Give 'Em An Inch.....

.....And they want the world. That seems to be the tune in the halls of government across the globe. Whether it is in Washington, D.C. where the President is playing Empire games, Iran and their nukes and Mohammed Cartoons or France yelling about Iran's nukes. Power is often about making other people dance to your tune and some of the people walking those halls are consumate masters of the art.

"Anti-UN" Bush Calling For Intervention In Darfur
I have often heard those on the socialist left calling the current DC regime everything in the book where Darfur was concerned and now it seems like the head socialist on the Right is joining in their calls for "someone" to do "something" about the genocide in the Darfur region of the Sudan.
For all the protestations from the Rightist Talk Radio Heads that Mr. Bush is "anti-UN" he certainly seems to like getting in bed with them. He brought the US back into UNESCO, after Reagan took us out and now he wants to place upwards of 7,000 soldiers under UN command to be sent to Sudan as part of the useless UN forces.
Here's a clue, Mr. President. If we want to send "aid" to the victims in Darfur then send substantive aid. Round up all those AK's you had confiscated in Iraq, manufacture knifes and pistols and then send those, along with instructors as our aid to the people of the region. Teach every man, woman and child to use a firearm and a blade, as is their right. Stand out of the way of private concerns wishing to aid....it's not "mercenary" if people help out free of charge.
Sending American troops into this region is adding fuel to the fire. Remember "BlackHawk Down", it's a certainty that the warlords in the Sudan do.

Homeland Porn Security
Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the library, here comes the Homeland Security Forces to drag you out of the library for looking at stuff they find objectionable. Yep, that's right. Along with unwarranted wiretaps it seems that some people from a local Bethesda branch of the Taliban...err...Homeland Security decided to express a more theocratic interpretation of Homeland Security and began harrassing library patrons at the Little Falls library.
This is why religion and politics don't mesh, folks. Given the FBI's new priorities, (terrorism is taking a back seat in favour of pornography) I expect they'll be there next week installing spyware and taking fingerprints. Gotta keep them porno-terrorists under surveillance!

They're Getting A List, Checking It Twice
They're gonna find out who's saved and who will vote for them. Seems the GOP is looking for a few good Christians to recruit for their electioneering programs. Church leaders are just a bit angry over it, too. Seems they've been down this road before.
Honestly, what sane church leader would turn over a list of their membership to ANY government affiliated organisation? It's bad enough that churches have to beg for permission from the government to be churches, now a political entity wants a captive voting bloc. I swear, that Kool Aid these people drink must be some strange stuff if they can convince people to turn these lists over.


And Finally, The French
Yep, last and usually the least something for the Francophiles. Considering that the French have been plagued with Islamic Riots and need "someone" to do "something" about the upsurge in Islamic ire. So, what do they do? Start leading the charge against Iran and their nuclear program. What it essentially boils down to is that "they are not leeesteneeng to us" and the push is on by France for the "International" community to do something.
I have to wonder. When the time comes, as it inevitably will given the parties involved and their "philosophies" of Apocalypse, will France be leading the charge? Will they commit their "best and brightest to the dust and blood that will result? I don't know, but I do know that they are more than willing to beat the drums.

1984 Redux

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has apparently taken a page from the George Bush playbook and has somehow managed to get his Parliament to pass a vaguely worded law that all but forbids freedom of speech in Britain. His new "anti-terrorism" bill includes a clause outlawing the "glorification of terrorism". In a country which has successfully outlawed the private ownership of firearms and made a pocket knife a criminal implement this is just one more step into dark and tyranical future. And, even tho this newest step in the long march to the police state is overshadowed and lost by the convenient release of new Abu Ghraib pictures and the Mohammed Cartoon controversy, make no mistake...it is a pivotally important event for freedom lovers everywhere.

When any law containing vague language is implemented we know full well that the capacity for abuse is limited by the most ignorant of common denominators in the legal equation. Just ask any number of people in the United States who have found themselves on our vaunted "No Fly Lists" or under investigation by "The Authorities" for having a poster on their wall.

The new anti-terrorism act ostensibly contains the language it does for the following reason.

"I think that signal of strength is vital in circumstances where the threat that we face is not just from the individual acts of terrorism but the people who celebrate it, who try and entice other people or recruit other people into doing it."

The latitude for misuse and abuse of this act is phenomenal. I can think of a number of books that could be said to "glorify" terrorist acts in the eyes of the British Crown, many of them dealing with American history. Will we see the likes of Alan Moore thrown into prison for having written "V For Vendetta"? Will James McTeigue and the Wachowski Brothers find themselves extradited to Britain to stand trial as terrorism supporters? With such a poorly worded law and the interpretations of the statist mentallity it is entirely possible.

Britain is becoming the 21st Century testing ground for tyranical statism. With constant surveillance, RFID equipped car tags, disarmed and complacent citizens one is left to wonder when the tests will be over, declared a success and exported to their allies? Americans are already primed by the State, government schools and media to accept such things in the name of security. Look to the recent passage, via Congressional chicanery of the REAL ID Act for the prime example. Soon Americans will be able to be tracked wherever they go, via their "government approved and sanctioned Citizen ID card" or internal passport. Where was the outrage? It was lost amidst the rhetoric and propaganda of the frightened masses who allowed it to be implemented, (it was supposed to come into effect 3 years from passage but some Bush friendly states have decided that early implementation is the way to go).

The British have one more chance to halt Mr. Blair and his assault on speech, as it must still go through the British House of Lords and they have already spoken out against the "glorification" clause as an infringement on the few civil liberties they still possess.

One thing we can be sure of. If this does pass in Britain, it will not be long before a like measure comes to visit on our shores.

Outlawing Freedom Of Speech

Tony Blair-Lincoln Reborn
First they outlawed firearms, then it was knives and now the staunchest of US allies is set to outlaw objectionable speech. Blair, in setting forth new anti-terror laws wishes to make it illegal to speak or write in any fashion which "glorifies" terrorism. Rather a draconian step in any sane individuals estimation. The movie "V For Vendetta" will obviously fall in this category. Any number of books, already censored in Great Britain for decades will fall prey to this and the prisons could very well be filled to overflowing with writers, publishers, political activists and historians. One more step in the wrong direction for the Empire.

325,000 Served
Those are the numbers of people the government is admitting to having on their terror watch list. And just who is on it? Hard to say. The AG and administration swear that they are mostly foreigners and that Americans make up only a small fraction of the people on the list. Would that fraction be 10%? 5%? We know that they have children on the list, authors who are critical of the Bush regime and who knows who else? I may be on it, but since I haven't flown in years and won't until they allow me to fly with a minimum armament of at least a pocket knife, (altho I would prefer to carry one of my firearms, as I do on a daily basis).
The fact is that this list is too large and there are too many Americans on it with no oversight and no legal recourse. It is a violation of basic civil liberties all in the name of State security and the likelyhood of it ever going away is somewhere between slim and none.

Dear Congress, Please Send More Money...Love, Dubya.
The current resident of the White House apparently needs some pocket change, to the tune of $75 million for expanded propaganda so they can implement regime change in Iran. Maybe continuous satellite broadcasts of Britney Spears and Black Eyed Peas will finally bring the Mullahs down.

Broke Back Mountain Blues
Well, actually country music. My favourite tax victim has managed to hop on the gay cowboy train and release a song called, "Cowboys Are Frequently, Secretly (Fond of Each Other)", an iTunes exclusive. Willie recorded it last year and released it recently. Given the success of the movie it will likely rocket to #1 and Willie will bump Kanye West out of the Grammy's next year.

Last But Certainly Not Least
The FEMA travails continue apace. The crypt keeper wants more money, more power, more people and will do just as little with them as they did previously. Look for FEMA to be taking over everything related to disaster preparedness from the top all the way down to your local level. And they'll still botch anything. Bringing back the old Civil Defense system that ran from the local level up is the only system that makes sense.

Scalia, China And The Democrats

Sounds like a nice warm up to a Stephen King novel, huh? Instead it's just another day with the powers that be.

Scalia Shows A Libertarian Streak
Not that I believe for a minute that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is even remotely Libertarian he took words that many Libertarians have spoken and said them in front of a crowd in Puerto Rico.

"But you would have to be an idiot to believe that," Scalia said. "The Constitution is not a living organism, it is a legal document. It says something and doesn't say other things."

Now, if the other Nazgul on the bench would just learn this and act as if it where the truth we might be getting somewhere. Ah, well, we all gotta dream!

China Isn't Communist? You Sure Could Have Fooled Me And 115,000 Others
Showing that the Chinese Communist Party is alive and kicking and still running things in Capitalistic China, the Party of Mao seems to be dealing with a corruption scandal. Then again, it is just as likely that many of these corrupt individuals were embracing capitalism and the ever present Chinese counter economy. Freedom's on the march, Jintao! Another Long March....

Lesson 13: Another Reason Democrats Can't Get Elected
They eat their young. They lie. And they have no concept of loyalty. Look at the case of Paul Hackett of Ohio, (it embodies all three), an anti-War Democrat promised support from his party and their Senate leadership. He turns his back and....*snick*, slash....right in the back goes the dagger. Considering the importance of Ohio in national elections it would make sense to run someone like Hackett. He's young, charismatic, a veteran and an opponent of the Bush administration. Maybe the Democrats want to run a tired, old, criminal with Union credentials who is up to his ass in graft and corruption, instead? They shouldn't be hard to find in Ohio.

Liberty Evangelism Opportunities
It looks as if Mongolia is courting foreign patronage to offset Soviet...errr...Russian and Chinese influence in their country. I have a suggestion for our Mongolian brethren. Read "On The Steppes Of Central Asia", print it and distribute it to everyone in your country and then live the dream of true freedom.

Gentlebeings, Start Your Week....

And just where will we be led this week? Only the powers that be know, but it will surely be an interesting ride.

Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Define "interesting".
Hoban 'Wash' Washburn: [deadpan] Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die?

So, let's sit back and see what we can do for inflight entertainment!

VP Takes A Shot
While the East Coast was busy getting record breaking snow, (where's mine?) the Vice-President of the United States was busy giving hunters and gunowners a black eye by shooting a hunting buddy in the head. He must've slipped up and told him he voted for Kerry last time around....Way to go, Dick!

FEMA: Too Little, Too Late And Crypt-Keeper Reforms
In the wake of Michael "Way to go, Brownie" Browns testimony late last week, the FEMA Crypt-Keeper Michael Chertoff has announced "sweeping reforms" at FEMA. One would hope that his resignation would be the top priority. What are his suggestions? Grow the agency even bigger, spend more money and grab more power. Sorry, Mikey but that's going in the wrong direction. Let me make a suggestion to you, umm-kaay? Take FEMA backwards to the days of the old Civil Defense program. Ya see, that was a system that was "in place" and didn't rely on an absentee agency for intial aid. People on the ground at the scene already knew what to do and had supplies and procedures on hand to deal with disaster. Retool and republish DOD/Civil Defense publication H-14 and put a copy in every household in America. If you're going to waste my money at least waste it on something useful. In the meantime...update your resume.

CIA Counter Terrorism Head Fired For Opposing Torture
You heard it right, kiddies. The man at the top of the CIA's counter terrorism group was fired by the Bush regime for opposing torture of prisoners. Of course, the Bush administration doesn't condone torture or send prisoners abroad to be tortured. Acts like this certainly convince me of that. What about you?

What Would Mohammed Do?
Thanks to Brad Spangler for posting this, for I certainly would have never run across it otherwise. A Muslim points out for others what the reaction of the Prophet Mohammed would be to the Jyllands-Posten "Mohammed Cartoon" controversy.

Breakin' The Law, Breakin' The Law
And doing it to catch criminals. Seems the sheriffs in Spotsylvania County have been doing some hands on investigating into prostitution in their area. Never ones to be accused of laying down on the job the upright men in blue (or brown) have been receiving favours from the local working girls and paying for it with taxpayer funds. $350 a pop, in some cases. I knew I should have become a cop....the perks are just too good. You get tax payer funded sex, a gun, a fast car and a license to harrass.

A Steve Kubby Update

Michele Kubby has posted another update on Steve's upcoming trial, the addition of a new attorney and legal spokesman for them. She also has some serious concerns as to whether the people currently holding Mr. Kubby intend to continue treating him with Marinol once his current supply runs out. Calls to the jail are requested and I will continue to ask that people contact the Governors office requesting his intervention.

It's official everyone ... David Nick is the new attorney of Steve and also the legal spokesperson for us. If you would like to know the strategy of the case, please call Mr. Nick directly @ 415.531.3005.

Americans for Safe Access is trying to organize a couple of buses to transport patients to the courthouse for the hearing on the 15th @ 1.00 pm. If anyone can be of assistance with transportation, please contact them at their website, www.safeaccessnow.org.

Steve is suffering from new pains caused by his Sciatica. The Dr. has requested that Steve's orthotics be returned to him. Items such as hip, knee, and ankle supports would help him tremendously remain in line and in less pain. Michele says she has a small supply of Marinol that has been donated, but she is not sure if the Jail will allow them to be given to Steve since they are not his prescription medicine.

Another problem has become apparent also. Placer has not said if they plan to give Steve anymore Marinol when his runs out. This would mean that Steve's body is going to go into severe shock again and it could be very deadly.

Please continue to call the Placer County Jail requesting that Steve be given Marinol for his condition.

JAIL MEDICAL CENTER @ 530-745-8660

Steve Kubby needs the continued help of the every person with an interest in liberty, freedom, medical marijauna, self determination and libertarian values. Please do what you can.

Snowy Sunday Roundup

While I haven't killed my TV, I am certainly starving it to death by feeding it for only a few hours in the evenings. That gives me plenty of time to do things like read the news and pass it along to you...along with some libertarian outlook and sometimes curmudgeonly commentary, (altho, I may still be too young for true curmudgeonly commentary).

Reason Joins The Cartoon Controversy
ReasonOnline joins the Mohammed Cartoon controversy, sparked by the Jyllands-Posten cartoons and offers up a cutting edge cartoon commentary on why radical muslims just don't get it. Too few people understand that we are dealing with cultures that have almost no concept of individual freedom. It is, quite literally a foreign concept to them. This is why organisations such as ISIL should begin serious outreach into the Middle East and Eastern Europe.

FDR's Slavery And Murder Initiative Anniversary
The inimitable James Bovard reminds us that it is the anniversary of the signing of the Yalta Agreement in 1945. That doesn't mean a whole lot to many out there, especially if you attended government schools and received a sanitised and untruthful account of what the Agreement did. It turned over generations of Eastern Europeans to the Soviet Hegemony and enslaved them to the Communist regimes in their countries. Over 100 million enslaved by the stroke of a pen and more returned to be murdered by the USSR in Operation KeelHaul.

Peaceful Muslim Protests Throughout Europe
Bet you never thought to see that headline, huh? And you still won't if the majority of the news media in the US have their way. It's also doubtful if the talking heads on the radio will go out of their way to mention this. Despite all the press there ARE moderate Muslims in this world and they are the majority. Now they are speaking up, as the radio heads swear never happens. Crow anyone?

You're Letting WHO Run Our Ports?
Seems as if the US government, already in a mentally unstable state, has let the rocker swing just a bit too far backwards, this time. The good folks in the halls of gubmint are planning on letting a United Arab Emirates company take over 6 American ports.

The $6.8 billion sale could be approved Monday and would affect commercial port operations in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.

Excuse me? Am I missing something here? First the Chinese get control of the Panama Canal and now this? Frankly, I don;t mind foreign countries buying businesses here but, given the hoopla about security and such doen't this seem strange?

Indiana Republicrats Gear Up For A Shot At Roe
Indiana's never popular legislature is making a move to give their buddies in the SCOTUS a shot at Roe v. Wade soon. In a year where they have been at the forefront of such issues as raising taxes to fund a private stadium, public prayer and leasing state assets to foreign companies the Indiana legislature is now attempting to change abortion laws in their state. The only reason this, and their other recent forays into the abortion issue is to give the newly conservative Supreme Court a shot at Roe. Thanks a lot guys and girls, as if Indiana didn't have enough image problems you give us this one, too.

Allah Made Them Do It!
But it sure wasn't the gubmint of Iran or so says their head diplomat. Given that they are a tyranical dictatorship and a government I will take Big Fat Lies for $2,000, Alex. Seriously, do they honestly think that we here in the West are all totally blind and stupid? Nothing happens in a tyranny unless the tyrants allow it. If it were an anti-Ayatolla riot it would have lasted 5 minutes, tops. Give us break, guys...we're not your citizens and we have more than one book in most places.