More and more, we see the machinations of the “leaders” in DC (and the State capitals) revealed.  A lot of that this week:  perhaps the powers-that-be simply do not care if we know.

Stupid government – Theft by government
Salazar: 28% of ‘Recoverable Oil ‘ Now Off-Limits in National Petroleum Reserve
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And proud he is of the fact.  Never mind the history that “petroleum reserves” are nothing but petri dishes for corruption.  Never mind that more and more oil is being found each year.  Never mind that the fedgov can’t seem to protect anything.  It isn’t about “reserves,” it is about control.  Salazar’s opinion of “fossil fuels” has been obvious for his entire career: they are evil and must be kept only for when the State is so desperate that they have no choice.

Nanny State
Government’s Next Round of Dietary Guidelines Will Reach Into the Cradle
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: One more excuse for seizing a newborn from its parents.  What joy to behold!  Governmental “guidelines” for diet have long been proven to be bogus, and this will be no different.

Europe’s collapse
Germany Will Fight EU Plan to Set Boardroom Quotas for Women at Private Companies
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Ah, still nuttin but a bunch of Nazis, huh?  Can’t STAND to see some women get promoted beyond their level of incompetency just to meet quotas.

Seriously, the EU is as great a tyrant as DC:  Germany often regrets allowing it to go this far, even if the end result may be total German domination of Europe.

Stupid Government – Congress in action
GOP House Approves CR That Funds All Obamacare–Including Regulation Attacking Religious Freedom
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Can you spell “betrayal” and append it to the GOP Representatives?  Just WHOM do they represent?  They talk about their principles – bah, humbug.  Their only principle is to get as much money and power for themselves as possible.

War on some drugs
UN: Colo., Wash. legal pot violates drug treaties
(Freedom’s Phoenix) A United Nations-based drug agency urged the United States government on Tuesday to challenge the legalization of marijuana for recreational use in Colorado and Washington, saying the state laws violate international drug treaties.

Nathan: Ah, another excuse for the FedGov (despite all the rhetoric by the current incumbent of 1600 Pennsylvania) to crack down on the citizens of these two states who exercise their God-given right to do as they will provided they do not harm others.

New religions: global warming
Global Warming Report: By End of Century, Sea Will Rise 0.66 Feet–Or 6.6 Feet
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Or maybe .66 meters or 6.6 meters?  Or is that centimeters?  Or millimeters?

Stupid government – Congress in action (2 stories)
After Protracted Questioning: Holder Admits It’s Unconstitutional for Gov’t to Kill U.S. Citizen Sitting Peacefully in U.S. in Cafe

Sen. Rand Paul Stands Up for the Constitution in 13-Hour Filibuster
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Paul’s stand seems to have gotten the administration (or at least ONE of the “messiah’s” minions) to have backed down – at least in words.  Do I believe them?  Hardly.  Still, I give Paul some credit for pushing this and representing his state in the way that Senators once did in the pre-War Between the States days.  But we know that Holder has lied before, and there is no reason to believe that his letter (self-serving as it was) is going to be considered binding or any guarantee that someone sitting on a hillside or in their pick-up in a rest area isn’t going to get targeted and zapped by a missile fired from a Predator drone with DHS – or USAF – markings.

Of course, in the end, Paul’s filibuster did NOT prevent Brennan from being appointed as Director of Central Intelligence: 81 voted for cloture: so ONCE AGAIN, the GOP wimps out and proves that they care no more for American liberty and freedom than their supposed Demo opponents.

Stupid government tricks
State Dept. Offers Special Two-Year Passports for Transgenders in Transition
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: What a WONDERFUL opportunity to promote and support fraud and identity theft.  And to trash the value of a passport.

Theft by government.
Blackburn: ‘Deeply Disturbing’ Napolitano Would Talk of Furloughing TSA Officers While Spending $50M on New Uniforms
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The average TSA salary is $100,000; there are 50,000.  A furlough of one day per two weeks is 10%, or $10,000 x 50,000 – 500,000,000. $500 million!  A year!  PEANUTS.  But still ten times the uniform purchase.  I’m sure that they’d rather have the spiffy uniforms even if they lose $1,000 this year in salary (less when you consider how much tax withholding they have.  I found this at Political Outcast:

The TSA provides complete uniforms for each agent. Although they do not purchase replacement items, each agent initially receives:

• 3 long sleeve shirts
• 3 short sleeve shirts,
• 2 pairs of trousers
• 2 ties
• one belt
• sweater
• socks
• a jacket.

There are 50,000 TSA agents. That breaks down to a government outlay of $1,000 per agent.

Nathan: Now THAT is quite a list.  Really expensive shirts and trousers, especially.  Notice: no shoes, though.  Even if the jacket is a $100 item and the sweater is $50, I can’t see the shirts and pants running more than $30 each. I see about $500 at most – and they’ll dress better than most of us.  So why $1,000?  Graft or overhead is a possibility, but I wonder if it isn’t because of special items built in: maybe special “identification: friend or foe” (IFF) electronics?  Maybe the shirts are Kevlar?  Maybe surveillance devices?  Who knows – but we DO know that they only got new uniforms about three years ago, so this seems really stupid.

Political Outpost had some more info on government spending and theft:

Since Obama took office just over 4 years ago, the federal government has been hiring 101 new employees 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year for 4 years. Sequestration goes into effect and on the first day of humongous budget cuts and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, the feds posted 400 new jobs, nearly 4 times the average number of new hires per day.

Nathan: What budget crisis?  What economic crisis?  The Congress AND the other branches are all fiddling while the nation is burning with spending fever.  Meanwhile, the lies continue.

Stupid government – Theft by government
CDC Director Can’t Back Up White House Claim That Sequester Will Halt 2,050 Vaccines for Kids in MD
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course they cannot.  I figure these White House “fact sheets” were prepared by someone programming grants to states and then picking a good-looking “must-have” program that would look good and put fear into the parents and those who are professionally “for the children” and “for the poor” and desperate for every federal dime.

Mama’s Note: Elimination of the vaccine program would be the very best thing that could happen for these children, of course. Children under the age of two do not really benefit at all from vaccination, and it is clearly a major reason for a lot of serious, even life threatening problems in that population. Government has no business dictating our medical care, including vaccinations, or anything else.