This is Low, Even for the IRS

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?

The Real Goal of the Climate Change Cult: Depopulation

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.

Child Porn in Our Schools

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)

Global Warming Idiocy Hits a New Low

FDA Bans Flavored Cigarettes

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.

Humane Society Stages Armed Home Invasion over Sick Dog

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.

Another Example of D.C. Elitism

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.

Questioning Global Warming Is "Treason"

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.

Even Police Dogs Are Not People

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.

Canada's Nanny State Gone Wild

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.

Quadriplegic Ticketed for Parking in a Handicapped Spot

This story from Portland, Oregon, is the perfect example of just how burdensome our "law and order" society has become:

A quadriplegic confined to a wheelchair got a $360 ticket for parking in a handicapped spot on Monday.

Gordon Pike said a volunteer enforcement team from Washington County confiscated his disabled placard after telling him the card was invalid.

Pike was hurt in Vietnam in 1969 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. He said he doesn't understand who the disabled parking spots are for if he doesn't qualify.

"(It) kind of wrecked my day," Pike said. "What are these spaces for? If they're not for me, who are they for, you know?" ...

... Sgt. Dave Marzilli of the Washington County Sheriff's Office said it appears that his enforcement volunteers did the right thing.

"Was It a valid citation? Yes," Marzilli said. "They checked through DMV and saw that permit matching that number was invalid and it was, so they issued a citation for it."

But Pike said it should've been obvious that he needed the parking spot. Plus, he still believes the disabled placard was valid. He said he wants the sheriff's office to take a closer look at who they use as volunteers he said they need to be more courteous.

OK, so no one was dragged from bed in the middle of the night and shot, but who says we have to let it get to that point before we start complaining?

Jerk Chicken vs. Government Jerks

In the U.K., the war on obesity has been taken to the next level. The Mail Online has the story:

The hit squad had prepared their raid long in advance.

At 10am eight police officers, some in anti-stab vests, joined three council employees on the doorstep of the Bamboo Joint takeaway.

Their mission? To stamp out the practice of selling jerk chicken within 400 metres of a secondary school. Yesterday, the Jamaican cafe in Leytonstone, East London, became the first takeaway in the country to be given a closure order under guidelines banning the sale of fast food near educational establishments.

Its owners were given three days to shut up shop.

They were informed by Waltham Forest Council that their small premises, on a busy high street, was not only within 400 metres of a secondary school but also within 200 metres of a primary school and 100 metres from a public park.

The action is intended to combat child obesity by reducing the number of shops selling unhealthy fast food near schools and parks.

Co-owner Maureen Farrell, who opened the Bamboo Joint six weeks ago, said she felt she was being victimised by a council which was acting 'completely over the top'.

'They told us that it's because we are too near a school, but this street is full of takeaways selling fish and chips and burgers.

I'm really beginning to wonder if there's any difference at all between fascism and insanity.

How to Tell if Your Neighbor Is a Terrorist

So, if you're outdoors watching birds, taking pictures, sketching a building, or writing in your journal, be advised that you may be exhibiting suspicious, terrorist-like behavior.

Tax-Supporters Hold Their Own Rallies

While hundreds of thousands of concerned Americans attend "tea parties" all across the country to protest burdensome taxes and out-of-control government spending, others are responding with what can only be described as "Kool-Aid parties." The Star-Tribune has the story:

Normally, the annual arrival of tax day isn't considered a cause for celebration.

But this year, a group of liberal organizations in Minnesota and nationwide are staging "thank you taxes" events today.

Organizers of the Alliance for a Better Minnesota planned to hold a midday press conference as part of its ongoing campaign to highlight the need for tax revenue to sustain public services.

The event, among others sponsored by Americans United for Change and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, is an attempt to piggyback on publicity recently garnered by anti-tax activists who are holding "tea parties" across the nation today.

Man Detained by the TSA for Carrying Cash

Full, uncensored, 24-minute audio of Steve Bierfeldt's harassment here.

Papa Don't Preach

The British government is encouraging parents to, well, not parent.
From Times Online:

Parents should avoid trying to convince their teenage children of the difference between right and wrong when talking to them about sex, a new government leaflet is to advise.

Instead, any discussion of values should be kept "light" to encourage teenagers to form their own views, according to the brochure, which one critic has called "amoral".

Talking to Your Teenager About Sex and Relationships will be distributed in pharmacies from next month as part of an initiative led by Beverley Hughes, the children's minister.

The leaflet comes in the wake of the case of Alfie Patten, the 13-year-old boy from East Sussex who fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl and sparked a debate about how to cut rates of teenage parenthood.

It advises: "Discussing your values with your teenagers will help them to form their own. Remember, though, that trying to convince them of what's right and wrong may discourage them from being open."

You know it's a bad idea when the so-called "experts" start weighing in with their support:

Linda Blair, a clinical psychologist, said educating older children and teenagers about sex had to be a process of negotiation. "We do not know what is right and wrong; right and wrong is relative, although your child does need clear guidelines," she said.

So, if you hate your children, go ahead and heed their advice and refuse to teach them right from wrong. It really is the least you could do.

On Chimps and Bailouts

Whether or not you've known it by its official name, you're all familiar with the infinite monkey theorem. It states that given an infinite amount of time, it's possible for a monkey, or a roomful of monkeys, randomly hitting keys on a typewriter, to eventually produce a complex, coherent text -- Shakespeare's Hamlet, for example. It has to do with probabilities and statistics, which is why this particular illustration comes up quite a bit in discussions about evolution.

Variations on the infinite monkey theorem pop up all the time, most recently in the following New York Post cartoon by Sean Delonas:

An obvious link is being made to the recent story about cops shooting to death a rampaging 200-pound chimp. And what the cop in the cartoon is referring to is the slapped-together stimulus bill the Democrats forced through Congress without allowing anyone time to even read it -- a bill so devoid of logic and reason that (are you ready?) a chimp could have written it.

The link you may have missed (probably because it doesn't exist) is one that has more racial overtones. Leave it to our resident expert on racism, Al Sharpton, to point out what you and I may have overlooked. He issued this statement on his web site yesterday:

The cartoon in today's New York Post is troubling at best, given the racist attacks throughout history that have made African-Americans synonymous with monkeys. One has to question whether the cartoonist is making a less than casual inference to this form of racism when, in the cartoon, the police say after shooting a chimpanzee, "now they will have to find someone else to write the stimulus bill."

Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama (the first African American president) and has become synonymous with him it is not a reach to wonder whether the Post cartoonist was inferring that a monkey wrote it? Given that the New York Post cartoonist has come under heavy fire in the past for racially tinged cartoons including the infamous cartoons depicting 2001 mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer and me in very unflattering ways (that ultimately was used as a campaign tactic to inflame racial prejudices), one cannot ignore that history when looking at this morning's cartoon.

The Post should at least clarify what point they were trying to make in this cartoon, and reprimand their cartoonist for making inferences that are offensive and divisive at a time the nation struggles to come together to stabilize the economy if, in fact, this was yet another racially charged cartoon.

This is quite a stretch, even for Reverend Al, but he doesn't joke around when it comes to making mountains out of mole hills. It's how he makes his living.

So, here's what we're supposed to think: The chimp represents President Barack Obama because, contrary to reality, he was the one wrote this so-called "stimulus" bill, not congressional Democrats. And everyone knows that some cartoonists 60 or 70 years ago depicted blacks with chimpanzee-like characteristics, not to mention that a few lowlifes today may occasionally employ such a slur when referring to those with darker skin. Therefore, we are supposed to be outraged and need to join Sharpton and his followers in some sort of protest or boycott or whatever.

But let's pause for a moment. Which president has been compared over and over again to a chimpanzee? Why, George W. Bush, of course. In fact, he was the inspiration for web sites like BushOrChimp.com and SmirkingChimp.com. Where was the outrage? Where was the call for protests?

What convinces me that Sharpton's accusation is bogus is that his only complaint about the cartoon is that it is "racially charged." He makes no issue out of the fact that the chimp in the cartoon has just been shot dead. If Sharpton really thought the artist intended the chimp to represent Obama, don't you think he would have pointed out that this could be interpreted as some sort of veiled assassination threat? Seems to me that is far more serious than any possible racial implication.

Unfortunately, we're easily distracted. This little scandal has now overshadowed the real crime perpetrated on American citizens of all colors: the passage of the largest pork spending bill in our nation's history that is sure to drive the economy further into the ground.

Death by Environmentalism

I wrote about the tragic cost of environmentalism several years ago, how idiotic environmental regulations led to the deaths of four brave firefighters. A similar tragedy, though on a much bigger scale, has been playing out in southern Australia.

It has been suggested that the wildfires there that have been burning out of control because of global warming. According to Australian Green Party leader Bob Brown, "[The fires] are a sobering reminder of the need for this nation and the whole world to act and put at a priority the need to tackle climate change." What an arrogant, self-righteous fool.

Those directly affected by the wildfires know the real reason for the extent of death and destruction:

Angry residents last night accused local authorities of contributing to the bushfire toll by failing to let residents chop down trees and clear up bushland that posed a fire risk.

During question time at a packed community meeting in Arthurs Creek on Melbourne's northern fringe, Warwick Spooner -- whose mother Marilyn and brother Damien perished along with their home in the Strathewen blaze -- criticised the Nillumbik council for the limitations it placed on residents wanting the council's help or permission to clean up around their properties in preparation for the bushfire season. "We've lost two people in my family because you dickheads won't cut trees down," he said.

Personally, I think Mr. Spooner was being was being too kind. These environmentally (un)conscious morons have very little respect for human life.

Worship of the State

Maryland State Senate Bill 371 (PDF) would force all county boards to:

• Require the display of an American flag on the site of each public school building in its county while the school is in session
  
  
• Buy all necessary flags, staffs, and appliances for the flags
  
  
• Adopt rules and regulations for the proper custody, care, and display of the flag
  
  
• PROMINENTLY DISPLAY AN OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPH OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES IN EACH PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING IN ITS COUNTY (No emphasis added.)

Soviet-style state worship at its worst.

Well, Fiddle-Dee-Dee! Another Complaint from the NAACP

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.