End the War on Freedom

A misquote I remember from my childhood:

Columbus sailed the ocean sea, in fourteen hundred ninety-three.

For those who forgot the proper quote:

Columbus sailed the ocean blue, in fourteen hundred ninety-two.

From leor:

Mothers of teens know why animals eat their young.

We child proofed our home 3 years ago, and they're still getting in!

From drugsense:

"I'm never going to get my son back, but if I could shut down these SWAT teams in the name of my son, I know that would be something he'd appreciate. This could have been anybody's kid."

Michael Helriggle, whose son was killed in a drug raid last week in Ohio.

From birdman:

"Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this resolution, which regardless of what many have tried to claim will lead us into war with Iraq. This resolution is not a declaration of war, however, and that is an important point: this resolution transfers the Constitutionally-mandated Congressional authority to declare wars to the executive branch." --Ron Paul

J. Danziger - Did We Mention It Was an Election Year? - cartoon commentary on the crowing in the Congress. Hehe. [sierra]

Rational Review Blog is daily happennings from the contributors to Rational Review. Added to my links page. [smith2004]

I made my Mom's Chocolate Mint Pie on Thursday night, and entered it in yesterday's dessert contest at work. It won second place. I made another for the kids last night. Yum!

I finally signed (electronically) We The People's Petitions For Redress of Grievances relating the Income Tax, Federal Reserve, War Powers Clauses, and "USA PATRIOT" act.

Carl Bussjaeger - Jackbooted Thug of the Month: President "Führer Dubya" Bush of the People's Police State of Amerika - "Hell hath no fury like that of a petulant president trying to look as tough as daddy." Inlcudes a link to a PDF of Führer Dubya's new National Security Strategy. I sent the following email: [smith2004]

Date: Sat, 12 Oct 2002 08:21:26 -0400
To: president@whitehouse.gov
From: "Bill St. Clair" <bill@billstclair.com>
Subject: Jackbooted Thug Award
Cc: bill@billstclair.com

Herr Fuhrer Dubya,

Congratulations on your award as the Jackbooted Thug of the Month of October (http://members.surfbest.net/samizdat@surfbest.net/jbt5.htm). Heil Dubya!

-Bill St. Clair
bill@billstclair.com

Carl Bussjaeger - A Gulf War Prediction - the Navy has reclassified a pilot downed over Iraq eleven years ago. Old classification: dead. New classification: imprisoned by Iraq. One more excuse to invade.

And I still think that Dubya should accept the challenge to duel Saddam to settle this whole sick matter.

I suggest they use hand grenades at ten paces.

Carl Bussjaeger - Changing the Rules - good screed on the destruction of the Constitution by the three subsystems of the federal monster.

Did you notice that the Supremely-stupid Court of the United State (not a typo) has decided that the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments - with all their clauses clearly aimed at protecting the doings of individuals - don't have a thing to do with privacy; that the current Chief Cross-Dresser (Hey, I don't wear a black dress to work.) has declared that no right to privacy exists?

...

So much for the Judicial Branch of Government. Let's see what the Executive Branch has done to... umm, for individuals lately.

Checking my little list: Der Führer Dubya declared a war in violation of Article I, Section 8, clause 11; the new Transportation Gestapo instituted internal passports for air travel (and they've already announced plans to extend this to ground travel as well), the Department of Injustice has begun forming a STASI-style national snitch program - Everyone who believes that backstepping on using all the service industries as spies is permanent, raise your right hand and say, "Heil, Dubya!" - to watch innocent Americans, and declared its intent to enforce gun control laws which even it says are unconstitutional.

...

If all that stands between individual Americans and federal tyranny is that collection of ninnies, twits, criminals, and ambulance chasers of whom Will Rogers said, "The country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer", we're screwed.

Jim VandeHei and Juliet Eilperin at The Washington Post - Congress Passes Iraq Resolution - old news, but we all need something depressing for the weekend, eh? If you want to separate the chicken hawks from those who may actually care about the constitution, peruse Senate vote 237 and House vote 455. Not a single republican voted against the resolution in the Senate and only six republicans voted against it in the House.

Robert C. Byrd at The New York Times via The Congressional Record - Congress Must Resist the Rush to War - Senator Kennedy entered Senator Byrd's New York Times op-ed into the Congressional Record. The link is to my copy. To read it in the Congressional Record, go to the Senate's October 10 Congressional Record page, and click on link number 15, "Senator Byrd: Eloquently Resisting the Rush to War." Or read the PDF version here.

A sudden appetite for war with Iraq seems to have consumed the Bush administration and Congress. The debate that began in the Senate last week is centered not on the fundamental and monumental questions of whether and why the United States should go to war with Iraq, but rather on the mechanics of how best to wordsmith the president's use-of-force resolution in order give him virtually unchecked authority to commit the nation's military to an unprovoked attack on a sovereign nation.

Robert Byrd in the Senate - Authorization of the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq - Senator Byrd gave a stirring speech Thursday night. He realized that there was too big a majority in the Senate to stop this bill, so he didn't do what he could have and delay it into next week. I heard the first half hour on the radio, but missed the rest while I ate dinner. The link is to my copy. To read it in the Congressional Record, go to the Senate's October 10, 2002 page, click on the link for "7. Authorization of the Use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq", and scroll down to pages S10276 through S10288, or click on the PDF links in my copy.

Mr. President, I continue to have faith in our system of Government. It works. I continue to have faith in the basic values that shape this country, this Nation. Ours was a great country before it became a great nation. Those values do not include striking first at other countries, at other nations. Those values do not include using our position as the strongest and most formidable Nation in the world to bully and intimidate other nations.

There are no preemptive strikes in the language of the Constitution, I do not care what other Senators say. Those values do not include putting other nations on an enemies list so we can justify preemptive military strikes.

Were I not to believe in the inherent ability of the Constitution to withstand the folly of such actions as the Senate is about to take, I would not stop fighting. Yes, he is 85--85. I will be 85 years old 41 days from now if the good Lord--if the good Lord-- lets me live. But don't you think for a moment I can't stand on this floor all the rest of this night. I like to fight when I am fighting for the Constitution and for this institution. I will fight until I drop, yes, fight until they hack my flesh to the bone. I would fight with every fiber in my body, every ounce of my energy, with every parliamentary tool at my disposal--and there are parliamentary tools at my disposal; don't you ever think there are not--but I do believe the Constitution will weather this storm. The Senate will weather the storm as well.

I only hope that when the tempest passes, Senators will reflect upon the ramifications of what they have done and understand the damage that has been inflicted on the Constitution of the United States.

AP via Yahoo News - Top Sniper Shootings Picture - is this the DC area sniper? Nope, but it sure doesn't look like a cop to me. I'd be tempted to shoot him if he walked up to my car. This photo shows the "Police" shirt, but why is this guy hiding his face? [smith2004]

From kbaker's post to this ar15.com thread, which contains a bunch more:

SIR ROBERT PEEL'S NINE PRINCIPLES OF POLICING

1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.
2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.
3. Police must secure the willing co-operation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.
4. The degree of co-operation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.
5. Police seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.
6. Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be insufficient.
7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.
8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.
9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it.

That's why I disapprove of masks, and why people should help in investigations. And why people have a right to arms for self defense.

Michael Peirce at LewRockwell.com - Why We Should Attack Saddam Hussein - shhh. Don't let GW read this. He'll likely believe that it's actually talking about Iraq, not us. [trt-ny]

• Saddam is responsible for the teaching of promiscuity in our public schools.
• He is the one responsible for the massacre of American civilians in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
• It was Iraqi agents who convinced the US Congress that dismantling the Constitution was a good idea -- changing the United States from a Republic to a mobocracy ruled by competing special interests.
• Saddam took the US off the gold standard, setting the stage for an eventual economic catastrophe.
• It is Iraq's fault that American military forces are over deployed in the world today, making us vulnerable to attack by any and all enemies.
• It was Saddam who undertook to disarm the American public, making us vulnerable to all sorts of crime, terrorism and government tyranny.

Scott McPherson at LewRockwell.com - Should Americans Support IRA Disarmament? - of course not. [trt-ny]

Many Irish republicans are understandably hesitant to part with their guns. The social unrest produced by Northern Ireland's civil rights struggle saw hundreds of Catholics driven from their homes in the late 1960s, causing what at that time was the largest mass emigration since World War II. The crisis grew to such ferocity that the Irish Army was mobilized to set up field hospitals and refugee centers south of the border; there was talk (though everyone knew it was just talk) of an invasion of the north to protect Catholics from a virtual genocide. In these early days of "The Troubles" it was the IRA that defended homes and communities against violent Protestant gangs and rampaging policemen. Eventually the British Army was called in to halt the violence, but in the absence of protection it was lone "Volunteers" standing in churchyards and on street corners that stopped advancing rioters bent on burning down houses and murdering Catholics -- and they stopped them with guns.

Stu Bykofsky at The Philadelphia Daily News - SWAT team invades elderly widow's home - fortunately, they didn't shoot her. There is no reason to use a SWAT team unless you're going after a known armed known killer. Anyone who participates in a SWAT team in any other circumstances should be hanged. Suspicion of possession of guns or drugs is not sufficient. [kaba]

Diana Baldwin at The Oklahoman via MAPInc - Trial Decision Delayed On Drug Test Charges - two drug testers in Oklahoma City have been providing negative drug test results in court for payment in money or sexual favors. What the market will bear, eh? [drugsense]

Krissy Oechslin at DrugSense - He 'Didn't Deserve Death Penalty' - a letter to the editor of an Ohio newspaper concerning people murdered and terrorized by the war on some vegetables. [drugsense]

Clayton Helriggle didn't deserve the death penalty, but that's what he got, without even the benefit of a trial.

Our failed drug laws have made terrorists out of those who were supposed to protect us.

Kim du Toit - Licensing Guns And Registering Gun Owners - good piece on why licensing drivers and registering their cars is fundamentally different than licensing shooters and registering their guns. He missed only one thing. We may not vote to deny anyone their constitutional rights. Hence laws against ownership of guns by felons and the insane are unconstitutional.

Add comment Edit post Add post