“Public Schools,” the GOP, and other dangers to Liberty

Posted on 2012-11-24 by TPOL Nathan

Bob Livingston recently published a piece concerning one issue (not germane to this article) and as is often the case, the comments got way off track.  One of the commenters took umbrage with Mr. Livingston’s attacks on public schools (an attitude I share), which I reproduce with all its grammar and other errors:

Mr. Livingston,

I, like you have no love for the “Patriot Act.” I was appalled that President Bush was able to use 9/11 to push this monstrosity through and furious when President Obama supported it’s continuation (ultra Liberal my A$$). I do, however take umbrage with your incessant attacks on our education system. I realize that the right has as one it’s goals to end Federal involvement or privatize anything and everything, but I disagree with the assumption that education would improve simply by getting it out of government hands.

I have worked with my children’s teachers for many years. I have graded and sorted papers, assisted children who were having trouble in a subject and provided a male presence when needed to keep some children in line. What I found was not a lack of ability or dedication on the teacher’s part. They work long hours for little money, the class rooms are underfunded to the point that teachers often have to buy supplies out of pocket, and the materials are often outdated. No, the problem lies with the students and their parents. Disrespectful children and parents who won’t even take the time to help their children learn their ABCs create a class room where a small group requires extra attention and extra resources. This is not often an issue in private schools where they have the option of kicking students out for their failures. Privatize all schools and they inherit this problem. End federal involvement and you eliminate the general guidelines, but the parents remain the same.

Respect for k-12 teachers has been on a steady decline, often prompted by the “Right Wing Talking Heads” and individuals like your self. Claims that they are all empty headed liberals is nons ense and the idea that their union demands are the source of our educational system’s troubles are clearly more a part of the attack on unions in general then a thoughtful discussion of how to fix our schools. It’s time for a thoughtful discussion on restoring respect in the classroom and how our schools are administered.220

The above is all too often the knee-jerk reaction of people who claim to be both smarter and more educated than all us libbertorian types.  There were a few responses to “Kenetic”:

DaveH says:

How do you explain the “Honest” Abe Hoax, Kinetic? Did the kids just learn that at recess? To imagine that Government wouldn’t tout Big Government to the children in the Government-Controlled schools is just that — pure imagination.

Our “primitive” (at least according to the Progressive Propaganda) ancestors knew over 300 years ago the potential for indoctrination that existed when Government was allowed to control the schools. How have so many decent people come to believe otherwise?

Someone had to jerk Dave H’s chain, of course, and really stuck his foot in his mouth, showing (again) another example of exactly the point: government-run, tax-supported schools mean government propaganda.  Government must promote the myths of Lincoln and the Roosevelts and secession and education run by the government.

eddie47d says:

In Dave H’s mind it always has to be Progressive propaganda or blame the Liberal and so forth. Lincoln was a Republican and most Republicans were and still are Conservative. If there is a history being sold on Abraham Lincoln it was brought to us courtesy of Republicans. Time for Dave to get a reality check for that history was written long before Progressive was a common word.

True, “eddie47d,” or before “socialist” or “communist” or even “libertarian” were common.  Even Lincoln advocates will never claim that “Honest Abe” was a conservative.  Hamiltonian, maybe, but not conservative. Fortunately, some other people provided at least a somewhat educated response.

CJ says:

Lincoln’s ‘Republican’ party is NOTHING like that of today. They are similar in name only. The activities of the 19th centruy party have more in common to the 21st century Democrats. I use the example of Lincoln forcing Tennessee to rejoin the union by only allowing citizens of the state who voted for him in his election, or would swear loyalty to him, to vote on rejoining. As mentioned, the education ‘system’ in the U.S. has biased the understanding of history in its favor, which is far from the facts.

Of course, anyone who REALLY sees the modern GOP for what it is: the party of Romney and McCain and Dole and Boehner and T. Roosevelt and A. Lincoln and R. Nixon, realized that the Republican Party hasn’t changed that much.  And this little example of Tennessee is a footnote to the real history.  As the next guy points out:

Sam Boes says:

There is an ironic reason the GOP color today is “red” on the maps. Lincoln, Fremont and the rest of the founders of the GOP before the War between the States were progressives and many of their number were Socialists who fled from the failed Socialist Revolutions in Europe in 1848: they came to America to get a new start – in promoting their ideals.

They did it in a way that gave the appearance of following traditional American politics, but THEY are the ones that turned many of the states which remained LOYAL to the Union into military dictatorships (Maryland, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio), THEY are the ones that precipitated the crisis and set up the temptation to hotheads in South Carolina to fire the first shots, THEY are the ones that set up the Indian Reservation system, THEY are the ones whose military occupation of the South poisoned black-white relations, THEY are the ones who created the first American empire of the Philippines and all the other conquests from Spain, and if not originating then tacitly supporting and not repealing the policies of Wilson, FDR, and Johnson. So don’t think that the real leadership – the elite – of the GOP today is anything remotely resembling “conservative” or even “American.”

Another mother had to support public schools – and again cites the propaganda about public schools that is so heavily pushed today (and for that matter, for the last fifty years):

CaroleAnn says:

I agree with you on the subject of education, public schools educated the majority of us during our country’s greatest times. I also disagree with privatizing everything, that only makes services out of reach to most people.

But the Patriot Act is too important to shove aside.

Sam Boes also had to respond to her and “Kenetic 1” both:

Sam Boes says:

Dear Kinetic 1:

Believe me, the “public schools” (government-run, tax-funded) are key parts of the transnational liberal agenda. My parents were both public school teachers and got out of the system when they could no longer teach the truth (and my mother was a MUSIC and ART teacher!, my father a social studies/history teacher) and when discipline and standards were destroyed. I myself taught as a substitute teacher while going to college (I was an Army Cadet and now am an Army officer): I’ve seen the deterioration for decades: my sons spent some time in public schools mostly to let them see the evil in it; they were schooled at home and in private schools so that they could LEARN. The school system we have today was imported from Prussia specifically to “make good citizens” which could be controlled by government and industry, but as Americans tend to do, we “improved it” to make it into a hideous system which both makes the student malleable and subject to control by their “betters” and effectively dumbs them down to the lowest possible common denominator. Teachers who stay in and support the system with its sickening (and intentional) flaws and results deserve no respect: either they are hypocrites or they are themselves products of the brainwashing they are now giving students and incapable of human reasoning. This especially goes for the teachers who claim to be religious.

Readers may not be so interested in this exchange as I was, but it shows that more and more people are rejecting the propaganda that has supported institutions that have destroyed this once-great nation.  Institutions like the “Grand Old Party,” and “public schools” have infiltrated and wrecked homes, churches, communities, and towns and cities.  Their work was always “an alternative” to the agendas of the Democratic and other “left” leaning parties and organizations, and the supposed dangers of ill-educated and nihilist mobs: but in reality, they were supporting just those kinds of things.

It is reported that new Texas curriculum standards encourage students at various ages to consider the Boston Tea Party (the original one in 1774, not the current libertarian Boston Tea Party or the GOP-oriented “conservative” Tea Party movement) to be an example of terrorism, and for American patriots seeking to regain and keep the “liberties of Englishmen” as terrorists.  This is not the only deadly thing to come out of Texas schoolbook depositories (other than L. Harvey Oswald’s bullets): Texan educators and educrats are nearly as notorious as California’s for propagandizing and dumbing down the curriculum.  But the truth is, virtually EVERY state does this, and the idea that Federal standards are the only reason to reject public schools and promote the separation of school and state is a dangerous weakness in the movement.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49D: Comments on Commentaries and other news

Posted on 2012-11-22 by TPOL Nathan

Commentary on commentary:  Unions – Home front

A Thanksgiving message in solidarity with Wal-Mart strikers
(Center for a Stateless Society, by Kevin Carson) “A wave of strikes by workers with no ties to any recognized union is a fundamental departure from the conventional model of unionism. But it’s also a return to an older model of organizing — updated for the network age. … This model of activism is just another example of the way agile networks run circles around twentieth century-style bureaucratic, hierarchical institutions like giant corporations and government agencies. Workers don’t need bureaucratic dinosaurs like the NLRB or AFL-CIO to protect them against big business. It’s big business that needs the state for protection.” (11/20/12)

Nathan: While I agree with much of what Kevin writes, it is obvious that Big Union has their fingers in this pie up to the elbows:  their hatred of Wal-Mart is visceral and they have definitely spent millions to support this “grassroots activism.”  Kevin is right: workers don’t need the AFL-CIO, but if this succeeds, you can bet that they will have the AFL-CIO whether they want it or not.

Commentary on commentary: War on some drugs, Government-run, tax-funded schools

We need to end the drug war!
(Liberty For All, by Mary J. Ruwart) “To save our children, we need to get drugs out of our schools. The only way to do that is to take the profit out through re-legalization. You don’t see pushers selling tobacco and alcohol in the schools because there isn’t the profit margin that prohibition brings. If we’re serious about saving our kids, we have to stop the pushers byslashing their profits.” (11/20/12)

Nathan: Mary is right, regarding drugs in schools, and re-legalization certainly will help with that (as much as ANYthing will help government-run, tax-funded schools that does not include separation of school and state).  Of course, getting the “legal” drugs (like Ritalin and all its sisters) out of the schools won’t hurt.

BUT Mary is overstating her case, and that is bad.

YOU DO see “pushers” selling both tobacco and alcohol in the schools, middle schools AND high schools, and sometimes even elementary schools.  We don’t call them that, but they are there, in large part because (1) they have a captive market, (2) schools are cesspools, and (3) there is prohibition and an underground economy as a result.

Drinking IS a problem for schools, as is smoking.  And I would suspect in most rural Western and Southern American high schools, on buses heading to and from school and events, you will STILL find a bunch of “not-empty” soda cans with tobacco juice in them, just as you did in the ’60s and ’70s.  These things you will always have with us, in part because we still have a partial alcohol and tobacco prohibition, one that is age-based. And in part because we have parents that refuse to accept responsibility, or allow/encourage their children to behave irresponsibly.

No, I am not advocating selling alcohol in schools  or even offering beer on the lunch menu.  And I am not advocating smoking in schools.  But unless we recognize ALL the factors, we can’t deal with the problems.  Government, and government-run, tax supported schools, are NOT the answer.  And JUST getting drugs out of schools won’t “save our children” unless a lot of other things are done.  Mary knows this, but she comes across a bit off message.

ON TO SOME OTHER NEWS:

Islamic wars: South Asian Front – War on religion
Pakistan: Blasphemy case against girl to be dropped
(Christian Science Monitor) “In what is being termed a historic verdict by the higher courts in Pakistan, charges against a Christian girl accused of blasphemy were dropped on Tuesday, in response to an appeal filed by her council of lawyers. ‘The police have withdrawn the charges and quashed the case against her’ confirmed Tahir Naveed Chaudhry, one of her lawyers, saying that the 14-year-old Rimsha Masih was quite relieved and happy about the court’s decision. Human rights activists in Pakistan say this is a positive development and will set a precedent in the future for the judiciary and law enforcement agencies to act responsibly in cases of blasphemy.” (11/20/12)

Nathan: This is, of course, good news that they are not going to execute a 14-year-old girl and make her a martyr for the faith.  But she is actually in very great danger of being attacked and killed by those who will take the court decision as a personal affront and challenge, and if they DO succeed in killing her, you can be sure that either they will not be prosecuted or will have their hands slapped.  This has happened time and again in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Iran.  As for it setting a precedent?  Don’t hold your breath.

War on some drugs
Pat Robertson Advocates Making Marijuana Legal on 700 Club
(Daily Paul) Pat Robertson Advocates Making Marijuana Legal on 700 Club 2.5 million, 62% of prisoners in federal prisons are there for drug crimes. The highest rate of incarceration on earth.  Even more are there for crimes which “need to be punished” but are NOT threats to the peace and security of the community.  Billions are spent to lock up “people we are mad at.”  Justice should be about restitution and not revenge.

Nathan:  Robertson’s 9-minute video shows (as I’ve pointed out elsewhere) that “conservatives” are seeing the war on some drugs for what it is; a war on people and a war for control. I am no fan of Pat Robertson or The 700 Club, but he is talking a lot of sense.

Debby: He has had some sort of epiphany, clearly.

Mama’s Note: Interesting indeed… the TRUTH has never changed an iota, but suddenly we have all kinds of people jumping on the bandwagon (or hanging off the back). My impression of Robertson has always been that he’s happy to tell people what they really want to hear, one way or another. I doubt highly he has any honest convictions of his own.

Stupid People Tricks
PETA: Turkeys are a mistreated minority
(Political Outcast) They’re at it again, and this time the culprit is President Obama. The occasion is Thanksgiving and specifically the tradition of the president’s “pardoning” of a Thanksgiving turkey. … By pardoning the turkey, Obama will be sparing the bird’s life. So, what is PETA’s beef? They wrote a letter to the President urging him not to participate in this “outdated and humiliating ritual.” Humiliating to the turkey that is. They compared these “gentle, intelligent” birds to blacks, “gays,” women and other mistreated groups who PETA say are ridiculed and mocked. The letter stated:

”You understand so well that African-Americans, women, and members of the LGBT community have been poorly served throughout history, and now I am asking you to consider other living beings who are ridiculed, belittled, and treated as if their sentience, feelings, and very natures count for nothing.”

The letter went on to explain that birds can’t even be pardoned in the first place. They said that the only thing these turkeys were guilty of was “being born into a world of prejudice.”

They urged the White House to serve delicious “tofurky” instead of murdering the innocent but tasty bird.

Nathan:  Oh, my.  First, according to statistics, counting their wild ken, turkeys are NOT a minority:  there is about 1 turkey produced (hatched and grown and hunted or harvested and EATEN) per person per year:  we average 16 pounds per person per year eating it – and that of course does not include the MILLIONS of loyal PETA members and other vegetarians.  PETA claims that their “very natures count for nothing,” and I MUST disagree: their nature is to be TASTY, and that counts for a lot.  Fortunately, Thanksgiving comes after election day or the “messiah” might have been tempted to end the horrid ritual to get a few more PETA votes.  As usual, PETA is a source of almost endless amusement.

Mama’s Note: “Tofurky?” That even sounds nasty.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49C

Posted on 2012-11-22 by TPOL Nathan

News Briefs and Thoughts (from various sources: not all have links)

An Oklahoma City federal judge has determined that Hobby Lobby CAN be forced to violate their practice of religion by doing anything that the federal bureaucrats want them to do regarding health care, abortion, contraceptives and all the rest of ObummerCare. They will appeal, of course, DC forbid that people organized as businesses or owning businesses can have their liberty.

Churches in New York State, claiming to represent “the working poor” demanded that NY legislators raise the minimum wage AND replenish food banks stripped bare by victims of Sandy.  The legislators plan to raise their own salaries. The “advocates” don’t care what gets stolen from people, as long as their clientèle get a piece of the pie.  And they refuse to understand basic economics:  minimum wages HARM poor people.

Paul Krugman, the 2008 Nobel Laureate Economist and professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (such a set of credentials tells us what side HE is on) says we need to return to the “good old days” of high tax rates, and that the wealthy should pay more taxes.  He likes the idea of paying twice what they do today. So, according to him (and too many who claim to be “conservative”) it is okay for the government to steal about anything it wants to.  Actually, at the levels HE is talking about: 70 to 90%, the better word than “theft” is “SLAVERY.”

The current Episcopalian Bishop of New Hampshire, Gene Robinson (an open homosexual), has spoken out firmly against school vouchers, charter schools, and religious schools, saying “‘I am a believer in public education and I believe every dollar diverted from public education either by religious schools or by charter schools is a tragedy,’ said Robinson. [A voucher] takes away from this great mission that is so embedded in the life of this country. . . . I just favor full and un-diverted support for those public schools.’”  Mr. Robinson certainly mixes politics, religion, and sexuality in a distinctive way:  he supports education of, by, and for the government because that way morality is left out.  Yet none of the usual Tranzi watchdogs protecting us from an unholy alliance of church and state seem to be screaming.

Cows with guns?
Cows Flee California Seeking a Better Economic Climate
It’s not just millionaires and billionaires who are fleeing the economic madness in California. Even cows are starting to depart for greener pastures. That’s right, 400 bovine refugees shuffled off to Kansas just this month, with more expected to follow as over 100 dairy farms in California close their doors. Why are cows voting with their hooves?

Mama’s Note: But the farmers are not in any way seeking a free market, of course.
Nathan: Too funny!  Have you ever seen the video “cows with guns” on line?   I really like this line: truth: “The main task of these programs is to make sure that market forces will never be allowed to balance supply and demand.” (The story continued from the above with: “It’s hard to find a government program as insane as the complex web of price supports, market orders, direct payments, diversion programs, herd reductions, import barriers, export subsidies, and stacked-to-the-rafters cheese warehouses that characterize Uncle Sam’s efforts to “rationally manage” the dairy market.”)  This is a case study in stupid government and loss not just of liberty but of money, all in wholesale lots (literally).  And they didn’t even talk about school milk programs!

War on Some Drugs
UN Tells US to Crack Down on State Drug Law Liberalization
(American Vision) Residents  of Washington and Colorado, expressing a winsome and entirely unjustified faith in voting as a means of reining in the state, approved measures decriminalizing recreational use of marijuana. In response, Raymond Yans, head of the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board, has called for Attorney General Eric Holder to ignore the law and continue cracking down on marijuana use and possession. Decriminalizing marijuana use, Yans insists, sends the “wrong message to the rest of the nation and it sends a wrong message abroad.”

Nathan:  A good sign in recent weeks – even since the election – is that a few conservatives and especially the quasi-libertarians that make up much of the most faithful religious community in the United States are starting to understand that the War on Drugs is really a war on people and freedom.  This story from American Vision, just such a religious organization, is an example.  This article also talks about more history of the War on Drugs and related matters, which if true, sheds a new light on HOW we got into this mess, but no way out.  Looking at this issue in detail is likely the subject of a separate commentary.

Tyranny – Stupid Cop Tricks
Arizona: Federal Checkpoints Enforce Litter Laws
(Info Wars via Political Outcasts) What was touted as an effort to make sure gun enthusiasts at an Arizona public shooting site pick up their shells after they finished shooting actually turned into a federal checkpoint where people’s cars were searched to substantiate arrests. Drivers were stopped and told before they entered that they could shoot as long as they picked up their empty bullet casings. Upon their departure, about 250 cars were stopped, and the drivers had to provide evidence that they picked up their empty shells.

But these Forest and National Park Rangers also used these stops as opportunities to search people’s cars and potentially issue citations and make arrests on unrelated charges.

Infowars.com reports: ”The officials also searched vehicles for other illegal items, including marijuana, alcohol and in one case an illegally killed deer. Four people were arrested on outstanding warrants and officers issued 11 citations, including one for underage drinking.”

Nathan: Assuming this is correct (Infowars.com isn’t always accurate), this is nothing but a sting operation and a clear violation of constitutional protections.  Yes, I know that too many people are too stupid to refuse a uniformed ape “permission” to search without a warrant, but the point is, these thugs are nothing more than a gang of shakedown artists.

Freedom of Speech – Congress in action
New Senate Bill Would Let Federal Agencies Read Your E-mail Without Warrant
(American Vision) This week we learned how far the FBI was reaching into emails even without warrants. Today we learn that the Senate is trying to give the same vast power to 22 federal agencies. CNET reports, A Senate proposal touted as protecting Americans’ e-mail privacy has been quietly rewritten, giving government agencies more surveillance power than they possess under current law, CNET has learned.  Patrick Leahy, the influential Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has dramatically reshaped his legislation in response to law enforcement concerns, according to three individuals who have been negotiating with Leahy’s staff over the changes. A vote on his bill, which now authorizes warrantless access to Americans’ e-mail, is scheduled for next week.  Leahy’s rewritten bill would allow more than 22 agencies — including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission — to access Americans’ e-mail, Google Docs files, Facebook wall posts, and Twitter direct messages without a search warrant. It also would give the FBI and Homeland Security more authority, in some circumstances, to gain full access to Internet accounts without notifying either the owner or a judge. . .

Nathan: No more freedom of speech: now they can read it, and if you say something someone doesn’t like, or which “offends” some one, or which causes some paranoid cop hacker to think you MIGHT cause some trouble: bingo.  They have you.  IF this bill passes.

Mama’s Note: So, if you are not comfortable with these spoiled rotten crybabies reading what you write… learn to use encryption. It’s easy, and it’s about as secure as anything on line can be.

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2012 Case Study in California Again Demonstrates Evils of Democracy

Posted on 2012-11-22 by TPOL Nathan

WHAT IS WRONG WITH “DEMOCRACY” – 2012 CALIFORNIA CASE STUDY

I gathered this information from various sources, regarding the voting results on various things in the People’s Democracy of California in this month’s elections.  My comments follow each.

  1. Voters approved Proposition 30 “temporarily” increasing the state sales tax and income tax on individuals making over $250,000.

The classic wolf and sheep voting on lunch was repeated here.  This is as temporary as the phone tax to pay off the Spanish-American War or the ban on owning gold (which lasted some 40 years, as I recall).  The democratic way is to allow the majority of voters to steal what they want from the minority.

  1. Voters defeated Proposition 31 that would have allowed the governor to cut the budget in fiscal emergencies.

Their heads are so deep in the sand that they could (and should) be buried that way.  Once up on a time, the idea behind republics (and constitutional monarchies) was that the legislature didn’t let the king (or executive) have everything he wanted to cause trouble and live lavishly.  California’s Democratic People’s Democracy has (along with others, I admit) reversed this: it is now the elected governor that suffering taxpayers and lenders have as a thin reed of hope against the greed and spendthrift legislature: but no more!

  1. Voters defeated Proposition 32 which would have prevented unions from stealing members’ dues to make campaign donations.

If you thought that the power of union (bosses) was waning, this should be a wake-up alarm.  Union members, unlike the rest of us, are enslaved not just by the government, but by their unions – in cahoots with government, of course.  And the donations are generally used to “persuade” legislators to raise spending and taxes, so the vicious circle continues.

  1. Democrats picked up two more votes in the state legislature giving them a supermajority, capable of passing any tax hikes they want.

Perhaps the best way to counter this is L. Neil Smith’s hyperdemocracy: UNANIMOUS CONSENT by the voters and in the legislature: throw their “democracy” back in their faces.  Ain’t gonna happen, of course: the way it is going to happen is that more and more people will leave California for any place with more liberty. (The big problem with that is, except for a few notable exceptions like our esteemed publisher, they bring the socialism and democracy and all the rest with them, and make life miserable for their new neighbors.)

Supposedly the Democratic Party leadership in the State Assembly says that they will not use this supermajority to raise taxes (be sure and visit their website for listings and photos of all the bridges that they are selling: London, Brooklyn, Bay, and Golden Gate).  Even if they leave taxes out, expect them to pass more and more California-style socialist and humanist edicts taking away the liberty of Californians, families, businesses and voluntary institutions.

Summary:  California will continue its downhill slide for the next two years: it will continue to endorse all the evils of spending, taxing, forced cultural conformity, over-regulation, murderous thug government at all levels, and democracy in general.  As a case study, I think we can accurately say that California is a failed state, just doing everything it can to speed up the inevitable collapse into chaos.

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Thanksgiving, 2012

Posted on 2012-11-22 by MamaLiberty

I’ve had a very hard time hearing and seeing the cheery “Happy Thanksgiving” greetings and messages this year, and am finding it almost impossible to say those words myself. That’s not because I don’t think we have anything to be thankful for, of course. I count my blessings every day, and am more grateful than ever for all of them, but I can’t put on a cheery face and forget all of the things going on right now that make this anything but a time for joyful celebration.

How can we “celebrate” when our government, in our name and with our money, continues to murder and torture people around the world, especially in the Mid East and right here at home? How can we bask in a holiday mood when that same government is plotting even more bloodshed and destruction, both abroad and here at home? How can we go on with “business as usual” with economic collapse hanging over our head like an avalanche?

I can’t.

Looking at the news, all of the war torn areas of the world, I think about the sick and elderly with no food or water, no shelter, clothing, medicine or light of any kind. I think about the women mourning the terrible and unjust loss of their children and husbands, not to mention their homes and entire way of life. I think about the children who have suffered the loss of their parents along with anything that resembles a sane world. I picture my own grandchildren in the photographs of the rubble and death.

My prayers continue for all of them, with fear and trembling for my part in allowing this to happen. How can we hope to avoid being held responsible for all of this, by God if not by the rest of the world? When will some “coalition of the willing” decide to invade and “liberate” US from the insane government that gleefully directs the murder of its own people, as well as so many others? Do we really want to ignite a third world war, and with nuclear bombs? Such insanity!!

My prayers and thoughts were also with all of the young men and women in the military all over the world. I pray for all of the mothers and sisters and relatives of those in the fighting, especially those who have lost their sons and daughters, husbands and fathers. My prayers are even more intense for those soldiers and Marines who have cast aside their own humanity and indulged in torture and murder. The pain and shame their parents and loved ones must endure is beyond my comprehension.

So, please pardon me for not wishing you a “Happy Thanksgiving.” I hope everyone will spend at least a little time this week contemplating their blessings in the light of what is happening in Israel/Gaza and elsewhere. It might not be a bad idea to start thinking about the very possible economic and political disasters about to descend on us here at home. It might be a good time to start thinking about survival. And, for those who profess to believe in God, there has never been a better time to get serious about prayer and repentance.

Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. Always has been, and always will be.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49B: Politics as Usual – NOOOO!

Posted on 2012-11-21 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2012
Lame Black Christian Cop-Out
(Blue Hornet) A black Christian Obama voter called me after the election. For years, I have informed him of Obama’s attacks on Christianity and anti-Christian agenda. He praised Romney for saying in his concession speech that we need to pray for our president. Then he added, “I prayed that God will bind everything in Obama that is not like Him.” Folks I politely, but quickly, ended our conversation. I was sickened by my friend’s weak attempt to cover his sell-out to skin-color under a shroud of Christian principles.

Nathan: This guy has been hearing many of the same things I have – the panic and fear of many religious people has not spiked but continues to rise, and the excuses grow daily.  Part of this is sour grapes, part is delusion (“he won’t be so bad,” or “Romney really wasn’t that good.”) and part is just sheer funk.  But at the same time, I have to question for many black Americans who claim to be godly. How, in the light of the clear commandments of Scripture, can you justify voting for someone simply because of the color of their skin and their claimed ethnicity?  SHOW me what “Christian principles” you are following there?

Crash of 2009 – Union follies
The Twinkie That Broke The Economy’s Back?
(Blue Hornet)  Sadly, the reality is that Hostess is not the only iconic American company that is in a huge amount of trouble right now. Sears just announced a loss of nearly 500 million dollars in the third quarter. Sears has been bleeding money like this for a couple of years, and if they continue to do so it will just be a matter of time before Sears is headed for liquidation as well.

Nathan: Penney’s too, is in serious trouble.  As is K-Mart and Macy’s and a slew of others.  Even Wal-Mart is not so healthy as it once was, and the growth of the smaller store chains (such as Shopko, which has now absorbed Pamida in name as well as fact, Dollar General, Dollar Store, and Family Dollar) are all showing signs of wear.  A prosperous economy can let even a poorly run company survive with a profit; an economy with severe problems, growing worse, can and does destroy companies.  Such creative destruction can be very good:  but if government gets involved, then look out.  As I write this, I see that a federal judge has halted the liquidation of Hostess, so the destruction may just continue.  I have now heard of MANY companies that have shelved plans for expansion and increased production (and therefore contracting and employment) as too risky with this next four years in mind, and a few companies who have cut back enormously, not just NOT filling vacancies, but closing offices and divisions and laying off a lot of people.  Merry Christmas, everyone!

Africa’s collapse – Islamic wars
Kenya: Police killed by Obama-affiliated Islamists
(Conservative Action Alerts)  According to … a World Net Daily news story, since his inauguration, President Obama’s family in Kenya has been on a mission to use the Obama name to transform Kenya from the nation’s current Christian majority to an Islamic majority that will spread Islamic law, or Shariah, throughout the country. Klein’s article claims the Kenyan Obama family members are devout fundamentalist Muslims known as Wahhabists, although there are no reports of membership in the al-Qaeda-affiliate Al Shabaab. Wahhabism originated in Saudi Arabia and is considered extremist by many Muslims.

Nathan: Who do we believe?  Probably not any of them:  cattle rustlers may claim to be on any side they chose, like raiders in Bleeding Kansas and in the Missouri Civil War during the War Between the States.  And, as usual, Muslims kill each other as much or more than they kill people of other religions.  None of us should be surprised that one faction would claim the American First Citizen’s family in Kenya are on their side.

Self Defense
Pennsylvania: Armed robber shot and killed
(Your Erie News) “Atkins reportedly walked into the store with a small handgun in anapparent attempt to rob the store.The clerk in the store was armed with a handgun and shot the suspect three times. Atkins stumbled from the store and collapsed a short distance away.” (11/19/12)

Mama’s Note: OK, then! No nonsense about a “permit” or possible charges for the defender. Stupid robber, armed clerk, dead robber. Short and sweet, as it should be.

Nathan:  What if he was actually just having a problem with a jammed round or a broken mainspring and was just coming into the store for assistance?  What if he was forced to attempt to do what he might have been doing by circumstances?  What if all he wanted was food for his hungry children?  What if he were starving?  Are they gonna do an autopsy? What if… what if…. what if this happened to more idiots who think that they have a right to use or threaten force to take money (or labor, or goods) away from people to use for whatever they see fit?

Mama’s Note: Same solution needed, of course. When it is painful and costly to be stupid, I suspect there’ll be a whole lot less of it.

Home front
The Preparedness Message Isn’t Reaching the Public
(eRepublic.com) Everyone agrees that citizen preparedness isn’t what it should be. How can the issue be fixed?

Nathan: Well, government is NOT the solution.  Indeed, perhaps the single BIGGEST obstacle to getting people to prepare for natural disasters and man made emergencies is the idea that whatever goes wrong, GOVERNMENT will come make everything right; provide food and water and shelter and replace everything damaged and pay for their lost wages and everything else.  So why prepare?  If you don’t need those things, the government won’t give them to you.   The grasshopper doesn’t have to worry about winter: his neighbor ants will have everything they saved taken by government and shared out with the ‘hopper.

Mama’s Note: Same as above… when stupidity and laziness becomes painful and costly, with nobody to bail them out… there will simply be far less of it.

New religions: global warming – Stupid government tricks
Another indicator that climate is falling off the threat radar: CIA shuts down Center on Climate Change and National Security
(What’s Up with That?)  Anthony: I suppose if the CIA doesn’t think enough of it to keep their center going, climate isn’t as much of a security problem as the NYT once claimed. I wonder what the pols and military guys on this list think about climate and national security these days? From my view, there are many other national security threats far more tangible and worrisome. –

Nathan:  Of course, given the CIA’s admirable track record (sarcasm, folks), this would be a reason for some people to start taking “climate change” seriously.  The entire mess is a government boondoggle: they must have figured they could get more money from Congress for OTHER delusional paranoid fantasies.  Zombie epidemics, perhaps, or Russian alliances with space invaders.

Her Majesty’s Subjects
EU exit would lead to less sovereignty, not more
(The Observer) As a poll shows 56% of Britons in favour of a straight EU exit, the British Sunday newspaper argues that the consequences of such a withdrawal would be dire.

Nathan: With those kinds of numbers, the Tranzis in the UK are running scared.  If the UK punches out of the EU, more are sure to follow, and who knows what?  Franco-British nuclear exchanges?  No more topless pasty Brits on Spanish beaches?  Chaos and worse!  So the media make up these kinds of scare tactics:  The cartoon shows a bowler-hatted and ratty English civil servant rowing a beat-up boat way from a giant EU liner which holes are patched with German and French flags patching its holes to keep it from taking on more water.

European Debt crisis
France’s elites are in denial
(Die Welt) Accused of sticking its head in the sand over the crisis, France has been downgraded by Moody’s and become the biggest problem child in Europe. To the political elite in Paris, though, all that doesn’t matter, writes an author from Berlin in the conservative Welt.

Nathan: The Brit Tranzis are not the only ones with severe problems facing reality.  The French cannot possibly imagine post-historical France being a washed-out loser.

First Citizen – South Asian Front
In Burma, Obama Adapts His Language to Suit His Audience
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: As if THIS was something different?  Honestly, this huskster sounds like a real old-style conservative sometimes, but his brand of jetwash smells to me.  I don’t know why other people can’t see it for what it is.

Islamic wars: Arab street revolt
Graham Warns Egypt it Could Lose U.S. Aid
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Yeah, right.  When everyone else in the world does – when the US economy and government and everything else comes crashing down.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-49A: A Bad Week

Posted on 2012-11-20 by TPOL Nathan

General News and Notes

Politics didn’t seem to slow down over the weekend, with every indication that some people want to start the 2016 Presidential Election Campaign right now!  Sorry, I don’t buy it, as I mention later.

But in other news, we see a lot more problems with cops all over the country.  We are also seeing more medical problems cropping up: some seem to be intentionally structured and spun to create panic, though in favor if what I don’t know.

The new Lincoln movie came out (in time for the 149th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address on 19 NOV (Monday), continuing to show him as the demigod he has been since his death.  The neat thing is that SEVERAL conservative and libertarian columnists came out of the closet on Honest Abe, condemning him for the tyrannical Chicago politician and mass-murderer that he was.

One of those who did NOT so recognize the man he has placed on a pedestal nearly as high as that he has Joe Smith Jr. and Brigham Young is Glen Beck.  Too bad, but the LDS never did look into the way Abe did them dirty in 1861-1865 and set the stage for the bitter disappointments and the other events of the 1865-1915 period.  Salt Lake City should be the heart of those who see Honest Abe for what he was, not the demigod that Gutzon Borglum and so many others have made him. Of course, thanks to places like Lincoln, Nebraska, Mount Rushmore, and the Lincoln Memorial, it is very unlikely that anything but a tiny, tiny minority will ever recognize Lincoln for the conniving progressive that he was.

As Porter Stansberry pointed out in his essay/sales pitch “The Third Term,” US history can be bounded by great massive jumps in the growth of government.  Porter names two: the Teddy Roosevelt-Progressive Era of the 1900s, and the FD Roosevelt-New Deal Era of the 1930s, and predicts that we are on the verge of another.  But he forgets to point out that the 1855-1865 era was another such jump in government, in which the Euro-socialists who allied themselves with native Populists and branded themselves as Republicans used a surge in wealth (California then Colorado gold and Southern cotton) to destroy the nation.

Meanwhile, that just reminded me that I’ve heard NOTHING about Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike, since it was released over a month ago.  Was it THAT bad?  Of course, our major cinema movie going is in the Four Corners, where I think they just released a new Disney Princess Movie – Mulan or Pocahontas or something: it can be a bit slow.  I’m sure it will show up in Redbox soon enough.

Which reminds me: the very last vestiges of Blockbuster, one the darling of the movie-rental industry, vanished last week: the last few kiosks have been scrapped and replaced by RedBox.  There are a  few competitors to Redbox left: Mr. Movie and a host of mom-and-pop places (even some Radio Shack-branded businesses), but even the pawn shops won’t take VHS anymore.  (In fact, they are more willing to take 8-tracks,  pre-recorded cassettes, and vinyl – for the collector and nostalgia crowd.)  You younger readers should call your grandparents to have these terms explained to you.

On to some news items:

Self-defense: not in NYC
Is serial killer taking out NYC shopkeepers?

Mama’s Note: Of course, no mention whatsoever about how one might defend themselves… But they could talk about “serial killers” often if they included the ones who wear a badge…

Nathan:  “Serial killer” is one of those buzzwords that they use to terrorize people and get them to support the cops more.

Islamic wars: Canaanite front
Israeli lawmaker: ‘There are no innocents in Gaza, mow them down’
(digitaljournal.com)
A member of Israel’s parliament has joined the nation’s interior minister in calling for the mass slaughter of civilians in the besieged Gaza strip, arguing that there are no innocent people there because they elected Hamas to lead them.

Mama’s Note: Just so sick…

Nathan:  Ah, yes, imitating the example of great leaders in the past:  Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, to name a few.

The attacks by people in Gaza on places in Israel are real; whatever their motivation, they are the equivalent of firing a shotgun into a crowded room without bothering to aim, but sooner or later they get someone: three Israelis have been killed in this latest round of fighting, and dozens injured: a far cry from more than 100 Gaza residents killed by more than 1300 strikes again the thousand or so Arab missiles fired at Israel.  While the weight of the attacks seems disproportionate, as do the weight of the casualties, the tactics used on each side, and the tactics which are available to be used, dictate that imbalance.  In a situation like this, it is hard to lay blame properly.  But we can easily draw the line at the “nits make lice” idea (Chivington, 1864) and the bomb-them-back-to-the-stone age idea together with killing them all off, like this scumbag Israeli statist suggests.  Even if that is the attitude that both of the last two occupants of 1600 PA have taken.

First Citizen’s minions – Theft by government
Treasury Secretary Geithner: Lift Debt Limit to Infinity
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Is he saying this because HE believes in magic wands, or because (after the election) HE thinks the electorate believes in magic wands.

Home front – Crash of 2009
Gallup: Americans Who Think We’ll Be Worse Off in 4 Yrs Doubled in 4 Yrs
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: But they didn’t vote, did they?  OR figured it doesn’t really matter who claims to be in charge.

Stupid People
Oliver Stone Tells Islamic Media: Petraeus Scandal Is ‘American Puritanism’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: However, he conveniently forgets that this and previous Democratic administrations have made it very plain that they don’t care who gets in whose pants, until now.  And that it is NOT “public pressure” that caused Petraeus to “come clean” and resign.  This is Chicago politics, not American puritanism.

Stupid people – Stupid government
New Beltway Express Lanes–Celebrated by DOT Secretary–Open With Multiple Crashes
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Have you ever considered that it is possible to construct roads, especially in urban areas, that prevent virtually ALL crashes?  And that seldom do people ever sue the government agencies that design, build, and maintain most roads – we just assume that WE and not the roads are at fault, at least the vast majority of the time.  Yet, the government continues to do a bad job.  Why?  No competition, and the pernicious doctrine of sovereign immunity.

Stupid Congress
Pelosi: Any Deal Must Increase Tax Rates; Majority of House Has Pledged Not To
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: I suppose that she could volunteer to increase tax rates on herself?  Problem is, you know that a LOT of the GOP types will sell themselves to the highest bidder, even if the bidder is paying with stolen goods.

Politics 2016
Rubio Goes to Iowa
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Gag.  Do we REALLY need to start the 2016 election campaign in November of 2012.  Yes, I’ve read the articles and pieces touting a “Rubio-Rand Paul” ticket in 2016: there is a good chance there won’t BE a GOP in 2016, folks.

Mama’s Note: If we are really lucky, there won’t be any campaign or “election” at all by that time. On the other hand… that might be our only spot of luck for some time.

Funny people tricks
Obama Supporters ‘Not Responsible Enough To Own A Firearm,’ AZ Gun Store’s Sign Declares
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: This actually showed up on Cope’s website (Cope Reynolds)  and several other places last week.  And the truth is, Cope (a friend) had a sign pretty much like this in his first store back in 2008, in Farmington (NM) before he moved first to Luna (NM) and then to Pinetop (AZ).  But somehow, this time, the conservative-libertarian media picked it up, and so may the liberals, for all I know.  It is intended to be funny, and to make a point about his business doing business the way HE wants to and not anyone else.  But in reality, we WANT stupid people who do things like vote for the First Citizen (or for Romney) to buy guns: it is a human right.  Even felons have the right to buy guns to defend themselves.  If they are not responsible, they’ll eliminate themselves soon enough, and good riddance.

Mama’s Note: Amen!

Stupid government
San Francisco Eyes Ban on Public Nudity Except at ‘Gay Pride’ Events
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Fat chance they have of getting THIS law passed – or if they do, obeyed.  This is SanFran we are talking about.  People will obey the ban on plastic bags and pocket knives before they obey a ban on nudity.

Mama’s Note: The weather pretty much takes care of the naked body thing in public… here in Wyoming anyway, but I submit that there just might be something more disgusting than actual nudity…

Went to the WalMart (what IS it about that place) in Gillette the other day and a woman ahead of me in line had super tight shorts on, just barely covering her 400 pound butt. I would have lost my lunch if I’d had any yet. The tight, low necked tank top wasn’t doing my tummy any favors either, but at least it was long enough not to expose her in the middle too.

People who run around simply naked are at least more honest… but I don’t know why there should be a “law” against it, any more than some “law” against openly carried guns. Or “laws” that require a woman to wear a tent.

The idea that everyone gets to dictate to everyone else based on their own desires and needs is a very big part of the problems we face today. Live and let live. If your neighbor’s nudity bothers you, don’t look, or better yet, don’t live there. Communities will come to their own standards and preferences most likely, without the need for the force of law.

First Citizen – Islamic wars: Canaanite front
Obama Suggests Israel’s Plight Not a Result of Arab Spring ‘Democratization’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Whistling in the dark, without a doubt.  Heaven forbid that “democracy” is NOT the wonderful blessing and gift from on-high that the government-lovers want us to believe.

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I Remember Earth

Posted on 2012-11-19 by MamaLiberty

I’ve not yet decided whether this will become a new novel… but it seemed like prophesy, so it seemed good to share it. There is hope for the future. Always has been and always will be. The human race will have to endure many hardships, trials and sorrows to get there. But then, we always have. No matter how dark the night, the dawn cometh.

I Remember Earth
By Susan Callaway (MamaLiberty)

“This is how it used to be on earth,” said Becky, glad to finally see the night sky without the massive dome that had stood between the people and their world for so long.

“How do you know?” Cassie’s “big sister” tone was annoying, as always. She refused to leave the doorway of their underground home, but she had been curious until she saw the open sky.

“I’ve always known,” Becky replied, a little dreamily, “always.”

The planet had been called “Mars” for many thousands of years, long before the establishment of the colonies there by free traders in the earth year 2030. A hundred years later, the teraforming had been completed and the old domes of the settlements had begun to come down one by one. Earlier that day the last segment had come down over Becky’s town.

The final success of teraforming the planet had spawned a controversy in some places over whether or not to dismantle the domes, and a few towns had decided to retain them. Those few people who simply could not be comfortable with life under the open sky would likely populate them, at least for a while.

But now the people were free to expand their towns and increase their productivity so they could truly participate in the growing trader network among colonized planets, most well behind Mars in teraforming. The early wars with earth had delayed the process badly for all of them in the beginning, and many people were convinced that only the collapse of political society on earth in 2050 had spared them the fate of the moon colony, now just a bleak cinder in the sky of the home world. Total nuclear war on earth had followed, and the planet no longer supported any rational human habitation beyond a few research domes at the poles.

“It’s not safe!” Cassie cried, “It’s simply indecent to be so exposed,” then vanished behind the closed door.

Becky walked out a little farther, actually feeling a little vulnerable herself. A lifetime of conditioning is not overcome in a moment, or even a few years. But she welcomed the ever decreasing uneasiness and knew that the freedom of the heavens above her were the normal and precious birthright of all humans.

A bright star rose in the east, and the blue light seemed to blend with a sudden burst of moving air that Becky recognized as what earth folk had called the wind. The scent of the fresh turned soil in the valley combined with the tang of salt from the nearby sea. Strangeness blended with a haunting familiarity… things she had never experienced before woke memories she couldn’t account for.

“Come to bed,” her mother said, voice distorted by the speaker beside the door. “The sky will still be there in the morning.”

Posted in Mama's Rants | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48E – Getting busted

Posted on 2012-11-17 by TPOL Nathan

Politics 2012 – Democracy
In 1996 House Democrats also won the popular vote but remained in the minority
(Washington Post) Preliminary vote totals indicate that nationwide, more people voted for Democrats than for Republicans, although the GOP won a clear majority of seats in the House of Representatives.

Nathan: This article (which gets kudos for interviewing Richard Winger of Free Ballot Access) seems to bear monitoring, as the gist of the argument seems to be that the seats each party has in the House of Representatives should be based on the total number of votes, not on the votes in individual districts.  That is very much akin to a nasty little idea called proportional voting, in which people cast votes for PARTIES and not necessarily for individual candidates, and then the parties decide (usually but not always in advance) who gets to actually sit in the chamber.  To me, that is even more evil than most democratic institutions, and therefore no doubt just what the mainstream media and other Tranzis want.

Welfare state – Politics 2012
Ohio to take hit on federal food aid

(ToledoBlade.com)  The average food-stamp recipient receives $138 per person, per month, according to state statistics. As of August, more than 1.7 million individual Ohioans, or about 869,000 families, received the assistance. A total of $3 billion in benefits was issued in 2011 in Ohio; the program is federally funded… Because of the way the federal government calculates utility expenses for people receiving the benefit, a mild winter nationwide last year, and a lower price for natural gas, many families could experience a significant cut in aid.

Nathan: They want to cut the average person’s food aid by $50/month, or down to $78 per person/month.  It is hard to feel sympathy for them.  Obviously, this is what Ohio voted for, right?

Mama’s Note: They’d likely have a lot fewer problems if they actually bought real food, but that’s not likely to happen either. I do quite well on less $ than that per month for food alone – and I could continue to do well on considerably less if I worked at it harder and gave up little things like my coffee. And yes… seems to me that if the shoe fits… they’d best wear it. Sadly, they’ll likely be first in line to steal and kill when the subsidies stop coming, the grocery stores are empty and nobody there knows where their next meal is coming from – or if they’ll ever have another at all.

Home Front – Tyranny
DHS using social media to track threats
(www.govtech.com) Do you feel like you’re getting a cold? Want to tweet about it? The Department of Homeland Security hopes you do:

“Social media will soon be used as an early detection tool for biological attacks. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) hired Accenture to conduct a one-year, $3 million test that will attempt to spot public health trends using the data available in open social networks, company officials announced Nov. 8. Such a program would serve to help solve problems like the 2001 anthrax letters, 2003 SARS outbreak, 2009 bird flu pandemic and 2011 nuclear emergency in Japan.”

Nathan: So, tweeting may be bad for your health – at least your liberty/political health.

Europe’s Fall
No sacrifices without hope
(Project Syndicate) If the EU had greater legitimacy, Europeans would agree more readily to the efforts that are asked of them, because they could then expect to see these sacrifices rewarded.

Nathan:  What sacrifices are NEEDED for the EU to demand of Europeans?  They face no SIGNIFICANT internal nor external threat except the EU government (and maybe their own national governments).  Why should they sacrifice ANYthing for the bureaucrats of Brussels and the black robes of Strassbourg?  Face it, as international or multinational or even national organizations go, the EU has almost NO “legitimacy.”  No one died or shed blood or killed for its founding and existence, it was not established to defend against any threat, it was not a union of people of like faith, ancestry or philosophy.  It claims to exist for many reasons but in reality has no purpose, no reason TO exist.  And any “rewards” it can offer must first be stolen from someone else.

Europe’s Fall
The Russians invade the Adriatic coast
(De Volkskrant) They come for the sea, sun, for peace and quiet … and business opportunities. Taking advantage of old historical and cultural ties, more and more Russians are settling the former Yugoslav republic and EU member candidate Montenegro.

Nathan: Ah, yes, invasion by tourist.  For a Western European power of the 20th and 21st Century, this is no big thing:  the massive 40-year-old invasion of British tourists in Spain and Portugal and Greece translates to no political power or influence whatsoever.  But Russians?  A different matter entirely.  Russian colonization of the old republics of the USSR lingers today, as it does in the old Soviet satellites.  The former Yugoslavia avoided much of that, but now, in a “more-free” era, the Russian ambition is again obvious.  One of the long-frustrated visions of history has been to unify the North Slavs (Russians of various sorts) with the South Slavs (all the Balkan Slavic states).  Is this now a new way of accomplishing that, and giving Russia the warm-water port to the world it tried to get through Byzantine measures for so long?

Self-defense
Woman pulls gun on flasher: ‘I’m going to blow your brains out’
(NBC News)  A flasher allegedly got more than he bargained for when he approached a woman at a lake in Washington state this week: a Ruger .380 pointing back at him. “I put the magazine in my gun. I cocked it,” the woman told The Daily News online. “I said, ‘You need to leave or I’ll shoot you. I’m going to blow your brains out.’”

Mama’s Note: I’m glad she had a gun… but she was not really “armed” since she was carrying it unloaded. She’s fortunate that he didn’t attack her.  It doesn’t sound as if he was a real threat… just a nasty nuisance. I don’t really see any justification for her to draw a gun… But I wasn’t there and he may have seemed more threatening than this report indicates, of course. I would have thought the dog would be enough deterrent, actually.

Nathan: Some people consider flashers to be just guys working up the “nerve” to go ahead and rape, or that at least some are that way.  And dogs aren’t much of a fear factor anymore, for whatever reason.  Maybe too many breeds have had the aggression and loyalty bred out of them, or something like that.  Of course, a flasher is usually of low intelligence and less willpower, so he may just have been too stupid to take the dog into account.

Debby: In Washington State?  I am surprised she is not getting arrested.

Mama’s Note: Welcome to our discussion, Debbie! I hope you’ll be a frequent contributor.

Nathan:  Never fear, there are a lot of excuses for getting arrested or just abused by the cops, as the next several stories point out.

Minneapolis Police Arrest Man for Photographing Arrest
(Photography Is Not a Crime ) When Paul Leason spotted a group of Minneapolis police officers making an arrest, he pulled out his camera and began taking photos from a public sidewalk.  One of the officers spotted him and ordered him to keep walking.  Leason, 23, a member of Cop Block, knew his rights and asserted them, which as we all know, is the quickest way to land in jail.  One officer told him to “get the f*** out of here.”  Leason responded by saying “f*** the police.”  Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by three cops who kept calling him “faggot.”

Nathan: Well, he did goof by talking back to the cops the same way they did talk to him. M’polis Police have a bad rep with AmerInd and other minorities, you know, like people who believe in liberty and responsibility.

K9’s coming to a neighborhood near you!
(video) K9’s are the biggest scam ever used by police to circumvent the 4th amendment.   The pirates are now in “training” on how to use dogs as a cover to randomly invade houses and enter their property without a lawful warrant.

Nathan:  This is a constant effort by police to find a way around supposedly-ironclad constitutional guarantees of basic human rights.  Of course, the judges seem to have very little problems with such antics.  I fear the best way to get cops to start obeying the law is to shoot them down as they are doing to more and more people.

Mama’s Note: Not that we advocate the initiation of aggression in any way.  People do need to start defending themselves and their neighbors, which is not the same thing.

Stupid government – Home front
FEMA orders residents to stop giving out supplies after Hurricane Sandy
(Shelter Island Reporter)   Televised and published pictures plus personal appeals of Hurricane Sandy victims in New York and New Jersey touched the hearts of Shelter Islanders who generously filled truckloads of clothing and other goods bound for Island Park and Long Beach last week. But the word from the Federal Emergency Management Agency now is “stop.” […]

Nathan:  This is another example of cop tyranny: the FEMA are backed up by NYPD?  The agencies fear that they are losing control and that they won’t get the credit they “deserve.”

Debby: Just go ahead and arrest me:  humanitarian aid trumps government regulations.
Ohio Photojournalism Student Arrested for Photographing Ambulance Scene
(Photography Is Not a Crime ) As they were carrying out a victim from a house on Halloween night, paramedics in Ohio spotted a man across the street taking photos, so they started ordering him to put that camera away. But Nicolas Tanner, a 28-year-old photojournalism graduate student at Ohio University, knew the law, so he asserted his rights.  That prompted paramedics to threaten to call police. And that prompted Tanner to dare them to call police, thinking police would arrive and correct the paramedics on the law. Big mistake. At least four officers arrived on horseback and surrounded Tanner, shoving Tanner around with their horses and pinning him in between them, acknowledging that he had the right to take photos but that they were merely exercising their right to block his shot. Tanner moved away from the cops and into a crowd of bystanders with the cops on horseback following, still trying to get in the way of his shot. Finally, one of them hopped off his horse and chased him down, arresting him on charges of obstruction of official business and resisting arrest.

Nathan: What can I add?  Abusing (and risking serious injury to) a civilian is par for the course in Ohio and many other places.  And for what?  Is it now a violation of HIPAA to take a photo of public servants aiding a private citizen?  And we all know about bogus charges.

And lastly:  Free Speech
Thousands Jailed in UK for On-line Rants; Coming to US?
(Godfather Politics) In the UK, hundreds of people are jailed every year for things they’ve said online, particularly on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. In fact, over 1,200 mostly young people were convicted last year, up from 873 in 2009. They’re arrested, questioned, convicted, and jailed for posting electronic messages that are “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character.”

Most of these people are being charged under the 2003 Electronic Communications Act, which was merely an updated version of a 1930’s bill enacted to protect telephone operators from harassment. But even if these teens were posting things that were offensive, that is not the same thing as someone being harassed or threatened by another. Those who voice their opinions on social networking sites are doing just that…voicing their opinions. Their statements aren’t meant to threaten any particular person. They’re meant to be seen by their “friend” audience. It would be different if someone was actually being harassed and threatened directly by someone else’s electronic messages. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. If you are truly offended by something someone said, unfriend that person, and you won’t have to look at his account statuses anymore.

Many of these people were reported to police, which prompted the investigations. So instead of ignoring “offensive” posts, people would call the police. All it takes is one call from a disgruntled viewer, and that’s all it takes to land you [in] jail.

In one such case, someone posted a picture of a burning poppy on Remembrance Day (similar to our Veterans Day) and was jailed as a result. A New York Fox affiliate reports:

“…on Sunday — Remembrance Day — a 19-year-old man was arrested in southern England after police received a complaint about a photo on Facebook showing the burning of a paper poppy. He was held for 24 hours before being released on bail and could face charges.”

Poppies are traditionally worn in England and other countries on Remembrance Day, commemorating soldiers who lost their lives in the field of duty. I can imagine how offensive this would be to many, but should it land someone in jail for posting a picture of one online? I can think of far more offensive online images that are still permissible in the UK. They only care about the posts that are critical of their government or military.

We are headed in the same direction here in the States. People have already been arrested and detained for things they’ve said on Facebook and Twitter and even on radio talk shows. However, nothing was done about all those murderous rants against Romney on Twitter. Politicians talk a great deal about preventing terrorism and protecting people from internet child pornography. But it’s clear all they really want to do is silence their opposition…and keep the child porn only for themselves.

Nathan:  The above is both news and commentary, but I have to add my own thoughts:  The Tranzi nature is obvious: feeling are hurt and people must be made to pay for hurting people’s feelings.  The abuse of a “do-gooder” law like the one protecting poor, sweet, innocent, little telephone operators in 1930 shows that we cannot allow ANY government interference with free speech.

Stupid government tricks
Petraeus’ Mistress Was Named ‘National Security Insider’ by National Journal as a Grad Student
(CNSNews.com)

Which puts her in the position of groupie, apparently.  This entire thing gets more and more Romanesque and smells more and more like the Third Reich.  Funny, it seems like she would be the one getting busted for bothering a “public servant.”  Too bad for Petraeus his uniform wasn’t blue or black instead of camo, and that he only had stars and not a badge.

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Libertarian Commentary on the News #12-48C: This and That

Posted on 2012-11-17 by TPOL Nathan

Islamic Wars: Canaanite Front
Israelis kill Hamas military chief
(Salon.com)   An Israeli air strike on Gaza…

Nathan:  Things are heating up;   This is more than just the Israeli response to the 100 rockets fired from Gaza a few days ago: this is considered to be a significant victory.  But never mind, they have back-ups. to be sure.

Mama’s Note: Thomas Knapp has some interesting things to say about this situation.
The Obligatory Gaza Post: It Practically (Re-)Writes Itself

Crash of 2009 – Stupid government
72% of Obama Job Creation in Right To Work States
(breitbart.com) From June 2009 to September 2012, America gained some 2.59 million jobs. That weak recovery was the basis for the Obama re-election campaign.

Nathan: From Darryl!  Another example that perception is more important than reality in our politics, no matter how much we wish it weren’t so.  Obviously, enough people bought the White House line.

Stupid Church – Stupid State
Florida: Church invites fugitives to surrender
(Fox News)  “A Florida church wants to help flocks of fugitives get right with the law, and will even host their court appearances via a closed-circuit TV system that links the house of worship to the local judge. ‘Operation Safe Surrender’ promises wanted men and women in the Daytona Beach area the chance to give up in the presence of their God and the Rev. L. Ronald Durham, of Greater Friendship Baptist Church. Durham said that for accused criminals, the event beats having the police knock down their door in the middle of the night, and also could help fugitives go straight and maybe even ‘get employment as a result,” Durham told FoxNews.com.” [editor’s note: Church/state wall falls to pieces? – SAT&93; (11/13/12)

Nathan: Well, this guy certainly shows the opportunism that Baptist preachers are famous for (and that gives them such a bad reputation).  Of course, it not only makes a mockery of Biblical teaching concerning the church and human government, it also is almost a parody of the western concept of sanctuary.  And creates a great temptation: why bother to knock down the doors of individual houses when the cops can instead knock down the doors of Greater Friendship Baptist Church’s meetinghouse and get a whole netful of “fish” at once?

Tyranny California-style
California: Supermajorities have host of options
(San Francisco Chronicle) “Democratic leaders have said they won’t seek tax increases if they gain supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature, but there already is talk about using that power to do other things. Last week’s surprise results in Assembly races, which still are not final, opened a new field of opportunities for Democrats to shape public policy in California. A two-thirds majority allows the Legislature not only to raise taxes, but also to put constitutional amendments on the ballot on its own, override vetoes and pass bills that go into effect the moment they are signed instead of the next year, among other things.” (11/12/12)

Nathan: Figure that whatever the supermajority DOES do, we aren’t going to like it.  All those horrid SF stories about the nightmares of California government are going to come true in some form.  Our best hope is that the state, in the next 2-4 years, will become a hideous, technicolor, HD object lesson (and object of derision) for the rest of the world.  And that God will continue to look out for those too stupid or too locked down to be able to flee.

Crash of 2009 – Stupid government
CBO: Fiscal Cliff Will Bring Recession, 9.1 Percent Unemployment in 2013
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan: Oh, is that all?  I seem to forget that we supposedly are in a “recovery” and not just the continuing slight bouncing up and down of a continuing depression, now entering its fifth year.  How stupid of me!  This is, as all CBO forecasts do, assuming that major other problems do not explode on us.

Mama’s Note: Here is an excellent analysis of the true situation.
Guess what they’re NOT cutting in the Fiscal Cliff…
by Simon Black

Politics 2012 – Stupid people tricks
Mark Levin on Lessons Learned in Presidential Election: ‘We Ought to Nominate a Conservative’
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  I liked his urging the GOP to stop being the Stupid Party, but that is unlikely to change, and I cannot understand why so many friends and family simply cannot understand that the GOP is exactly what it wants to be, and that short of having 100% of their leadership (not necessarily elected officials, but the ones who pull the strings) die of some disease (no killing, please, that makes martyrs), they will not change.  Levin is repeating what he said a time or two, and what Hannity and Limbaugh and even Beck said: nominate a conservative.  That was before THEY too gave into the bogus hope and change mantra and were able to convince themselves that Romney was anything but a middle-of-the road statist who would not win.  Romney and the GOP and his advisors (and distractors) KNEW that the First Citizen would buy millions and millions of votes, and do everything he did – and yet refused to accept the strategy and tactics that would have worked, while adopting those which trashed their chances.  Therefore millions of voters stayed home and millions more waffled and finally pulled the D lever, and a couple million voted for OTHER than the lesser of two evils.  Mark, you were right: it IS the STUPID party.

First Citizen – Politics 2012
Obama: Voters Reelected Me to Make Sure Wealthy Pay More Taxes
(CNSNews.com)

Nathan:  You know, I think I might believe Augustus; Romney’s 47 Percent plus all the ones who DO pay taxes but work for the government and know on which side their bread is buttered.  However, those grain ships aren’t going to be coming from Egypt and Africa all that much longer…

Medical news
Even moderate drinking in pregnancy can affect a child’s IQ, study shows
(University of Bristol) Relatively small levels of exposure to alcohol while in the womb can influence a child’s IQ, according to a new study led by researchers from the universities of Bristol and Oxford…

Nathan: Much evidence abounds, especially in the AmerInd Nations.  More can be found in every school.  But people simply do not care: they put their pleasure ahead of others’ wellbeing, even their own children.

Mama’s Note: Sorry, but this is just more nanny state BS. Some people are simply far more susceptible than others and what they do to themselves is often truly tragic, but each individual must assess the risks and benefits for themselves and accept responsibility for the consequences of their decisions, not rely on some blanket pronouncement like this.

Stupid people tricks
UPS Stops Donating to Boy Scouts
(Vision to America.com) The UPS Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the shipping giant, says it will no longer donate to organizations that do not adhere to its “diversity policies,” which prohibit “harassment” against anyone based on race, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, age, or religion. UPS announced this week it was responding to an online petition that garnered more than 80,000 signatures protesting the foundation’s annual grants to the Boy Scouts.

Nathan:  Yes, UPS is a private business and they can do what they want.  But if I understand this right, the UPS is exercising its right (even as a corporation) to NOT associate with an organization BECAUSE THAT organization is exercising its right to not associate with certain persons because those persons believe in and practice something that the organization believes is wrong.  Did I miss something?

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