This Is Not Your Fathers Diplomat

In the history of bad appointees to the Secretary of State office the current one will likely go down as the worst of the worst. Unlike many others who have held the position, Rex Tillerson has no qualifications that a rational person would have looked for in someone who was going to fill the slot of America's top diplomat. He showed this to all and sundry during his trip to South Korea, a longtime American ally in Asia and the country that stands to lose the most should a conflict break out again, between North and South Korea. He, as a representative of Trump and the US, (but mostly Trump, as his potential policy decisions show) actively threatened to start a war with North Korea, if they don't toe his imaginary line. Never, in the history of diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula, has a Secretary of State uttered words that the diminutive and insane tyrant in the North could take as a direct threat to him and his rule. Needless to say, Mr. Tillerson would be nice and safe back in his office in Foggy Bottom, while missiles rained down on the citizens of Seoul, and elements of the Norths million man army poured across the border and rampaged through the countryside. The US's paltry military presence would last about as long as it did in the first Korean war.
   Add in the fact that the North Korean regime has nuclear weapons and you have a whole new ballgame. One the supremely unqualified Mr. Tillerson would seemingly like to see played out, from the safety of his D.C. office. Such is always the way with fools who are content to see others blood and treasure wasted for their rhetoric. Republicans should be truly ashamed that they put in place a man who would appoint fools such as this to represent America as its top diplomat. As someone who is intimately familiar with the workings of the diplomatic corps, I can assure you that war, and threats of war, are always the farthest thing from their minds, as it should be. Diplomacy is our first line of defence. War the last. Maybe someone should let Mr. Tillerson know this.

The Debt Machine Roars On

Well, the national debt has reached a staggering $18.2 TRILLION and shows no signs of decreasing. Each of us, unwilling slaves to that debt, now owe $154,161. Most of us couldn't afford to pay our "fair share" of that number even if they came and confiscated all of our yearly earnings and left us thoroughly skinned.

   The congress, for all their talk of being fiscally responsible republicrats have managed to slow our economy and hasten the demise of the shrinking middle class with their spending on their pet projects and lobbyist masters in various industries. Their democrat buddies have been no better, saddling us with historically high levels of social spending. And the president shows no signs of that he won't sign spending that comes across his desk. None of these cretins has anything approaching the best interests of this country and its future in mind. They simply do not care about anything but their partisan politics and appeasing their monied constituencies and masters.
   We have reached the point where pumping the brakes is not even nearly enough. Slowing the accrual of further debt is untenable. The brakes must be applied and the course reversed, if we are to avoid catastrophe. The debt currently stands at 102.6% of GDP and is going to rise to more than 105.7% by 2019, by some estimates. I have no faith that it won't be higher than current estimates, because no-one within the DC Beltway has any intentions of actually cutting spending and ridding us of this onerous debt that they have accrued in our name with their endless programs, conflicts and cronyism.
   This is a drum we libertarians must be beating. The two wings of the Boot On Your Neck Party have shown their clear intention to continue business as usual, using us and our economy as their personal piggy banks to fund their draconian dreams. Their avarice, where our money and future are concerned, knows no bounds. We must, somehow, force these political robber barons to cease their spending. They must all be replaced with people who will actually act as stewards of the nation, its economy and our future, not as masters within their own petty fiefdoms. I would encourage any reader to forward the linked article, or this one, to their representatives, if I thought it would make any difference, but I fear we are beyond that point. The people who are robbing our children and grandchildren of their futures have no interest in having their crimes pointed out to them. They are safe in their partisan electoral havens and the people who continue to put them there are seemingly oblivious to the coming train wreck. Perhaps all we can do is take some small measures to soften the blows for ourselves, as we continue to cannonball towards the inevitable.
   Best of luck to everyone. We're going to need it.

You Don't Own That Tractor

You don't own your tractor and you don't own your car. You're just leasing it, for all intents and purposes from the manufacturer, (even if you've "paid it off"). That's the case that the corporations are making to the Copyright Office, anyway. Since they've managed to put so much software into your modern vehicles, (like your John Deere tractor and your Honda) they are using the DMCA to assert ownership over your vehicle. You're just buying a license to use the vehicle. This kind of nonsense goes a long way towards destroying what little faith people have in the concept of Property Rights and the "intellectual property" movement. I, as a consumer am at the mercy of these corporations and their highly paid lawyers, if I want to attempt to repair my own vehicle. They assert that they, not I, are the real owners of the vehicle, because they wrote a a few pages of code to aid in the operation of the vehicle. Sorry, intellectual property mavens, I don't buy it. I didn't sign a contract or users license when I purchased my vehicle that allowed for anything other than full ownership of the vehicle and its contents, software included. If I want to tinker with it, that's my affair once it's in my hands. This nonsense has to be stopped. At the rate we're going the entire concept of ownership will be destroyed, and with it, our basic rights as property owners.

Happy 4/20 Day To All Those Folks That Indulge

Here's a little something to get your 4/20 day toes a tapping. Two highly successful potheads still rocking it after decades of partying. They're letting their liberty flag fly and not caring who knows it.

Having It Both Ways

The government is, as they often are, schizophrenic in their dealings with cannabis. They make it illegal for everyone but themselves and continuously beat the prohibitionist drums to in an attempt to make their case. Then they go and file a patent for certain cannabinoids so they'll have control of them, should they ever decide to reschedule cannabis from not medically useful to medically useful. They're deliberately trying to interfere with already existing businesses who've already done the yeoman's work on medical cannabis. They want to rake in the money and make businesses that have already been doing the development and research pay them for the privilege of existing. Here's hoping this patent nonsense gets slapped down and the government is told to take a back seat. You really can't have it both ways.

An interesting note, the woman featured in this video, Shona Banda was recently arrested after her child corrected a school indoctrination officer about medical cannabis. She has lost custody of her children and is awaiting trial for using her life saving medicine.

Here's a look at the patent.

On This Day In 1968

We had a great man taken from us by a vile murderer. Dr. Martin Luther King was taken from us all too soon, at a time when he was still desperately needed. We have never, and may never, fully recover from this loss as a nation. We can only hope to try to continue forward with his message and hope for the best. His messages still resonate across the years and we should be willing to lift up the torch of his message and carry it forward, until we too reach that promised land.

Censorious Country

Once again, censorship of music is rearing its ugly head. It's been going on for some time now, but this latest example managed to make the news, for once. Country music radio has seemingly always pandered the lowest common denominator in listeners and here we have a case of them having to cave in to the wishes of a vocal few where the band Little Big Town's latest song, Girl Crush, is concerned.
   Those of use who listen to country music have seen this going on for years, now. Radio stations blank out a word, or repeat a phrase on a recording (as with the Zac Brown Band's "Toes") or just flat out refuse to play award winning music because they are pandering to a few vocal listeners who threaten them with leaving. Let 'em leave, I say. Every DJ out there should be required by management to tell these fools to not let the door hit them in the ass on the way out. The demographics of country music listeners has changed dramatically over the years. No longer should stations be playing to the whims of 60 and 70 year old listeners, (unless you have a country oldies station or segment specifically geared towards the geezer crowd). Many of today's listeners are much younger, well below 40, and the artists are gearing their music music to a much younger demo. Just look at the likes of Eric Church, Luke Bryan and the other young artists.
   Here in Central Indiana you would be hard pressed to find a station that has played Kacey Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow" or her new song "Biscuits". Requests for the songs go unheeded and commentary about their refusal to play goes unanswered. Even the largest stations, like WFMS, NASH FM and the others, play the censorship game, much to the detriment of the artists and the listening fans. It's a sad day when the listening public is fed only "approved" music. We are left with the Top 40, pop inspired, insipid music that has no real country soul to it. There was a time when country liked it's music with a bit of edge. But now they'd rather not offend the bigoted few out there. What a sad commentary on the state of country music.

It's no o wonder so many people are moving from terrestrial radio to satellite and streaming. The radio stations are going out of their way to alienate fans with their idiotic censorship of music. If they wish to survive in the coming years they really need to up their games and embrace freedom to listen. In the meantime here at UnCivil Defence we'll play what we like.

Musical History

It doesn't happen very often that bands get back together. Especially, when death has stolen a member from you and everyone else seems to be angry with each other. Thankfully, time does heal wounds, as evidenced by this video of Roger Waters getting back together with David Gilmore at a recent concert to perform "Comfortably Numb". For one moment the old Pink Floyd magic was rekindled and history was made. Wish I could have been there in person, but London is quite too far for me. Fortunately, technology exists to let fans make high quality videos and share them with the world. To the poster of this video...a hearty "Well, done!".

One More Reason

As if we needed one more  reason to despise the "United Nations", here comes their latest atrocity. They've decided that it's just fine for governments to murder their citizens for the "crime" of being gay or lesbian.

The United Nations has removed a plea for lesbians, gays and bisexuals not to be executed in a narrow vote.

---------------

But now sexual orientation has been taken out of the list. The amendment was supported by Benin in Africa on behalf of the African Group in the UN General Assembly. It passed on a narrow vote of 79 for, 70 against , 17 abstentions and 26 absent.


Some of those voting to remove sexual orientation were countries where gays are known to be or thought to be executed or summarily killed including Iran, Nigeria, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iraq.


The UK, US, Australia, New Zealand and many European countries voted in favour of gays.

We didn't really need further proof that the UN was being overrun by savages and those who hate anything outside of their collectives, but we got it anyway. The time is long past when we should have torn that edifice to collectivism down and salted the earth it stood upon, as an example to everyone around the world. Sadly, the UN has decided to sign death warrants for thousands of people around the world. The inmates are running the asylum in New York. It's time we sent these slavers back to their own countries.

No Winners In This Go Around

There will be no winners this go around of the election machine. Especially for folks like me, whose ballot would look blank for the most part. It's highly doubtful that any of the folks I would choose to represent me will win their election bids. Some republicrat will likely win and take that victory as a mandate to do as they will to us for another cycle, as opposed to what it actually is. Just a loss by democrats. My prognostication in this arena says we'll see little substantive change, no matter who "wins" or who is retained. Government's going to continue its cancerous growth if the republicrats take the House and/or Senate. Spending may be cut by a $100 billion or so, but that's literally a drop in the bucket with spending in the multiple trillions of dollars.
The wars will continue apace and more people will die, more enemies will be made and more wealth will be squandered.

If there are any "winners" this time around, it will likely be those who didn't vote. They are likely to be in a majority, as usual. Maybe they know something that everyone else doesn't, huh? Even hamsters eventually tire of running in the wheel and slink off to do something better. Maybe we need a cycle where we all just take a time out and no-one votes for anyone, so we can show them how we really feel about them.

A Musical Interlude

Here's a little something to take your minds off of the election day sadness. Music from a time when they actually made really good videos to go along with it.

No More Microsoft

   As we all know, actions have consequences. That's especially true where politics and principles are concerned. If someone espouses a particularly odious political position there are numerous avenues that people may take that will result in consequences for that person. That's the case with me. The Gates family, Bill's Senior and Junior are using their wealth in an attempt to impose taxes on small business people and the other productive individuals in Washington state. They'd like to see special, class specific taxes levied on people whom they consider "wealthy". They're in favour of this, despite the fact that it will be bad for the economy of Washington, (just as taxes have had an impact on states like Indiana and others who were late to the state tax game) and bad for the people in general.
   Well, not being a resident of Washington, there's little I can do to impact the voting that will take place on Initiative 1098. But there is something I can do as a consumer. I can refuse to do business with the proponents of this scheme and withdraw some meagre amount of capital from their pockets. No more Microsoft products for me, not that I use many of them to begin with. This blog is proudly Made on a Mac. If, for some reason, I need a system in the future that requires another OS, it won't be a MS product. I'll stick with my Mac or find a Linux system. The Gates are more than showing their true natures as progressives. I can't be a party to their attempts to impose taxation on the very people who run the machinery that drives our economy. These two men are more than willing to see that machinery falter, I am not.

Five Years On

Today marks the 5th anniversary of hurricane Katrina's devastation of the Gulf Coast. My family and I, as is our wont, took our summer vacation and made a return to the Coast this year. It had been 5 years since our last sojourn there, shortly before Katrina hit. Despite the presence of an oil spill we decided that it was time to make our way back and see what had been happening down there. The answer...not a lot.
The reminders of Katrina were still there, etched on the landscape like a wound that just refuses to heal. Where there were once houses and business there are still empty lots and bare slabs, scoured clean by the fury of the hurricane.
Some businesses have rebuilt, but far too few. There are areas where old and new homes mingle, fronting the beach (primarily between Gulfport and Biloxi), but there are far fewer now than there were prior to the storm. There are far too many empty and overgrown lots. The folks who once lived there have moved on, either farther north and away from the beach or out of the county or state entirely. A new diaspora has occurred and it has left its mark on the area where I once lived. It's painfully obvious that the coast was forgotten in the aftermath of the storm and that what attention was paid to the area was given to New Orleans, which did not suffer as much as points east. We even heard the same from a New Orleanian when we were there.
I must say, tho that I was pleased to see one thing. Where once stately live oaks grew and lined the highway along the coast there now exist wooden statues, carved from the remains of the shattered trees. Instead of digging them up and consigning them to the fire pits they have been lovingly carved into coast centric forms. Reborn as a symbol of hope along a still devastated coast.
I must also say that I was much relieved to see that the Deep Horizon oil spill had not taken a toll on the beaches. The vagaries of wind, tide, current and barrier islands had manage to keep most of the oil away from the beaches of Gulfport. There were some signs of the spill, tho. Cleanup crews festooned the beaches, removing even the smallest of tar balls. We even got to speak with two of them and they were informative, even going so far as to show us what the small tar balls looked like. This is not to say that there was no oil there. There certainly is some buried under the sand of the beaches at the water line. And there's a mix of scum, oil and dispersant that washes up. Rather nasty looking stuff. This latest disaster was something the coast didn't need or deserve.
It's just rather sad that, five years on, the signs of recovery are so few. Coastians are a hardy breed, tho. They have to be in that heat and with the constant threat of destruction via storm looming over them on a yearly basis. There is no doubt in my mind, tho that the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast have been forgotten. New Orleans is what comes to the minds of most people when you remember Katrina. Not the places that were actually hit with the full force of the storm. New Orleans today looks much like it did prior to Katrina. Oh, there are still signs of destruction there, but they're nothing like the scale of what one sees on the Gulf Coast. New Orleans was a city in decline before the storm and abandoned buildings existed all up and down Canal Street. Those buildings are still there and still abandoned. Signs, not of the storms fury, but of the inevitable decay that's been plaguing New Orleans for decades.
Here's hoping that the Coast is remembered and that the next five years are better than the previous. To see this wounded landscape remaining the same a decade after Katrina would be too much.

DOMA On The Defensive

A US District Judge has ruled against section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling that it violates the Constitution in numerous areas. This is quite a victory for equal rights in this country and is a significant step towards getting Bob Barr's monstrosity repealed. No doubt the Obama regime will appeal the judges decision, but the stage is set for this abomination to finally be struck down.

U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro, appointed to the federal bench in 1972, ruled this afternoon in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violates the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A companion decision in Massachusetts v. U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Services also was issued, with Tauro finding that DOMA also violates the Tenth Amendment and the Spending Clause of the Constitution.

The Gill ruling: 2010-07-08-gill-district-court-decision.pdf

The Massachusetts ruling: 2010-07-08-massachusetts-district-court-decision.pdf

More on this story at the source.

The Widening Gulf

I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. It's a place I remember fondly and still have a special place in my heart for. Now, I get to see what government incompetence is doing to it, (not that I had the least bit of faith that they'd actually do anything), in the wake of the Deep Horizon disaster. Unlike other countries that have crafted contingency plans and put equipment in place for the inevitable accidents that are going to occur with oil, the US has managed to thrash about and get virtually nothing done, despite being offered aid from other countries who have experience in these matters. One of the many aspects of the current regimes failure stems from their love of labour unions. The Dutch have offered immediate aid to the US with advanced machinery and trained personnel and the US has declined. Oh, they're willing to take the equipment, but they want US union people to be trained to do the task, rather than let the Dutch just get right to work.

This type of nonsense is par for the course where the Obama regime is concerned. They are putting the interests of labour unions ahead of the people and environment of the Gulf Coast. What else could we expect, tho? Unions put the man in the White House and he's paying them back in spades, no matter the cost to the coast. And, as usual, the American press are choosing to ignore and purposefully overlook his administrations monumental failings. Thankfully, the foreign press is not so enamoured of him.

Some are attuned to the possibility of looming catastrophe and know how to head it off. Others are unprepared for risk and even unable to get their priorities straight when risk turns to reality.

The Dutch fall into the first group. Three days after the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 20, the Netherlands offered the U.S. government ships equipped to handle a major spill, one much larger than the BP spill that then appeared to be underway. "Our system can handle 400 cubic metres per hour," Weird Koops, the chairman of Spill Response Group Holland, told Radio Netherlands Worldwide, giving each Dutch ship more cleanup capacity than all the ships that the U.S. was then employing in the Gulf to combat the spill.

To protect against the possibility that its equipment wouldn't capture all the oil gushing from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, the Dutch also offered to prepare for the U.S. a contingency plan to protect Louisiana's marshlands with sand barriers. One Dutch research institute specializing in deltas, coastal areas and rivers, in fact, developed a strategy to begin building 60-mile-long sand dikes within three weeks.

The Dutch know how to handle maritime emergencies. In the event of an oil spill, The Netherlands government, which owns its own ships and high-tech skimmers, gives an oil company 12 hours to demonstrate it has the spill in hand. If the company shows signs of unpreparedness, the government dispatches its own ships at the oil company's expense. "If there's a country that's experienced with building dikes and managing water, it's the Netherlands," says Geert Visser, the Dutch consul general in Houston.

In sharp contrast to Dutch preparedness before the fact and the Dutch instinct to dive into action once an emergency becomes apparent, witness the American reaction to the Dutch offer of help. The U.S. government responded with "Thanks but no thanks," remarked Visser, despite BP's desire to bring in the Dutch equipment and despite the no-lose nature of the Dutch offer --the Dutch government offered the use of its equipment at no charge.

More at the source.

Thank goodness there are people like the Dutch, who are competent. Here's hoping that Obama and his regime finally get out of the way and let the grownups handle things. We can't stand much more of his Hope and Change. Maybe his worshipers in the environmental movement will remember this debacle when the elections roll around.

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Obama, Gulf Coast, Deep Horizon

Coming Attractions

When I go to the theatre I look forward to coming attractions that air before you get to the main feature. It gives you a sense of hope in the future and something to look forward to. I like having my wife lean in and tell me, "That looks good" or "I'd like to see that". It's like making a date for a far off future point. It leaves me feeling good, even when the main feature may suck, (which is seldom in our case, as we are really picky about theatre movies).
Well, I got to see a new coming attraction today. I wasn't at the theatre and my better half wasn't with me, but I'm sure it would have elicited a comment or two from her. The new trailer for the next Harry Potter movie is out and it looks like it's going to be a great movie. It's going to be in two parts, since there was no way anyone could have made the final book into a single 3 hour movie. This one looks like a winner to me and I can hardly wait to get the family together to go see it. Here, why don't you have a look for yourself? Sorry about the embedded ad, nothing I can do about that one. Click through to YouTube if you want a larger version of it.




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Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows, Deathly Hallows Trailer

The Muslims I Remember

Via Radley Balko comes this interesting piece on Afghanistan in the 50's and 60's. It's a surprising contrast to the 14th century hellhole it is today. The people of Kabul, all Muslims, were embracing the West, technology, reason and civilised culture. It was a place where women dressed much like their Western counterparts and embraced higher education, in a mixed sexes environment. Industry and infrastructure were growing and they were growing cotton and making textiles instead of exporting opium. The difference between then and now is stark and disturbing and the US bears a chunk of the responsibility for its descent into fundamentalist savagery.
Afghanistan was just one of many casualties in the USSR/USA Great Games of the 20th century. The Soviets wanted what little Afghanistan had and the US couldn't allow communism to expand, so we backed the foreign fighters who eventually morphed into the Taliban (who the US was giving money to right up till 9/11). Caught in the middle of this pissing match were the reasonable, secular Muslims of Kabul and the other cities. Needless to say, many of those folks fled.
These were the first Muslims I remember meeting overseas, when I first started traveling. Secular Muslims. Not the fundamentalists that have spread through many areas of the Middle East and now run Afghanistan, (with US blessings). People like YaYa, a Muslim from Indonesia and Afghan refugees I met stand out in my mind. They and many others never let their religious beliefs get between themselves and a new friend. The many Muslims I met during my years in Egypt were what some label "fundamentalists", but they sure didn't act as they were stereotypically supposed to. They were civil, kind and open people. They embraced the West and, almost to a T loved America and Americans. I was welcomed in their homes and businesses all the time. Shoot, even the members of the Muslim Brotherhood, a "terrorist" organisation that I ran across were nice individuals. Civilised. They hadn't been caught up in the full fury of the Great Games of the superpowers. Just the machinations of their local despotic government.
Our participation in those games, with the now defunct USSR, is having ramifications, decades later and will reverberate for many years to come.
Sadly, we're unlikely to see that old Afghanistan or those Muslims anytime soon in Afghanistan. And that's sad. Education, free trade, industry and freedom were what they had and it was all for naught. I wish I'd had the chance to see that Afghanistan.

Getting To The Root Of Things

Radley Balko has a piece up at the Agitator that shows what some of us have been saying for awhile now. "Libertarian" Wayne Allyn Root, would be head of the Libertarian National Committee, has a few screws loose. He makes a decent puppet for some folks in the party, but when he goes off the reservation he sure goes full bore. Funnily enough I have seen links to this story from some sites run by Libertarians who support Root being memory holed. That's rather sad, especially for folks who value the truth and openess under most circumstances. Root is running to be the face and voice of the National Libertarian Party and his supporters have made a point of haranguing his opponent, Ernest Hancock, for being a 9/11 Truther. Looks like both of them have taken to wearing tin foil hats, no matter how you spin it. George Phillies is looking better and better every day. I do hope that Roots supporters will decry his adherence to this particular insanity. This will reflect poorly on the LP at all levels, national, state and county. And, at a time when libertarians stand to make significant gains in the political arena the last thing they need is something like this. Hopefully his supporters will repudiate his actions, instead of seeking to cover them up.

Saying Goodbye To A Rock Legend

Ronnie James Dio has died in Houston after a long battle with stomach cancer. He's certainly going to be missed around here. I always loved his solo work, but his stint with Black Sabbath was a good one in my eyes and ears. His distinctive voice, ten sizes larger than himself were a welcome addition to Rainbow when he was their lead singer. There was a period when Dio was the go to guy for power groups. That voice was always something else. It brought a raspy power to any heavy ballad or song that no-one else could match. I'm definitely going to miss the man, but his musical legacy will live on with his longtime fans. Bye, Ronnie. You'll be missed.

Goodbye, Frank

Frank Frazetta has passed away at the age of 82. All too soon, in my opinion.
We're all going to miss you more than you anyone will know. Frank's works set my appreciation for fantasy/pulp and science fiction in ways that enhanced what I read. His works are in no small part responsible for my personal perceptions where feminine beauty are concerned. His women became the template against which I compared the female forms I found attractive. Frazetta's Dejah Thoris, Thuvia or Dian The Beautiful were the epitome of the female form, and still are to this day. Sadly, we'll have to be satisfied with the works Frank left us. Nevermore will his phenomenal works grace the covers of the writers out there. Thankfully, I still have plenty of his works to gaze upon in my library. And my kids will get to see those lovely women and brave fighting men as they grow older, too. Thanks, Frank.