Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-08C: Tyranny and Nazgul

Posted on 2013-02-23 by TPOL Nathan

Tyranny – Hoploclasts
Chicago Police Chief: 2nd Amendment Supportors Guilty of Corruption
(Vision to America)  On a Sunday talk show, as reported by the Illinois State Rifle Association, police Superintendent Garry F. McCarthy said that firearm owners who lobby their representatives, or who donate money to political campaigns, for pro-Second Amendment issues are guilty of corruption and of endangering public safety.

Nathan: Inventive, aren’t they?  There is just one step from this to accusations that “Second Amendment supporters” are just terrorists. Of course, the Daily Kos/Huffington Post gang have been saying that already, (for example, the Iowa columnist who labeled the NRA as a terrorist organization) so I assume that they are just waiting for the right time to have officials say it.  Maybe Biden can start the ball rolling?

Nazul – Tyranny
Ohio: Cop home invasion to capture traffic violator okay, court says
(The Newspaper.com) The Ohio Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the police use of a battering ram on the home of a suspect who failed to properly signal a turn. The court majority also took the unusual step of noting that they disagreed with their own decision and called on the state Supreme Court to overturn the precedent.  On December 12, 2011, Dayton Police Officers Michael Saylors and Randy Beane saw the gold Oldsmobile Intrigue belonging to Jeffrey Lam near the intersection of Hodapp and Lorain Avenues. While the officers were following Lam to his home at 645 Creighton Avenue, they noted he allegedly failed to use his turn signal. Lam had a history of running from police, so the officers waited until he came to a stop before turning on their emergency lights. Lam ran out of his car into his home and locked the door. After failing to kick in the door, the officers used a battering ram and knocked it down. In the course of a search of the house for “officer safety,” drugs were found.

Nathan: This is PRECISELY the sort of police/government abuse that small formal actions like warrants and limits on home invasion, search and seizure, and all the rest of that constitutional claptrap was meant to prevent.  And for this court to take this “we wash our hands” and “Gee, won’t someone save us from ourselves” attitude is dereliction of duty – and one of the reasons for juries to exist.  This sort of criminal behavior is coming to a home near you:  next time it may even be YOU who is the evil perp that “deserves” to be treated like this.

Nazgul – Tyranny
Supreme Court: “Dog Sniffs” are okay
(Reuters) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that “the sniff is up to snuff” in a Florida case on how police may use dogs to track down illegal drugs. In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court gave law enforcement authorities greater authority to use dogs to uncover illegal drugs, upholding a police dog’s search of a truck that uncovered methamphetamine ingredients inside.

Nathan: In other words, the Nazgul say that technology negates personal liberty:  if you can use technology (as dogs are) then it doesn’t matter whether you supposedly have a right to privacy or to be protected from illegal search and seizure.

Mama’s Note: Not to mention that “ingredients” is a seriously flimsy pretense to start with. Even if one thought the “drugs” should be illegal, which I don’t, the idea of this sort of persecution for mere ingredients is insane. What’s next? “We knew he was thinking about making some meth.”

Hoplophobes – Home Front
New Law Would Require Arizona Cities To Become Gun Dealers
(Arizona Daily News) In Arizona, where guns are allowed in bars, and concealed weapons can be carried without a permit, state lawmakers are moving to force police to sell – not destroy – firearms they collect after Tucson scrapped more than 200 last month.

Nathan: An infamous piece of “news” with built-in commentary, thanks to Scott.  Defenders of our right to self-defense, who oppose the various forms of gun control being practiced and rammed down our throats, are evil people who worship guns as sacred objects, and selfless benefactors who pay for gun buyback programs out of their own pockets while serving on city councils are so abused and disrespected that one changed from Republican to Democrat.  At the same time, some libertarians seem to claim that making cities sell guns collected in buyback programs (instead of chopping them up) is encouraging governments to compete with private gun shops.  As if selling scrap metal isn’t competing with scrap dealers?  Perhaps selling abandoned cars collected off the streets is competing with auto dealers?

Home front
Man Accused of Running Over Three, Killing One in Domestic Dispute
(KATV)

This from Darryl; his comment: Cars don’t kill people…people do:

Nathan: Considering how the media and the professional doomsayers howl and screech over death by gun, and given the hatred of the environists and Tranzis, This is simply justification for calling for a ban on privately-owned trucks – only people with CDLs who have valid jobs with REAL trucking companies should be allowed to drive anything with more than four wheels or six cylinders.

Sequestration – Theft by government
Thanks to Steve for this cute letter, which he got from a friend.

 

Dear Steve:

We recently learned that our disposable income is going to be reduced by eight per cent this year due to the increase in our health insurance premiums.  So we decided to address it exactly the way in which the Administration is going to address “sequestration”.

What we are going to do is to cut everything by eight per cent “across the board”.  In other words, we are going to pay just ninety-two per cent of our scheduled house payments, ninety-two per cent of our utility bills, ninety-two per cent of our satellite TV bill and ninety-two per cent of our phone bills and insurance premiums.  We are also only going to pay ninety-two per cent of our subscriptions to House and Garden and Architectural Digest, ninety-two per cent of our Titans tickets, ninety-two per cent of our subscription to the Nashville Symphony and we are going to order eight per cent fewer pay per views, because we are serious about cutting our budget!

I hope that you realize that while I am serious about our situation, I am not being at all serious about how we’re dealing with it, nor would we actually be allowed to behave in this way if we were actually irresponsible enough to attempt it. Only government could ever attempt anything that stupid with the expectation of being allowed to get away with it. Frankly, in our case the Titans tickets and the Symphony are long gone, and we put a bigger deductible on our homeowners policy.  We never really did take those two magazines, and we generally don’t take any pay per views.  We are eating out even less than we used to.  And of course, we are paying all of our utilities in full and on time, as we did before.  In other words, we knew that some of our expenses were more crucial than others.  So does every other household with common sense when confronted with a situation like this.   And this is what we face as a nation.  If we as a nation truly need to send an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, the constitutional mandate which calls for the Federal Government to engage in  necessary national defense should trump any assumed obligation to pay for a welfare mother’s fifth child by the fourth different man, or translation services into an obscure Guatemalan Indian dialect for some illegal alien who obviously should not even be in the country.  Instead, the government is going to talk about laying off meat inspectors and airport guards, close national parks and monuments, and do other, similarly nonsensical things because this is to demonstrate to us, the “masses”, that it is impossible to cut any aspect of government in any meaningful way and that we just should all quietly acquiesce to the massive tax increases required to provide for whatever our masters in Washington deem it necessary to supply us with.

The majority of American voters have obviously already demonstrated that they do NOT really pay attention to much.  If they consent to this without confronting their elected representatives over it, then it will be very hard to say that the results are undeserved.

Mama’s Note: Sounds good… if you accept the premise that “voters” truly are able to  authorize spending other people’s money, or control of any aspect of other people’s lives. Until individuals take back ownership and responsibility for their lives themselves, and refuse to be robbed or coerced, this will simply go on as before.

When some people are given power over other people, tyranny is the inevitable result.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-08B: Culture wars, gun wars

Posted on 2013-02-21 by TPOL Nathan

Congress in action – Culture wars
Pelosi: ‘Enough with the Public Nudity. Please. We Have Our Standards’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: She supports the San Francisco ban on public nudity, which went into effect on 1 FEB and in the next breath urges people to come see the SF Gay Pride (gag) Parade in June – yes, even gutters have standards, just not very high ones.  But then we’ve known that about her for years, and same for San Francisco.  And frankly, plain old nudity is a BIG step up from what parades up and down the streets on Gay Pride Day in Babylon-by-the-Bay.

First Minion – Hoploclasts
Biden’s Chief of Staff: Gangsters Smuggling Guns from Suburbs into Chicago
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Sounds like the City of Chicago needs to set up more border-control checkpoints for their Stasi to filter these out, eh?  Frankly, it seems to me not enough guns are getting through; as Debby points out, a LOT of people need guns in Chicago to protect themselves from these criminals that go around breaking the law and killing people.

Congress in action (Sequestration)

Nathan: No, “sequestration” is NOT the same thing as defenestration (which is the legal and medical term for throwing people out windows). The next several stories talk about the vast evils associated with cutting the Federal budget a SHOCKING 1.4%, and show how endangered we all are without the careful oversight and gentle aid of the FedGov.  My stomach twinges at the thought of not having food or a roof over my head because the government is not able to afford that 1.4%.

Kerry Warns About Cost of Sequestration to State Dep’t, Mum on $2.4 Billion For Pakistan
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Seems to me like the State Department could cut a LOT of money by consolidating and closing consulates and even embassies.  Or automating them: seems like a lot of their work could be done with a good secure, vandal-resistant terminal (or several) and a decent wifi connection to the internet.  I would bet its got to cost a million or more per year for every State Department employee overseas, but I bet that a terminal system would cost under $100 K – that is 90% savings right there – not counting the price the old embassy building and grounds would fetch.  Better yet, privatize the whole thing, country by country.  Let ExxonMobil bid for and pay for getting to have one of their people be the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and staff Saudi Arabia with their own people.  Maybe Gus Hall’s old outfit, the CPUSA, would bid for North Korea and Vietnam!  The possibilities are mind-staggering.

Mama’s Note: I’ve got an idea… forget the whole thing. Aside from government skulduggery, I see no purpose for “embassies” at all.

HUD Chief: Sequester Could Expose Thousands of Children to Lead Poisoning
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is even more far-fetched. This lead boondoggle has been going on for more than 20 years – it is more than time to turn it over to local and private firms.

Mama’s Note: Again, I have a better idea. Leave it to the individuals actually involved. The whole “lead poisoning” scare has been as seriously overblown as the one about asbestos.

Duncan: Sequester Could Kick 70,000 Children Out of Head Start Preschool
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And this would be bad how? Time to let parents once more decide, and have local volunteers and groups provide this sort of thing.  Like all of these, the tall tales are designed to put pressure on political opponents by using special interest groups – I am amazed that the State Department didn’t come up with some justification that their budget is “for the children.”  Meanwhile, in a Federal Reserve near you:

Greenspan: Odds of Sequester ‘Very High’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yeah, right.  Like he can predict when the sun will come up tomorrow! (I’ll admit he might be right once a week or so).

Congress in action – Politics 2013
Sessions: Dems’ Portrayal of GOP is Wrong — and ‘Hurts My Feelings’(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Fortunately, I know he is being sarcastic.  At the same time, it DOES hurt – to see such idiots in power.

Congress in action – Tyranny – New religions: global warming
Waxman: Obama Should Regulate Oil Refineries, Household Appliances to Stop Global Warming
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Funny, funny.  Of course, the FedGov DOES already regulate refineries: literally regulates them to death pretty often.  As they do refrigerators and stoves and washing machines and dishwashers and coffeemakers and toasters and …  Waxman has to know this, but that doesn’t keep him from spreading fear in at least two places: one, his district’s voters, just sure that without dear Uncle Henry to protect them, their household appliances would turn on them and fill their houses (apartments) with evil greenhouse gases and they would cook in their own beds; and two, the manufacturer’s and importer’s trade groups who will write big campaign donation checks to help convince him not to make the “new regulations” too much more harsh, and to make sure that the regulations keep competitors from… well, competing!

Culture wars: killing babies
Cardinal Arinze: ‘Personally’ Against Abortion Is Like Saying ‘Personally’ Against Shooting Members of Congress
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Oops, is he in trouble now: Capitol Police on their way to arrest him now.  I’m sure he won’t go to trial:  “shot while attempting to escape” or “shot while reaching for the assault weapon hidden under his cardinal’s cap” is more likely.

First minion: hoploclasts
Biden: ‘Buy a shotgun’
(Washington Post) In a Facebook town hall meeting hosted by Parents Magazine, Vice President Biden on Tuesday had some advice for Americans who wish to protect themselves with an assault weapon. “Buy a shotgun! Buy a shotgun,” Biden said.

Nathan: From a technical point of view, the argument over shotguns versus semiautomatic rifles and carbines for home defense is overshadowed by the argument for handguns.  But for this current phase of his massa’s plan, this argument is intended to muddle the entire debate over liberty.  This is obviously a planned follow-up to the picture of the “messiah” trying to shoot skeet.

American front – Hoploclasts
Mexico Asks US for List of Gun Owners
(Prison Planet) The Mexican government is asking the U.S. government to hand over a list of all gun [sic] owned by residents in Border States.

Nathan: IF this is true (you know my opinion of Alex Jones) this is just one more argument – secondary, of course – to why registering weapons is an incredibly stupid idea.  There IS no list of all guns owned by the residents of TX, NM, AZ, and CA.  Fortunately.  But if there were, does anyone doubt that this administration would not find a way to turn it over to Ciudad Mexico where the corrupt politicians and bureaucrats and cops would sell it to the highest bidder?

Mama’s Note: I’m still trying to figure out what such a list would do for the Mexicans. Why would they even care?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-08A: TSA, Guns, and G-d

Posted on 2013-02-20 by TPOL Nathan

Work and family demands are cutting my writing this week, as they did last week.  Still I am accommodating demands by my faithful readers (BOTH of them) to continue to comment on things.

Due to some technical glitches, the denizens of Ursa Minor Five seem to be reading #13-07D and #13-07A.  BUT none of the rest of us can.  So moving right along, and getting the Powers That Be (PTB) mad at us, right now, I’m in Denver which seems to be one of the dens of the Evil Ones committed to stealing more and more liberty from us.

Home front – TSA Thuggery
Man Sues TSA over Arrest for Natural Peanut Butter
(Political Outcast) [The man carrying a jar of natural peanut butter where the oil had risen to the surface was questioned by a TSA agent about the strange heavy, dark liquid, and after explaining what it was, the man teased about the TSA not letting him transport his ‘explosive’ substance.] The TSA agent reacted by calling the police, and Hannibal was detained for about 25 hours, during which time he was ironically fed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, probably not made with peanut butter of the “natural” variety, but rather the partially-hydrogenated soybean oil variety and jelly infused with high-fructose corn syrup and sodium benzoate. He was being charged with “falsely reporting an incident,” which is a felony.

Nathan: So the guy is suing the TSA!  Good for him!  For many of us, excess peanut oil from peanut butter (Army-issue peanut butter in C-rations years ago was also not homogenized) does cause “explosive” results from the body.  So it was an innocent “funny” – about equal to remarking that the new stage play “bombed” on opening night.  Those of us who have had to travel by air under the watchful, all-controlling eye of the Thousands Standing Around – or who read news from other than the mainstream – know that TSA agents have their humor gland removed at the same time they have their lobotomies, but this guy didn’t get the word.  Of course, during that 25 hours the TSA detained him (habeas corpus, anyone?), according to tests, the TSA let 2-5 REAL guns, REAL explosive devices, and REAL knives and nail clippers with sharp files get aboard aircraft.  But we were safe from peanut oil and natural peanut butter.

Mama’s Note: If it didn’t happen so often, it would seem impossible. Actually, if I was going to fly again, I’d much rather do it with everyone (or at least me) well armed. Someone with peanut butter oil gas would be annoying, for sure, but bearable. Those making long transcontinental flights might wish to make a deal with such a person… so they’d sit under a vent of some sort, perhaps – near the lavatory.

Politics 2012 – Hoploclasts and Hoplophobes
Gun background-check nightmare in Colorado
(WND.com)  Four anti-gun measures moved through the Colorado General Assembly lower house on Monday and moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Thanks to Darryl for this one.

Nathan: The various bills introduced will make Colorado as bad as New York or California.  A LOT of people are upset and many, including some sheriffs, have already vowed to disobey the law.  One manufacturer has already stated they will move out of state if the magazine law is passed – and more may follow.  As you can imagine, the General Assembly have condemned Magpul strongly.  The background check fee (starting at $10) will lead to lost sales, especially in the Front Range (close to Wyoming and not that far from the Black Hills) and border regions.  Some of the more extreme bills (which could pass, given the hysteria) could make criminals of many brethren and many relatives in Colorado.

Evil days indeed are upon us. The State wants to become or replace God; too many people want to trade their liberty for a false sense of security.

The “messiah” – Home front
Obama using new political freedom to tackle domestic agenda
(Washington Post) PALM CITY, Fla. — In a gym usually home to the Hyde Park Academy Thunderbirds, President Obama spoke about his own home late last week — and the trouble it faces.  He warned students and teachers that the fragility of families, the easy violence of guns, and a threatened education system are failing Chicago’s South Side, where he once worked as a community organizer and began his family.

Nathan: Although I still read the WaPo’s daily political summary, most of the stories aren’t worth commenting on:  you can only spend so much time finding things to say about the dotty and rather fatuous statements by an old, gray-headed bag lady with Alzheimers.  But this one is worth noting for the “messiah’s” wording:  “the easy violence of guns.”   This may herald a new meme he and his minions and handlers are trying to embed:  Fist violence and knife violence and kick-em-in-the-head violence is HARD work – and today’s lazy society isn’t as likely to spend their energy if they have to do more than lift a 10-ounce handgun and exert 5-10 foot-pounds of force on the trigger.  Right.  Of course, that IS the point of handguns:  they are easier to use, so the 90-pound beauty (or grandmother) being assaulted by the 250-pound, six-five would-be rapist has a better chance of NOT getting raped.  Brilliant.  But obviously NOT something at least one Democratic congress-thug cares about:

Congress in action – Hoploclasts
Dem Congressman: Women Should Use Whistle Instead of Gun to Defend Against Rape
(Vision to America)

Nathan: Is it possible for someone to really be this clueless?  Or does he know better but lies to push their agenda?  How many women, facing a rapist, and having both a whistle and a gun will use the whistle?  How long will we allow stupid people like this (or lying powermongers) say this sort of thing?

Mama’s Note: All criminals, official and otherwise, want their violence to be “easy.” And it is easy for them all when the victims are unarmed, helpless and frightened.

Politics 2012 – Our right of self defense
Feds Admit: Gun Laws Won’t Slow Crime
(Vision to America)

Nathan: This has been known for some time, but too few people are aware of it.  Those who support the restrictions on government to dictate weapons spend far too much time “defending” gun rights because they automatically and unthinkingly buy into the concept that some gun control does prevent crime.  Instead, history and data shows that in those very rare cases where new gun control laws passed and there was a drop in crime, there were OTHER, more relevant factors which caused the decline.

Mama’s Note: The whole argument itself is immaterial in the long run. Where does legitimate authority over people’s lives and property originate?

And it’s the most important question we can ask ourselves. Do we own our lives, or have we given our sovereign and natural authority over ourselves to the rulers and politicians?

Those who have freely consented to be controlled by the constitution and the layers of ruling class and bureaucracy it created do not need my permission or my blessing. They are free to do so. The problem is that they feel equally or even especially free to impose that on me, even though I have NOT consented to be so ruled. By their own words, they must have the “consent of the governed,” but not one of them is willing to entertain the fact that not consenting -simply opting out – is possible.

Theft by government
Feds Paid Average of $4,000 in ‘Means-Tested’ Benefits to Households Earning $35,500
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Meanwhile, I know personally of households with earnings of LESS than $10,000 per year who get nada from the Feds (or state);  If you don’t form part of a bloc which is being courted, you stand a good chance of getting ignored.

World wars
No End in Sight for the Long Struggle to Define Terrorism
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The major problem for the statists – even the minarchists – is that any rational definition of terrorism will include many if not all activities of the governments that they love so much.  Like people who claim to be “Christians” yet accept that governments (masses of people, or people who have “power”) do not have to be judged by the same moral standards as individuals, their attitude and position are illogical and contradictory.

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By what legitimate authority?

Posted on 2013-02-17 by MamaLiberty

Not a “conspiracy.” A pogrom. “A massacre or persecution instigated by the government or by the ruling class against a minority group, particularly Jews.”

Only instead of “Jews,” this time it is independent thinkers, productive people who would rather not be robbed, those who can and will defend themselves and their communities. Free people of all kinds. And if we are too afraid of being seen as “conspiracy nuts,” I guess the pogrom, once again, will be a success.  But I don’t really think that challenging the “official story” of these atrocities is the central need. “Conspiracy” is too pat. There’s just so much more to it than that.

The question not being asked by most of us is: By what legitimate authority? How does anyone legitimately gain authority to control the lives and choices of other people against their will?

Did you ever ask a politician, a gun grabber, a public school teacher, a bureaucrat… “By what legitimate authority do you demand, order, enforce, do these things?”

I have. Most, of course, cite the “constitution” and/or “the rule of law.” I then ask them how those things can confer LEGITIMATE authority. Where does legitimate authority over people’s lives and property originate?

So far, NONE of them can answer that, and most become extremely angry when questioned at all. Yet I would think that is the most important question we can ask.

And it’s the most important question we can ask ourselves. Do we own our lives, or have we given our sovereign and natural authority over ourselves to the rulers and politicians?

Those who have freely consented to be controlled by the constitution and the layers of ruling class and bureaucracy it created do not need my permission or my blessing. They are free to do so. The problem is that they feel equally or even especially free to impose that on me, even though I have NOT consented to be so ruled. By their own words, they must have the “consent of the governed,” but not one of them is willing to entertain the fact that not consenting -simply opting out – is possible.

Ask the question. Ask yourself first. Act accordingly.

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would 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 own conscience.
C. S. Lewis
English essayist & juvenile novelist (1898 – 1963)
Posted in Mama's Rants | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-07C: The State of the Union is Wrong

Posted on 2013-02-15 by TPOL Nathan

Home front – Self defense
Robbery Victims Shooting Attackers Called ‘Alarming Trend’
(Godfather Politics)  There’s an alarming trend in Detroit … In the span of a week, two separate robberies were thwarted when the victims, who both had conceal carry permits and a gun, managed to defend themselves by shooting their attackers.

Nathan: Gasp! What will these poor people do?  They go out to work putting themselves in harm’s way to make a decent living (or any living) and suddenly people are changing the rules of the game.  I think the survivors need to sue, together with the families of those killed by these madmen who refuse to be victims.  And OSHA complaints are certainly appropriate, also: in part against the city and the state who are not ensuring a safe workplace for hold-up artists and muggers.

Theft by government – Welfare victims
Food Stamp Rolls in America Now Surpass the Population of Spain
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course, I suspect that the SPENDING on SNAP (Food Stamps) in the US probably exceeds the total budget of the Royal government of Spain.  Of course, it is Spain’s fault for allowing so many Spaniards to escape to the Americas in the past.

Stupid government – Tranzis
Kerry Took More Security on Trip to Arlington, Va., Than State Dept. Posted in Benghazi
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, of course.  The hide of the “messiah’s”  latest Foreign Minister is worth a lot more than any dozen state department weenies – much less red-shirt security personnel.

The “messiah”
Poll: Americans Don’t Really Like the Job Obama’s Doing
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Someone sent me a nice video presentation on this poll.  If I believed in polls, it would make me feel better.  Point is, it doesn’t matter if he is uniformly running at 10% approval – because of vote fraud or stupidity or whatever, we are stuck with the man for just under four more years – and probably for the life of a united States…

War on some drugs – Home front
Cuccinelli: ‘It’s Appropriate’ for States to ‘Experiment’ with Legalizing Marijuana
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: As long as the big federal nanny is there to slap them down if they go too far, of course.  From the conservative point of view, this is like locking the young teenagers in the basement with all the booze and pot and sex they want, because they are “safe” at home and can’t go drinking and driving – and then wondering why they drink and smoke and get PG outside the home later.

The “messiah” – Government attack on religion
Obama–Sued by Catholic Church for Attacking Religious Freedom–Boasts of His ‘Work Together’ With Pope
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: What is that stench?  An opportunist?  It goes along with the egotism, I suppose.  Of course, there is something rather pathetic about a guy in his position who thinks he has to be a name dropper.  Next he’ll be boasting he met the Queen of Canada… or whatever tinpot elected dictator is running Venezuela by the end of the summer.

Home front – Disgusting behavior
D.C. Ranked First in Extra-Marital Affairs – For Second Time in a Row
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: In other words, it isn’t just the pieces of trash elected to Congress and the political-appointee minions of the “messiah” that have the morals of an abused alley cat or a Hollywood starlet: their staff and the lobbyists and the other worthless parasitic denizens of DC are no better.

Theft by government – The “messiah”
Obama: Budget Cuts Could Force Small Businesses to Close Doors
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, we know for sure that high taxes and a high deficit coupled with inflation is sure forcing a lot of small businesses to close – and stimulus spending certainly hasn’t helped.  Perhaps it is time to try something different?

Durbin: Obama’s Sequester Designed As a ‘Threat’ to Get Tax Hikes
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: In other words, Democrats are admitting this is a big, made-up, for TV type “crisis” and political posturing.  Admitting it, even though we already know it.  How stupid can you get?

Congress in action – Stupid people tricks
Rep. Corrine Brown: ‘Don’t Confuse Me With Any Facts’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Heaven forbid, Miz Brown, that we would do that.  Stupid is as stupid does:  Durbin, Brown, Rangel, all the rest at least are making the appearance of having the intelligence of a grape squished on a sidewalk.

Self-defense – Home front
Washington: Chehalis homeowner shoots intruder
(KIRO TV)A homeowner shot an intruder in his Chehalis home early Sunday morning, said officials with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. … [Sheriff states:] “My office works very hard in ensuring people feel safe and secure in Lewis County. However, people have to be prepared to protect themselves in situations like this in their own homes.  Our response times are as fast we can make them, but there may be a time when you are by yourself and you are forced to make a life or death decision to protect yourself and your family, like this man did,” said Lewis County Sheriff Steve Mansfield. “About the only thing I can say that the victim could have done differently (is that) he could have fired sooner, he could have fired more often, and he could have used a better brand of ammunition,” Mansfield said Monday at a news conference.

Mama’s Note: I think some of these law enforcement folks are starting to get the idea…

Nathan: Yes, indeed.  And giving GOOD advice, not “tips on using school scissors as an improvised weapon,” or some such.  Sadly, the next person had no such advice and did not have the wherewithall to defend his family.

“Self-defense” FAIL – Home front
Miami dad dies protecting daughter, 11, during home invasion
(Fox News)

Mama’s Note: Of course, no mention that he had a gun or knew how to use it. So he had nothing to protect her with except his bare hands. Brilliant.

Nathan: And in Miami, he could easily have gotten one.  And unable to defend her and himself, these two murdering thugs are still roaming the streets.

The “Messiah” – Theft by government  – Lies – Bootlicking
Obama Seeks 29 New Programs: ‘Nothing I’m Proposing Should Increase Deficit by Single Dime’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: What a crock!  “The State of the Union is stronger.”  “Yes, ma’am, your husband’s heart is failing, his liver stopped working, he can’t remember beans, but… he’s stronger this morning.”  Frankly, “the State of the Union is wronger” than it was a year ago, and this is a steady pattern.  And sadly, people believe him when he speaks like this.  So we see the worshipful attitude:

Bootlicking
Rep. Maloney Praises Obama: ‘FDR is Back’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Lincoln, T. Roosevelt, F. D. Roosevelt, all rolled up into one stupid package.

Congress in action
Sen Graham: Use of Drones “Highlight” of Obama’s Term,
(Politico) Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) will offer a resolution next week commending President Barack Obama’s use of drones and the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki. “Every member of Congress needs to get on board,” Graham said. “It’s not fair to the president to let him, leave him out there alone quite frankly. He’s getting hit from libertarians and the left. . . . “The process of being targeted I think is legal, quite frankly laborious and should reside in the commander in chief to determine who an enemy combatant is and what kind of force to use,” Graham told reporters on Wednesday. . . . “If this ever goes to court I guarantee you it will be a slam dunk support of what the administration is doing. I think one of the highlights of President Obama’s first term and the beginning of his second term is the way he’s been able to use drones against terrorists,” Graham said.

Nathan: Figured I was reading a Union article.  Then I thought maybe Graham was being really, really sarcastic.  But apparently, he is such a neo-Con that blood and more blood cannot quench his thirst.  What I REALLY find bizarre is that Graham claims that the “messiah needs to be protected from Libertarians!  I don’t know any Libertarians who carry a drone around with them and that has threatened the “messiah” – no aircraft carriers flying the black A-circle or the yellow Gadsden flag with warheads ready to frag him.  At least I don’t think so.  But maybe Graham has one of those super-secret clearances and knows something.  Maybe, but I think he is just a boot-licker.

Theft by government
CBO: If Debt Not Addressed, Stimulus Spending Will be a ‘Drag’ on Future Economic Growth
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: How much more can we spend?  Even some (very few) Congressmen finally realize that it has to end… just not while they are still around, as the next story seems to say:

The “messiah”
Obama’s Speech Offers Little Substance on Foreign Affairs
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Or anything else – a great campaign speech, with an agenda that is as scary as anything he said on the real campaign trail.  What a WASTE of an hour (no, not for me: I scanned the transcript later, I had work to do.)

Crash of 2009 – Theft by government
Price of Gallon of Gas Up 96% Under Obama
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yes, far more than most other commodities – but inflation and stupid government policies have their usual results.  Gas went up overnight in the Four Corners another dime to $3.459 (diesel has been the same for the week at $3.959 – lovely!)  Yes, prices go up and down, but this is up overall and long-term.

Mama’s Note: And, of course, the price of gas and diesel are reflected in the price of everything else eventually. It’s not the amount, even, the problem is the theft.

East Asian front
‘Treat North Korea as Criminal Enterprise,’ Scholar Argues
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I have no problem with that, since virtually EVERY government here on planet Earth right now is a criminal enterprise.  North Korea is just the national criminal equivalent of the really scummy neighborhood junkie who rolls tramps and steals their cigarette butts.

Home front – Stupid government
Intact Families – Not Government Social Programs – Most Beneficial to Children and Society, Group Finds
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: No!  Say it isn’t so!  Families are evil and disfunctional and destroy children’s lives.  EVERYone knows that!

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-07B

Posted on 2013-02-12 by TPOL Nathan

East Asian Front
Colonial flags fly as anger grows in Hong Kong
(SinoDaily.com)  The founder of a group mobilising Hong Kongers to fly colonial flags said it did so because the city was worse off after 16 years of “encroachment” by Beijing, stressing it was not because of any desire to see Britain rule again. “Our freedom and everything else has gone downhill since (the handover)” said 26-year-old Danny Chan from the “We’re Hong Kongese, not Chinese” Facebook group, which has been “liked” by nearly 30,000 people.

Nathan: Neat, huh?  Sixteen years of Communist rule and the Union Jack becomes a symbol of freedom.  Makes you appreciate the relative sense of liberty that many people have.  (Thanks to “Arclein” for this one.)

First minion – Our right to self defense
Biden:  No real right to self defense
(The Liberty Beacon.com) Joe Biden: “It is clearly within the right of the government to determine what type of weapons can be owned by the public.”

Thanks to Cliff and Scott for this one.  Cliff said, “… they are so lame, it’s worth repeating (maybe someone will believe it…*g*):”  Scott added, “Ya know, when these numb-skulls make such idiotic claims, it’d be just a tad more tolerable if they sourced it.. in other words, being that “it’s *clearly* within the right of government, etc.”, where is this visibly clear? Where does it say that ‘anywhere’, other than from the mouth of (babes)??”

Nathan: No doubt, like any good liberal or Tranzi, Uncle Joe just “feels” this must be clear.  Of course, this is a basic part of statist philosophy.  Since the state must have a “monopoly of violence” it is obvious that the state dictates what weapons it permits its subjects to have.  Once upon a time I believed that there were weapons that were not covered by the Second Amendment, but I have long ago given up that very childish and foolish notion that some weapons were “defensive” in nature and others were not appropriate.  I had, and have seen, arguments that crew-served weapons could not possibly be considered to be covered, because no one had a reason to have a cannon or a warship (18th Century) or in modern times missile or field artillery or armed aircraft or armed ships or even machine-guns.  That defeats the purpose of the God-given right to defend ourselves, if we cannot have the potential to match government weapons – weapons of offense – with our own weapons of defense.  Even in 1787, private citizens and companies owned armed ships – warships that were designed to be merchant ships – with crew-served weapons: naval cannon.  And history records that more than one settler-owned and -occupied frontier fort was equipped with cannon: protection against raiders, whether other nation’s (especially British and Spanish, later Mexican) forces or criminals/outlaws, or AmerInds.  (Keep in mind that although some settlers purchased their land (or the right to use the land) from one tribe or band of AmerInd, that did not keep them from being raided by other tribes – whether enemies or allies of the tribe granting the land.)

Home Front – TSA Thuggery (missing)
California: Government-issued ID NOT required to pass through TSA Security
(KPIX Channel 5)

Nathan: This isn’t prisonplanet or some “say the magic words” site.  This is a Mainstream Media, CBS Affiliate in Babylon-by-the-Bay – San Francisco itself, who went through and tested this in various airports and found (a) you don’t have to use government-issued ID (or ANY ID), and (b) the TSA agents there in the Bay area are NOT running them through a goat rope in revenge for doing this.  Of course, we know that many TSA agents HAVE retaliated against travelers for less than this.  And we also have to ask why the TSA are doing this, after decades of “government-issued ID” (and situations where only SOME government-agency-issued IDs have been acceptable).

Hoplophiles – Hoploclasts
Connecticut: Legal Immigrant Schools Gun Haters on American History
(Freedom Outpost) Following Bill Stevens’ passionate defense of the Second Amendment at the Connecticut State Capitol at a public hearing on gun violence, legal immigrant Henson Ong gave his testimony. Ong recited America’s own history with guns and gun control and declared that the problem of mass shootings was not the availability of guns, but rather the change that has brought about such things was “societal decay.”

Nathan: If this can be multiplied by 500 (10 per state)… sigh,the gun haters and gun fearers WILL NOT CHANGE.  Still, it is nice to read and watch. 

New Religions: Global warming
Administration’s New Climate Report: Next Ice Age ‘Has Now Been Delayed Indefinitely’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: What a relief!  As I sit here trying to stay warm, seeing the 10-12 inches of snow fallen in the last 72 hours, hearing about 30-40 inches in New England, hearing reports of several feet of snow (finally) on the passes and in places like Lead, it is refreshing to hear where the minions of the “messiah” are on this issue.  In the great tradition of King Alfred, the natural processes of the planet will be halted for the good of mankind.

Strange events
Benedict XVI: ‘My Strengths, Due to an Advanced Age, Are No Longer Suited to an Adequate Exercise of the Petrine Ministry’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is quite a surprise, and somehow, health does not quite seem enough of a reason – except that Benedict has been surprising in many things, so this is just one more.  You cannot help but ask if something strange – besides ill health – is going on, and who will benefit.  Admittedly, it is harder to snuff a pope with poison or a smothering pillow these days.  It is interesting to see how the hate-social-media is responding with not just glee but encouragement for him to off himself, not just step down.

Mama’s Note: As a former Catholic, I can tell you the real problem. Benedict was never truly accepted; by the world, nor by the church… not because he is not a good and humble man, but simply because he was NOT Pope John Paul II. There was never any hope that he could measure up to John Paul, and neither will the next one. The church is split so badly now, that this may well be the beginning of the end. The man who follows Benedict may well be the last one.

As is Ron Paul, John Paul was unique, and the world is not graced with their like very often.

Congress in action – Theft by government
Sen. Rand Paul: ‘The Sequester Is a Pittance’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Anyone WILLING to do the math has known this all along.  It is more smoke and mirrors, more bogus posturing.  They (Congress, White House, etc.) JUST DON’T CARE.  They clearly figure (a) there won’t be a collapse, OR (b)  When there IS a collapse, THEY will be able to escape the results.  Somewhere, somehow.  And they do not care about their duties, their constituents, their “bosses” or their relatives or neighbors or anything else but them, their families, and their buddies and wealth.

Islamic war: Persian front
Iran, Marking 1979 Revolution, Predicts ‘Islamic Awakening’ Will Spread
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Obviously, since 1979 there has been a tremendous awakening as to the reality of that death-cult called Islam, and the evil found within it, and which it has dealt to the world.  The evil and corruption often seen in western governments – including that of the disUnited States – is just that, a corruption of the ideals and principles which are the foundation of western civilization.  The evil and corruption in Islam, whether Shia or Sunni, from Wahhabism to the Nation of Islam, was there from the beginning, in that pedophile, robber, and murderer that started the “faith.”  And has continued since.  May MORE people awaken to the dangers and evils of what Iran practices.

Stupid government tricks – Islamic war: Afghan front
Gen. John Allen Leaves Afghanistan: ‘We Are Winning’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Once again a WONDERFUL relief.  My friends and neighbors and acquaintances – especially those who had the privilege to serve over there, are going to rejoice at this news.

Congress in action – the “messiah’s” wannabe minions
Sen. Graham Vows to Delay Obama’s Nominees to ‘Get to the Bottom of Benghazi’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This will only last until Graham has milked as much publicity as possible, and then the “business as usual” will return.

Stupid government
SEAL who killed bin Laden now welfare case
(CNSNews.com) The SEAL who actually shot bin Laden on the Pakistani raid left the service three years before eligible for retirement and now lives in poverty dependent on charity.

Nathan: I am commenting on this primarily to point out that our beloved government shafts even its most loyal and faithful servants when they no longer can or will serve.  Nothing is said about WHY he left with only seventeen years: why he didn’t sweat out the last three years to get his 20 and retirement and benefits for life.  It almost certainly was NOT a disability, or he’d be drawing something from VA now.

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The Current JPFO Campaign Against the Proposed Gun Bans

Posted on 2013-02-12 by TPOL Nathan

Jews for Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) have launched a massive effort nationwide to organize and publicize opposition to the huge wave of gun bans proposed from the Capitol Dome and White House down to local town halls.  This includes major rallies in cities like Denver.

I have great respect for the Jews for Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) and its director, Charles Heller.  However he is doing several things which I believe are detrimental to the preservation of our G-d-given rights, especially that of firearms ownership (keeping and bearing).

The first is the regrettable necessity to treat the Second Amendment as a “right” somehow granted by government, and the subsequent fawning and petitioning and protesting and testimony in an attempt to “keep” that right.  The Second Amendment grants NO rights; rather, it RECOGNIZES a preexisting right, given by G-d, and RESTRAINS the government from interfering with that right.

JPFO and Charles are not alone in this, of course, and I blame the media for making the language so pervasive that we take it for granted that the “Second Amendment gives us the right to…” (ditto for the First, etc.)  Government gives us nothing: it takes things away, and by recognizing and accepting the government’s claim to authority over us and our rights, we are no longer free.

The second is his frequent statements about the “reasons to have any limitations placed” on our G-d-given right to defend ourselves as necessary and using the tools of our choice.  In one recent article, he identified three:  “prior criminal gun use,” “mental incompetence, as declared by a court,” and “being under age 18.”  He does want to repeal ALL other gun laws.  While I understand the politics of negotiation and public opinion and all the rest, and while his proposal is a good start (and highly unlikely to make it through ANY legislative body), the fundamental stance is wrong.  Indeed, it is evil and its consequences are dangerous.  This position is directly related to the first: that firearms ownership is a “right” (read: privilege) granted by government to its subjects (or bluntly, slaves) and can be modified, restricted – or even eliminated – by governmental action.  As a result, effort is wasted on foolish and unnecessary things like trying to keep Congress and the states from repealing the Second Amendment based on the false understanding that doing so would extinguish the right to keep and bear arms.  And even MORE wasted effort arguing over WHAT arms are (or are not) “included” in the Second Amendment.

Charles’ position makes it easier for idiots like Jesse Jackson to babble nonsense about “no right to unrestricted exercise of rights” and other idiots like Uncle Joe to foolishly proclaim “it is clear” that government gets to decide what weapons people may have.  If rights can be restricted for ANY reason other than “malum in se” (“evil in itself,” because exercising the right would result in physical harm to others), they are not really rights – just privileges.  (Of course, merely keeping and bearing arms does not – and cannot – cause harm to others: it is the use of arms, and in particular the aggressive use of arms to threaten, wound, or kill another, that causes harm.)

Let’s look at each of these limitations that Charles lists, in reverse order.  Let us compare them to OTHER rights identified specifically and protected specifically by the Bill of Rights.

Do we have limitations or restrictions on freedom of speech and the press based on age?  Should 17-year-olds be denied their right to express themselves by voice or in writing?  Are 10-year-olds subject to cruel and unusual punishment, or denied the right to face their accusers?  Are 6-year-olds denied the right to habeus corpus (“show us the body”?)  Although we all know of cases where this HAS happened, or venues which prohibit such, most people understand that such age-based denial of G-d-given rights is wrong.

So BY WHAT AUTHORITY does ANY government deny certain parts of gun rights to those under age 18 – or even to those under age 21 as is done for certain types of weapons?  There may be many excuses to do so – but Sam Adams answered those centuries ago: trading liberty for security is very bad business.

Next we have “mental incompetence, as declared by a court.”  Once more, we must ask ourselves if there is any real logic to this: the definition of “mental incompetence” varies from place to place, and herein lies a major rub.   Again, what OTHER rights do we restrict because someone may be mentally sick or unstable or taking drugs that effect their mind.  Why not “physical incompetence” also?  (“That gal can’t hit the side of a barn.”  The Barney Fife concern.)  And why a court?  Why should a judge – paid for by the state – be the one to decide?  Why not by a jury of their peers, if it really is necessary?  I realize that there can be a more direct correlation between unlawful violence and harm using a gun than using free speech or religious belief and behavior, but ALL rights can be abused/misused by those who are not “competent.”  But you may not be competent to manage your financial affairs because of memory failure or other problems, and still be competent to do other things, like drive or defend yourself with a gun.

And we come to  “prior criminal gun use.”  This indeed opens the door to statist tyranny, because who defines “prior criminal gun use?”  And why does prior criminal use justify taking away a basic human right?  If we applied that standard to our right to free speech, then the vast majority of politicians would have lost their right to speak or write because of their criminal record of lies and perjury and falsehoods.  If we applied that standard to “innocence until proven guilty,” then someone who had just one time argued their innocence and failed to convince the jury or judge, would no longer enjoy that “right.” Admittedly, JPFO’s proposal to limit it to “gun use” would end a LOT of government abuse, but it is still not enough.  Even providing a method of letting a felon (or person guilty of a misdemeanor (like a third-grader convicted of “brandishing a gun” because he had a squirt gun in a class room or bus)) would be better than what we have, but it still isn’t liberty.

Please do not think I do not respect what Charles and JPFO is doing, or that I do not understand the political realities.  But it is very important to remember that since 1934, our G-d-given rights have been more and more stolen away: it is no longer enough to slow that process down: it must be reversed and ultimately, completely wiped out.  While I don’t think that these protests and petitions and rallies and such are worth the time and effort they cost – and won’t change a thing in DC or the states, I feel that they have a right to put them on, but only if they don’t harm the rest of us by triggering reprisals or resulting in compromise that damages and damns us.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-06E: Rogue bishops, Rogue cops, rogue weather, and other fun

Posted on 2013-02-10 by TPOL Nathan

Culture wars – War on religion
No Deal! Bishops to Administration: You Can’t Force Lay Catholics to Act Against Faith
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, you aren’t supposed to.  But talk to the administrators of, say Henry VIII or Elizabeth I and see how THEY forced Catholics to act against their faith.  Do such things as burning at the stake, drawing and quartering, and just plain executions bring any thoughts?  As in the 1500s and 1600s, Catholics have brought this on themselves by cooperating for too long with government for their own power, and then suddenly realizing their necks were in the noose.

Theft by government
Fed Has Bought More U.S. Gov’t Debt This Year Than Treasury Has Issued
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Sounds impossible until you remember all the old debt.

Mama’s Note: Eating the seed corn…

Theft by government
CBO: Federal Revenue to Set Record in 2013
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But it can’t keep up with spending.  Picture a water bucket turned upside down.  Even if the entire bottom of the bucket is torn out, because of the shape of the bucket, water can flow out faster than you can pour it in.  Especially when you have spray nozzles on the sides pumping “borrowed” water in as well.

Congress in Action – Hoploclasts
Rep. Sarbanes: Some Gun Makers Build Sales Models on Assumption 20% ‘Will Get Sold Illegally’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This claim seems highly unlikely to be true: what on earth difference would it make to the manufacturer?  And WHY would they do this given the current state of gun politics?

Mama’s Note: I hadn’t heard that one before, but it’s possible. Lots of nutty stuff going on right now. What these manufacturers need to remember is that a lot of serious gun owners – read CUSTOMERS – are taking note of those businesses which cooperate with or cater to the gun grabbers. And when the smoke clears, a fair number of these cowardly collaborators will find themselves facing the wrath of their former customers, and stiff competition from all of the new players in the game… including the 3D printers.

Home front – The “messiah’s” minions
Mold? Roofing Problems? Clutter? Obama Administration Launches ‘Healthy Housing Strategy’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Seems to me that this is a personal problem – or perhaps might involve some local agency when the landlord and tenant can’t agree or when a seller or Realtor does not provide the truth during the sales process.

African collapse – Islamic wars: Arab street revolt (2 stories)
Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chair: Obama Talked to Them Only Once on Night of Benghazi Attack
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I am surprised there was a need or desire to talk even once.  It is now obvious that this was all planned out in advance.  Same for the next story.

Clinton and Panetta Never Talked During Benghazi Terror Attacks
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course not – the decision had already been made that the military would not be involved.

The “messiah’s” minions – Stupid map
Is Waterboarding Torture? Brennan: ‘I’m Not a Lawyer’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Not much of a bureaucrat or “leader” either, if he takes this out.  Doesn’t take a law degree to know what is theft or murder or self-defense; torture is pretty clearly determined “by causal observation” as well.

World wars – The “messiah’s” minions (wannabe division)
Brennan: Al-Qaeda and Associates the Only Terrorists Currently in ‘Armed Conflict’ With U.S.
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Well, that is a relief, I thought that Chuck Baldwin and the Family Research Council and all the various militias – to say nothing of this rogue cop Dornan – were all involved in “armed conflict.”  Whew!

Politics 2013
White House: GOP Cuts Harm ‘Seniors, Middle Class, Disabled Kids’ to Benefit Oil Companies
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: More bogus (and perhaps desperate) propaganda from the “messiah” and his minions.  The GOP really doesn’t care about benefiting anyone but themselves: augmenting their own power and wealth.  It doesn’t matter whether it is oil companies or windfarm companies or pot-growers.

Mama’s Note: And, of course, in the long run such “cuts” only hurt those who are firmly attached to entitlements, gladly living off stolen goods. Otherwise, substantial cuts might free them to live their own lives. Unfortunately, I suspect few would choose that route.

The “messiah” (2 stories)
Obama: Everything Discussed at Prayer Breakfast ‘Forgotten on the Same Day’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: To me, this seems to be a tacit admission that he does not believe in God – at least not in an active and providential god.  If he means forgotten by other men and women – duh, what is new?

Mama’s Note: The very idea of this liar and murderer daring to conduct a “prayer meeting’ is an abomination. Such hypocrisy would be incredible if it didn’t happen so often.

Obama:‘I Often Search Scripture to Figure Out How I Can Be a Better Man as Well as Better President’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Soothing and popular words: all the fence sitters and those who claim to support him because of their religious beliefs must be applauding and crying “Praise Jesus” (or perhaps, “Praise O****”?).  My question is, (and I’m being nasty) WHICH Scriptures?  Mein Kampf?  Das Kapital?  the “holy Koran?”  the Tanakh?  the Bible? the collected speeches of MLKJr?

Mama’s Note: Remember that we are told Satan can quote every scripture. Puts me in mind of the “Screwtape Letters,” by C. S. Lewis

The “messiah’s” minions (wannabe)
Interior Secretary Nominee ‘Not Proud’ of ‘Commuting Footprint’ of REI Employees
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This nominee sends a very clear signal that the management of the nation’s public lands will take a complete “recreation” and “conservation” orientation, and that such “evil” things as mining, logging, grazing, and water/oil/gas production will be even MORE restricted or outright banned.  And the recreation will certainly NOT be anything to do with hunting or off-road vehicles or anything like that:  the only thing that REI sells that has to do with “hunting” are knives; the only things they sell for “off-road vehicles” are shoes (SERIOUSLY!!! ) and a couple of “jump starters.”  All recreation will be limited to hiking, biking (and by that I mean “bicycles” and not Harleys or Victory bikes), fishing, photography, and (I suppose) navel gazing.  Expect most national parks to become “access by foot, bike, or bus only” – private vehicles discouraged or not permitted at all.  Expect more and more prohibitions of motorized traffic – roadless areas, even if the roads existing have to be ripped out.

Home front – Polls
Pew: 53% of Americans Now Say Government Threatens Their Rights and Freedoms
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But I suspect that not more than 3% are willing to do anything about it other than whinge – maybe another useless letter or petition or call to DC, but no action to prepare for what is now inevitable.

Mama’s Note: Well… we just don’t really know. I suspect there are at least that many, but there is a good possibility there are a lot more of us who simply have kept their mouths shut and stayed under the radar. In any case, 3% of 310 million people is a serious number…

Home front
Liberal Ex-Cop Rampages Across Southern California: Regional LEOs Panic
(Godfather Politics) – A good summary of what is going on and what is singularly lacking from the mainstream media reports.

Nathan:  What a soap opera!!!  At the same time, if you have time to read 11,000 words, read this guy’s manifesto at http://www.legitgov.org/Uncensored-copy-rogue-LAPD-officers-manifesto-0 to see into the mind of a truly mad and evil man, who cannot see the inconsistency of his own thoughts: a truly modern American man.  I can see WHY the MSM is censoring his manifesto and why the LAPD WANTS them to: it is not just all the things that he states (and gives names and dates and details) about LAPD, it is because if they cut out all his tirade about guns and manufacturers who kill people and all his praise of the First Citizen and the First Citizen’s Wife and all the other Tranzi politicos – what is left is yet ANOTHER poster child for Tranzi gun control: a rogue cop, Naval Reserve officer, insane or unstable, with “assault weapons” and other nasty stuff (even a .50-cal!!!).  WITH all the details, he becomes a much more sinister example of a vicious hoploclast and Transi elite: someone who is so hateful of, and fearful of, guns in anyone’s hands but his own and an elite, that he is willing to go out and kill without any real justification with the intent of forcing the gun bans into effect.  Right now, I see him as a sick and tragic figure and yet another very strong argument for personal self-defense with every possible weapon.  Personal self-defense especially against the occupation force (police forces) that are so dysfunctional that they create monsters like him.

Home front
Winter Storm Nemo: Why Is It Named That
(SCRIBD)

Nathan: The Weather Channel (TWC) is a daily feature of life for millions of Americans, and is (together with many competitors) showing that the National Weather Service (NWS) is a worthless government monopoly like virtually everything else they do.  This naming of storms is an example of how private business can and does do better than government.  And – surprise, surprise – the government agency doesn’t like it.  And neither do a lot of meteorologists who would, apparently rather get their data free from NWS and so continue to lick their boots, than pay what a service is worth.  Private weather services make their money in several ways: TWC is an example of advertising revenues coupled with making weather entertaining, including their documentaries and rapid-fire information covering the whole world.  Most TV/radio meteorologists are also paid with advertising revenues, but their employers are firm statists and wedded to the idea of NWS as a “free” government agency paid for out of general taxes: that is, theft and no fees for service in a voluntary exchange.  I don’t necessarily like TWC and its politics (particularly its adherence to the religion of global warming) but I applaud their willingness to do what they think will generate revenue for them and tell the government to stuff it.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-06D: Theft, Death Cults, and Stupidity

Posted on 2013-02-09 by TPOL Nathan

A free people would not put up with the kind of criminal, murderous mischief that we “enjoy” today from Federal, State, Local, and Tribal officials and employees, and this column’s articles show some major and minor examples.  At the same time, we see that around the world, things are worse!

Theft by government
Ten Year Congressional Budget Outlook Predicts Slow Growth
(CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE) Provided current laws remain the same, the budget deficit is projected to shrink for a fourth year in a row in 2014 to an estimated $845 billion, which represents 5.3 percent of gross domestic product…

Nathan: The byline alone should warn you this is a pack of lies.  The “official deficit” might – MIGHT – shrink, but the REAL deficit: the growth in the real debt owed by the FedGov, is climbing and will continue to climb.  Even if this were true, the increase in the national debt is accelerating due to interest and increases in entitlements.  No wonder more and more Congressional scum are eying the $19 trillion in private retirement accounts.

Stupid government – Government-run, tax-funded schools
Labor Force Mismatch Leads to College Grad Underemployment
(CENTER FOR COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY) Roughly 48 percent of employed college graduates are in jobs that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says require less than a four-year college education…

Nathan: Assuming we can believe the BLS (BIG assumption), this is the other side of the coin that a very large percentage of degrees have NO economic purpose or function.  The person with a Womyn’s Study degree or a Gay and Lesbian Studies degree or even a degree in American History, English Literature, or Modern Media, has no more utility to an employer – or to their success as an entrepreneur – than a high school diploma, with the possible exception that they might have demonstrated some modicum of discipline in actually completing a four-year-degree in ANYTHING.  Of course, the other factor is that the QUALITY of the degrees is low and getting worse by the year.  The reasoning, comprehension, writing, and basic math/science skills of a 2011 or 2012 college graduate makes the skills of someone who graduated in 1991 or 1992 look great: and they weren’t all that good then.

Mama’s Note: No, they were not that good even then. I taught nursing at a community college in So. Calif. in 1991 and can assure you that most of the students were unprepared to do college level work, and did not have the basic writing and comprehension tools to make best use of even the outdated and dumbed down curriculum we had to work with. It was a real nightmare. The most frightening lack was their inability and general unwillingness to engage in any kind of critical thinking. It was very apparent that they had been carefully conditioned never to think for themselves, and not to question “authority.” I can only shudder to think how much worse it is now. Just remember that this is where a great many of your current nurses and other healthcare professionals come from.

Energy – Stupid people
Interest Group Wants to End Natural Gas Exports
(INSTITUTE FOR ENERGY RESEARCH) Natural gas prices have fallen about 50 percent in the last few years as a result of increased production due to hydraulic fracturing…

Nathan: This group (“America’s Energy Advantage”) understands neither economics nor government.  Shortsightedly, they think that a smaller market for our gas means lower prices, but more government meddling in the market will ALWAYS end badly, and what they want (government prohibition on exports) would likely drive prices up domestically.  Rather, as the story points out, they should be seeking an end to FedGov moratoriums on drilling for oil as well as gas on US territory and in US waters.

Islamic war: Arab Street revolt – Stupid US government tricks
Former Special Forces Commander: DOD Could Have Flown Rescue Team From Tripoli to Benghazi; DOD: State Dept. Decided Whether and What to Fly
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This SHOULD serve as a wake-up call for those who continue to work for the government – you TOO will be left hanging in the wind (or buried in a shallow grave) if you trust the leadership to do anything to save you.

Crash of 2009
Under Obama, Worst Multi-Year Economic Recovery Since World War II
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Sorry, this is NOT a “recovery” – NOTHING is recovering; it is just not declining as rapidly as it could be.  This is at best a lull in the depression we’ve been enduring since 2009.

Hypocrite – Abominable Act
Utah Governor: ‘I Do Agree’ That Obamacare Contraceptive Mandate Violates Religious Liberty
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But NO one who isn’t wearing rose-colored glasses expects him to do anything about it – or about the FedGov stealing our other rights.  He has already demonstrated his hypocrisy in rejecting any opposition to the “messiah’s” gun control agenda: IN ADVANCE.  Why should he reject this mandate?  Oh, he’ll talk real nice like this – he has to keep Temple Square happy – but I don’t think he will take any action at all: except to shove the mandate down everyone’s throat through state agencies.

Congress in action – History
Sen. Rand Paul: Reagan’s Foreign Policy Was Robust, But Also Restrained
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I suppose he says this because he is expected to and not because it is true (or not).  Reagan may have been the best president since Harding and Coolidge, but that isn’t saying much at all that is good.  Like comparing one lawyer to a hundred others:  still doesn’t mean the guy shouldn’t be fishbait.

Tranzi-followers – Stupid people
Chick-Fil-A-Sandwich Shooter Identified FRC as Target Using Southern Poverty Law Center Website
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course – why not?  And as the story points out, the mainstream media and all the usual sites don’t bother to point this out.  SPLC is an evil gang of Tranzis.

Stupid Tranzis
Rev. Jackson: Some ‘Anti-American People’ Arming Themselves in U.S. Have ‘Confederate Ideology’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Words of high praise coming from THIS man –  Confederate ideology is what we NEED:  liberty, local government, personal responsibility, honor to all.  That is not Anti-American, but is truly American.  The video of this thug is revealing.  What a perfect example of someone who has betrayed his people and his nation.

East Asian Front
Chinese State Media Say North Korea Must ‘Pay a Heavy Price’ for a Nuclear Test
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Hmmm.  Taunting the West or getting ticked at their tiny little neighbor and client state?

The “messiah” – Killing
White House Agrees to Release Memo on Targeted Killings by Drone
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: “Fear all ye who look upon us!”  Especially all you rebel scum here in the United States, no doubt.  Fortunately, more and more articles are appearing on-line on how to defeat drones – and no, you don’t have to use semi-automatic “assault weapons” to do so.  (But semi-automatic battle rifles WILL have their uses if drones start being used against Americans at home: the optimum targets will be the drone operators and their chain of command, up to the political scum ordering it.)

Culture wars: killing babies – War on religion
Catholic Bishop: Obama Is ‘Proponent’ of What is ‘Shameful and Criminal in the Eyes of Almighty God’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: True – but it can also be said that it takes one to know one.  The RC Church can be blamed for several actions and attitudes that have led both to this current criminal occupation of DC and the decline of American society coupled with the rise of American empire.

Culture wars: homosexual agenda
Boy Scouts Delay Vote on Whether to Admit Homosexual Scoutmasters and Scouts
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Too much pressure – this gives them a chance to let the rest of us forget about it and do it low-key, I suspect.  It also gives the opponents time to firm up their options: the major one appears to be secession.  Of course, those who want homosexuals to have a “Scouting” program could have departed from the BSA long ago, but in modern America it is not enough for Tranzis to have their own association – they MUST force the rest of us to associate against our will.

Mama’s Note: The point has been made in many places that the best way for the BSA to regain their “private club” status would be to renounce all “public” support, perks and income. Aside from the “tax exempt” thing – which should apply to everyone, their acceptance of government grants, along with the use of schools and other “public” facilities, leaves them open to just this sort of attack.

Nothing prevents homosexuals or anyone else from establishing their own private clubs. A few churches and other organizations have done so. AWANA is just one of them.

Congress in action – Border jumpers
Cantor Has Not Looked at Details of Senate Immigration Reform Plan, But Hopes for ‘Quick’ Solution
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I’m far from the first person this week to call the man an idiot.  Of course, he is leading a pack of idiots, so are we surprised?  After all, the one-eyed man is NOT the king of the land of the blind: he is the first to be killed for being different.  A pack of stupid people is LEAD by a stupid person – or someone who plays one in a TV show, at least.

Hoplophobes & Hoploclasts – Government-ruined, Theft-funded schools
Virginia: Alexandria cops bust 10-year-old for bringing toy gun to school
(Washington Examiner) The boy, a fifth-grader at Douglas MacArthur Elementary School whose name is not being released, was charged as a juvenile with brandishing a weapon, police said. He was also suspended from school, and Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Morton Sherman said further action is being considered, including expulsion.

Nathan: Yet the latest stupid action by a GRTF school.  A few days ago, I started a chart of this kind of insanity, and this is the 50th incident.

Islamic wars: Saudi front (death-cult)
Popular Muslim cleric raped and beat his daughter to death
(Daily Mail (UK))  A Saudi preacher who tortured his five-year-old daughter to death has been released after agreeing to pay ‘blood money’ … Lama al-Ghamdi died in October having suffered multiple injuries including a crushed skull, broken ribs and left arm, extensive bruising and burns. The child had also been repeatedly raped and the[n] burned. Fayhan al-Ghamdi, a prominent Islamist preacher who regularly appears on television in Saudi Arabia, served only a few months in jail despite admitting having used a cane and cables to inflict the injuries.  … the judge ruled the few months al-Ghamdi spent in prison since his arrest in November was sufficient punishment.  He has reportedly agreed to pay £31,000 ($50,000), which is believed to have gone to Lama’s mother. The amount is half that would have been paid if Lama had been a boy. Activists say under Islamic laws a father cannot be executed for murdering his children. Husbands can also not be executed for murdering their wives…

Nathan: What can I say? His reason for doing this – it was an honor killing because she probably wasn’t a virgin any more (I guess she went to that school in California where the five-year-old was giving blow jobs to “all the boys” in her pre-school class.) Even five-year-olds should be armed – at least when they don’t have adults around to protect them from monsters like this and in areas with death-cults like Islam.  Yeah, I know, a five-year-old is unlikely to be able to use the weapon well enough to defend herself, but she deserves SOME chance.  I admit that killing this man now would be wrong – a matter of vengeance which shall be carried out sooner or later.  It would be a bit far-fetched to state that killing him to prevent him from doing this to someone else would not be vengeance, too. Nuking Saudi Arabia into a sheet of radioactive glass would keep this from happening again, but that would kill a lot more innocent five-year-olds, and four- and six- and so forth.  (Is a clean death from nuclear blast better than being raped and beaten to death?)  The best justification I am tempted to come up with is by killing him now, God’s vengeance can begin more quickly.

(And yes, I know that not EVERY Muslim believes this is right – but other Muslims seem to have a word for those who reject things like killing and torturing children and stoning women to death: that word is “heretic.”)

And speaking of death cults:

Stupid cop tricks – Murder most foul
Ohio: Cleveland Police investigated in killing of unarmed couple
(jonathanturley.org)

Nathan: Obviously I missed this story back in October – if it appeared much of anywhere.  115 cops in a massive chase ending with at least several dozen of the mob of cops pouring 140 bullets into the car – “until they stopped moving” and the report so far criticizes the police for endangering other cops with “friendly fire.” No action taken against the cop who triggered the panic by lying about what he saw the woman in the car doing. Next time the mob can line up the victims against a nice grassy berm to make it safer for them to execute them.

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A slightly-fractured “Biblical” tale of modern times

Posted on 2013-02-07 by TPOL Nathan

A slightly-fractured “Biblical” tale is not really “religious” but isn’t intended to be sacrilegious either: just a fun and memorable way to point out the stupidity of modern Liberals and Tranzis.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.

And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Liberal, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and ran ahead to Jericho and lobbied the city council for many days.

He demanded public funds to help heal the beaten traveler.  The Liberal’s argument was simply that the robbing and beating were society’s fault so other people’s money was appropriate to help the unfortunate traveler.

He argued further that anyone opposed to paying was a racist, and finally after forty days of effort the Liberal and nine government workers headed back in search of the beaten man.

The man was long gone, for the Liberal was too late and the man had been helped by a Samaritan who was a follower of Jesus the Christ.  This Samaritan treated his wounds and cared for him and paid an innkeeper for his board and bed until the traveler was fully healed.

The traveler had continued on his journey, blessed and protected from the wrath of the government workers and the Liberal, who arrested the innkeeper for practicing medicine without a license, interfering with government officials, and improper keeping of records, as he had failed to obtain the name, address, and identity number of the Samaritan or the traveler.  The inn was seized and forfeited as being materially related to the commission of the crimes.  When ditch weed was found growing behind the inn, additional charges of illegal cultivation and distribution of prohibited substances were added.  The innkeeper and his family were sent to Herod’s prison fortress across the Jordan, where their bones still are.

The Samaritan and traveler were convicted, in absentia, for failure to report a crime, illegal practice of medicine, transport of injured persons without permits, and of course, failure to provide name, address, and identity number to the innkeeper.  Additional warrants were issued for their arrest for conspiracy to cultivate and distribute prohibited substances and for self-medication, and illegal export of such substances, since they could not be found in the vicinity.  The wanted posters with sketches of their faces (from “interviews” of the innkeeper) can be seen on the walls of Jericho to this day.

Now, tell me, who was the traveler’s neighbor and who was his brother’s keeper?

Mama’s Note: Oh, I like that one. Sadly, all too true.

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