Cynicus Prime

Soon™

2010-08-22T10:35:00.001-07:00

More to come...

Iran: words vs actions

2006-09-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran, "interviewed" by Mike Wallace: "We are not looking for - working for the bomb. The problem that President Bush has that in his mind he wants to solve everything with bombs. The time of the bomb is in the past. It's behind us. Today is the era of thoughts, dialogue, and cultural exchanges."

vs.

Iran test fires long-range missile
August 27, 2006
TEHRAN, Iran (Reuters) -- Iran test fired a long-range, radar-evading missile on Sunday from a submarine in the Gulf as part of war games that began earlier this month, state television reported.
The missile was called Sagheb, which means Piercing, but the report did not give the missile's range.
"Minutes ago it was launched from a submarine in the Persian Gulf and it hit the target," television reported.
Western nations have been watching developments in Iran's missile capabilities with concern amid a standoff over the country's nuclear program, which the West says is aimed at building atomic bombs. Iran says the program is only civilian.
Iran's military also held war games in the Gulf in April. Those exercises were interpreted by analysts as a thinly veiled threat that Iran could disrupt vital oil shipping lanes if pushed by an escalation in the nuclear dispute.

Which one are you going to believe? Our future depends on it.

only in morality politics is less more

2006-08-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the hysteria:

Since Elvis and the Beatles, music has been a touchy issue between parents and kids. But today's lyrics are more graphic, more violent, and more sexual than ever. "Today" host Katie Couric reports on what your kids are listening to. - MSNBC

...and...

Teens whose iPods are full of music with raunchy, sexual lyrics start having sex sooner than those who prefer other songs, a study found. - also MSNBC

So you would naturally deduce that teens must be having more sex than ever, if the music they are listening to is more sexual than ever, and sexual lyrics lead to more and earlier sex. Right?

Fewer U.S. high school students are having sex, and the ones who do are less likely to have multiple partners, according to a report issued on Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

*GASP* You mean the morality police and hysterical media got something wrong? Oh the huge mammaries!
One of these things just doesn't belong... So today's lyrics aren't more sexual than ever, but sexual lyrics are still enticing children to sex, but jut not as much. Or today's lyrics are more sexual than ever, but sexual lyrics don't lead to more teen sex, so there isn't more of it. Or lyrics are more sexual, and sexual lyrics do lead to more teen sex, but the CDC got it wrong and there actually is more teen sex now than before. One of the above must logically be true. I'm putting my money on the CDC.
So the next time some volunteer in the morality militia starts whining to you about how horrible today's music is and how it's polluting our children's minds and turning them into a generation of Paris Hilton clones, you can tell them to mind their own damn business. They're wrong.

Leibermensch

2006-08-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Lieberman set on independent Senate bid
Voters in Connecticut turned him down, rejecting three-term Sen. Joe Lieberman for a political newcomer in the nation's first major test of the depth of anger over the Iraq war.
But Lieberman, undaunted, vowed to run as an independent against fellow Democrat Ned Lamont. "For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand," he said of Tuesday's Democratic primary results.

First of all, good for Leiberman. He's one of the more sane members of the Democrat party. He would make a great independent Senator, and it could even set him up for a third party ticket in 2008. Who knows?
But on the story, notice how the AP calls Leiberman's primary defeat the "first major test of the depth of anger over the Iraq war." Is it just me or was there a presidential election two years ago? Thirty-three Senate elections two years ago? Four hundred thirty five House elections two years ago? Yeah, those don't count apparently. But once someone who supports the war looses, that counts as the first test of support for the war. What a bunch of ridiculous "journalists" over there at the AP...

embassile

2006-07-30T15:43:00.000-07:00

Hezbollah leader said to be hiding in Iranian Embassy
Intelligence reports indicate the leader of Hezbollah is hiding in a foreign mission in Beirut, possibly the Iranian Embassy, according to U.S. and Israeli officials.
Israeli military and intelligence forces are continuing to hunt for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's secretary-general, who fled his headquarters in Beirut shortly before Israeli jets bombed the building last week.
"We think he is in an embassy," said one U.S. official with access to the intelligence reports, while Israeli intelligence speculates Sheik Nasrallah is hiding in the Iranian Embassy.
If confirmed, the reports could lead to an Israeli air strike on the embassy, possibly leading to a widening of the conflict, said officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Foreign embassies are sovereign territory and an attack on an embassy could be considered an act of war.

As an initial reaction, I have no problem with the IDF reducing any embassy harboring a terrorist leader to rubble, even our own. If some internationalist utopian is hiding Nasrallah in the US embassy, send a tactical team in to dispatch them both. And if he's in the Iranian embassy, flatten the whole block.
However, it might be prudent to have a few IDF snipers stationed on the buildings surrounding the Iranian embassy watching the windows. A quick shot at Nasrallah walking by an unobstructed window would be clean and less likely to lead to Iranian escalation. Not that I'm opposed to Iranian escalation. I'd just as soon have the whole region swept up into the war, make it official, and turn them all to glass. But there are practical considerations, of course.

healthy nuts

2006-07-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

According to a New York Times article on a University of Chicago study, people are healthier than ever. Despite rampant obesity, smoking, drugs, and general bad behavior, people are living longer, and with less chronic illnesses than in any generation in human history. So the next time you hear some utopian whining about banning trans-fats, tobacco, sunbathing, wheat, or just plain fun, you can tell them to shut their unfortunately healthy mouths. Let freedom ring!

improperganda

2006-07-22T08:36:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I need to be reminded why I no longer watch network news. Last night at my parents' house after the local news ended, they left on NBC Nightly News for a while (read: until I changed it). The first ten minutes were a summary of recent events in the current Israel-Hezbollah Front of WW3, except a large portion of it was dedicated to journalistic wailing and gnashing of teeth over the civilian casualties in Lebanon. They went the entire segment without putting this unfortunate toll in context - the context of Hezbollah storing and firing rockets at Israel from Lebanese homes and businesses. It's not Israel's fault that Lebanese homes are being destroyed and "innocent" people killed; maybe the Lebanese "civilians" shouldn't let Hezbollah fire rockets from their houses. Israel is only firing back at precise locations where rockets were fired from, so if that happens to be someone's house or business, then too fucking bad. It's Hezbollah's problem, not Israel's.
This type of context-free journalism is what disgusts me about network news and most other leftist media outlets. It leads people to conclusions about world and domestic events that are at best not the whole truth and at worst utter fabrications.

World War III

2006-07-17T16:33:00.000-07:00

Is this really World War III, or is it World War IV? Has it even started yet, and if so, when exactly did it start?
You might say that World War III was really the Cold War in which we battled Russia on various indirect fronts around the world from Korea, Vietnam, Cuba, Nicaragua, Grenada, and other Soviet satellites. In that case, what we see now is World War IV.
Regardless which war this is, when did it start? It started in some sense with the Islamist Coup in Iran in 1979. Probably the more ovious consensus would be September 11, 2001, our generation's Pearl Harbor. At least that is when this war officially began for us; when we finally decided that we would fight back.
I'm sure some people still don't think that we're in World War III (or IV). Despite the fact that they are wrong, I will give them the benefit of the doubt that the major combat operations have not yet begun. We had the Battle of 9/11, and opened two small fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq, but other that prolonged anti-terrorist counter-intelligence operations, there has been very little World War II style epic ground operations. That will come if Iran and North Korea ever get directly involved other than sending weapons and money to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Well, I say bring it. Yes our military may be a bit busy at the moment, yes it will be extremely messy, but yes we will get to truly see who are allies and enemies are in the world, and we will finally deal with these problems that have been brewing for decades. Our children and grandchildren will thank us.

smokescreen

2006-06-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

The Surgeon General released a report this week that claims that secondhand smoke is definitely the killer that some always suspected it to be. This determination must rationally lead to one of two courses of action by the federal government:

Ban smoking completely, or
Legalize marijuana

Now you may be saying, well how can both of those be rational consequences of a finding of the lethal nature of secondhand smoke when they are so diametrically opposed to each other? Let me explain.
If smoking primarily or secondarily is so dangerous that it raises health risks with even the mildest contact, then there is no justifiable reason for it to remain legal. It has no significant health benefits, contributes nothing substantive to life or society, causes trash and air pollution, and is an all around nuisance. The only benefit that it provides is billions in tax dollars every year, yet it remains legal. This is not a rational situation on a purely cost-benefit basis. Fortunately, I don't form my opinions on cost-benefit rationality alone. I hold the freedom to kill oneself slowly to be more important.
So if tobacco remains legal even after it is determined to be unhealthy even for secondary smokers, then the only rational next step is to then legalize marijuana. Smoking marijuana, unlike tobacco, does not cause lung cancer (or any other cancer), so it cannot therefore raise the risks of cancer for secondary smokers either. It is no more incapacitating than alcohol, which remains legal, so for that argument, current laws prohibiting driving under the influence would be sufficient (if they are for alcohol, that is). The only remaining argument against marijuana use is that it is a gateway drug. This is an anecdotal argument at best, and my all accounts it is no more relevant than to say that alcohol is a gateway drug. Otherwise why would anyone only smoke cigarettes when they drink?
So if the Surgeon General's report does not lead to a nationwide ban on smoking tobacco, then it must necessarily lead to a nationwide legalization of marijuana. If one of these things does not occur, then our government is not being run rationally. ...but you already knew that.

34

2006-06-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

It's very sad that there are only 34 sensible members of the US Senate right now. It's even sadder that I probably only agree with these 34 on about two other issues. An amendment to allow Congress to prohibit physical desecration of the flag (read: free speech) has failed by a single vote. Three Republicans (McConnell, Chafee, Bennett) voted no, while 12 Democrats voted yes. The rest of the votes are party line. It's disgusting that a simple issue like the free expression of dissent is so partisan that it takes a few brave members to stop the body from trampling all over the Constitution. It lives to see another day...

sayonara, Mineta

2006-06-23T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today, Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta announced his resignation as of July 7, 2006. All I have to say is good riddance, Mr Mineta. This holdover from the Clinton administration was responsible for perhaps the most absurd and dangerous policy instituted after September 11, 2001: random passenger searches in airports. Yes, that's right. Everytime an 80 year old Jewish woman in a wheelchair gets searched at Logan Airport, it's Norman Mineta's fault. But now he's gone! Shall we have a parade?

music to my ears

2006-06-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

Pa. city poised for immigration crackdown
With tensions rising and the police department and municipal budget stretched thin, Hazleton is about to embark on one of the toughest crackdowns on illegal immigrants anywhere in the United States.
Last week the mayor of this former coal town introduced, and the City Council tentatively approved, a measure that would revoke the business licenses of companies that employ illegal immigrants; impose $1,000 fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants; and make English the official language of the city.

goooooooooood bleeeeeeess aaaaaaaameeeeeeeericaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I may have to ask my wife if she wants to move to Pennsylvania.

they took our...hospitals?

2006-06-16T15:41:00.000-07:00

According to KTRH, the Harris County Hospial District has had to charge $97 million to Harris County taxpayers for costs associated with treating illegal aliens in fiscas year 2005. That's after federal grants (which are also taxpayer funded, obviously) and direct/third party payments for services. The bad thing? There are only two major hospitals covered under the Harris County Hospital District. The deparment also covers a few clinics and various medical and public information services, but $97 MILLION in taxpayer theft for illegal aliens out of only TWO hospitals for a single year?! That's outrageous. The number has also nearly doubled from $55M in fiscal 2002 to the $97M in fiscal 2005.

This $97M is the tip of the iceberg that is going to bring our health system to its knees. Also not covered under the $97M are the 34 clinics run by the Harris County Public Healthcare System Council. Also not covered are at least 10 major hospitals (most in the Texas Medical Center) that are privately funded. Also ignored are the thousands of private medical practices in Harris County.
So not only does $97M not even begin a full accounting of the cost of illegal aliens on our healthcare system, it is only a tiny fraction of the undoubtedly BILLIONS stolen at gunpoint from taxpayers throughout Harris County, the rest of the state of Texas, and the nation as a whole.

I didn't say we should deny anyone without a valid social security card medical treatment. But couldn't we at least send Vincente Fox a vague invoice for $97M from some unaccountable medical billing office?

leadership disconnected

2006-06-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure you've heard, the Senate couldn't even muster enough votes to end debate on the pathetic Federal Marriage Amendment today. This is not at all surprising. The thing had no chance of making it out of the Senate even if they could actually get to vote on it.
What's ridiculous is the timing of this charade. After the massive illegal immigrant marches of April and May, the country finally awoke to the national emergency of our immigration problem. Every poll out there shows that up to 80% of the country wants at the very least a secure border, and a majority want that to include a wall. Immigration policy should come second. So after five years in office and the entire country raising their voices in unison against illegal immigration, the president and Congress finally managed to write a policy to handle the immigration problem. Actually, they made three policies, the president's, the Senate's, and the House's, and none of them are the same. So what do we get? As of now, a few miles of fence along parts of the US-Mexico border, and some cameras. oooh. Basically, lip service.
This brings us back to the marriage debacle. After the Massachusetts and San Francisco marriage breakthroughs of 2004, parts of the country were clamoring for protection of the "sanctity of marraige." It was a huge campaign issue. Probably enough to secure the president's re-election, though John Kerry was similarly opposed to same-sex marriage, though you'd never know it from the coverage. Fast forward to this year. The president's poll numbers are in a freefall based on stagnation in Iraq and an overall lack of public presence to project a strong image. It's a Congressional election year, and a majority of the country is feeling vehemently anti-incumbent. So what do the president and his pals in the Senate do? They bring back up the canard of gay marriage, and their attempt to engrave a state issue into the federal constitution fails once again. But they tried, damnit! And they'll be sure to remind us as campaign commercials start rolling out before November.
What someone needs to remind the president is that our federal system of states' rights is doing exactly what it should do on this issue, exactly the opposite of the "judicial activism" that the president claims is overtaking the nation. Massachusetts approved same-sex marriage (and re-elected nearly all the legislators who supported it), California did so as well, Connecticut approved civil unions, and the Defense of Marriage Act has been upheld thrice by federal judges (so much for that "activism" eh?). Yes, many states have also passed laws or state amendments strictly defining marriage, but that's their right as well. That's how our system is supposed to work. On issues where the several states can effectively make up their own minds, the federal government is supposed to butt its nosey ass out.
This is one issue that the Democrats have consistently correct. No one can hurt my marriage but my wife and I. However, we must protect the Constitution from these petty partisan potshots at all costs.

(a much better dissection of the issue is here)

06.06.06 ... yawn.

2006-06-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

Fundamentalists amuse me. All day long on the radio, people were calling in fretting about how the end of the world was going to start today or the antichrist was going to be born today. Somehow I don't think omnipotent supernatural entities follow the modern Gregorian calendar.
The apostles and writers of the New Testament thought that Jesus was going to come back and end the physical world in their lifetimes, so they wrote it down to warn everyone to be prepared. Subsequently, every generation since then has thought they were going to see the end of days. They were all wrong. So are all you wackjobs who had C-sections yesterday to keep your children from being evil (they will be anyway, trust me).
Did the end of the world come on June 6, AD 106? No, I don't think so. How about 206? No? 306? ... 1806? Nope. 1906? Nope. Then what the fuck makes you think it's going to be today? Oh, that's right, it's your pathetically overdeveloped sense of spiritual self-importance. Spare us your fevered ego tainting our collective unconscious and have a little fun for once.

political enema, please

2006-05-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ok, that's it. Fire the entire Congress. Our founders warned us of the President becoming a royal office with too much power. Congress now considers itself untouchable in the same way. It's time to clean house, folks. There may be a few current representatives that deserve to keep their seats (see Kyl, Tancredo, Sensenbrenner, Poe, Culberson, etc). Anyone else with an "I" next to their name on a ballot should be automatically voted against in their next election.
In case you're wondering where all this is coming from, this was the tipping point for my outrage. Congressman Jefferson's government office was recently raided by the FBI investigating charges of corruption and bribery after he was VIDEOTAPED taking money from an undercover FBI informant. But that's not surprising...for a politician from Louisiana. What was absolutely shocking was how Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Boehner think that the FBI raid was off limits as a separation of powers issue and should be challenged in the Supreme Court. *mouth*hangs*open* What a bunch of preening elitist power whores... It's time to start from scratch in Washington.
A glimmer of hope here is the recent trend in polls that show that a large majority of American voteres think that most members of Congress need to be replaced. WOOHOO. But another question in these polls reveals a very opposite situation. While most people think that the majority of Congress should not be re-elected, the majority of people (almost the same ratio) think that their own representative should be re-elected. Now that just spoils the whole idea. If everyone thinks their own rep is just fine and dandy, but everyone else's is the problem, then none of them are going to get sent home, and we have to live with the same problem for at least another two years (and realistically, decades). It's simply an abomination.
Fortunately, I don't have to make the decision to re-elect my Congressman in November. He already made that decision for me by tucking his tail between his legs and announcing his sad pathetic resignation. Good riddance, Delay. So my district is guaranteed to get a new face in Washington after the next election. It's got to start somewhere...

public re-education

2006-05-19T21:06:00.000-07:00

In case you were doubting the rampant leftist bent in public education these days (and who could?), then you haven't read this.
Seattle public schools definition of "cultural racism" includes "emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology." That's right, folks. Now if you think of yourself as an individual instead of part of some herd, you're a racist. Welcome to the 1984, where words are redefined at will to suit a political agenda.

bordering on treason

2006-05-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

It was reported all over the country yesterday that through Mexican consular requests for information, the US Border Patrol had been divulging the whereabouts of the Minutemen along the US-Mexico border. Talk about a conflict of interest... Well, today the Border Patrol is refuting this charge, but using double-speak in doing so, saying it doesn't provide the Mexican government with Minutemen locations, but that through the Vienna Convention does have to provide information to the Mexican government about interactions with that government's citizens. So basically, they're not sending over a daily briefing on Minutemen patrols, but if the Minutemen notify the Border Patrol of an illegal crossing and the Mexican consulate asks for information about the illegal crosser, they also get to find out that the Minutemen were involved.
This whole situation smells of rotting elephant dung. It's bad enough that we have to have private citizens volunteer to monitor the border because our government isn't up to the task. But to have these patriots sold out to the corrupt government of Mexico on a legal technicality is disgusting.
If Mexico is so concerned about its citizens' safety, maybe they should give them reasons not to risk their lives crossing the desert on foot or selling themselves into slavery to pay a coyote to ferry them across the border in a locked and boiling trailer.

another one bites the...oh wait no, there he goes...

2006-05-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

[Former CIA agent Michael Scheuer] told Four Corners that during 2002, the Bush Administration received detailed intelligence about Zarqawi's training camp in Iraqi Kurdistan.
Mr Scheuer claims that a July 2002 plan to destroy the camp lapsed because "it was more important not to give the Europeans the impression we were gunslingers".
"Mr Bush had Zarqawi in his sights almost every day for a year before the invasion of Iraq and he didn't shoot because they were wining and dining the French in an effort to get them to assist us in the invasion of Iraq," he told Four Corners.

If this is true, it is unforgivable. Most of our hardship in Iraq over the last three years has been because of Zarqawi and his thugs. If we could have taken him out before the war, it would have saved many thousands of lives and probably hundreds of US soldiers after the fall of Baghdad.
I don't ever want to hear a conservative bring up as some kind of damning crime the fact that Bill Clinton letting Osama bin Laden go during his presidency. Now President Bush has one of his own.

please, fence me in

2006-04-20T16:59:00.000-07:00

Minuteman Leader Pushes Border Fence
If the government doesn't build security fencing along the Mexico border, Minuteman border watch leader Chris Simcox says he and his supporters will.
Simcox, whose civilian watch group opposes illegal immigration, said Wednesday he was sending an ultimatum to President Bush to deploy military reserves to the Arizona border by May 25 or his supporters will break ground for their own building project.
"We're going to show the federal government how easy it is to build these security fences, how inexpensively they can be built when built by private people and free enterprise," Simcox said.
Congress has been debating immigration reform for several months. One bill, approved by the U.S. House in December, calls for nearly 700 miles of fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border. The fence proposal has angered Mexicans, with President
Vicente Fox calling it "shameful."

Gaaaaaawd bleeeess Ameeeeeericaaaaaaaaaa!
My only reservation at this point in the story is this: On whose private or public property is the fence going to be built? Is eminent domain going to be invoked by cooperative local authorities in order to build such a privately-funded fence? But then...

Simcox said a half-dozen landowners along the Arizona-Mexico border have said they will allow fencing to be placed on their borderlands, and others in California, Texas and New Mexico have agreed to do so as well.
Surveyors and contractors have offered to help with the design and survey work, and Simcox said some have said they will provide heavy equipment for his Minuteman Civil Defense Corps. to build fencing.

Well, there you go. Forge ahead, Mr Simcox. And when you're done, run for Congress or Senate, please.

oversimplified public debate

2006-04-11T18:45:00.000-07:00

All this talk about the illegal immigration problem has gotten me thinking. And I think the debate is currently rather short sighted. All you hear about is about "supporters" or "opponents" of either "immigration" or "illegal immigration", and the way the two latter terms are used in the media make them completely interchangeable. But of course, they are not. And the sides of this are even more complicated than pro/anti as well.
There are actually several questions in the illegal immigration problem, and each person in the debate can answer any number of ways on each question. This means that there are not only pro and anti sides, but many distinct sides, each having a combination of pro and anti positions on each of the questions. Wow, this is getting confusing. Let's simplify it.

The first question to ask in the immigration debate is: How strong do you want border security to be? Some people want there to be a guarded wall along the entire US/Mexican and US/Canadian borders. Some want no wall, but a military presence to guard the border. Some want to keep the border relatively secure and relatively porous as it currently exists. And some do not recognize a border at all and think people should be able to move about at will.
That's roughly 4 sides on the single question of border security in the immigration debate. You see how quickly this issue gets impossible to debate with any degree of simplicity.

After border security, one has to consider the question: What do we do with the millions of illegal immigrants already in the US? Some people want them immediately arrested and prosecuted in the US justice system. Some want them immediately deported back to their home countries. Some want them to be able to work toward legal residency. Some want them to be able to work toward naturalized citizenship. And some think they should be immediately granted equal citizenship with native-born Americans.
Surprisingly enough, the answers to this question do not always correlate with the relative progression of answers to the first question. I have heard people support the position of using a military presence on the borders, but simultaneously allowing current illegal immigrants to work toward citizenship. So not only is there a progression of opinions on each question, but each individual does not necessarily hold the same level of opinion for each question. *head*spins* I know...

One of the final, but most important questions to ask is: How thorough and stringent should the legal immigration process be?
Some people think we should cut off all immigration immediately (though I've never heard this opinion expressed). Some people think we should cut off immigration from certain nations or regions. Some think we should simply lower the amount of immigrants allowed in legally each year. Some think we should raise the limit. Some think there should be no limit. Some think there should be no process at all, and anyone should be free to move and reside and work anywhere they chose without having to register with the government to do so.
Surprisingly enough, I have heard a great many people express the interesting combination of opinions that we should build a wall on the borders, deport all illegal immigrants, but greatly increase the number of immigrants that are allowed in legally. Their contention is that this policy would heighten security while encouraging respect for the law and keep a fresh flow of blood pumping into our melting pot. Sounds reasonable to me.

These are only a few of the issues involved in the Great Immigration Debate of 2006 (read: 1776-), but you can already see how complicated the issue is, and I haven't even touched on drug smuggling, human trafficking, paramilitary violence, or labor market effects. This issue can't just be boiled down to "THEY T'K 'R J'BS!!" or "This is OUR continent!" Give me a break. So the next time you hear some pundit or reporter trying to split the entire world into "pro-immigrant" and "anti-immigrant" forces, give them a hearty FUCK YOU and tell them to try to actually think through something before spewing forth a nauseatingly pithy and irrelevant soundbite.

sin city

2006-04-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Having just returned from a several-day vacation in Las Vegas, may I just say that sin is fun. Gambling, public nudity, sex, alcohol, all fabulously good pasttimes. About the only sinful thing in which my wife and I didn't indulge was a little consciousness altering, and that's only because getting catalysts for such activity there and back on an airplane is a little complicated.

reconquista continues

2006-03-29T16:08:00.000-08:00

In case you are as yet unconvinced that one of the underlying motivations of the illegal alien protests is the taking back of the former Mexican territories, may I present this:

The criminals marching for their rights at a high school in California defiled the symbol of this country by subjigating it to the banner of a foreign nation on our own soil. And it gets worse and worse and worse.

political backlash 101

2006-03-27T20:46:00.000-08:00

A few points about the recent "immigrant" protest marches in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, et al:

The participants are not calling for equal rights for immigrants, but amnesty for illegal aliens. Two entirely different issues.
Any discussion you see about opposition to "immigration" or "immigrants" is a blatant lie. I have never heard anyone say that they are opposed to immigration. What some people are opposed to is lawlessness and flagrant violation of current immigration policy. Follow the law on the way in the door, and we welcome you with open arms. Break the law as your first act in this country, and you deserve nothing but the inside of a jail cell.
As you can see in the top-right corner of this photo, some of those masquerading under the banner of "immigrant rights" are actually engaging in a "reconquista" of the southwestern United States. Believe it or not, it's a fact.
Why are those allegedly rallying in support of equal rights for immigrants carrying so many flags of their native countries? If they want equal rights here, maybe they should be carrying American flags. Granted some are, but there are at least as many with Mexican flags. If they're so fond of their home country, I hear it's quite easy to get across the border. It's not a one way type of thing either.
Why is it that half a million illegal aliens can gather openly in downtown Los Angeles without fear of arrest and deportation? Kinda like the town hall meeting in Houston last year in which illegal aliens shouted down city officials who were trying to allay their fears about alleged (though unfortunately not actual) INS sweeps. These people are growing more brazen by the day, and our elected officials and bureaucratic overloards are coddling them as if they were natural born citizens of this country. It's completely unacceptable.
As my title suggests, these protests are going to do little to bring about the amnesty that they seek. Quite the contrary, every talk radio show I caught today was on this top to bottom. This is going to create a backlash that will blindside the protesters like nothing they've seen. It's just like what happened with the marriage rights debate in 2004. Because of all the people staging protests and flagrantly violating the law by granting null and void marriage contracts, they pissed the rest of the country off and helped pass 11 state constitutional amendments and laws ridigly defining marriage. While I support their cause (marriage, not alien amnesty), their tactics were counter-productive in the long run. These amnesty protests will probably help get more Republicans elected in November and make the proposed immigration reform in Congress even more strict (as it should be).
Although I can't credit it as my own, I had to pass along an amusing phrase I heard on the radio today. Someone called in and identified himself as an "undocumented border patrol agent" since he had participated in the Minuteman project. *claps* Genius...and patriot.

thou shalt not pursue happiness

2006-03-23T19:00:00.000-08:00

"If you're not doing anything wrong, you don't have anything to worry about."

That sentence should send chills down the spine of any clear-headed freedom-loving person. It is most commonly used as part of an illogical defense of invasive and oppressive security or safety measures implemented by either tyrannical or maternal governments (redundant, I know). We all know that my personal political philosophy is a unique balance between freedom and security, but when it comes to sacrificing basic civil liberties like free transit and association, I draw the line quite clearly in the sand.

Take for instance the recent crusade by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission that has resulted in the arrest of more than 2200 people for drinking in...get this...bars. Gosh, I feel so much safer now that my nanny state government is protecting me from all those people enjoying themselves. These people were not fighting in the streets or driving with blood alcohol above the legal limit, they were just acting like drunk people do. And who is to say that they weren't going to call a cab on their way back home, or have a sober friend drive them?
If the Imperial State Government is going to start arresting people who "may be a danger to themselves or others", how about going down to the local Planned Parenthood clinic and sterilizing all the single women looking for information on the morning after pill or abortions? That would certainly eliminate lots of potential "dangers to others".

full circle

2006-03-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

Some commentators on the Right like to point out that others on the Left are so radical that they are (consciously or not) siding with terrorists against Western and American ideals. Well, I would like to point out a converse and infrequently discussed collusion between those on the Right and those who plot the destruction of Western civilization.
Andrew Sullivan pointed out a story about how some Christianists who rail against gay marriage have added a new facet to their argument - that terrorists don't like gay marriage, so if we do, we are attracting the wrath of terrorists.
To some of you, this might seem like a logical argument. To the rest of us, it is the most illogical argument possible. We do not live one way or another at the whim of those who wish us harm. We live how we choose. However, this appeasement argument has become more common among conservatives, not only on the gay marriage issue, but on media saturation as well. They complain about Hollywood and decadent movies and culture partly because it makes the terrorists hate us.
Well, my hypocritical friends, so do freedom of the press, freedom of religion, two-piece bathing suits (oh, sorry, those are evil too), and hickory smoked bacon, but we're not giving those up, are we? Only those issues on which you agree with Islamists we should give up.
I have a different idea. How about everytime a wackjob in a C4 vest points out something about us that he doesn't like, we do more of it? That would seem to be a more idealisticly sound and intellectually consistent proposition. We're not inviting more terrorist anger; they hate us already and forever simply because we exist. Responding to the reverse of their demands (as with things like Shock & Awe) is only going to make them more vocal and more visible. We want the psychos to stand up and tell us that they don't like what we do and that we should be destroyed because of it, so then we know where they are and can send Predators after them. Not that we have the balls to do that though...

judicial urination

2006-03-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

Well, that didn't take long. I found a story that is so clear-cut and so obvious and yet has not been politically mangled by anyone I've heard.

Ruling on an appeal brought by a Berkeley man who was charged with cocaine possession after an officer stopped him mid-pitstop, the Court of the Appeal for the Second District said Wednesday that public urination is a crime that justified the officer's search of the man's pockets.
"Urination on or near a busy commercial street interferes with the comfortable enjoyment of both life and property," Presiding Justice J. Anthony Kline wrote in an opinion that concluded public peeing qualified as "a public nuisance."
"The sight and smell of urine are vile and offensive, and those who use the public streets and sidewalks cannot be freely subjected to such unpleasantness," Kline continued.

If anyone wants to whine about judicial activism, here's your...um...golden opportunity. This justice decided that even though there is no public urination law either in the area or state where this arrest occured, he was going to pretend that there was one so that the arresting officer had a legitimate reason to search the defendant. Sure, public urination may be "vile and offensive" but if the California legislature or Oakland city council can not be bothered to make it illegal, then, Mr Presiding Justice, it's none of your fucking business.

political boredom

2006-03-10T20:27:00.000-08:00

So, you may be wondering why I haven't posted anything in quite a while...

*crickets*chirping*

Well, I'm bored. I'm bored with the entire state of politics and government and society lately. Nothing grabs my attention. Well, I take that back. Plenty grabs my attention, but as soon as it does, it gets so instantly turned into partisan rancor that any interest I may have had gets quickly quelled. Yawn. Dubai Ports World pulls out of port terminal deal, and potentially many other US industries. Yawn. Tom Delay wins 63% in primary. Yawn. The economy is roaring. Yawn. Abortion is illegal in South Dakota. Yawn. It's just all so...done.
Maybe I need to read another Ayn Rand book.

Arabian whoppers

2006-03-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

Recently everyone's favorite vice president-turned-insane rambling lunatic thought it would be fun to take a trip to Saudi Arabia and tell everyone that the United States has been scooping up scores of Arabs amongst its population, interning them, and torturing them without due process. This claim is only hilarious because it's the exact opposite of the truth. Since the Day We Woke Up, our federal government has been implementing as many policies as it can to ensure that no two Arabs are looked at in the same way, regardless of potential threats.
To add an additional layer of irony onto Vice President Gore's statements, the current president is planning to allow an Arab company to purchase leasing rights in several of our seaports. So not only are we not interning Arabs in this country, we are giving them control of some of our infrastructure.

when is evidence not evidence?

2006-02-21T20:09:00.000-08:00

Yates' lawyer wants photos of kids barred
The request sparks fight with prosecutors ahead of her 2nd trial
The image of 7-year-old Noah Yates floating facedown in the murky brown water that filled a bathtub after he and his four siblings were drowned is something Andrea Yates' defense attorney doesn't want jurors to see during her second capital murder trial.
Yates' attorney, George Parnham, filed 30 pretrial motions, which were made public Monday, including one requesting "any and all photographs" of her children not be shown to jurors during the trial set to begin March 20.
Parnham claims the photographs could cause jurors to be unfairly prejudiced or serve to confuse and mislead them.

Um... Yeah, that's the point. What a dumbass. Heaven forbid the jury actually get to see the aftermath of the crime. There is no surer way for justice to be served than for Andrea Yates to be reconvicted and this time sentenced to a swift and speedy death.

Dubaious?

2006-02-21T19:48:00.000-08:00

The entire blogosphere and talk radio spectrum is in a giant kerfluffle over Dubai Ports World purchasing part of Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation, a British company. This means that an Arab company from a remarkably Western nation will be doing some operations in six ports that were previously done by a British company. Yes, the initial reaction of "THEY TOOK OUR JOBS!" or "Arabs running seaports?!?" are perfectly reasonable given the circumstances. But I, along with others don't think this deal is a huge problem. In fact, it's almost completely none of our business. So an Arab company wants to buy a British company that does some work in the United States? So what? The same people are providing security at the ports. The same people are doing the union labor at the ports. It's not like Dubai is going to ship in thousands of Islamists to guard shipping containers. BFD.

foreign policy, my ass

2006-02-11T20:30:00.000-08:00

This war is not about American imperialism. This war is not about Israel. This war is not about oil. This war is about fundamental principles of human existence. It has never been so clear as this:

the Great Cartoon War of 2006

2006-02-09T15:56:00.000-08:00

The world has gone mad. In September 2005 a Danish newspaper published from a contest 12 editorial cartoons depicting Muhammad in various forms and contexts. There was no outrage. In October 2005 a newspaper in Egypt republished the cartoons. There was no outrage. Then last week a French newspaper reprinted the cartoons. Now the French editor has been fired and radical Muslims around the world are rioting and burning embassies and cars over what they see as a blasphemy to their religion.

Two words: FUCK YOU.

Non-Muslims are incapable of committing blasphemy against a religious figure they do not consider divine. You cannot be guilty of a sin that you do not believe exists. Pentacostals believe it is indecent to show the knees and thighs in public. Does that mean my wife is going to hell because she wears a bathing suit at the beach? Of course not. She's not Pentacostal.
A liberal society (in the classical sense) requires that individuals are free to believe and practice what they choose. Someone cannot force me to believe or worship something in which I have no interest. So while it is perfectly acceptable for Muslims to be upset that their "prophet" is depicted in an unflattering manner, it is absolutely unacceptable for them to infringe on my right to create or distribute such a depiction.
But that gets to the heart of the matter, doesn't it? Radical Muslims do not want to live in a liberal society where everyone is free to think and do what they choose. They want to live in a world governed by sharia as interpreted by the most oppressive theology possible. In their riots and protests, these zealots are holding signs that say "KILL THOSE WHO INSULT INSLAM". Well, I say kill those who can't take a fucking joke. The world is not required to live by your 7th Century dogma. The more you kill in the name of your religion, the more images like this will continue to apply:

radical Christianism strikes again

2006-02-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Evangelical Filmmakers Criticized for Hiring Gay Actor
Christian ministers were enthusiastic at the early private screenings of "End of the Spear," made by Every Tribe Entertainment, an evangelical film company. But days before the film's premiere, a controversy erupted over the casting of a gay actor that has all but eclipsed the movie and revealed fault lines among evangelicals.
The film relates the true story of five American missionaries who were killed in 1956 by an indigenous tribe in Ecuador. The missionaries' families ultimately converted the tribe to Christianity, and forgave and befriended the killers. The tale inspired evangelicals 40 years ago with its message of redemption and grace, and the film company expected a similar reception.
On Jan. 12, though, the Rev. Jason Janz took the filmmakers to task for casting Chad Allen, an openly gay man and an activist, in the movie's lead role as one of the slain missionaries, and later, his grown son.

...riiight.
So some Christian wackjobs are upset because someone they perceive as a "sinner" was cast in a film about a group of missionairies who forgive and convert a tribe of murdering savages. Am I missing something here? Oh wait, no. The Christian wackjobs are.

"Hey, buddy! C'mere! Mr. Funny-man, c'mere! Hey, buddy, we're Christians, and we don't like what you said."
"So then forgive me." Later, when I was hanging from the tree...

to perjure or not to perjure

2006-01-31T19:38:00.000-08:00

Is it perjury to answer questions about classified national security programs inaccurately? Andrew Sullivan seems to think so. He noted today a Washington Post story about a Senate Judiciary Committee Heaaring in which Attorney General Alberto Gonzales called any discussion about warrantless wiretapping "hypothetical." I tried to get the full context of this discussion from the hearing, but only the introductory statements are available online. However, from this information we can at least assume that this hearing was public. When asked about any potential warrantless wiretapping, should Gonzales have disclosed the existence of the classified program? Wouldn't that be a crime?
So if answering a question accurately is a crime (disclosing classified information to the public) and answering a question inaccurately is a crime (perjury under oath), then what is a person to do? It is my opinion that perjury is the lesser evil in this situation, since classified national security information should remain so, and therefore Gonzales should have no charges brought against him in either case.

photographic dissonance

2006-01-25T16:48:00.000-08:00

Some people are busy wailing and gnashing of teeth that there may be a few photos of President Bush and Jack Abramoff in the same room together, as if that means the president had a hand in Abramoffs bribery schemes. Meanwhile, a video has been released from 1999 of George Galloway and Uday Hussein chortling together about how evil America is.
It amuses me how some people see damning proof of impropriety in a photo of two (innocent-at-the-time) politicos (456 Google News hits), yet completely ignore one of a politico pledging allegiance and fealty to the murderous son of a murderous dictator (7 Google News hits). No double standard there at all...

so close...

2006-01-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

8 Are Killed by Bombings in Restive City in South Iran
Two separate bombs exploded Tuesday morning in the southern city of Ahwaz at a bank and a government building, leaving 8 people dead and 46 wounded, state-run news agencies reported. The first bomb went off at 9:30 a.m. at Saman Bank and the second 30 minutes later at the government office for natural resources. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been expected to meet his cabinet in the city, but the trip was canceled Monday evening. His office said the four-day trip was canceled because of bad weather, the IRNA news agency reported Monday. The explosions occurred at the time he had been expected to make a speech in Ahwaz.

We really need to get the CIA more current information if they can't even bother to shut off the bombs when the guy's not going to be there anymore. *shakes*head* Better luck next time, guys...

maple leaves are red again

2006-01-23T20:09:00.000-08:00

Congratulations are in order for Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party in Canada for gaining the largest voting block in today's nationwide elections. With their new 37% minority ahead of the Liberals' 31%, this is the first time Conservatives have held the most seats in parlaiment since 1994. Interesting that our countries' legislative bodies both switched alignments in that same year, but in the opposite direction.
This by no means gives the CPC a ruling majority or even a very clear mandate in Canada, but it does send a long over due signal that our fine friends to the North are slightly more tired of corrupt liberalism ruining their country than they were before. Personally, I don't understand how parlaimentary multi-party systems function without disintegrating into anarchy, but hopefully Harper can whip his country into shape as a world player once again. We miss Canada at the table.

And by the way, just so we're clear... This now makes at least ~~eleven~~ twelve nations that have elected or re-elected more conservative (in a Western sense) and pro-war governments in the years since the Iraq War began (United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Afghanistan, Iraq, Canada, Lebanon, Poland [UPDATE: and Portugal]). So much for the whole world being against us, huh?

American Idolatry

2006-01-21T19:17:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't see the premiere of American Idol last week, you missed quite a spectacle. The finale of one of the shows was a young skinny guy wearing women's jeans, shirt, shoes and accessories, with a women's haircut. The judges were all quite confused, and I'm sure much of the rest of the country was as well. The guy's audition was horrendous, of course. But when he got rejected and left the audition room, he began complaining to any available camera that he had been discriminated against. He was "ashamed to be an American" if this is the way that we treat people who are different. I've got news for you, buddy. You were rejected because you SUCK.
This has become a major problem in this country. Anytime someone who feels different from the "norm" (whatever that is) gets passed over for a job or called out on something, they immediately yell discrimination, regardless of the actual reason for their loss.
Michael Jackson was not prosecuted because he was black (though he's not), but because he molested children. OJ Simpson was not prosecuted because he was black, but because he murdered his wife and her man-friend. Matthew Shepard was not murdered because he was gay, but because he had money. Ellen's sitcom wasn't cancelled because she was gay, but because people stopped watching it. And this wack job was not rejected for American Idol because he dresses like a girl, but because he can't sing.
Crying wolf like this doesn't make cases of actual discrimination any easier to deal with. It's just like saying President Bush is Hitler. Until he starts rounding up people by the millions for extermination, the only thing such rhetoric does is water down the real meaning of such a reference so that when the next Hitler actually comes along, no one notices.

Johnny Taliban is still breathing

2006-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

US father appeals for Taliban son
... Reviled by many Americans as a traitor, Lindh agreed to a plea deal in which he was spared a possible life prison sentence and all terrorism charges against him were dropped. In exchange, he pleaded guilty to two charges of aiding the Taliban and carrying explosives. Now in federal prison in southern California, John Walker Lindh is appealing to George Bush, the US president, to commute his sentence. Frank Lindh said he was proud of his son. "He was extremely unpopular in the United States and probably still is because of the way his case was portrayed by the government and by the media," he said. "People will come to realize that what happened in his case was wrong, that the torture was wrong."

I am with Mr Frank Lindh. What has happened in this case is a horrible travesty of justice. The torture of John Walker Lindh is unconscionable. He should never have been tortured (if he was), and he shouldn't serve a day in jail. ... Upon his capture in Afghanistan, Johnny Taliban should have been immediately tried for treason and sedition in a military tribunal, convicted, and hanged from a lightpost in Times Square until his traitorous, shameful spirit was extinguished from his body. This guy was literally fighting with our enemy, and the most he can get is 20 years in jail because he plead guilty? He wasn't saying nasty things about our troops in newspapers, he wasn't hoping for the defeat of coalition forces, he was LITERALLY captured armed in combat on the side of the terrorist regime of the Taliban. The fact that his head is still attached to his neck is indefensible to me, and is one of the worst failures of the Bush administration.

I have a nightmare

2006-01-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

Today's lesson, ladies and gentlement, will be one of contrasts:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. - King

vs.

It's time for us to come together. It's time for us to rebuild New Orleans - the one that should be a chocolate New Orleans. This city will be a majority African-American city. It's the way God wants it to be. You can't have New Orleans no other way. It wouldn't be New Orleans. - Nagin

No further comment needed.

this is John Galt

2006-01-16T15:08:00.000-08:00

Some noteworthy quotes from John Galt's speech, which I just began, in Atlas Shrugged:

"We are on strike against self-immolation. We are on strike against the creed of unearned rewards and unrewarded duties. We are on strike against the dogma that the pursuit of one's happiness is evil. We are on strike against the doctrine that life is guilt."

"A being who does not hold his own life as the motive and goal of his actions, is acting on the motive and standard of death. Such a being is a metaphysical monstrosity, struggling to oppose, negate and contradict the fact of his own existence, running blindly amuck on a trail of destruction, capable of nothing but pain."

"By the grace of reality and the nature of life, man - every man - is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose."

"You who speak of a 'moral instinct' as if it were some separate endowment opposed to reason - man's reason is his moral faculty."

"A 'moral commandment' is a contradiction in terms. The moral is the chosen, not the forced; the understood, not the obeyed. The moral is the rational, and reason accepts no commandments."

Discuss...

random thought of the day

2006-01-11T16:44:00.000-08:00

Does wanting to watch the entire Alito confirmation hearing from opening statements to full fledged inquisition make me a total dork? Or just a blooming Constitutional scholar?

11k

2006-01-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

At 11,000, Dow Seeks a Revival
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has risen from the dead, closing above 11,000 for the first time since June 2001.
Monday's advance above the psychologically important 11,000 level has the potential to create some buzz and excitement, a nice change as the blue-chip index had fallen out of favors over the past several years. The Dow even fell 0.6% in 2005, its first annual loss since 2002. The Dow's last attempt to breach the key level, in March 2005, quickly fizzled away.
But on Monday, at least, the Dow managed to hold onto its gains and closed at 11,009.26, adding 49.95 points, or 0.5% on the day. It earlier touched an intraday high of 11,020.

*ahem* Once again...
AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
Goddamn, that horrible Bush economy. Soup lines, rampant unemployment[1], widespread famine, pestilence ravaging the nation. Wait... None of that's happening? huh... You mean people are making more money now than they ever have before in the history of the world? Interesting... Well then why are all these people scowling in the corner pulling their hair out and whining about how horrible everything is right now? Oh, that's right, THEY'RE FULL OF SHIT!

[1] Oh yeah, that's below 5% now too.

common sense: 1, utopianism: 0

2005-12-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Sixty-four percent (64%) of Americans believe the National Security Agency (NSA) should be allowed to intercept telephone conversations between terrorism suspects in other countries and people living in the United States. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that just 23% disagree. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Americans say they are following the NSA story somewhat or very closely. Just 26% believe President Bush is the first to authorize a program like the one currently in the news. Forty-eight percent (48%) say he is not while 26% are not sure.

AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
I love it when the American people are smarter than half the Senate.

pick a side, any side

2005-12-27T18:03:00.000-08:00

Munich mastermind spurns Spielberg's peace appeal
The Palestinian mastermind of the Munich Olympics attack in which 11 Israeli athletes died said on Tuesday he had no regrets and that Steven Spielberg's new film about the incident would not deliver reconciliation.
The Hollywood director has called "Munich," which dramatizes the 1972 raid and Israel's reprisals against members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), his "prayer for peace." ...
"If he really wanted to make it a prayer for peace he should have listened to both sides of the story and reflected reality, rather than serving the Zionist side alone," Daoud told Reuters by telephone from the Syrian capital, Damascus.

So Spielberg makes a movie that engages in rampant moral equivalency in an attempt to move the dream of peace in TLCKAI (The Land Currently Known As Israel) forward. Someone asks a prominent Palestinian terrorist what he thinks about this. The terrorist calls Spielberg a Zionist and says he should have portrayed both sides.
Is anyone still wondering why this conflict hasn't been solved yet? I'm just throwing out ideas here, but maybe it's because one side won't be happy until the other side is wiped off the face of the planet. Could be...

rap in a body bag

2005-12-23T20:25:00.000-08:00

Six injured during CD release party
Three men were stabbed and three were shot during the New York release party for slain rapper Notorious B.I.G.'s CD, "Duets: The Final Chapter." The stabbings happened early Wednesday in the VIP room of the nightclub Exit while the shootings occurred in a parking garage across the street, the New York Post reported Thursday.

No, there's nothing inherently violent or dangerous about hip-hop culture. How intolerant of you... The amazing thing is that they were two separate incidents. I could understand if there was one big fight at a party, but people were stabbed in one place, then more people were shot in another place at a different time during the same event.
You notice nothing like this ever happens at raves.

domespionage

2005-12-23T20:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not quite sure what to make of the recent news that the Bush administration (with the advise and consent of members of Congress, the Department of Justice, and the FISA court) authorized warrantless wiretapping of phone and email conversations between persons in the United States and known terrorists. Such information is obviously useful in the defense of the nation, but why were warrants not needed or acquirable? The FISA court that authorizes secret warrants for such intelligence activities almost always grants those requests. Why didn't the president just secure warrants instead of creating a program to do such intelligence gathering without them? There is a large piece of this story missing, and I don't think anyone can formulate a fully rational opinion either way until all the information is in. At this point it looks like POTUS has done something illegal for entirely justifiable reasons, but the jury is still out on this one. [12/19/05]

UPDATE: It has become more clear exactly what President Bush's secret wiretapping program that bypassed FISA was doing. Apparently the NSA was monitoring phone conversations to and from certain al Qaeda telephone numbers and persons (some citizens) in the United States. The reason no warrants were acquired (or acquirable) is that there was not a specific known person in the country that was being wiretapped. They were getting information on calls relayed from international numbers to any number of people domestically. So it was more like fishing than deer hunting.
In this case, I have zero problem with this program whether it is determined to be legal or not. Whine all you want, utopians. The president is doing his job.

Earth: 1, Envirofascists: 0

2005-12-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

Careful Where You Put That Tree
Forget planting trees to negate your SUV's contribution to global warming -- according to Stanford University atmospheric scientist Ken Caldeira, forests in the wrong location can actually make the Earth hotter.
Plants absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis, so scientists and policy makers have long assumed new forest growth helps combat global warming. At an American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco earlier this month, however, Caldeira rolled out a provocative new finding: Trees may be good at capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but their dark leaves are also very efficient at soaking up sunlight, which is later released as heat. At certain latitudes, the net effect of these two processes is warming, rather than cooling.

Another nail in the coffin of the envirofascists. Next thing you know, someone will discover that carbon dioxide actually is better for breathing than oxygen. Good times.

thou shalt not watch analog

2005-12-19T21:06:00.000-08:00

Feb. 2009 Could Be End Of Analog TV
House lawmakers approved legislation early Monday that would complete the transition to all-digital television broadcasts by Feb. 17, 2009. The measure also would allocate up to $1.5 billion to help consumers with older, analog TV sets purchase converter boxes so they would continue to get service in the digital era. The date for all-digital and the subsidy were included in a broader deficit-cutting bill that the Senate could take up later Monday.

Well this is one of the most offensive things Congress has pulled out of its ass recently, and that's saying something.
Why is it any business of the federal government what kind of signals are broadcast by television networks? Why is it any business of the federal government what kind of television signals I can receive in my home? Why is it the responsibility of the federal government to provide new technologies to people who otherwise could not afford it? Why is it the responsibility of the federal government and not the free market to determine what technologies succeed or fail, and who gets to use them?
Answer: IT ISN'T.
The most offensive part of this story is that this program is being setup within the scope of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Congress is actually creating a $1.5 billion program to buy people digital converter boxes while trying to convince us that they're actually concerned about the budget. This is such a joke.
A vote of no confidence isn't looking so bad these days...

George Bush hates white people, too

2005-12-16T20:04:00.000-08:00

Louisiana Releases Details on Deaths From Hurricane Katrina and Later Flooding
...
Of the 905 bodies examined at the central morgue set up by federal officials, 511 have been released for burial. Half of those were black, and almost all of the rest were white, according to State Health Department statistics. The latest breakdown, conducted when 488 victims had been released, showed that 248 were men and 240 were women. Most of the deaths, 360, were in New Orleans.

Based on this story and the official numbers so far (PDF), there were just as many non-blacks in Southeast Louisiana killed in and after Katrina than blacks. Of the 690 bodies identified, 48% were black, 42% white, and 10% were something else or undetermined.
Even more interesting, is that these numbers are not even representative of the actual population of New Orleans. According to 2000 Census numbers, the city was 67% black, 28% white, and 5% something else. So not only did just as many non-blacks as blacks die, but proportionally more white people and others died than blacks, in fact by twice as much for "others."
This is obviously preliminary information and not an exact comparison as we only have general Louisiana numbers compared to the specific population of New Orleans, but most of the deaths were in New Orleans, so there is still plenty of information to draw some tentative conclusion. Once we get an exact count of New Orleans residents and compare that to the city's population, we will know for sure what the ratio was.
But in the mean time, someone get Kanye West on the phone...

congratulations

2005-12-15T19:19:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the carnival of democracy, Iraq. You're welcome.

insurgency splits

2005-12-12T18:26:00.000-08:00

Iraqi insurgents urge Sunnis to vote, warn Zarqawi
Saddam Hussein loyalists who violently opposed January elections have made an about-face as Thursday's polls near, urging fellow Sunni Arabs to vote and warning al Qaeda militants not to attack.
In a move unthinkable in the bloody run-up to the last election, guerrillas in the western insurgent heartland of Anbar province say they are even prepared to protect voting stations from fighters loyal to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

Well, isn't that special? The Ba'athists have officially denounced the Islamofascists and are formally participating in this week's parlaimentary elections. I bet Zarqawi is cutting random people's heads off in frustration. We can only hope that those people are his underlings.
Now what was it that all the "peace" loons were saying? "Those silly little brown people over there can't handle democracy. They've never had it, so they wouldn't know what to do with it." Right? Well it seems to me that democracy has now officially converted terrorists into citizens. So much for another Vietnam, eh?

one down, millions to go

2005-12-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

Air marshal fatally shoots man at Miami airport
An agitated passenger who claimed to have a bomb in his backpack was shot and killed by a federal air marshal Wednesday after he bolted frantically from a jetliner that was boarding for take off, officials said. No bomb was found.

As a wise man once said, "He's an idiot. He's dead. Good."
I heard people today defending the actions of the officer, but qualifying their stance with the obligatory "But it's still a tragedy." Fuck that. Anyone who possesses the mental vigor to claim he has a bomb on his person and then refuses to comply with police orders gets zero sympathy from me, terrorist or not, surviving family or not.
Most strict libertarians would likely moan about increasing state power perpetuating a state of fear or some such nonsense. I on the other hand hold no grudge against state officers striking down those of us either too dangerous or simply incompetent to be trusted during wartime.

Why so down, Bill?
We're missing a moron. We're missing a moron!

no parlaiment, please

2005-11-28T20:04:00.000-08:00

Canadian Government Falls on No-Confidence
A corruption scandal forced a vote of no-confidence Monday that toppled Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government, triggering an unusual election campaign during the Christmas holidays. Canada's three opposition party parties, which control a majority of seats in Parliament, voted against Martin's government, claiming his Liberal Party no longer had the moral authority to lead the nation. The loss means an election for all 308 seats in the lower House of Commons was likely to be held Jan. 23. Martin and his Cabinet would continue to govern until then.

I am so glad we don't have a parlaimentary system of government here. What utter chaos. These people and their coalition/minority governments are constantly in a state of near-anarchy. I understand the increased advantage of checks on your government, but simple partisan bickering shouldn't have the power to dissolve the entire government. I am much more in favor of short term elections and term limits than spontaneous dissolution at whim. Very strange, these parlaiment things. Federalism forever!
On the other hand, my general philosophy is still "the less government, the better." So I suppose a government than can abolish itself at any given time, and actually uses that power, is a handy government to have around. I am first in line to cheer any potential government shutdown over budgetary battles in this country. With all the Congressional busy-bodying and nannyism going on lately, I would have no problem if the entire legislative branch of the federal government went home and we got to pick new ones. Though with the present primary and two party system still in place, most new ones would be just as bad as the old ones.
So what's the solution? Any Canadians, Britons, Australians, or now Iraqis have any more positive takes on the parlaimentary system?

gasoline market analysis

2005-11-14T20:21:00.000-08:00

I filled up my car today at $2.05 per gallon. The average price in the country is now $2.29 per gallon. The market is an amazing thing. Just six weeks ago, we were paying a record average $3.07 per gallon.
Even more amazing is the rampant hypocrisy of blame on this issue (and many others, obviously). A quick search for "record gas prices, bush" yields 1,550 results, while a search for "gas prices fall, bush" yields only 685 results (and even less for "gas prices drop, bush", at 653). Obviously this is an unscientific study. But why in the world would more than twice as many articles mention President Bush when discussing high gas prices than low ones? It couldn't be that inherent liberal perspectives in news organizations would lead them to associate negative information with a Republican president, now would it? No, of course not. There's no such thing as media bias, remember?
The spectacular thing about this simple search experiment is that Google only archives news items in its searches for a couple weeks, meaning that although gas prices have not been at their record levels for a month and a half, Google still has more articles about the record than it does about the decline. Stunning.

...and then what about gay jews?

2005-11-11T17:41:00.000-08:00

Question: What do Jews and alternasexuals (my term for anyone not heterosexual) have in common?
Answer: Both are going to hell according to most Christian dogma.

Question: What is the difference between Jews and alternasexuals?
Answer: Only one is routinely protested, boycotted, mocked, and banished by Christians.

This hypocrisy occured to me today. Christians (not all, of course) routinely excoriate homosexuals, bisexuals, etc for their behavior or wanting equal rights or protections under the law, but are they more sinful than people who don't even believe that Jeezus is the Lowerd (hint: say it phonetically)?
Michael Savage was ranting today about how France is burning to the ground because they have been "homosexualized" and can no longer defend themselves. What about all the Jews in France? Do they invite Gawd's wrath too?

Some people...

Congress derides the profit motive

2005-11-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Ayn Rand must be spinning in her grave, the poor woman...

Today the always reliable (for a laugh or a fright) United States Senate was interrogating executives of ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP and Shell as to the source and purpose of their "obscene" profits from the third quarter of this year. These professional nannies have the gigantic balls to suggest that private enterprises do certain things with the money they make on the very same day that they removed portions of the Deficit Reduction Act that would have allowed those companies to invest their profits in new drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and in ANWR. Sheer madness, I tell you. I mean, I know they have that least common denominator to pander to, but this is just incomprehensible.
"["Republican"] Olympia Snowe of Maine, called on the major oil companies to voluntarily contribute to a federal program that helps low-income families pay part of their winter heating bills." The number of things wrong with that statement are incalculable. Oil companies owe nothing to the citizens of this country but a continuous supply of their product at whatever cost they deem necessary. The only thing to which they should be contributing is the increased efficiency of their business model. Maybe the low-income families that so desperately need lower heating bills should get off their asses and create a business that makes enough profit for Congress to haul them in for waterboarding.

Congress shall make no law...

2005-11-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press...

Yet it's funny how they just keep finding ways to do so.

House Declines to Exempt Political Web Sites From Spending Rules
...
The House voted 225-182 for a bill that would have excluded blogs, e-mails and other Internet communications from regulation by the Federal Election Commission. That was 47 votes short of the two-thirds majority needed under a procedure that limited debate time and allowed no amendments.
The vote in effect clears the way for the FEC to move ahead with court-mandated rule-making to govern political speech and campaign spending on the Internet.

The rollcall was as follows:

Yes: R|179, D|46
No: R|38, D|143

In other words, Democrats no longer believe that prohibiting certain political speech a certain number of days before an election is "abriding the freedom of speech." Funny, I'm pretty sure anyone who can actually read knows that the First Amendment says precisely that.
Oh, and the president is just as illiterate for signing the original campaign finance reform bill in 2001. Just so we don't leave anyone out here...

liberal plantation carries on

2005-11-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

In case anyone doubts the existence of the Liberal Plantation, witness:

Editorial: A nomination that will divide
...
In losing a woman, the court with Alito would feature seven white men, one white woman and a black man, who deserves an asterisk because he arguably does not represent the views of mainstream black America.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is of the opinion that US Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas does not count as black because he does not goose-step along with the rest of his race to pull the lever that says 'D' in the voting booth. In other words, Justice Thomas has left his "brothers" on the Liberal Plantation and now has no credibility (and indeed, no justified minority status) with the guys in the big house.

the profit motive

2005-10-30T19:48:00.000-08:00

Last week ExxonMobil, Shell, and Marathon Oil all reported double digit profit increases for the 3rd quarter of 2005. While the usual suspects engage in their typical wailing and gnashing of teeth over capitalism doing its job, may I be one of the first to say congratulations. Congratulations to ExxonMobil for $9.92 billion. Congratulations to Royal Dutch Shell for $9.03 billion. Congratulations to Marathon Oil, a local Houston company, for their $770 million. That's how the business works.
What I find amazing is how everyone immediately points to higher gasoline prices as the source of all this "obscene" profit. Is it just me or have gasoline prices been rising since at least 2001? So this increase (which actually lessened in the last couple months) cannot be solely responsible for increased profits during three months of this year.

Furthermore, there is a profit more important and sinister than the one oil companies are legitimately making from the price of their products. According to the Tax Foundation, the federal government has received more tax revenue from gasoline purchases since 1977 than oil companies have received profit from them. While this comparison uses revenue for government and only profit for industry and ignores industry total revenue, the fact that the federal government has received over $1.34 trillion from gas taxes alone since that year should be immediately recognized as as the real "obscene" profit here.
If the federal government were really so concerned about how "high" fuel prices are affecting consumers, they would eliminate or at the very lease halve federal gasoline taxes.

Religion of Peace updates

2005-10-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

Blast Kills 5 Israelis, Erodes Peace Hopes
A 20-year-old Palestinian blacksmith blew himself up at a falafel stand in an open-air market Wednesday, killing five Israelis and wounding more than 30 in the deadliest attack in the country in more than three months.
The bombing stifled faint peace hopes following Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip. The blast also embarrassed Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, who only hours earlier had scolded militant groups for repeatedly violating a truce.
The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility, saying the attack was to avenge the killing of its West Bank leader by Israeli forces this week.
The bomber struck while the market in the central town of Hadera was bustling a day after being closed for the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah.
After the attack, the bloodied body of a man in his 50's lay on the ground among scattered fruits and mangled metal shards. Rescue workers covered other bodies with blankets, walking on pools of blood and shattered glass. A section of the falafel stand's metal roof hung from a eucalyptus tree high above the market.

Iran's New President Says Israel 'Must Be Wiped Off the Map'
Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told a group of students at an anti-Israel event on Wednesday that Israel "must be wiped off the map" and that attacks by Palestinians would destroy it, the ISNA news agency reported.
He was speaking to about 4,000 students at a program called "The World Without Zionism," in preparation for an annual anti-Israel demonstration held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan. ...
"The establishment of a Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," the news agency reported him as saying. "The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of the war of destiny. The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land."
Referring to comments by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic revolution, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, "As the imam said, Israel must be wiped off the map." ...
"Anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation's fury," he said. He added that any Islamic leader "who recognizes the Zionist regime means he is acknowledging the surrender and defeat of the Islamic world."

Religious war? Why, what makes you say such a silly thing?

so does that make the Pope fallible too?

2005-10-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

The Roman Catholic Church has published a document entitled "The Gift of Scripture", which says that '[t]he Bible is true in passages relating to human salvation...but...“We should not expect total accuracy from the Bible in other, secular matters."'

In other words.... "You know those parts of the Bible that tell you what you can and can't do? Sure, those are true. Everything else? Yeah, probably not. But don't worry, we're still going to tell you how to live so you don't have to think for yourself."

I am Jack's progressive evolution.

indict this

2005-10-03T20:18:00.000-07:00

So Tom Delay was handed a second indictment today.

...yawn...

It goes without saying that if my Congressman is convicted of any charges, he should immediately resign his seat. I am glad he stepped down from his Majority Leader position until this is all over. It was a very honorable move (though of course required of him) to do it so immediately.
However, there are two very important points:

1) I don't think Delay has a chance in hell of being convicted of any of this. This is obviously politically motivated, probably to weaken his re-election chances next year, since Nick Lampson has announced his intent to run for Delay's seat.

2) I don't think the things with which Delay is charged should be illegal in the first place. Individuals (and thereby corporations) should be able to donate time, money, or services to any political campaign or organization without limits on amount, time, form, or relationship. The whole campaign finance reform movement is nonsense. It is no business of anyone else what I do with my money, ESPECIALLY in the political arena. If I want to express my support for a political candidate or idea, the government is the LAST entity that should be able to tell me I can't do so.

entitlement reigns

2005-10-01T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived a hurricane. We evacuated, but we survived.
We stayed at a company camp of a family friend with about 15 family members and another family. It was a big place.
The entire time we were there, one of the family friends was on the phone trying to register for her FEMA money so she could make sure she could get as much assistance as she could. The day that the guys and I went back to town to survey the damage and gather supplies, she and the rest of the girls went to the local civic center and library where she finished her registration and brought home two large boxes full of food donated by residents of the area. Perhaps I should note here that none of us are wallowing in poverty. Her justification the entire weekend was that she has paid all her taxes all her life and now she's finally going to get something back.
This attitude infuriates me. I can understand if you have a tree through your house, or if it has just been swallowed by the ocean, but these people had no substantial damage to their house. Others in the area weren't so well off. Sure, her husband lost a week of work, but she works for herself selling artistic works. It's not like they're going to have to get food stamps and stand in the unemployment line for 6 months while their city is being rebuilt. Her husband is going back to work on Monday.
Even worse, my mother is planning to apply for food stamps as evacuees. My dad rents heavy equipment, which means the next six months for him are going to be extremely busy and equally profitable. They also have zero damage to their home. My mother has only been working a few temp jobs here and there because she hasn't found a permanent one, so she lost no wages. And my father was actually paid his base salary (no commission) for his time off. Taking any monetary assistance would be nothing short of theft.
But because assistance is available, they're all going to get theirs. They doesn't need it, but they're going to get it. They could just as easily buy the food they need to live at the camp. It's not like they're still paying a light bill or anything while they're up there.
Harris County where I live was finally declared a federal disaster area this past week. That means we too are entitled to compensation and various forms of reimbursement for expenses for our evacuation and/or losses. However, we didn't lose anything except some time off work, and our evacuation was little more than a long weekend vacation.
Sponging off the good will of others or worse, the government, when you aren't in dire need of succor is pathetic and disgusting. Take care of your damn self.

Bright Eyes, bright heads?

2005-09-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

I just read in my new Blender mag that the ubiquitously overrated Conor Oberst of the Bright Eyes went off-key at a recent Glastonbury appearance and dissed the Make Poverty History campaign. Not being a fan of either economic and political utopianism or Oberst himself, I decided to check this out. This is what he said:

What am I doing? Making poverty history, that's what kids... This next song is definitely going to make poverty history. Poverty – you're fucked!

I may be missing something, but it just sounds like a dumb joke and not a serious political comment. And here I was about ready to actually go buy some Bright Eyes albums just for spite.

to build or not to build?

2005-09-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

You've heard the doom and gloom about the future of New Orleans, right?

Relocate New Orleans
[W]ouldn't it be better to reevaluate the location of New Orleans? Instead of investing many billions in a site that is not suitable for a flourishing city, wouldn't it be simpler to move it somewhere else?

Scientists Say New Orleans Should Not Be Rebuilt
A Utah researcher says New Orleans should not be rebuilt on its existing site. In fact, he calls such a plan "irresponsible." Other scientists are voicing similar concerns today, not only with New Orleans but with other coastal developments.
The United Geological Survey's video of Katrina's devastation offers a different perspective. Erosion, changes in topography, islands that were once there but are no more - the view really questions the wisdom of moving back into harms way.

Well, now how about some reality?

Mayor: French Quarter to Reopen Next Week
In a few days, residents will begin moving back into this city one ZIP code at a time, speeding the revival of the economy in places like the French Quarter the bawdy enclave that suffered relatively minor damage in the hurricane but is still without electricity.
Mayor C. Ray Nagin announced plans Thursday to reopen some of New Orleans' most vibrant and least flood-ravaged neighborhoods over the next week and a half, including the French Quarter. The move could bring back more than 180,000 of the city's original half-million residents.

There were 500,000 people living in New Orleans at the time. Most of them won't go back, but will likely settle in the areas where they are currently displaced (Houston, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Dallas, etc). But the city is going to be back up and running very soon. Utilities are being restored as we speak progressively over the whole city as the remaining water is being pumped out. Sure there is a lot of cleanup and rebuilding to do, but all this whining about relocating the city or bulldozing everything and raising the area 20ft is nonsense. The levees will be strengthened, the canals dredged, and life will go on. It always does.

KBR loses one

2005-09-16T12:13:00.000-07:00

I bet you haven't heard this anywhere, have you?

KBR Oil Well Contract Cancelled, Work Give to Iraqi Company
The Iraq Project and Contracting Office and the Joint Contracting Command-Iraq/Afghanistan have terminated a $37-million contract with KBR to refurbish a number of oil wells in southern Iraq. The contract will be transferred to the Iraqi state-owned Southern Oil Co. and the money will be used to fund training and purchase equipment for Southern Oil Co to perform the work. -ENR, 9/5/05

So not only is the evil Halliburton subsidiary not taking over the country and doing all the work, they are reverting the work back to Iraqis once the initial rebuilding process has gotten under way. You may slowly begin putting your tinfoil hats away now.

talk take-back

2005-09-12T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today in the last few minutes of Rush Limbaugh, my local talk radio station, KPRC, had short spots saying for instance, "less than 10 minutes to the Savage Nation". I did a double-take the first time I heard this, because for the last 6 months or so, Hannity has been immediately after Rush. Why would they move both Savage and Hannity out of their live slots and put Savage first? But who cares, because I wouldn't have to listen to Hannity anymore!!
I hhhhhhhate Sean Hannity's show. It is the most boring rote political drivel I've ever heard. Three hours of talking points. No thanks. But another local host I listen to on KTRH doesn't come on until an hour later. So rather than work in silence, I keep Hannity on for an hour and just try not to listen.
But having this new programming lineup, I was excited. For an hour I could listen to Savage, who is at least entertaining when he is yelling at his audience, instead of Hannity, who makes me want to register as a Democrat just to spite his immature partisan hackery.
So 2:07 rolls around, and what do I hear, but the same obnoxious intro music that precedes every Sean Hannity show. MOTHER OF MAYNARD!! I guess someone played the wrong station promo TWICE... grrrrrr.

some questions

2005-09-09T17:45:00.000-07:00

If the federal government provides $52 billion in disaster relief for hurricane survivors plus countless millions donated privately, why do we have an insurance industry? Why have the choice to pay premiums for flood insurance if everyone gets a handout anyway?

Why is it considered wrong to profit from a disaster? Unless no one charges to rebuild your house, someone is going to profit. Unless news services run no advertisements during disaster coverage, someone is going to profit. Of course exploiting survivors of disasters is wrong, but why is profiting from them?

Why does President Bush get charged with racism if the federal response to the hurricane was slow, but Governor Blanco doesn't if the state response was slow, and Mayor Nagin doesn't if the city response was slow?

...from my cold, dead hands...

2005-09-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

New Orleans Begins Confiscating Firearms as Water Recedes
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8 - Waters were receding across this flood-beaten city today as police officers began confiscating weapons, including legally registered firearms, from civilians in preparation for a mass forced evacuation of the residents still living here.
No civilians in New Orleans will be allowed to carry pistols, shotguns or other firearms, said P. Edwin Compass III, the superintendent of police. "Only law enforcement are allowed to have weapons," he said.
But that order apparently does not apply to hundreds of security guards hired by businesses and some wealthy individuals to protect property. The guards, employees of private security companies like Blackwater, openly carry M-16's and other assault rifles. Mr. Compass said that he was aware of the private guards, but that the police had no plans to make them give up their weapons.

Well, unless martial law has been declared in New Orleans (it hasn't), the NOPD is acting unconstitutionally. If the mayor has anything to do with this, he should be fired immediately. Your mandatory evacuation order does not supersede the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. The mayor should already be fired for not following his official evacuation plan and leaving hundreds of available buses to be ruined in the flood.
I am so sick of all the back and forth in this bullshit. Many people need to lose their jobs, beginning with the mayor of New Orleans and his police chief.

it's the economy, stupid...well, sometimes

2005-09-07T20:31:00.000-07:00

In case you hadn't heard amid all the news of biblical proportions, the US unemployment rate fell to 4.9% for August 2005, the lowest since August 2001. *gasp* Yes, that horrible Bush economy strikes again...
Unfortunately, that number will probably increase by about 0.5% since the entire New Orleans metropolitan area is now unemployed. Hopefully the fine citizens of Houston, Baton Rouge, and the rest of the country getting these people back on their feet will inspire them to do just that. I imagine that when the actual rebuilding in New Orleans begins, the unemployment rate will quickly return to its downward slope.

less is more better

2005-09-05T18:05:00.000-07:00

For a quick exercise in the benefit of limited government involvement, contrast the brutal horror of New Orleans with the clean efficiency of Houston this week.
In New Orleans local, state, and federal officials began bickering before Hurricane Katrina ever hit as to who was going to supply relief, who was going to enforce order, and even who was going to order evacuations. The obvious and unfortunate result was (or will be) thousands dead, an entire city in chaos, and no one taking responsibility.
In Houston the situation was the complete opposite. Of course there are differences that should be taken into account when comparing the efforts: massive flooding hampering transportation, utilities connected or not, security or not, etc. But here the only government involvement was making the Astrodome available and ready. After the refugees arrived, everything was handled by volunteers and charity organizations. The result has been as far as I can see a very smooth transition into relative comfort for the reported 18,000 New Orleans natives there.
The disaster in New Orleans has and will continue to teach us many lessons. The first (after 'RUN AWAY!') that I can see is that the less government involvement in crisis situations, the better.

Gawd still hates fags

2005-08-31T18:31:00.000-07:00

On my way home this afternoon I heard one of the most offensive and ignorant things on the Savage Nation. A caller put forth the idea that as an "act of God", hurricane Katrina was obviously timed to coincide with the Southern Decadence festival that was supposed to have begun in New Orleans today. Yes, that's right. Gawd hates fags so much that he would flatten and flood several hundred miles of populated coastline killing hundreds, possibly thousands of people, and causing billions of dollars worth of property damage, instantly making hundreds of thousands more people homeless.
These ignorant fucks have such pea-sized brains that they feel the need to explain the world around them by blaming gawd or other people of whom they do not approve. Things don't happen because of cause and effect, no no. Gawd, in his infinite compassion and forgiveness wipes entire civilized regions off the planet because some queers want to have fun in a place that accepts them. I could vomit.
While Michael Savage chose not to agree with the caller, he said that he did so because San Francisco basically has a Decadence festival everyday and Gawd has yet to wipe them off the planet. Oh, just wait for the Big One, Mike. Those damn queers will feel Gawd's wrath one day.
Does anyone have a gun? I could use one right about now.

UPDATE: Apparently Savage doesn't listen to his own show. Yesterday he agreed in principle with a caller who said that Katrina was Gawd's wrath for Southern Decadence in New Orleans. Today, Savage called out extremist Muslims who celebrated the destruction of the area since we are unbelievers. So it's bad when Muslims do it, but not when Christians do it? Tsk tsk.

In addition, anyone walking (read: wading) around in New Orleans with anything in their hands other than food, water, blankets, or medicine should be shot immediately. That is all.

armed invasion, anyone?

2005-08-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

Border Patrol chopper forced down
Rock-throwing illegal immigrants near Yuma, Arizona, forced a U.S. Border Patrol helicopter pilot to make an emergency landing this week, the customs agency said.
No one was hurt in the incident, which happened Tuesday while the pilot was helping agents on the ground apprehend 17 people attempting to illegally enter the U.S., spokesman Michael Gramley said. They were on the north side of the All-American Canal, a large irrigation canal that runs from California along the U.S.-Mexico border.
While the helicopter was hovering, a group of 10 people on the south side of the canal began throwing baseball-size rocks at it, Gramley said.
One rock hit a rotor, Gramley said. The pilot felt a bad vibration and made an emergency landing about a mile away.

But you're right. They're just coming here looking for work. Who are we to deny people a better chance in life? And the Zetas are just "freedom fighters"... mmmhmm.

the real threat

2005-08-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

While Congressman John Hostettler (R-Indiana) has said that divorce is as much a threat to marriage as gay marriage is, until there is a constitutional amendment proposed to ban divorce, I will entertain no arguments to ban gay marriage. One literally disolves marriage, the other allows more people to participate in it. So until there is a legitimate and widespread movement to ban divorce in this country, you can spare me your false concern over the "sanctity of marriage."

fight or flight?

2005-08-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

Quick question: Is there no way to detect where a missile attack has originated and fire back in retaliation? I'm no military expert, so I accept the possibility that such technology or intelligence capacity does not exist. But if it does, why in the name of all that is holy did the USS Kearsarge and Ashland turn tail and run when they were fired upon by rockets in Jordan?

will it be messy if I pull out too soon?

2005-08-16T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have a scenario that I would like you to ponder.

If President Bush took the "advice" of the feverish Left and pulled our troops out of Iraq immediately, would they then applaud him for doing the right thing and finally give him some long overdue praise?
Ok, ok. You can stop laughing now. I know.
Or more realistically, would they jump right to the finger pointing, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, saying that he failed, made a mistake, surrendered, just like we did in Vietnam? In fact, if the Left is so vehement that Iraq is the new Vietnam, then why in Maynard's name would they not want us to finish the fucking job and achieve decisive victory, as opposed to repeating the mistake of the original and not fighting to win or doing so?

You know why none of this makes any sense? Because nothing the Left has said for the last 6 years has either.

Pascal bets the farm

2005-08-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Just doing some random thinking, and remembered Pascal's wager, an argument given by some in favor of believing in gawd and all that:

If gawd exists and I believe, I get eternal salvation.
If gawd exists and I do not believe, I get eternal damnation.
If gawd does not exist and I believe, I lose nothing (except maybe some earthly pleasures).
If gawd does not exist and I do not believe, I lose nothing.
Therefore it is only rational to believe in gawd out of the pure consequence of probability, since you only lose eternally if you do not believe.

Seems simple enough. But there are plenty of problems here.

1. Which gawd do I believe in? In order to maximize my probability of eternal jackpot, wouldn't I have to believe in the gawd of Abraham, as well as in Allah, Vishnu, Buddha, Zoroaster, Odin, Maynard, and any number of earth spirits?
2. Most protestant Christian denominations do not accept simple belief as one's ticket to Heaven. They require various forms of devotion, sacraments, works, and acceptance of Jesus' divinity as personal savyourah (best said with a Texas accent).
3. Gambling is against the dogma of most religions. Having gambling necessary for believe in gawd would probably not be an acceptable exception.

Any others?

enemy body count?

2005-08-12T18:07:00.000-07:00

Why is it that I cannot find a figure for total terrorist/insurgent/regime casualties in Iraq? Why is it that any search for information on any casualties in Iraq, even when specified as "enemy" or "terrorist" comes up with thousands of coalition and US body counts? Why aren't we keeping track of how well we're actually doing in this war? A US casualty figure tells us nothing if we don't also have an enemy casualty figure. This is so absurd.
The closest thing to an enemy body count I can find is a summary of various casualty reports on Wikipedia. It gives estimates of anywhere from 4,895 to 124,000+. The fact that we can't even get a number within a few standard deviations is completely ridiculous. The Defense Department has got to have numbers, and they need to release them.

another step back

2005-08-10T16:54:00.000-07:00

Kansas moves to stem role of evolution in teaching
After months of debate over science and religion, the Kansas Board of Education has tentatively approved new state science standards that weaken the role evolution plays in teaching about the origin of life.
The 10-member board must still take a final vote, expected in either September or October, but a 6-4 vote on Tuesday that approved a draft of the standards essentially cemented a victory for conservative Christian board members who say evolution is largely unproven and can undermine religious teachings about the origins of life on earth.
"We think this is a great development ... for the academic freedom of students," said John West, senior fellow of the Discovery Institute, which supports intelligent design theory.

I am so sick and tired of these non-scientists dictating science curriculum. Evolution is a THEORY. No, it is not proven fact. No scientific theory can be proven beyond a shadow of a doubt. That doesn't mean it shouldn't be tought. Should no theories be taught in science if they can't be 100% proven? If not, we should probably start including this on textbooks too:

This textbook contains material on Gravity. Universal Gravity is a theory, not a fact, regarding the natural law of attraction. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered.

financial dissonance

2005-08-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

See if these two stories make any sense to you:

Rate Fears Sink Stocks, 8/5/05
Stocks closed lower Friday and had a losing week overall as traders worried that a red-hot labor market will prompt the Federal Reserve to keep hiking interest rates.

Greenspan Pushes All the Right Buttons, 8/9/05
Tuesday morning, NASA executed a safe landing for Space Shuttle Discovery. Tuesday afternoon, the market seemed to believe that the Federal Reserve, which tapped on the monetary brakes for the 10th consecutive policy meeting, will be able to do the same for the U.S. economy.
Such faith in the Fed helped the Dow Jones Industrial Average gain 78.74 points, or 0.75%, to 10,615.67, and pushed the S&P 500 up 8.25 points, or 0.7%, to 1231.38. The Nasdaq Composite gained 9.8 points, or 0.5%, to 2174.19, continuing its recent trend of relative underperformance.

Yeah, me neither.
So in the span of 2 business days, we go from stocks plummeting due to fears of interest rate increases, to stocks rising after interest rate increases. Did I miss something, or do Wall Street analysts just make this shit up as they go along?

obscenity does not exist

2005-08-08T20:31:00.000-07:00

Texas Woman Battling Arrest for Selling Porn
Lori Hemphill was simply working her shift at the Log Cabin under I-20 and I-820 in the Kennedale community of Fort Worth, Texas, when she was placed under arrest by the undercover cop to whom she’d just sold an adult video.
The charge? “Promoting obscenity.” The agenda? A campaign by Kennedale Mayor Jim Norwood — a pastor — to abolish adult stores in the area. This was on March 10, and since then, Hemphill has been placed on probation, denied any other sort of work, forced to put off her plans to attend nursing school, enrolled in state-supported psychiatric and financial assistance programs and even reduced to begging for food.
Meanwhile, the Log Cabin and the other adult stores in the area remain thriving.

Another episode in the Nanny State Police series. Private transactions between consenting adults within the borders of a single state are no business of that state or the federal government. Porn is legal. Selling it or buying it can therefore not be illegal. This mayor and any police involved should be immediately fired and barred from ever holding public office again. The Nanny State must be brought to its knees.

A-C-L-me?

2005-08-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

NYCLU Sues City Over Subway Bag Search Policy
In response to the NYPD's unprecedented policy of subjecting millions of New Yorkers to suspicion-less searches, the New York Civil Liberties Union today filed suit in federal court seeking an injunction to halt the policy. ...
"This NYPD bag search policy is unprecedented, unlawful and ineffective, said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. "It is essential that police be aggressive in maintaining security in public transportation. But our very real concerns about terrorism do not justify the NYPD subjecting millions of innocent people to suspicion-less searches in a way that does not identify any person seeking to engage in terrorist activity and is unlikely to have any meaningful deterrent effect on terrorist activity."

Imagine that... I agree with the ACLU on something. Except they probably wouldn't be happy why we agree. Of course the NYPD random searches are ineffective and unconstitutional. OF COURSE. You know why? Specifically because they are RANDOM. The NYCLU argues that the searches are done without suspicion or due cause. Precisely! You know what the due cause should be: potential passenger between the ages of 18 and 30 of Middle Eastern, North African, or South Asian origin with a heavy coat or bag. So no, NYCLU bag searches are not illegal, just random ones. As soon as we start profiling with due suspicion, they become legal.

unintelligent design

2005-08-02T06:14:00.000-07:00

Bush: Intelligent Design Should Be Taught
President Bush said Monday he believes schools should discuss "intelligent design" alongside evolution when teaching students about the creation of life. During a round-table interview with reporters from five Texas newspapers, Bush declined to go into detail on his personal views of the origin of life. But he said students should learn about both theories, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported.

"I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought," Bush said. "You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, the answer is yes." The theory of intelligent design says life on earth is too complex to have developed through evolution, implying that a higher power must have had a hand in creation.

Yeah, except that "intelligent design" isn't a theory, it's an idea. Evolution is a theory based on evidence. Intelligent design is a shot in the dark based on religious convictions. It's not science and has no place in the classroom other than a religion class. Good job, Mr President.

compass, part 2

2005-08-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Our civil liberties are being excessively curbed in the name of counter-terrorism. Strongly disagree. Justifiably, yes. Excessively, no.

A significant advantage of a one-party state is that it avoids all the arguments that delay progress in a democratic political system. Strongly disagree. Sorry, but arguments in a democratic process are not a disadvantage, no matter how much they delay things.

Although the electronic age makes official surveillance easier, only wrongdoers need to be worried. Strongly disagree. Although I think everyone should be concerned, I have seen no abuses yet.

The death penalty should be an option for the most serious crimes. Strongly agree. In fact, I would remove the word "serious" from that statement with little reservation.

In a civilised society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded. Strongly disagree. While it generally makes things easier, there is no requirement for such a heirarchy.

Abstract art that doesn't represent anything shouldn't be considered art at all. Strongly disagree. Art cannot be defined. It can be criticized, but it cannot be defined. And it sure as hell shouldn't be federally funded either.

In criminal justice, punishment should be more important than rehabilitation. Strongly agree. Though it depends on the crime. Murderers, rapists, molesters, terrorists should get no chance for rehabilitation.

It is a waste of time to try to rehabilitate some criminals. Strongly agree. Incinerators are rather effective for some classes of human refuse.

The businessperson and the manufacturer are more important than the writer and the artist. Strongly disagree. They all contribute to the system. Art can be purchased just as easily as a toothbrush.

Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers. Strongly agree. If a woman has children, her primary responsibility is those children.

Multinational companies are unethically exploiting the plant genetic resources of developing countries. Strongly disagree. If the developing countries don't like it, they don't have the sell multinational companies the land.

Making peace with the establishment is an important aspect of maturity. Strongly disagree. While the establishment is not by definition anathema, if it has problems, they should be confronted.

Astrology accurately explains many things. Strongly disagree. Astrology explains the superstitious, that is all.

You cannot be moral without being religious. Strongly disagree. Religion itself is an immoral suplication of humanity to vague mysticism at the expense of reason.

Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. Strongly agree. Voluntary charity is the lifeblood of our nation that is being sucked dry by the government whore.

Some people are naturally unlucky. Strongly disagree. There is no such thing as luck. Only choice and reaction.

I would not wish to send my child to a school that did not instill religious values. Strongly disagree. I would never send my child to a school that instilled religious values. I would send them to a school that instilled moral or civic values.

Sex outside marriage is usually immoral. Strongly disagree. Sex is only immoral when it is undesired.

A same sex couple in a stable, loving relationship, should not be excluded from the possibility of child adoption. Strongly agree. Anyone stable and sane enough should be able to adopt.

Pornography, depicting consenting adults, should be legal for the adult population. Strongly agree. It is mana from heaven.

What goes on in a private bedroom between consenting adults is no business of the state. Strongly agree. What goes in in a private anything between consenting adults is no business of anyone else, much less the state.

No one can feel naturally homosexual. Strongly disagree. Go to next year's Pride parade, and tell me they're all faking it.

It's fine for society to be open about sex, but these days it's going too far. Strongly disagree. When there aren't even open showers in the US version of Big Brother, we haven't gone nearly far enough.

Your political compass
Economic Left/Right: 8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.36

I'm actually almost exactly the same as Milton Friedman. Guess I should read some of his work.

Zeta Zeta Zeta

2005-08-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

Mexican mercenaries expand base into U.S.
A renegade band of Mexican military deserters, offering $50,000 bounties for the assassination of U.S. law-enforcement officers, has expanded its base of operations into the United States to protect loads of cocaine and marijuana being brought into America by Mexican smugglers, authorities said.
The deserters, known as the "Zetas," trained in the United States as an elite force of anti-drug commandos, but have since signed on as mercenaries for Mexican narcotics traffickers and have recruited an army of followers, many of whom are believed to be operating in Texas, Arizona, California and Florida.
Working mainly for the Gulf Cartel, one of Mexico's most dangerous drug-trafficking organizations, as many as 200 Zeta members are thought to be involved, including former Mexican federal, state and local police. They are suspected in more than 90 deaths of rival gang members and others, including police officers, in the past two years in a violent drug war to control U.S. smuggling routes.

Fabulous. Another casualty of the real war without an exit strategy, the War on Drugs. We in Texas have been familiar with the Zetas for some time now, but this new bounty is just icing on the cake. Simple fact: If drugs were legal, they would eventually be sold by companies and not thugs. There would be no more drug gangs, drug runs, drug trafficking, drug smuggling, and drug violence. We could all get high in peace. Imagine...

compass, part 1

2005-08-01T17:54:00.000-07:00

As an introduction to my philosophy, I will post my answers to the Political Compass. While discussion of the entire survey would be quite tedious, feel free to pick out a point or two that interest you and comment.

If economic globalisation is inevitable, it should primarily serve humanity rather than the interests of trans-national corporations. Disagree. It should serve the interest of whomever puts forth the effort to become part of the system.

I'd always support my country, whether it was right or wrong. Agree. While I would support my country, I may not support its leaders and the decisions they make.

No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it. Strongly disagree. Then all cultural, sexual, intellectual, and regional pride is irrelevant as well.

Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races. Strongly disagree. Cultures foster "superior qualities," not races.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Strongly disagree. While it may be necessary in some geopolitical situations, it is almost never wise.

Military action that defies international law is sometimes justified. Strongly agree. As the quote says, "international law is what the United States and Great Britain say it is."

There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment. Strongly disagree. There is nothing wrong with entertaining information. Why does knowledge have to be boring? Now if that entertainment dumbs down the information, then we have a potential problem, but that wasn't the question.

People are ultimately divided more by class than by nationality. Agree. Because of the actions of some in our political arena, class is an impediment to success.

Controlling inflation is more important than controlling unemployment. Agree. Though I don't care much for "controlling" anything, inflation causes unemployment not the other way around.

Because corporations cannot be trusted to voluntarily protect the environment, they require regulation. Strongly disagree. Corporations should be punished by consumers through the market, not by the nanny state.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" is a fundamentally good idea. Strongly disagree. It is a fundamentally flawed idea. It assumes the emotional maturity of mankind has reached the level that no longer includes greed. Whereas greed is inherently part of the capitalist system, the socialist system is impossible if it exists.

It's a sad reflection on our society that something as basic as drinking water is now a bottled, branded consumer product. Strongly disagree. If someone can get people to buy it, then it deserves to be bought.

Land shouldn't be a commodity to be bought and sold. Strongly disagree. The right to private property is one of the most fundamental of a free market system.

It is regrettable that many personal fortunes are made by people who simply manipulate money and contribute nothing to their society. Strongly disagree. Personal fortunes by their very nature are a contribution to society. They don't just sit in a hole in someone's backyard. They employ people, they build things, they buy things, and they produce things.

Protectionism is sometimes necessary in trade. Strongly disagree. If it can be made cheaper elsewhere, it should be. Artificially inflated prices are the bane of the free market system, whether by tarriff, subsidy, or welfare.

The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders. Strongly agree. Everything else comes along naturally. Companies are designed to make money. What they do to make it is not their responsibility, only the creation of wealth.

The rich are too highly taxed. Strongly agree. Everyone is too highly taxed.

Those with the ability to pay should have the right to higher standards of medical care. Agree. While basic emergency services are not and should not be denied to anyone, premium services are premium for a reason.

Governments should penalise businesses that mislead the public. Strongly disagree. Lying is only a crime in court. Consumers will penalise businesses that mislead them.

A genuine free market requires restrictions on the ability of predator multinationals to create monopolies. Disagree. If the market is truly free and not overregulated, monopolies are nearly impossible to create. Even when they exist, they usually exist because their product or service is superior. They are always succeptible to quality alternatives, regardless of size.

The freer the market, the freer the people. Strongly agree. Socialism and communism do not a democracy make. Regulations on companies are by definition limitations on people.

Abortion, when the woman's life is not threatened, should always be illegal. Disagree.

All authority should be questioned. Strongly agree. But with actual questions, as opposed to most of what passes for "dissent" these days (see: "Halliburton!! Oil! Dick Cheney!! Halliburton!!!").

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. Agree. Depends on the situation, but in general a good idea. Even better: two eyes for an eye, and four teeth for a tooth.

Taxpayers should not be expected to prop up any theatres or museums that cannot survive on a commercial basis. Strongly agree. State subsidized entertainment has no right to exist, especially if I'm living in the state that's subsidizing it.

Schools should not make classroom attendance compulsory. Strongly agree. Children do not have the right to make such a decision, and a parent who thinks that anything is more important than their child's education should not have that right either.

All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind. Strongly disagree. Who's asking these questions, David Duke?

Good parents sometimes have to spank their children. Strongly agree. Sometimes, sure. As the only means of punishment, of course not.

It's natural for children to keep some secrets from their parents. Strongly agree. Who hasn't? But they shouldn't be encouraged to do so, of course.

Marijuana should be legalised. Strongly agree. As should everything else.

The prime function of schooling should be to equip the future generation to find jobs. Strongly agree. While this shouldn't have to mean career counseling and direction, education by its very nature prepares one for work.

People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce. Strongly disagree. While I'm generally in favor of natural selection in any area, this type of selection is not natural. If such a disability is genetic, it will eventually be weeded out of the gene pool. We shouldn't have to sterilize anyone to speed along the process.

The most important thing for children to learn is to accept discipline. Disagree. Important, but not the most.

There are no savage and civilised peoples; there are only different cultures. Strongly disagree. Tell that to the two men who were hanged last week in Iran for being gay.

Those who are able to work, and refuse the opportunity, should not expect society's support. Strongly agree. Does that even need defending?

When you are troubled, it's better not to think about it, but to keep busy with more cheerful things. Agree. Depending on how productive or creative the cheerful thing is, it can sometimes help the troubled feeling.

First-generation immigrants can never be fully integrated within their new country. Strongly disagree. Can never, absolutely not. Can not very likely, probably.

What's good for the most successful corporations is always, ultimately, good for all of us. Strongly agree. Prosperity, wealth, production? Absolutely.

No broadcasting institution, however independent its content, should receive public funding. Strongly agree. Its content can't be "independent" if it's being paid for by the government.

Ok, I think that's enough for now. That was only 3 of the 6 pages of the survey. You'll get the rest later.

grand opening

2005-07-31T15:48:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new home for all things political.
I am a nationalist libertarian. I do not vote for anything or anyone by party; I vote for issues or candidates individually. I believe in ultimate individual rights, up to the point where they interfere with national security. That is not to say that the nation is more important than the individual; but if the republic is not preserved, individual rights will soon follow.
This journal will be a forum for reflection on these ideas and other current social, political, and economic issues separate from my personal website (URL available upon request).

In case you're wondering, the quotes at the top of the page are randomly selected from a list of (currently) 27 quips by persons as disparate as Bill Hicks, Ann Coulter, Ayn Rand, and Rush Limbaugh. The list will undoubtedly grow throughout the lifespan of this blog, so reload often to get the most out of the experience. If you keep an eye on those quotes as well as the ongoing discussions on this site, you will begin to understand how parts of such seemingly incongruous philosophies can come together to create a functioning whole, all supporting or explaining tenets of my political alignment: nationalist libertarianism.

One issue that may come up is the term "nationalist libertarian". I have recently learned that the Nazi party invokes both those terms in its full title. This obviously has ZERO to do with my term. In fact, nearly everything that the Nazi party stands for, I violently oppose. And the only reason I qualify that with "nearly" is that I am not intimately familiar with the Nazi party platform. I think I missed the nominating convention last year.
"Nationalist libertarian" has also been used by some to describe someone who has no concern for the liberty of those outside of the "nation"; an exclusively nationalist libertarian. Those who use this definition conceive of the "internationalist libertarian" as the alternative, one who supports liberty for everyone, regardless of nation of residence. While I support global freedom and liberty, I am wary of the term "internationalist". It has a connotation of concern for those in other countries above those in this country, and that is an idea I just cannot support, whether that is the actual idea of those "internationalist libertarians" or not. I would rather not be associated with the term at all.
Therefore unless someone has an alternative for my political nomenclature, it remains, possible confusion accepted.