By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  Today IS election day 2014.  There is nothing better to say about election day but the old quote:  “… an advance sale of stolen goods.”  I have little to say about it, but will note two election-related items.  First, clearly the Dems are panicked, or want to appear panicked, about the vote today. Look at their spokespeople!

Is it any wonder that Charlie Rangel is a favorite image of satire on Saturday Night Live?  He says that Republicans think that slavery is still legal. Well, I suppose he is right, but then, so do Democrats, and the rest of the statists, and even “libertarians” who believe in taxes (a bad idea) instead of truly voluntary support of governments.

But back to Rangel: he is nutty as a loon and revels in it: he also said that the GOP thinks that they won the Civil War (War Between the States: the late unpleasantness between the South and the FedGov; War of Northern Aggression; War for Southron Independence).  He is implying (surely in a joking manner) that the GOP THINKS that they won.  Of course, they DID.  Honest Abe, the Tyrant, was a member of the GOP: Congress was controlled by the GOP throughout the war (three Congresses, elected in 1860, 1862, and 1864).  The Confederacy was Democratic then, and they LOST.  And yes, black troops FOUGHT for the South – and LOST.  Funny, funny man.

I should point out that there IS more to it than just people looking to steal from you on the ballot.  There are also “issues,” like whether to steal more money from you or not, and whether to give people an illusion of more freedom by offering a very few limited choices on a very few subjects, like what gambling games are allowed (SD), whether you or a bureaucrat can choose your doctor (SD), or whether you will let the state steal another 400 million “for the children” by expanding gambling (CO).

For example, today, Tennessee Voters to Decide Whether to Ban an Income Tax Since 2000, the nine states without an income tax have had higher median employment growth than the nine states with the highest marginal income tax rates…  A friend and a lot of other folks have been working for a decade to get this ban passed, and now it may actually happen today. But don’t worry, they’ll find other ways to steal money.

Why private people need drones in the Fifty States: The FedGov agreed to a police request to restrict more than 37 square miles of airspace surrounding Ferguson, Missouri, for 12 days in August for safety, but recordings show that local authorities privately acknowledged the purpose was to keep away news helicopters during violent street protests. On Aug. 12, the morning after the Federal Aviation Administration imposed the first flight restriction, FAA air traffic managers tried to modify the flight ban to let commercial flights operate at nearby Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and police helicopters fly through the area, but ban others.  More and more, both local police AND state and federal “law enforcement” do NOT want their actions exposed to either the light of day or the light of an unbiased press (not that most of those able to fly helicopters to gather news are likely to be unbiased).  As they hide, the need to expose their corrupt, cruel, and often murderous acts is ever greater. Maybe the cops will next want what China has, in the next story.

Really?  I have my doubts that this is anything but propaganda from Peking, but China has unveiled a laser to defend against drones.  It is easy enough to come up with a good looking camouflage box and claim it shot down the drone in the photo, burning on the ground.

Although a study claims that the Fifty States are  to have more WiFi hotspots than France by 2018,  I find that hard to believe that the US does not already have them.  Although I was last in France in 2005, even then the US had far more hot-spots, and the number has expanded exponentially since then. France only has 50 or 60 million people, not 315 million.  But the story says that France has the most WiFi hotspots right now, according to new research by iPass (as reported by FierceWireless). The US will be the top provider of WiFi in the world by 2018, they say, passing France and staying ahead of China. The world as a whole will see the number of hotspots multiply in the next four years.  That I can see, but we soon reach saturation.  I can pause on a street corner in Denver or Aurora and pick up dozens of hotspots; even in a low-density residential area in the Black Hills, six to ten hotspots show up.  Now, open, free-to-use hotspots are something else, but those too are proliferating.

Cause and effect are really hard to determine.  With two dead already on the Home Front, and multiple wounded, it can (and is) being claimed that this is Ottawa’s revenge on the Caliphate and Radial Islam in general: ABC News says: “Canadian warplanes involved in the U.S.-led bombing campaign against militants in Iraq have launched their first airstrikes since deploying to the region. A statement from Defense Minister Rob Nicholson’s office on Sunday said two fighter jets attacked targets in the vicinity of Fallujah with laser-guided bombs and safely returned to their base in Kuwait.” So is this a response to the attacks in Canada, or the CAUSE of the attacks in Canada? Fallujah indicates just how hard pressed the “Iraqi” authorities are, and how close ISIS is coming to taking over one of the former capitals of Islamic caliphates of past centuries.

At the same time, in Syria, US-backed forces suffered a big setback. Al Qaida-backed militants Saturday stormed the base of the most prominent civilian commander in the U.S.-backed Syrian rebel force, forcing him and his fighters to flee into hiding in the Jebal al Zawiya mountains of northern Syria. Jamal Maarouf, a contractor in private life, became internationally known for leading the successful offensive in January that forced the Islamic State from most of two northern provinces. Most of which has again been retaken by the Caliphate.  The FedGov does such a wonderful job of picking losers.

Boko Haram leader: Kidnapped girls have been married off and converted to Islam. The Koran claims “There is no compulsion in religion,” which I guess means that we have the biggest single case of Stockholm Syndrome in history.  All these teen girls swooned for their captors?  Right. More than 200 of them? The leader also dismissed claims by the Nigerian government that it had agreed to a truce. Abubakar Shekau sneered while addressing the parents of the girls and young women kidnapped from a remote boarding school more than six months ago.  Once more governments have failed to do anything productive, and the First Consort and her cute little sad picture of her Tweet about the girls is nothing but fodder for photoshopping to make fun of her.

Germany “would accept UK exit from EU” rather than de-libertarianize [sic-RRND/FND] immigration rules. Chancellor Angela Merkel would rather see the UK exit from the European Union than compromise over the principle of free movement of workers, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel. Mrs Merkel is alleged to fear that the UK is approaching a ‘point of no return.’ Downing Street would not comment, Mr Cameron wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK’s continued membership before holding an in-out referendum.”  Sounds to me like a good thing: Although I may disagree on what constitutes free movement and how it is done is a good thing, for the UK to leave the European Union is a VERY good thing indeed.

The iron gate with the infamous sign Arbeit macht frei at the Dachau concentration camp has been stolen. The theft of the historic wrought iron gate, which measures two meters by one meter, apparently happened overnight. The site has no surveillance system, but is monitored by security guards and the theft apparently took place between their rounds of the camp, said police, who have appealed for any possible witnesses.  Yeah, right.

An incident last week in Dallas is a good example of why sometimes a jury is needed. A 71-year-old man shot a younger man knocking down and robbing the elder’s wife at gunpoint; the robber died rather soon thereafter, crashing his car. The shooter fired as the robbery was ending and the guy was fleeing: according to Texas law, he had the right to shoot even as the man was escaping if there was a chance to get his wife’s property back.  The police are NOT charging and did NOT arrest the elder for the shooting, but ARE referring it to a grand jury for a final determination.  I do not think that this necessarily is morally “self-defense” even if it legally is, but obviously I don’t have details.

Mama’s Note: Those precious seconds pawing through your clothes or the glove box, desperately trying to get hold of your gun… Yep, concealed or off body carry makes so much sense… NOT.  That alone could be the difference between shooting AS the lady was attacked, and shooting at the fleeing criminal. The attack was started and ended in moments… precious moments he didn’t have to spare. But yeah, I don’t have enough details of what actually happened either.