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Libertarian
Commentary on The News
Posted July 23, 2012By Nathan A. Barton © 2012 The truth is, on earth, all good things must come to an end. Libertarian News & Commentary will, with its home site, become a "blog" with at least one post a week, featuring 20 or so stories (unlike the average of 70-80 for the past five or more years - I've lost track). I'll continue to concentrate on "Stupid government tricks" and "Culture wars" (which do have real casualties) and "Islamic wars" and "Government-run/tax-funded schools" and such. I'm probably going to give up on the First Citizen, except when it is TOO outrageous. Stupid people - War on religion Restaurant Offers Discount For Church Bulletin, Atheist Files Discrimination Suit » (PersonalLiberty.com) It’s common practice in many small towns for a restaurant to offer a discount to the church crowd. Bring a bulletin; get a cheap lunch. Even Chick-fil-A has been known to get in on the action. But that all might change if a man in Pennsylvania gets his way. Imagine, because someone else gets a discount, which is of course a marketing tool, this man is suddenly a victim. Victims create more powerful states: what a great opportunity! Local tyranny - War on religion? The Bible Vs. The Building Code: Which Is More Important? (PersonalLiberty.com) City officials in Phoenix arrived at the conclusion that Michael Salman was putting people’s lives in jeopardy by conducting a Bible study at his home. He was found guilty of 67 building code violations and sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years of probation. There IS some reason to question the wisdom of this man and his family, because while the city's position is wrong and extreme, the wing of his house used for his Bible studies, from the inside at least, appears to be a pretty standard auditorium for a small congregation and looks like it can easily seat 50 people. I've met in many homes, and studied residences used for christian worship for centuries, and this falls more into the "meetinghouse attached to a residence" than your typical "house church" meeting place. (I've worshipped with at least a dozen congregations meeting in houses with MUCH smaller assembly rooms; I've met with probably two dozen churches whose purpose-built meeting rooms are much smaller than this.) But a major point is that even a decade ago, virtually NO municipal authorities would have dared do this, much less get a jail term. Quotes of the week: "In my many years I have come to a conclusion that one useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a Congress." -President John Adams A wonderful quote - true in every detail. Yes, I AM prejudiced against lawyers and congresses. "Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined." --Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, 1788 We are at that point. Are you prepared for the use of defensive force to regain your liberty? If not, expect the chains to get heavier. No self-defense Missouri: Bodys found in missing sisters case (MSNBC) Britny Haarup, 19, and her sister Ashley Key, 22, have been missing since Friday, when Haarup’s fiancé, Matt Meyers, found her two infant daughters alone at her home. The sisters also left behind their purses and a cellphone, NBC affiliate KSDK-St. Louis reported. A comforter soaked in blood was also found in the home, and relatives said guns were missing from the dwelling, the Star reported. The women found in the field were Caucasian, Holland told the Star. "We can say we were led here based on information from a suspect in the disappearance of Britny Haarup and Ashley Key." Mama Liberty: Seems this pair were helpless victims, in spite of having guns available. What a terrible pity. Nathan: Situational awareness is as critical as being armed (or having weapons available). It is very likely that these victims knew their killers, which may be how they entered the house. Monday, July 16, 2012 Islamic wars: Arab street revolt In Egypt, Clinton Fends Off Allegations of U.S. Support for Muslim Brotherhood (CNSNews.com) This of course should not surprise anyone, since every indication is that the allegations are true. Politics 2012 Romney Says He Won't Give Obama Team 'More Things to Pick Through' and 'Distort' (CNSNews.com) I doubt that he could keep them from doing it - a good video editor is all it takes; it is impossible to avoid saying something that can't be taken out of context and used against him. Government-ruined, theft-supported schools - Culture wars Public School Offers Open Jar of Free Indian-Made Condoms--to Kids 12+ (CNSNews.com) Not only out-sourced, but under-age and without parental approval: heaven forbid that the kid needs an aspirin without a notarized and counter-signed permission strip (correct form, in triplicate, good for only one six-week period at a time), but grab all you need of the sheaths, kids. Mama's Note: I actually knew someone who's 12 year old son found a box of condoms in an older brother's dresser. The boy discovered some very interesting (and hysterical) uses for them, none of which involved sex. It is seriously ugly for a "public school" to do something like this, but the cure is the same as always... eliminate government schools altogether. First Citizen's minions - Lawless Sebelius Claims Power to Gut Welfare Reform, Contrary to Law (CNSNews.com) It is all delegated from the messiah (First Citizen) of course, who is (as we were all taught in school) above the law and has his powers passed through directly from George Washington. Nazgul Federal Judge Imposes Racial Quota on FDNY, Responding to Minorities Who Failed Entrance Exams (CNSNews.com) Are the exams that hard? Like the physical tests? We will see the FDNY filled with not just corrupt and wealthy union firemen, but with firemen who cannot do the job. First Citizen - "We built this city..." Obama to Business Owners: 'You Didn't Build That. Somebody Else Made That Happen' (CNSNews.com) "If you've got a business---you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." This seems to be this week's effort by the First Citizen Reelection Campaign to distract their opposition - and working very well: the amount of froth from people's mouths is impressive and hiding a LOT of things. Still, the distain by the First Citizen is obvious: he clearly considers business people to be worthless scumbags (like the politicians he knows best, I assume) who are in it only for greed and do nothing to earn their pay. More on this later. Mama's Note: I thought I'd die laughing when I heard this one. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to put both feet in their mouth, up to their hips, and still have room left over! Politics 2012 Rice on Becoming Romney's VP: 'There Is No Way That I Will Do This' (CNSNews.com) Which I am sure makes a LOT of Dems mad and makes a lot of GOP types happy. She may have been a GREAT Secretary of State (depondent saith nothing further), but then everyone said that Kissinger and Haig and Albright were, too - the mere thought of them as a VPOTUS sends us into gales of laughter. Stupid government - New religions: environism New Ethanol-Blend Fuel Approved by EPA Can Damage Car Engines, Group Warns (CNSNews.com) Well, I have news for these guys: the E10 blend isn't exactly good for a lot of car engines, either. Nanny state: stupid government Government Kicks Off Its Summer Reading Program for Kids, With Emphasis on Exercise (CNSNews.com) Okay, let's see: Summer is about a month old now, and the procrastinators are surely going to all run out and get some exercise - or maybe just read a book about getting some exercise? Mama's Note: I don't know, but I suspect that reading while you run isn't going to work out too well either. How about this... run in the cool of the morning and read in the heat of the day. Works for me! And, believe it or not, both can be done without either encouragement or permission from the government! Imagine that! Islamic wars: Persian Front - Stupid UN U.S.: Iran’s Role in Arms Treaty Conference ‘Undermines the Credibility of the United Nations’ (CNSNews.com) Believe me, it didn't take the Iranian participation in this farce to "undermine the credibility" of those yahoos who came on the East River in Manhattan. Politics 2012 Romney: 'I Hope to Represent ... Every Race, Creed and Sexual Orientation' (CNSNews.com) "All Americans?" Then he must want to be a DICTATOR! Politics 2012 Rep. Van Hollen: Justice Thomas and Sen. McConnell are ‘Way Outside the Mainstream’ (CNSNews.com) The "Mainstream" is over-rated, anyway. And scary: are "Democrats" OR "Republlicans" the "mainstream?" Then may the Good Lord help us all. Abominable Act - Stupid government Medicaid Freedom of Choice (American Spectator) A 2010 study of major surgical procedures found that being on Medicaid was associated with the longest length of hospital stay, the most total hospital costs and the highest risk of death... All these great things - from the point of view of the Tranzis, at least: keep control, make it as expensive as possible (to scare the victims and families and ensure more and more tax money and therefore profits are possible), and finally, kill them off to keep the costs at least somewhat under control while speeding them on to their rewards along with their old-fashioned ideas. Crash of 2009 and related economic news Why Hairdressers Are Secure: Their Jobs Can't Be Exported (Wall Street Journal) While the nation as a whole saw the number of jobs decrease by 6 percent in 2007, there was a 2 percent increase in personal-service jobs... Frankly, I wouldn't count on it - many jobs are being automated out of existence. Don't have many jobs for grooms and stablehands these days, do we? The problem is, government makes it more and more difficult to create NEW jobs. Auto mechanics and service station attendants replaced grooms and stablehands in the first half of the 20th Century. Today, even service station attendants are mostly gone - self-service is it (except in Oregon, of course) and convenience store clerks have replaced them. BUT convenience store clerks are also endangered - more and more automation is on the way. I know of multiple self-serve, UNATTENDED fuel stations, and the development of remote-control and robotic/automatic dispenser systems AND telecommuting will let the convenience store eliminate MANY of its clerk positions in future years. Just as some fast-food outlets have already outsourced their drive-through windows to India and the Philippines - sending the orders by internet to the cooks. Why? Because the government has forced the cost of employees - stateside employees to insane levels for low-skilled work. Yes, automation may still be less costly than hand work, but the difference is not nearly so great, when you figure training costs and workers comp and Medicare and Medicaid and health insurance and ICE paperwork and minimum wages and safety and health regulations and licensing fees and all the rest. Mama's Note: I'm an exception, I know, but I have not gone to a "hairdresser" in something like 30 years. I hate the smells, especially the fake fingernail stuff, and I refuse to pay $30. or more for a simple haircut. I went to a barber for most of those 30 years, and when the one here in town closed, I just started cutting my own hair. I'm not good at it... but I work really cheap. :) Other economic news The Fortunate 400 (Tax Foundation) Virtually no one has remained on the IRS' list of the top 400 earners in terms of adjusted gross income for all the years it has been kept... For one thing, of course, I suspect these people have an entire team of IRS thugs watching them every moment. But we all get old and tired and try to retire at least a little bit - or we die. OR we fail to adapt to the times - unlike government officials and bureaucrats who don't HAVE to adapt: they force us to do it for them. New religions: environism - Other economic news U.S. Drivers Slow to Embrace All-Electric Vehicles (USA Today) Sales of the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which can travel about 75 miles on a single overnight charge, plummeted 69 percent in June from a year earlier.. Last week, I traveled 2150 miles from Tuesday through Saturday, so of course, the Leaf would have turned brown the first day (for those unsure of math, that is an average 430 miles per day, or SIX times what the Leaf can do. Coupled with a bad economy where people are seeing if they can replace their subcompact sedan ($20K) with a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle ($8K), who wants to pay $50K for a LEMON (excuse me, that was a curled up yellow leaf, I got excited)? Mama's Note: And most people simply refuse to accept the fact that the electricity has to be generated somehow, often with far less efficiency and more pollution than the good old gas engine. Stupid government - Other economic news Just Wait until It's Free (The Freeman) Because consumers pay such a small portion of the total cost of subsidized goods in the form of the marginal cost, they are not encouraged to shop around... NOTHING costs so much as something that is 'free' - or so my grandmother taught me. What is subsidized today? Health care, of course. Retirement. Food. Housing. College educations. K-12 educations. You name it - and for some con artists and a few people REALLY down on their luck or in really bad shaped, they get a real deal (for a while, at least). On the backs of everyone else: twice, actually. Once, when the taxman cometh, and a second time when the subsidies drive up demand and so prices respond by climbing up even faster, as a limited supply cannot meet demand. Tuesday, July 17, 2012 New religions: global warming - Stupid government NM: Geoengineers to release planet-cooling gas into atmosphere (The Raw Story) "Two Harvard engineers are planning to spray thousands of tonnes of sun-reflecting chemical particles into the atmosphere to artificially cool the planet, using a balloon flying 80,000 feet over Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The field experiment in solar geoengineering aims to ultimately create a technology to replicate the observed effects of volcanoes that spew sulphates into the stratosphere, using sulphate aerosols to bounce sunlight back to space and decrease the temperature of the Earth. David Keith, one of the investigators, has argued that solar geoengineering could be an inexpensive method to slow down global warming, but other scientists warn that it could have unpredictable, disastrous consequences for the Earth’s weather systems and food supplies." (07/17/12) Mama Liberty: Sounds as if NM will have a few chem trails after all. Not sure the good folks in NM will appreciate it much either way. Who's paying for it?... Oh, and those potential "unintended consequences?" This might get interesting. Nathan's thoughts: Raw Story picked this up from Reuters, and these two scientists claim the media got it all wrong: they are going to release a few hundred pounds NOT thousands of tons. Unlike other ENMOD projects, this is NOT funded by stolen taxpayers money, but rather by the near-monopolistic coffers of Microsoft through the Gates Foundation. (Scant comfort, there.) This deals with a problem that may not even exist: indeed, if the likes of Krautman and Weber and Drake are right, and we are nearing a solar minimum that could trigger another mini-ice age (that is, cooling) this is the LAST thing we want. Still, it is hard to oppose something like this when the environists are in such a panic over it: THEY devoutly are sure this will end the world. Again. This insanity is fine - provided that they don't get government money to do it, and don't get immunity from lawsuits when it backfires. First Citizen's minions - Islamic wars: Canaanite front ‘Here in Israel’: In Jerusalem, Clinton Breaches U.S. Policy (CNSNews.com) As if anyone pays any attention to her anyway? And as if she pays ANY attention to what US policy was or what Congress says it is. First Citizen - New religions: environism Obama Vows More Money for Green Energy: ‘When I Try Something That Doesn’t Work, Then I Don’t Try It Again' (CNSNews.com) See, he's lying again. Well, I suppose his memory could be faulty. If he'd really worked as an attorney - especially in Chi-town, we could use the excuse that his "billable" age is showing. A recent political cartoon says it all, with a drawing of a tommy-gun toting First Citizen: "You can take the politician out of Chicago, but you can't take Chicago out of the politician." Stupid government - theft by/from government Energy Dept. 'Unable to Locate' $500,000 in Equipment Bought With Stimulus Money (CNSNews.com) Only a half-million? That's fiddling small change to the government, especially with the REAL inflation rate. Either it got used for the reelection campaign or went overseas to some "friends." Mama's Note: Most small cities probably "lose" that much in cash and supplies/equipment each year. Larger ones lose more. Crash of 2009 WH: Stimulus ‘Widely Recognized to Have Broken the Back of Recession’ (CNSNews.com) There were a lot of backs broken in the last 4+ years, but the Panic's back was NOT one of them. Congress in action - Stupid UN GOP Senators Sink Law of the Sea Treaty; 'This Threat to Sovereignty' (CNSNews.com) Thirty-four Republican senators have now signed on to a letter circulated by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) declaring that they will not support ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty. Ratification would have required a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Well, it is about time they did SOMETHING right but don't count on this holding firm. This is going to come up again, of course: it has been hanging on since 1983, for crying out loud! Nearly 30 years. Politics 2012 Former Clinton Pollster: GOP Picking Pro-Choice VP Like Dems Picking ‘Segregationist’ (CNSNews.com) Clearly, Dems don't know their own party's history - or that of the GOP. Of course, a sly commenter MIGHT point out that BOTH the "pro-choice" and the segregationist are the EVIL choices. And wait! What about that now-dead senator from West Virginia: wasn't he a beloved elder statesman and influential Democrat who WAS a segregationist? You, know, Robert KKK Bird? Abominable Act - Politics 2012 Gallup: 60 Percent of Americans Say Obamacare Will Make Things Worse for Taxpayers, Businesses (CNSNews.com) This is good, that more people MAY be waking up, but bad because such things should NOT be subject to poll or popular vote. Self defense - Killer cops Florida Man Shot Dead By Cops For Answering Door Armed » (CNSNews.com) A Florida man was shot dead by deputies of the Lake County Sherriff's Department at 1:30 a.m. Sunday when they failed to identify themselves as police officers and banged on the door of his apartment. The officers were pursuing an alleged attempted murderer when they knocked on the apartment door. Oh, yes, "to serve and protect." Don't know what. Certainly not THIS poor guy. At the same time, I suppose we should be grateful that so many cops are incompetent. Wednesday, July 18, 2012 Tranzi logic Hoyer: Food Stamps, Unemployment Insurance 2 'Most Stimulative' Things for Economy (CNSNews.com) This is the broken-window fallacy writ large. How stupid IS this man? Mama's Note: Right up there with the guy who thought Guam would tip over... Nazgul - Abominable Act Judge Rejects States' Lawsuit Challenging Obamacare Contraception Mandate (CNSNews.com) Ah, HE knows where his bread is buttered, eh? The war on religion continues, thanks to this. Crash of 2009 - Theft by government Fed Head Bernanke Warns of ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ As Democrat Dares Republicans to Go There (CNSNews.com) No, Bernanke isn't suddenly waking up to reality: he is still pushing the same old patent medicines and will kill the patient, maybe just not quite as QUICKLY as Congress is setting out to do. Not that there is any thing he COULD do that will really keep us from diving off the cliff. Politics 2012 Romney: Obama 'Wants Americans to Be Ashamed of Success' (CNSNews.com) Of COURSE he does - because success is too American for him. And because we must be like the rest of the world, which has failed and failed and failed again. Not that Romney sees anything that he is willing to do to make us "successful" and way TOO MANY things to do to ensure that we DO failure. But it will be a PROUD failure, right? Congress in action House Passes Bipartisan Bill Aimed at Putting State Department ‘Back on the Books’ (CNSNews.com) Do they HAVE to? Couldn't it just go away, like conscription, or buggy whips? Theft by government $225,000 in Stimulus Money Will Put Solar Waterheater in County Jail (CNSNews.com) Nice, and one company I know can't get $99,000 as a LOAN to get a grocery store in a "food desert" started. Politics 2012 Conservative Leader Stresses Importance of Pro-Life VP in Chat With Romney (CNSNews.com) Like Romney (not even a "neo-Con") is going to listen? Politics 2012 Obama campaign sues over Ohio early voting law (CNSNews.com) Why should they not deny people the right to vote conveniently, since they are supposedly preventing the GOP from denying MILLIONS of poor people the right to vote? Government-ruined, Tax-funded schools Obama Proposes $1B to Create Elite Corps of Science, Math Teachers (CNSNews.com) The Green Shirts? White Shirts? Grey Shirts? Expert with slide rule, Petrie dish, and truncheon? Goon-geek squad? What we DON'T need in 21st Century America. Culture wars: homosexual promotion Boy Scouts Reaffirm Ban on Homosexuality, Igniting Protests (CNSNews.com) Ah, but the false libertarians are screaming about this one - along with the "democracy rules" and the Tranzi front groups, who think it is EVIL that a PRIVATE organization should have any right to freedom of association. Mama's Note: I really have never understood the hysteria over this. The "Boy Scouts" are a private club. As with any other voluntary association, they have total control over who should be admitted to the membership. If someone they reject wants to be part of a boy's club, they need to go form THEIR OWN. Then THEY can decide who to admit, and who to reject. I do think that the cozy relationship the Scouts have had with various levels of government has clouded the picture. They need to withdraw from that relationship and stop accepting the handouts first. Then they will be on far more solid ground. But I certainly applaud their intransigent attitude toward all of the pressure groups. Self Defense Florida: Customer at Internet cafe shoots two robbers (Ocala News) "Sheriff's officials said they got a call at 9:54 p.m. about an armed robbery at Palms Internet Cafe, 8444 SW State Road 200. When deputies arrived at the scene, patrons outside the business told them that two men in masks -- one armed with a baseball bat and the other with a handgun -- had barged into the business. The robbers told the approximately 30 patrons to get on the floor, and they demanded money. Officials said one of the patrons, Samuel Williams, drew his own handgun and shot at the robbers, according to sheriff's officials. Both robbers began running toward the front door, and the patron fired several more shots as they fled." (07/14/12) An internet cafe? Is nothing sacred? Are these robbers stupid? A LOT of gamers and other internet-cafe patrons are armed, and this was Florida! Well, at least the cops didn't shoot the patron. Who was 71 years old -American Vision News: 71 yr old CCW Mama's Note: I'm really glad the guy was there and armed... but shooting at the fleeing perpetrators is not a good thing. Self Defense Virginia: Man armed with shotgun confronts intruder in home (Stafford County Sun) "Police arrested a 27-year-old Fredericksburg man early Sunday after another man, armed with a shotgun, confronted the intruder, who entered the man's home. The 50-year-old resident was awakened at about 2:30 a.m. by a noise on the first floor .... He grabbed his shotgun and checked the house .... he discovered a man walking up the stairs. He told the man to go back downstairs and get on the floor in the hallway, Bledsoe said. The intruder did so until police arrived. The intruder was 'extremely intoxicated,' police said, and entered the home through an unsecured front door." (07/16/12) I can understand why the resident, out in the country in Stafford County, would not normally lock his door, but anywhere EAST of the Missouri it is a good idea these days. BUT the key here is crisis resolved with NO shots fired and NO one killed. Guns HELP you defend yourself. Mama's Note: I see no sane reason why anyone would leave their doors unlocked. That is a simple first line of defense that should be automatic for everyone, especially anyone living alone. It is inconceivable to me to go to bed and leave the doors unlocked. Politics 2012 With or without tax return release, pressure on Romney ramps up from both sides (Washington Post) The political pressure on Mitt Romney to release more of his personal income tax returns is causing some divisions inside the GOP presidential candidate’s camp, according to a Republican strategist close to the campaign. Ah, another wonderful day of trashing the GOP candidate by the mainstream media. What about the First Citizen's tax returns from pre-2009, and what about the First Citizen's REAL birth certificate and school records and financial grants? Stupid people - Theft by government Military contractors to testify on potential defense cuts (Washington Post) House Republicans will call on the leaders of major military contracting firms Wednesday to detail how they plan to deal with the roughly $500 billion in defense spending cuts set to take effect over the next decade. "Yore honor, as a fox my livelihood depends on my ready access to the hen house and this upstart farmer wants to put screens and a lock on it, and keep me out. That is why I am so grateful to Yore Honor to inviting me here to testify on my own behalf of the hardship not being able to steal and eat Farmer Sam's chickens is going to put on me." Mama's Note: LOVE IT. :) Politics 2012 - Bogus science Study finds costs associated with voter IDs (Washington Post) New laws in 10 states requiring voters to show IDs could present serious challenges to voters without financial resources and transportation, according to a report released Wednesday. The study by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, which opposes the new laws, found several obstacles that could keep voters from being able to cast ballots, including limited access to offices that issue the IDs required under the new measures. found nearly half a million eligible voters in the 10 states do not have access to a vehicle and live more than 10 miles from their nearest state ID-issuing office. More and more, I like the HOLDER approach - this is a fundamental right and no ID should be required to exercise a right found in the Bill of Rights. None. No ID to buy or own or carry a gun, concealed or not. No ID to buy smokes or drink or medicine (which is, after all, a "right to health care" as we are told by the Tranzis). No ID required to pay cash for ANYTHING that has to do with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Yeah! Seriously, these people don't seem to have any problem getting an ID (fake, maybe, but looks like the real thing to the beer clerk and no doubt to the voting clerk) for buying beer and cigarettes, but they can't be bothered to do so to vote? ANOTHER QUOTE OF THE WEEK - BONUS To say the government is the source of prosperity is like saying that the ticks are keeping the dog alive. - Jeffrey Tucker Thursday, July 19, 2012 Stupid government tricks - TSA thuggery TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien (CNSNews.com) Can't let a war hero carry his Medal of Honor, have to check a woman's oxygen tubing for explosives, have to strip search and fondle 4 year old girls, but - excuse me, sir, of COURSE we want to expedite your flight training. Crash of 2009 Bernanke: Fed Predicts Post-WWII Record 73 Months of 7%+ Unemployment (CNSNews.com) Whew! Imagine how bad it would be if the messiah had NOT broken the back of the "recession" (in single combat with it, in a swamp up to his chest with alligators (Republicans and Libertarians and such) swimming around wanting a bite!). First Citizen - Defense cuts Chairman McKeon: President Obama ‘AWOL’ on Automatic Defense Cuts (CNSNews.com) Well, I'd use the phrase "out to lunch" - to be followed by a long 18 holes of golf. Point is, the First Citizen WANTS those defense cuts, figuring he will get more votes with them going through than not. If he wins, he can call Congress in for a lame-duck session and save the planet again. Politics 2012 - Tranzis DNC Chair: Electing Women to Congress Matters Only If They're Liberal Women Who Ensure Access to Birth Control (CNSNews.com) Well, duh! Of COURSE this is the way it should be: those others are just dead-white-males in high heels (not to disparage any legitimate cross-dressers and transexuals, mind you). Islamic wars: Persian-European-Canaanite connection Bulgaria Blast Shows Widening Tentacles of Iran’s Anti-Israel Campaign (CNSNews.com) Wait, the guy had a Wisconsin drivers license (Bomber in Bulgaria Had Fake Michigan Driver's License, Authorities Say ): a fake, admittedly, but that just ties him positively to having been an undergrad student at some UW campus, like Madison or Green Bay: you have to have it for beer. And besides, Muslims don't drink beer, right? So it was the FIRST CITIZEN's Anti-Israel Campaign that is obviously to blame, right? Mama's Note: You know, I started to read about this, but I was in no mood for a "Pink Panther" episode without Peter Sellers. It just didn't do anything for me. They are all as nutty as fruitcakes. Islamic wars: Canaanite- Arab street revolt connection Hezbollah Leader Says Syria Provided the Rockets It Used Against Israel in 2006 War (CNSNews.com) Well, shucks, you don't think the US would have provided those, not in 2006 during the Bush years. Which means that it is BUSH's fault that these rockets were used against Israel and NOT against the evil Assad government. What is Hillary doing about all this? First Citizen's relatives - Home front ICE E-Mail Raises Question of Special Treatment for Obama’s Illegal Alien Uncle (CNSNews.com) Look, what good is it to be president of the United States if you can't get some bennies for family members: free trips to Spain and Mexico, special dates in NYC, a green card, and so forth. What dogs in the manger the GOP are to whinge about this! First Citizen's ah, you know, better half - Tranzi tricks More Street Closings and Subsidized Food Mark the 'Next Chapter' of Michelle Obama's 'Let's Move' Initiative (CNSNews.com) Is just plain closing the streets (so kids can play in them more safely) better than having the governor call a town mayor to order him to fix a big pothole in one of their streets because 'Chell' is coming to town (and then find out the pothole is in the next town over?)? Anyone who knows Bill Cosby's routines understands that Fat Albert was ALWAYS playing in the streets (no place else big enough, I guess) and it didn't keep HIM from being obese, did it? And as for subsidized food, well, isn't it all those government commodities they give away down at the food bank that helps this obesity problem: sugar and wheat and corn and butter and cheese? Oh, we don't just have "Big Brother" today - we have "Big Sistah" of the Nanny State Sistahs keeping US healthy. Mama's Note: Any park ranger will tell you not to feed the wild animals because it makes them dependent and stupid. Don't tell me they don't know better than this. Politics 2012 Boehner: Americans ‘Asking Where Are the Jobs,' Not Where Romney's Tax Returns Are (CNSNews.com) Really? I don't hear a LOT of people asking for jobs. Indeed, I have several clients who cannot find the people to work in their jobs: as truckers and equipment operators and concrete workers and convenience stores. But they aren't asking for ANYone's tax returns either. Friday, July 20, 2012 Self Defense NOT Aurora Shooting: Suspect Opens Fire At Colorado Movie Theater, Killing 12 (AOL News) A heavily armed man entered a movie theater in suburban Denver early Friday and opened fire, killing at least 12 people and injuring 50 others. The incident, which took place about 12:30 a.m. at the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colo., occurred during midnight screenings of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises." The gunman, who was wearing a gas mask, reportedly set off a smoke or tear gas bomb then walked up to the front of the screen in one of the theaters and opened fire. When the movie patrons realized the attack was real and not part of the movie, pandemonium erupted and they began to flee. The film continued to play on the screen as bloodied customers took refuge outside. According to witnesses on the scene, some of the bullets also went through the walls of an adjacent theater, injuring patrons. The Media know who to blame, apparently: Stephanolpoulos: I’m going to go to Brian Ross. You’ve been investigating the background of Jim Holmes here. You found something that might be significant. Ross: There’s a Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado, page on the Colorado Tea Party site as well, talking about him joining the Tea Party last year. Now, we don’t know if this is the same Jim Holmes. But it’s Jim Holmes of Aurora, Colorado. [Actually, the Tea Party movement Jim Holmes is 54; the killer is 24. But it didn't seem to matter to the talking heads.] Read more. A comment from Eric Rauch: We don’t know the full story of the Aurora killer yet, perhaps we never will, but one thing is certain: the killer went unchallenged. Perhaps if more individuals were carrying guns of their own this would never have happened. If sociopathic freaks knew that more than a few of the rest of us were packing heat, they might rethink their sociopathic behavior. Nathan's thoughts: The very first thing that was obvious is that there was (1) No one armed to take down this ONE man - even with a vest, even one or two shots would likely have driven him off the stage, and stopped the spree, and (2) No one had either the guts or the sacrificial spirit to attempt to take the guy down, though in a dark theatre with the chaos, it would have been very feasible to do so, and though with significant risk, it could have stopped the spree. (3) The method of the 24-year-old former medical student (who boobytrapped his apartment with explosives, apparently) shows that civilians DO need so-called "cop killer" bullets that can pierce body armor. Mama's Note: See my article on this subject too. First Citizen - No self defense Obama on Mass Shooting: 'It's About How We Choose to Treat One Another' (CNSNews.com) Oh, he is taking political advantage of this - makes me tend to agree with El Neil that the circumstance nationally is perfect. At least the state legislature is not in session for another six months. But this man (the First Citizen) IS WRONG. A madman or a stooge is NOT representative of people who should be able to defend themselves against him. Being armed means that we CAN choose to NOT die at the hands of a madman - or a government goon or burglar or fundamental Islamist. If we are not armed, we HAVE no choice - except maybe to run or die. If we ARE armed, we can chose to grant mercy (foolishly, maybe) or at least FIGHT to live. Home front Napolitano: 'We Took Steps in 2010'--9 Yrs After 9/11--to Vet Foreign Flight-School Students (CNSNews.com) Well, considering that US naval ships were still required to carry whale oil during WW2 (or so I've been told), nine years isn't bad. IF they really did it in 2010. Indications are they didn't - at least not effectively. Tranzis - Abominable Act Pelosi: Bill That Would Defund Obamacare, Planned Parenthood Is ‘An Immorality’ (CNSNews.com) Yes, from a Tranzi "morals" point of view, I guess so. Of course, it is the Abominable Act itself that is a moral outrage, an affront to good morals AND to the Constitution it finished off. As for Planned Parenthood: it lives down to its heritage: the Thule Group, the eugenics promoters, the believers in Darwinism, and all the rest. Why hasn't the RC Church excommunicated Pelosi and imposed the interdict on her California district? World wars - First Citizen's minions No Sign Vietnam Took Clinton Seriously on Human Rights (CNSNews.com) Well, I don't blame them. Would YOU take her seriously on human rights? Say, the Second Amendment - or for that matter, even the First Amendment? I imagine Hanoi got a good chuckle out of her. Theft by and from government CBO: Record Number of Workers on Disability to Increase (CNSNews.com) I don't suppose the advertising campaigns by the government to encourage this (like those encouraging SNAP enrollment) have ANYTHING to do with this. To say nothing of a destruction of investment which means that as equipment wears out it gets harder to work safely. Culture wars - Military service Pentagon Allowing Service Members to March in 'Gay Pride' Parade -- in Uniform (CNSNews.com) Consider this to be a good thing: it reduces the legitimacy of both the military service AND service in the military, at a time when it is being fundamentally transformed into a tool of tyranny at HOME as well as abroad. I pray that revulsion (and more) will set in quickly. Islamic wars: Arab street revolt Bloodshed and Uncertainty in Syria as Ramadan Begins (CNSNews.com) It is appropriate at this time of year, as the sacred season begins, that Arabs do what they have always done best: kill and maim and torture and tyrannize each other. Perhaps the best thing for the world as a whole - and for the West especially, would be to have EVERY Arab state fall into chaos and let them concentrate on killing each other and NOT attacking the West. I am increasingly intolerant and unsympathetic to these Arab masses. They have had the means for decades to rise up and overthrow their ruling classes, and the moral justification to do so as a clear matter of self-defense. Yet, they have not. An invasion to liberate them will result in the same thing as in Mesopotamia and Afghanistan: they will very quickly resell themselves as slaves to another crop of evil tyrants. Until Islam is a historical subject like the Aztec religion or the worship of Moloch, nothing will change. Politics 2012 New Romney Ad Attacks Obama's 'You Didn't Build That' Remark (CNSNews.com) BUT not in an effective way - indeed, allowing the reelection campaign to twist the ad. Other economic news Income Inequality in the United States (Forbes) In 1950, wages made up 95 percent of total compensation, while benefits comprised only 5 percent; by 2004, wages were only 81 percent, versus 19 percent for benefits... Who do we credit (or blame) for this? Why, GOVERNMENT, of course: various wage and price freezes and other meddling with the economic created this. So we have not just health care and education savings and free/reduced college courses and all the rest, we also have stock options and golden parachutes and all the other stuff which the ultra-well-paid get and the normal business owner and frontline employee can only dream of. Theft by government Institutions and State Spending (Independent Review) Separate spending and taxing committees limit legislators' ability to increase revenues for niche expenditures, and was found to result in $1,241 less in per capita spending... This is nothing but rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: it will accomplish nothing of value: even more than a thousand isn't even petty cash to the legislators and the big state-level bureaucrats these days. They will find their way around it. Crash of 2009 Multiple Families, One Roof (WALL STREET JOURNAL) The suburban single-family home is becoming a misnomer as economic reality collides with shifting demographics... Ah. We are seeing this in rural and suburban areas, places where I live or frequently travel. Sometimes it is an elderly parent that welcomes a son or daughter and family in; sometimes it is a divorced man leasing out the basement to another divorced man - trying to stretch post-alimony/child-support incomes. And sometimes it is a middle-aged child or couple moving in with parents because they lost their house to unemployment or foreclosure. How far are we from the post-Soviet Revolution style situation where three or four unrelated families share a larger house with but a single kitchen and only a limited number of baths? Of course, many border jumpers already do that: almost literally "Hot-bedding" an apartment or a house in a rich and expensive town (Carbondale, Aspen, Eagle all in Colorado come to mind) and three or four families (or a dozen unmarried jumpers) share the place while working at Taco John's or Denny's or even at one of the fancy SnowMass or Vale resorts, which pay minimum wage (or less, with tips). But with 10 people each making around $1320 a month (take-home) and renting a $2000/month place, everyone is having to contribute only about $200 a month and they can do it. Mama's Note: And so? What difference does it make? Why is it anyone else's business. It is strictly between the renter and the land owner, nothing else. Crash of 2009 - Theft by government The One Percenters' Fortress City AMERICAN SPECTATOR In 1980, only 3 percent of Washington residents had incomes of $200,000 or more in today's dollars; this figure has since increased to 13 percent... Oh, so DC is no longer the slum belt surrounding the government complex and a few upscale hotels and commercial sites, is it? I recall seeing the burned-out "Barbeque" north of the White House on 16th back in the early 1970s, and seeing much of the same area abandoned in the late 70s and early 80s: apparently the underclass is now no longer underfoot. And where does this money all come from? Government money - stolen from taxpayers: either paid directly to bureaucrats and politicians or indirectly to Beltway Bandit corporations, and then trickles down to everyone from bus drivers to bus boys to pimps. Europe's Fall - New religions: environism Germans Cough Up for Solar Subsidies (Der Spiegel) A new study says that the latest plans for Germany's energy future will saddle consumers with an additional $377 billion in costs for solar power... Staggering - I wonder if the Arabs and other Muslims who will be in charge within the next decade or two will decide to pay this? **************** Your comments and feedback are welcome! Now PoL has its own forum at The Mental Militia! Check it out Nathan Barton Written from the Four Corners, a land and community which has some (but not much) freedom left, but where even that liberty hangs by a thread. Nathan is a christian, a free-market anarchist, military officer, engineer, and writer. Feel free to contact him through The Price of Liberty. 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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