Ever Vigilant

Saying Goodbye to Ever Vigilant and Hello to Liberty Sentry

2010-04-02T07:25:00.001-05:00

As of today, EverVigilant.net will no longer be updated. Instead, I would like to introduce my new blog, Liberty Sentry. Its purpose, as it was with this one, is to help safeguard liberty by keeping a watchful eye on government. In order to do that, we must remain actively informed.

My intention is to update Liberty Sentry daily. While you will find the occasional original essay or commentary, the site will mostly feature links to news stories that document the immediate dangers posed to freedom-loving citizens, namely the ever-increasing encroachment on civil liberties and the abuses of power on the part of those who refer to themselves as "public servants."

EV had a good run, but it's time to move on. Please let your friends know about the new blog, and don't forget to update your bookmarks.

When Cops Attack

2010-03-27T07:29:00.004-05:00

This time in Chicago:

[Matthew] Clark and Gregory Malandrucco were about to leave after eating at Arturo's Tacos, 2001 N. Western Ave. Clark said officers shoved them out of the way because Malandrucco accidently blocked the officers' path as he was trying to put on his coat.

When they got to the parking lot, Clark said the officers attacked them both.

"There was nothing that could have caused something like this to occur. ... It didn't seem like there was any problem and then the next thing I knew, I was just being violently beaten."

The officers were allegedly waiting for them in the parking lot, and began to yell at the men in an aggressive manner, the suit claims. The two men attempted to calm the officers down by trying "to shake hands, make peace and suggesting that everyone go home since nothing had happened," the suit said.

It was at that time that the male officer "without warning" punched Clark and began to strike him repeatedly, throwing him to the ground, the suit said.

The plainclothes officers then held Clark down and "brutally beat him until he lost consciousness," according to the suit.

When Malandrucco attempted to stop the beating, according to the suit, the officers "responded by beating (him). (They) threw Mr. Malandrucco to the ground, hitting his head against the concrete and knocking him unconscious."

Just another example of what it's like to be protected and served in America.

John Stossel on Prohibition

2010-03-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Census Propaganda for Kids

2010-03-21T22:26:00.000-05:00

This is Low, Even for the IRS

2010-03-14T08:28:00.002-05:00

From the Sacramento Bee:

Arriving at Harv's Metro Car Wash in midtown Wednesday afternoon were two dark-suited IRS agents demanding payment of delinquent taxes. "They were deadly serious, very aggressive, very condescending," says Harv's owner, Aaron Zeff.

The really odd part of this: The letter that was hand-delivered to Zeff's on-site manager showed the amount of money owed to the feds was ... 4 cents.

Are the thugs in D.C. really that desperate for cash?

Human Health Care vs. Animal Health Care

2010-02-26T21:15:00.000-06:00

Government Terrorism During Prohibition

2010-02-23T08:42:00.008-06:00

Deborah Blum at Slate.com has the story:

Frustrated that people continued to consume so much alcohol even after it was banned, federal officials had decided to try a different kind of enforcement. They ordered the poisoning of industrial alcohols manufactured in the United States, products regularly stolen by bootleggers and resold as drinkable spirits. The idea was to scare people into giving up illicit drinking. Instead, by the time Prohibition ended in 1933, the federal poisoning program, by some estimates, had killed at least 10,000 people.

Although mostly forgotten today, the "chemist's war of Prohibition" remains one of the strangest and most deadly decisions in American law-enforcement history. As one of its most outspoken opponents, Charles Norris, the chief medical examiner of New York City during the 1920s, liked to say, it was "our national experiment in extermination."

Read the full article here.

Republican Scott Brown Already Voting Like a Democrat

2010-02-22T22:22:00.005-06:00

From Reuters:

A modest job-creation bill advanced in the U.S. Senate on Monday as the chamber's newest Republican bucked his party and sided with Democrats on a $15 billion package of tax cuts and highway spending.

Republican Scott Brown joined four other Republicans, 55 Democrats and two independents to overcome a procedural hurdle that sets up a final vote later this week.

Brown, in a statement following the vote, said, "I hope my vote today is a strong step toward restoring bipartisanship in Washington."

It certainly didn't take long for the new "conservative" hero to show his true colors.

Terrorism Is Not a National Emergency

2010-02-15T07:53:00.004-06:00

Tom Engelhardt of Antiwar.com looks at the threat of terrorist attacks in the U.S. from a different perspective:

In 2008, 14,180 Americans were murdered, according to the FBI. In that year, there were 34,017 fatal vehicle crashes in the U.S. and, so the U.S. Fire Administration tells us, 3,320 deaths by fire. More than 11,000 Americans died of the swine flu between April and mid-December 2009, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; on average, a staggering 443,600 Americans die yearly of illnesses related to tobacco use, reports the American Cancer Society; 5,000 Americans die annually from food-borne diseases; an estimated 1,760 children died from abuse or neglect in 2007; and the next year, 560 Americans died of weather-related conditions, according to the National Weather Service, including 126 from tornadoes, 67 from rip tides, 58 from flash floods, 27 from lightning, 27 from avalanches, and 1 from a dust devil.

As for airplane fatalities, no American died in a crash of a U.S. carrier in either 2007 or 2008, despite 1.5 billion passengers transported. In 2009, planes certainly went down and people died. In June, for instance, a French flight on its way from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared in bad weather over the Atlantic, killing 226. Continental Connection Flight 3407, a regional commuter flight, crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y., that February killing 50, the first fatal crash of a U.S. commercial flight since August 2006. And in January 2009, US Airways Flight 1549, assaulted by a flock of birds, managed a brilliant landing in New York's Hudson River when disaster might have ensued. In none of these years did an airplane go down anywhere due to terrorism, though in 2007 two terrorists smashed a Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane tanks into the terminal of Glasgow International Airport. (No one was killed.)

And yet the underwear bomber (which was most likely a false-flag operation anyway) had people panicking about another 9/11. Perhaps we should all try to keep the threat of terrorism in perspective.

A Brief Thought on "Enemy Combatants"

2010-02-05T17:52:00.006-06:00

I don't know about you, but I just don't feel comfortable with a government that imprisons and tortures individuals without due process thinking it can tell me who my enemies are.

Christian Libertarianism

2010-01-30T09:48:00.003-06:00

Bojidar Marinov, who took part in the forming of the Libertarian movement in his native Bulgaria, explains why he could not be a libertarian without Christ:

When a dear friend of mine shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with me, he knew nothing of my intellectual struggles. There was one thing that caught my attention that night when he talked to me about his faith: "You shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free." And then Jesus adds: "And if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed."

There was the solution to my problem! I was blind to search for an impersonal Truth, an inexorable, merciless entity that holds the universe in an iron grip. And I was blind to search for Freedom that was focused on myself so much that would make the rest of the world irrelevant -- and make me irrelevant in the process. Truth was possible to know only if it was itself a Person; and Freedom was possible to have only if it was itself a Person. That Person couldn't be a mere man -- or I would be in slavery. He must be a god, or rather, God, the Creator of the Universe. And if the Bible was true, then my problems had one reason: I was a stranger to God, and thus I was a stranger to Freedom, Ethics, and Justice. I had to come back to Him, through the redemption He provided in Jesus Christ. Only then I had...everything.

If He was the Creator, He was the Truth. Knowing Him, I would know the Truth. He was Freedom too: He created my very nature and He knew what I should do to be in harmony with my real nature. And He was Justice for He gave me the rules for a just society that has liberty and justice for all. What all the philosophers wanted but couldn't find, He had it, and He was it.

Therefore I couldn't be a libertarian without Christ. I tried, and it was impossible -- philosophically and ethically. It was self-contradictory, it was against the very nature of things, and it was believing in a set of assumptions that had no discernible connection with reality or with each other. Only in Christ I had them all brought together in a coherent whole. And only in Christ did it make sense to be willing to die for your freedom -- without Him death was the ultimate judge of things, and slavery was preferable to facing death. "Give me liberty or give me death" was folly in a world without Christ -- but now it is divine wisdom in Him.

Read the full article here.

Guilty of Not Committing a Crime?

2010-01-23T16:19:00.000-06:00

It used to be that in order for a crime to have been committed one person had to willfully violate another person's right to life, liberty, or property. In other words, harm had to have been intended as well as inflicted.

Today, however, a crime is merely an action that violates any one or more of the countless arbitrary rules and regulations implemented by the state, regardless of whether or not the action in question actually brings harm to anyone. This was seen most recently in the case of Daryl Fleck, a Crookston man whose drunken driving conviction was upheld by the Minnesota State Supreme Court.

(Read the full article here.)

Your Children Are Property of the State

2010-01-16T09:45:00.003-06:00

You may think you have the right to raise your children as you see fit, but you don't. Your children are property of the state, as this recent story demonstrates:

A Montgomery County couple has been arrested on child endangerment charges for failing to register their children with the school district as they were home-schooled, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said Monday.

Richard Cressy, 47, and Margie Cressy, 41, both of the town of Glen, never registered their four children or their home-schooling curriculum with the local school district, said the Sheriff's Office.

The Superintendent of the Fonda-Fultonville Central School District, Richard Hoffman, confirmed the four children, ranging in age from 8 to 14, had not been registered with the school district for the last seven years.

"From what I can gather, it sounds like there was education going on, so I don't know if they really slipped through the cracks," Hoffman said, "[but] they didn't fulfill their legal responsibility to file with the school district to be home-schooled."

Just business as usual in this once-free nation.

The problem with compulsory education laws, like most laws in this country, is that they force otherwise law-abiding citizens into the position of having to take action in order to prevent themselves from becoming criminals. There was once a time when it had to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that one intended harm when committing a particular act. Today, that isn't good enough.

Those in government love such laws because they no longer have to prove motive. The mere act itself is criminal. The end result is that you are considered a criminal if you do not first seek the state's permission for what was once accepted as a God-given right.

Going Along to Get Along

2010-01-11T07:00:00.002-06:00

Ever wonder why people continue to vote for the same incompetent fools year after year? This may help explain...

We Don't Need No Education

2009-12-30T06:34:00.004-06:00

Just when you think public schools couldn't dumb things down any more than they already have, you run across a story like this:

Berkeley High School is considering a controversial proposal to eliminate science labs and the five science teachers who teach them to free up more resources to help struggling students.

The proposal to put the science-lab cuts on the table was approved recently by Berkeley High's School Governance Council, a body of teachers, parents, and students who oversee a plan to change the structure of the high school to address Berkeley's dismal racial achievement gap, where white students are doing far better than the state average while black and Latino students are doing worse.

Paul Gibson, an alternate parent representative on the School Governance Council, said that information presented at council meetings suggests that the science labs were largely classes for white students. He said the decision to consider cutting the labs in order to redirect resources to underperforming students was virtually unanimous.

If you wanted more proof that the main purpose of the public school system is to indoctrinate rather than educate, there it is.

Gearing Up for the Next Invasion

2009-12-29T06:40:00.000-06:00

Connecting the dots really isn't all that difficult if you just pay attention:

Blog Commenters Blast the TSA

2009-12-28T20:09:00.003-06:00

Following the thwarted "terrorist attack" on an international Northwest Airlines flight, DHS head thug Janet Napolitano issued the following statement:

I am grateful to the passengers and crew aboard Northwest Flight 253 who reacted quickly and heroically to an incident that could have had tragic results. The Department of Homeland Security immediately put additional screening measures into place - for all domestic and international flights - to ensure the continued safety of the traveling public. We are also working closely with federal, state and local law enforcement on additional security measures, as well as our international partners on enhanced security at airports and on flights.

The American people should continue their planned holiday travel and, as always, be observant and aware of their surroundings and report any suspicious behavior or activity to law enforcement officials.

Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place. These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere. Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should allot extra time for check-in.

Proposed policy changes included keeping passengers in their seats for the last hour of an international flight, not allowing them to hold anything in their laps, and turning off all in-flight entertainment.

In light of those idiotic restrictions, the Transportation "Security" Administration began to get some interesting feedback on its blog. Here's a small sampling:

It's hardly "unpredictable" when airlines announce lockdowns during the last hour of flight into the US. If this is truly the TSA/DHS recommendation as claimed, then whats the difference between the last 30, 60, or 90 minutes of a flight? Does it matter, or is this another knee-jerk reaction to some idiot to show that "something" is being done, just like the whole shoe fiasco...?

* * * * *

ALL your layers of security failed yet again.

So what is the response of the TSA - to add even more confusion to the process with the hope that with any kind of plain dumb luck, you'll be able to flummox another idiot terrorist wannabe?

* * * * *

I am an American Citizen with absolutely no crime history or affiliation with anything illegal. I've been traveling world wide for over 40 years. *I* am on a watch list. Where is Umar's name on this list? What's wrong with this picture?

* * * * *

I think in failing this individual will have a greater impact on air travel than he would have had he succeeded.

Also re: the new "1 hour before landing, now sit quietly in your seats children" rule. Why does this only apply to international flights? If this is not just more theater it should apply to domestic flights also. Care to comment on that?

* * * * *

With as annoying as it is getting to fly, soon the only passengers will be terrorists.

I really can't wait for high speed trains.

It's nice to know others out there recognize airline "security" for the scam that it is.

Still Think America Isn't an Empire?

2009-12-21T08:17:00.001-06:00

There is no end to the expansion of the welfare/warfare state. It reaches into virtually every aspect of American life.

Thou Shalt Not Question the Climate Change Cult

2009-12-11T16:40:00.002-06:00

Journalist Phelim McAleer finds out the hard way.

More details here.

The Real Goal of the Climate Change Cult: Depopulation

2009-12-10T21:08:00.003-06:00

Diane Francis hates people, as do most of those who belong to the idiotic ranks of the climate change cult. She writes:

The "inconvenient truth" overhanging the UN's Copenhagen conference is not that the climate is warming or cooling, but that humans are overpopulating the world.

A planetary law, such as China's one-child policy, is the only way to reverse the disastrous global birthrate currently of one million births every four days.

The world's other species, vegetation, resources, oceans, arable land, water supplies and atmosphere are being destroyed and pushed out of existence as a result of humanity's soaring reproduction rate.

Ironically, China, despite its dirty coal plants, is the world's leader in terms of fashioning policy to combat environmental degradation, thanks to its one-child-only edict. ...

... For those who balk at the notion that governments should control family sizes, just wait until the growing human population turns twice as much pasture land into desert as is now the case or when the Amazon is gone, the elephants disappear for good and wars erupt over water, scarce resources and spatial needs.

The point is that Copenhagen's talking points are beside the point.

The only fix is if all countries drastically reduce their populations, clean up their messes and impose mandatory conservation measures.

This is beyond idiotic. It's entering the realm of the criminally insane.

Ms. Francis, is there any chance you and your cohorts would lead the way in reducing the world's population? Yeah, I didn't think so.

Tax-Feeders Get a Pay Raise

2009-12-09T13:26:00.003-06:00

Unemployment is in the double digits, and yet Washington goes ahead and gives those already living off their fellow citizens a pay raise.

Blueprint for a Police State

2009-12-08T09:48:00.003-06:00

Considering that the Rand Corporation receives the bulk of its funding from federal, state, and local government agencies, it should really come as no surprise to read something like this:

Establishing security is the sine qua non of stability operations, since it is a prerequisite for reconstruction and development. Security requires a mix of military and police forces to deal with a range of threats from insurgents to criminal organizations. This research examines the creation of a high-end police force, which the authors call a Stability Police Force (SPF). The study considers what size force is necessary, how responsive it needs to be, where in the government it might be located, what capabilities it should have, how it could be staffed, and its cost. This monograph also considers several options for locating this force within the U.S. government, including the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) in the Department of State, and the U.S. Army's Military Police. The authors conclude that an SPF containing 6,000 people -- created in the U.S. Marshals Service and staffed by a "hybrid option," in which SPF members are federal police officers seconded to federal, state, and local police agencies when not deployed -- would be the most effective of the options considered. The SPF would be able to deploy in 30 days. The cost for this option would be $637.3 million annually, in FY2007 dollars.

You can read the entire publication in PDF format here.

Yet Another Problem in Our Schools

2009-12-05T10:20:00.004-06:00

Here's reason number 5,723 to keep your kids out of the local government-run indoctrination center:

It's a disturbing game with devastating consequences, and a new WTHR survey suggests it is rampant in Indiana schools.

"Ball tapping" is the act of intentionally hitting or kicking a male in the genitals. Earlier this month, an Eyewitness News investigation showed the game has become commonplace in some area schools, resulting in serious injuries for students.

As part of the investigation, WTHR also conducted a statewide survey of school nurses. The results are in, and they show the problem of ball tapping is more common and widespread than many school officials had realized.

Full story and video here.

Child Porn in Our Schools

2009-12-04T20:42:00.006-06:00

Yes, your kids could be exposed to child and gay porn at school. But it's OK, because it's all in the name of "tolerance":

Safe Schools Czar Kevin Jennings was the founder, and for many years, Executive Director of an organization called the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). GLSEN started essentially as Jennings' personal project and grew to become the culmination of his life's work. And he was chosen by President Obama to be the nation's Safe Schools Czar primarily because he had founded and led GLSEN.

GLSEN's stated mission is to empower gay youth in the schools and to stop harassment by other students. It encourages the formation of Gay Student Alliances and condemns the use of hateful words. GLSEN also strives to influence the educational curriculum to include materials which the group believes will increase tolerance of gay students and decrease bullying. To that end, GLSEN maintains a recommended reading list of books that it claims "furthers our mission to ensure safe schools for all students." In other words, these are the books that GLSEN's directors think all kids should be reading: gay kids should read them to raise their self-esteem, and straight kids should read them in order to become more aware and tolerant and stop bullying gay kids. Through GLSEN's online ordering system, called "GLSEN BookLink," featured prominently on their Web site, teachers can buy the books to use as required classroom assignments, or students can buy them to read on their own.

Read more about it here. (WARNING: very sickening, explicit content)

Schools or Prisons?

2009-12-03T12:23:00.002-06:00

From the web site:

Blame for problems with schooling in America is often assigned to insufficient funding or the inherent failings of today’s kids. In rare cases, parents, teachers, and administrators are also implicated. However, all efforts to improve the quality of education are doomed to fail if the system itself is not examined and understood to be the most significant impediment. After over six years in the making, THE WAR ON KIDS reveals that the problems with public education ultimately stem from the institution itself. Astonishingly all efforts at reform consistently avoid even considering this to be a possibility and the future for children and American democracy are at stake.

In 95 minutes, THE WAR ON KIDS exposes the many ways the public school system has failed children and our future by robbing students of all freedoms due largely to irrational fears. Children are subjected to endure prison-like security, arbitrary punishments, and pharmacological abuse through the forced prescription of dangerous drugs. Even with these measures, schools not only fail to educate students, but the drive to teach has become secondary to the need to control children.

Can we please start calling public schools what they are: government-run indoctrinations centers?

Rewarding Incompetence

2009-12-02T12:50:00.002-06:00

Topping Foreign Policy magazine's list of the Top 100 Global Thinkers: Ben Bernanke, chairman of the criminal counterfeiting syndicate know as the Federal Reserve, "for staving off a new Great Depression."

I love how David Kramer of LewRockwell.com put it: "Saying that Ben Bernanke prevented the collapse of the U.S. economy is like saying O.J. Simpson prevented Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman from dying of cancer."

A Free Press Means No Government Involvement

2009-12-01T08:21:00.009-06:00

But that's exactly the opposite of what we're getting. The Federal Trade Commission is currently holding a workshop to explore ways the government might help save the journalism industry.

Make no mistake about it. The government already controls the press. It does so through licensing, enforcing "decency" and "fairness" standards, public funding, restricting access, and granting preferential treatment.

The feds have always been frightened of truly independent news reporting. That explains why we're seeing a strong effort to counter the effect the Internet has had on the mainstream media.

Uncle Sam and Fond Thanksgiving Memories

2009-11-26T10:08:00.007-06:00

Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite times of year, a time to get together with loved ones and offer thanks to God for the blessings we have received.

This year will be no different. Friends and family will show up at the door bringing a dish of some sort to share in the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Among those we will be entertaining this year is our Uncle Sam, not because he was invited, but because it's tradition. He always shows up. Not just on Thanksgiving, but every other holiday as well. In fact, he seldom ever leaves.

At times I find myself wondering why we came to dislike him so. We used to actually enjoy his company.

(Read the full article here.)

H1N1: A Man-Made Strain?

2009-11-25T10:48:00.004-06:00

What if all we are doing in the pursuit of an effective flu vaccine actually ended up creating a new strain? That is certainly a possibility. From Bloomberg.com:

Adrian Gibbs, the virologist who said in May that swine flu may have escaped from a laboratory, published his findings today, renewing discussion about the origins of the pandemic virus.

The new H1N1 strain, which was discovered in Mexico and the U.S. in April, may be the product of three strains from three continents that swapped genes in a lab or a vaccine-making plant, Gibbs, and fellow Australian scientists wrote in Virology Journal. The authors analyzed the genetic makeup of the virus and found its origin could be more simply explained by human involvement than a coincidence of nature. ...

... While the exact source of the new H1N1 strain is a mystery, their research has "raised many new questions," they said. The authors compared the genetic blueprints of flu strains stored in the free database Genbank and found the pandemic virus's nearest ancestors circulate in pigs.

If this latest strain did originate in a laboratory, that raises an even more ominous question: Was its release accidental or intentional?

Global Warming Idiocy Hits a New Low

2009-11-23T12:49:00.000-06:00

Fort Hood Shooting "Oddities"

2009-11-17T07:12:00.002-06:00

The list, compiled by Lori Price of Citizens for Legitimate Government, can be found here.

Why We Must Not Always Be Compliant

2009-11-14T19:53:00.007-06:00

You may recall this incident in which Steven Bierfeldt, a Ron Paul supporter, was detained by TSA screeners for no other reason than that he was carrying a box of cash:

Some may think it was stupid stunt. All Bierfeldt had to do was disclose the reason he was carrying that amount of money and he would have been on his way.

But it was a good thing he chose to disobey the TSA agent's unlawful request. His defiance has led to some positive changes:

Bierfeldt and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him in a lawsuit, announced in a news release this week that the TSA had changed its rules in response to the litigation.

"It's a huge victory for civil liberties that TSA agents no longer have free rein to conduct sweeping, baseless searches and detain passengers who don't pose a threat to flight safety," Bierfeldt said in a statement.

Sometimes refusing to play the role of a compliant sheep pays off in the long run.

Thank Goodness for That Stimulus!

2009-11-13T07:42:00.003-06:00

Yeah. Right.

(source)

What Our Coins Say About Us

2009-11-12T08:50:00.003-06:00

Michael Nystrom reviews Charles Goyette's book, The Dollar Meltdown: Surviving the Impending Currency Crisis with Gold, Oil, and Other Unconventional Investments. He quotes one passage in the book that "poignantly summarizes America's journey though the designs on our coinage":

America's earliest coins portrayed Liberty. Not rulers and politicians. Just Liberty. A symbolic representation of the country's highest ideal. In the beginning, Americans had an affair of the heart with Liberty. She was their muse and they were aflame in their love for her. They talked about her everywhere, in their churches and taverns and town squares.

But she hasn't appeared on our circulation coinage for more than sixty years, not since the beautiful "Walking Liberty" half-dollar. It represented Liberty striding gracefully into the rising sun of the future, arm extended in peace and carrying a bounty of riches. It was a beautiful representation, because abundance accompanies Liberty wherever she goes. Our devotion would be no less if it were not true, but it is one of her secrets: Liberty creates prosperity. ...

... Today's coinage, looking each year more like subway tokens, celebrate the state. Just as words replace deeds and paper substitutes for gold, politicians have displaced ideals. The American state, which was created to serve Liberty, is now commemorated instead.

Read Nystrom's review here.

Archaeologists have long understood the value of coins. The images depicted on them can reveal much about a particular civilization's culture and tradition. It doesn't require much effort to imagine what future generations will conclude about us based on the way our coins idolize the state.

What We Have to Look Forward To

2009-11-11T15:12:00.003-06:00

Vaccinations at gunpoint?:

It took the strength of two sheriff's deputies to keep a middle schooler still enough to receive a shot of the swine flu, or H1N1, vaccine at a recent clinic.

During a regular Wheeling-Ohio County Health Board meeting Tuesday, health department Administrator Howard Gamble told board members about the student's attempt to flee Wheeling Middle School during a vaccination clinic held there last Friday.

He noted the boy's mother could not bear to watch the scene and left the gymnasium. Out of apparent fear of receiving the injection, the student ran out of the building. The school's resource officer, Ohio County Sheriff's Deputy John Haglock, coaxed the boy back inside. Once at the shot station, however, Haglock apparently needed some help keeping the boy still, and another deputy assisted

No one actually held a gun to the kid's head, but that is essentially what will happen if/when such vaccinations become mandatory. We're already faced with the prospect of going to prison if we refuse to buy health insurance, so nothing's impossible.

Veterans Day Observation

2009-11-11T12:55:00.009-06:00

The War to End All Wars (a.k.a. World War I) didn't end anything. It merely set the stage for one of the bloodiest, most violent centuries in the history of mankind. That's probably why Congress, on the heels of the Korean War, decided to change the traditional November 11 celebration of Armistice Day to Veterans Day in 1954.

War has become a way of life for our country. Today, rather than commemorate the end of one major hostility, we celebrate all subsequent and ongoing hostilities with little or no concern for their moral justification. As long as those involved are esteemed as heroes, nothing else seems to matter.

The Fort Hood Mystery Continues

2009-11-09T18:46:00.003-06:00

Michael Gaddy has questions about the "'facts' disseminated by the Army and the state's propaganda wing, sometimes referred to as the mainstream media (MSM)," regarding the Fort Hood shootings:

All too convenient for the Army was the rapid release of negative information related to the alleged shooter. It was said he received a negative evaluation report and that he had caused "red flags" to be raised some months ago concerning emails. Do we know anything this detailed about the "suspects" who were released? The caveat was added that it was unclear as to whether the suspect was the author of those emails. So, months ago, alarms were raised about emails the suspect might have sent, yet, in all those months the Army has been unable to determine who wrote them. Yeah, right. If red flags were in fact raised months ago, why did the Army do nothing? ...

... While it is doubtful we will ever learn the truth of exactly what happened at Fort Hood, we know with a degree of certainty the truth will never be revealed by the Army or the media.

Read the rest here.

The Spin Begins

2009-11-06T21:21:00.003-06:00

The Fort Hood tragedy is already being considered a terrorist attack. Walid Phares, Ph.D, writing for Fox News, had this to say:

What happened at Ft. Hood is not about being frustrated by America's foreign policy or exacting revenge for racial slurs. Nor is it about simply being a Muslim-American serving in the military or about being a member of any faith. The murders at Ft. Hood are about the radicalization of individuals by an extremist ideology -- jihadism -- which fuels acts of terror. The main question we should be asking is when did Hasan become radicalized and who indoctrinated him? Everything else will fall in place once we have these answers. Moreover, this would allow us to detect other potential terror acts that may be in the making.

"Who indoctrinated him?" Dr. Phares realizes the shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, was trained and employed by the most deadly and efficient killing machine in the world, right?

No matter. For the next few weeks the talking heads will be focusing on the terror angle, especially because of reports like this:

Soldiers who witnessed the shooting rampage at Fort Hood that left 13 people dead reported that the gunman shouted "Allahu Akbar!" -- an Arabic phrase for "God is great!" -- before opening fire, the base commander said today.

Lt. Gen. Robert Cone said officials had not yet confirmed that the suspected shooter, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, made the comment before the rampage Thursday.

In the end, it won't really matter why this psycho shrink went on a shooting spree. That this might have been yet another example of "spontaneous jihad syndrome" is a seed that has already been planted. The intent is to shift the public's attention away from the horrors of war and their effects on those directly involved. Instead, look for this to be used as an excuse to intensify the "war on terror" both at home and abroad.

A Brief Observation Regarding the Fort Hood Shootings

2009-11-06T20:26:00.001-06:00

Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan was a psychiatrist, but he went through basic training just like every other soldier, so he would have been taught to kill. Also, someone in his position would have been expected to encourage killing by counseling other soldiers in a way that would not have interfered with that aspect of their jobs.

So what puzzles me most about this tragedy is that people would be so shocked to see a member of the military doing exactly what he had been trained to do. Perhaps it's because this particular act of violence was committed against Americans here in the U.S. and not against foreign strangers in some backwards country in the Middle East.

Crime Wave in the "Land of the Free"

2009-11-05T12:41:00.002-06:00

The economic downturn has people looking for work anywhere they can get it. As a result, cops find themselves fighting for their lives against some of the most loathsome and despicable criminals in recent memory: unlicensed contractors.

So, America, you can rest well tonight knowing that these brave, armed tax-feeders are doing everything they can to protect the interests of the state and labor union thugs.

Yet More Anti-Southern Idiocy

2009-11-04T07:45:00.002-06:00

The allegedly "racist" University of Mississippi mascot Colonel Reb has already been banned from school sporting events. Now, university officials are cracking down on the "racist" behavior of Ole Miss fans. From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

University of Mississippi football fans who refuse to stop chanting "the South will rise again" are on the verge of losing one of their favorite fight songs, the school's chancellor said Monday.

Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones said "From Dixie With Love" will no longer be played at games if fans continue the racially offensive chant. ...

... Jones said the words in the phrase are "harmful" because they've been used by integration opponents in the past. For years, the university has worked to rid itself of an Old South image that included the 1962 violent standoff over James Meredith's admission as the university's first black student.

"I think the vast majority of our students don't understand the significance of this. I think most of the students who are participating in saying those words, don't know how painful they are," Jones said.

Once again, ignorance, self-righteousness, and political correctness wins out over heritage, tradition, and just plain fun.

What Stimulus?

2009-10-23T09:23:00.002-05:00

Obama was right. The stimulus bill really did affect jobs:

(Source)

You Report, They Decide

2009-10-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

"A Global Force for Good"?

2009-10-17T18:44:00.003-05:00

The U.S. Navy unveils its new slogan -- and no longer tries to conceal its true mission:

Anyone still want to argue that the U.S. is not imperialistic?

The Non-Negotiables of a Free Society

2009-10-13T13:00:00.002-05:00

Chuck Baldwin writes:

In the same way that Jefferson and Company patiently suffered up until that shot was fired that was heard around the world, we who love freedom today are likewise patiently suffering "a long train of abuses and usurpations." In fact, I would even dare say that these States United have become a boiling caldron of justifiable frustration and even anger.

Accordingly, it is incumbent upon us to very seriously and thoughtfully examine those principles that we absolutely will never cede or surrender. We have already surrendered much of the freedom that was bequeathed to us by our forefathers. We are now to the point that we must define those principles that form our "line in the sand" and that we will not surrender under any circumstance. Either that, or we must admit to ourselves that there is nothing -- no principle, no freedom, no matter how sacred -- that we will not surrender to Big Government.

Here, then, are those principles that, to me, must never be surrendered. To surrender these liberties to Big Government would mean to commit idolatry. It would be sacrilege. It would reduce us to slavery. It would destroy our humanity. To surrender these freedoms would mean "absolute Despotism" and would provide moral justification to the proposition that such tyranny be "thrown off."

Read the rest here.

Government Handouts Create Chaos

2009-10-08T07:18:00.005-05:00

Did Vaccines Rid the World of Deadly Diseases?

2009-10-06T09:20:00.003-05:00

The vast majority of Americans believe that vaccines helped rid the world of deadly diseases. Is that really the case? Is it possible that these diseases were already in decline by the time the vaccines were introduced?

Just a little food for thought.

Bombs and Bribes

2009-10-05T12:39:00.002-05:00

Ron Paul nails it once again:

What if tomorrow morning you woke up to headlines that yet another Chinese drone bombing on U.S. soil killed several dozen ranchers in a rural community while they were sleeping? That a drone aircraft had come across the Canadian border in the middle of the night and carried out the latest of many attacks? What if it was claimed that many of the victims harbored anti-Chinese sentiments, but most of the dead were innocent women and children? And what if the Chinese administration, in an effort to improve its public image in the U.S., had approved an aid package to send funds to help with American roads and schools and promote Chinese values here?

Most Americans would not stand for it. Yet the above hypothetical events are similar to what our government is doing in Pakistan.

Get Vaccinated or Get Kicked out of School

2009-09-30T12:52:00.002-05:00

The U.S. Government Is Lying About Iran

2009-09-30T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's warmongering, pure and simple. We saw it before with Iraq, and we're seeing it now with Iran.

"Pro-Choice" Really Means "Pro-Abortion"

2009-09-29T08:14:00.002-05:00

Many of you are aware of what happened to Carolyn Savage of Sylvania, Ohio. She and her husband, Sean, decided to have a baby via in vitro fertilization. The good news: it was a success. The bad news: it was someone else's embryo.

(Read the full article here.)

The Threat of Net Neutrality

2009-09-24T12:26:00.006-05:00

From Forbes:

There was a time, not so long ago, when the term "Internet Freedom" actually meant what it implied: a cyberspace free from over-zealous legislators and bureaucrats. For a few brief, beautiful moments in the Internet's history (from the mid-90s to the early 2000s), a majority of Netizens and cyber-policy pundits alike all rallied around the flag of "Hands Off the Net!" From censorship efforts, encryption controls, online taxes, privacy mandates and infrastructure regulations, there was a general consensus as to how much authority government should have over cyber life and our cyber liberties. Simply put, there was a "presumption of liberty" in all cyber matters.

Those days are now gone; the presumption of online liberty is giving way to a presumption of regulation. A massive assault on real Internet freedom has been gathering steam for years and has finally come to a head. Ironically, victory for those who carry the banner of "Internet Freedom" would mean nothing less than the death of that freedom.

We refer to the gradual but certain movement to have the federal government impose "neutrality" regulation for all Internet actors and activities -- and in particular, to Monday's announcement by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski that new rules will be floated shortly. "But wait," you say, "You're mixing things up! All that's being talked about right now is the application of 'simple net neutrality,' regulations for the infrastructure layer of the net." You might even claim regulations are not really regulation but pro-freedom principles to keep the net "free and open."

Such thinking is terribly short-sighted. Here is the reality: Because of the steps being taken in Washington right now, real Internet Freedom -- for all Internet operators and consumers, and for economic and speech rights alike -- is about to start dying a death by a thousand regulatory cuts. Policymakers and activists groups are ramping up the FCC's regulatory machine for a massive assault on cyber liberty. This assault rests on the supposed superiority of common carriage regulation and "public interest" mandates over not just free markets and property rights, but over general individual liberties and freedom of speech in particular. Stated differently, cyber collectivism is back in vogue -- and it's coming very soon to a computer near you!

FDA Bans Flavored Cigarettes

2009-09-22T21:16:00.007-05:00

Here's a little reminder from your friendly neighborhood thugs at the FDA:

As of today, it's illegal in the U.S. to buy or sell most flavored cigarettes.

However, the FDA ban does not include the most popular cigarette flavor: menthol. It does cover every other conceivable flavor, including candy, spice, herb, cola, fruit, and coffee flavors.

The flavored-cigarette ban is the FDA's first major anti-tobacco action since President Barack Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act in June. The law gives the FDA the power to regulate tobacco products.

The law doesn't let FDA ban cigarettes entirely. But Congress has stated that flavors make cigarettes more appealing to youth and increase their exposure to toxic substances.

As a result, the FDA now rules that flavorings designed to appeal to youths "are considered adulterated."

"Flavored cigarettes attract and allure kids into addiction," Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Howard Koh, MD, MPH, said at a news conference held to announce the ban.

Look for candy cigarettes to be banned within the next five years. Yes, the insanity is that widespread.

Free Plaxico Burress!

2009-09-22T11:24:00.003-05:00

Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress has been sentenced to two years in prison for accidentally shooting himself. The official story is that he was illegally carrying a concealed, unregistered firearm, but what was his real crime? Well, there was no real crime.

It isn't difficult to understand that even a 6-foot-5, 230-pound wide receiver like Burress would want some form of personal protection when out on the town, especially after what had happened to fellow players Darrent Williams and Sean Taylor. But in these once-free United States you must first get permission from the government before you are allowed to take steps to protect yourself.

Burress threatened no one else and injured no one but himself. In my opinion, the physical pain and humiliation associated with a careless, self-inflicted gunshot wound is punishment enough.

Alas, only "qualified" law enforcement officers are allowed to get off that easily...

Humane Society Stages Armed Home Invasion over Sick Dog

2009-09-18T10:43:00.004-05:00

What would you do if your dog was sick and you couldn't afford treatment at your local veterinary clinic? If you happen to live in Nebraska, you had better not refuse treatment, or you just might find yourself the victim of an armed police raid courtesy of the Humane Society.

Oh, yes, it really happened:

Days after police burst into a home and arrested a pet owner, tests have shown that the owner's dog died of natural causes.

Court records showed that the dog suffered from a uterine infection for two weeks before the owner took it to the veterinarian and then refused treatment. The dog owner will not face additional charges in the case, prosecutors said.

The Nebraska Humane Society has since defended its use of force in the case, saying it was trying to save what it believed was a dog in danger. (video)

Sending cops into a house with guns drawn because you don't approve of the way someone else handles their own property? To say this was overkill would be an understatement.

But perhaps when Obamacare is passed, and people have free health coverage for their pets, this kind of thing won't happen.

Peter Schiff Announces Senate Candidacy

2009-09-17T07:29:00.006-05:00

It's official. Economist Peter Schiff has announced that he will be running against Connecticut incumbent Chris Dodd for a seat in the United States Senate. Schiff made the announcement this morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe show.

You can check out Schiff's campaign web site here.

A Christian Libertarian Perspective on Rights

2009-09-17T06:56:00.001-05:00

This is the time of year when we patriotic Americans like to reflect on our "rights" and what has been done to secure that freedom. Some of us may even pause to read the Declaration of Independence and contemplate just what it means to have certain inalienable rights, such as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I would submit that we have no rights, at least not in the eternal sense. To argue otherwise is to adopt an entitlement mentality. Sadly, we Americans can't seem to help looking at liberty from the perspective of what we believe we are entitled to. When we complain about government intrusion into our lives, we gripe about "our freedoms" being taken away.

We need to remember that everything we have was given to us. We are entitled to nothing. In fact, the only things we deserve are death and eternal punishment (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, 2 Thessalonians 1:9). So, from a Christian standpoint, how do we reconcile our theology with the traditional American view of liberty?

The best way to interpret the concept of "inalienable rights" is to flip it around. When we speak of the right to life, liberty, property, the pursuit of happiness, etc., think of it not in terms of what a person deserves, but what a person isn't entitled to do to someone else. It doesn't mean that I am entitled to life, since that is an undeserved gift from my Creator; rather, it means that you have no right to take my life. The Bible calls that murder (Exodus 20:13). You have no right to take my property. That would be stealing (Exodus 20:15). And so on.

One important thing to note about the Ten Commandments is that in using words like "you shall not," they focus on God's rights, not ours. Since all men are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), all men should be treated with dignity, respect, and love -- not because they deserve it, but because God deserves it.

Mandated Health Insurance Is on Its Way

2009-09-16T18:21:00.004-05:00

Dr. David McKalip is on to Obama's (and the Republicans') health (s)care plan:

Mr. Obama has been keeping this secret until his 9/9/09 speech when he finally admitted that it will be everyone’s "shared responsibility" to buy health insurance. It was here where he finally threw the public option under the bus as planned all along while deflecting blame from himself and assigning it to "blue dog" and Senate Democrats. His base should be furious. Of course, the tea party activists -- a million of whom converged on D.C. on 9/12/09 -- may also be betrayed by Republican leadership who appear more interested in appearing to "compromise" and avoid being "called out" by the President. But there is no surprise here. This is how "Romney Care" came to Massachusetts. Cloaked in the silky robe of "compromise" so that the politicians from both parties could join arm and arm but not admit that no matter what letter was behind their name, they were really all about more government power and less individual power. ...

... There is the standard sleight of hand: "if you like your doctor or your health care plan -- you can keep them". That trick is easy to dissect. The fact is that the President will make any plan or doctor that is not government-approved disliked by the vast majority of Americans. For doctors, he will support an inaccurate "report card" system that allows doctors to be labeled as "bad" (who would "like" that doctor?). Doctors will not be graded on true medical quality, but on how well they comply with rationing protocols and how well they provide government-approved, one-size-fits-all medical care. For your insurance, his plans will force any insurance plan that is not government approved out of business. His plans will tax every person who dares to buy an insurance plan that is not approved by the government up to 2.5% of income. In fact, his plans would make any change to your health insurance policy or choice illegal after 2013.

Read the full article here.

Get Vaccinated or Get Deported

2009-09-16T17:27:00.004-05:00

As a libertarian and an adoptive parent, you can imagine how upset I was when I read this:

An adopted teen who has lived in Port St. Joe, Fla. since she was 3 faces possible deportation to England for refusing a vaccination, she and her mother say.

Simone Davis, 17, said she has no need for the vaccine Gardasil, which guards against the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus virus, because she is not sexually active, ABC News reported.

But the U.S. government requires female immigrants between the ages of 11 and 26 to receive Gardasil shots before they can become citizens.

Whether you have adopted or not, just imagine the government threatening to take away your child unless you agree to have her injected with a controversial, unproven vaccine for a disease that isn't transmitted through casual contact.

Another Example of D.C. Elitism

2009-09-05T22:36:00.002-05:00

Congressman Baron Hill (D-IN) has to remind one of his constituents of her place:

They truly believe that we serve them, and not the other way around.

Health Care Rationing in the U.K.

2009-09-03T10:15:00.002-05:00

Not surprisingly, health care rationing in the U.K. is killing patients:

In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, a group of experts who care for the terminally ill claim that some patients are being wrongly judged as close to death.

Under NHS guidance introduced across England to help doctors and medical staff deal with dying patients, they can then have fluid and drugs withdrawn and many are put on continuous sedation until they pass away.

But this approach can also mask the signs that their condition is improving, the experts warn.

As a result the scheme is causing a "national crisis" in patient care, the letter states. It has been signed palliative care experts including Professor Peter Millard, Emeritus Professor of Geriatrics, University of London, Dr Peter Hargreaves, a consultant in Palliative Medicine at St Luke’s cancer centre in Guildford, and four others.

"Forecasting death is an inexact science," they say. Patients are being diagnosed as being close to death "without regard to the fact that the diagnosis could be wrong.

"As a result a national wave of discontent is building up, as family and friends witness the denial of fluids and food to patients."

The warning comes just a week after a report by the Patients Association estimated that up to one million patients had received poor or cruel care on the NHS.

And to think that advocates of free-market health care are the ones considered to be cruel and heartless.

President Obama to Address Students on Opening Day

2009-09-02T13:23:00.004-05:00

Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to the principals of America's government-run indoctrination centers, encouraging them to tune in to Barack Hussein Obama's special webcast on September 8. Along with the letter were some suggested classroom activities.

For preschool to 6th grade teachers those included getting their students to:

Write letters to themselves about what they can do to help the president. These would be collected and redistributed at an appropriate later date by the teacher to make students accountable to their goals.

Write goals on colored index cards or precut designs to post around the classroom.

Interview and share about their goals with one another to create a supportive community.

Participate in School wide incentive programs or contests for students who achieve their goals.

Teachers for grades 7 through 12 could get group discussions going with question like:

What are the three most important words in the speech? Rank them. What title would you give this speech? What's the thesis?

What is President Obama inspiring you to do? What is he challenging you to do?

What do you believe are the challenges of your generation?

How can you be a part of addressing these challenges?

While these things are seemingly harmless, it's just another example of how far the tentacles of Washington extend. Secretary Duncan even drew attention to the historic significance of this upcoming speech, noting that it will be "the first time an American president has spoken directly to the nation's school children about persisting and succeeding in school." Seriously. Is that the president's job?

Parents, I would encourage you to do your kids a favor and keep them home on September 8.

Governing Through Fear

2009-09-02T09:06:00.002-05:00

When they aren't trying to frighten us into submission with possible nuclear annihilation or purported terrorist threats, the ruling elite like to try a good ol' fashioned health scare. From WorldNetDaily:

A "pandemic response bill" currently making its way through the Massachusetts state legislature would allow authorities to forcefully quarantine citizens in the event of a health emergency, compel health providers to vaccinate citizens, authorize forceful entry into private dwellings and destruction of citizen property and impose fines on citizens for noncompliance.

If citizens refuse to comply with isolation or quarantine orders in the event of a health emergency, they may be imprisoned for up to 30 days and fined $1,000 per day that the violation continues.

Um...does anyone remember what happened in 1976?

The Government Can

2009-09-01T12:45:00.001-05:00

The Future of American Health Care

2009-08-26T07:02:00.005-05:00

A couple of recent news stories from across the pond paint a frightening picture of what lies in store for America. If we really wish to continue down the road toward universal health care, then we will have to get used to seeing things like an appendix rupturing after it had already been "removed" and a hospital bed shortage forcing thousands of mothers to give birth in elevators, offices, and bathrooms.

That, my friends, is change we can believe in.

Torture Is Commonplace in America

2009-08-17T19:51:00.003-05:00

Digby, filling in for Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com, discusses law enforcement's love affair with the reliably lethal Taser:

They kill people. Nobody knows exactly why some people die from being tasered, and they certainly don't know how to tell in advance which ones are at risk. But there have been hundreds of deaths ...

... Representatives of the government torture innocent citizens into unconsciousness, on camera, in United States courtrooms with tasers. They use them on prisoners and on motorists and on political protesters and bicycle riders, on mentally ill and handicapped people and on children And it's happening with nary a peep of protest.

America's torture problem is much bigger than Gitmo or the CIA or the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The government is torturing people every day and killing some of them. Then videos of the torture wind up on Youtube where sadists laugh and jeer at the victims. It's the sign of profound cultural illness.

You can view a couple of the incidents he discusses here.

The Whole Foods Alternative to ObamaCare

2009-08-12T17:50:00.003-05:00

John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market Inc., lists in the Wall Street Journal "eight reforms that would greatly lower the cost of health care for everyone":

Remove the legal obstacles that slow the creation of high-deductible health insurance plans and health savings accounts (HSAs).

Equalize the tax laws so that employer-provided health insurance and individually owned health insurance have the same tax benefits.

Repeal all state laws which prevent insurance companies from competing across state lines.

Repeal government mandates regarding what insurance companies must cover.

Enact tort reform to end the ruinous lawsuits that force doctors to pay insurance costs of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.

Make costs transparent so that consumers understand what health-care treatments cost.

Enact Medicare reform.

Finally, revise tax forms to make it easier for individuals to make a voluntary, tax-deductible donation to help the millions of people who have no insurance and aren't covered by Medicare, Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program.

For further details, read the full article here.

Why can't we at least give this a shot? These reforms are certainly preferable to wasting billions of dollars and turning the eventual control of our entire health care system over to a swarm of parasitic tax-feeders.

Spending more money and enacting more regulations is a strategy that has been tried countless times before, and not one problem has been fixed as a result. If insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, then perhaps our leaders in Washington should try something they have never tried: just getting out of the way.

President Obama's Life Threatened

2009-08-11T21:03:00.003-05:00

OK, not really, but listening to these ignorant fools you'd think that was the case:

They seem to forget that whenever the president makes a public appearance he is surrounded by armed men: secret service agents, military personnel, state troopers, local police. I hardly think we need to be concerned about one guy carrying a handgun in plain sight.

Of course, it isn't surprising that these statist lackeys would be shocked. Guns are something that belong only to the ruling elite. The thought of an average citizen being armed scares them. But, then again, that's the point of the Second Amendment, isn't it?

Peter Schiff for Senate

2009-08-07T07:16:00.002-05:00

Economist Peter Schiff, one of the few people who saw this current recession coming long before it happened, is considering running for the Senate from the state of Connecticut. Be sure to check out his site at www.SchiffForSenate.com.

The U.S. Postal Service Is in Trouble

2009-08-05T22:11:00.006-05:00

The U.S. Postal Service stands to lose $7 billion this fiscal year. So, it is doing what every government agency does when it hasn't been able to balance its bloated budget: It tries to scare us by threatening to cut services that could be provided much more efficiently by the private sector anyway. That means we could see up to 1,000 post offices close nationwide.

Bring it on. I'm sorry, but there is no reason for anyone to ever set foot in a post office. None whatsoever. You can print stamps on your computer. You can even get them from the ATM when you stop to get cash. And if you happen to be mailing anything other than a first class letter (which, by the way, is illegal for any entity other than the federal government to deliver), you're better off going with UPS or FedEx.

It's time this government-created monopoly was forced into the competitive free market. Where's Lysander Spooner when you need him?

Censorship in "Liberated" Iraq

2009-08-04T11:25:00.004-05:00

The current Iraqi regime now wants to start censoring material it deems harmful. The New York Times reports:

The doors of the communications revolution were thrown open in Iraq after the American-led invasion in 2003: In rushed a wave of music videos featuring scantily clad Turkish singers, Web sites recruiting suicide bombers, racy Egyptian soap operas, pornography, romance novels, and American and Israeli news and entertainment sites that had long been blocked under Saddam Hussein's rule.

Now those doors may be shut again, at least partially, as the Iraqi government moves to ban sites deemed harmful to the public, to require Internet cafes to register with the authorities and to press publishers to censor books.

The government, which has been proceeding quietly on the new censorship laws, said prohibitions were necessary because material currently available in the country had had the effect of encouraging sectarian violence in the fragile democracy and of warping the minds of the young.

"Our Constitution respects freedom of thought and freedom of expression, but that should come with respect for society as a whole, and for moral behavior," said Taher Naser al-Hmood, Iraq's deputy cultural minister. "It is not easy to balance security and democracy. It is like being a tightrope walker."

It seems Iraq is becoming more like America every day.

Your Computer Is Federal Property

2009-07-31T22:21:00.004-05:00

No, really. Glenn Beck explains:

(Video reposted 8/26/09)

Beware Universal Health Care

2009-07-30T07:56:00.006-05:00

According to British physician Anthony Daniels, the U.K. has the "the dirtiest, most broken-down hospitals in Europe." He writes in the Wall Street Journal:

The question of health care is not one of rights but of how best in practice to organize it. America is certainly not a perfect model in this regard. But neither is Britain, where a universal right to health care has been recognized longest in the Western world.

Not coincidentally, the U.K. is by far the most unpleasant country in which to be ill in the Western world. Even Greeks living in Britain return home for medical treatment if they are physically able to do so.

The government-run health-care system -- which in the U.K. is believed to be the necessary institutional corollary to an inalienable right to health care -- has pauperized the entire population. This is not to say that in every last case the treatment is bad: A pauper may be well or badly treated, according to the inclination, temperament and abilities of those providing the treatment. But a pauper must accept what he is given.

And the paupers here tend to accept what we are given. The only way to combat the chaos of universal (i.e. government-run) health care is to exercise what remains of our liberty and vote the control freaks out of office.

If, however, universal health care is forced upon us, I would hope that freedom-loving doctors, patients, insurers, and employers will choose to ignore the dictates of Washington. Since neither the president nor members of Congress have the constitutional authority to manage our health care, we are under no moral obligation to comply. That's easier said than done, but perhaps we Americans have had it too easy for too long.

Squandering Our Inheritance

2009-07-04T10:34:00.002-05:00

Benjamin Franklin once said, "It is every American's right, and obligation, to read and interpret the Constitution for himself." Wise words from a wise man, spoken during a time when people actually had the ability to think for themselves. I believe this is an ability U.S. citizens have lost since the Constitution was ratified, resulting in the systematic erosion of our individual liberties.

(Read the rest at Examiner.com.)

Free Bernie Madoff

2009-07-02T16:12:00.003-05:00

I agree with the Mises Institute's Jeffrey Tucker:

What, then, precisely, is the point of jailing him? He is no direct threat to anyone. Society would not be safer because he is in the slammer. He is not going to rob people or beat people up. He might write a book and donate the funds to charity or make some restitution to his victims. I, for one, would like to read that book.

Instead, taxpayers will be forced to pick up the tab for his living expenses. Victims get nothing. That's not justice. That's inhumane for both sides of the transaction: Bernie and us. ...

... So let us ask the unaskable: Just how unusually evil were Madoff's actions? Not that unusual. In fact, the whole notion of paying off past investors with the funds of present investors is at the very core of the Social Security system. At least Madoff sought the consent of his investors who let him care for their money based on their own volition. And at least he didn't attempt to defend himself with the claim that he was conducting wise public policy.

Questioning Global Warming Is "Treason"

2009-06-29T08:04:00.004-05:00

If you question the current "science" that wants us to believe that we are killing the planet with so-called "greenhouse gases," then you are guilty of a most horrible crime. The unintentionally hilarious Paul Krugman explains:

So the House passed the Waxman-Markey climate-change bill. In political terms, it was a remarkable achievement.

But 212 representatives voted no. A handful of these no votes came from representatives who considered the bill too weak, but most rejected the bill because they rejected the whole notion that we have to do something about greenhouse gases.

And as I watched the deniers make their arguments, I couldn't help thinking that I was watching a form of treason -- treason against the planet.

"Treason against the planet"? Mr. Krugman certainly has a flair for the dramatic.

Let's set aside the fact that the global warming scare is based entirely on junk science, an insatiable lust for taxpayer dollars, and a desire to alter the very fabric of Western civilization. Even if, by some chance, in our wildest imaginations, Earth really did warm a few degrees, I still fail to see how that would be a bad thing.

The way I see it, the melting of the polar ice caps would mean more water for drinking and irrigation. Once-frozen wastelands would become fertile farmlands capable of feeding hundreds of millions of people. Sure, Duluth, Minnesota, might become the new spring break destination of choice, the Winter Olympics might have to be put on hold indefinitely, and Paul Krugman might have to shave his beard, but I prefer to look on the bright side.

The Abortion Issue: A Conflict of Rights

2009-06-25T09:36:00.002-05:00

The subject of abortion deals with the inevitable clash between property rights and the right to life. Given that predicament, how should this conflict be resolved? To put it in more crass terms, if protecting the rights of one means "violating" the rights of another, whose rights should take precedence?

(Read the rest at Examiner.com.)

Memo Reveals U.S. Plan to Provoke an Invasion of Iraq

2009-06-21T20:19:00.003-05:00

The Observer has the story:

The memo, written on 31 January 2003, almost two months before the invasion and seen by the Observer, confirms that as the two men became increasingly aware U.N. inspectors would fail to find weapons of mass destruction (WMD) they had to contemplate alternative scenarios that might trigger a second resolution legitimising military action.

Bush told Blair the U.S. had drawn up a provocative plan "to fly U2 reconnaissance aircraft painted in U.N. colours over Iraq with fighter cover". Bush said that if Saddam fired at the planes this would put the Iraqi leader in breach of U.N. resolutions.

Even Police Dogs Are Not People

2009-06-19T09:01:00.004-05:00

It is has come to be accepted that who serve the state are entitled to be ushered from this world in all manner of pomp and circumstance at taxpayer expense -- and that includes dogs.

Washington Elitism

2009-06-18T10:18:00.000-05:00

Now Showing at Liberty Theater: The Incredible Bread Machine

2009-06-16T09:23:00.003-05:00

The Incredible Bread Machine, the classic educational film on liberty and capitalism from 1975, is available for viewing here.

Another Anti-Confederate Flag Boycott

2009-06-12T09:24:00.003-05:00

The NAACP is at it again, this time threatening a boycott (big surprise) of Florida businesses that display the Confederate flag. From the South Florida Times:

Civil rights groups on Thursday put city and business leaders here on a 30-day notice that unless they meet a list of demands -- including a ban on the display of the Confederate flag at taxpayer-funded events -- they will be subjected to protests and boycotts.

More than 100 people converged on the steps of Homestead City Hall for a press conference organized by clerical, civil rights and community groups who submitted the list of demands.

"We are ready to talk with the city of Homestead and the Homestead Chamber of Commerce concerning our action items. And our issues are with them, and not with the Sons of the Confederacy," said Bishop Victor T. Curry, president of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP. "If the Sons of the Confederacy want to have their own parade, we are not trying to stifle freedom of speech or freedom of expression. We just don't want to see racism walking down the streets of Homestead, being funded by the taxpayers."

Curry warned business leaders that if their demands are not met by the 30-day deadline, the controversy would escalate to another level.

"We want the mayor and the council, and the chamber, to do the right thing. We hope that we could start this with a positive dialogue. But we're also ready to move from dialogue to demonstration," Curry said.

"We are also prepared to say to the businesses that support the chamber, that if you want to offend the people of this great county and community, then we will seek other places to spend our dollars," Curry said. "We will not pay you to offend us."

It's a wonder the NAACP has any shred of credibility left.

Peter Schiff on "The Daily Show"

2009-06-11T09:14:00.002-05:00

No Freedom of Speech or Religion in the U.K.

2009-06-10T11:24:00.001-05:00

Brave Senator Wants to Ban Tobacco

2009-06-09T13:24:00.004-05:00

Those of us who view smoking bans as draconian affronts to private property rights have often asked, "If tobacco is so destructive, why not ban it altogether?" Admittedly, we aren't all that sincere when we ask that question. We all know the reason tobacco hasn't been banned is because the unhappy souls who despise smokers are greedy unhappy souls, and they need the revenue generated by that evil plant to fund their misguided crusade to shape the rest of the country in their own image.

Well, wouldn't you know it? Some principled idealist is actually talking about banning tobacco -- and he happens to be a Republican. Newsmax.com reports:

Sen. Tom Coburn, who is also a medical doctor, is calling for an outright ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.

"What we should be doing is banning tobacco," the Oklahoma Republican declared on the Senate floor during a debate on a tobacco regulation bill.

"Nobody up here has the courage to do that. It is a big business. There are millions of Americans who are addicted to nicotine."

So, Senator Coburn fancies himself as someone with courage. Well, since he wants to use the most powerful government in the world to crack down on private businesses and consumers, he can afford to be brave.

Too bad he hasn't the cojones to take his oath of office seriously and actually abide by the Constitution he swore to support and defend. I guess there's a fine line between being brave and just plain insane.

Maker of the Liberty Dollar Indicted by the Feds

2009-06-05T12:08:00.006-05:00

Read my latest Examiner.com entry here.

The Death of American Capitalism

2009-05-30T12:05:00.004-05:00

There is no question that American capitalism as we once knew it is dead. How did it happen? Russian blogger Mat Rodina provides an interesting perspective:

First, the population was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education system based on pop culture, rather then the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas then the drama in DC that directly affects their lives. They care more for their "right" to choke down a McDonald's burger or a BurgerKing burger than for their constitutional rights. Then they turn around and lecture us about our rights and about our "democracy". Pride blindeth the foolish.

Then their faith in God was destroyed, until their churches, all tens of thousands of different "branches and denominations" were for the most part little more then Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant mega preachers were more then happy to sell out their souls and flocks to be on the "winning" side of one pseudo Marxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the "winning" side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes for earthly power. Even our Holy Orthodox churches are scandalously liberalized in America.

The final collapse has come with the election of Barrack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money printing has been a record setting, not just in America's short history but in the world. If this keeps up for more then another year, and there is no sign that it will not, America at best will resemble the Wiemar Republic and at worst Zimbabwe.

Read the full article here.

A Fair and Balanced Approach to the Release of Torture Photos

2009-05-29T07:11:00.005-05:00

My latest on Examiner.com.

Who's in Charge of Your Health?

2009-05-28T09:52:00.003-05:00

Why, the government is, of course! Just ask Daniel Hauser, who has been forced to undergo chemotherapy against his beliefs. Oh, and ask Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. He just vetoed a bill that would allow terminally ill patients to use marijuana to alleviate pain.

Radley Balko disagrees, and he points out the glaring discrepancy:

The state of Minnesota is forcing Daniel Hauser into chemo because he isn't old enough to decide his own course of treatment, and because his parents' claimed moral opposition to chemotherapy is irrational. Yet at the same time, the state will forbid Hauser from smoking marijuana to offset the effects of said chemo because, despite research showing marijuana's clear benefits in that area, the state has a moral obligation to prevent people from smoking marijuana. Science should trump belief. Except when it doesn't.

Fewer Cops = More Freedom

2009-05-27T11:28:00.001-05:00

What do you call a massive layoff of police officers? A good start. Maybe people will start buying more guns and actually take responsibility for defending themselves.

The sad fact is that cops have become little more than uniformed tax collectors. Most of the laws they enforce serve no other purpose than to fill the coffers of greedy bureaucrats. The primary function of your average police officer is to protect and serve the interests of the state, not the citizenry -- unless, of course, protection is defined as responding to a crime after it has already been committed.

Get the State Out of Marriage

2009-05-26T11:39:00.004-05:00

Jerry Salcido, a trial and appellate lawyer and legal chair for the HomeSchool Association of California, nails it:

Thanks to the state, marriage is no longer a covenant between two people or between two people and God. No, marriage is a state classification, which connotes state-provided benefits or detriments. Marriage is married to the state imposed tax structure and the state created probate system, and in many instances marriage defines the powers of the state over the married individuals.

This unholy union between the state and marriage has transformed marriage from an inalienable or natural right in which government's only place was as protector of that right, to a civil right in which the state became the creator of the right. ...

... By transitioning away from a protector of rights to a provider of rights, the state has laid the groundwork for the problems that are so evident in the same sex marriage issue. If the government were to take its proper place as a protector of rights then a private union between a same sex couple which the couple calls "marriage" would be inconsequential to same sex marriage opponents, even though it may be morally repugnant to some and nonsensical to others. Likewise, refusal to recognize a private same sex union as "marriage" would be inconsequential to gays and lesbians, even though such refusal may personally offend the practitioners of same sex unions. In a free society any individual could "marry" whomever he wants by whatever procedure he desires, and the government's only role would be to make sure that in doing so he does not violate the natural rights of others. ...

... Until we divorce marriage from the state, the right to marry will never be protected and the problems associated with Proposition 8 will be repeated throughout the world. Both sides of the Proposition, therefore, should agree to truly protect their natural rights by removing the state from the equation. In the meantime the world will wait to see how California protects its interests in the Proposition 8 lawsuits.

Obama Picks Up Where Bush Left Off

2009-05-26T06:39:00.004-05:00

If you thought Bush's detention of suspected terrorists made a mockery of the rule of law, you ain't seen nothin' yet:

All Obama groupies knew as well as anyone that this is exactly the kind of thing that would happen. It was evident when they were willing to look the other way even when their "savior" showed his true colors by supporting Bush's presidential snooping powers.

They never gave a damn about freedom or the Constitution, but they knew that if their guy won, they would be the ones calling the shots. The lust for power is a potent aphrodisiac, which explains why they went along with the whole charade of "change."

Citizenship Requires a Knowledge of (State-Approved) History

2009-05-25T11:17:00.000-05:00

Now Showing at Liberty Theater...

2009-05-25T11:07:00.000-05:00

The Six Months That Changed the World

John V. Denson discusses the world-changing events that happened between January and June 1919: disastrous decisions that resulted in creating a platform for Hitler to rise in Germany, the Second World War, and beyond.

Watch the video here.

The Thin Thug Blue Line

2009-05-23T07:29:00.004-05:00

A cop "protects and serves" an innocent guy right into a concrete wall, leaving him in a coma. And does this agent of the state face assault charges? Of course not. Just another ordinary day in Police State, U.S.A.:

By the way, it's absolutely clear that the "fleeing suspect" in the video is barely jogging, and he is slowing to a stop before being brutally attacked.

And people still wonder why an innocent person might want to try to get away from these thugs.

Police State Survival Tip #1: Getting Out of Plastic Handcuffs

2009-05-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

Government Propaganda on YouTube

2009-05-21T07:48:00.003-05:00

Who can blame the government for wanting to get in on the action? Bloated federal bureaucracies like the EPA, NASA, FEMA, and even the Department of Defense have channels on YouTube.

Here's the latest from the Federal Trade Commission:

All Your Water Are Belong to Us!

2009-05-21T07:18:00.001-05:00

Canada's Nanny State Gone Wild

2009-05-20T09:22:00.004-05:00

From Canada's Globe and Mail:

Anyone who has ridden an escalator and bothered to pay attention has seen -- and likely ignored -- little signs suggesting riders hold the grimy handrail.

In Montreal's subway system, the friendly advice seems to have taken on the force of law, backed by a $100 fine.

Bela Kosoian, a 38-year-old mother of two, says when she didn't hold the handrail Wednesday she was cuffed, dragged into a small holding cell and fined.

It's nice to know ours isn't the only police state in North America.

Pakistan Plan

2009-05-18T08:08:00.004-05:00

Oh, yeah. This headline is comforting:

"U.S. Has Plan to Secure Pakistan Nukes if Country Falls to Taliban."

Brought to you by the same people who had a plan for Afghanistan and Iraq -- only this time there are real weapons of mass destruction involved.