By Nathan Barton

Lies, especially from politicians, are in the news this week.  The old adage is true: “How can you tell if a politician is lying? Is their mouth open?” Let’s look at a few.

Panic time! Oh, NO!!! Is Nutella destroying the environment?  A French (government) minister claims it is, because it includes palm oil, production of which is not green according to environists. The guy strikes me as the kind of nanny Tranzi who is desperately afraid that someone, somewhere, is having fun – even if it is just enjoying the wonderful taste and smell of Nutella on a warm biscuit or tortilla with some johannesberen (current) preserves…  And of course, the only thing that would spur a market boycott or government banning would be if they could prove it was addicting to the children, not just destroying the ozone layer or accelerating global warming.  Of course, this minister’s words are lies: her claims were immediately refuted by the manufacturer.  Not that we had any reason to trust her previously.  She is the former mistress of a French president and gave birth to four children for him: and her immorality in many things, including a lack of familiarity with the truth on almost anything, is well-documented.

More lies! More panic! A veteran and his wife living in Huntsville, Alabama, on two acres of land, are not connected to the utilities grid. They use solar power and rainwater.  So, according to Freedom Outpost, the city is threatening to charge them with trespassing on their own property because their living conditions are “unsafe.” And we all know how deeply cities care for every one of their residents. They aren’t hurting anyone, they live well, but they don’t pay utilities (which apparently are city-owned), so they are either persona non grata, or must be made wards of the state (city) or something.  My, whatever happened to Southern pride in liberty and freedom?  Well, we know, government is government, no matter what accent or what skin color.

Speaking of Southern liberties (and lies), Freedom Outpost also reports  attempts in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, to prohibit discharge of any firearm in many areas in the unincorporated part of the county, following complaints to the Sheriff about hearing gun shots, together with lies about how this threatens the lives and safety of children.  This is one of those classic “safety vs. liberty” scenarios that can (as FO points out) be solved very simply by holding individuals responsible for their actions, expecting people to take reasonable precautions to keep from shooting someone or someone’s property by accident (or without cause) AND to leave your neighbors’ freedoms remain intact.  But right now, it is a “gun rights battleground” over who can get what laws passed in the County and gore whose ox.  Sigh.  It is, of course, for the poor innocent children who are forced to live with their parents in backwards rural areas.

Sometimes the tired old claims (and lies) about “it is for the children” are more threadbare than you’d expect.  Lies exposed?  Arizona Central challenges their own guest editorial, written by a prosecutor who claims the deaths of 63 children in Arizona are “associated” with the use of marijuana, and therefore claiming it is “worse” than alcohol.  The self-serving “public servant” twists the “facts” (themselves suspect) to try and prove her point.  The actual study that Sheila Polk was citing says that in 2013, 62 children who died (either of abuse, neglect or in accidents) had parents who were known to smoke cannabis… Never mind that 227 people were killed in traffic accidents with drunk driver(s) involved in 2012 (last year I could find data for) – cannabis is worse because these were CHILDREN that died that had parents that MAY have been toking up.  With friends like Sheila Polk and her lies, advocates of drug prohibition don’t need us badgering them, do they?

As always, the squatter at 1600 PA and the rest of his ilk are quick to take political advantage and shout their lies when some insane evil-doer takes advantaged of disarmed victims and kills a bunch of people.  Following the killing of nine by an apparently deranged young racist at a black church’s meetinghouse in South Carolina, Townhall reports the lies made about “advanced countries,” as the powers that be conveniently forget about mass murders in Norway, Russia, and Germany in recent years.  I do not doubt that if ANYONE in the meetinghouse had been armed and willing to defend their brothers and sisters (as commanded in the New Testament), this killer would probably have killed himself and certainly not taken nine lives.

Enough about lies; on to other things.

Is life fair? Truth in Media has an excellent discussion of the recent Colorado Supreme Court Nazgul deciding that Dish Network could fire an employee for testing positive for cannabis, even though he had a medical marijuana card.  Now, if the decision had been based on the First Amendment, it might be understandable and even tolerable.  But it was based on the “fact” that although the State of Colorado said that medical MJ was legal, unconstitutional federal law said that it is illegal: a bogus reason.  Does that mean that my relative could have refused to let her tenant grow and smoke his medical MJ in the apartment that he rented from her?  I dunno, but would it have been right to evict him?  Law and morals grow farther apart.  (If that is possible…)

Ridesharing for packages and goods? Neat idea.
The website techcrunch.com reports the expansion of a new business venture: Roadie launches as the Uber for shipping and delivery. “The story behind the $10 million investment that’s launching Roadie, which is unveiling its Uber-like marketplace for the shipping industry today, begins with a shipment of broken tiles.”  Unfortunately, it is limited only to the Southeast for now, and just HOW on earth are they spending $10 million on this venture so far? Apparently lots of freebies and swag for wannabe drivers and users and… government officials?  Hopefully some competitors will start up in the Northern Plains and Rockies.  This kind of service is needed both locally (Rapid City to Newcastle, say, or even Spearfish to Sundance, or Cortez to Moab or Durango to Dolores) AND on a wider scale:  Denver to Cortez or Moab or Newcastle or…  UPS, FedEx, and especially that sick old tired dog USPS are NOT cutting it. As Amazon, among others, realizes: they are trying something similar with their own products.

Mama’s Note: I was always happy with the UPS delivery, until they started leaving packages at the post office. These often don’t get delivered for days, though the UPS tracking shows them as “delivered.” UPS continues to send trucks right past my door daily, and they do deliver heavier stuff, but I now have to wait for the USPS for the smaller things. Doesn’t make much sense.

I’d get a big charge out of a drone delivery, I think, though I can’t see quite how that would work. The package would have to be set down in my driveway if I wasn’t home… and I’m not sure how I’d know about the delivery even if I was home. Does the drone come with a siren or whistle? I’m sure it can’t ring the doorbell.