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Libertarian
Commentary on The News
March 08, 2010By Nathan A. Barton © 2010 Starting off with some news from last week that I didn't cover: Culture wars: Air Force Admits Conservative Leader was ‘Disinvited’ to Speak at Prayer Luncheon Because of His Views on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' CNSNews.com The U.S. Air Force admits that Family Research Council President Tony Perkins was “disinvited” from speaking at a national prayer luncheon held Thursday at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland because of the conservative leader’s views opposing President Obama’s efforts to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell – the military policy on homosexuality. “The Chaplain’s Office retracted Mr. Perkins’ invitation after his recent public comments made many who planned to attend the event uncomfortable,” the Andrews base public affairs office said in a statement issued late Thursday. I can imagine just WHO was made uncomfortable - the senior officers and bureaucrats who lick the boots of the First Citizen's ministers. Islamic war - Canaanite front Muslims Furious Over Israeli Decision to Highlight Ancient Link CNSNews.com A decision by the Israeli government to include a location with an almost 4,000 year-old link to the origins of Judaism in a list of 150 national heritage sites has sparked an uproar among Muslims – and drawn the disapproval of the Obama administration. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insisted Thursday that the decision to include the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on the list would not in any way change the status quo at the site, which has long been shared by Jews and Muslims. ANY action of the Israelis is automatically evil in the eyes of the Arabs, other Islamists, Muslims, and those who side against the Israelis, even this. There is no reason except that for this knee-jerk hatred and the usual tactic of the Muslim extremists to go bonkers over anything. Mama's Note: Someone please tell me just why Obama (or anyone else in the US) should think it is any of his business. Health panic of 2009 Swine Flu Casualties Far Below White House Projections, Latest Mortality Data Show CNSNews.com New statistics on fatalities from the H1N1 flu strain show that it is no longer a “pandemic” in the United States, and that fatalities in America never came close to the levels projected by the White House last fall. Outbreaks in North and South America are now at a low-level, the World Health Organization said. In other words, instead of a major disaster, it appears to have been exactly what a lot of us called it: a panic over little or nothing. One is tempted to call it a "hoax." Congress in action Polls: Americans More Concerned With Arrogant Politicians and Bad Bills Rather Than Bickering and Gridlock CNSNews.com According to a new Zogby poll, Americans are more concerned about seeing bad bills passed than getting nothing done, and more annoyed by politicians who think they are smarter than Americans than partisan bickering. Too bad people haven't worried about this so much in the past. Life would be so much better now. Politics 2010 Paterson won't run in N.Y. race Washington Post NEW YORK -- New York Gov. David A. Paterson, who was unexpectedly catapulted into the job two years ago when his predecessor resigned in a sex scandal, announced today that he would not be running for election in November, as he battles low poll numbers and a growing scandal of his own. Another incumbent and Democrat bites the dust - for obvious reasons. Maybe NY should just elect "none of the above"? Mama's Note: Indeed... I can see how wonderful that would be if it spread across the whole country. But don't hold your breath... Congress in action - New religions: global warming Emissions bill would push new approach Washington Post Three key senators are engaged in a radical behind-the-scenes overhaul of climate legislation, preparing to jettison the broad "cap-and-trade" approach that has defined the legislative debate for close to a decade. ANY bill or law to ram "climate protection" down our throats will be an evil which must be fought, whether it uses the cap-and-trade or the usual "we'll fine you until you die and then we'll fine you some more" routine. Mama's Note: Nothing will be accomplished for good until more people accept the fact that nothing justifies theft, and that utopia is not an option. Congress in action Ethics panel clears 7 in earmark grants Washington Post The House ethics committee ruled Friday that seven lawmakers who steered hundreds of millions of dollars in largely no-bid contracts to clients of a lobbying firm had not violated any rules or laws by also collecting large campaign donations from those contractors. Can you spell "WHITEWASH"? What a bunch of lily-livered cowards must inhabit this committee. Compare this to the indignation screamed in the next story. (Not that their failure to do anything means anything, as the next story after that shows.) Inquiry sought into disappearance of e-mails in interrogations case Washington Post Senior Democratic lawmakers and watchdog groups demanded Friday that the Justice Department investigate the disappearance of e-mail messages written by Bush administration lawyers who drafted memos blessing harsh interrogation tactics, saying their absence cast doubt on an ethics report that cleared... Missing e-mails "cast doubt" but clearly documented cause-and-effect don't violate ethics? Of course, ethics is apparently some form of eubonics, at least according to the next story and how one congressman is responding. Rangel refuses to step aside after ethics slap Townhall Rep. Charles Rangel said Friday he won't step down as chairman of the powerful House tax-writing committee after being admonished by an ethics panel for accepting corporate-sponsored trips to the Caribbean. The public rebuke of one of the Democrats' most outspoken leaders posed more woes for a party that had vowed to end a "culture of corruption." The House ethics committee said that aides to the 20-term New York Democrat tried at least three times to show him the trips _ to Antigua in 2007 and St. Maarten in 2008 _ had corporate sponsorship, a violation of congressional gift rules. So much for Pelosi's claim to "drain the swamp," eh? And so much for "ignorance of the law is no excuse" as well. For twenty times, now, the corrupt, worthless, evil voters of New York have sent this man to represent them in Congress and saddled the country with this man who appears to be little more than a kind of gang lord. Congress in action - Health care panic Health-care bill may move soon Washington Post As Democratic leaders begin to negotiate what they hope will be a health-care endgame, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that President Obama's support for key House Democratic priorities had increased the likelihood that a version of the massive bill now stuck in the Senate could become law. She WISHES. And, I admit, she seems to be trying hard to make it true, no matter how underhanded and corrupt and illicit the attempts are. Congress in Action Senate inaction jeopardizes unemployment benefits Townhall The Senate failed late Thursday to extend programs for laid-off workers, jeopardizing unemployment benefits scheduled to expire over the weekend. The benefits are part of a larger package of government programs, from highway funding to loans for small businesses, set to expire Sunday because senators couldn't agree on how to pay for an extension. The House passed a bill Thursday extending the programs for a month while lawmakers consider how to address the issues long-term. Senate Democrats repeatedly tried to follow suit Thursday night but they couldn't overcome the objections of a single lawmaker, Republican Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, that the $10 billion bill would add to the budget deficit. Highway Trust Fund to Shut Down Monday; U.S. DOT to Furlough Workers Tuesday AASHTO Journal The federal Highway Trust Fund will shut down first thing Monday, suspending all payments to state transportation departments, and four U.S. Department of Transportation agencies are expected to furlough employees beginning Tuesday after Congress was unable to reach an agreement this week on legislation to extend surface transportation authorization past its Sunday expiration date. Well, well. All kinds of government stuff is shutting down on Monday; can we survive? Wait and see! World wars - Slavery Cuban abuse of doctors grows Daily Policy Digest (Investors Business Daily) Remember Cuba's vaunted medical missionaries -- those who treated the poor abroad for nothing, supposedly out of selfless motives? A lawsuit shows they were nothing but a communist slave racket. It ought to bear a few lessons for our own country as the role of doctors in the health care debate drags on, says Investor's Business Daily (IBD). Back in 1963, Cuban dictator Fidel Castro launched a much-praised initiative to share Cuba's medical doctors with the poor around the world. The idea, of course, was to appear to be acting on higher motives than the profit-driven doctors in free societies. It was small scale and propaganda-oriented, says IBD. But in 2003, Castro went big, and shipped 20,000 doctors and nurses to Venezuela's jungles and slums to treat the poor, doing the work "selfish" private-sector doctors wouldn't. Hugo Chavez touted this line and the mainstream media followed. Now the ugly facts are getting out about what that really meant -- indentured servitude to pay off the debts of a bankrupt regime, says IBD:... Slavery on a wholesale basis, with the
slaves being rented to Venezuela and elsewhere. Is this
incredible? Monday Monarchy Monday
Culture wars Bucking the inertia on same-sex marriage Washington Post On
paper, the declaration last week by Maryland Attorney General Douglas
F. Gansler (D) that the state would begin recognizing same-sex
marriages from other places might have seemed right in line with a
state ranked as having the nation's largest percentage of left-leaning
voters.
In other words, even "left-leaning" Tranzi type voters have a hard time with swallowing this guff. Politics 2010 - Old nightmares The people know where Barry's heart is Washington Post Former
D.C. mayor and now council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) has always
counted on a combination of spiritual affirmation and political acumen
to overcome the consequences of his most bedeviling character flaws.
And so it was that on Sunday, as a D.C. Council vote to censure him for
malfeasance...
Oh, dear. I don't know where his heart is, but his body is in the gutter (along with his mind) and his soul is in hock to corruption and evil. Politics 2010 - Texan terror Could White be another Ann Richards? Washington Post The
eyes of Texas are on Tuesday's Republican gubernatorial primary between
Gov. Rick Perry and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. And that's just how
former Houston mayor Bill White likes it.
The most "conservative" (possibly libertarian) candidate crashed and burned on Glenn Beck's show a couple of weeks ago over a question regarding 9-11 Truthers. Health care panic of 2009 - Congress in action
Obama aide: Democrats have votes for “health reform” scam Washington Post “Raising the prospect of a ’simple up-or-down vote’ on health-care reform, White House adviser Nancy-Ann DeParle said on Sunday she thinks Democrats will secure enough ayes on the measure and signaled that the administration could be moving toward trying to pass it along party lines. … the White House appears to favor having the House pass a version of the measure that cleared the Senate with 60 votes in December. The Senate would then pass changes to the bill to satisfy some demands of House Democrats. That Senate vote would take place under a parliamentary procedure known as reconciliation, which requires 51 votes rather than 60.” (03/01/10) The entire situation is smelling worse and worse. If they do pass this law, they'd best be prepared for what will likely soon deteriorate into an armed rebellion. Natural disasters - American front Chile: Troops impose curfew in quake-stricken towns Reuters “Chile’s government scrambled on Monday to provide aid to thousands of homeless in coastal towns devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunamis as 10,000 troops moved into stricken areas to quell looting. The government sharply raised the death toll to 711 from Saturday’s 8.8 magnitude quake as harrowing scenes of destruction emerged in isolated towns swamped by the giant waves that were triggered by one of the strongest earthquakes in a century.” (03/01/10) The difference between Chile and Haiti is stark; it is cultural, political, social, and technological. Home front
TN: Lynn pushes state sovereignty Tennessean “State Rep. Susan Lynn says she isn’t trying to fight the political battles of the Civil War [sic] again. But she isn’t afraid to push to restore Tennessee’s ’sovereignty.’ Lynn believes it’s time Tennesseans reworked their relationship with the federal government. And she says one of her jobs as a state legislator is to open that dialogue, even if it means sparking confrontation with political leaders in Washington, D.C. ‘For a very long time, the federal government has been growing and growing and becoming a bigger and bigger deal,’ Lynn said last week. ‘Maybe it’s time to pull out the document.’ … With libertarian outrage toward the federal government seemingly on the rise … Lynn has become one of its foremost champions in the Tennessee legislature.” (02/27/10) For the life of me, I cannot understand the mainstream media - is there a "style book" that requires that every time someone south of the Mason-Dixon Line opposes the federal government or demands that a state take its natural powers, the War Between the States must be brought up in the first paragraph? Tuesday First Citizen's ministers Obama's 'enforcer' may also be his voice of reason Washington Post Rahm Emanuel is officially a Washington caricature. He's the town's resident leviathan, a bullying, bruising White House chief of staff who is a prime target for the failings of the Obama administration. I'm not sure, is Emanuel Himmler or Heydrich, or perhaps Speer? Phony money - Theft by government A rare chance to remake the Fed Washington Post The No. 2 official on the Federal Reserve Board said Monday that he will retire, opening a third seat on what may be the world's most powerful economic body and giving President Obama a historic opportunity to reshape the central bank. This is just an excuse to "reshape" it - and is ammo for those who don't want to wipe out the Fed - "see, we can fix it!" Politics 2010 Ford won't challenge Senate incumbent in N.Y. Washington Post Former congressman Harold E. Ford Jr. has decided against challenging Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), ending a potential primary fight that Democrats in Washington and New York had actively discouraged. In a way, this is kind of disappointing - no Tennessee carpetbaggers in NY (and no, Hillary Clinton was NOT a carpetbagger: NY is her natural environment). Theft by government - Crash of 2009 In Savannah, skepticism over a recovery Washington Post SAVANNAH, GA. -- To hear President Obama tell it, his plans for reshaping the nation's economy are aimed at helping people like Ray Gaster, whose small chain of lumberyards here has been walloped by the recession. It ain't just Georgia! Everywhere I talk to people, there are NO signs of improvement. Mama's Note: And there will BE no improvement until the likes of Obama butt totally out of our business. You can't put out a fire with gasoline. Politics 2010 Ark. lieutenant governor to challenge Sen. Lincoln Washington Post Arkansas Lt. Gov. Bill Halter announced Monday that he will challenge Sen. Blanche Lincoln in the state's May primary, a decision touted by liberal Democrats as a watershed moment in attempts to demonstrate their displeasure with the way the party has conducted itself over the past year. Oh ho! The question is, which one collapses sooner - the DC Democratic Party or the DC Republican Party? Both clearly are totally out to lunch from the rest of the nation - or at least 40 or so states. Theft by government - welfare nation AMERICAN RELIANCE ON GOVERNMENT AT ALL-TIME HIGH WASHINGTON TIMES For the first time since the Great Depression, Americans took more aid from the government than they paid in taxes, say observers... Indeed, a milestone has been reached, but perhaps not as important as the earlier milestone that a majority of eligible voters received more from the government than they obtained from other sources. First Citizen's ministers White House Not Ready to Deny Democrat's Claim That Administration Offered Him Taxpayer-Funded Job If He Wouldn’t Run Against Sen. Specter CNSNews.com White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday he would have to “check on it” before he could deny Rep. Joe Sestak’s (D-Pa.) claim that the administration had offered him a high-ranking job in the administration in exchange for not mounting a primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), who switched parties last year, briefly giving the Democrats a 60-vote majority in the Senate. “So, at this point, the White House is not ready to deny what Sestak said?” CNSNews.com asked Gibbs. “No. I think I said I would check on it, on the situation,” said Gibbs. In Chicago-speak this is known as a bennie, in contrast to being visited by a man who is carrying a violin and NOT dressed in a tuxedo. Home front Mexican Drug Cartels Active Nationwide, Obama Administration Officials Say CNSNews.com A senior Obama administration official said on Monday that Mexican drug cartels are being targeted inside the United States more than along the border with Mexico, echoing remarks last week by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that cartels are operating throughout the country. Assistant Secretary of State David Johnson made the remarks at a State Department press briefing when CNSNews.com asked if the plan to combat drug trafficking and money laundering around the world included dealing with Mexican drug cartels in the United States. So explain to me just WHY we are paying Ms. Napolitano the big bucks? Mama's Note: Of course, this is just ass backwards. Elimination of the "war on drugs" would soon eliminate the "drug cartels" and all of the fighting. The only conclusion one can draw from the continued "war" is that none of these people really want to end it at all. They're all making lots of money just exactly the way it is... and that includes Napolitano.. Government-ruined, tax-funded schools First Lady Credits School Cafeteria Programs for Bolstering National Security CNSNews.com First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday told a school nutrition conference that individuals who work in school cafeterias across the country not only educate and feed children, but help to strengthen national security. Is this strange? I suppose that child-care centers (government-run or -regulated, only) will be the next critical part of the military-industrial complex to be recognized. This woman has the qualifications for a serious career as a daytime-television talk show host, especially the ability to not be embarrassed by making stupid statements in public. (Please note that the UCMJ does NOT make it an offense to be contemptuous to the wife (or husband) of a president.) Congress in action Inhofe Ranked Most Conservative Senator, Sherrod Brown Most Liberal CNSNews.com Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is the “most conservative” member of the Senate, and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is the “most liberal,” according to National Journal magazine. The National Journal reached its conclusions by analyzing the votes of all the U.S. senators on economic, social and foreign policy issues in 2009. Brown is the son of a Republican medical doctor and has spent more than half his life (he's 58 or 59) as a parasite of the taxpayers - of COURSE he is a Tranzi. Crash of 2009 Only 34 Percent Support More Financial Regulations, Survey Shows CNSNews.com Only 34 percent of Americans say the government should impose further regulations on the country’s financial industry, according to a Rasmussen Reports survey published on Feb. 26. The survey also revealed that a plurality – 47 percent – oppose more government regulation of banks and investment houses, a figure that has declined slightly from the 52 percent opposition observed in December 2009. Why? While I'd like to think it is because they realize that all the regulations that already exist have done nothing but made matters worse, the fact is more likely that they are just tired of the impact on daily life that all the regulations in the last decade have had: bank visits are still ahead of dentist-office visits, but not by much. Mama's Note: Guess that depends on where you live. Two of the tellers in my bank are former handgun students and every time I go in there we talk about our guns and the upcoming gun shows, or I hand out my latest bread recipe. Of course, I don't do anything there except keep enough in the checking account to pay the month's bills. And I probably won't even do that much longer. The girls and I will have to find another place to talk. Islamic war ‘Descendants of Mohammed’ Confront Newspapers Over Cartoons, Demanding Apologies and Eyeing Lawsuits CNSNews.com After securing an apology from one Danish newspaper for publishing a cartoon satirizing Mohammed, a Saudi lawyer now plans to confront another 15 newspapers, filing lawsuits against them if necessary. Faisal Yamani says he is acting on behalf of eight Muslim organizations representing “descendants of Mohammed.” What a joke! I don't think that there are any true descendants of Mohammed (peanut butter und honig) left. The evil Zionists and Western Satans killed them all off - seriously, no, their fellow Muslims killed them all off (so much for respecting the Prophet and his family). Mama's Note: "Peanut butter and honig"??? What's that all about? Poli-ticks 2010 New Website to Give Citizens Cash Incentive to Hold Public Officials Accountable CNSNews.com The new Web site, “ArroganceInOffice.com,” aims to generate tips from the public on displays of arrogance by elected public officials at all levels of government, with cash prizes to the best submitted examples. Man, it would be hard to be one of the judges for this little contest - I expect them to be flooded with submittals. Culture wars - killing babies Abortion Ban Does Not Mean More Maternal Deaths, Chilean Study Finds CNSNews.com Initial findings by a biomedical researcher examining the drop in maternal deaths in the last 50 years in Chile challenges the claim made by global abortion lobbyists that broad abortion laws are necessary to guard women’s health. “This study provides evidence that the legal status of the therapeutic abortion is not related with maternal mortality reduction..." This, of course, seriously compromises one of the really strong arguments that the pro-abortion cultists use to sway the majority to their side: sanctity of life or not, most people are willing to be swayed to the idea that an adult (or even adolescent) life should take priority over a very young life. The specter of back-alley abortions with coat hangers has swayed millions of votes over the years. However, anti-abortion forces cannot forget (or rather, refuse to understand) that such arguments are not the reason for the "unlimited abortions" view - rather, they are an excuse used to persuade them. A brief if careful study of human history shows that killing of the innocent, especially the young, is an essential element of what I call the Tranzi philosophy or religion: Ba'al and Moloch worship in 1500 BC, Roman progressivism in 100 AD, Anasazi cannibalism in 1150 AD, Aztec worship of the feathered serpent in 1500 AD, and the Khymer Rouge in 1980 AD all show this, as does the statist proclivity to mass kill-offs of the relatively young seen in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France (1800-1815 AD), Europe in the Great War (1914-1919), and various phases of the Great Asian War, in particular 1930-1945 (China), 1950-1953 (Korea), 1950-1954 (Vietnam I), and 1973-1978 (Vietnam III). Wednesday Wicked Wednesday Congress in action 'Enough!' is enough: Bunning backs down Washington Post For five days, retiring Sen. Jim Bunning held his fellow Republicans hostage. He stood his ground, angry and alone, a one-man blockade against unemployment benefits, Medicare payments to doctors, satellite TV to rural Americans and paychecks to highway workers. This is, of course, utter nonsense: Bunning was not and did not fight against any of these things - not a ONE of which is really the responsibility of the FedGov in the first place. And paying for USDOT bureaucrats is NOT the same thing as taking paychecks out of highway workers' hands, any more than rural Americans were denied satellite TV (or for that matter, even want it!). Congress in action In a reversal, senators propose giving Fed more power Washington Post It's an unlikely twist after all the beatings that Democrats and Republicans have laid on the Federal Reserve over the past year. Some lawmakers who set out to improve financial regulation by stripping the Fed of its powers are moving toward the grudging conclusion that the Fed should hold even more power. Another demonstration of the sickness which infests the halls of the Capitol - indeed, all of the Capital. It also shows that Dr. Ron Paul's effort to end the Fed is apparently dead. Who watches the watchers, indeed! Congress, First Citizen, and Health Care Panic Obama reaches out to GOP on health-care bill Washington Post As Democrats on Capitol Hill prepared a risky effort to muscle sweeping health-care legislation to final passage, President Obama on Tuesday made a last gambit to split Republicans on the issue, proposing to incorporate a handful of GOP ideas into his signature domestic initiative. What risk? We already know there is no chance whatsoever of their states demanding their recall and impeachment, and less chance of the street mob pulling out the SOBs and stringing them up on lamp posts in DC. There is not that much chance of incumbents getting tossed out. Politics 2010 Perry bests Hutchison in Texas Washington Post Texas Gov. Rick Perry cruised to victory in the state's Republican gubernatorial primary Tuesday night, crushing Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and setting the stage for a run for a third full term this fall. Early reports indicated that a runoff would be needed, but more complete results indicated that he got 52% and the Tea Partier only got 19% - but Hutchison is left for dead. Apparently Texans would rather have a four-term governor (even if the guy is a Tranzi "conservative") than a DC insider. To me, this shows (once again) that East Texas has deserted its heritage of Free Texans and that as long as Houston and Dallas and especially Austin are not radioactive craters, the potential for a truly free Texas is absolutely zip. Congress in action - Health care panic Stupak Rejects Hoyer’s New Claim That Senate Health Bill Bars Funding of Abortion CNSNews.com Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), sponsor of the successful amendment to the House health care bill that prohibits federal funds from going to any health care plan that covers abortions, rejected the assertion made Tuesday by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) that the Senate health care bill prohibits federal funding of abortion. This is important because President Obama’s current plan to enact health-care reform requires the House to pass the Senate bill, a bill that Stupak has said he will not support. In the House, the anti-abortion GOP/Demo members do NOT, it appears, have enough votes to keep this from happening; it just makes the screaming and the impact worse. First Citizen's Ministers - Islamic war Justice Department Won’t Name the Attorneys Who Worked on Terror Cases Despite Request From GOP Senators CNSNews.com After a conservative group posted a video on Tuesday calling for the Justice Department to release the names of department lawyers who previously worked on cases involving terror suspects, a DOJ spokesman responded with a statement that still does not name the attorneys. Republican lawmakers have raised conflict-of-interest concerns about lawyers who represented or advocated on behalf of Guantanamo Bay detainees before joining the Justice Department. Is there ANY law forbidding the DOJ or ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT agency from releasing the names of employees? Nope, wrong question: is there ANY law ALLOWING any government agency to keep the names of employees confidential? Especially NOT to Congress. First Citizen's Ministers - Health Care Panic Sebelius Accuses GOP of Using ‘Politics of Obstruction’ on Health Care CNSNews.com Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told physicians and others at the American Medical Association conference in Washington that President Barack Obama will not start from scratch on health care legislation and will “move forward” to get a bill passed. She said there was “overlap” of what Republicans and Democrats want in health care legislation, including the elimination of waste and fraud in the government-run Medicare and Medicaid programs, but Sebelius said Obama and Democrats are still dedicated to universal health care. They may SAY that there is "overlap" but the Democrats in Congress want to eliminate spending (and thus, waste and fraud) in health care programs about as much as they want to lose their majorities in Congress this year. And NONE of the bills, including the First Citizen's "compromise" joke, provide "universal health care" - just universal tax increases. Ms. Sebelius shames her home state of Kansas once again, and adds lying to incompetence - as the busted bubble of the Swine Flu scare crashes around her. First Citizen's Ministers - World wars New Calls for Obama Administration to Add Venezuela to Terror-Sponsor List CNSNews.com Accusations about links between the Venezuelan government and terrorists in Colombia and Spain add weight to calls to designate Venezuela as a state sponsor of terrorism, a Latin American specialist said Tuesday. Heritage Foundation scholar Ray Walser was commenting on claims by a Spanish prosecuting judge that President Hugo Chavez’s government had assisted two terror groups that plotted to assassinate Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. One more piece of evidence that Hugo is using the US as an excuse for a lot of nasty stuff. Whatever the US might be doing in Columbia is no excuse for this Communist to do the same thing - two wrongs don't make a right. First Citizen's Ministers - World wars Obama Administration’s Stance on Falkland Islands Dispute Seen As Betrayal by Some in U.K. CNSNews.com The Obama administration’s decision to not to back Britain in its dispute with Argentina over the Falkland Islands has left British commentators pondering the state of the “special relationship.” Standing alongside Hillary Clinton in Buenos Aires on Monday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner expressed the desire to negotiate with Britain over the islands. Clinton agreed with her host that the two countries should “sit down” and negotiate. She also did not rule out a U.S. role. WHAT? What is there to negotiate? It is British people who settled and live on the island; Spain once claimed it but the UK has owned it and Brits have lived on it for 200 years, and Clinton says they should negotiate? What? Reparations for the last Argentine invasion? New religions - Global warming Global-Warming Scientists ‘Need to Go Back to Square One,’ Rep. Barton Says CNSNews.com Global warming has not met scientific criteria, and scientists need to find a theory that matches the facts, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) said Tuesday at the U.S. “This whole theory of global warming is just that: It’s a theory. It’s based on models.") Disclaimer: no known relation, but probably a distant (4th or 5th) cousin: Bartons came to Texas in the 1820s (Old Texian stock, clearly) to continue to live in freedom, already being lost in places like North and South Carolina even then. I don't agree with Joe on a LOT of things (that R after his name gives it away, eh?) but in this I do - BAD models. And outright lies. Theft by Government Administration proposes 13 new national monuments and more "consolidation" in West Washington Times President Clinton used the [Antiquities Act of 1906] authority 22 times to prohibit hunting, recreational vehicles, mining, forestry and even grazing in 5.9 million acres scattered around the country. The law allowed him to single-handedly create 19 new national monuments and expand three others without consulting anyone.President Obama could do the same in other energy-rich places unless Congress takes action. At least 13.5 million acres are already on his Department of Interior's real estate shopping list.(pdf) Sen
DeMint (R-SC) and at least one Utah representative (Bishop) have
already tried to stop this Administration plan in its tracks.
This has
something for everyone: multiple sites in CA, CO, UT, AR, NM, MT, WY,
and OR, buying tens of thousands of acres of private land, taking over
state lands, and tying up more federal land in the same way that Grand
Staircase/Escalante (Utah) and Canyons of the Ancients (Colorado) was
during the Clinton Administration: a similar effort was done during the
Carter Administration. It is not just federal land that is
affected:
the BLM immediately uses the new designation to try and stop
development or multiple use of private lands within and as far as 10 or
12 miles from the boundaries of these newly designated areas: entire
counties see more and more impact. Census jobs unfilled in some places USA Today "The Census Bureau is having trouble finding qualified temporary workers in some neighborhoods for the national head count despite the record number of jobless who have swelled the nationwide pool of applicants. Census already has recruited 3 million potential workers for the 1.2 million jobs needed to conduct the 2010 Census." (03/03/10) Wonder if the faked murder (suicide) of that census worker in Kentucky has anything to do with this, or if the people who can pass drug tests and such are smart enough to realize that folks might take out their anger with Congress and the First Citizen on them? Mama's Note: I'm also having a little problem with their math. Why do they need 3 million people to fill 1.2 million jobs? Why would they need even more people? Our right to self-defense Starbucks sticks to guns policy despite outcry MSNBC "Coffee chain Starbucks Corp. is sticking to its policy of letting customers carry guns where it's legal and said it does not want to be put in the middle of a larger gun-control debate. The company's statement, issued Wednesday, stems from recent campaign by some gun owners, who have walked into Starbucks and other businesses to test state laws that allow gun owners to carry weapons openly in public places. Gun control advocates have protested." (03/03/10) Ah, well. Despite the protests, Starbucks continues to stick to its guns, so to speak... Congress in action Rangel temporarily steps down as chairman of committee Arkansas Democrat-Gazette "Rep. Charles Rangel stepped aside as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, saying he was temporarily giving up the gavel because he didn't want his ethics investigation to jeopardize election prospects for fellow Democrats. ... Pelosi issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging Rangel's request for a leave." (03/03/10) Could you just make it permanent, Mr. Rangel? After all, if you want to make sure that other Democrats are not harmed... Stupid government tricks - Economic Issues WHO LOST JOBS WHEN THE MINIMUM WAGE ROSE? BALL STATE UNIVERSITY Increasing the minimum wage may have prompted the elimination of 550,000 jobs, according to study... And figures released this week indicate that there has been no change in joblessness - while I am hearing and seeing evidence of MORE joblessness. This was shown (predicted) when the increases were proposed, but it is an easy way for politicians to buy votes without even having to steal the money from taxpayers directly. Theft by government - Economic Issues ARIZONA REJECTS ECONOMY KILLING ENERGY TAXES HERITAGE FOUNDATION Arizona will no longer attempt to limit greenhouse gas emissions across the West, say observers... Utah is not the only Western state that is rejecting the left's global warming regulation policies. Last month Ariz. Gov. Jan Brewer (R) signed an executive order stating that Arizona will not endorse any emission-control plan that could raise costs for consumers and businesses, says the Heritage Foundation. The article describes just a few of the likely extremely negative impacts, and how Westerners will be hurt more than most of the country. However, New Mexico and Colorado (look who rules these states), and possibly Wyoming and Montana (again, notice whose in charge), are proceeding with this. In Colorado and New Mexico, the phenomenon is well-understood: Tranzi-controlled and -inhabited Metro Denver (with 2/3 the population) DOES care about how the rest of the state (especially the rural areas) fare economically: they want to DESTROY the rural economy, so that the "earth" is protected and so that the only viable economic activity in these areas is the servicing of tourists from urban areas: no mining, no oil and gas, no logging and timber, no farming, no ranching, and above all no industry. New Mexico, dominated by the Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Taos new-ager Tranzis, is much the same: they DO care about ranchers in Catron county and farmers around Clovis and roughnecks in Hobbs: they want them to all be on the dole in Albuquerque and this kind of thing is just what will do it. Of course, if the states don't put these taxes into place, the First Citizen and his thugs in the EPA will do it anyway. Stupid government tricks Showerhead Makers Fail to Certify Product; DOE Seeks $3 M Environmental Protection News The Office of General Counsel has issued notices of proposed civil penalty to Zoe Industries, Altmans Products LLC, EZ-FLO International, and Watermark Designs, Ltd. for failing to certify to the Department of Energy that showerheads manufactured or distributed by these companies meet the applicable water conservation standard as required by the Energy Policy Conservation Act and DOE’s regulations. These notices collectively propose payments to the government of more than $3 million. Unless the manufacturers settle these claims within 30 days, the Department will file actions either in District Court or with an Administrative Law Judge to demand payment for the failure to certify their products. Under federal law, manufacturers of some products covered by the Energy Policy and Conservation Act are required to certify with the department that their models meet the applicable water conservation standards. These certification reports provide DOE with information critical to determining that American consumers are buying products that deliver significant water and cost savings in accord with DOE’s regulations. Now notice how at some point in the past, we have ceded to federal bureaucrats the power to dictate what kind of shower head we can buy, and to punish those who dare to make shower heads that succeed in the market (or they'd stop making them - duh) but who fail to lick the boots of the bureaucrats with sufficient vigor and enthusiasm. We then allow these thugs to blackmail and threaten businesses who do not jump quickly enough - and which have been determined to be guilty by the bureaucrats without benefit of judge, jury, defense, or even a public hearing. And once more we see that our most precious secular documents are a dead letter. Our right to self-defense Montana Protest Promotes Defense Rights Ravelli Republic (Montana) HAMILTON - If anybody was looking to take a constitutional right, or anything else, away from the well-armed folks standing along Hamilton's main drag Wednesday, they might well have been in for a nasty fight. Never mind the impressive arsenal at hand - there was everything from assorted pistols to hunting rifles to a bayoneted 1816 muzzle-loading musket to a PTR 91 .308 caliber assault rifle - a message was on display, brought with intent by the roughly fourscore who lined U.S. Highway 93. The rally placards waved at passing vehicles declared this was a group ready to do battle for the right to own and carry a gun. Sounded like a good time! Mama's Note: Sadly, not even the Montana paper can get it right. There were NO "assault rifles" of any kind in that demonstration. All "assault" rifles are capable of full automatic fire... and none of these people were likely to be carrying one. Friday Freaked-out Friday Congress in action - Health Care Panic Health bill's backers walk a tightrope on abortion Washington Post As President Obama makes his final plea for a health-care overhaul, Democratic leaders in Congress are embarking on a delicate strategy to win over abortion opponents, a gambit that could determine whether the legislation becomes law. The kind of tightrope where people are standing on either side with sharp objects to poke at your feet! Expect the various players, Demo and GOP, to betray their "principles" whenever convenient. The Louisiana Purchase and the Nebraska gambit will still be there - just better hidden. Mama's Note: Sadly, far too many people act as if abortion was the only real issue. Congress in action - Health Care Panic Rep. Boehner Rebuts House Speaker Pelosi’s Claim That Health Care Bill Doesn’t Fund Abortion CNSNews.com "Under the Senate bill, everyone who buys a health policy at one of the so-called exchanges will pay a monthly abortion fee,” House Minority Leader John Boehner said on Thursday. “That goes into a fund to pay for elective abortions. Now, you can argue that this $1-per-month fee that everyone's going to be charged isn't a tax, but you try to explain that to the American people. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at her weekly briefing on Thursday, repeated her position that the Senate bill does not fund abortion. This again seems to be a major point of the fight, in part because it is such a blatant attempt to push this. First Citizen's ministers - Home front Obama aides near reversal on 9/11 trial Washington Post President Obama's advisers are nearing a recommendation that Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, be prosecuted in a military tribunal, administration officials said, a step that would reverse Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s plan to try him ... This is starting to sound even more like Carter II! Stupid government tricks Lawmakers move to restrain EPA on climate change Washington Post As climate change legislation stalled in the Senate, the Obama administration noted that it had a workable -- although admittedly unwieldy -- Plan B. If Congress wouldn't cap U.S. emissions, officials said, the Environmental Protection Agency would do it instead. I don't suppose that they can point out in the Constitution or the law where the EPA has the authority to do something that Congress won't do - of course not. But this IS an admission that the Administration is rapidly becoming totally grid-locked with Congress: another key provision of the Administration's plot to totally change American society, culture, economy, and government. Congress in action Sander Levin replaces Rangel as Ways and Means chairman Washington Post House Democrats elevated Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.), a pro-union, anti-free-trade liberal who is a close ally of the auto industry, to chairman of the Ways and Means Committee on Thursday. Shucks, now we have to wait until one of HIS scandals is revealed. I'm sure that won't be long. First Citizen - Congress in action Obama expands health-bill efforts Washington Post An aide to President Obama on Thursday urged lawmakers to make substantial progress on his health-care plan before he leaves on a foreign trip in mid-March, as Obama summoned wavering House Democrats to the White House for a private sales pitch. Still MORE indications that the Administration is crashing and burning. Congress in action - First Citizen's ministers Dems Advance Obama’s Nominee for Justice Department Post, Despite GOP Opposition to Her Pro-Abortion, Anti-War Views CNSNews.com The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted 12-7 along party lines for the full Senate to cast an up-or-down vote on Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice. Republicans say Johnsen’s past activism with liberal groups and her pro-abortion stance disqualify her for the post. Well, those two characteristics disqualify virtually the entire Obama Administration from serving in their positions. Stupid UN tricks Geneva Summit Will Focus on Countries Mostly Ignored by UN Human Rights Body CNSNews.com When the U.N. Human Rights Council continues its month-long session in Geneva on Monday, a coalition of human rights groups will hold a parallel event focusing on some of the items kept off the HRC agenda by its powerful members. The human rights of Iranians, Cubans, Tibetans, Uighurs and Burmese will be the focus of the two-day Geneva Summit for Human Rights, Tolerance and Democracy. Funny how all those got left off the HRC agenda, isn't it? Mama's Note: Funny how the only "rights" these folks seem to care about require OTHER people be robbed, lied to and murdered. Congress in action Hatch: Biden Will ‘Go Down in History as a Real Dolt’ If He Overrules Senate Parliamentarian CNSNews.com Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said Vice President Joe Biden should not use his power as president of the Senate to overrule the Senate parliamentarian on the legitimacy of Democrats using a 51-vote majority to pass their health-care reform bill. Senate bills normally require at least 60 bills [sic] to pass. Oh, I think Biden's label is already safely imbedded in history without this latest act. Mama's Note: Indeed... as my mother used to say, "you can't wet a river." Congress in action Senate Republican Leader Won't Say Whether Bunning Was Right or Wrong in Blocking Unemployment Extension Bill CNSNews.com Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) wouldn’t say whether his fellow Republican colleague from Kentucky -- Sen. Jim Bunning -- was right or wrong in arguing that the $10 billion unemployment extension bill should not be passed unless it is paid for without adding to the national debt. “Well, we moved on to a new bill,” Sen. McConnell told CNSNews.com on Wednesday. The failure of the GOP leadership to support Bunning, especially in light of the way Bunning was castigated by much of the media, shows once more that anyone counting on the GOP to do ANYTHING about the current mess is leaning on a broken straw. Essentially all Bunning did was point out the hypocrisy of the Democratic majority. Home front - economic issues LET'S BRING BACK THE ROBBER BARONS WALL STREET JOURNAL Political entrepreneurs create fewer jobs than do market entrepreneurs, says columnist Daniel Henninger... No, really, Dr. Watson? Mama's Note: Ah... pardon me, but what in the world is a "political entrepreneur"? Oxymoron of the week. New religions: manmade global warming FUEL TAXES MUST RISE, HARVARD RESEARCHERS SAY NEW YORK TIMES To meet the Obama Administration's targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, Americans may have to pay $7 a gallon for gas, according to researchers from Harvard University... I don't know if this is politically-tainted science or an attempt to make a self-fulfilling prophesy, or is serious, but if we REALLY want to crash the economy quickly, this would be the way to go. It would also lead immediately to a black market the likes of which we have NEVER seen. Imagine gasoline and diesel tankers being hijacked (with the cooperation of the drivers, in many cases), and the fuel mysteriously appearing in the tanks of thousands of vehicles over night. Imagine explosions in the middle of the country when someone tries to tap a pressurized fuel line. Imagine the number of farm and construction project fuel tanks mysteriously emptied overnight increasing 20 times the current (already high) rate. Imagine legitimate fuel tankers and trailers being "borrowed" at midnight to pump underground storage tanks at service stations and convenience stores dry. Imagine more convenience store clerks being gunned down in cold blood so that the dispensers can be run dry. Oh, lots of fun. Politics 2010 States as unloved as Congress POLITICO According to a POLITICO review of publicly available polling data, numerous state legislatures are also bottoming out, showing off-the-charts disapproval ratings accompanied by stunning levels of voter cynicism. It all adds up to a toxic election-year brew for legislators inside and outside Washington. With the kind of numbers quoted in this story, I'd be worrying a lot more about things OTHER than who gets voted out: like the quantity of hempen rope being sold, or the pickup of sales of ammo despite increased prices. 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 Feature! Add your signature to the NEW Declaration of Independence By Robert Greenslade To Read previous Commentaries, go to the archives page and click onto the link for the week. The commentaries are linked from the weekly front pages. Please note: Information about readers is never given or sold to anyone for any purpose. Remember, however, that many people can read and recover anything posted to web sites or email unless it is carefully encrypted. Please take personal responsibility for what you post anywhere. MamaLiberty) |
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