- EverVigilant.net - "The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal vigilance; which condition if he break, servitude is at once the consequence of his crime and the punishment of his guilt." - John Philpot Curran
Want to know what it's like to live in a country whose government is willing to break up families in order to make a sociopolitical statement? Just take a look at this story from Scotland:
Social services have removed two young children from the care of their grandparents and arranged for them to be adopted by a homosexual couple.
The five-year-old boy and his four-year-old sister were being looked after by their grandparents because their mother, a recovering drug addict, was not considered capable.
But social workers stepped in after allegedly deciding that the couple, who are aged 59 and 46, were "too old" to look after the children.
They were allegedly stripped of their carer's rights and informed they would be barred from seeing the children altogether unless they agreed to the same-sex adoption. ...
... The case raises fears about state interference in family arrangements, and concerns about the practice of adoption by same-sex couples.
Social workers at the City of Edinburgh Council have been accused of waging a "two-year campaign" through the courts to strip the grandparents of their legal rights as carers of the children.
The reason we should pay close attention to what goes on in the U.K. is because it gives us a glimpse of what's in store for us here in the near future.
Smokers in College Station, listen up: only 3 days left to smoke in a College Station bar or restaurant.
"The smoking ban is going into effect on Super Bowl Sunday, which I think is a really bad idea because that is like one of the most publicized days for bars, and you're not gonna be able to smoke," said smoker Danny Merritt.
Wednesday, city council members in Dallas approved spending over $165,674 to hire three new smoking-ban enforcers. ...
... "We will start enforcing the law, we have no choice," said Randa Cooper of the Dixie Chicken. "We want everybody to come in and have a good time and smoking is part of most bars, so we'll see what happens."
City employees said they expect the number of calls to be high this weekend, then eventually taper off.
He has already introduced the "We the People Act" (H.R. 539) designed to limit the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and other federal courts. More here.
Why? Because children are a drag on financial resources, and with the government funding just about everything under the sun, expect to see more of this in the future.
When watching this video clip, keep in mind that terms like "family planning services" and "contraception" are pro-choice euphemisms for infanticide:
Like the U.S., the E.U. has imposed a draconian ban on traditional light bulbs. The goal is to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2012.
This policy, however, has generated a great amount of concern among those with poor vision. The problem is that the new energy-efficient bulbs do not give off enough light, which could make life even more difficult if not outright dangerous.
By now most of you have probably heard about the Dallas Academy girls' basketball team losing their last game to The Covenant School by a score of 100-0. Don't worry. They're taking the defeat in stride. Hardly aspiring WNBA stars, these charming young ladies were probably just happy to get together for a few hours after school each week to chat about boys and homework and lob a few airballs. They were just having fun.
Still, you can't help but feel sorry for these girls. I mean, 100 to zip! They couldn't make so much as a single free throw. To say that they were outmatched would be an understatement.
The reaction to this story has been virtually unanimous: "How could any team with even a shred of human decency run up the score like that? How dare they!"
OK, here's where I'm going to rub a few people the wrong way. I would have expected nothing less from the team that won. In fact, if I had been their coach, I probably would have wondered why they couldn't win by 200 points.
Now, before you think I'm being heartless, look at what the losing coach, Jeremy Civello, had to say:
"My girls never quit," he said. "They played as hard as they could to the very end. They played with all their hearts at 70-nothing, 80-nothing and 100-nothing. I was really proud of them. That's what I told them after the game." ...
... The Bulldogs play, Civello said, for more than the final score. They play in hope of improving skills, learning teamwork and picking up whatever life lessons athletics may bring. ...
... Against Covenant, Dallas Academy was surprised to see an obviously superior team keep the pressure on until it scored its 100th point in the fourth quarter. "I'm sure they could have won by 30 points and still had just as good a time," Civello said.
The reason I'm having such a hard time sympathizing with Dallas Academy is that coach Civello contradicted himself when he complained that the Covenant girls could have had just as much fun winning by 30. If the whole point is to have the girls playing "with all their hearts," who cares what the final score was, be it 100-0 or 200-0?
The fact is that he was embarrassed. And who can blame him? This kind of a loss -- not to mention the fact that Dallas Academy hasn't won a game in four years -- is hard to live down.
Still, we are left with the impression that Covenant coach Micah Grimes and his players are mean-spirited brutes because the team was still playing hard until the final buzzer. But isn't that exactly what we would expect of any team? Look at it from their perspective. Coach Grimes spends the entire season trying to get his players to give 100%. Do we expect him to go against everything he's been teaching them and suddenly try to get them not to play their best simply because the opposing team stinks?
"It's unfortunate we got to 100 points in the game against Dallas Academy. It just happened, and we are not happy about that.
"Please know Covenant intended no harm against them. I see this as a real learning opportunity, so we can prevent this from happening in the future."
This coach is now made to feel guilty for daring to inspire his team to play competitively, as if it's his fault the girls of Dallas Academy have no basketball skills.
Because we live in a politically correct society that abhors competition among kids, we must see to it that hard work doesn't pay off. We must condemn teams like Covenant because their display of superior skills might damage the self-esteem of those who aren't quite as talented. That's why Covenant has been shamed into issuing a formal apology and forfeiting the game.
What I find extremely interesting is that not one person has dared to criticize coach Civello for allowing his team to be humiliated for four quarters. He could have called an end to it at any point during the game, but he didn't, and yet no one expects him to apologize.
Again, if the whole point is to get the kids to play their best, then it shouldn't matter what the score is. Period. But if we're more worried about fragile egos and hurt feelings, then perhaps parents should be a little more discerning when it comes to their children's extracurricular activities.
An overdue library book called "The Freedom Writers Diary" briefly cost an Independence woman her freedom Thursday.
Jesup police arrested Shelly Koontz, 39, on a fifth-degree theft charge because she allegedly failed to return the collection of essays about the struggles of inner-city Long Beach, Calif., high school students.
The book's retail price is $13.95.
"Theft is theft," said Jesup Police Sgt. Chris Boos, "whether it's a 50-cent candy bar, a $13 library book or a $200 TV."
Koontz is free after posting a $250 bond at the Buchanan County Jail. Efforts to reach her by telephone Friday were unsuccessful.
Tom McGlaughlin, president of the Jesup library board, said pursuing criminal charges against a patron for an overdue book is unusual, but the circumstances were also out of the ordinary. He declined to elaborate.
I'm not sure what surprises me more, the fact that such a big stink was made over one book, or that Iowans really take their reading seriously.
Optimism regarding Obama's Administration, as with every new administration, rests on a presupposition: politics trumps economics. This is another way of saying that legalized coercion trumps voluntarism.
Faith in the means of this triumph is lodged in three institutions: the national government, the Federal Reserve System, and foreign central banks. No matter how bad things get economically, voters believe in these three institutions, if they actually have heard of central banking, which few have and fewer remember.
Today, the national government is running at least a $1.2 trillion annual deficit. To this will be added whatever the proposed stimulus law will cost. Estimates run in the range of $400 billion a year for two years. Obama has said that annual deficits in the trillion-dollar range will go on for years. He has not been specific, rather like his date for a pullout from Afghanistan.
The public does not care. Optimism is still widespread. Like a spouse in a second or third marriage, who does not yet know of her partner's snoring, the voters expect smooth sailing through treacherous financial waters.
The Bush Administration established the precedents: a $700 billion bailout (plus $150 billion in Congressional pork), the various bank bailouts, and the nationalization of the mortgage market. Whatever President Obama proposes will be an extension of existing policies. There will be no successful opposition. There will be no turning back.
The incoming Obama administration is considering setting up a government-run bank to acquire bad assets clogging the financial system, a person familiar with the Obama team's thinking said on Saturday.
The U.S. Federal Reserve, Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp have been in talks about ways to ease a banking crisis that is once again deepening -- and a government-run "aggregator bank" is among the options.
Outgoing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair both said on Friday a government bank was one of a number of ideas U.S. regulators had been discussing.
The source said advisers to President-elect Barack Obama, who takes office on Tuesday, were also considering the idea of an aggregator bank among a range of options that could be pursued.
With the government taking over more and more of the economy, soon "change" is all we'll have left.
The chairman of a key House committee says he wants to pass a climate change bill before Memorial Day.
California Rep. Henry Waxman said Thursday the environment and U.S. economy depend on congressional action to confront the threat of climate change. Waxman, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, spoke as he opened Congress' first hearing on climate legislation.
This confirms what I have suspected for a long time. It's subtle, but "climate change" is being used increasingly in place of "global warming" as the favorite alarmist term of radical environmentalists. That way their butts are covered no matter which direction the mercury moves.
The U.S. military has its eye on Pakistan and Mexico as countries considered to be on the brink of collapse. The Joint Operating Environment (JOE) 2008 Report (PDF) states:
Some forms of collapse in Pakistan would carry with it the likelihood of a sustained violent and bloody civil and sectarian war, an even bigger haven for violent extremists, and the question of what would happen to its nuclear weapons. That "perfect storm" of uncertainty alone might require the engagement of U.S. and coalition forces into a situation of immense complexity and danger with no guarantee they could gain control of the weapons and with the real possibility that a nuclear weapon might be used.
The Mexican possibility may seem less likely, but the government, its politicians, police and judicial infrastructure are all under sustained assault and press by criminal gangs and drug cartels. How that internal conflict turns out over the next several years will have a major impact on the stability of the Mexican state. Any descent by Mexico into chaos would demand an American response based on the serious implications for homeland security alone.
How is this any different from the U.S. government's justification for war with Iraq?
Most Americans are raised by the government. They are usually raised for more than 12 years in public schools that they are forced to pay for, and, for the financially restricted, forced to attend. Even if they are lucky enough to have a choice in education, they grow up bombarded by pervasive laws -- and not just the necessary types that regulate traffic and criminal activity, but the types that ban certain "unhealthy" cooking, prohibit smoking on private property and order the use of helmets and seatbelts.
It is therefore not surprising that many -- too many -- Americans reach adulthood with a built-in, assumed, inherent faith in a notional all-knowing and compassionate government. For these Americans, questioning the role of government in certain areas is very much like questioning the essence of life itself. ...
... Too many Americans have grown up believing that it is the government’s job to play a big activist role in society and in the economy. This ideology is more or less dependent on the (false) assumption that government is an inherently good institution filled with inherently good people who wake up everyday wondering how they can act to improve a constituent’s life.
Edward Vaughn, who heads the Alabama NAACP, is complaining that he doesn't want a certain group to be included as part of the upcoming inauguration celebration in Washington, D.C. He believes their appearance would convey a message of racism.
Just what is this racist group? An offshoot of the KKK? Skinhead motorcyclists with Confederate flag stickers on their bikes? No. Mr. Vaughn's undies are in a twist over a group of high school senior Southern belles in hoop dresses from Mobile County. They belong to the Azalea Trail Court, which has been in existence since 1949. In addition to presidential inaugurations, these young ladies have taken part in numerous other national pastimes, such as the Rose Bowl Parade and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
So, what's Mr. Vaughn's problem? "These are not just regular costumes. These are the costumes that remind someone of the plantation in Gone with the Wind," he said in an interview. "We needed something that could show Alabama's great progress rather than something that shows a shameful past."
I don't mean to sound harsh, but wouldn't the appearance of blacks at the inauguration be enough to remind people of slavery? Besides, isn't the fact that a black man is being sworn in as president a testimony to how far our nation has come? Why not celebrate that as a sign of overcoming over a shameful past?
Like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, Edward Vaughn's livelihood is based on voicing grievances where no legitimate grievance exists. My guess is that as head of the Alabama NAACP he had already decided to complain about something -- and since none of the groups to be included in the inauguration ceremonies were going to be flying Confederate flags or other symbols of "hate," this was the best he could come up with.
Minnesota prides itself on being the State of Hockey, but one family in Minnetonka has been prevented by the state from playing hockey on their own property. This KSTP report explains:
Another example of environmental extremism run amok.
This AFP story appeared, ironically, in the Straits Times:
Sixteen years after Bill Clinton tried to end restrictions on gays in the military, the U.S. armed forces under Barack Obama may be forced to give homosexuals the same welcome as non-gays.
Under President Clinton, the policy that once saw homosexuals discharged from US military service evolved to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," allowing gays to remain in the military so long as they did not reveal their sexual orientation.
Mr. Obama has pledged to overhaul current law.
"The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited," reads an entry on the president-elect's transition website.
Just like his father, President George W. Bush will return to Texas when he leaves office.
And just like his father, he wants a gate to be installed along a public street to limit access to his neighborhood.
Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm confirmed Monday that the younger Bush is seeking to have a gate placed somewhere along the entrance to streets leading to his future Preston Hollow address.
The plan, which requires approval by the Dallas City Council, isn't expected to encounter much opposition at City Hall, and the Bushes' neighbors seem to be on board.
So far, several options to limit access to the Bushes' new street have been discussed. But a final decision on exactly where to place the gate hasn't been recommended, Suhm said.
Federal money would pay for the gate, not the city, she said. It's unclear how residents would use the gate to get to their homes.
So, it seems this treasonous war criminal will end up behind bars at taxpayer expense after all. I suppose there's a silver lining in there somewhere.
The BART police officer who shot an unarmed man to death on a station platform early on New Year's Day quit the force Wednesday, avoiding an interview with police internal affairs investigators trying to get to the bottom of an incident that has prompted broad outrage.
Officer Johannes Mehserle, 27, was supposed to make a statement Wednesday about why he shot 22-year-old Oscar Grant as the supermarket worker lay face-down at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, BART said.
Video recordings made by at least two BART passengers and shown repeatedly on TV news programs have prompted speculation that Mehserle fired without provocation or by accident after Grant and several friends were detained around 2 a.m. in the aftermath of a fight on a train.
Mehserle, however, did not show up for the scheduled interview at 11 a.m. - the same time the funeral for Grant began in his hometown of Hayward. Instead, the officer's attorney and the president of BART's police union appeared and handed over a short resignation letter, BART spokesman Linton Johnson said.
You can bet that if I wrestled an unarmed man to the ground and had a friend hold him down while I shot him in the back, I would be charged with murder.
