Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-30A: Scummy government

Posted on 2013-07-26 by TPOL Nathan

Scummy government
Even Before Memorial Defacement, Nat’l Park Service Was $11.5B Short for Maintenance
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This refers to the spray painting of the Lincoln Memorial, obviously a protest against the Lincoln administration for failing to have a SINGLE Islamic political appointee AND refusing to give ANY foreign aid to any Islamic-majority nation.  (Although I do recall someone claiming it  was an environmental group protesting that the Lincoln administration refused to do anything to force Grant and other Union generals to take ANY action to protect the environment in any of the battles or campaigns of the War against the South.

Seriously, the NPS and every other government agency out there claims that they are short billions and billions of dollars “necessary” to carry out their “missions, while at the same time, the fedgov’s spending goes up and up and up – and no, it isn’t accounted for by military spending, which is dropping like a rock, supposedly, with the Afghan withdrawal and major manpower cuts.  So where is the money going?  We would all like to know.

Scummy government
Sue and Settle Disrupts U.S. Checks and Balances
(Capital Research Center) Daily Policy Digest) Sue-and-settle has resulted in numerous regulations being passed without congressional approval…

Nathan: This putrid little scheme has been going on for decades, especially in the EPA, Department of Labor, and other regulatory agencies:  a “friendly” lawsuit allows the Judicial Branch and the Executive Branch (with their environist or labor-unionist and other supporters) to sneak around the Congress (I know, it isn’t hard to do) and implement “regulations” by court order to do what Congress refuses to let them do blatantly.  Of course, Congress REALLY does know about this – but they don’t care; not really.  So MORE tyranny, MORE  theft, and MORE abuse goes on and on and on.

Home front – Government-run, tax-funded schools
Groups Opposed to Chicago School Closures Seek U.N. Intervention, Claiming Human Rights Violations
(CNSNews.com) In the latest in a number of appeals by U.S. civic organizations to the world body, the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights this week submitted a letter to the U.N. human rights apparatus in Geneva, asking that it “investigate and take preventative measures to address the potential domestic and international human rights violations that may result from these school closings.”

Nathan: What a grand idea?  UN Peacekeepers keeping the peace in Chicago: preventing the gangsters and gangbangers from gunning each other down – usually by doing it themselves, I admit.  Investigations about how the evil United States has colonized Chicago and made it into a festering third-world pesthole, and how decolonization would end this state of horror.  UN blue helmets escorting poor defenseless black children through the mobs of gun-clutching KKK terrorists to and from schools fully the equal of schools in sub-Saharan Africa, teaching the glories of black culture and anti-racism.  All paid for by American taxpayers supporting the UN because they are ashamed of what their nation has done to the world, especially ethnic enclaves in places like Chicago.  What a wonderful future!

Congress in action – Slimy TRANZIs
Pelosi Advises Private Therapy for Democrats Caught in Sex Scandals
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Why should Democrats need therapy at all for these things: this is, after all, what the Tranzis, including the Democrats want, right?  Total sexual freedom for all ages for all acts for all time.  They should be CELEBRATING the likes of Weiner and Filner and HONORING them and DEFENDING them for fondling women and sexting and encouraging the opposite sex to loosen up.  Instead of attacking them.  IF they are true to their ideals, that is.

Environists – Stupid government
Hydraulic Fracturing Doesn’t Contaminate Water Supplies
(CBS News via Daily Policy Digest) A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers…

Nathan: The only reason to believe the fedgov in this is because the study totally undermines the rationale for federal regulation and/or prohibition of fracking – which several states have now implemented.  Of course, I don’t think that the fedgov will pay any attention to its own study, because it has not paid attention to the last dozen or so studies over two decades.  As with man made global warming, the effort will be to produce data that contradicts it, or excuses for why this study is wrong.

Self defense
Georgia: Waffle House customer  opens fire on robber
UNION CITY, Ga. (AP) — Authorities say a customer at a Waffle House outside Atlanta shot and wounded a suspect who was trying to rob the restaurant. Police say the shooting happened early Monday, when a gunman tried to hold up a Waffle House in south Fulton County.

Nathan: Waffle House aficionados tend to take the place seriously, and defend it against all sorts of attacks, but usually NOT robberies: good for him!

Congress in action
House Refuses to Fund ‘Atheist Chaplins’ at Defense Department
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: How politically incorrect can you get?  This is clearly violating separation of church and state, and attacking peaceful and passive religions like atheism and humanism and the like.  And this is Congress that is doing it, just like it was Congress that prohibited homosexuals from serving in the military and homosexuals from marrying other homosexuals and didn’t provide for a natural outlet for men like Filner and Weiner for their deep-seated sexual needs.

World culture wars:
Pope in Brazilian Slum: Life and Family Are ‘Fundamental Pillars That Govern a Nation’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: What a slap in the face to the NorteAmericanos, who know that life is only a privilege to be granted by Congress and the courts when appropriate, and that family is defined by the state in terms of maximizing campaign contributions and justifying state control of every aspect of life.  Where does this guy get off?  People would accuse him of claiming to speak for God, but everyone knows that is just a myth: the dirty old man staring down from a cloud and making threats if you don’t do what he wants.  Everyone knows that the “fundamental pillars” of governing a nation are (1) democracy: the voice of the people IS the voice of God (when suitably led and influenced and directed by the elite, of course), and (2) force:  only government can and must use force and the threat of force to make people do what government decides is good for them to do (except, of course, for the elite who control that force).

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt
Boehner: Arm the ‘Right Set of Rebels in Syria’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: And just WHICH is the “right set?”

Mama’s Note: I still say the best would be an air drop of care packages for the ordinary people. A simple gun, instructions, and some ammunition would go a long way toward helping the common person reclaim their lives. It is insane to further arm any group that merely wants to control everyone else.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-29B: Stupid government theft and more

Posted on 2013-07-26 by TPOL Nathan

Stupid government
No more mailman at the door under US Snail plan
(Chicago Tribune) “Under a cost-saving plan by the U.S. Postal Service, millions of Americans accustomed to getting their mail delivered to their doors will have to trek to the curb and residents of new homes will use neighborhood mailbox clusters, the agency said Tuesday. The Postal Service has been quietly phasing in the change with some aspects starting in April, and it has given no timeline for the shift. It’s unclear if delivery to the door will be eliminated entirely.” (07/23/13)

Nathan: This is NOT all that big a deal:  MOST neighborhoods (especially those in Flyover Country) have centralized mailboxes or (if they are lucky) mailboxes at the curb or end of the driveway.  I and my neighbors in SD have our mailbox at the main road, a quarter of a mile or more away.  New neighborhoods have been forced to go farther and farther.  Of course, most small towns in America – the REAL America and not the Jersey or LA suburbs, don’t HAVE in-town house-to-house mail delivery:  we have to PAY for the privilege of having a post office box and have to go in to get our mail – and if we have a package, we better do it during THEIR hours. That said, it is clear that the USPS is on a downward spiral and the end is near.  Very near.

Mama’s Note: I wouldn’t have an unsecured box on the street for anything. They are ripe targets for thieves and vandals. The locked “community” boxes at the end of the road are much better, though the mail does get wet if the wind is from the wrong quarter. There has to be a better way… and just as soon as the USPS finally chokes to death on it’s own idiocy, I’m sure someone will figure it out and open up for business… many someones, with competing and locally adapted ideas. I can hardly wait.

Self-defense – Mainstream media
Florida: Two suspects shot after home invasion
(WTSP News) “Pasco Sheriff’s deputies are currently investigating a shooting that may be the result of a foiled home invasion and robbery attempt. … The two men suspected of the break in were the ones shot. They have since been taken to a local hospital.” (07/19/13)

Nathan: Oh, don’t you love the weasel words?  And the stilted delivery?  News readers’ education and skill levels are dropping.  As are the break-in artists.  This is Florida, and yet they are invading homes…. stupid indeed.

Border Jumper Criminals
U.S. Border Patrol Deporting Illegal Alien with 37 Criminal Convictions in USA
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Are we not being mean to the country that has to take this thug back?  More American arrogance, what? <grin>

Mama’s Note: How ridiculous. Why send him back? He really should have been dead the first time he attacked someone.

The “messiah” – Licking boots
Obama on Winning Coach: ‘He Didn’t Do Any of This Alone’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course not: bet he got free student grants and cheap loans from the government to go with his college scholarships, and bet he had a help line to the White House to get good, solid advice.  And imagine: he was coaching a TEAM.

The “messiah’s” consort – Nanny state?
Michelle: ‘While Food Might be Love, the Truth is We Are Loving Ourselves and Our Kids to Death’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Is this nothing but a justification for the government to become the parents of ALL of us?  No, you can’t eat that, No you can’t eat that much, No, you can’t fix it like that…  Not the Nanny State, but the Nanny-GOD state.

Mama’s Note: Unfortunately, she has a lot of company. So many people with passionate opinions, trying hard to make it into “law.”

Government-run, theft-funded schools – Would-be nazgul
Obama Judicial Nominee Calls Abstinence Education ‘Unconstitutional’(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is a bizarre twist: what the NSA is doing is “constitutional” but for a “public school” to teach that an alternative to life as usual is abstinence is “unconstitutional” – not even Cracker Jacks would give this guy a law license, and the “messiah” wants to put the guy on the bench?

Mama’s Note: Not to mention that the “constitution” is one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated on earth. I couldn’t care less what any of them think.

The “messiah’s” minions – Tranzis – Self-defense
Van Jones: ‘Silent Majority’ of Conservatives ‘Heartbroken’ about Chicago Killings
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I am a self-governor and NOT a conservative, though many people think I am.  And Jones is right: many conservatives and libertarians ARE heartbroken about the Chicago killings, for the following reasons:  (1) Many of those killings could be prevented if (a) the victims or their families or friends were ARMED, (b) there was no War on Some Drugs, (c) Chicago cops were anything but blue (or black-)clad gangsters themselves, and (d) Chicago wasn’t such a rat cage.  (2)  The wrong people are being killed, all too often. Yeah, I know a lot of the deaths are of gangsters (or gangbangers) but not the ones at the top of the chain, including City Hall and the various other “public” administration offices and agencies.

The “messiah” and his boot-licking sycophants
Cornel West: Obama ‘A Global George Zimmerman’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Is this supposed to be a GOOD thing or a BAD thing?  I don’t have the foggiest how West feels about Zimmerman, but I certainly can’t picture the “messiah” going out and risking his life to help someone in an accident.

Mama’s Note: I’d say an awful lot of people are making pretty incredible (and downright silly/stupid) comparisons over all this, including the president. The thing to remember is that if both those young men had been one color, NOBODY would ever have heard of the incident. And that’s partly because it’s so common… it happens all the time, but someone decided to turn this one into a media circus.

Theft by government
Republicans Open to $600-Billion in ‘Revenue’ to Reach ‘Big Fiscal Deal’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Who is stealing from us?  Not JUST the Democrats, obviously.  Who is lying to us?  Not JUST the Tranzis and Progressives and Democrats, clearly.  Who needs to be retired?  You know who.

Stupid Government tricks
U.S. Assures Russia Snowden Will Not Face Death Penalty
(New York TImes By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and STEVEN LEE MYERS)  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a letter sent to the Russian minister of justice this week that the United States would not seek the death penalty against Edward J. Snowden, and would issue him a passport immediately so he could travel back to the United States.

Nathan: Such generosity on the part of this thug?

Mama’s Note: Well, alrighty then, I’m sure that’s all Snowden was worried about. And, of course, we all know what a paragon of virtue and truth Holder is… would he lie? Nahhh…

Debby: They are signaling that the Feds ARE treating this as a capital crime.  Of course we can believe Holder; when did he ever seek the death penalty on anything?

Nathan: This smells like a last gasp attempt to get Putin to give him up.  When will the American people wake up to the fact that Holder and his “boss” and their apparat are more our enemies than Putin’s Russia?  And that Snowden deserves honor and praise for standing up for liberty?

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Your Groceries are Shrinking!

Posted on 2013-07-25 by MamaLiberty

Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags
By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD and CATHERINE RAMPELL
(New York Times)

Chips are disappearing from bags, candy from boxes and vegetables from can. As an expected increase in the cost of raw materials looms for late summer, consumers are beginning to encounter shrinking food packages.

With unemployment still high, companies in recent months have tried to camouflage price increases by selling their products in tiny and tinier packages. So far, the changes are most visible at the grocery store, where shoppers are paying the same amount, but getting less.

Mama’s Note: This rather light hearted article from early 2011 was very hard to find, so there evidently wasn’t much written about this phenomenon at the time. I couldn’t find anything newer either.

Remember six ounce cans of tuna? One pound cans of coffee? Even most canned vegetables used to be in sixteen ounce cans. I can’t even remember when they shrank to fifteen ounces, but it was long ago. Now some of them hold as little as eleven ounces.

The last time you bought macaroni, crackers, or other staples, did you look at the amount in the package, or just the price? The manufacturers are really hoping that the price is all you will notice. Of course, Stephanie and Catherine above are truly naive about the price. It certainly has not remained the same.

So, what’s happening? Are those big, mean old manufacturers just being thieves? Don’t they care that five ounces of tuna won’t produce the same two nice sandwiches as six ounces did? Did you ever use a can of something in a recipe and find it just didn’t work out the way it used to? Look at the label. Who’s fault is that?

There are a lot of things going on here, and I’d have to say that manufacturer’s “greed” is very low on the list, if present at all. They are struggling to stay in business and solvent, for the most part, just like everyone else. They need to make a profit to do that, just as you need to bring home a paycheck and spend it wisely.

So, what are, at least, some of the factors involved here?

Taxes and regulations. The direct costs of these two items is somewhere around 50% of the combined productivity of everyone who is working or producing something. The additional costs imposed by the efforts of individuals and businesses to comply, and especially to AVOID the crippling, often contradictory regulations, is staggering though difficult to measure. Nobody answers that sort of survey willingly.

And, of course, social engineering is a big part of the reason for the taxes and regulations anyway. They are the bludgeons used to control our lives and property without actually holding a gun to our head… at least very often. Of course, the guns are coming out more and more often now that at least some people seem to be figuring out what is going on. The “war on drugs” and the “war on raw milk” are only two of the many thousands of possible examples.

So, what does that have to do with the size of the tuna can? Everything, and more.

The manufacturers pay billions to satisfy government demands for taxes and regulations. The cost of complying with those, both related to the product itself and the employees who produce it, is staggering. And, of course, this applies equally to those who supply the raw materials to make the products, as well as the entire system of packaging and transport.

But, of course, the only way they can pay those taxes and foot the cost of those regulations is to charge their customers more for the product! And, just as you work hard to take every possible deduction and avoid going to jail by getting all the demanded “licenses,” inspections, ad nausea… they must hire lawyers and clerks to do the same thing. Of course they also hire lobbyists and give campaign donations to politicians, all in an effort to find the most favorable climate to continue in business. And yes, the whole rotten system gives them every incentive to lie, cheat and manipulate others whenever they have the opportunity. A lot of ordinary people find themselves in the same bind.

Then there is the serious problem with the shrinking fiat dollar and the insanity of a whole economy based on debt, both of which are far beyond the scope of this article or my expertise. I’d suggest you do some serious reading here, if you would like to understand more about that part of it.

It’s just too darn easy to blame the farmers, manufacturers and business in general, however seriously they’ve been compromised by all this. Next time you notice your  groceries shrinking, take a good look at the people in politics (and their minions) who will do anything they think necessary to control you, perfectly willing and able to put you in a cage or KILL you if you don’t obey. They produce absolutely nothing except force, theft and lies.

The smaller size can and the reduced volume of the product is just one small way the manufacturers use to keep going, hoping nobody will notice much. Unfortunately, just as with the fiat money and the debt, it simply can’t go on forever.

And why in the world would we want it to go on?

Posted in Mama's Rants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-29A: This and that

Posted on 2013-07-24 by TPOL Nathan

Slow start to the week on commentary, too much happening in Colorado and South Dakota that isn’t newsworthy to anyone but me!

Mexican civil war
Mexico: Five killed, seven wounded in attack on non-state police
(ABC News) “At least five people were killed and seven were wounded when gunmen opened fire on a group of community self-defense members gathered Monday on a plaza in the western state of Michoacan, authorities said. Michoacan state prosecutors’ spokesman Alejandro Arellano said about 300 masked community vigilantes wearing similar T-shirts arrived at city hall in the town of Los Reyes and announced they would take over policing the town.” (07/23/13)

Nathan: My oh my, did we think this Mexican civil war was slowing down?  Of course, the question is, WHO really opened fire?  Was it some drug cartel’s enforcers, or was it the regime’s enforcers?  The article does not say, and also does not indicate how many (if any) of the “vigilantes” were armed.  We can expect THIS sort of thing to spill over into the States soon.

Islamic wars: Mesopotamia Front
Iraq[sic AND sick]: Hundreds escape in coordinated prison attacks(CBS) “Hundreds of Iraqi inmates escaped after insurgents armed with mortars and machines guns launched coordinated late-night assaults on two high-security prisons, sparking gun battles that left dozens of people dead, officials said Monday. In a separate attack in northern Iraq, a suicide car bomber targeted an army convoy on Monday, killing 13 people, officials said. The jailbreaks targeted prisons in Taji and Abu Ghraib, which are home to thousands of prisoners including convicted al Qaeda militants.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: Oh, dear, I was even wondering if “Iraq” might actually be a country (or two or three) again.  Obviously not.  What a joke: deadly, admittedly, but still a joke.

Islamic wars:  South Asian front – Stupid US tricks
Pakistan: Leaked records say at least one in five drone victims confirmed civilian
(Russia Today) “Leaked internal data produced by Pakistani officials documenting drone strikes on the ground reveal a high civilian death toll, countering US claims that the targeted assassination campaign results in ‘exceedingly rare’ fatalities. … A 12-page report, titled ‘Details of Attacks by NATO Forces/Predators in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas)’ describes 75 CIA drone attacks between 2006 and 2009 …. The numbers show a death toll of 746 people, 147 of whom were confirmed as civilians. Of those civilian deaths, 94 are children.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: This is what happens when you not only let politicians DICTATE war, but let them RUN the war: direct the minutia of combat from the other side of the planet, and turn combat into a video game for psychotic little monsters. This makes the Paki rulers out to be less villainous than the West, and makes the Islamic nightmare worse.

Home front – Self defense
Indiana Woman tells police she shot man defending herself, son
(Indianapolis Star) “A 30-year-old woman who shot a 54-year-old man Tuesday at her Eastside home told police she fired in self-defense after the man hit her child in the mouth and then attacked her. … The shooting victim walked to the ambulance, Lt. Chris Bailey of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Tuesday, and was initially listed in serious condition at Wishard Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to his hip.” (07/17/13)

Nathan: No idea why they were attacked, but THIS is why women (especially mothers) need to be armed.  This newspaper story uses the word “victim” for the wrong person.  “The attacker, though shot, walked to the ….”

Mama’s Note: The lady obviously needs some range time, but good for her.

Stupid people – stupid government
New Mexico: “Environmental” bureaucrats block horse slaughter
(USA Today) “The New Mexico Environment Department on Monday dealt a new blow to a Roswell company’s hard-fought attempts to begin slaughtering horses next month, declining a request to renew Valley Meat Co.’s wastewater discharge permit. … The NMED says it won’t renew the permit without a public hearing, noting it has received more than 450 comments against letting the former cattle slaughterhouse open as a horse slaughter plant.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: The arrogance of state regulators coupled with the self-righteousness of “animal lovers” and people who know how to use laws and regulations as hammers against anything they disagree with is again shown.   These “comments” are not about whether or not the plant meets environmental regulations (preventing pollution that is not permitted from being discharged into waters of the state, but about political thugs sticking their nose into other people’s business, and regulators who gleefully go along.

Culture wars – Nazgul
North Dakota: Federal judge delays state abortion law
(Fox News) “A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new North Dakota law that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected — as early as six weeks into pregnancy, calling the law ‘clearly invalid and unconstitutional.’ U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck granted a temporary injunction that blocks the law from taking effect on Aug. 1.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: This was expected, of course.  But North Dakotans, like many other Americans, are sick and tired of the fedgov – especially the courts – telling them what to do.  And of the arrogance of the sleazy men and women in black robes who make the Nazgul look tame.

Self Defense?
Texas: Rifle-toting woman shoots, kills man outside gas station
(KHOU News) “Surveillance video shows the shooter, described as a 23-year-old woman, retrieving a rifle from the trunk of her car and pointing it toward the ground near a man armed with an umbrella and a pocket knife. Then it shows the man swinging at the woman as she steps back and fires the weapon. … According to police, the shooter claimed the man had made unwanted sexual advances and refused to leave her alone. She also told police she feared for her life.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: This is why we have juries.

Mama’s Note: Of course I wasn’t there, but the video I saw makes it very clear that he attacked her – some accounts said he had a knife – and that she did everything she could to discourage him before she fired. The only thing I can see she did that wasn’t smart was drive away before the police got there. And that’s probably all she would be charged with, if anything.

Her majesty’s subjects – Tyranny
We shouldn’t subsidise the new political class
(Adam Smith Institute by James Lawson) “In 1911 MPs began receiving a salary. By paying MPs it was hoped the general population could independently enter politics, rather than simply leaving it dominated by a wealthy elite. MPs compensation has since betrayed this vision. The system now supports a new political class. In the 1970s MPs’ salaries were comparable with average UK income, today they seek triple the average, putting them in the top 2% of earners. Not to mention the abuse of expenses or even illegal activities by some of this political class.” (07/22/13)

Nathan: This “new” political class is not really all that new – a continuation of the squirarchy and the rotten boroughs system of more than a century ago:  even as they lost some of those privileges, they made sure that they created replacements, and then ran and pushed to the current situation.  Blame the monarchy, especially the current monarch for at least much of this: if she had been as zealous for her subject’s liberties as her ancestors, this would be less likely to have happened.

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Too Hot To Shoot

Posted on 2013-07-23 by MamaLiberty

By MamaLiberty

In many parts of the country, it really is too hot to shoot much of the time these days. And then, of course, there’s always the problem of scarce ammunition. What to do? How do you keep your skills sharp under those conditions?

Practice – General guidelines for dry fire exercises:

CAUTION: All of the safety rules must be maintained during these exercises. Remove all live ammunition from the room. Eliminate all distractions as much as possible. Establish specific times and places for exercises. Check to be sure gun is unloaded EACH TIME you begin a dry fire exercise. Exercises done on the range, live fire, should be done with a qualified instructor or experienced mentor and conform with all standard and range specific rules and safety precautions. Ask an instructor for schedule of live fire sessions available or to arrange for one.

What is “dry fire?” This simply means that you use an unloaded gun, dummy ammunition or gun simulation for practice and drills to learn new skills and practice them to a desired level of competence before you shoot live ammunition at the range. [Make sure your gun would not be damaged by dry fire (empty). You may need to use a dummy round or “snap caps.“ Check with manufacturer.]

Why dry fire? Believe it or not, dry fire is far more important for building good skills than live fire. You don’t have the recoil to deal with, and it doesn’t cost anything. The only way to build “muscle memory” is with many repetitions of a PERFECT action, so taking the time to learn things and practice them CORRECTLY from the start will save you countless hours. It takes about 300 repetitions to learn a habit, but at least 10,000 to UNLEARN one. Therefore, if you are not confident that you fully understand the operations called for in an exercise, wait to consult your instructor before you proceed. You’ll save lots of time and money in the long run.

Make specific plans for place and time to practice. If you make and stick to a schedule, you will benefit the most and create safe habits. In the ideal world, you would practice at least 10 to 15 minutes every day. Most people who are serious about self defense manage this about three times a week – at least in the beginning. Your choice.

Choose one place in your home, garage, patio or other for your dry fire exercise. Do not engage in this activity anywhere else except on the gun range. This helps form good habits and reduces risk of accidents. Evaluate the area for hazards such as appliances, fire sources and anything that would make the actual discharge of a gun a danger to you or anyone else. Eliminate those where possible. Choose a “safe direction” for your dry fire and keep your gun pointed in that direction as much as possible, depending on the drill.

Unless the drill calls for it, do not allow anyone else to be in the room. Do not use anything but simulated guns if others are present. Never point ANY gun at another person unless you are being attacked. Use an actual target.

Remove ALL live ammunition from your dry fire area. Check to make sure the gun is unloaded before entering the dry fire area and before EACH exercise. This may seem excessive or redundant, but it is a vital safety habit. The first thing said in most negligent (accidental) discharges is, “I thought the gun was unloaded.”

Maintain the three absolute rules each and every time you handle a gun. Muzzle and trigger control, along with frequent – even obsessive – checking for an empty chamber will go a long way towards guaranteeing that nobody will ever get hurt unless they attack you.

Eliminate distractions as much as you can. Turn off TV or radios, unplug the phone and lock the doors.

When you come to the end of your dry fire session, review what you have done and consciously END your session before you leave the area. Be very aware of what you are doing before you reload and store or holster the gun. This is the point were many unintended discharges occur. Do not reload in your dry fire area under any circumstances.

The above is from my book, “I Am NOT A Victim.” It’s available free to anyone who sends me an email and requests it. Follow the link to find contact information at the bottom of the page.

Next, we’ll look at some specific dry fire drills. I’d love to have comments on the drills you use and find helpful.

Posted in Mama's Rants | 3 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-28C: Stupid government, politicians, and people

Posted on 2013-07-21 by TPOL Nathan

Stupid government – Stupid politicians
Iowa fires agent who pursued governor’s speeding SUV
(Yahoo News)

Nathan: Even South Dakota’s Bill Janklow (known for a heavy foot) didn’t do this; Iowa is a thug government on an ever growing basis, much like that of Colorado. The criminality of the political class grows ever more quickly.

Mainstream Media
ABC, CBS, NBC, Obama and 350 Bottles of $300 Champagne
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This nation’s (and the government official’s) fixation on booze has always irritated me, and this even more so.  It is part of their growing arrogance and belief in their own superiority and elite nature:  only THEY can handle booze while the peons must be carefully controlled.  Of course, they ignore the fact that a far LARGER percentage of politicians and media types and bureaucrats are abusers of alcohol (and other drugs) than the general population.  Speaking of which, we have Rangel in the next couple of stories.

Congress in action – Theft by government
Rep. Rangel’s Solution To Student Loans – Free College
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Coupled with his constant demands for enslaving young people (the draft), this is Rangel’s usual irrational and contradictory behavior.

Congress in action – Bootlicking Tranzis
Rep. Rangel: If Obama ‘Walked on Water,’ GOP Would Say He Can’t Swim
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Old, hoary joke.  Frankly, I’m disgusted at the way the GOP has given the current resident of 1600 PA a pass on so much: let all these issues go by, let his CRIMES go unchallenged, and essentially rolled over and played dead.  The LP has at least made an effort.

Hoplophobes and hoploclasts – Government thuggery
From an article by Anthony Gregory at Laissez Faire:

“Gun controllers seem not to recognize that their policy itself encapsulates violence. All the government’s prohibitions rely on violent state power. Indeed, the state itself is simply the institution with a socially legitimized monopoly on legal force, as most law and political science professors would agree. When the state criminalizes an activity or the ownership of contraband, it enforces its prohibition through legal violence — ultimately, through police using guns to force suspects to go to court and, if convicted, to go to prison.”

Mama’s Note: Of course. They are not at all against violence. They simply want to be the ones in control of it.

Nathan: What is more, many people who CLAIM to be against all violence (especially many church-going people) cannot and will not see that they accept government as having some “sovereign” exemption from the concept that initiating violence is evil.  Even those “nice people” who do NOT want to be in control all too often do not understand the disconnect that they are taking accepting it as a natural law.

Stupid government – the “messiah’s” plan backfires
CDC Study: Use of Firearms For Self-Defense is ‘Important Crime Deterrent’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: The closest thing I found to a “mainstream” or leftist-leaning media story on this CDC study was this piece of bilge from the Daily Kos.

The point is, the “messiah” ordered this study (by executive order, no less) and it turned around and bites him.  NOT that the CDC is anything like unbiased or objective: they are, after all, part of a government which desperately needs to disarm as many of its citizens as possible.  But it is ironic, is it not, that even THEY couldn’t bias the study and report more than they did?

Local Tyranny
ACLU: Police record license plates by the millions
(CNSNews.com) Tracking Everyone All The Time, Cops Log Data On American Motorists The American Civil Liberties Union released a report Wednesday indicating that American law enforcement largely considers simply traveling in an automobile reason enough to track American citizens and log their movements.

Nathan: Of course they do – remember the mindset of the “law enforcement officer” is usually “everyone is a stinking criminal that just hasn’t been caught yet.”  (Unlike those men and women who are really peace officers and public safety people, who care about their communities and try to make them a better place – what, 1 in 50 cops?  1 in 1000? I have known about ten like that my whole life.)  We have every reason to fear EVERY time a cop car passes us, going or coming, unless we know them to be one of the rare good guys; this just gives us another reason.

Islamic wars: Canaanite front – Stupid politicians
Arabs Tell Kerry the Israeli-Palestinian Dispute Is Region’s ‘Core Issue of Instability’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: No, it is the ROOT of the Israeli-“Palestinian” dispute: the combination of the antipathy of Arabs – MUSLIM Arabs towards Jews, the essential, fundamental insanity of Islam and the evil nature of the Muslim and Arab culture is the root.  To Arabs as a whole (I realize that there are MANY Arabs who are christian and who are peaceful), the ONLY human right is “Might makes Right.”  Their society is and has been corrupt since long before Mohammed (peanut butter und honig) created the religion which made it worse:  tyrants, thugs, abusers are the NORM for Muslim society: a society which Arabs then exported to the entire Ummah, finding fertile ground in corrupted “christian” societies, animist and non-Hindu cultures across half the globe.  Part of that culture is lies and more lies: their enemies (which they themselves chose) are ALWAYS wrong, ALWAYS the instigators and the aggressors.  And the West buys into that too often, going all the way back to the Crusades, which originally started as defense against Muslim (mostly Arab) aggression against peaceful pilgrims in Canaan and other areas of the Levant.

Theft by government
Time to Fix the Charitable Deduction
(Politico) The Urban Institute has estimated that, as of 2010, governments at all levels directed more than $100 billion to some 33,000 human-service organizations…

Nathan: Politico suggests that any charitable organization getting more than 25% of its revenue from a government agency not have donations considered as deductions for tax purposes.  That idea is stupid: for one thing, it greatly complicates the paperwork that people have to do.  Mama Liberty points out the obvious solution: get rid of the taxes, period.  But failing to do that, it seems clear that a VERY simple solution: easy to understand and identify, and with many benefits (though not as many as getting rid of the taxes) would be to prohibit ANY contribution or donation to ANY organization that receives ANY money from ANY government (even for goods or rendering services) from being deductible.

Mama’s Note: That would certainly work in the meantime, but there is also this to consider. Why not give one’s alms in secret, quietly, with no trumpets or pats on the back?

Home front – Local tyranny
California Sheriff Sued For Deadly Attack On Sleeping Man »
(Personal Liberty) The partner of a California man is suing the Kern County sheriff’s department after a May incident in which she alleges sheriff’s deputies attacked him while he slept in someone’s front yard and beat him to death, without his having had a chance to demonstrate that he was a potential threat to their safety.

Nathan: My entire adult life, I’ve heard many of those who object to libertarian political philosophy use the argument that “if you have libertarian ‘laws’ that make property rights inviolate, then you give property owners the right to kill anyone who trespasses.”  Well, it appears that for this man, merely trespassing WAS rewarded with a death sentence, imposed by jack-booted thugs (psychically if not physically jack-booted) without ANY  chance at all to defend himself in ANY way.

Stupid people
Just three pints of beer a week
(Daily Mail) Just three pints of beer a week can dull your brain by 20% and make it harder to react to stimulus. Drinking beer and wine regularly permanently inhibits concentration; Research showed that binge drinking affected both attention and memory

Nathan: Thanks to ArcLien for this one.  As much as we have to take any study like this with a large grain of salt, it could explain why the mental deterioration in the UK and the US is so pronounced and accelerating.  There were once large segments of the population who were teetotalers: who believed that whiskey and beer and wine drinking were as sinful as stealing your neighbor’s husband or wife, or many other things now “acceptable” by 95% or more of the population.  Beer, bread and circuses – more ways to destroy a society and a world.

Mama’s Note: Well, I completely disagree. If this were even partly true, mankind would either have stopped making spirits long ago, or become extinct. The rot in the UK has little or nothing to do with their beer. The “teetotalers” are actually a fairly modern and rare aberration in history. For much of human existence, beer especially was the accepted drink of the whole family and is very healthful in moderation.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-28B: Magician’s rabbit, practical jokes, homicide

Posted on 2013-07-18 by TPOL Nathan

Stupid government
Missouri:  One-Rabbit Magician regulated by USDA needs “rabbit emergency plan”
(Washington Post) The Agriculture Department requires it, citing a decades-old law that was intended to regulate zoos and circuses. Today, the USDA also uses it to regulate much smaller “animal exhibitors,” even the humble one-bunny magician. That was what the letter was about. The government had a new rule. To keep his rabbit license, Hahne needed to write a rabbit disaster plan. “Fire. Flood. Tornado. Air conditioning going out. Ice storm. Power failures,” Hahne said, listing a few of the calamities for which he needed a plan to save the rabbit.

Nathan: Yes, incredibly, that is what we are paying USDA inspectors $100K/year to do: make sure that Marty and all his magician brothers and sisters have emergency plans for their rabbits, hats, and such.  Folks, we did this to ourselves: WE sold ourselves down the river for a bowl of (pretty bad-tasting) porridge. (We as in “Americans” who can’t or won’t see the incredible stupidity of believing in government – dragging the rest of us along for their self-destructive ride, usually at gunpoint.

Congress in action
Republicans Blame Obama Funding-Cuts for 3rd Failure of U.S. Missile Defense Test
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Gee, politicians are sure stupid, aren’t they?  (As if we couldn’t tell from the first story.)  WHAT “spending cuts”? The reduction in the increase which leaves an increase that is STILL much greater than the official inflation estimate?  For crying out loud, people, drop it!

Congress in action
Rep. Steve King: Why Pass Border Security Bill When Obama Will Ignore It?
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Why indeed?  Better yet, shut Congress down – take a couple months recess and go home and talk to people and get ready for the REAL collapse.
The “messiah’s” consort

Michelle Obama Gives a Nod to ‘Walking School Buses’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Every time you think you have figured out just how STUPID this woman and the other Tranzis who guide and fawn over her are, you discover that it is IMPOSSIBLE to overstate the stupidity.

Home front: “justice system”
Liberal Law Prof: Zimmerman Case ‘Should Never Have Been Brought in the First Place’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I assume he just wanted a straight forward lynching.

Mama’s Note: I certainly didn’t get that from reading the article. In this case, and many others of course, “racial profiling” was absolutely appropriate. Since most of the crime being experienced in that neighborhood was actually perpetrated by young, black males, it makes perfect sense that a “watchman” would follow and question such people.

So many people get off the track here. If Martin had simply answered George, regardless of his attitude, nothing more would have happened unless the police arrived. As it was, Martin chose to attack and the rest is history. Martin made the seriously wrong choice.

The “messiah” – Lies and more lies
Obama: ‘Jury Has Spoken’: Obama’s Justice Department: It’s Not Over Yet
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Heap big chief speak with forked tongue – as always.  “Will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest?”  “I’m not trying to take away your guns.”  “I won’t raise taxes on anyone making less than 250 thou a year.”

Mama’s Note: And I ask again: By What Legitimate Authority does this man, or any other, control our lives and economy in any way?

Home front – Crime
Murder? Homicide Rate Hits 30-Year Low Among 10-24 Yr Olds
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But as JPFO points out this age group accounts for A THIRD of gun homicides a year, so it doesn’t matter to the Hoplophobes and Hoploclasts if it is a 50-year low: they will still claim it is a war on children.

Mama’s Note: And it is my understanding that the same age group is responsible for a great deal of the shooting as well. Clearly more involved here than just the presence of guns. Wouldn’t have anything to do with the breakdown of the family, or society in general, would it? And, of course, most people older than 15 or 16 can’t logically be called “children” either.

The “messiah” – Theft by government – Killing babies
Obama: U.S. Needs More Taxpayers; Calls for Fewer Babies But ‘More Immigrants’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But you see, immigrants are BETTER than babies (unless they are immigrant babies).  You know, babies cry a lot, and they get dirty a lot, and they don’t take orders very well, and they look so cute.  We don’t need more taxpayers – we need LESS taxes, LESS spending, and less government-sanctioned killing of babies.

Congress in action
Sen. Reid ‘Happy’ That Washington Has the ‘Mets’ for a Baseball Team
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: A sad bunch of losers for a sadder bunch of losers: Congress.  Especially the Senate.

The “messiah’s” minions
Krauthammer: Napolitano’s Record ‘Was the Underwear Didn’t Explode’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Quite cute.  And an overstatement: she HAS no real record – nothing anyone will admit to, at least.  No one has dug deep enough in the files yet.

Mama’s Note: She has a clear record of mind numbing arrogance and dedication to every kind of tyranny. She will make a fine companion for Janet Reno in hell. I can only begin to imagine the sort of damage she will do to the university system in California, but I don’t look for that to last long. Just a sneaking hunch, but she may run for governor there.

Theft by government
Poll: 85% of Americans Dissatisfied with Government’s Handling of Nation’s Finances
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Gee, they still manage to fool 15%?  So how do we account for all those incumbents getting reelected?  Cheating?

Politics 2013 – Culture wars
Planned Parenthood Ohio Protests Pro-Life Law With Ad Featuring Rape Victim
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Turn about is NOT fair play?

Politics 2013 – Culture wars
Bishop: Catholic Mom Murdered by Gay Man ‘Died a Martyr for Her Faith’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Seems a pretty accurate statement, based on the generally suppressed facts.  Kind of a reverse Matthew Shepherd case, it seems.

Stupid people – Can’t take a joke
Asiana to Sue San Francisco TV Station Over Racially Offensive Pilots’ Names
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Seems that no one can take a joke: the TV station fired the poor idiot who couldn’t GET the joke.  Seems like she needs a break: she is just a poor news reader, who can barely get pronunciation right.  It was FUNNY, people, and no one could look at it for more than 6 to 10 seconds and not get it.  But the mainstream media really has to scrape the bottom of the barrel these days.  Not that Asiana OR SFO seem to be any more able to avoid hiring stupid people: pilots who don’t know their own limits and fire truck drivers who drive over and kill victims.

Theft by government – Broken government
Treasury: Debt Has Been Exactly $16,699,396,000,000.00 for 56 Days
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Someone needs to go kick the clock, apparently?

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-28A: Clothing and global warming, dog food

Posted on 2013-07-17 by TPOL Nathan

Stupid government studies – New religions: Manmade global warming
$487K Study of Viking Textiles During Little Ice Age To ‘Mitigate Climate Change’(CNSnews.com)

Nathan: Well, if all it takes to “mitigate” climate change is wearing different clothing, maybe if people all dress a bit more modestly, the planet will stop heating up so much.  Sort of the opposite of common sense, I suppose:  too many bikinis makes the summer season warmer, and too many idiots out in shorts in winters makes them warmer too?  I guess I shouldn’t say too much until another government study or three are able to correlate the popularity of nude and topless sunbathing and swimming with oceanic temperatures and number of degree-days on land.

State Department to Spend $95,000 Teaching Haitian Inmates How to Sew
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is obviously part of the US FedGov’s attempt to combat global warming: considering how Haitians normally dress.  If they sew and wear enough clothing, maybe Haiti can go from tropical to, I dunno, equal to New England maybe?

The “messiah’s” minions – Home front
Will DOJ Charge Zimmerman? ‘Not Something the President Involves Himself In’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Of course not.  Aren’t the emperor’s new robes VERY tasteful and expensive?

The “messiah’s” minions – Home front
Holder: DOJ ‘Resolved’ to Combat Violence ‘Involving or Directed at Young People’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: When?  NEXT century maybe?

Home front: stupid politicians
Jesse Jackson Urges U.N. Human Rights Council to Investigate Trayvon Martin Shooting
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This is the same council that wants to charge the current governor of South Dakota, who has spent most of his adult life running children’s homes and trying to protect children from drunken, drug- and child-abusing parents and families, with genocide for that very work, because he can’t find enough AmerInd families to place abused and special-needs Lakota and Dakota and Nakota children in?  What about Chicago, Jesse?

Home front: stupid politicians
Four Children Gunned Down in Chicago During Zimmerman Trial
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Along with other big urban centers, Chicago accepts the murder (not just death) of children all the time: it just “happens” – even while they try to force their stupidity (which is what leads to most of these deaths) on the rest of the nation, like the Florida town where the young thug Martin was killed in self-defense.

Mama’s Note: Not to mention the fact that most murders and assaults in the country are perpetrated by young black males, and that blacks of all ages are primarily the victims. If Zimmerman had been black, we’d never have heard a word about it.

Home front: stupid people
L.A. Protesters, Furious About Zimmerman Verdict, Raid Store, Block Freeway
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I find it interesting that this took several hours if not a whole day or more to happen after the verdict was announced.  Was this due to all these protesters/rioters not getting the word very fast?  Or was it because the instigators believed their own propaganda and really thought the uprising would be “spontaneous” so that when it didn’t happen, they had to go out and cause it to happen?

Congress in action – Crash of 2009
Rep. Wilson: Some Seniors ‘Eat Dog Food When Their Food Stamps Run Out’
(CNSnews.com)

Nathan: And whose fault is this?  Government, of course, and NOT because the government doesn’t produce enough food stamps (or food) but because the government has so destroyed the economy.  And some seniors don’t GET food stamps – and don’t NEED food stamps because (a) they prepared for their own retirement, (b) they have families that love them and care for them, (c) they have church families that love them and care for them, or (d) they are too proud to either take food stamps OR eat dog food, and WORK.

Mama’s Note: I suppose there might be one or two incidents of this in a year (used to be “cat food”), but I never saw any signs of it in 30 years of nursing, and I saw a lot of VERY poor seniors over that time. One of the big problems is the fact that most people want the “convenience” type stuff and are either too lazy or don’t really know how to cook real, fresh foods. And yes, there are some seniors who are simply not able to cook much… that’s what family and neighbors are for.

I belonged to a neighborhood group that took food to needy seniors, and most turned down the fresh things that required preparation and cooking. They really wanted frozen dinners and ready made sandwiches the most. Or pudding cups and ice cream. And yes, government “programs” have caused an awful lot of this, along with “public education” and broken homes where children never learn any domestic skills like cooking. It’s a complex problem, and most certainly won’t be solved with more “food stamps.

Many children and adults are seriously malnourished these days, no matter how much money is thrown at it. A diet almost completely lacking in fresh fruits and vegetables or whole grain products is the norm, and the “fast food” or white bread sandwiches washed down with 2 liters of soda pop is the cause of a great deal of the illness, obesity and lethargy in this country.

Stupid Tranzi tricks
NAACP, MoveOn: ‘Right to Life’ Violated in Trayvon Martin Killing
(CNSnews.com)

Nathan: Obviously younger (but not a “child”) Hispanic males such as Zimmerman are not allowed to enjoy THEIR right to life.  This sort of effort by the Tranzis is so pathetic.  But too many people suck it up.

Culture wars: worldwide
Catholic Bishop in Dominican Republic: Obama’s Gay Ambassadorial Nominee ‘Will Have to Leave’
(CNSnews.com)

Nathan: Ugly.  Merging of church and state: the ‘messiah’s” administration will need to immediately cut all funding to the Republic until they make the Catholic bishop leave.  Of course, it is not just Catholic prelates that do this:  I learned that an Anglican bishop in Dominica kicked out an Anglican missionary a few years ago because she supported Episcopalian moves to encourage same-sex “marriages” and ordain homosexual “bishops.”

Home front: New York – Crime
NY data show crime increase last year statewide
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – New York’s violent crimes increased 2.3% statewide to more than 79,000 last year despite a drop in New York City murders. State data on serious property and violent crimes still show an overall 13% decade-long decline to about 450,000 last year. That reflects fewer crimes in all categories, led by a 62% drop in stolen vehicles. While the city’s murders declined almost 19% to 419 in 2012, the fewest recorded in decades, aggravated assaults, robberies and forcible rapes all rose to nearly 53,000 violent crimes, up 3.5% from 2011. For the rest of the state, violent crimes were nearly flat at about 26,000 last year, with declines in forcible rapes and robberies, an uptick in aggravated assaults and 265 murders, a 4% increase.

Mama’s Note: No real surprise here. “Gun control” works so good, don’t you know.

Nathan: This is contrary to the national trend, of course.  But notice that the headline is really bogus: murders are down and except in NYC, other violent crimes are also down.  I am sure that Bloomberg and his ilk are torn, because they want to use increased crime as the excuse for more laws and more tyranny (as if there is a difference) but want to crow about how their tough laws and enforcement “caused” the NYC murder rate to drop.  (Of course, the increase in non-homicide violent crimes in NYC puts the lie to that claim.  We should also remember that aggravated and forcible rapes often do not require the perp to have a gun, but if potential victims are armed, these sorts of crimes usually fail.

Mama’s Note: Yes, armed potential victims do mess up their utopia badly, and don’t get reported either, except when arrested as “gun criminals,” of course.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-27D: SPECIAL – Zimmerman “not guilty”

Posted on 2013-07-14 by TPOL Nathan

Zimmerman Not Guilty
(The Blaze) and about every other media outlet in the US.

Nathan:  Sniff, sniff… yeah, sitting here in Cortez, CO, I can smell smoke: not just our ordinary, everyday, forests-are-burning smoke, but an odd tang, like old socks and cigarette butts with wood smoke.  Not quite like burning trash (in a landfill – know what THAT smells like, as recently as last week when some idiot threw away something that set a mattress on fire in the landfill).

I guess it must be America burning, and no doubt mixed with gunsmoke as the rioters in Florida blame the six-woman jury for not sending the “racist” and “baby-killer” Zimmerman to the electric chair – or more preferably to be drawn and quarters and have his head put on a pike in front of the State Capitol.

Justice is done – for once.  But the evil stench of injustice is really probably what I’m smelling, despite the warnings of riots and unrest and all the like spouted the last few days by the media, and taken seriously by a fair number of law-enforcement types in Florida and many inner cities.  “Remember Rodney King,” and “Remember O.J.” and “Remember …”  A seventeen-year-old who died in the act of being abused as a “child?”  Please, people, give me a break.

The stench of that woman on the bench, who apparently thinks her job isn’t to work for the jury but for the prosecution.

The stench of the prosecution who ALL deserve to be sitting at the other table in a court room as soon as possible: they break the law and lie and cheat and are probably mentally deranged to even try the “child abuse” caper.

The stench of the media who started this entire mess, costing Florida taxpayers millions, for the same of a story about a thug attacking a neighborhood protector and getting killed for his trouble.

The stench of all the REAL racists and gangsters and thugs who threatened mayhem for the nation if the women acquitted Zimmerman.

Who will be the next Zimmerman?  That’s actually the wrong question:  there are DOZENS of Zimmermans every day in court, in jail, being pilloried in the media for defending themselves or using the wrong word (at least for people of certain colors) three or four decades ago or any of a thousand crimes that are not really “crimes” except in a corrupt and crooked and wicked court system which serves justice the way a rude and ticked-off waiter serves dessert.  Maybe what I’m smelling is not the nation burning to punish the jury for acquitting Zimmerman: maybe it is the stench of a nation burning for its sins.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #13-27C: Exporting government

Posted on 2013-07-14 by TPOL Nathan

Don’t you wish, now and then, that you had a teleporter or perhaps one of the Han’s “dis rays” (from the old Buck Rogers stories)?  To conveniently disappear certain relics of the barbarous eras of human history, like the ancient Egyptians, the massive Mongol invasions and empires, and the current (and last three or five) US Administrations?  Let’s look at some stories and see how that would help – and how that wonderful idea is twisted around.

Home front: Chicagoland tyranny plus
Illinois Lawmaker Welcomes Police State
(Personal Liberty.com)

Nathan: This foolish, fearful woman (why on earth would someone elect this woman to be ANYTHING except maybe towel girl for the cheerleading squad) wants to turn Chicago into a fully-militarized occupation zone (Chicago Police are not FULLY militarized, and clearly do not have that good a track record on occupation – since the death count and violence toll is higher than most Afghani cities have).  Isn’t this just bringing MORE guns onto the streets?  And what happens when the Chicago gangs ambush and wipe out a whole fire team of National Guard infantry?  Do you realize how much firepower a modern infantry squad – even dismounted and light – has? The insanity of using combat troops just doesn’t seem to be understandable to your normal “legislator.”  Is this ANOTHER reason to require prior military service to be eligible to run for office?

New Religions: Global warming and more
GLOBAL DIMMING
(GeoEngineeringWatch.org)

Nathan: Thanks to Scott for this one.  This lengthy piece of pseudo science tries to reconcile both the Global Freezing Scare of the 1970s and the Global Warming Scare of the last two decades, while coming up with the last digit of PI and explaining where all those socks that disappear from the clothes drier go. (I’m only joking on the last two.  The writer of this tall tale already published the answer to those some time ago, when he was merely human and not a demigod.)  It ALSO tries to explain just why the data for the last decade or so shows no increase in global warming:  it is (again) OUR fault: we pollute the air with contrails and chemtrails and cigarette smoke and cow gas and everything else and we are “masking” the real warming because we are causing cooling – and this, of course, is not seen as a natural balance, but as a DOUBLY-bad thing by the nut jobs that wrote this and all the rest.  The entire argument boils down to this: Technology is evil, people are evil, a decent standard of living is evil, and liberty is evil incarnate. Which is why we have the next nut job introducing his legislation.

Congress in Action – Stupid Congress (1)
Bill in Congress for National Park on Luna
(Raw Story)

Nathan: There is just something about those parts of the Lone Star Republic that elect Democrats to Congress (see the next story, also);  I figure there must be an IQ test for the candidates:  “IF YOUR IQ IS GREATER THAN 90, YOU CANNOT TAKE THIS RIDE.”  Except that being Democrats, someone x’ed out the “0” on the sign.  He wants to make the six landing sites on Luna into a national historic park, under the control of those glorious defenders of nature and history, the National Park Service.  (Perhaps, a little voice who must remain nameless tells me), he considers the NPS of 2013 to be more competent than NASA of 2013.)  Never mind that the surface (and everything else) of Luna is NOT US territory, because the FedGov VOLUNTARILY gave up “right of discovery” – a basic part of international law for a millenium, and deeded the whole ball of dirt to the UN!  Never mind that there is no way those ranger hats are going to fit in a Neil Armstrong style spacesuit helmet.  Never mind that the standard NPS housing will infest the entire surface of Luna with rats, mice, cockroaches and silverfish.  Never mind that they would have to rent a Russian junker to even get part of the way there.  WHAT ABOUT THE STINKING BUDGET?  Do you realize what kind of hazardous duty pay NPS maintenance personnel could get for being assigned up there?

HOWEVER, I do like the idea of requiring Congress to hold a least a week of each session on the Sea of Tranquility (although at a suitably safe and respectful distance from Tranquility Base).  I am sure that they would welcome the excuse not to go back to their home district.

Congress in action – Theft by government
Rep. Jackson Lee: Farm Bill ‘Will Again Put Starving Children in the Abyss’(CNSNews.com) “It will again put starving children in the abyss of the uncaring attitude of my friends, who for the first time in decades are separating the heart line of the Farm bill, the nutrition program, the Supplemental nutrition program, the food stamps program.”

Mama’s Note: But I thought all American children were obese, overweight… how can they be starving? And this little lady doesn’t seem to have missed too many meals herself. The “food stamps” won’t be eliminated, by any means of course. But any family feeling a “pinch” might consider canceling the cable TV, not buying cigarettes or booze, and the mommies might forgo their fake fingernails, salon hairdos, bar hopping, or whatever. Could feed a lot of children with that money…

Nathan: Like  Ah said, Texas shore has a lot tae answer fur…  The “heart line?”  Right.  Sounds like my aunt’s renters, who can pay for new vehicles, the cable, and all the liquids from the empty containers that fill my aunt’s trash bin, but can’t afford to pay their rent.  I don’t agree with farm subsidies any more than I do with food subsidies, but this was a good move on the part of Congress to split these:  they were lumped together for 50+ years to get enough votes for both programs.  But we are all getting tired of this.  “Starving Children?”  Ha.  What a joke.  There probably ARE children starving in America but it is more BECAUSE of government action than inaction.  Sheila Jackson Lee is a scummy weasely Tranzi who had her entire political career based on lies and screaming emotion, of which “fa da chilluns” is the greatest part.  Starving children today are a result of the stupidity or evil of the parents and relatives, and sometimes of the children themselves (ever met a 5-2 80-pound 13-year-old girl who thought she was “fat”? I have).  And there is the occasional sex slave, but that is certainly not going to be helped by food stamps.  Never fear, though, we will be inundated by screams of “children are dying in America.”

As for this Congress-cow; well, she could have paid for a FEW children’s meals with that $24,000 around-the-world trip a couple of months ago.  And she sure looks like she could afford to miss a meal or two or ten – and remember, ALL her meals are on the taxpayer, because we pay her salary.

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