Nathan: This week has not been a good one, nationally. The nation, here a few days before Christmas, has found another issue to tear itself apart. The Congress and White House continue to play stupid PR games about “fiscal cliffs” and Europe continues to mess around and crumble. Japan and China are squaring off, North Korea is undoubtedly getting another nuke ready, Muslims are killing Muslims at a rate which should make us all realize that recent events here in the US are “not unexpected” if not “normal” (or what we wish was normal), and…
So I thank Bear for sending this one: He said:
Hey, Nathan,
What with all the bad stuff in the news recently, I thought maybe you’d like a little comedy for your news commentary.
New Hampshire: Naughton may run to replace herself for Nashua’s Ward 4 House seat
“NASHUA – A special election to fill a House seat in Nashua’s Ward 4 vacated by State Rep.-elect Stacie Laughton could have a familiar ring to it. Laughton said Thursday that she plans to run in the District 31 race to replace her.”
Bear: A little background to make this…. “clear”. Sort of.
Barry Charles Laughton, Jr. was convicted of several felonies a few years ago. He then underwent “gender reassignment therapy” and changed his/her name to Stacie Laughton. Ms. Laughton then ran for the New Hampster state legislature, and, in a demonstration of exactly why the rest of the state would be happy to cede Nashua to Massachusetts, won.
Sadly, for the Democrats (you just _knew_ Laughton was a Democrat, right?), NH has a state law that bars convicted felons from running for or holding a state House seat. Apparently someone saw a news mention of Laughton previously being male and connected her to her former criminal identity.
Laughton then announced she would resign. Then she announced that she wouldn’t resign. Then she resigned. Now… She’s going to run to replace herself.
No word on how she expects to get around the state law barring her from running or holding the seat. Possibly another sex-change operation; I know our state Attorney General has a penis he isn’t using.
Popcorn sales in southern New Hampshire are up 127%.
Nathan: This plot would NEVER sell as a B-grade comedy (at least not before 1960 or so). As a novel? Self-published, maybe, but any decent vanity press operator would slit his wrists first. But I expect it will win; voters are so vile.
On to other news: This next story has its funny elements, as well. Anyone who has been to a standard Little Caesar’s can just picture this fight!
Self defense?
Man shot at Florida pizza shop for complaining about slow service
(Digital Journal) The Tampa Bay Times reports that the alleged incident occurred around 4 p.m. on Sunday at the Little Caesar’s pizzeria on Fourth Street North in St. Petersburg. Customer Randall White, 49, was growing tired of waiting for his thin-crust veggie pizza to be prepared. White complained about the slow service, much to the annoyance of customer Michael Jock, who was behind him in line. Jock, 52, told White to quit whining. The latter allegedly took offense, “prompting them to exchange words, and it became a shoving match,” according to police spokesman Mike Puetz. When White raised his fist, Jock allegedly pulled out a .38 Taurus Ultralight Special revolver and fired one round, which struck White in his lower torso. The two men struggled and Jock allegedly fired again, striking White in the same area.
Mama’s Note: NOT self-defense. Makes me wonder, really. What better way to discredit CC “permit” holders and self defense?
Nathan: If the story is correct, the headline is wrong, and maybe this guy DID shoot in self-defense. White (a vegetarian) was complaining about the slow service, and Jock, the guy behind him in line told him to stop whinging, but they started arguing, shoving, and then when White escalated things to fisticuffs, Jock pulled out a gun and shot him. Jock may have been the reason that the fighting escalated to a raised fist, but we know very little about the two of them. The police claimed that he didn’t have reason to escalate to deadly force, but that is the police – and who can believe them? Seems like this is why we have courts: hear the witnesses (at least three, counting the clerk), the two plaintiffs, and let the jury decide. Jock certainly should have (IMO) shut up after he made the one comment (if indeed, that was the time and place). In a rational society, the clerk would have been armed and ordered BOTH customers to go outside and fight it out; and there would have been someplace safe (perhaps via a Boy Scout project) if they felt a resort to arms was necessary (and probably, it being Florida, a retired person or two to act as referee/umpire).
Mama’s Note: Well, all that is certainly true enough. I was just thinking about the fact that all who carry now are under a microscope and that any such situations will be used against us.
Nathan: Right, of course – EVERYTHING, even legitimate self-defense with no question about initiating aggression is suspect.
Which of course brings us to the news dominating the week, and the latest reason for the nation to continue to tear itself apart:
This one in particular is worth commenting on:
Newtown slaughter: End prohibition of self-defense in schools, say Libertarians
(Conservative Action Alerts) On Sunday, families throughout the nation mourned the horrific deaths of 26 people, including 20 young children, killed Friday during a Newtown, Conn., mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said a political leader, who believes that government is not the solution to a problem, but government is the problem. “It’s impossible to imagine the depths of despair and grief that the victims’ families are experiencing right now,” said the chairman of the Libertarian National Committee, Geoffrey J. Neale.
Nathan: Interesting connections here: does this mean that the November 2012 loss is making at least SOME conservatives consider closer ties to Libertarians? Also, this IS a good statement that Geoff Neale put together. Hitting hard (for an LP national press release, that is) but NOT going to name-calling or esoteric discussions.
Mama’s Note: Some really hard hitting questions about all this here:
Sandy Hook massacre: Official story spins out of control
(Sott.net) The traumatised Newtown community deserves the facts without the spin. Everyone touched by this brutal event deserves to know what really happened, so let’s fix our eyes on what remains unseen…
A 20-year-old ‘tech geek’ named Adam Lanza is supposed to have snapped early last Friday, December 14th, shot dead his mother Nancy Lanza, loaded her car up with her guns and ammo, then driven it across town to his former school, the Sandy Hook Elementary School, shot dead 27 people in two classrooms and an adjoining hallway, then turned one of his guns on himself.
That’s how most will now remember the shooting, but is that actually what happened?
Of course, the mainstream news is playing its spin-game even more this week: you never heard about this one, did you?
Texas: Two wounded in theater shooting
(My San Antonio) A recent breakup set off a shooting spree that ended with the suspect wounding a man at the Santikos Mayan Palace 14 movie theater Sunday night before being shot by an off-duty deputy, authorities said. Police are shown questioning men outside the theater Sunday night.. Jesus Manuel Garcia, 19, an employee at a nearby China Garden restaurant, apparently became upset Sunday night after his girlfriend broke up with him.
Nathan: Thanks to Jeffrey for this: you were right: no MSM reporting at all. The problem is, “if it bleeds, it leads.” NOT getting a bunch of folks killed is viewed as dull and boring – it don’t sell the advertisements!
But then again, look at the coverage and the screams. When it is WESTERNERS getting shot up, the hubbub seems to quickly die down. Columbine, the Chuck-E-Cheese and the Aurora theatre killings got MUCH less coverage over a shorter period than the Virginia Tech killings or now the Sandy Hook murders. Easterners are, of course, the elite (Californians and other Left-Coasters being honorary Easterners and not “flyover country.” We wild barbarian uncouth dirt-daubers and animal herders are not worth as much to really civilized people, whether we are talking New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, London or Paris. As an example of us hick, stupid Westerners, consider this from Texas, THAT evil place.
(Dallas Libertarian Examiner) Hollist, a Dallas resident and 2012 LibertarianParty candidate for US Congress, launched “Teachers protection of children in schools!” on the activist website,causes.com…. Texas Teachers To Carry Guns – Reality vs. Political Correctness …His “Cause” features a poster of Israeli children being watched over by their teacher with a rifle slung over her shoulder.
Nathan: Actually, that is disinformation, as the following motivation poster (provided by pro-Palestinian supporters who obviously can be trusted to tell the truth) proves:
Note that the two teachers are blond, white “Aryan” types (who are claiming to be “Jews” – no doubt Ashkenazim) while all the children are “people of color” – surely, enough said.
The Price of Liberty 
Libertarian Commentary on the News, #13-01A: Let Freedom Ring
HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let the bells ring out, and proclaim liberty to all the land.
Just a few stories, but lots of thoughts about them, to start out this new year!
Home front – War against crime – Stupid cop tricks
Florida pilot spots theft at own house while flying plane
(Fox News) LABELLE, Fla. – Authorities say a Florida man flying home from North Carolina caught a man stealing a trailer while piloting his plane over his own home.
Mama’s Note: The odds are astronomical. Is this guy lucky or what?
Nathan: And the difference between this and a drone piloted by the local sheriff’s office is?
Mama’s Note: The sheriff’s drone probably wouldn’t see the theft in progress, and the sheriff’s dept. probably wouldn’t do anything about it if it did. The drones will be snooping to find us preppers, individualists and gun owners… what do they care about mere theft?
Nathan: In other words, despite their claims to be “serving the public,” they are as self-interested as any private individual. Indeed, if this man saw a neighbor’s trailer being stolen, he’d be more likely to do something about than the cops would, because he values his neighbor’s friendship more than the cops value anyone “under their care.” More and more, “to serve and protect” is nothing but an excuse to exercise power over the very people they are supposed to serve.
Our right to self-defense – Stupid cop tricks
Indian bus rape: Delhi sees rush for guns
(Guardian) Hundreds of women inquire about gun licences following woman’s murder, showing the lack of faith in law enforcement. … Indian media are currently reporting incidents of sexual violence that would rarely gain attention previously. In the last 24 hours these have included a teenager fleeing repeated abuse by her brother, who was allegedly assaulted on a bus by a conductor, a 15-year-old held for 15 days by three men in a village in Uttar Pradesh and repeatedly assaulted, an 11-year-old allegedly raped by three teenagers in the north-eastern city of Guwahati and two cases of rape in the city of Amritsar. One case reported on Tuesday involved a woman, also in a village in Uttar Pradesh, who suffered 90% burns after being doused in kerosene, allegedly by a man who had been stalking her for months. … The rush for firearms will cause concern, however. Police in Delhi have received 274 requests for licences and 1,200 inquiries from women since 18 December, two days after the woman and a male friend were attacked in a bus cruising on busy roads between 9pm and 10pm. … Delhi police received around 500 applications for the whole of 2011, up from 320 the previous year. … There are estimated to be 40m guns in India, the second highest number in the world after the US. Licences are hard to obtain and most are illegal weapons, many manufactured in backstreet workshops. Official ownership levels remain low – three guns for every 100 people – but in recent years the number of women holding arms has risen.
Mama’s Note: YES! Of course, the “license” c*** is too bad, but it sure is better than nothing.
Nathan: I’ve been following this, and it seems to have been a turning point in Indian society, where the old British insanity of disarming the people has lingered on far too long. In the same way, here in the US, although suppressed by the mainstream media, the Connecticut killings seem to have triggered in many people a demand to END the “hunting preserves for innocent victims” that Gun Free Zones have created. May this quickly become thousands and tens of thousands of women seeking to protect themselves. We KNOW the cops won’t – and can’t – do it.
However, that won’t stop them from trying to prevent ordinary citizens from doing it. As the above story points out, an unarmed society is a very DANGEROUS society, especially for women and children. The cops, ultimately, don’t care: indeed, the MORE dangerous the society, the more secure their jobs are. But just maybe even in India this evil cycle is being broken.
Home front – War against faith – Theft by government
Obama Administration says it can force Americans to act against their religion
(CNSNews.com) In a legal argument formally presented in federal court in the case of Hobby Lobby v. Kathleen Sebelius, the Obama administration is claiming that the First Amendment—which expressly denies the government the authority to prohibit the “free exercise” of religion—nonetheless allows it to force Christians to directly violate their religious beliefs even on a matter that involves the life and death of innocent human beings. …
The first argument the administration makes against the owners of Hobby Lobby is that Americans lose their First Amendment right to freely exercise their religion when they form a corporation and engage in commerce. A person’s Christianity, the administration argues, cannot be carried out through activities he engages in through an incorporated business. …
The second argument the administration makes to justify forcing Christians to act against their faith is more sweeping. Here the administration argues it can force a person to act against his religion so long as the coercion is done under the authority of a law that is neutral and generally applicable—in other words, as long as the law was not written specifically to persecute Christians as Christians, the government can use that law to persecute Christians.
Nathan: If this standard is accepted and applied across the board, the religious liberty of the past several hundred years is a dead letter. Indeed, the stage is cleared for full Roman-style persecution. For example, the mandated act of offering a sacrifice to the “divinity” of the emperor was not published “specifically to persecute Christians” but to ensure loyalty to the emperor, so the Congress could enact a similar law and use that law to punish Christians. How convenient. And if a family corporation (S or C) is organized to protect the family’s property and reduce liability – or even a partnership, limited liability company or any other form of organization, those people who are the “owners” or “employees” have NO rights protected by the Constitution when they are acting on behalf of the organization or as owners/employees of that organization: no right to free speech, no right to religious expression, no right to bail or trial by jury, no right of habeas corpus, indeed, no rights at all.
Of course, this would really matter a lot more if we HAD a Constitution that was actually in effect, and if we HAD a government (governments) constrained by it. But the Supreme Court in essence proclaimed the Constitution dead in their decision on the Abominable Act (ObummerCare) some time ago. So all that Hobby Lobby does is provide a graphic example and warning to anyone else of what will happen if we dare to revolt, however mildly. I applaud Hobby Lobby’s efforts, as stated in the next story.
Hobby Lobby says it will defy Obama
(Vision to America) This week Hobby Lobby announced it will defy the Obama HHS mandate and risk potential fines of up to $1.3 million per day. Life News reported:
Following a decision by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor denying Hobby Lobby’s request for an exemption from the Obama administration’s HHS mandate, the Christian retail company said it will defy the mandate.
Nathan: So much for the “Wise Latina Woman” routine, eh? As I said, I applaud their effort, but believe that the only thing that will happen is that Hobby Lobby will be destroyed by the government in order to make an example of them for the encouragement of the rest of business.
Mama’s Note: Small business, at least outside the underground economy, is a rapidly vanishing thing anyway. I don’t see any reason why religion should make a difference. Theft and coercion are evil, regardless of religious convictions or affiliation.
The Big Lie (Mainstream Media) – Theft by government
Most will face a rare tax increase with or without ‘fiscal cliff’ resolution
(Washington Post) Americans will face a broad increase in taxes Tuesday for the first time in at least two decades, ending a prolonged period of declining taxation that has become a defining characteristic of the U.S. economy.
The idea that Americans have been paying less in taxes for two decades is such an incredible lie that the mind boggles, but millions of people apparently sincerely “believe” this. The WaPo has a vested interest in having taxes increase, and in lying about taxes “going down.”
Mama’s Note: Which, of course, avoids the whole issue of any tax being outright theft to begin with. Theft is theft, regardless of the amount – or the victim.
Stupid government – Theft by government
Canada to give grants to parents of murdered, missing children
(Digital Journal) Ottawa – On Sunday it was announced that parents of missing and murdered children will be able to apply for income support, allowing them to take time from work. The program begins on Jan. 1.
Mama’s Note: Instead of leaving people alone to actually protect themselves and their children…
Nathan: IF this were the government’s business, it would make more sense to do things like reduce taxes so that the parents would be able to spend more time with their children and still make a living: preventing the problem, instead of a Band-Aid approach after the harm is done.
But none of this will matter: instead, yet another class of people will be indebted to the government. And the bureaucrats will have more control over that many more people.
And of course, as Mama Liberty suggests, we should note that if Canadian families still had the right to defend themselves, there might not be so many murdered and missing children. Canada should realize that India’s lesson applies to it.