By Nathan Barton

This strikes me as a stupid and an insanely criminal act: the Verge tells us that a 17-year-old has been sentenced to more than 11 YEARS in jail for running a Twitter account supportive of the Caliphate.  No, the insanely criminal act is NOT what this kid did, it is what the Nazgul and the “justice” system did to him that is so evil and crazy.  Seventeen years old, filled with emotions and all those wonderful little body chemicals (hormones) and idealistic and just jammed full of propaganda about the wonders of Islam and the evils of America, and you wonder why he behaves rather foolishly? He does not need jail time, he needs education and counseling – and we know he isn’t going to get either in a prison.  How stupid can people be?

Mama’s Note: “Education and counseling?” Ok, if he or his parents want it, but how does he not have a perfect right to his opinions, however foolish we may think them to be? If he wants to go to help the ISIS, and can pay for the fare, why should anyone wish to stop him – or any of the others who express such desire? If they are not actually engaging in aggression here, they have committed no actual crime.

Say what?  BuzzFeed is one of many reporting that the Nazgul (Supreme Court) on Monday evening stupidly denied a Kentucky clerk’s request to keep enforcing her ‘no marriage licenses’ policy — an attempt to avoid issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples — while she appeals the trial court’s preliminary ruling. The Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis, argues that she should be exempted from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples because she has a religious objection.”  Most so-called “libertarian” commentators continued to attack the County Clerk, while ignoring the most important part of this, and actually (to my disgust) buying into and supporting the idea of judicial tyranny.  The Nazgul have, to what should be our shame, decided that kowtowing to their absurd decision making up a “right” which is found nowhere (that of “same-sex marriage”) and redefining the English language on the most flimsy of reasoning, is more important than upholding a person’s right (EVEN IF A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL) to freedom of religion which is very, VERY clearly protected by the US Constitution.  AND by allowing government (in this case, a state and themselves) to issue a diktat that arbitrarily redefines the terms of a contract of employment.  While ignoring the fact that this case COULD also be one of the pieces of the puzzle needed to end the immoral (and unconstitutional) control of marriage – or personal contracts of ANY sort – by the state.

But no, too many people have been brainwashed (or have their own agenda) into believing that government is good if government makes up (and then upholds) bogus rights like the “right” of any one to be married to anyone, or the “right” of people to force someone in business to provide any service or any goods at demand, no matter how objectionable providing that service or good might be – in denial of the right of freedom of association – which of course is meaningless unless you have a right to REFUSE association – or the “right” of people not to feel “threatened” or “offended” because someone else says or displays something that the person does not like – a denial of freedom of expression.  All, of course, caveated “appropriately” by political correctness.

Government, whether it is the Nazgul or a local board of county commissioners, exercises tyrannical powers and for those who claim to be lovers of liberty but readily embrace government when it decides something which seems to promote their agenda are nothing more than lickspittle minions of that tyranny: indeed, instigators.  Even if there is a conflict between two VALID rights, the only moral course of action is to make something happens that allows BOTH parties to exercise their God-given rights, which usually means NOT forcing someone to do something which violates their beliefs or conscience.  Exactly WHAT are these same-sex couples demanding a marriage license from THIS county instead of another being FORCED to do which violates their beliefs or conscience?  Nothing that I can see.  Not just Nazgul stupidity here, but stupidity of people who believe that forcing someone to do something for them is freedom, and not just slavery.

More stupidity on all sides? Assuming that government has ANY real authority to mandate commercial (or any other) free speech, exactly how is “truth in advertising” and making sure that consumers KNOW what they are buying evil in and of itself?  Yet, again, the so-called libertarians are attacking a labeling rule for cannabis-containing foods (including candy) in Colorado as “Idiot bureaucrats, prohibitionists, aim to mandate scary symbols on marijuana edibles.”  As reported in the Colorado Springs Gazette, “All marijuana edibles in Colorado — whether it’s hard candy, brownies or granola bars — would be marked with a diamond shape that encloses the letters THC under rules that were debated before members of the Marijuana Enforcement Division Monday at the state Capitol. The goal of the new ‘universal symbol’ mandated under House Bill 1366 from 2014 is to end the accidental ingestion of marijuana infused products by making them easily recognizable even when they are outside of the package. … the group Smart Colorado, a non-profit concerned with the health and safety impacts of legalized marijuana, said the new logo is too mild. ‘We’re afraid it is really going to be hard to see,’ said Gina Carbone with Smart Colorado.”  More stupidity?

Exactly how is a diamond shape with the letters THC a “scary symbol?”  The Smart Colorado group MAY be “prohibitionists” but the state’s MED is hardly such, and from what I understand, the Smart Colorado folks may be nanny-statists, but nothing indicates that they are trying to again prohibit cannabis in Colorado.  Sounds to me like this would be a good thing if done voluntarily, so why attack it in such vile terms, and missing the entire point that government has NO business regulating either free speech or what people put into their bodies! Now, clearly the Colorado General Assembly is behaving stupidly in passing this bill in the first place (but THAT is nothing new), and this Smart Colorado is also behaving stupidly in playing the government game.

Mama’s Note: I’ve watched far more rational and peaceful behavior on the playground of an elementary school… but, of course, that was long ago. I seriously doubt anyone has a real problem spotting cannabis “edibles,” especially given the price (plus tax). I saw nothing in the article that would indicate any hard evidence that unintentional ingestion of these things is actually a problem. Just more pressure from the folks who prefer to retain the power to control other people.

Theft by government?  Is a delay (with or without interest paid on the debt) in paying off a legitimate debt a form of theft?  CNBC’s report on Illinois Lottery winners not getting paid their prizes immediately because the State of Illinois is having (what’s new) budget problems is to me an example of stupidity in government; that is, business as usual.  If it were a private company doing this, they’d be in court in a heartbeat with their creditors demanding immediate payment, interest, and stiff penalties.  Since it is a government, the people who were lucky enough (despite their paying a stupid tax like buying lottery tickets) to win something are probably just out of luck.  Put not your trust in princes.

Mama’s Note: The stupid just goes on biting… My staff and co-workers in the office used to have a weekly pool (for one thing or another), as well as buy lottery tickets. They were actually offended a little because I would not participate. I told them I did all the gambling I could afford when I drove the 160 miles just to get there and home again.

But if people want to gamble with government… their problem. They pay their money and take their chances. I can’t say I have much sympathy for these folks.

More stupidity in government: maybe it is “anti-gun” stupidity, but what do you expect?  Fox News reports that Second Amendment advocates are firing away at a decision by Honolulu officials to destroy $575,000 worth of perfectly good handguns in a move one critic called the ‘height of anti-gun stupidity.’ Some 2,300 Smith & Wesson 9 mm handguns, including at least 200 that are brand-new and in unopened boxes, were issued to the city’s police department. But with the 2,200-member force upgrading to lighter and less expensive Glock 17s, the guns were set to be permanently holstered.

While it is customary throughout the country for departments to auction the guns to law-abiding citizens, including the police who once carried them, or donate them to another department, Honolulu opted to destroy them.  Where are the people and groups that are fighting government waste in this fuss? Where is the legislature, which probably provided quite a bit of that money to buy the guns?  Where is Congress, which also probably provided money in grants to buy those guns?  And why on earth does the City of Honolulu need 2200 COPS?  Stupidity showing here is a LOT more than “anti-gun” stupidity.

Mama’s Note: Oh yes, but I suspect that not all of those guns will be melted down. The new ones in boxes are much more likely going home with cops and other employees, and maybe even sold under the table. Wonder how many of them will show up in crime data bases ten years or so in the future. That is, of course, if there are such data bases still around then.