Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-12D: This and That: Truth in Media

Posted on 2014-03-28 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  It is a short, late commentary, as I sit watching the sun come up over a fresh layer of snow in the foothills of the Black Hills.  Time to ponder some sad facts.

As always, when reading a story on-line, hearing it on the radio, or watching it on television, we MUST remember that not all of the story is told.  Sometimes, this is because the media doesn’t KNOW the whole story.  Sometimes it is because the media is intentionally leaving out key parts of the story, to support their own agenda or that of politicians, bureaucrats, or others.  Sometimes it is simply because the story and its context are so messy it is impossible to explain it all. This isn’t just a problem with mainstream media reports, but with the true “free press” of the alternative media and networks.

Mama’s Note: Yes indeed, but SOMETIMES… and it seems more and more, the story is a tissue of lies and misinformation built around a crumb of “news” intentionally and with malice. The use of inflammatory words and agenda driven phrases can tell the WRONG story, even when the few facts disclosed are shown to be true. Don’t believe all you read, in the newspaper or on line. If the news item or article seems to be geared completely to affect your emotions or spur you to an action you actually think unwise or even dangerous, take some extra time to verify it do anything.

The recent brohaha over a girl in trouble for shaving her head in support of her classmate going through chemotherapy (and therefore bald) is just such an example.  In this case, it appears that at least SOME mainstream media outlets intentionally left out part of the information about the charter school, for their own purposes.  Various alternative media picked up the story and ran with it, assuming the original media report was correct, and because that media spin supported their own agenda.  Ari Armstrong explains the situation, and reminds us it is very important to check and find the truth, or as much as can be found. It is definitely worth reading.

Sotomayor, Kagan (during arguments) are telling Hobby Lobby that the christian-owned firm should drop their insurance, pay the Penalty and let their employees use the health care exchange.  In other words, rape is inevitable so just lay back and endure it: even when you know the rapist has AIDS and ten other diseases.  And shove your moral principles: bow down and worship the state.  Just what we would expect from these two, who say that paying the penalty is not prohibitive, as if money were the only concern and measurement of morality.  Just what we should expect from the evil cabal that surrounds the Fuehrer.  And it seems as though people are listening and watching:

Mama’s Note: Indeed, and it is easy for them to say the “penalty” is not prohibitive… after all, it isn’t coming out of their pockets. Theft from someone else is obviously just fine with them.

The Vatican’s Chief Justice states that the Fuehrer’s policies ‘Progressively More Hostile Toward Christian Civilization’.  My oh my, when did the Vatican start paying attention, to discover this after only six years?  Of course, on the Protestant side of the aisle, it seems that Franklin Graham has come to the conclusion that some Administration officials are ‘Anti-Christ’.  Yes, shocking accusation to make, isn’t it?  He goes even further:  on gay marriage [sic]. Graham says ‘God Will Judge This Nation.’ And we thought his father, Billy, was hypocritical and unobservant.  Of course, it is primarily individuals that are judged by God, America “isn’t going to Hell,” but individuals are.  Including those minions of the Fuehrer that Graham has finally decided are evil.  May the eyes of more people be opened as well.

Chinese State Media Ignores Michelle Obama’s Call for Freedom of Expression and Worship: they apparently decided that she is not exactly what they want the modern Chinese worker to bow down in front of and express admiration for.  Now, give them Paris or Oprah or Lucy Liu…

Mama’s Note: Not to mention the fact that Michelle would not speak to any journalists and refused to answer questions on the whole trip. She was isolated from the press while she lectured the Chinese on freedom? What an incredible hypocrite.

Four Years Later, Stupak Does Not Regret Voting for Obamacare, because he has everyone else that he can blame for it.

Pop Quiz: Can You Name One U.S. Senator? Do we HAVE to?  We try to forget them.  When we read about them, we just get angry.  Why should we care?  Every new one proves quickly that they are as worthless as the old ones.

Mama’s Note: I know both of mine, and the “representative” as well. I send them emails occasionally too. Waste of time, I know, but they at least know one old lady is paying attention.

VP Biden Calls on Congress to Pass ‘Gay Rights’ Bill but I disagree.  I think it is too late in the year to still have them up: a full three months after Christmas?  Please.

Dabbling in some word games (like what the definition of is is), a White House shill/minion said Thursday that the Fuehrer wants to make it clear that allowing people to enroll in Obamacare after the enrollment deadline is not the same as extending the deadline.  Ah, if Lewis Carroll were around today, what fun he would have.  Even Frank Baum couldn’t make this stuff up.  And these people THINK that they are in charge, and we act like they are!

For years, the FedGov has pushed automakers to submit to ever-tightening CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards. Now, the government is beginning to reap the fruits of discouraging fuel consumption: road money is drying up, slowly but surely and the economy’s not helping.  All the beltway bandits and statehouse corporate welfare folks are crying.  Too bad!

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-12C: Short Wednesday Comments

Posted on 2014-03-26 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  When your family has all put in forty hours of work and it is only Tuesday night, you can figure it is going to be a long week.  That is the case with us:  a second landfill fire in three weeks that had to be fought for almost eleven hours on a Sunday afternoon and evening (and the fire WAS DEFEATED despite having to move at least 700 tons of burning and smoldering trash!), projects where one day’s testing turns into two+, and miles and miles of, well, miles and miles!  Still there is time to read quickly and scream wordlessly at the things of government and the world, so read on!

Jason Ditz at antiwar.com reports on congressional GOP members urging that the US send small arms to Ukraine to let them “defend themselves.”  While it is usually the DP in Congress that tell us that small arms exist only to let mass murderers ply their avocation, this strikes me as singularly stupid even for Congress.  The total irrationality about Putin and Russia at this time amazes me.

Meanwhile, a Ventura California man is finding that it does not pay to secretly record and expose abuse by the much-loved California State Child Protective Services, for they can do almost anything the agency wants with the help of cops, code enforcers, and the rest of the bureaucracy taking care of itself and in a code of omerta that makes the Capos look sane.

A north St. Louis man claims he was unfairly handcuffed and detained by St. Louis Metropolitan Police and has the video to prove that he was threatened to be imprisoned unless he falsely framed someone for a crime.  Police seem to be more and more like the criminal gangs that they are supposed to be fighting.  Even if it is “bad guys” that they are threatening and bullying, this is wrong: even bad guys have human rights.

The city of Venice has voted to break away from the rest of Italy. Eighty nine per cent of Venetians (of those voting that is) backed the move to create their own sovereign state, the ‘Repubblica Veneta,’ in a referendum on independence, to include not just the actual city but much of what once was an independent nation.  Of course, authorities claim the result is not legally-binding, since it was not done by “the authorities.”  I assume that the Fuehrer in DC will quickly condemn it as well, and issue letters of support for the embattled government in Rome.  This comes in addition to the Padanian independence movement to create a northern republic or at the least a federal system instead of the unitary “republic” which replaced the Kingdom of Italy at the end of WW2.

“Gunmen in Yemen killed 20 soldiers on Monday at a checkpoint in Hadramawt province, the official Saba news agency said of the latest in a wave of attacks blamed on al Qaeda. ‘Twenty soldiers were killed in the armed attack on an army checkpoint,’ which is very likely nothing but proof of the low quality of Yemeni troops: no way an attack even by Al Qaeda gunmen on a checkpoint (if properly designed and staffed) should lead to 20 dead.  Incompetence is the most likely reason.

White House plan would end NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone data, IF you believe what the Fuehrer and his minions are claiming to be preparing.  More smoke and mirrors.

In another example of his senility or insanity (or just hubris), Harry Reid accuses GOP of helping Russia annex Crimea as Ukraine aid deal clears the procedural hurdles that kept it from being passed several weeks ago. If I understand it right, his insane argument is that Russia would not have annexed the crimea if the US had given Ukraine several billion dollars.

Report: GOP representative Markwayne Mullin earned $600,000 plus in outside income, which against House rules.  The problem with Congress is NOT a Democratic problem, not a Republican problem, but a problem with a corrupt, venal, stupid, and greedy Congress regardless of what they call themselves politically.  Another story, that a congressional committee says there will be no special ethics investigation of Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the fourth ranking Republican in the House even though she used taxpayer funds for campaign for a leadership post.  They “air-spanked” her hands, apparently.

Senator Barbara Boxer: Obamacare ‘is a huge success’ for the purposes which it was REALLY created, as far as I’m concerned, and NOT for the purposes it supposed was developed for.  No surprise, really.

Jimmy Carter again blames Catholics, other Christians for abuse of women and girls, and again proving how bad someone with a decent upbringing, decent education, and supposedly with a good work ethic and military background, can be, given enough time and temptation.

Republicans say what they claim they are running against, but not what they are running for, according to CNS News.  And no wonder, since their goals differ from the Democrats only in that THEY are the ones in charge of our lives rather than the guys in blue.  For more than 150 years, the GOP has brought Marxist socialism to the now Fifty States, disguised in order to be accepted, and taking advantage of the Democrats’ more blatant call for “change” to bring about the same results in an underhanded way.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-12B: Dead people, dead babies

Posted on 2014-03-25 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  A number of fascinating items on the news for the beginning of the week.

It now appears that most of the conspiracy theories regarding the Malaysian airliner which disappeared more than two weeks can be forgotten.  It seems that a theory proposed by a friend of my wife’s uncle  (within two or three days of the disappearance) is substantially what happened: a fire killed the electronics and filled the cabin and cockpit with smoke, causing the pilot to turn to run for the nearest airport that he knew could handle the huge aircraft, before passing out.  The plane then apparently flew on auto-pilot until it ran out of fuel.  It is likely that everyone was dead long before the plane dived into the water: there are much worse ways to die.  Of course, there are many more questions to be answered now.  And the incompetence of the dozen or so governments involved has to be addressed: what can be done in the future when there are survivors?

The White House says that sending U.S. troops and aircraft to Uganda does not “change the US advisory role” in tracking down and killing this so-called “christian” warlord/terrorist.  But, of course, the Fuehrer must protect all parts of the Imperium Americana, especially from religious tyranny (other than Wahhabi Islam and humanism and Tranzi-directed efforts). All we need is ANOTHER deployment into ANOTHER place in the world where the FedGov has no business meddling.

DOJ to Supreme Court: killing human embryo in womb is not abortion.  Well, actually, it is a bit more complicated than that: they claim that killing a human embryo by preventing the embryo from implanting in his or her mother’s uterus is not an “abortion” and, thus, drugs that kill embryos this way are not “abortion-inducing” drugs. This is the argument in the case of Hobby Lobby against DHHS, as if there was something in the Bible that Hobby Lobby is citing “Thou shalt not abort thy child.”  But dead is dead, and quibbling over terminology should not matter – except that with the Nazgul quibbling DOES matter: while people die and tyranny grows.

Mama’s Note: The problem isn’t actually any definition. The problem is tyranny, and aggression, being forced to pay against their will. Freedom means the power to choose, even if the choice is wrong on some level. The consequences they might face for the wrong being done is a whole different matter.

Arne Duncan, the ED secretary minion of the Fuehrer claims it is  ‘worth considering’ giving student athletes free graduate school education, apparently so we can see more people with master’s and PhD’s braining themselves on the nation’s pro football and hockey teams, and thus ensure that the circuses continue to sooth the masses.  And incidentally making a master’s or doctor’s degree as totally worthless as BA, BS, and HS.

Thanks to Brian for this one – if thanks is appropriate for such a hideous story.  Hospitals in the UK have incinerated the bodies of more than 15,500 babies, some used for “waste-to-energy” plants.  15,500 down, only about 5,984,000 to go to surpass the Dritte Reich in mass murder WITH incineration, instead of just mass murder.  I wonder how many of these stillborn and aborted children were Jews, and how many were Irish.  Surely burning them to produce power and heat is better than serving them up on English tables, no?  And if this is going on in the UK, how many is this happening to, in the US?  The modern Fuehrer and his good buddies on Downing Street, in Berlin, Paris, and elsewhere have far out-shone Uncle Adolf.

Connecticut Gun Grab In Full Effect. Media Gag Ordered, or so says “BeforeIt’sNews.com”.  they claim that communications are being tampered with. Scott, who sent this to me, suggests: “I don’t necessarily trust source, but bears watching.” I agree with Scott on the source and the advice.  BIN had gotten thing wrong before.  But Connecticut officials have already done some stupid things, so this would not be outside the realm of high-probability events.  If so, it may be too late for many people to escape.  And sooner or later, someone is going to go ballistic and pull a trigger.

Mama’s Note: Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars has this to say about it: There is more going on it CT than the state government is admitting and the state-run media is reporting, but my sources say this is crap. No names, no locations, no ability for anyone independent to confirm or deny. Don’t believe it. There is too much on the line in CT to jump at shadows because of disinformation.

Of course, there is MORE on the hoploclastic (gun-haters) front:  we find a textbook teaching that the Second Amendment requires “registration” and is good only for certain guns. Now, this is truthful for some states (problably especially for Illinois where this happened), but only because they are VIOLATING the Constitution, and more important, rights given by God to man – ALL men.  Yet we let the schools and the writers and the officials get away with this sort of nonsense.  And more and more people seem to believe these lies, even those who own and use guns.

Another hoploclastic move (or presented as such) from my own neck of the woods, Durango, Colorado, where the local gun club had tried to go 100% NRA, and was threatened with eviction from the range they “lease” from the city for a dollar a year, south of the old town on the west side of the Animas River, near Home Depot and Wal-Mart.  Various reasons were given, but not the major one: a local shooting range with 100% NRA membership is covered for liability purposes by NRA insurance.  Now, Durango is a VERY liberal town, and filled with hoplophobes and hoploclasts, but has a lot of gun folks also: everyone is riled up.  At the same time, I personally think the NRA is a bad deal, all the way around.  There are other gun ranges and clubs in the region which ARE 100% NRA for just that reason: insurance.  And is one reason I will not use those ranges: I just plain won’t join the NRA.  Compared to JPFO or GOA, they are NOT fighting the hoploclasts nearly as much, and far too willing to compromise.  I do suffer as a result, but I am making my stand.  So I can’t feel too bad about Durango, for once.

Mama’s Note: I’ll have to research this myself. My gun club most definitely has NRA “insurance,” but no NRA membership is required to join. It might be a matter of how much coverage is available, but I don’t think there is any blanket requirement for NRA membership just for a club to get that insurance. I have to agree that the NRA is far from perfect as a gun rights fighter, but they do have the best nationwide novice training program available. If some other outfit wants to match that, I’m all for it. Until then, as an NRA certified instructor, I’m pretty much stuck with them. I do not donate to their political side, and never will.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #14-12A: Theft is a many-splendored thing.

Posted on 2014-03-24 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning!  If you haven’t already, visit and read my rant “In my inbox...” written on a cold, snowy Saturday afternoon here in the Paha Sapa.

Even as I am going through news stories right now, looking out the window/door of my office at the huge flakes of snow drifting from a Black Hills sky, I am thinking about all the comforts we take for granted: warmth (heat!) and power and light and easily prepared food (even if we grew and harvested and canned it ourselves).  Do you realized that canned food has only been around for about 200 years!?

One of the articles I commented on last week was dealing with the collapse of Western Civilization, and how it was inevitable due to squandering of natural resources and an inequality of income that separated the Elite from the Commoners more and more.  The study (done by NASA) was done using money stolen from American taxpayers, now and in the future.  And it was biased towards government solutions: a solution many other commentators branded “communist.”  That may well be, but the basic premise of the study is wrong:  no, not that civilization will not fall, but that it is a scarcity of resources and a massive disparity in income that will make it fall.

No civilization, no great power, in earth’s history has survived forever. Neither shall this one.  But liberty and technology can and does survive, and I for one am not going to give up because some government study says that unless we surrender all our liberties and give up our technology that we shall fall.

Well, on to the news read and commented on this weekend!

A 2nd/3rd Grader in a California public school has claimed that he was sexually assaulted by a male classmate over a period of at least two semesters, and teachers have been suspended for allowing this to happen.  It is no longer just teachers and high school athletes who are predators in our “modern” pre-penal system of government-ruined, theft-funded schools: our so-called “Education System.”  It is no longer just time (PAST time) for parents to rescue their children from these dens of abuse and corruption: it is time for teachers (any that are left) who are sick of this sort of thing to leave: to boycott and strike, and take other actions to dismantle these evil systems and places.  It is clear that reform is no longer possible.

As this situation illustrates: the father of a student in California has gotten a restraining order against a nine-year-old bully who has physically attacked his son multiple times in school.  I don’t know what the father thinks a piece of paper will do, if the school is so incredibly stupid and has done nothing effective, yet.  Perhaps the son is getting bullied because he wears the wrong clothing or has the wrong book bag or is not fully politically-correct, so the teachers and other staff overlook the attacks?  Or are they also afraid of the bully?

Despite more and more claims from government, “economists,” media and even so-called professional business organizations that the economy is doing better, data from the first two months of 2014 shows that at least the HOUSING sector is sliding into further trouble, and that much of the “improved” economy is either bubble territory or very small segments in very limited parts of the country.  If home sales are again crashing, despite the write-off of billions of dollars of paper wealth, the new head of the Fed (who appears to be channeling the last head) is likely to do the same stupid things as for the past five years, and really hammer on the economy.  As we see inflation again picking up, job numbers flatlining, and more stupid proposals from both the White House and the Capitol, we are more inclined to hunker down than ever before.  And speaking of hunkering down:

Mama’s Note: A trip to the supermarket, the drug store, the hardware store, or any other store in town with a typical shopping list tells the tale rather well. If you can find one, get a cash register tape from a year ago and match the items. Watch the SIZE of the product too, of course. The toilet paper is inches narrower, baby wipes are smaller, most “quart” size containers now hold only 30 ounces, and on and on… right along with higher prices overall. Did your paycheck get larger this year? I didn’t think so… but I’ll bet your tax and insurance bills did.

As we mourn the third anniversary of the signing of the Abominable Act (ObummerCare), we see that many patients are seeing a drastic – even heart-stopping increase in copay costs for drugs. Like the horror stories about massive increases in premiums, deductibles, and out of pocket costs for doctor’s visits and procedures, this is ignored or pooh-poohed by the DP and the minions of the Fuehrer, but seems to be pretty well documented.  Again, it appears obvious that this was known to be likely, but hidden by those who want a single-payer, fully-socialized system.  Smells more like HillaryCare all the time, but it also appears that this will not be repealed anytime soon.

Mama’s Note: The thing that even the best MSM reports seem to ignore or gloss over is the fact that the “payer” simply won’t matter when there are no medical professionals available. That is increasingly the disaster waiting in the wings. It won’t matter a bit who pays or how much they pay if nobody is willing to take the job. It’s long past time to take charge of our own health and wellness, and make the changes necessary to take care of ourselves. Doctors can be extremely valuable in many ways, but they never could be a substitute for personal responsibility. Atlas is shrugging… even as we speak.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that “in a year of intense public interest over the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, the government cited national security to withhold information a record 8,496 times – a 57 percent increase over a year earlier and more than double Obama’s first year, when it cited that reason 3,658 times.”  Apparently, the Fuehrer has gutted the Freedom of Information Act without a single Act of Congress or even a Fuehrer-Befehl (Executive Order).  Which means that we know less and less of what is really going on. But it is not just the lack of information (“transparency:”  the false impression that citizens and media knows what is going on behind closed doors, in order to lull them into inactivity.  (From the Tyrant’s Dictionary) that is alarming.

Mama’s Note: The key to all this is to accept the basic fact that no person or group of persons… no matter who they are or claim to be — has any legitimate authority to control the lives and property of other people. Without the assumption of authority, nothing they did or said would matter in the least.

The Associated Press also reported last week, “The presidents of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Associated Press Media Editors have urged their members to stop using White House handout photos and video, saying they amount to propaganda.”  Not that what the AP and its related media outlets prints/publishes/speaks is NOT propaganda, but you get the point.  We have declined so quickly that is hard to keep up: a much more rapid decline than anything Germany went through between 1918 and 1933.  More is yet to come, as we all know.

But more important: this too shall pass.  Governments can and do fall, and people and freedom live on.

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In my inbox: scam, bogus, or…

Posted on 2014-03-23 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

I got an e-mail this week that I found most interesting.  I know that most of us get the “Nigerian” scam e-mails now and then, if I spam catcher doesn’t.  (I once got a real WRITTEN, HARD-COPY Nigerian scam letter in the mail (USPS) with a genuine Brit stamp, cancellation, and physical address, but that is a different story.)  So when things look funny: poor grammar, poor spelling, awkward sounding phrasing, and things promised that are too good to be true, it is probably one of those: whether from Nigeria or Ghana or Liberia.

This was, well, different.  The subject is: “ANNOUNCING: Free On-site Trainings by Request for Your School and District.”  Now, the use of the plural for something that most American and British/Canadian English speakers would leave as singular (“Training” not “Trainings”) set off some alarms.  The sender set off some more: “Akshay Jakatdar (REMS TA Center) ajakatdar@remstacenter.org via seiservices.com.”  Interesting, no?  Yes, lots of e-mail addresses use surrogate mailers these days: do it myself.  However, Akshay Jakatdar is an uncommon name: several websites claim that there is only ONE person in North America; I found another in India, and both Akshay and Jakatdar are East Indian names, according to a quick search.  And the surrogate server is SEISERVICES.com.  BUT, the “actual” e-mail address is a dot-org.  This is strange because the letterhead/header on the email says this is a GOVERNMENT agency: “Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

I did a check on Mr. Jakatdar (or someone claiming to be him), find him on Facebook and Linked-In and he does appear to be East Indian. He is a 29-year-old male, lives in DC and works for a company called Synergy Enterprises.  If that is an “Inc.” would that be the SEI in SEISERVICES.ORG? Linked-in has a second (more professional) picture of him and it is indeed “Inc.”

He is a Program Associate/Technical Assistance Lead, one of those meaningless titles so fond of both government bureaucracies and beltway bandits.  It also tells me that he served on the Japan Exchange and Teach (JET) Program, where he taught English as a Second Language in Japan. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, where his Bachelor’s thesis focused on the achievement gap between white and minority students in American public schools. He received his Master’s degree with Honors and Distinction from the Thunderbird School of Global Management, where he served as Vice President and Treasurer of an organization dedicated to addressing the needs of LGBT students, faculty, and staff.

Hmm.  More than I want to know.  I reread the e-mail, and notice the government logo at the bottom, and check on the many hot links: some actually go to ED.GOV – not “erectile dysfunction” but “Education Department” since DOE.GOV is not the Department of Education but the Department of Energy (another totally worthless government department, but again, a topic for some other time).  It doesn’t have any other obvious grammar or spelling errors, but it also does not have the “feel” of a government website, or of an educated English speaker.  And this guy supposedly graduated from W&M AND taught English for the State Department?

Thunderbird SGM I have heard about, and not favorably:  maybe not a diploma mill, but maybe not too far from one.  Like Colorado Technical University (CTU), it once may have had a good reputation, but the level of its instruction apparently is not very high (at least for those of us when graduated from high school and college before 1980).  So this is NOT a strong point for this guy.

So I go to SEISERVICES.COM and sure enough, that is “Synergy Enterprises, Inc.” a “woman-owned small business.”  And definitely a beltway bandit firm.  Our Mr. Jakatdar is NOT one of the twenty “key employees” featured on the site, but he appears very much to be a minority: 15 of the 20 are women.  They have 110 employees, the firm is 11 years old, and they are VERY politically-connected.  They work for 12 FedGov departments and have 11 “private” clients, almost all of which seem to be other beltway bandits: government contractors.  “Small?”  Yeah, legally.  Woman-owned?  Probably.  But they don’t own their own souls.

So, I have to conclude that this is probably a “legitimate” e-mail and not a scam (well, not any more a scam than ANY government and especially FedGov program is).  Not a Nigerian type, at least.  But it IS not something I want to have anything to do with, and this guy is NOT going to be added to any (however bogus) “friends” list on Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, Match-Up, or anything else (or would not, if I did those kinds of things).

Why did I get this?  Probably because I am involved with emergency management on a local level, as part of my military volunteer activities and community support.  My e-mail is available in various places for contact with first responders, emergency planners, and community organizations as well as churches and schools.  Ugh.  I set myself up.  In a good cause, admittedly.  I still don’t want anything to do with SEIServices or REMS TA Center or USED or all their garbage.  I don’t need to help them drag the Fifty States or me down any faster into their swamp and quicksand of tyranny and nanny-state government.

But it has come to the point that the US Department of Education, with its pretty little tree logo in the blue circle and its “Great-White-Father-Knows-Best” attitude, has contracted with a firm that has people who themselves are the failed products of the education system that the FedGov has created.  A failed education system that values political correctness and political connections more than liberty or truth or fair dealings. And as a result, create something that is difficult to tell as being “legitimate” (I use the term tongue-in-cheek) or bogus.

This e-mail wasn’t a scam, but it was and is still SPAM, and the only reason it isn’t officially a scam is because the scam is over: the Fifty States bought into the real scam hook, line, and sinker over the past forty years, and all we got for it is stupid e-mails like this, trying to suck us in just once more.

It is precisely this sort of incompetence that threatens not just our liberty but our lives and our families and homes and communities: the FedGov is the best historical example of the Peter Principle as applied to organizations that we can find: even better than the Soviets.  It is why Consumer Reports warns people to leave “healthcare.gov” alone, at risk of their money and identities and sanity.

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-11F: Civilizations and questions for a weekend

Posted on 2014-03-22 by TPOL Nathan

By Nathan Barton

Good morning this weekend.  Have you thought about your own freedom today?  About having and using liberty?  If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Here are a few news stories to remind us to think about how we need to be (and stay or get) free, to live our own lives and be able to choose our destinies.

A NASA-sponsored study has said that Western Civilization is going to collapse because of “unsustainable resource exploitation and increasingly unequal wealth distribution.”  The study has all the usual attributes: references to Rome, “new” analyses and models, all kinds of “experts” AND how we must change our societies fundamentally to keep this from happening.  Gee, doesn’t all that sound familiar?  Malthus, Gibbons, Swift, Ehrlich, even Hal Lindsey and Herbert W Armstrong have all written similar babble over the past several centuries.  It is a steady diet in Science Fiction from Asimov and Heinlein to our esteemed publisher and Boston T. Party and Don Lobo!  BUT the big difference is that all these people did it on their own: paid for it themselves or got private sponsorship to dish out their doom and gloom and demands for a new order.  This is NSF and NASA – and what does THIS have to do with getting to Mars or BACK to Luna?  Not a single thing: it is all about “science” serving political ends: no different than Hitler-sponsored “racial science” or Stalin-ordered psychology: bogus, fraudulent and as accurate as a stopped clock (analog).  Some libertarian and right-wing blogs have condemned the study as “promoting communism as our salvation,” but more importantly, it is steal money to do whatever it is: I don’t care if it is promoting premillenialism or adding babies to stew, just don’t make me or 300 million of us pay for it

Frankly, Western Civilization is overrated, in my opinion:  when the American West was “uncivilized” we seemed to have a lot more liberty.  Same in other places around the world from Uratu (Ararat and Armenia) to Canaan to Scotland and Ireland.  No massive disconnect and inequality between the Elite and the Commoners, because when the Elite stopped being amusing, the Commoners voluntarily and not necessarily cooperatively took the Elite down.

“We are not going to be getting into [a] military excursion in Ukraine,” the Fuehrer told San Diego’s KNSD-TV “What we are going to do is mobilize all of our diplomatic resources to make sure that we’ve got a strong international correlation that sends a clear message.”  The real question is, why?  If this is so critical, if Putin is irrational and rebuilding the Soviet (or Czarist) empire, if our “friends” in Ukraine need us so bad, if Crimea is a victim of evil invasion and intimidation, then WHY?  Because the US is now too weak?  Because they REALLY believe this garbage about sanctions?  Because it is all a play, a game?  Or because they are all idiots?  (I vote for the last, but it’s been a stressful week.)

In his latest warning against surveillance, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) called for the creation of a bipartisan, independent committee to investigate if the CIA and the National Security Agency have violated the Constitution.  I suspect that he already knows the answer (as do I), but must go through the motions; and besides, he gets more publicity this way.  Will it make any difference?  Ha!

The nation’s largest staffing firm released results of a survey showing that 38% of firms paying minimum wage will lay off workers if the minimum wage goes up to $10.10.  54% will reduce hiring, and 65% would raise prices.  Admittedly the survey takers are being self-serving with their answers, but this SHOULD be a wakeup call to even many DP members. The math is simple:  unless you can increase worker productivity – by making and selling more – you can’t afford to pay some people more without (a) raising prices and volume or (b) cutting costs.  And the easiest way is to cut costs:  If minimum wages go from 8 to 10 dollars an hour (20% increase), the fastest way to be able to pay for it is to eliminate one in five minimum wage employees.  That is basic, and doesn’t take into account that everyone that had been making $10 an hour NOW wants to make another $2/hour so that they are not themselves “minimum wage.”  My boys understood that when they were ten years old, Congress and the idiot Fuehrer don’t seem to get it.

A plurality of Democrats supports the building of the Keystone XL pipeline, though support is much lower among wealthier, more liberal and more educated members of the party, according to a new poll. The Pew Research Center poll, as with other polls, shows broad support, which the White House is still reviewing. 61 percent of people (not DP members) favor building it, while just 27 percent oppose it.  Notice the screaming panic of the elites about this.  They have, sadly, still convinced too many AmerInd nations to oppose it:  they make good shills.

Mama’s Note: I would not have any problem with such a project or pipeline except for the use of eminent domain to obtain the “right of way.” That’s a real problem, and I don’t believe I’ve seen any real discussion of it or possible alternatives.

In Minneapolis, city employees “voluntarily” participated in a “Hijab Day” promoted by Somali immigrant employees.  A hijab is an open religious garment, similar to wearing a yarmulke (for Jewish men) or a crucifix or cross necklace: garb which has been prohibited from many (or most) public/government office workplaces in Tranzi states (like Minnesota) because they “promote religion.”  Of course, some religions are more equal or tolerated than others: Islam being the perfect example.  I suspect that for a christian to wear a tee-shirt with a Bible verse on it to work in municipal offices would immediately trigger ACLU and atheist protests and even lawsuits.  So why not THIS?

By the way, that NASA study doesn’t seem to take a good look at OTHER civilizations that wasted their resources and had insane disparities in income and wealth but still hung around for centuries, like Egypt under the Pharaohs and the Muslim empires and their civilizations.  Wonder why?

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-11E: Fuehrerprincip and nasty news

Posted on 2014-03-22 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  Or is it?  Lots of nasty news out there today…

First, apparently the ‘messiah’ – now better known as “our beloved Fuehrer” has apparently written/signed a new imperial decree (or is that “Fuehrer-Befehl” instead) that allows him (and his minions the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State (Finanzminister und Assenminister)) to seize the assets: land, money, animals, underage children, etc.) of any American “person” who “undermines” or “threatens” Ukraine, directly or indirectly. Which apparently would include me, since I’ve spoken very badly of the stupid actions of the FedGov regarding Ukraine and the Crimea.  And Mama Liberty, at least indirectly.  I suppose the goons will be coming sooner than later.  Sure, they will claim it doesn’t relate to free speech, but we know how THAT works.

Adding insult and compounding stupidity, the American Fuehrer announced MORE sanctions on Thursday against prominent Russians including close allies of President Vladimir Putin, as Moscow raced to complete its annexation of Crimea and built up its forces in the region. Of course, Moscow retaliated as they geared up for any impact and even an economic downturn.  Is this yet another slip down the slide to war?

Do you or your family own ivory?  You are now a criminal thanks to the American Fuehrer and his Fueher-Befehl ban on selling even antique ivory (if less than 100 years old) legally obtained. Never mind little archaic concepts like making things crimes AFTER you did them, or outdated ideas like Congress passing laws: he can do whatever he decides is right, because der Volk are “behind him” – or at least somewhere between 30 and 49% are, according to the latest polls. What is next to be banned or made illegal?  Wooden furniture?  The list grows longer with time.

A FedGov study is paying Mexican male prostitutes for not getting STDs while Hawai’i undercover police get paid for having sex with prostitutes.  Who says government isn’t consistent (sometimes?)? It is so GOOD for the USGov to help out poor countries like Mexico who can’t offer this important social safety net. (sarcasm, please.)

The Fueher wants to make sure His daughters don’t have to quit their jobs when they have children, Hmm.  That makes a LOT of assumptions.  First, that these two women will ever need to work a day of their lives after they inherit the fortune that almost all presidents (since Truman, at least) have accumulated during and after they leave office.  Second, that these daughters of Tranzis are going to HAVE children and contribute to destroying the planet.  Third, that IF they do, that the FedGov won’t make all children enroll in creches (ala Brave New World) within months of birth.  (Of course, all bets are off, come the revolution.)

Federal ‘Motor Voter’ forms In Kansas and Arizona must include proof of citizenship, at least until the Fuehrer’s flunkies (especially that Himmler wannabe Holder) close the states’ efforts down.  And of course, ignore the court decisions that say these states CAN do that.  (Like the Fuehrer’s flunkies do so much of.)

There are those who urge Mrs. Obama the Fueher’s consort to speak out against Chinese rights abuses, as her “predecesors” did. I would like to assume that they are suggesting this for the humor value, as it is clear that her ideal of a perfect society is much closer to China than even the accelerating police state conditions in many of the Fifty States.

According to KOAT-TV, four US Forest Service police officers and a drug-sniffing dog recently performed the search at the Taos Ski Valley Resort, and cited several people for possessing marijuana, driving recklessly and having cracked windshields.  New Mexico already looks and smells like a police state much of the time: this just adds to the stench.  We need to have USFS citing people for cracked windshield?  Please.  There is NO justification for this sort of insanity.

Researchers say that Terra got a lucky pass early in 2012, when a massive solar flare missed us and space around us.  They claim it was as bad as the 1859 Carrington event, largest magnetic storm to ever hit the planet, which knocked out the nation’s telegraph system.  Although this is a lot like another “crying wolf” or “Chicken Little” incident, it does remind us that NOTHING human-made is forever, and that things can and do go badly wrong, usually on a less than planetary scale, of course.  It is a good idea to plan for many contingencies, even things like this: can we continue to live without electrical power or electronic communications?  Of course, if we are prepared.

Mama’s Note: “Live without electricity (or an equivalent)?” At least some of us can survive that, but a great many would not. A lot of babies who survive now would die, same for many elderly and disabled. A great deal of modern food preparation and preservation would not be possible. There is almost no substitute for safe and clean lighting of homes and businesses, though I’d love to see far less of outdoor lighting myself. Most home heating requires electricity for some part of its function, even if the actual heat is obtained from other things. And very little widespread communication would be possible without it either. Many human beings could survive without electricity, but they would have to embrace a 19th century lifestyle most likely. I’m prepared to do that for short periods, but I wouldn’t want to live that way for very long.

Apparently Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is an evil, evil man.  No, not because he is a statist, but because he uses his (presumably government-issued) cell phone to text or tweet a Scriptural citation: Philippians 4:13.  (That should be a familiar verse to those readers who read the Bible:  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”)  Our wonderful “non-religionist” atheists are attacking him for – get this – lending governmental and gubernatorial cachet to a religious Book (other than Origin of the Species or any of Carl Sagan’s holy writings, of course).  Do I need to point out that they are therefore “anticonstitutional” since the Wisconsin State Constitution states in part: ““We, the people of Wisconsin, grateful to Almighty God for our freedom, in order to secure its blessings, form a more perfect government, insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, do establish this constitution.”  I am not fond of Walker or his quasi-conservative statist agenda, but even he has a right to speak his piece and even quote the Apostle Paul.

As did this man: Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, died on Wednesday.  I use the media term “founder” of course, hopefully in a way which even Mr. Phelps would have objected to.  Phelps could (and did) say whatever he wanted to, whatever he believed, and he believed that all of America’s woes were because of the decay of society and specifically because of so many of the States and people accepting homosexuality as “normal.”  But he chose to do so in a way which angered many people who were as disgusted with the perversions of homosexuality as he was, and in a way which made homosexuality mainstream  at least, easier to accept as such.  In this, he imitated many historical Baptist leaders, dating back to the establishment of the denomination in the 1650s.  (I say “denomination” but there are MANY Baptist denominations, of course: each with their own headquarters and organization and name and particular beliefs.)  Westboro could have adopted almost ANY so-called fundamentalist denominational uniform: Wesleyan, Assemblies, Church of God, whatever, or been “interdenominational” or “multidenominational” or “independent.”  I honestly don’t know how close they were to “standard” Baptist doctrine, because you never heard about what else they preached or did: nothing about benevolence or evangelism or worship or fundamental world view except that by their actions, the first and greatest of great commandments seems to have been “God Hates Fags” [sic].  This is, of course, a perversion of the Gospel of Christ Jesus, but then, much of what “typical” Baptist churches teach is a perversion: they still adhere (despite their history) the concept of the “national church” and an unholy alliance of church and state still seen in the history books, as well as errors in church organization, understanding of the Tanakh (Old Testament), and much else.  BUT IT WAS HIS GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO BE WRONG.  To say what he wanted to. No matter how wrong or distasteful or disgusting it was.  And too many people would use “law” to crush Fred, his fellow church members, and anyone who would speak out for their right to say what they believed.

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-11D: Good news, for once?

Posted on 2014-03-20 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning, and a lovely one again: not much wind and the snow is melting fast where I am.

Let me start out with some good news or ideas, for once.

North Korean Born in a Prison Camp: ‘My Favorite Word is Freedom’ with very good reason, clearly.  The point that too many people miss is that ALL of North Korea is a prison camp, and the same is true of many countries around the world, and even more (like many or all of our own Fifty States) are moving in that direction.

Scalia to Cadets: Constitution ‘Deserves Your Affection and Your Oath’ so why don’t our senior officers and political leaders have the same concept?  And why don’t the other eight Nazgul seem to think so?  (There are SOME field grade and flag grade officers who DO, but they are powerless or gutless or both, as the corruption of the military gets worse.)

Bill Gates: ‘It Makes Sense to Believe in God’ is NOT one of the things I would have expected this man to say.  Still, a pleasure to hear him say that.  He certainly is not following God’s will in many things, but maybe he is trying.

This next is “good news” but only if you are willing to put aside the rhetoric and propaganda which seems to infect many who claim to be lovers of liberty.

Sounds to me like Putin understands the current regimes in DC, Brussels, and Mons (NATO headquarters) pretty well:  rule of guns and not rule of law.  For once, I find myself almost in full agreement with Steven Lendman, who provides a great synopsis of the entire Ukraine/Crimea business (if you ignore his normal fanatic digs at various and sundry). The FedGov’s hypocrisy is showing big time.  Putin is NOT a nice man, he is a very typical Russian strong man: no one who is a genuinely nice person could ever lead or even guide Russia.  He is no doubt corrupt, as well – same reasons.  But compared to what we have in DC, he is a saint.

Compare Lendman’s column to this one: Crimea Crisis: A Timeline of U.S. Appeals, and Russian Defiance Oh for crying out loud:  these are not “US Appeals” but rather, US demands.  If this was Canada and not Ukraine, and it was Russia “appealing” then the US would be far MORE “defiant” than Russia is being about Crimea and Ukraine.

Tensions Rise Along Israel-Syria Border After Bombing of Israeli Patrol, as well as fighting: Israeli forces attacked Syrian positions.  One more spark in the region.

Tax Revenues Hit Record in First 5 Months of FY14; 5-Month Deficit Still $377B: greed of the kind found in DC cannot be slaked by all the money in the world.

WH: ‘Real Treat’ for Michelle Obama to Take Her Mom and Daughters to China on the taxpayer’s dime (or rather, millions).  Such gratitude shown by the little people to let their royals have such a pleasant excursion.

Obama The ‘messiah’ praises Abbas: ‘Somebody who has consistently renounced violence’ in what?  His family?  His stomach?  Because he hasn’t personally killed someone for “honor?”  Disgusting to watch a video of one incredible hypocrite (the ‘messiah’) praising another accomplished hypocrite.  As many websites have been quick to point out, Abbas and his rabid and loyal gang of thugs has committed a huge number of violent aggressive acts against both Israelis and their own people, including some as recently as last week.  But shucks, the squatter in 1600 Pennsy knows how short the memories of the public are.

The Congressional Homeland Security Chair says the missing plane may be in the hands of terrorists, an idea (as I pointed out earlier this week) that he took straight from a dozen conspiracy websites.  On the other hand, Rep. King babbles about Flight 370: ‘Nothing out there indicating it’s terrorists’, a statement clearly based on his omniscience and secret NSA/CIA/FBI briefings.  Neither of them are willing to admit that they don’t really know anything but speculation.  Meanwhile, the search continues.  You know, the failure to find the plane’s remains using satellite photos points out the major problem with that sort of “mass data collection” intelligence: if you don’t have SOME general idea of what or where something is, it is very difficult to find it.  It is the same problem we have with finding intelligence in the halls of Congress: you just don’t know where to start looking.

Senator Rand Paul states, For GOP to Grow, It Must ‘Agree to Disagree on Social Issues’ Like Gay ‘Marriage’ which will no doubt endear him still more to many Libertarians, who seem to turn off their sensitivity to liberty when anything to do with sexual preferences (I probably shouldn’t use a word like “perversions”) come up.  But does the GOP really need to do this?  Despite all the court cases and all the acts of various legislatures, to say nothing of the White House, a majority of Americans do not favor homosexual “marriage” – some may be willing to tolerate it, but not accept it, and certainly not “affirm or embrace” it.

EPA Administrator apologizes for saying little Alaskan girl’s moose meat gift could ‘gag a maggot’ which is about what the rest of us are thinking when we meet one of the ‘messiah’s’ minions like this woman.  There is something to be said for those commenting that she was chosen more for her sexual preferences than for her brains or skills or experience.

Several States Mulling ‘Free’ Tuition to Community Colleges which is really nothing more than a grand slam: expanding the nanny state, creating another major mess in the market system, destroying the value of education even more, excusing an increase in taxing and spending, and extending “childhood” a few more years.  Community colleges do little or nothing for students that a mere century ago were done by elementary schools (1-6th grade), just as other colleges and universities spend most of their time and money providing knowledge, skills, and discipline once expected of 9th-12th graders in high school.  This will simply accelerate all these poor outcomes, and make an A.S. or A.A. as meaningless as a high school diploma.

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-11C: Crimea, Police State, ObummerCare

Posted on 2014-03-19 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  Lots of “nothing happening” in the Crimea, apparently, and the missiles haven’t flown (except that North Korea fired a bunch into the ocean for “training”).  So it is a good day!

Now that the Crimea’s people have “illegally” voted 95.5% in a turnout of 83% to secede from Ukraine and apply to Russia for annexation, we read in the Washington Times that Russia is to embrace Crimea ‘swiftly’; and that a poll shows Putin’s popularity soaring.  At the same time mockery greets the ‘messiah’s’ new sanctions against Russian officials after Crimea action. No, really?  His sanctions basically consist of yanking the visas of a few dozen wealthy or politically-influential Russians, who won’t be able to go to New York City to buy out the big Spring season sales.  (And just who will THAT hurt?)  Oh, and maybe not selling Pepsi to Russians (again, whose bottom line gets hurt?)  Wimp is not a harsh enough word, even if I think that truly taking any REAL action against Russia would be incredibly stupid.  Face it, even a few die-hard ‘messiah’ lovers are having second thoughts about the man, much less his vaunted advisors.

Despite this, some of the “lawmakers” in DC praise sanctions, say Obama must go further to curb Russian aggression.  Never mind the argument over whether what is going on in the Crimea is “Russian aggression” or self-defense by Crimean Russians, this sort of “America, right or wrong” reaction again illustrates how worthless Congress has become.

Worse, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) urged the ‘messiah’ on Monday to install anti-ballistic missiles in Eastern Europe as a counter to Russian actions in Ukraine, calling the administration’s newly announced sanctions an insufficient response to the crisis.  Of course, the WaPo and others crowed about this “support” for the insane excuse for foreign policy.  Cruz just proves he would be no different than any of the last half-dozen or so presidents, if elected: the problem and NOT a solution.  (I wonder, did Cruz ever stop to contemplate the similarities between Texas and the Crimea, and between 2014 and 1836?)

On to some local, stateside news:

Are cops getting even MORE arrogant and desperate?  It would seem so, based on an incident in Maryland a few days ago, when heavily armed police stalked down the highway between hundreds of cars in a roadblock on I-270, looking for bank robbers.   They found them, but only by again proving that more and more of the Fifty States are pure and simple police states.  Sadly, I fear too many people are willing to support the cops in this sort of terrorism because they were successful.  Mama’s thoughts: Of course, the ideal solution would have been for the bank folks to pull a gun on the robber, and have half a dozen or more customers backing them up. Don’t think there’d be too many bank robberies if that were the norm -or even happened occasionally. [Referring to another story: Pizza delivery woman thwarts armed robbery by pulling her own gun] How many other pizza delivery people in that part of NC will be held up any time soon? I wonder. And no, the “end” does not justify the means.

The administration announced Monday that more than 5 million people have signed up for new ObummerCare insurance plans under the health-care law, suggesting new momentum for the program as the deadline to get covered this year approaches, or so the WaPo says.  Right.  Five out of thirty, while millions have LOST coverage due to this criminal Abominable Act.  When will we totally reject this unconstitutional, immoral, and illegal “act” as the piece of garbage that it is?

Mama’s Note: The sad part is that so much damage has already been done to what was even minimally functional in the medical and insurance industry that a repeal tomorrow would not solve the problems. It would take years to straighten out the mess, even if everyone involved had the best intentions and no further government nonsense was introduced.

No, whatever happens to “Obummercare,” legislatively, there is no going back. People will be forced to rely more and more on themselves and their families, communities. The free lunch is about over, and some are already suffering from the food poisoning that came with it.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Monday that the missing Malaysia Airlines plane could be parked somewhere unknown and potentially used as a giant bomb.  Gee, you might think that this guy was smart, but this idea was first floated midway last week, so all he is doing is copying someone else’s ideas.  (Of course, that DOES demonstrate above average intelligence for a Texan politician.)  I just get a kick out of reading all the conspiracy theories about what REALLY happened, knowing that there are so many political factions and so many groups of nutcases out there and knowing how many holes there are on this planet.  And I am not even talking about the really far-out theories.  I don’t mean to sound flippant about the lives of 200+ people, but their fate is almost certainly already decided, and like the people who died in the last few weeks in avalanches, recovery of the cast-offs (bodies) is about all we can hope for.

According to Eagle Rising, a group of New Yorkers gathered this weekend and burned about a thousand gun registration forms, or gun registration cards: the article is not clear, nor are the photos.  I applaud their courage to do so publicly, and to take a stand.  But I wonder if this really is an effective protest?  And I wish that alternative media would not confuse accuracy for enthusiasm.

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Libertarian commentary on the news, #14-11B: Stupid is as stupid does

Posted on 2014-03-18 by TPOL Nathan

Good morning!  This week is filled with examples of how stupid government, and the people IN government can be.  More and more cutting off their own noses to spite their faces, they are driving people towards rebellion at an ever faster rate.

Nanny state laws and regulations do NOT exist “to protect the public” as is generally claimed, but instead to protect a variety of monopolies and cartels and the political power of legislatures and the appointed boards which control who may and who may not provide services, ranging from taxi cabs in virtually every city to hairdressers and barbers to medical personnel.

Some states are considering interstate compacts that would allow participating states’ doctors to practice across borders, and would provide both doctors and patients legal protections, unlike architects and engineers and surveyors who must obtain licenses – government permission – from each state in which they work.  This would allow telemedicine which is now illegal, even for veterinarians. Of course, NO one considers the simple solution of letting patients choose the doctors (or other persons) that they wish to have treat them (or their animals): the political influence MUST be kept at all costs.

In the same way, government agencies must be able to dictate everything possible.  For example, U.S. Food and Drug Administration procedures are incredibly time-intensive, and new drugs take 10 to 15 years to finally reach the market at a cost of $800 million, on average, so even a website like the Daily Beast is calling to kill the FDA before it kills again…

One of the problems with letting government do all this is that too many people in government are so incredibly stupid, or appear that way. An aide of the ‘messiah’ blames his massa’s slide in political polls on Gov’t shutdown and Healthcare.gov rollout because everyone knows that the stupidity in Libya, Syria, and now Ukraine makes him beloved of ALL Americans.  Politically, one of the biggest factors in the squatter at 1600 Pennsy not having a lower approval rating is the hard work of the GOP to appear more stupid, more disconnected, and more tyrannical than the DP.

It is this sort of government employee stupidity that worries me about the announcement that the Navy is deploying its first laser-armed warship this summer.  With the poor track record, and quality of the modern sailor in serious doubt, I hope that they have safeguards against burning a hole in their own hull, or crisping the wrong ships or the wrong city or port.

That stupidity starts at the top, of course, as the next story illustrates.

For the past 20+ years, American military personnel and their families have enjoyed a benefit which cost the taxpayer nada: having traditional fast food restaurants on base.  This has been great since many bases are rather remote from suburbia, and because of various regulations.  Now, that is changing, because the Imperial Decree about raising minimum wage for federal employees and contractors is driving various fast food outlets on base out of business, and at the same time, eliminating employment opportunities for military family members.  Unintended  consequences?  Really?  I see it as yet another sly way that the ‘messiah’ can dis the military; an added benefit to the economic damage minimum wages cause.  Again, stupid when it is more and more likely that the ‘messiah’s’ regime will have to rely on the guns and bodies of military and police to survive.

HHS: medical insurance plans offering spousal coverage must include legally married “gays” expanding the government-mandated slavery of more and more businesses, just as they have done to Hobby Lobby and hundreds of other businesses, and without ANY legal or constitutional authority to do so.  The hypocrisy of the so-called liberals who support the right to free speech, free association, and self-determination and all the rest grows exponentially.

Karzai says Afghanistan doesn’t need US troops and I for one think we should take him at his word and bring EVERYone home.  Now.  Including every private contractor.

In Fayetteville, North Carolina, A pizza delivery woman thwarted an armed robbery attempt at a house by producing a weapon of her own, while the would-be robber had his gun’s muzzle in the back of her head.  As Mama Liberty pointed out, it was a brave act and is sure to have a definite influence on other would-be armed robbers in the state, even if no shots were fired.  Hoploclastic activists will ignore it, of course: they are more stupid than the average independent thug.

“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their consciences.” — C. S. Lewis

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