will this be the next? Mama's Note:
Someday people may finally realize that it is IMPOSSIBLE for the
government to actually do what the "electorate wants" - regardless of
their motives and means. The "electorate" is made up of millions of
individuals with very different needs, wants and resources. Even when
there is a seeming "majority" opinion on anything, many millions are
NOT represented and, usually, their needs and wants are ignored or
violated outright. Thursday: War on Some Drugs The
UN is being... the UN. Fear-mongering is what the UN does, to keep and
increase its power. And it is getting more bold - the US is either in
retreat or just abdicating its own sovereignty, and what is left?
MA: State cuts health coverage by $115 million
Boston Globe "Overseers of Massachusetts' trailblazing health care program made their first cuts yesterday, trimming $115 million, or 12 percent, from Commonwealth Care, which subsidizes premiums for needy residents and is the centerpiece of the 2006 law. The board of the Connector Authority made the cuts as officials confronted two side effects of the recession: the state budget crisis and a surge in enrollment by the recently unemployed. The largest share of the savings will come from slowing enrollment. An estimated 18,000 poor residents who qualify for full subsidies, but who forget to designate a health plan, will no longer be automatically assigned a plan and enrolled and thus could face delays in getting care." [editor's note: This bears watching, ESPECIALLY because MassCare is now being touted as a model for the proposed nationalization of wellness - SAT] (06/24/09) The
STG in this case is first creating this "trailblazing" health care
program - a piece of government-run, government-ruined stupidity and
cupidity that is incredible and has destroyed the state.
Our Right To Self-Defense
MI: Anarchists go to church
In These Times "Backed by lawyers from the right-wing Alliance Defense Fund, a Michigan church is using a law pioneered by pro-choice activists to seek damages, legal fees and a federal injunction against demonstrators who disrupted a church service. On Nov. 9, 2008, 10 members of Bash Back!, a Chicago-based national network of anarchist queers, snuck into a Sunday morning service at Mount Hope Church in Delta Township, Mich. As a group of protesters outside the church distracted security guards, those in the sanctuary began chanting, kissing and distributing fliers that called on young people to 'try exploring and embracing these new feelings your mind and soul have chosen to engage in.'" (06/24/09) This
certainly is the right of this church to go to court this way, but I am
sure that many people are asking if it is "right" for them to do this.
Paul himself used the secular powers to help defend himself, in the
book of Acts. The interesting thing in this story is how the writer
denigrates the Alliance Defense Fund as "right-wing" - I wonder just
where the ACLU is in this? They should be right there with the ADF -
for this sort of attack, verbal though it may be, is just as much an
attack on first-amendment freedoms of assembly and speech as anything
else.
Our Right To Self-Defense
OK: Prosecutor declines charges in shooting death
Times Record "The fatal shooting of a Sequoyah County man by his daughter Thursday was justified, and no charges will be filed, District 27 First Assistant District Attorney John David Luton said Tuesday. ... According to Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office reports, the department received a call at 11:09 p.m., saying Foreman had been shot during a domestic dispute. Foreman's wife, Shelli Foreman, told investigators that Foreman had been drinking and had been terrorizing her since 5:15 p.m., threatening her with guns and knives and wrapping a telephone cord around her neck. Foreman's daughter, Felicia Foreman, 22, arrived home during the incident. Shortly after 11 p.m., when Foreman forced his wife onto the ground, holding a gun to the back of her head, his daughter retrieved a gun from another bedroom and shot Foreman once from close proximity, in the upper body. Foreman died quickly." (06/24/09) There are times when, sadly, madness must be dealt with with deadly force, applied to maximum effect. But it is horrible when it happens. Mama's Note: How terrible for this woman and her family, dysfunctional as it no doubt was. Regardless of the background abuse, which is almost inevitable, killing your own father must be a life shattering experience. God be with them. Islamic War If you ignore the entire history of the intervention, this does seem to be the case. But the surge was and is a flawed response to a situation created by the poor decisions of American leadership, and the current up tick in violence is directly related to more poor decisions. The First Citizen and Medical Panic Ah, a spark of sanity in a nasty debate - not that DeMint and Price have either the power or the willingness to do the right thing and get the government OUT of medicine entirely. The First Citizen and Culture Wars Face it, the First Citizen is incapable of presenting a logical sequence of actions and words - he must appease his base and has an agenda to push that is not reflected by his rhetoric. Stupid Government Trick Ah, but they will IF the price of electricity (mostly produced by firing of coal) is driven so high, that together with gasoline prices, it requires more and more of us to drive less and less. A shattered economy with 15%, 20%, 25% unemployment will definitely produce less - of everything. Mama's Note:
Indeed! Ultimately, all of these government interventions - for
whatever reasons- will produce universal poverty, if not outright
starvation. Just how long will people endure that? And, more important,
why can't they see what is coming? They are ignorant of the history of
such things, for one, and have accepted the lies which at least seem to
relieve them of responsibility for themselves. A deadly combination. Congress in Action There is no such thing as "on our watch" with this Congress and Administration, is there? The entire thrust is to find any way possible to attack and blame previous administrations, provided that such attacks led to more power for the current administration. Friday: Congress in Action
Reid Did Not Have a ‘Lot of Time’ to Read Stimulus Bill; Will Not Give Public a Week to Read Health Care Bill Before Voting on It CNSNews.com Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- Nev.) will not commit to giving senators and the public a full week to read and review the final version of a health care reform bill before he holds a final vote on it… You
know, some people actually believed the politicians during the 2008
elections when they said that people would be able to study the bills
and that the Congressmen would be able to read the bills. Medical Panic 2009 Even such carefully orchestrated events as this seem to turn into opportunities for egotism to shine forth, don't they? Medical Panic 2009 Sadly, too many "brain surgeons" seem to WANT the government-run program - seeking security over freedom and over their freely-accepted responsibilities to patients. Mama's Note: I've been watching good health care
professionals leave the field for many years now. I left it in 2005,
mostly because I could no longer reconcile my principles with
politicized medicine. The tighter the noose, the more good people will
find other ways to make a living. And guess who will be left to take
care of you? The politically expedient and the incompetent. Home Front and the First Citizen Some things just never get laid to rest - especially when they will ensure the permanent dominance of the Democratic Party, at least in the eyes of their political leaders in DC. And some GOP types just cannot see what their own "cooperation" and "compromise" will lead to. Islamic War To be immediately followed by appointing an envoy to the "Christian Bloc" and the "Atheist Bloc"? What difference between this and if past Administrations had appointed an envoy to the Communist Bloc? Islamic War An interesting tidbit, to be sure, but no surprise in the least. Islamic War Bullet found in her head not of a type used in Iran The United States may have been behind the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan, the Iranian woman whose fatal videotaped shooting Saturday made her a symbol of opposition to the June 12 presidential election results, the country's ambassador to Mexico said Thursday. "This death of Neda is very suspicious", Ambassador Mohammad Hassan Ghadiri said. "My question is, how is it that this Miss Neda is shot from behind, got shot in front of several cameras, and is shot in an area where no significant demonstration was behind held?" He suggested that the CIA or another intelligence service may have been responsible. Though the video appeared to show that she had been shot in the chest, Ghadiri said that the bullet was found in her head and that it was not of a type used in Iran. "These are the methods that terrorists, the CIA and spy agencies employ", he said. "Naturally, they would like to see blood spilled in these demonstrations, so that they can use it against the Islamic Republic of Iran. This is [one] of the common methods the CIA employs in various countries." This pathetic attempt at propaganda spin is childish. If the CIA or some other agency (Israeli) were involved, it would be axiomatic for them to use a standard Iranian round. And what about all the other video and other reports of Iranian security forces firing at the protesters, or the clear statements about clearing the streets? Did the CIA invent all that, too? Of course, it is all a moot point because it was clear from the first two or three days that these protests would not escalate into a rebellion or revolution - this will have as little impact on Iran as Tienamien Square has on China. And this won't stop people around the world from claiming that the US are behind the protests, is killing Iranians in Iran, and the CIA is doing all this stuff. Just like the US are kidnapping children to harvest their organs or make them into hot dogs, and just like the US created AIDS to wipe out Africans. Or if not the US, the Israelis. Thanks to Scott for this one. Mama's Note: While I agree that it is unlikely the CIA or Israel manufactured this incident, it is not terribly difficult to understand why people will believe they did. You are known by the company you keep, and by past actions. The US - including all the alphabet gangs - and Israel have deliberately and violently created their reputation for illegal, immoral and murderous actions all around the globe. In the end, I'm not sure it really matters too much who pulls the trigger in this sort of thing. Dead is dead and evil is evil. Let the evil doers be stopped rather than argue about who is most evil.
Your comments and feedback are welcome! Now PoL has its own forum at The Mental Militia! Check it out  Nathan Barton is writing from either the Four Corners or the Black Hills - two places where there is still a hope of liberty and freedom for the 21st Century and beyond. He is a libertarian (a lover of liberty) because he is a Christian; a follower of Christ Jesus, Who came to make all men free in all ways. He was born, by God's grace, a Westerner, an American; he is a Christian, and therefore a libertarian, again by God's grace and his own free will and choice. Nathan's writings and words and life seek to live up to the potential of all these things, knowing that he can never achieve perfection on this earth in any of those things, but never giving up trying. Be sure to visit my blog, Liberty's Outpost. Special
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