Reinke Faces Life

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/05/02/
katrina-housing-aid-extended-through-2009/

http://tinyurl.com/2vnl7o

Katrina housing aid extended through 2009
By Michael Hampton
Posted: May 2, 2007 3:51 am

***Begin Quote***

About 110,000 households displaced due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 will continue to receive housing assistance through March 1, 2009, under a plan the Bush administration announced last week.

***End Quote***

Nope, sorry, dumb.

I’m not cruel or heartless. The gooferment is.

How does it get into such open ended commitments?

We let it make them in our name. The politicians get the photo op; we get the bill; the poor get shafted.

I suggest that we mandate the Head of Homeland Security and all his direct reports live there until the last “real person” moves out.

How fast do you think it would be until that “problem” was solved?

Can I have 23½ hours in the pool please; here’s my five bucks!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

The official publication of the Center For Small Government
http://www.CenterForSmallGovernment.com
Publisher: Carla Howell
Editor: Michael Cloud

***Begin Quote***

Will you help us? Will you take these simple steps?

1. Take the survey yourself. Read the brief discussion that follows.

2. Forward the survey link to 4 of your friends who are advocates of freedom and small government. Ask them to take the “What’s Your REAL Opinion of Big Government?” survey and look over the discussion that follows.

3. Forward the survey link to 4 of your NON-POLITICAL friends, family members, or co-workers, and ask them to do the same thing.

4. Ask each of them to let you know their score and their reaction to the survey. If they say anything interesting, please let us know!
(Just reply to this email.)

You’re in for some fun.

“What’s Your REAL Opinion of Big Government?”

http://www.centerforsmallgovernment.com/survey.cfm

***End Quote***

I got a 100%! You?

http://www.schoolandstate.org/home.htm

The Alliance for the Separation of School & State

***Begin Quote***

We believe parents, and not the state, should be in charge of their children’s education. That control may take many forms and levels of involvement, but the state will never be part of the picture.

If this seems like an impossible idea, consider that 8 million children already learn free of state control. We’re not starting from scratch here. The snowball of educational independence is already rolling.

***End Quote***

Sounds like a good idea to me.

It’s not going to happen over night. I took decades to get into this mess. It’ll take decades to get out.

I think that the idea that I wrote up back in the Hands Across New Jersey tax revolt days is still the way to go. That was split the problem into: (1) Separate who does the educating. (2) How much money is stolen to pay for this. People need time to adapt.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/22/magazine/22wwlnlede.t.html
?pagewanted=1&ei=5070&en=3b8480bb7549490b&ex=117
7992000&emc=eta1

http://tinyurl.com/2ofeky

You Grow
by Michael Pollan, a contributing writer, is the Knight professor of journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. His most recent book is “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”
Published: April 22, 2007

***Begin Quote***

Such changes are radical only by the standards of past farm bills, which have faithfully reflected the priorities of the agribusiness interests that wrote them. One of these years, the eaters of America are going to demand a place at the table, and we will have the political debate over food policy we need and deserve.

***End Quote***

I never did understand why we pay non-farmers to not grow stuff. It just seems counter intuitive. And, like most “price supports”, it’s yet another hidden tax on the poor. Sigh!

http://freekeene.com/2007/04/05/
incramental-steps-to-privatize-education/

http://tinyurl.com/yod4jf

Separation of School and State
Filed under: Essay, Issues, Personal Freedom — toby
at 8:38 pm on Thursday, April 5, 2007

***Begin Quote***

There are a myriad of quotes like this one, and if one is to look at what public schools have done to this country they would see the blueprint was effectively put into place, and is still in effect today. There is a reason that public schools are the final plank in the Communist Manifesto. When governments take the responsibility of education away from parents they are able to indoctrinate children with whatever propaganda and misinformation they want to. Since the government took control of education, the Constitution has been all but decimated, but the public schools still teach children that the government operates under the Constitution, after all ~ the government can do no wrong.

***End Quote***

Well, like most things that Gooferment does, it’s impossible to unravel. A Gordian knot of interlocking and overlapping interests. It’s hard to cut to the heart of the matter.

There is here in Nu Jerzee a deadly embrace that prevents change. And, the politicians benefit most from it.

The biggest problem to change the status quo is the Teacher’s Union. They are big, well-funded, and energized to “protect” their turf. They make no bones about proving on any issue that they are the 800# gorilla. (And, just as ugly!)

So we have large and vocal Teacher’s Union protecting turf, contributing to politicians, and working for their friends and against their enemies. The Union interests may be different from those of individual teachers. By being in the mob, the individual teachers must be held to account for the Union’s positions.

So we have Politicians, Unions, and Teachers.

Also in our mindmap of “public education”, schools have the principals, bureaucrats, custodians, contractors, consultants, lawyers also “interested” in continuing the current paradigm.

Also in our mindmap, we have to recognize that there are suppliers, construction companies, lawyers, architects, and others that “feed” off the current paradigm.

On the “paying side”, taxpayers are property owners and income tax payers. Lottery players to some extent pay an extra tax for “education”.

When I was in the Hands Across New Jersey tax revolt against Governor Florio’s “toilet paper” tax (It covered more than that, but that was the icon of the tax highlighted by the protestors!), we knew that the schools were the key to tax reduction. It took decades to get into this mess and people don’t know any other way to educate children than have the gooferment do it.

In order to change from “public education” to a “private education” paradigm, we need to shift paradigms. this is a horrendous task. But I think we can by several techniques.

(1) We have to convince the people that (a) gooferment skoolz are an establishment of religion. [First Amendment] (b) property taxes are discriminatory against those who have no children. [Fourteenth Amendment] (c) there is a conflict of interest between unions and their support of politicians.

(2) We have to offer a way out. I’d suggest that we separate “Government Runs Skoolz” from “Government Pays for Education”.

(3) We have to prevent any expansion of the Government’s intrusion into every day life. [Small Government every time no excuses!]

imho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRUMmTs0ZA

What a joke!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070424/D8ON5A500.html

Va. Gov. Looking at Gun-Buyer Loophole

***Begin Quote***

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Virginia’s governor said Tuesday he may be able to close the loophole that allowed Seung-Hui Cho to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus. In 2005, a court had ordered psychiatric counseling for Cho after determining he presented a danger to…

***End Quote***

Time and attention might be better spent restoring the student’s Second Amendment rights.

How did we ever get to such a sad state of affairs?

http://vtcommons.org/node/741

Remembering the 9th Amendment
Submitted by Rob Williams on Mon, 04/23/2007 – 1:38pm.

Thanks to “Alternet” for this important book review.

The “Silent” Ninth Amendment Gives Americans Rights They Don’t Know They Have
By Daniel A. Farber, Basic Books
Posted on April 23, 2007, Printed on April 23, 2007

***Begin Quote***

What a pity. Even more, what a terrible oversight: the Ninth Amendment bears directly on such modern-day constitutional issues as abortion, the right to die, and gay rights.

The Ninth Amendment is key to understanding how the Founding Fathers thought about the liberties they expected Americans to enjoy under the Constitution. They did not believe that they were creating these liberties in the Bill of Rights. Instead, they were merely acknowledging some of the rights that no government could properly deny.

The history of the Constitution reveals the purpose of the Ninth and the Founders’ intent: to protect what constitutional lawyers call unenumerated rights — those rights the Founder assumed and felt no need to specify in the Bill of Rights. Unenumerated rights include, for example, the right to privacy. In the America of today, unenumerated rights account for freedoms like a woman’s right to abortion. …

***End Quote***

So the next time any politician talks about a “right”, remind them that the Constitution reserves it to the people and he should shut up!

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2007/tle414-20070422-06.html

What An Individual Chooses To Do, They Are Responsible For
by Curt Howland

***Begin Quote***

Bad people can even kill some 3000 others in one action using only little knives and airplanes. And like the students and teachers at Virginia Tech, the passengers and crew on those airplanes were helpless in the face of a few little knives, because they were disarmed.

***End Quote***

I think this catches the essence of the problem. A gun is the equalizer. By prohibiting them, the Gooferment is condemning you to death. If then the Gooferment can remove enough guns from the civil society, then they can start the death camps with impunity. What ARE you gonna do about it? With what — bare hands?

When they come thru my door to take away Fat Old White Guys, they may lose one or two thugs. If that happens a few times, then they may have a hard time recruiting thugs.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/ostrowski/ostrowski82.html

You Are Cordially Invited to a Guerilla War
by James Ostrowski

***Begin Quote***

The government school system is finally beginning to realize its original mission: to knock off Catholic schools. The nuns and brothers had fought the good fight for 150 years. Without reinforcements, Catholic schools, with one-half of all private school students, are in deep trouble.

***End Quote***

I am amazed that parents send their children to public school. Thirteen years later, they “graduate” and you won’t know them. Where do they pick up the drivel? Yup, gooferment skool.

Have a conversation with one of them and you won’t believe your ears.

Some can’t form a coherent sentence. Others have no idea of math, history, or science. And, politics? Don’t even go there.

It’s all very sad and doesn’t portend well for us as a nation, a society, or as people.

http://www.ncc-1776.org/tle2007/
tle413-20070415-02.html

http://tinyurl.com/22lhld

Immigration and Integrity
by L. Neil Smith

***Begin Quote***

You could station a sentinel along every mile, and “illegals” would still pour through. Add to that the Pacific coast, the border with Canada, and the imaginary line all these antis focus on, between Mexico and the United States, and eventually it will dawn on you that the only way to keep America secure is by (A) abolishing the welfare state, (B) enforcing the Second Amendment, and (C) running a strictly non-interventionist foreign policy. Every one of those measures is sensible and easy, but they’re career-enders for politicians and their hangers-on.

***End Quote***

I don’t see separating the Gooferment from Education and honest money.

Maybe it’s in there somewhere. I’m sure LNS would get to it soon after polishing off the other three! ;-(

http://article.nationalreview.com/
?q=MjdiNzFkMDNlOWE3MjY4YTVk
OGIzMTcwMjVhMGFhMDA

http://tinyurl.com/2ao3y4

April 18, 2007 12:00 AM
Wanted: A Culture of Self-Defense
Enough is enough.
By Michelle Malkin

***Begin Quote***

Enough is enough, indeed. Enough of intellectual disarmament. Enough of physical disarmament. You want a safer campus? It begins with renewing a culture of self-defense—mind, spirit, and body. It begins with two words: Fight back.

***End Quote***

Why are guns are the litmus issue?

Scratch a politician, hear what they say about guns, and you know EXACTLY where they stand on ALL liberty issues. Ask anyone that one question. You’ll know exactly how they stand on any other issue. Taxation, free speech, regulation, welfare, and on and on.

It’s the one question that “separates the men from the boys”.

Real men and women take responsibility for themselves. No “barbara streisand”. No excuses. No whining.

The children run to Mommy Gooferment and Father State to make all the bad bogeymen to go away.

A gun is not a talismen to prevent bad things from happening. Nor is it a magic wand to make all bad people to run away and hide. It doesn’t cure cancer, the common cold, or all the illnesses of the world.

Unrestricted gun ownership — with concealed or open carry — makes everyone safer! Sprinkle a few sheepdogs in the herd of sheep. And, then the bad guys are guessing.

It just seems so obvious to me!

tiny

http://tinyurl.com/2p8oju

MN: Cabbies to face fines for refusing fares
Minneapolis Post-Bulletin

***Begin Quote***

“The operator of the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday approved tougher penalties for cabdrivers who refuse service to travelers carrying alcohol — a policy that will affect hundreds of Muslim drivers. On a unanimous voice vote, the Metropolitan Airports Commission agreed to rules that will suspend a driver’s airport taxi license for 30 days the first time the driver refuses service and revokes the license for two years after the second violation. … Some Somalis who testified Monday urged commissioners to reject the new penalties and find some other solution. ‘We see this as a penalty against a group of Americans only for practicing their faith,’ said Hassan Mohamud, an imam — or Islamic religious leader — and an adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law.” (04/17/07)

***End Quote***

The problem is the gooferment. Do we really need them at airports telling us which tax to take? Can’t we leave anything to the free market?

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55246

The grave danger of ‘gun-free zones’
Posted: April 18, 2007
1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Charl van Wyk

***Begin Quote***

With lives lost in Germany and the United States in schools that are gun-free zones, and no attacks by armed gunmen in Israel since teachers and parents serving as school aids have been armed, why would we want any area declared a gun-free zone?

History and common sense prove that gun-free zones are dangerous.

***End Quote***

Why can’t we hold politicians that create the Petri dish for these tragedies responsible?

***Begin Quote***

Aftermath Of Tragedy: GOA Defending Freedom

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Our hearts and prayers truly go out to all of those affected by Cho Seung-Hui’s evil actions. But not even senseless, brutal murder justifies taking away the God-given rights of the law-abiding.

It is also worthwhile to note that Virginia Tech is — because of deliberate policies set by its administration — a victim disarmament zone, where even those with a state-issued concealed carry permit are denied their right of self-defense.

In fact, pro-gun forces just last year tried to get the Virginia legislature to address the problem. The bill to allow permit holders to carry on state-supported college campuses died, due in no small part to rabid opposition from Virginia Tech itself.

VT spokesman Larry Hincker put it this way after it became obvious that the bill would not pass: “I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students, faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.”

The unfortunate irony continues when one recalls that not long ago, two students at nearby Appalachian School of Law managed to stop a gunman at that institution. Happily, they were able to dash off-campus to retrieve their guns from their vehicles.

Four GOA spokesmen (one based in downtown D.C. and three at our Springfield, VA office just outside the Beltway) are working non-stop
— doing literally interview after interview — making certain that the above points reach the public.

GOA has appeared on Fox News, ABC, CNN, BBC — lots of alphabet soup networks — as well as countless talk shows like Michael Reagan and Lars Larson. GOA spokesmen have been heard in every major radio market around the country and have done interviews with large print media outlets, such as the Associated Press and U.S. News & World Report.

The overall message that GOA is delivering is that gun prohibitions are part of the problem, not the solution.

We can expect some forms of new gun control to be pushed in the U.S.
Congress. The Democrats control Congress, but more importantly, anti-gun politicians control the Democrat party. If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — certainly no friend of gun owners — gives free rein to virulently anti-gun House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI), literally anything can make it to the floor of the full House.

Conyers’ counterpart in the Senate is Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT), whose GOA rating of “F” is well-deserved. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada has also earned an F. Gun owners will have to be especially vigilant in the coming weeks to block any new attempts to infringe upon the Second Amendment.

And whereas the predictable media stampede to give voice to the possibility of such new gun control is certainly there, it does not seem to have the same “this simply must happen now” tone that it did after the Columbine tragedy in 1999. Indeed, the idea of firearms for self-defense in schools is gaining serious traction. Which should not be all that surprising, given a Research 2000 poll which showed that 85% of Americans find it appropriate for a principal or teacher to use “a gun at school to defend the lives of students” in stopping a massacre.

ACTION: For now, stay tuned for future alerts. (If any anti-gun bills start moving on Capitol Hill, GOA will be counting on you to contact your legislators in record numbers.) And pray for all of those whose loved ones were injured or killed at Virginia Tech.

****************************

To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail address may also be made at that location.

Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.

***End Quote***

text

https://www2.blogger.com/comment.g?
blogID=31420020&postID=4072669776502897780

http://tinyurl.com/yvrxgy

Is it right to bear arms?
from Jonathan in NYC by Jonathan Morales

***Begin Quote***

CNN”s Jim Cafferty was just speaking to Wolf Blitzer about the Virginia Tech shooting. He said that he’s noticed that this seems to be a genuinely American phenomenon (mass shootings) and can’t recall many times it is happened in other countries. He then said he couldn’t figure out what that was.

Really, Jim? Maybe it’s because we’re one of the only Western countries to still allow ordinary citizens to carry weapons, and the NRA and Republicans continue to block any legislation to prevent semi-automatic and automatic weapons from being obtained by people who plan to go out and kill 32 people in one morning.

***End Quote***

Well, of course, I had to put my two cents in.

*** begin quote ***

Perhaps you might wonder why no one on the VT campus had an appropriate tool to stop the situation. I know it is easy to blame the tool. Shooter has his; victims didn’t. And, we all wish that peace and happiness would reign. But, it’s a dangerous world out there and wishing it wasn’t won’t make it so. The dead old white guys recognized the RIGHT of every individual to defend themselves. Except the VT-ers wanted to live in a fairy tale land. One of their admins the year before vigorously opposed recognizing that right on the VT campus. He won. And this is the result. Anyone interviewing him today? One concealed carry permit holder — a student, a faculty member, a custodian — could have probably ended this in seconds. One shooter can’t watch all 31 people simultaneously. It’s a tragedy. But, not unexpected. And, unfortunately not the last.

*** end quote ***

I didn’t pick up on the tired old “automatic” weapon argument. Automatic weapons are for the most part effectively outlawed. Besides which they are what I call “movie weapons”. They come from the misimpression fostered by the movies that you “spray and pray”.

I’d suggest that you have to be more afraid of someone with a long gun than a pistol. Most people can’t hit what they aim at with a pistol unless they are practiced marksmen. The joke around the range is “if you can’t spit on it, then most can’t hit it”. Look at the infamous police shootings 50 shots to get one or two hits.

You have an ABSOLUTE right to your life. That translates to an absolute right to defend yourself.

The police are nice long after the action. They are for the most part report writers, traffic directors, and on rare occasions actual catch a bad guy.

No fault of theirs. They can possibly be at the scene unless there is an incredible coincidence.

Each of us has to defend each other. An armed society is a polite society. We all have to be allowed to have our “pocket knives”. If we choose to pack “heat”. Sprinkle a few Conceal Carry Permits around on that campus and you would have had a completely different outcome. Even a madman, who wants to “get” certain people, has to fear that some non-descript girl or janitor or teacher or nerd will prevent it.

When will we wake up to life as it is. Not as we want it to be.

http://www.csl.sri.com/users/risko/risks.txt

***Begin Quote***

As has been reported elsewhere,http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/wbardwel/public/nfalist/rip/index.html the NFRTR has been in deplorable condition for some time. Many registration documents have been lost by ATFE, and some were even willfully destroyed by ATFE contract employees in a well documented case. Furthermore, the electronic database that serves as the authoritative Registry is known to have serious flaws and inconsistencies. Due to various political and financial issues, the ATFE has been slow to rectify these problems with the NFRTR (although the pace seems to have picked up since a recent wholesale relocation and restaffing of the NFA Branch). Thomas Busey, who was the Chief of the NFA Branch for a period in the 1990s, admitted in a videotaped training session in 1995 that the NFRTR had a 49-50% error rate. Mr. Busey also stated in this session, “Let me say when we testify in court, we testify that the data base is 100 percent accurate. That’s what we testify to, and we will always testify to that. As you probably well know, that may not be 100 percent true.”

In a 1998 letter to Chairman Dan Burton of the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/wbardwel/public/nfalist/rip/leasure_letter_re_nfa_destruction.txt pursuant to a conviction based on flawed NFRTR information, David Montague, an attorney for the defendant (whose convictions were previously overturned) wrote: “To make matters worse, Mr. Busey was summarily fired and the transcript of his remarks hushed up. His remarks did not become known to the world until obtained on an FOIA request from attorney James Jeffries, III, of Greensboro, N.C.”

Given the steep penalties for mere possession of an unregistered firearm regulated under the NFA (minimum sentence: up to 10 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of $10,000 for each violation), there is a high RISK to lawful transferees associated with the poor condition of the NFRTR brought about by neglect and/or willful violation of the law by the government agency charged with upholding this law.

***End Quote***

Did I read this correctly? Did the fellow just admit that the BATF routinely commits perjury in ALL trials of gun law violations? That’s going some even for the Gooferment.

>Subject: VA-ALERT: Not mad enough about VT? Read this!
>
> From January 31, 2006:
>
>”House Bill 1572 didn’t get through the House Committee on Militia,
>Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage,
>the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.
>
>…
>
>Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was
>defeated. “I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the
>General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students,
>faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.”
>
>–
>
>Well, Mr. Hincker – are you still happy? Militia, Police, and Public
>Safety Committee – still think you did the right thing?
>
>–
>
>http://www.roanoke.com/news/roanoke/wb/wb/xp-50658
>
>Gun bill gets shot down by panel
>HB 1572, which would have allowed handguns on college campuses, died
>in subcommittee.
>
>By Greg Esposito
> 381-1675
>
>A bill that would have given college students and employees the right
>to carry handguns on campus died with nary a shot being fired in the
>General Assembly.
>
>House Bill 1572 didn’t get through the House Committee on Militia,
>Police and Public Safety. It died Monday in the subcommittee stage,
>the first of several hurdles bills must overcome before becoming laws.
>
>The bill was proposed by Del. Todd Gilbert, R-Shenandoah County, on
>behalf of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Gilbert was
>unavailable Monday and spokesman Gary Frink would not comment on the
>bill’s defeat other than to say the issue was dead for this General
>Assembly session.
>
>Virginia Tech spokesman Larry Hincker was happy to hear the bill was
>defeated. “I’m sure the university community is appreciative of the
>General Assembly’s actions because this will help parents, students,
>faculty and visitors feel safe on our campus.”
>
>Del. Dave Nutter, R-Christiansburg, would not comment Monday because
>he was not part of the subcommittee that discussed the bill.
>
>Most universities in Virginia require students and employees, other
>than police, to check their guns with police or campus security upon
>entering campus. The legislation was designed to prohibit public
>universities from making “rules or regulations limiting or abridging
>the ability of a student who possesses a valid concealed handgun
>permit … from lawfully carrying a concealed handgun.”
>
>The legislation allowed for exceptions for participants in athletic
>events, storage of guns in residence halls and military training
>programs.
>
>Last spring a Virginia Tech student was disciplined for bringing a
>handgun to class, despite having a concealed handgun permit. Some gun
>owners questioned the university’s authority, while the Virginia
>Association of Chiefs of Police came out against the presence of guns
>on campus.
>
>In June, Tech’s governing board approved a violence prevention policy
>reiterating its ban on students or employees carrying guns and
>prohibiting visitors from bringing them into campus facilities.
>
>***************************************************************************
>VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL).
>VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to
>defending the human rights of all Virginians. The membership considers the
>Right to Keep and Bear Arms to be an essential human right.
>
> VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org
>***************************************************************************

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=2007-04-16_D8OHUVH00&show_article=1&cat=breaking

http://tinyurl.com/2hoqbs

Gunman, 32 Others Killed in Va. Shooting
Apr 16 05:49 PM US/Eastern
By SUE LINDSEY
Associated Press Writer

***Begin Quote***

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – A gunman opened fire in a Virginia Tech dorm and then, two hours later, shot up a classroom building across campus Monday, killing 32 people in the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history. The gunman committed suicide, bringing the death toll to 33.

Students bitterly complained that there were no public-address announcements on campus after the first burst of gunfire. Many said the first word they received from the university was an e-mail more than two hours into the rampage—around the time the gunman struck again.

***End Quote***

How many people have to die before we realize that the problem is large concentrations of unarmed victims just waiting to be slaughtered?

The lack of any meaningful self-defense response is stunning.

You can’t tell me that we can’t trust young people to know when their lives are at risk. What about the campus security, teachers, and the janitors.

Like Columbine, one concealed carry permit could have made this a better ending.

Maybe when the Final Judgment comes, then the lions will lie down with the lambs. But for now, I’d like to sprinkle a goodly number of sheep dogs in amongst all the sheep.

http://www.nj.gov/roads.shtml

NEW JERSEY ROAD CLOSURE REPORT

***Begin Quote***

{Lots of Data Extraneous Deleted}

Rt. 1 & 9 N&S MP 58.35, N. Bergen Twp., Hudson Co., All lanes closed

{Lots more data Extraneous Deleted}

***End Quote***

Roads are often described as the “third rail” of Libertarians because people can’t conceive of private roads. As if no one has ever been to DisneyWorld, DisneyLand, or other amusement parks. Or, as if no one has ever been in a gated community.

I think that roads are a great example of the gooferment at work. As an injineer, it amuses me that the Gooferment would build a road and not take into account weather in the design.

Amazing as is sounds, Disney World doesn’t have flooded roads into their park. How did they do that? I bet they grabbed the design engineer by the throat (or any other suitable part of the body) and said “we want the turnstiles turning regardless of weather”. To which the design engineer said “No Problem, Mister Disney, sir. We have this novel concept of “drainage”. We just guesstimate the average rainfall, move the decimal one position to right, and allow for that amount of water. If you want, we can move two places but that would cost you Big Bucks and is twice the amount of rain in a monsoon. OK?”.

Yup, private roads might be the “third rail”, but the Gooferment’s performance is up to its usual standard — down right terrible.

I had to laugh at the State Road Guy on the radio saying that “they just had to allow the roads to drain naturally”. Argh! It’s not his fault that the road designer made every exit ramp dip below sea level.

And, no one takes a spear for it.

On Wall Street, Disney World, or any organization seeking to make a profit, there would be some one held to account. With the Gooferment’s roads, it’s just the taxpayer who gets stuck.

Stuck, and stuck, and stuck!

http://action.downsizedc.org/wyc.php?cid=66

2007-Apr-04
Repeal the Patriot Act

***Begin Quote***

Politicians excel at “the fine art of crisis creation.” Time and again they create policies that fail. Then they exploit those failures to grab more power, and then, almost inevitably, fail again.

It’s a vicious cycle and a cancerous death-spiral to our liberty.

9-11 and its aftermath provide a perfect example.

In truth, the federal government already had all the power and resources it needed to prevent the 9-11 attack. It knew who the terrorists were and what they were doing in advance, but Big Government still failed to protect us.

The follow-up was predictable. Government officials exploited their own failure to…

* Launch a fraudulent invasion of Iraq
* Erect a huge new bureaucracy in the form of the Department of Homeland Security
* Saddle the American people with the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act

Notice the pattern? Failure leads to new powers that lead to new failures…

* Iraq is a disaster
* The Department of Homeland Security is a mess
* The REAL ID Act is a nightmare
* And the Patriot Act is being abused

{Extraneous Deleted}

***End Quote***

SOOOOOOO, I took out my poison pen and added a blistering postscript.

***Begin Quote***

I am stunned to hear the FBI honcho admit that, even with the reduced requirements, the process is abused. I urge you to repeal the so called Patriot Act, as well as the Real Id, and “nuke” the Homeland Security organization. Pink slips for the leadership! With prejudice, they should all be “blacklisted” for other government jobs. Let them go live in the “real world” for a while. The labor can certainly seek other jobs, but the “leaders” that created this disaster are beyond reclamation. We have to send a message that there are penalties for incompetence and poor results. In this case, the results border on “criminal”. Clearly, this has been a disaster for liberty in the USA. Congress should get out the old “eraser on the ends of its collective pencils” and start repealing all the “stuff” done as a result of 9/11. It was a mistake and an over-reaction. No excuses. If you want my vote in the next election, then this is the single issue that will make me move the lever. If you can’t fix it by the next time I vote, then I’m going to vote for someone who can.

***End Quote***

Which I also forwarded to all the usual suspects!

One thing to remember is that poem “first they came for the Muslims, and I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t a Muslim”. I think it’s a comical (but dangerous) that we have a “homeland security”, which reminds me of Nazi Germany. All we need now are some Hollywood extras with snazzy black uniforms, heel clicking salutes, “vere isss your PAPERS!” and the comparison is complete.

Am I the only one who sees this a disaster of epic proportions?

I had the luxury of spending time with an old man who lost almost all of his family to the Nazi death camps. He was a Jewish intellectual — a specialist in international law. He saw what was coming. Every chance he had, he pushed someone out. While it was still loose, he was able to get his children out. His son was sent to England to learn “beer making” despite being a master chemist. His daughter went to learn to be an English Nanny despite being only fourteen. His wife went to England on a round trip ticket to visit the daughter and never went home. At the same time, he went on a business trip and never went back. His best friend shipped him some of his stuff and sold the rest. But, the friend could NOT get his family out. He waited too long. The friend’s wife was Jewish. Her, her family, and his children went to the camps. He dealt with it by committing suicide. You could not listen to these stories without being moved. When you would ask him how could it happen there, the answer was gradually in response to “threats”.

Any reason the hair on the back of my neck should NOT be standing up?

The Japanese Internment, “private” Census records used to round up “Japs”, The Northwood Document, The War on Drugs, The militarization of police, the Income Tax, the Inflation Tax, Ruby Ridge, Waco, Elian Gonzalez, Extraordinary Rendition, Gitmo, Jose Padilla, requiring passports in and out of our peaceful neighbors, eliminating Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, the Military Commissions Act, building a “Berlin Wall” on the Mexican Border, rounding up “illegals”?

Don’t forget the high taxes — the Income tax, the Inflation Tax, the Property Tax — that turn us into virtual slaves. The dead old white guys revolted over a 1% tax. Imagine what they’d say to us now?

========================================================================
[3] EPIC Recommends Against Use of Universal Identifiers
========================================================================

In comments to the Federal Trade Commission, EPIC warned against using
universal identifiers in authentication systems. “Any move toward
universal identifiers, while potentially deterring amateur thieves,
increases the potential for misuse once determined criminals steal that
data,” EPIC said.

EPIC also urged the restriction, rather than expansion, of the use of
Social Security numbers as identifiers. “Social Security numbers have
become a classic example of ‘mission creep,’ where a program designed
for a specific, limited purpose has been transformed for additional,
unintended purposes, sometimes with disastrous results,” EPIC said. The
pervasiveness of the SSN and its use to both identify and authenticate
individuals threatens privacy and financial security; expanding use of
the SSN, making it a universal identifier, would harm, rather than help,
security efforts, EPIC said.

EPIC recommended against the creation of a centralized identification
system and advocated an identity metasystem in which authentication is
confined to specific contexts in order to limit the scope for potential
misuse. EPIC and others have explained that it decreases security to
have a centralized system of identification with one ID card for many
purposes, as there will be a substantial amount of harm when the card is
compromised. “Using a national ID card would be as if you used one key
to open your house, your car, your safe deposit box, your office, and
more,” EPIC said. A centralized system of identification creates a
“one-stop shop” for identity thieves. “The confidence and trust of
consumers will fall when such a breach occurs; people will withdraw
because of privacy and security questions,” EPIC said.

EPIC explained that “a system of distributed identification reduces the
risks associated with security breaches and the misuse of personal
information.” For example, a banking PIN number, in conjunction with a
bank card, provides a better authentication system because it is not
coupled with a single, immutable consumer identity. If the combination
is compromised, a new bank card and PIN number can be issued and the old
combination cancelled, limiting the damage done by the compromised data.
“Distributing identity in this way allows for different profiles to be
used in different authenticating contexts. New profiles can be created
as required within a single identity metasystem,” EPIC said. Misuse is
therefore limited to the context of the information breached, whether it
is a single bank account, online merchant, or medical records.

Possibilities for data misuse can also be limited at the data collection
stage, EPIC explained. Amassing large databases of credit card numbers
creates an attractive target for potential identity thieves. “One simple
response to identity theft is to require a PIN to be used in conjunction
with all credit cards. An identity metasystem would further reduce the
value of such aggregated database targets, because authenticators would
be separate and distinct from all personally identifiable information,”
EPIC said.

The FTC will hold a workshop, “Proof Positive: New Directions for ID
Authentication,” on April 23 at the Commission’s Satellite Building
Conference Center located at 601 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
The event is open to the public and attendance is free. There will not
be pre-registration.

EPIC Comments to the FTC (March 23, 2007) (pdf):

http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/epic_ftc_032307.pdf

Federal Trade Commission Notice Announcing Workshop and Requesting
Comments:

http://www.epic.org/redirect/ftc0407.html

EPIC page on Identity Theft: Causes and Solutions:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/idtheft/

EPIC page on National ID Cards and the REAL ID Act:

http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards/

http://www.masternewmedia.org/news/2007/04/07/
pharmaceutical_fraud_prescription_for_disaster.htm

http://tinyurl.com/2awuy9

April 7, 2007
Pharmaceutical Fraud? Prescription for Disaster Documentary
by Robin Good

***Begin Quote***

The following video documentary features contributions of respectful professionals, such as FDA scientist Dr. David J. Graham, who addressed the prescription of Vioxx (a very dangerous drug presently withdrawn from the market) before the US Senate Finance Committee and firmly believes the FDA is “letting people down”.

***End Quote***

Ahh yes, the gooferment is just looking out for … … itself. Its power to reward its friends, punish its enemies, and feather the nests of the anointed.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=
sa003&articleID=A4F4DED6-E7F2-99DF-32E46B0AC1FDE0FE

http://tinyurl.com/39nzo7

SCIENCE NEWS
March 30, 2007
Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II
Government documents show that the agency handed over names and addresses to the Secret Service
By JR Minkel

***Begin Quote***

Despite decades of denials, government records confirm that the U.S. Census Bureau provided the U.S. Secret Service with names and addresses of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

***End Quote***

What the government lied! I’m shocked.

It’s like the “social security number” will never be used for identification. That’s “barbara streisand”!

Fast forward to today. “Real Id”! We don’t know what it will have on us; “trust us” say the congress critters. We don’t know how it will be collected or protected; “trust us” say the bureauRATs. We don’t know how it will be abused; “trust us” say the enFORCErs like the fbi.

Congress critters lie. BureauRATS routinely exceed their authority. And the enFORCErs, like the fbi, just brake the law when it suits them.

And, you want to “trust them”.

Fool me once, share on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig6/blackstock5.html

Dirty Deeds Are No Longer Dirt Cheap
by Rob Blackstock

***Begin Quote***

According to Eric Peters (1996. “Who’s Behind the Freon Ban?” The Free Market 14, December: 6–7), DuPont changed their stance due to the fact that the company’s patent on Freon terminated in 1992. This opened the door to not only domestic competition, but cheaper Freon from South American producers. Seeing that Freon was, “the only refrigerant used by the auto industry since the first AC [Air Conditioning] systems were installed in the 1950s” (ibid., p 6), DuPont stood to lose millions. However, by encouraging regulators to make Freon illegal, DuPont closed the door to competition. Simultaneously, DuPont introduced a patented substitute (HFC-134a). DuPont “owns exclusive rights to HFC-134a – the only refrigerant authorized for use in new car air-conditioning systems” (ibid., p 7).

On April 27, 1992, DuPont placed a full page add in the New York Times (p. A7) which stated, “In the US alone, more than $135 billion worth of equipment – used in about 3,500 different applications – depend on CFCs…. All of this equipment must use recycled refrigerants, or be retrofitted or replaced before it can use any of the substitutes for CFCs.” DuPont’s Freon Division Director, Joseph Glass summed it up nicely; “When you have $3 billion of CFCs sold worldwide and 70 percent of that is about to be regulated out of existence, there is a tremendous market potential.”

***End Quote***

Well that explains why we got taken to the woodshed on that one. Facism! Where the gooferment and bigbiz get into bed with each other. Except the people get screwed!

I thought there was an interesting juxtapose of two stories. I find anyone’s death very important. A young person, full of potential, even more so. Perhaps, the nanny state can’t substitute for parenting. AND, by that nanny state interfering with people parenting, children and young adults are put at risk.

{Story #1}

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/11469409/detail.html?subid=10101581

Long Beach Teen Dies in N.J. Frat Drinking Incident
POSTED: 6:41 am PDT March 31, 2007

LONG BEACH, Calif. — An autopsy is expected to be done Saturday on an 18-year- old Long Beach man who died after drinking a large of amount of vodka at a fraternity party at his New Jersey university. Gary DeVercelly, a freshman at Rider University, died Friday at a hospital in Trenton, N.J.

{Story #2}

http://www.lewrockwell.com/lora/m.lora33.html

Let Kids Buy Vodka!
by Manuel Lora

*** begin quote ***

Let’s share an anecdote. A few years ago I was at a bar with my wife’s family. It was a large group with several adults and some “underage” children. We all sat at the bar and ordered drinks. The bar tender saw my wife’s underage cousin (who had ordered a soft drink) and said that she could not sit there because of some law. So far so good right? This is something that we’re used to by now. Truth is: this kid’s mother was there. The law has replaced parental guidance.

So let’s see. Instead of parenting, we have laws and regulations, and greedy and faraway politicians. When kids break the law, however, the parents get blamed, not the politicians! How in the world does this make sense? Those in government want to have it both ways. They impose norms on society but they are almost legally untouchable when things go wrong.

How, then, do anti-vice laws strengthen communities? They do not. Instead of letting families set standards, these kinds of law break communities apart. What’s worse is that families that don’t even “get in trouble” still have to pay for the enforcement of others’ problems with the government in the form of taxes. One would wish that it stopped here but when the police begin to enforce vice laws (part of that eternal “victimless crime” category) they have to devote less time dealing with real crime like murders. Of course, the police department could hire more police, but this means more taxation and more enforcement of the same laws.

Parental responsibility involves having both the right and responsibility to set rules. This right belongs exclusively with the parents. The state has nothing to do with parenting at all.

*** end quote ***

So as I see it. the vice laws enforced by the gooferment caused this problem.

(1) The gooferment intrudes into parenting. Gives parents a false sense of security. Creates a “prison” (i.e., Rider University is a gooferment school) with “drug” problems.

(2) The gooferment diktats precludes people from learning about “drinking” from their parents in a safe environment where mistakes wouldn’t be fatal.

(3) Then the gooferment wants more diktats and budget to “solve” the very problem it creates.

When I first visited Vegas on a family trip, there was no speed limits, no drinking age, and no gambling age. I didn’t see any kids drinking, gambling, or hot rodding. And, I looked ’cause I was convinced I was in paradise. They even had legal prostitution. But, the family set a few rules of its own. And, I escaped sin city, virtue in tact.

We don’t need Mommy Government smothering us with “what’s good for us”. Nor do we need Father State throwing millions of us in jail for “our sins”. We need to just leave everyone alone to respect the rights of others.

I think that Gary DeVercelly is a casualty of gooferment. End the Drug War now!